tipping question

[makella Jewel]

We have booked a courtyard villa in Oct. on the Jewel.

 

I read somewhere standard tipping for the butler was $5.00 a day and this could be done at the end of the cruise.

 

Regarding the Concierge do you tip when they make make arragements for you as you do in a hotel, or do you tip at the end of the cruise? Also I would like to know what the stardard is for tipping a Concierge on ships. Or examples of what members have tipped for services renderded by the Concierge.

 

Thanks so much in advance!

Barbara

[shoreguy]

We have booked a courtyard villa in Oct. on the Jewel.

 

I read somewhere standard tipping for the butler was $5.00 a day and this could be done at the end of the cruise.

 

Regarding the Concierge do you tip when they make make arragements for you as you do in a hotel, or do you tip at the end of the cruise? Also I would like to know what the stardard is for tipping a Concierge on ships. Or examples of what members have tipped for services renderded by the Concierge.

 

Thanks so much in advance!

Barbara

 

Not sure were you read $5 a day for the butler. Standard room service would earn that much. The tip is dependent on how much you use the butler or the Concierge.

 

I have seen tips for the butler from $50 for seven days to 100s of dollars. The least I have left is $100. You may want to do a search on Butler and see what others have done.

 

Having someone that will serve at a party , serve you breakfast, lunch, or dinner is worth more then $5 a day.

[BarbCT605]

I have the same question --

 

Also, I remember reading somewhere in these boards that we could leave an envelope for the concierge at a desk. Was it the Reception Desk?

 

Sorry if this question is a repeat, but I couldn't find the answer by searching.

 

Thanks.

[Cosmopolitan]

Not sure were you read $5 a day for the butler. Standard room service would earn that much. The tip is dependent on how much you use the butler or the Concierge.

 

I have seen tips for the butler from $50 for seven days to 100s of dollars. The least I have left is $100. You may want to do a search on Butler and see what others have done.

 

Having someone that will serve at a party , serve you breakfast, lunch, or dinner is worth more then $5 a day.

 

First of all, how many people will the butler be serving? In a Garden Villa, I'm sure it will be several people. We normally allow $20 per day for 2 people (min. $10 per day pp) and if we have them do anything "extra" we add more.

 

Your butler is on call 24 hrs. per day.

 

I would follow "Shoreguys" advice and do a search.

[BarbCT605]

I'm OK with the Butler -- what's the tipping range for the Concierge?

[Cosmopolitan]

I have the same question --

 

Also, I remember reading somewhere in these boards that we could leave an envelope for the concierge at a desk. Was it the Reception Desk?

 

Sorry if this question is a repeat, but I couldn't find the answer by searching.

 

Thanks.

 

We normally tip our concierge $10 per reservation/tender tickets/etc., that he/she provides.

 

We write a note and enclose the tip and hand it to him/her when he/she escorts us off of the ship. Concierge also has an office (on the Dawn) behind the reception area on you way toward Pearly King's Pub.

[BarbCT605]

Thanks, Cosmo! That's just what I was looking for!

[Cosmopolitan]

Thanks, Cosmo! That's just what I was looking for!

 

You're welcome!

 

You are going to LOVE the Dawn!

 

Have a wonderful time:)

[makella Jewel]

Not sure were you read $5 a day for the butler. Standard room service would earn that much. The tip is dependent on how much you use the butler or the Concierge.

 

I have seen tips for the butler from $50 for seven days to 100s of dollars. The least I have left is $100. You may want to do a search on Butler and see what others have done.

 

Having someone that will serve at a party , serve you breakfast, lunch, or dinner is worth more then $5 a day.

 

Thanks so much!

 

We are a party of two in a courtyard villa.(not the Garden Villa)

 

I'm really confused now. I knew we probably should pay a butler additional tips...however I'm more confused now.

 

 

On other cruises we had tipped the room steward $3.00-$4.00 per day and equal amounts to the waiter.(paying more when we felt service was over and above) (This was on cruises where $10.00 per day per person had not automatically been added as it is on NCL.)

 

 

From the NCL web page:

How much should I tip?

Traditionally, gratuities for all the service you experienced aboard an NCL ship were paid at the end of the cruise. This often led to a last-night scramble as guests tried to find the correct amount of cash to place in each tip envelope. For your convenience, NCL now automatically applies a service charge to your shipboard account: $10 per guest per day for guests age 13 and above, $5 per day for children age 3-12 and no charge for children under the age of three. All of the service personnel on board receive gratuities from this service charge and there is no need for you to think about additional tipping. Separately, a 15% gratuity is included in bar tabs and spa services.

 

 

 

More questions:

Does the butler also serve as our room steward? And is he not paid anything from the service charge added on to our account?

 

Should we be looking at say $150.00 per person at the end of the cruise(10 day) for the butler and pay additional for meals served?

 

My question came from searching other cruise lines rec. tipping for butlers. For instance Crystal (on which we have sailed before)..which is Luxury line... suggestion is:

 

Tipping:

Crystal's suggested guidelines, per person per day, are $4.00 for stateroom stewardess and waiter; $2.50 for assistant waiter; $4.00 for the butler (Penthouse only). These gratuities may be charged to your shipboard account.(but they do not automatically add surcharge of $10.00 per day per person)

And of course people normally give extra tips when food is served from the butler)

 

 

Thank you so much Cosmo for answering my question about tipping the concierge, you answered that question and the tip for them seemed reasonable.

 

Thank you,

Barbara

[shoreguy]

Thanks so much!

 

We are a party of two in a courtyard villa.(not the Garden Villa)

 

I'm really confused now. I knew we probably should pay a butler additional tips...however I'm more confused now.

 

 

On other cruises we had tipped the room steward $3.00-$4.00 per day and equal amounts to the waiter.(paying more when we felt service was over and above) (This was on cruises where $10.00 per day per person had not automatically been added as it is on NCL.)

 

 

From the NCL web page:

How much should I tip?

Traditionally, gratuities for all the service you experienced aboard an NCL ship were paid at the end of the cruise. This often led to a last-night scramble as guests tried to find the correct amount of cash to place in each tip envelope. For your convenience, NCL now automatically applies a service charge to your shipboard account: $10 per guest per day for guests age 13 and above, $5 per day for children age 3-12 and no charge for children under the age of three. All of the service personnel on board receive gratuities from this service charge and there is no need for you to think about additional tipping. Separately, a 15% gratuity is included in bar tabs and spa services.

 

 

 

More questions:

Does the butler also serve as our room steward? And is he not paid anything from the service charge added on to our account?

 

Should we be looking at say $150.00 per person at the end of the cruise(10 day) for the butler and pay additional for meals served?

 

My question came from searching other cruise lines rec. tipping for butlers. For instance Crystal (on which we have sailed before)..which is Luxury line... suggestion is:

 

Tipping:

Crystal's suggested guidelines, per person per day, are $4.00 for stateroom stewardess and waiter; $2.50 for assistant waiter; $4.00 for the butler (Penthouse only). These gratuities may be charged to your shipboard account.(but they do not automatically add surcharge of $10.00 per day per person)

And of course people normally give extra tips when food is served from the butler)

 

 

Thank you so much Cosmo for answering my question about tipping the concierge, you answered that question and the tip for them seemed reasonable.

 

Thank you,

Barbara

 

You will still have all of the above including your room stewards. From NCL.com "Similarly, for guests using concierge and butler services, we recommend they consider offering a gratuity commensurate with services rendered. "

 

In other words that is up to you. NCL charges $10 per day for the cheapest inside to the Garden Villa. If you feel the service you get in the courtyard villa is better then a deck 4 inside tip accordingly. Much easier to take care of an single inside room then the 3 rooms of a courtyard villa.

 

Point of reference if you had dinners for $600 per person a week what would the tip be. On the other hand if you had diners for a week at $3000 per person what would the tip be. Your call :rolleyes:

[Suesan Jean]

:) Hi! Last month we (my DH, DD and I) were on the Dawn in an AB Penthouse. When it came time to tip our Butler at the end of the cruise I was concerned about giving to much or to little. I just figured out as best I could and left an amount. I did use the example that Shoreguy gave, if you were dining out, what would you leave...

 

That said, we left our Butler, $140.00. I will break it down for you:1. She brought us Breakfast every day (6 days), 2. She delivered goodies to new friends I made (3x), 3. She brought lunch to my DD (4x), 4. She brought my DD snacks (4x), 5. We ordered things NOT on the Breakfast menu (Eggs Benedict, Waffles, Pancakes, individualized Omelettes, etc... and she brought EVERYTHING!!) 6. She brought my DD specialized "goodies" like chocolate covered Strawberries and Bananas, 7. She got DVD's for my DH to watch, 8. She made sure whatever we said needed fixing in the cabin, WAS fixed, usually immediately and 9. And all the "goodies"(like the chocolate covered strawberries and Bannas, they cost extra) were "gratis" (sp?), if you know what I mean.....

 

Our Butler was WONDERFULL!!! We hope she will be our Butler next year on the Dawn too... We also tipped our two room stewards a little something extra. I think I gave them each an extra $30.00. We ALWAYS had plenty of towels, plenty of fruit, and fresh bath stuff. On NCL the room stewards are part of the tipping pool that you pay the extra $10.00 a day per person, the Butlers are NOT. Plus, they were so nice, they remembered our names for the six days of our cruise, THAT surprised me....

 

It really is what you feel comfortable with and HOW MUCH you work your Butler. You will also get a cordless phone in your cabin, it was really great to have it. We could call her to bring stuff (when we were ANYWHERE on the ship) we could call my DD when she stayed in the cabin, we used our Butler every morning as our "wake -up-call", we had a set time for Breakfast (7:30a.m.), she would call like 5 minutes or less before she brought the food in. Any meals your Butler brings, she will put a white tablecloth on the table, fine china and silverware, it is very nice, and you can still be in your night clothes!!

 

You might even have some dinners brought to your cabin, those "Courtyard Villas" sound SOOOOOO NICE!!! LUCKY YOU!!!! I KNOW you will have a FABULOUS cruise!!!

 

Suesan:)

[Cosmopolitan]

Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure that you can't do it wrong!

I read everything on these boards before our first cruise. "shoreguy" is full of great information - you can't go wrong following his leads.

 

We seem to get really attached to our butler. They see you at your worst and best. They will, literally, wait on you hand and foot.

 

As I said, we tip our consierge according to how much we use him/her.

 

Last year, we had great room stewards.

This year we had excellent room stewards. The kindest, sweetest people one could ever meet.

 

We just allow EXTRA money to over-tip - we set it aside at the onset of the trip. At the end of the trip, we decide who to tip what.

 

You will know after 2 days on the ship how your tips are leaning. Follow your instincts.

 

You are taking a cruise to relax and enjoy it.

 

Don't worry about it! It all turns out fine :)

[makella Jewel]

Thanks so much again for great information from everyone.

 

We are celebrating our 20th anniversary and my husband wanted to book this special cat. for us.

 

This is not our first cruise. We took our first on a Celebrity (2 on Cele). We have cruised on Royal Caribbean (2) , Princess (2), Holland (1), and Crystal (1) . In Oct. of this year I took my niece's on a Disney Cruise. (their Christmas presents)

 

 

I did call our cruise specialties and found that NCL does suggest $10.00 per day for the butler(PP) which can be paid in advance or directly to the butler at the conclusion of the trip. (She gave me a direct number to call a rep. at NCL where I was told the same thing.)

 

My cruise specialists did tell me when you pay for a higher cat, you pay for special amenities.

How one tips is not according to the cat. they pay for and cannot be determined by the price they paid for the cruise, same as when you book a cat. in a 5 star hotel room. Tips are at ones desecration on NCL. Only suggestions are made.

 

I'm glad to know that tipping cannot be compared to the price you pay for the cruise and in comparison to a percentage you pay on a high priced Dinner.

 

I like to know approx. what I'm looking at for tips. My husband usually goes beyond suggestions. (but we like to prepare a budget also)

 

My main question had to do with the concierge (to tip before, during or at the end) . Doesn't really seem to make that much difference from the answers I've gotten here, however I received some great suggestions.

 

Thanks to All and happy cruising!

Barbara

 

Thanks again to everyone.

Barbara