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Method of payment for additional tips for butler/concierge?


lilli

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We are new to ncl and sailing the ncl jade from rome in November and are in a suite. Would prefer not to carry a large sum of cash so just verifying that it is appropriate to add gratuity to our ship account or is it expected to use cash?

Also we have been "upgraded" to the haven and wondering about courtyard butlers, etc...anyone with tipping guidelines for them?

Thanks!

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We are new to ncl and sailing the ncl jade from rome in November and are in a suite. Would prefer not to carry a large sum of cash so just verifying that it is appropriate to add gratuity to our ship account or is it expected to use cash?

Also we have been "upgraded" to the haven and wondering about courtyard butlers, etc...anyone with tipping guidelines for them?

Thanks!

 

You can go the guest relations and have it charged to your account, no problem. Just tell them the amount and recipient.

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We are new to ncl and sailing the ncl jade from rome in November and are in a suite. Would prefer not to carry a large sum of cash so just verifying that it is appropriate to add gratuity to our ship account or is it expected to use cash?

Also we have been "upgraded" to the haven and wondering about courtyard butlers, etc...anyone with tipping guidelines for them?

Thanks!

 

In the Haven, you may want to tip your Butler, the Courtyard Valet, the Courtyard Attendant, the Concierge and your Room Steward as you feel appropriate for services rendered. I believe the Room Steward is covered by the DSC, but I always tip the Haven Steward extra.

 

There are 1000s of threads that discuss tipping so I will leave it to you to research it.

 

I always put my tips on my account and avoid using cash.

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You can go the guest relations and have it charged to your account, no problem. Just tell them the amount and recipient.

 

Yes, totally recommend this! It is very easy, and you can avoid having to pull and carry cash.

 

When you go to guest relations, be sure to have the correct name of the person you want to tip. They will pull up their information on their computer, and sometimes they will show you the screen to see if the picture matches the person you want to tip.

 

They will give you a copy of the receipt which you can present to the person being tipped, as a personal thank you.

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Yes, totally recommend this! It is very easy, and you can avoid having to pull and carry cash.

 

When you go to guest relations, be sure to have the correct name of the person you want to tip. They will pull up their information on their computer, and sometimes they will show you the screen to see if the picture matches the person you want to tip.

 

They will give you a copy of the receipt which you can present to the person being tipped, as a personal thank you.

Good to know!

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Yes, totally recommend this! It is very easy, and you can avoid having to pull and carry cash.

 

When you go to guest relations, be sure to have the correct name of the person you want to tip. They will pull up their information on their computer, and sometimes they will show you the screen to see if the picture matches the person you want to tip.

 

They will give you a copy of the receipt which you can present to the person being tipped, as a personal thank you.

 

Thanks for the info. Was going to use cash but the way you describe it you can assure the tip goes to appropriate person.

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Great info here! Very happy to see that I can add butler/concierge tips to my on-board account instead of scrambling for cash the last night. :) And putting the receipt from guest services in a little card is a great idea. Thanks all - I learned something new today!

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My first time...what do the Courtyard Valet and the Courtyard Assistant do (for me)....So I am up with the program...Thx.

 

The Courtyard Valet handles all the food and drink related activity in the Courtyard. You can have your breakfast and lunch their if you prefer. My wife and I do.

 

The Courtyard Attendant handles setting up the chairs, loungers and the upper sun deck. He was especially helpful when my wife used the exercise machinery and got her towels and water. He found out her sunning preference on the upper sun deck and made sure to set up the lounger and umbrellas every day as she liked it.

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Great info here! Very happy to see that I can add butler/concierge tips to my on-board account instead of scrambling for cash the last night. :) And putting the receipt from guest services in a little card is a great idea. Thanks all - I learned something new today!

 

I always bring thank you cards to write a short note and enclose the receipt for their tip. Works well to use OBC too! :)

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The Courtyard Valet handles all the food and drink related activity in the Courtyard. You can have your breakfast and lunch their if you prefer. My wife and I do.

 

The Courtyard Attendant handles setting up the chairs, loungers and the upper sun deck. He was especially helpful when my wife used the exercise machinery and got her towels and water. He found out her sunning preference on the upper sun deck and made sure to set up the lounger and umbrellas every day as she liked it.

 

Thank you. I've read that with this phone that I am given that I can ring someone up for a cocktail...are these the ones that I am conencted to while in the Haven?

 

Thanks so much in advance for your expertise. :)

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Thank you. I've read that with this phone that I am given that I can ring someone up for a cocktail...are these the ones that I am conencted to while in the Haven?

 

Thanks so much in advance for your expertise. :)

 

The phones will connect you with anyone on the ship. You just need their phone number. The Butler and Concierge will likely give you their phone number on the first day.

 

The butler handles all things in your cabin - drinks, meals, coffee machine interaction, glass wear, etc.

 

The Courtyard Valet will handle drinks and food outside your room in the Courtyard. He/She will be in the Courtyard throughout the day.

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The phones will connect you with anyone on the ship. You just need their phone number. The Butler and Concierge will likely give you their phone number on the first day.

 

The butler handles all things in your cabin - drinks, meals, coffee machine interaction, glass wear, etc.

 

The Courtyard Valet will handle drinks and food outside your room in the Courtyard. He/She will be in the Courtyard throughout the day.

 

Wow. Sounds like there are enough staff to pamper me!

 

Much appreciated. Very much appreciated. :)

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My personal opinion, tip in cash. All service personal prefer cash. As someone mentioned earlier, cash is king. Bring the thank you cards if you want to, but tip in cash. Btw, the concierge will have NCL envelopes to put tips in if you prefer to tip more discretely and forget or don't bring thank you cards.

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In the Haven, you may want to tip your Butler, the Courtyard Valet, the Courtyard Attendant, the Concierge and your Room Steward as you feel appropriate for services rendered. I believe the Room Steward is covered by the DSC, but I always tip the Haven Steward extra.

 

There are 1000s of threads that discuss tipping so I will leave it to you to research it.

 

I always put my tips on my account and avoid using cash.

 

Ok --so how many people are there to tip?!?!

Butler, concierge, courtyard valet, courtyard attendant, haven steward, room steward??

 

Our cruise is in the Mediterranean and will be a 2 week trip--not wanting to travel with a large amount of US $$--we will be getting euros via atm. Is it appropriate to tip in euros as well?

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My personal opinion, tip in cash. All service personal prefer cash. As someone mentioned earlier, cash is king. Bring the thank you cards if you want to, but tip in cash. Btw, the concierge will have NCL envelopes to put tips in if you prefer to tip more discretely and forget or don't bring thank you cards.

 

I am not so sure the above statement is true, as least insofar as the cruise ship employees are concerned.

 

The daily service charge is probably credited to the employee's onboard account each cruise, and any extra trips from passengers can be as well, as has been discussed here. This saves the employees, who are from foreign countries and thousands of miles away from their homes (and possibly their banks as well, if they even have one), the hassle of having to deal with large amounts of cash.

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I am not so sure the above statement is true, as least insofar as the cruise ship employees are concerned.

 

The daily service charge is probably credited to the employee's onboard account each cruise, and any extra trips from passengers can be as well, as has been discussed here. This saves the employees, who are from foreign countries and thousands of miles away from their homes (and possibly their banks as well, if they even have one), the hassle of having to deal with large amounts of cash.

Right, but if you don't give cash, how can you be 100% sure they really get the entire tip?

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