First off, I reread what I posted and didnt intend to sound so... harsh. Apologies if it came off that way.
So the solution is to intrude into the equally-cramped space of the poor soul behind you, making their trip even less comfortable? Seems kind of selfish, no?
This is, of course, false. They are obviously naturally leaning slightly backwards.
So the person in front of you who is reclining the seatback 3 inches back is actually making you uncomfortable? The solution is to reclaim your space those same 3 inches by reclining yours. If they did not intend you to recline the seats they would be fixed back seats. The reason they are designed the way they are is actually more for the loading/unloading of passengers. They are intended to be reclined when in the air.
My comment about being forward was an exaggeration, though it often feels that way.
Do you have diagnosed medical conditions regarding your back? Or do you just feel that you deserve to be more comfortable than the person behind you? Come on man, we're all in this together. Have some compassion for the person behind you. Don't recline your seat.
I will, however make exceptions for particularly long flights (3+ hours), or redeye flights where there is a reasonable expectation of sleeping.
Medical condition? no. I agree that some etiquate is in order, especially in coach, but the only seats that really are affected without any hopes of relief are the last row back that cant recline any and ones where the passenger is uncomfortably packed into the seat as it is (either due to height or girth reasons). Your second point in this section is more of where it applies to me. I dont often fly unless it is a long distance trip that would take more than half a day of driving.
I disagree. "We're going to visit the grandparents" is not a "need." Let them come to you. Or wait until the kid is old enough to understand why it's unacceptable to scream for 2 hours straight. I find people who fly with infants incredibly selfish, entitled, and self-absorbed.
If the kid has a rare medical condition necessitating a visit to a specialty clinic/hospital for life-saving treatment, then that's an appropriate time to inflict your child on a planeload of innocent customers. But otherwise, get a sitter or skip the trip.
The problem being, how do you know this is not the case? True most of it is a disney trip or family vacation or such, but parents with small children should not be banned from taking a vacation just because they have kids. True, everything in their power should be done to keep their children from bothering others, but you have to give them a pass for the parts of the flight where it is unavoidable (pressure changes). But for the sake of all that is holy, please do not applaud the landing. Stop teaching your kids this. Please!
You're not forced to tip at all, ever, but there's a cultural expectation that you will, and I feel that holds even in cases where an "automatic gratuity" has already been applied.
I've been on a couple of cruises. The cruise line imposed a $12/day/passenger "automatic gratuity." In addition, whenever you went to the bar and bought a drink, another 15% gratuity was automatically imposed. And right above the line where you sign your name, there was a line for a "tip." I'm supposed to tip you 3 times for pouring me a Coke???
You are correct, this is definitely a cultural expectation. Tipping over the automatic gratuity is optional, but they are going to include the line for you to add in on it. In cases like these I will either (subtract down to what my normal tip would be if I am stiffing the server due to piss poor service, and it would have to be terrible unless they are adding in a 25% or so gratuity or something) or only tipping additional up to where I would have tipped anyway. This does become confusing in cases where you have to split the check if they do not itemize (which can be a pain in the butt as well, especially for the server).
Your cruise example is kind of a extreme case. The inbuilt $12 room gratuity can be either overmuch or not enough depending on how much you use the room services. Leave the "do not make up my room" sign up the whole trip? Should not be paid. Use the heck out of room service and trash your room, etc? You should pay over it. Drink gratuity seems high, but with those as with in restaurants, you can always subtract them and only sign for what you want to pay. And for gods sake keep your receipts (never leave the itemized or customer copy behind anywhere), a dishonest server who feels slighted will occasionally modify the tip to what they feel they deserve. And I am not saying that is right or legal or anything.
Then again, the cruise I went on, all of the staff were amazing and took care of me. The room was always spotless, the room service snack food was great, the bartenders hooked me up with strong pours and the dinners/waitstaff there were amazing. I tipped well and did not feel bad. For soda stuff, if that is what you are going to be drinking(more than 2-3 a day), I would suggest going with their soda package (I think they almost all offer one).
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