Appropriate tip for Concierge?

[yogimax]

For me, it's much more important to tip the bartenders/waiters.

 

In the course of the evening, we will see them multiple times. On some cruises, the concierge has sat behind his computer all evening and never said "boo" to the guests. I will say this has improved recently.

 

Having said that, if the concierge is friendly and intermingles, I think a $20 tip would be more than adequate. Again, I would rather give the $$$ to the bartenders.

 

As an aside, only once have I seen anyone tip with each drink. The norm is certainly to tip at the end of cruise... and PLEASE, PLEASE don't stiff the staff by not showing up or sneaking out!

[marci22]

I have seen people tip for each round, and I have done it myself. They don't care when they get the money so long as they get it.

[alfaeric]

Thank you all for your "tips" regarding tips in the Concierge Lounge. They've been very helpful!

 

+1. We are new at this, too. sometimes never really know what is appropriate...

[grand isle joe]

Last time we cruised on the Freedom we threw Willey a "C" note. He's O.K.

[stones902]

Again, it depends on the service. My wife and I enjoy drinks in the CL every night on a 7 day cruise. Depending on how much we use the Concierge services, I'll throw them anywhere from $50 - $100. If we have a favorite bar waiter who sees to our drinks nightly, I might slip them a $50. The other guy if friendly maybe a $20? It is really subjective depending on the vibe in the room and if they staff is really friendly or not.

 

I should add that we tip at the end of our trip. If we are doing a b2b I'll tip at the end of each leg.

[teajak]

I have not ever and probably will not ever gain access to the Concierge. While I know risk getting flamed and am donning my flame suit as I type this, 50.00 seems awful steep for a tip.

 

Please dont get me wrong. Im all about tipping the staff but why does the Concierge that may or may not do anything for you deserve a lot more gratuity than your cabin attendant and waiters who work their butts off for you daily?

 

Also, isnt the Concierge a salary position? And a very decent salary at that?

 

Again, Im just curious here :confused:

We have been on the Oasis twice and the concierge did nothing but sit behind the desk and say hello as we walked in,small tip.On the Freedom he did a lot ,knew our names after first night, made sure everything was running right,better tip, but would not tip the concierge $50.00 as we seldom use their services.We tip the waiters each night at happy hour as they sometimes move them around and they don't stay the entire week,usually $5.00 a night for the 2 of us.

[SHICHIDAN]

We tip 25.00 for every party in our group that goes into the CL anytime during the week.

[PSCruiser]

I usually think I have no problem with who and how much to tip, for example, I would always want to be sure that the waiters providing the "free" drinks in the CL are tipped as well or better than if they had been serving those drinks in another venue.

That said, I'm the type that might have 30 seconds of chit chat with the concierge over the course of a week, and it often appears that the drink-prep "work" etc. of the CL is being done by underlings. It just doesn't seem natural to me to provide a significant tip.

I know I'll see responses that say that the concierges have had their salary cut - is this something I'm supposed to be aware of and fix? Also, on most RC ships I'll now be seeing both a CL and DL person - do you tip them both?

However, most puzzling is determining what "type" of crew member does not need to be tipped. For example, I might think that a member of the activities staff, maybe the girl that ran a great trivia game every day, really enhanced the enjoyment of my cruise, yet do I tip? as she was "just doing what she was hired to do".

Sort of rambling with this, but trying to get at people's perception of where tipping starts and stops, as I have a tough time understanding why the concierge is a special situation where substantial tipping occurs just for "being there".

[EmJakeBubbie]

with the now-mandatory ServiceFees (a.k.a. Tipping), everyone RCI wants to be compensated, will be, via my stateroom "on board charges". The Concierge Lounge is special, above and beyond. It is normal for those who frequent the CL to extend a monetary thank you and when to do this depends on your respect for their services. If they go above and beyond for something really important, that could be the time to extend money (gratuity). If you just go in and out and rather much are unobtrusive to requiring any attention, a $20 in an envelope, last night (or your last visit) is fairly normal. Not unusual for some to tip as much as $50, even more....and some only give $10 and some do nothing. There are no guidelines and the CL is for "loyalty" or spending the big bucks for a Suite. We just like to hang out in there for the social chit chat and consume little to nothing that is offered. $10 is appropriate - $20 if we are more "needy" -

Everybody has a different approach to tipping.:rolleyes:

[Beth C]

So lets do some math...

 

Lets say 300 people have access to the CL (random number but sounds good)

and say 150 of those people actually tip the concierge

and that tip is $25/week

 

$3750/week

 

and that concierge works ummm 30 weeks/year (random again)

 

$112,500/year

 

I wanna be a Royal Caribbean concierge!!

[yogimax]

So lets do some math...

 

Lets say 300 people have access to the CL (random number but sounds good)

and say 150 of those people actually tip the concierge

and that tip is $25/week

 

$3750/week

 

and that concierge works ummm 30 weeks/year (random again)

 

$112,500/year

 

I wanna be a Royal Caribbean concierge!!

 

Nice in theory, but...

 

1. Some will never set foot in the CL

2. Some will go there but tip a minimal amount

3. Some will go there and not tip at all (think of the Europeans)

 

I would also think your basic 300 number is way too high

[Paul65]

So lets do some math...

 

Lets say 300 people have access to the CL (random number but sounds good)

and say 150 of those people actually tip the concierge

and that tip is $25/week

 

$3750/week

 

and that concierge works ummm 30 weeks/year (random again)

 

$112,500/year

 

I wanna be a Royal Caribbean concierge!!

 

Let's say 100 people have access (random number but sounds good) and say 40 of those people actually tip the concierge, and that tip averages $10/week:

 

$400/week

 

and that concierge works 30 weeks/year (random again)

 

$12,000/year

 

You can make the numbers whatever you want, if you're just guessing. ;)

[Debde]

I know I'll see responses that say that the concierges have had their salary cut - is this something I'm supposed to be aware of and fix? Also, on most RC ships I'll now be seeing both a CL and DL person - do you tip them both?

However, most puzzling is determining what "type" of crew member does not need to be tipped. For example, I might think that a member of the activities staff, maybe the girl that ran a great trivia game every day, really enhanced the enjoyment of my cruise, yet do I tip? as she was "just doing what she was hired to do".

Sort of rambling with this, but trying to get at people's perception of where tipping starts and stops, as I have a tough time understanding why the concierge is a special situation where substantial tipping occurs just for "being there".

 

I love this post!!!

This is why there are so many tip thread fights here.

No one really knows the inner workings of tips or salary of employees[although many will tell you they do :rolleyes:]

Tipping is a very personal thing. No one here can know your style of cruising so they can not really tell you how to tip because a tip is supposed to be something you give from the heart. Not taking an employee's salary in to consideration. Not listening to cruise critic.

 

I've also had to laugh because many of us think we are tipping but in reality, because Royal gives us a guideline, it's always been the way of them telling us, we don't pay enough salary so you must tip this amount to pay the salary we don't!!

 

To me, if you use the services of a concierge, be it on land or sea, you know when they are going above and beyond duties. Most already know, be it a resort, hotel or cruise, if you use a concierge and they go above the call, a tip is the right thing to do. To be honest, you should not have to ask what to tip. You should just give what YOU think is appropriate.

 

No guidlines are given by Royal as to what to tip the concierge so the masses are confused!!;) they are used to being told what to tip!!:eek:

[ShakyBeef]

although I rarely saw anyone tip each night, those that did tended to be ones that had no intention of coming back on the last night...

 

 

...As an aside, only once have I seen anyone tip with each drink...

 

 

This surprises me. Is it considered odd to tip with each drink in addition to tipping at the end of the cruise?

 

DH and I always tip cash with each drink whether the drinks are free (as at the Past Guest Party on Carnival) or not. The same we would do at events on land that have open bars. When ordering drinks that already have the 15% gratuity added onto the charge, we still give a dollar to three cash along with it. Doing so with our free drinks in the CL would in no way mean we were planning on skipping out on tipping at the end of the cruise, also.

 

Please don't assume that those you see tipping with each drink don't also tip at the end of the cruise. And, BTW, we leave our auto-tips in place and tip cash in addition to that to our MDR waitstaff and room stewards at the end, too.;)

[spookwife]

So, he made a reservation for you, wasted paper by printing out your bill daily, allowed you to look at the dining room menu, battled some unrepaired maintenance items with the CL, and was friendly and chit-chatted with you and others, despite the fact that he had fever/flu.

 

That actually sounds pretty bad. Sounds like he tried hard, but if the regular concierge on our cruise has a fever, I hope he will not be interacting with the guests.

 

well since I ASKED HIM to provide the daily sheet of paper I guess I should be the one blamed for wasting it. not Reyno.

 

and the DOCTOR cleared him to work( and FTR the same cruise our assistant waiter was benched by the doctor for the exact same creeping crud that was going around the crew ) Not like he was walking around breathing or sneezing on everyone or locking lips with the passengers.

 

and considering so many people have bitched that the Concierge in the CL is snooty and ignores everyone not in a suite, I would have thought it was refreshing to see that Reyno paid equal attention to everyone regardless of their accommodations.

 

I am sorry you don't seem to think this was worthy of a generous tip, but since it wasn't your money, It's not your place to say how bad it was or how much it was worth.

[seashells]

We tip the concierge each time he accomplishes, something we ask him/her to do for us.

 

So it's a go along sorta thing. NOT just at the end of the cruise.

 

It has always worked for us, so we continue to do it this way.

 

We have been invited to many behind the scenes and never even asked for them.

 

If we are really happy about the service of any employee on the ship, we write a thank you note at the end of the cruise, along with the tips.

[Debde]

This surprises me. Is it considered odd to tip with each drink in addition to tipping at the end of the cruise?

 

DH and I always tip cash with each drink whether the drinks are free (as at the Past Guest Party on Carnival) or not. The same we would do at events on land that have open bars. When ordering drinks that already have the 15% gratuity added onto the charge, we still give a dollar to three cash along with it. Doing so with our free drinks in the CL would in no way mean we were planning on skipping out on tipping at the end of the cruise, also.

 

Please don't assume that those you see tipping with each drink don't also tip at the end of the cruise. And, BTW, we leave our auto-tips in place and tip cash in addition to that to our MDR waitstaff and room stewards at the end, too.;)

 

There are many that post here that assume a lot. :rolleyes: If you do not show up on the last night in the MDR-you are called out as stiffing. When in reality, they have no idea if those folks already pre-payed or could of easily tipped the night prior knowing they were not showing up to the MDR on the last night. It's guilty befor proven innocent around here sometimes!!:p:)

[stones902]

I have had conversations with Concierges and Bar Staff in the CL on cruises about that assignment. It is considered a desired assignment (the last CL I spoke with came from Guest Services) because of tip potential. Negatives of the job are demanding and rude passengers who view the Concierge as their personal servant for the week.

 

No doubt, a Concierge and Bar staff can do pretty well financially with good service and a little personality in the CL. My view is that those of us who cruise enough to have CL privileges or book larger suites are probably obligated to tip the staff of the CL based on the amount / quality of service they provide. It seems the amounts one tips are all over the board.

[karena1]

For a week cruise - if a good conceirge we normally tip $20 at the end of the week and $10 per bar server (also a few bucks here and there during the week) that have taken care of us. We have had some Conceirge's that don't even talk to us the entire week. On our last Liberty 4 nighter he came around every night to talk to us, so tipped him more.

[ggroup]

Used the diamond lounge every night on our last 7 day. The two waiters were superb, tipped each $150 and the diamond concierge only $50 since we did not request much (if anything from her). This was for our extended diamond family of 8, six of which were old enought to drink alcohol.

[cruisegirl1]

Don't know if this is right or wrong, good or bad but......we do not use the lounge every night ( maybe 4 nights on a 7 night cruise) and if we do, it is likely just for one drink each. We give a tip to the bar server at that time( $1-$2 per drink) . We give a tip to the concierge at the end of the cruise, as a general "thank you" and perhaps a bit more if we actually ask him/her for any services.

 

M

[yogimax]

We have been on the Oasis twice and the concierge did nothing but sit behind the desk and say hello as we walked in

 

Ricardo?

[beachnative]

So lets do some math...

 

Lets say 300 people have access to the CL (random number but sounds good)

and say 150 of those people actually tip the concierge

and that tip is $25/week

 

$3750/week

 

and that concierge works ummm 30 weeks/year (random again)

 

$112,500/year

 

I wanna be a Royal Caribbean concierge!!

 

300....BWHAHAHAHA...that is too funny and shows a lack of knowledge of the size of Concierge Lounges.:D My favorite Concierge Lounge seats 34 people. The CL on the Oasis/Allure would be very hard pressed to accommodate 300.

[Paul65]

I am sorry you don't seem to think this was worthy of a generous tip, but since it wasn't your money, It's not your place to say how bad it was or how much it was worth.

 

You didn't say how much you tipped, nor did I say how much I thought it was worth. I was just surprised that your list of things that he did seemed pretty odd. (I would have expected maintenance to fix issues with windows and doors, for example, rather than a concierge having to spend time trying to deal with that stuff. Didn't really sound like a plus for the concierge or the passengers in the lounge.) And, if someone really is running a fever, I don't think the doctor should clear him to work, especially if his job involves direct contact with passengers.

 

That's just me, but nowhere did I tell you how much you should have tipped. :cool:

[katiel53]

We tip the bartenders the equivalent of what a tip would be on a normal drink, ie if a scotch and soda were $7 plus tip, the tip would be $1.05. We usually have 2 or 3 drinks an evening. At the end of the week we tip the amount that we would have tipped for the drinks had we had them in a bar.

 

We also tip the Concierge depending on what he has done for us. Even though we are Diamond Plus, we usually go to the Diamond Lounge and especially on Freedom of the Seas, the Concierge has, at times, made our nightly drinks.

 

We have rarely asked the Concierge to do much for us other than give us the ice show tickets as an example or make reservations for Portofino if we decide to go a second night as usually we make reservations for one night ahead of time.

 

A regular tip to the Concierge, if he's not making a lot of our drinks is $30 and if he does, we increase his tip.

 

Having said all the above, we did have one Concierge who sat behind his desk the whole time and seemed to be angry that he was in the Diamond Lounge and not in the Concierge Lounge so he only got $20 from us as he did nothing, and I mean nothing.