Should kids cruise free?

I've been working as a travel agent for awhile now and I've lost track of the times someone has said to me
"I'm not paying for my child, he's only two", or, "I'm not paying gratuities for my 10 month old, why should I?"
As a Father myself of a three year old boy and a one year old girl I would never dream of expecting this on a cruise. and I'll tell you why.

Automatic grats - What they aren't telling you

I've gone back and forth on this subject more times than I can count now and I'm still not sure where I fall on the subject. On the one hand I tend to think how dare someone tell me I have to tip; on the other hand I also know how hard the crew work and how much they rely on those tips to make up their wages.
However I found out something today that several large cruise lines all do that really shocked me.

A Cartoon about Tipping

For anyone who reads my blog regularly who will know that I enjoy messing around with different formats and it is with this in mind that I have made a cartoon for you all from a blog I wrote recently about tipping. Anyone who wants to read the original blog can do so here, it raises some interesting points about the fairness of American style tipping, but I think the video below keeps the same message across in a much more fun way. Let me know what you think. (for anyone who has trouble playing the video, or if you just see a blank black or white square, just try clicking it with your mouse once or twice and it should play)

To Tip or not to Tip……..what Mr. Pink Thinks

I know tipping on board an American cruise liner is always a bit of a contentious issue, especially to us Brits, unaccustomed to the American style of inclusive gratuities. I know this always leads to a heated debate on both sides of the argument, but I’ve always wondered what the Americans themselves thought of this style of tipping.

I was watching Reservoir Dogs the other night on T.V when I heard Mr. Pink having a bit of a rant about tipping and it occurred to me that I had never heard an argument with all the pros and cons of tipping so well put, (assuming you don’t mind ignoring the swearing).
I have enclosed the argument below, with all the swear words blanked out, although I would probably say if you are easily offended don’t click the read more button.
Let me know what you think after you have read it and if it has changed your opinions at all.
Again, if you are easily offended please, please dont click the read more button.
Thank you.