Concierge compensation thoughts...

[OceanDreaming2]

You can also have the Concierge's tips added to your total bill at reception.

[tdcjerry]

Here's something else I've wondered about. The Concierge always seems to pretty much be able to get his suite guests reservations. Do you think that they also give something to the Matre D's in the various restaurants, to insure that they have tables for them? Or do you think they just do it for the Concierge as part of their job? Anyone have any thoughts or insight on this?

 

The Matre D has a list of the top 30 VIPs on the ship ( cabin #s ) we walked up to a full restaurant and gave our cabin# , she gave us a wink and took us to a table ahead of people waiting in line.

As for tipping the Concierge, it's all on how much they do, if they are good they go beyond just saying good morning, they meet you at shows, going ashore and any extra things you need.

We have tipped $100 for a 14 day ( not happy ) and we have tippid $250 for a 7 day ( very happy) it's all on use.

[justcake]

On our last suite cruise we never had the conceirge make any reservations for us but she was very pleasant and helped make a wonderful vacation. We tipped her $75 and the butler $100.

 

I'm wondering about dining reservations on the Epic. I tried to book dining at Teppanyaki for my DDs birthday but was unable to in advance. For those who have been on the Epic, have you had any trouble getting reservations through the concerige for dining? That's the first thing I'm doing when I get on the ship 8 days from now!

[erdoran]

I didn't need the concierge...there were "reservation stations" with someone on a laptop in several places, most notably outside Taste, and I just walked up to them and got my reservations taken care of. Should be even easier if you have the concierge do it.

[monn_a]

On our last suite cruise we never had the conceirge make any reservations for us but she was very pleasant and helped make a wonderful vacation. We tipped her $75 and the butler $100.

 

I'm wondering about dining reservations on the Epic. I tried to book dining at Teppanyaki for my DDs birthday but was unable to in advance. For those who have been on the Epic, have you had any trouble getting reservations through the concerige for dining? That's the first thing I'm doing when I get on the ship 8 days from now!

We booked the Teppanyaki in advance but wanted to change the date once on board. I had the concierge make the change for me. Well she did change the reservation but didn't notify me as to fact that I didn't get the time I requested and she split my party up onto two nights...not what we asked for. But thankfully the restaurant manager was gracious and made room for us and even reserved the best chef which made for a memorable night that was probably our best dining experience on board.

[sjbdtz]

I didn't need the concierge...there were "reservation stations" with someone on a laptop in several places, most notably outside Taste, and I just walked up to them and got my reservations taken care of. Should be even easier if you have the concierge do it.

 

 

Ellen, I hadn't realized your next EPIC was Western at Christmas. Ours is Western on Spirit, leaving on the 26th. :)

 

Maybe we'll see you in one of the ports. :)

 

 

Stephen

 

 

 

 

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[beachchick]

On our last suite cruise we never had the conceirge make any reservations for us but she was very pleasant and helped make a wonderful vacation. We tipped her $75 and the butler $100.

 

I'm wondering about dining reservations on the Epic. I tried to book dining at Teppanyaki for my DDs birthday but was unable to in advance. For those who have been on the Epic, have you had any trouble getting reservations through the concerige for dining? That's the first thing I'm doing when I get on the ship 8 days from now!

 

Definitely go to book Teppanyaki the very first thing when you board. Reservations fill up so fast that it can be hard to get in. While the Concierge can do quite a bit for you, Teppanyaki is the one venue where he/she cannot/will not get you a reservation if the seatings are completely booked. They do not hold back any seats and will not bump someone else for suite/VIP passengers. They can put you on the top of the waitlist and look for other seatings, but that's it.

 

Best of luck getting those reservations!

 

beachchick

[Ericktina]

If any concierge reads this estimate, I do not know if they would be laughing or crying !! They do not make anything close to what is suggested !! In addition, geography counts--they make very little in Europe, where the tipping culture is a non-tipping one. In Europe, I should think they would be very happy to make 1000. for a cruise, but often make less. On any cruise, there are those who feel nothing is required if they do not use any services. MANY tip 25-50.00. The average is WAY below 100.00 a cabin. Considering that they are on duty 24/7, and are frequently awakened at night, their hourly salary/tipping rate is extremely small. Any concierge getting an average of 50.00 a cabin for any cruise would be delighted, I assure you...but that does NOT happen. It is the same for butlers...

[erdoran]

If any concierge reads this estimate, I do not know if they would be laughing or crying !! They do not make anything close to what is suggested !! In addition, geography counts--they make very little in Europe, where the tipping culture is a non-tipping one. In Europe, I should think they would be very happy to make 1000. for a cruise, but often make less. On any cruise, there are those who feel nothing is required if they do not use any services. MANY tip 25-50.00. The average is WAY below 100.00 a cabin. Considering that they are on duty 24/7, and are frequently awakened at night, their hourly salary/tipping rate is extremely small. Any concierge getting an average of 50.00 a cabin for any cruise would be delighted, I assure you...but that does NOT happen. It is the same for butlers...

 

That begs the question--if someone NEVER uses the concierge for ANYTHING at all, is a tip still required/expected? If it's yes, because "the concierge works hard and their base pay is very low" the same can be said for probably every crew member, as well as many people in the ports--and that "tip the concierge even without making use of their services" logic could be applied to non-suite pax as well.

 

Please don't flame me because of my "well-known attitude about tipping"--I've come around to understanding & accepting the DSC and tipping in general. I haven't decided whether or not to tip the concierge if I make no use of him/her and I am open to reasons why I should, or shouldn't. I know some pax tip extremely well regardless of level of services & requests made, others don't tip unless they've used services.

[Cruise_More_Often]

If any concierge reads this estimate, I do not know if they would be laughing or crying !! They do not make anything close to what is suggested !! In addition, geography counts--they make very little in Europe, where the tipping culture is a non-tipping one. In Europe, I should think they would be very happy to make 1000. for a cruise, but often make less. On any cruise, there are those who feel nothing is required if they do not use any services. MANY tip 25-50.00. The average is WAY below 100.00 a cabin. Considering that they are on duty 24/7, and are frequently awakened at night, their hourly salary/tipping rate is extremely small. Any concierge getting an average of 50.00 a cabin for any cruise would be delighted, I assure you...but that does NOT happen. It is the same for butlers...

I'm hoping your estimate is low, but you're probably pretty close. Those of us on CC talk about this all the time, and we know the concierge and butler don't receive a share of the "tipping pool." However, the percentage of CC readers who are suite guests is probably quite low, and others might think the DSC is plenty to cover everyone.

 

I once asked Alex Forbes when he slept, and he replied, "when I'm on vacation."

[Globaliser]

That begs the question--if someone NEVER uses the concierge for ANYTHING at all, is a tip still required/expected?

Even if you never ask the concierge for anything, they will still do a number of things for you as part of the service. For example, you may see priority tender tickets appear at each tender port without you asking. On our last cruise, the concierge liaised with other departments and - without asking - provided three different sets of disembarkation luggage tags. Each option had a rationale behind it, and then we were free to choose which of those times and methods suited us and our friends best.

 

One could take the strict view that as one never asked for this, no tip is needed. But as the concierge doesn't share in the tip pool, my view is that I should be tipping for this alone.

 

As others will know, I am as opposed as anyone to the tipping system. But so long as this is the system in place, this is one of the things on which I simply have to grin and bear it, and to do the right thing within the current system.

[erdoran]

Even if you never ask the concierge for anything, they will still do a number of things for you as part of the service. For example, you may see priority tender tickets appear at each tender port without you asking. On our last cruise, the concierge liaised with other departments and - without asking - provided three different sets of disembarkation luggage tags. Each option had a rationale behind it, and then we were free to choose which of those times and methods suited us and our friends best.

 

One could take the strict view that as one never asked for this, no tip is needed. But as the concierge doesn't share in the tip pool, my view is that I should be tipping for this alone.

 

As others will know, I am as opposed as anyone to the tipping system. But so long as this is the system in place, this is one of the things on which I simply have to grin and bear it, and to do the right thing within the current system.

 

thanks Globaliser, that makes sense. I was thinking anyway that perhaps we'd be in a group of pax that the concierge gets into a venue early, so we don't have to wait in line - even though he'd do that anyway for other pax, that is still a service to us albeit no additional effort for the concierge.

 

On the Epic there are no tender ports so the tendering ticket logic doesn't work for us; however I guess a single luggage tag is worth something as well.

 

If viewed as a "fee for service" and if I figure the MINIMUM tip for doing nothing for us other than your point about luggage tags, and us tagging along in a theatre seating group is $25 - $50, that's a payment of $12.50 to $25 for a luggage tag and the same for preferred seating....ah well, I guess it comes with the turf ....

[newmexicoNita]

That begs the question--if someone NEVER uses the concierge for ANYTHING at all, is a tip still required/expected? If it's yes, because "the concierge works hard and their base pay is very low" the same can be said for probably every crew member, as well as many people in the ports--and that "tip the concierge even without making use of their services" logic could be applied to non-suite pax as well.

 

Please don't flame me because of my "well-known attitude about tipping"--I've come around to understanding & accepting the DSC and tipping in general. I haven't decided whether or not to tip the concierge if I make no use of him/her and I am open to reasons why I should, or shouldn't. I know some pax tip extremely well regardless of level of services & requests made, others don't tip unless they've used services.

 

I normally am a fair to generous tipper, but I do agree with you. If we do not use the service at all and on a few occassions we haven't, I can not undestand why we would tip. Normally we do use the concierge a time or two. Then we do tip.

 

Nita

[professor]

If we do not use the service at all and on a few occasions we haven't, I cannot understand why we would tip.

There is a category of perks, such as VIP tendering and advance disembarkation, that are part of the Suites "package". These may come to your attention through the Concierge's office, but in such instances, he/she is not providing anything that you have not paid for as a Suite occupant.

The Concierge earns gratuities for services you require that are not part of your Suite amenities such as the free bottle of champagne and so forth. Making your restaurant reservations for you is probably the most common example of a 'requested' service, and is genuinely valuable if you're trying to book a table at the last minute in Cagney's

I tip the Concierge generously when he/she handles a situation for me that's more complex than routine dinner reservations, or if he/she provides useful advice in response to a question. It's this latter item -- soliciting advice -- that is of the greatest value, but so often overlooked or forgotten when computing the Concierge's tip at the end of a cruise.

[gtaylor]

There is a category of perks, such as VIP tendering and advance disembarkation, that are part of the Suites "package". These may come to your attention through the Concierge's office, but in such instances, he/she is not providing anything that you have not paid for as a Suite occupant.

<snip>

 

Thank you for that.

 

gary

[crew mom]

...... That's 18,800 per month in just tips (give or take, even if it were off by 50%, it's still 9k per month in tips.......

 

If this were the case, DS would apply for that position in a heartbeat!

 

Unfortunately, the Concierge doesn't earn that amount of money each week. They rely on tips as the greater portion of their wages. Many people never use their services so they don't tip and many who do use their services don't tip either. So while your Concierge had 47 rooms to service, not all 47 staterooms used his services or tipped him.

 

.....US citizens working on ships used to benefit from the same approach, but I think that it's now different for them because they've been included in the US policy of taxing all US citizens worldwide, irrespective of where they live.

DS does not pay State taxes for a couple of reasons. Since his W-2 comes from Miami, where there is no state income tax, none is taken out. While he has a Ca drivers license and this is his "home address" he doesn't reside in CA for more than 1/2 the year (Last year he was in Ca about 5 weeks all year) and doesn't earn over $400 in Ca. so does not need to pay Ca. taxes.

 

However, DS does pay Federal Taxes. After perusing the laws and talking to the IRS he earns the $ from a US company and must pay US Federal taxes.

If someone out there is a tax expert and knows of an exclusion to paying Federal taxes we would love to know about it! (Legal ways, of course!)

[DMH15]

There is a category of perks, such as VIP tendering and advance disembarkation, that are part of the Suites "package". These may come to your attention through the Concierge's office, but in such instances, he/she is not providing anything that you have not paid for as a Suite occupant.

The Concierge earns gratuities for services you require that are not part of your Suite amenities such as the free bottle of champagne and so forth. Making your restaurant reservations for you is probably the most common example of a 'requested' service, and is genuinely valuable if you're trying to book a table at the last minute in Cagney's

I tip the Concierge generously when he/she handles a situation for me that's more complex than routine dinner reservations, or if he/she provides useful advice in response to a question. It's this latter item -- soliciting advice -- that is of the greatest value, but so often overlooked or forgotten when computing the Concierge's tip at the end of a cruise.

 

Absolutely, agree with the concierge being an invaluable tool for advice. Karin G. on the Sun was fantastic! She was able to find out all sorts of information for us as to Catholic Churches in our two Sunday ports and the mass times. If we'd waited to do this ourselves after disembarking it would been a hassle. Also, she gave us perfect advice, about which excursion to take between disembarkation and the airport (there wer several hours to kill). It worked out great! There weer other examples, but these should suffice.