Tipping the Concierge?

[Poorplaya]

Thank you everyone for the info on this thread, my wife and I will be cruising in a suite for the first time and have never had a concierge, so knowing some of the things to look for and think of when it comes to tipping is very nice to know. I am definitely one that tips based on service received, not because of a role or title. Thank you again everyone for the helpful tips and info.

[Morecruisesplz]

as for the drink staff it was a $1 a drink, so basically $2 each time my DH and I got a drink.

 

We follow this same policy. When we first made Diamond we would wait until the end of the cruise to tip drink staff just like we did MDR wait staff, etc. (When that was still a choice.) But we noticed, as Parramatta did that those who tipped by the drink were getting service. We sat with an older couple one night who had something a gazillion cruises and he was tipping the $1 per drink way. He said to me "If you never want to have ask for a refill even when this place is full, try tipping this way. These guys are used to being stiffed by so many cruisers that they don't take a chance on everyone showing up the last night to tip. They take care of those who they know are tipping." We take $1.00 bills and get more at guest services as we need them. If we happen to be out we'll tip a $5.00 planning to keep track the next night but we usually just start over. Then the final night we tip each an extra amount.

[yogimax]

The Concierge is not an officer. ( I think) ??

 

I have never seen a tip bowl in the Concierge Lounge either??

 

 

As far as I know, the concierge is part of the Guest Services staff.

 

I, as well, have NEVER seen a tip jar in either the Concierge or Diamond lounge.

[lex_n_saph]

The Concierge is not an officer. ( I think) ??

 

They usually are (hotel) officers aboard ship, as they have supervisory and management duties. See: http://www.gijobs.com/concierge-norwegian-cruise-line.aspx

“The position itself is an officer’s, so I’ve got managerial duties,” Anderson explained. Everyone has Merchant Marine-type training, analogous to the military situation, “where everyone has two jobs. The amount of detail to keep up with in this job keeps me fully engaged. That’s hard to find in the civilian world."

[Baded]

I would also love to hear from others - something other than "it's a personal decision." For the two of us, we have tipped everywhere from $0 to $50. I would like to know if we are at least in the ballpark of acceptability. $0 for the concierge that did nothing, including not bothering to learn our names.

 

 

Jane (from the duo Dick and Jane)

Chicago, Illinois

 

I know what you mean my last cruise on the Allure when ever we walked into the lounge he looked down quick and not one time even said hello! All we ever got was a recorded message on the phone. The Enchantment concierge did a much better job. :(

[marci22]

$0-50 for a couple for 7 nights. Adjust up or down depending on cruise length and service provided.

 

My guess would be that $50 for the concierge, for a couple, for a week, if the concierge has helped you out a few times, is a "good" tip. $20 is fine. $100 is very generous. $300 means you are that guy in the MDR at lunch with all the waiters and officers chatting around him.

 

Bartenders: $1 per drink average. Extra if warranted. We usually tip each round or each night, rather than at the end.

[Dick and Jane]

I appreciate all the candid feedback here! Thanks!

 

 

Jane (from the duo Dick and Jane)

Chicago, Illinois

[Langley Cruisers]

...The bar waiters... Not sure here, but probably will give them cash near the end of the trip.

 

Excuse me but why would anyone not tip the wait staff in the DL or CL? Sincerely asking. They are assigned there for the week and since the drinks are complimentary (or included), they are not making any money on us at all. I know our 2 servers really appreciated the tip we gave them on the last evening.

[Sam.Seattle]

Excuse me but why would anyone not tip the wait staff in the DL or CL? Sincerely asking. They are assigned there for the week and since the drinks are complimentary (or included), they are not making any money on us at all. I know our 2 servers really appreciated the tip we gave them on the last evening.

Sorry - that is not what I meant. I always tip the wait staff and expect to continue to tip the wait staff. My pondering is over "how" to tip them.

[Langley Cruisers]

Sorry - that is not what I meant. I always tip the wait staff and expect to continue to tip the wait staff. My pondering is over "how" to tip them.

 

Gotcha. :) I realize some people tip every night as they go along; we felt comfortable just putting the cash into envelopes and giving it to them on the last evening when we had a quick moment alone with them. Others were doing it and it was not awkward at all. :)

.

[Missus Makkem]

The Concierge is indeed an Officer and is also part of the Guest Relations team as had been stated.

[Surfguyxxx]

Thank you all for this very informative thread. I too am doing my first suite in about a month on a transatlantic and wondered myself what to give. You always come thru for me.

[Ashland]

Gotcha. :) I realize some people tip every night as they go along; we felt comfortable just putting the cash into envelopes and giving it to them on the last evening when we had a quick moment alone with them. Others were doing it and it was not awkward at all. :)

.

Agree this is also the way we do it too...We don't care to dole out $1.00 bills for each drink...We never have any trouble getting great service from the CL or DL servers..always there with another (or asking if you'd like one) as you finish your drink. We have also seen a glass bowl a few times in the DL (specifically Liberty) that many put their envelopes in the last night but we opt to hand them to them personally and thank them for their wonderful service....however they did indeed we noticed put them into the glass bowl...maybe just how some servers prefer to do it among themselves.

 

Hope you enjoyed your most recent cruise and continue to do well.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Ashland

[Langley Cruisers]

...We never have any trouble getting great service from the CL or DL servers..always there with another (or asking if you'd like one) as you finish your drink....

 

Hope you enjoyed your most recent cruise and continue to do well.

 

Agreed; our two servers in the DL on Serenade were wonderful and attentive.

 

And thank you; we enjoyed our recent B2B on Serenade, very relaxing! We chose to forego the MDR and ate every dinner for 14 nights in the Windjammer - very relaxing and quite wonderful. :) I am doing well, tired, but that's to be expected.

.

[mconthehighseas]

We follow this same policy. When we first made Diamond we would wait until the end of the cruise to tip drink staff just like we did MDR wait staff, etc. (When that was still a choice.) But we noticed, as Parramatta did that those who tipped by the drink were getting service. We sat with an older couple one night who had something a gazillion cruises and he was tipping the $1 per drink way. He said to me "If you never want to have ask for a refill even when this place is full, try tipping this way. These guys are used to being stiffed by so many cruisers that they don't take a chance on everyone showing up the last night to tip. They take care of those who they know are tipping." We take $1.00 bills and get more at guest services as we need them. If we happen to be out we'll tip a $5.00 planning to keep track the next night but we usually just start over. Then the final night we tip each an extra amount.

 

Thank you for this advice!

We have only used a concierge lounge on a different cruiseline, and there was no bar.

 

We did tip in the $50-$100 range for the concierges and you would have thought that we had tipped them 10 times that. I can't speak for Royal Caribbean, but concierges are not officers on the other lines we cruised. They are contracted with the same company as bartenders, etc.

[Allis154]

Wow...this was an education. I am taking my first RC cruise next year in a GS. Figured I would tip the conceirge at the end, and the bar staff too. I thought the whole purpose of the 'cruise card' was that it was so your cruise was 'cashless'...now I have to walk around with a wad of $1-$5 in my pocket to ensure that I get service?

 

I like the idea of an option for an automatic tip for the concierge. I'll have to check into that.

[marci22]

No one has to tip nightly. I have done it end of week, each round, end of the night. Whatever I feel like doing. They don't care, money is money. But I do think that they remember you better if you tip each night.

[SnappyNappi]

DH and I cruised in a Crown Loft Suite on the Oasis - the only time (so far) that we cruised in a full suite where we had access to the CL, and we are lowly Platinum Level, so no DL for us. We were really at a loss when it came to tipping the concierge and the suite attendants. We prepaid our gratuities and when you stay in a suite, you do pay more for your gratuities than in a interior, oceanview or balcony cabin, so some extra is definitely 'built in'. However, we did feel it was necessary to give more to the people who went out of their way to ensure that we had a wonderful cruise experience.

 

We went with our gut and I think we are in alignment with most. We had a wonderful concierge and he had an assistant who was equally friendly. We tipped both of them the last night of our cruse - $75 for the concierge and $25 separately for his assistant. Both were wonderful, remembered our names, greeted us every time we entered and came by our table to check on us many evenings when we were in our our pre-dinner drinks. Very busy, but very friendly. They ran a tight ship in the lounge, it was clean and organized, always fully 'stocked', and the staff all seemed very happy and friendly.

 

We did also tip the bar staff in the concierge lounge each evening. Not by the drink but a extra $5 or so each evening when we were leaving the lounge on our way to dinner.

 

Tipping our Suite Attendant was a totally different story. He was like our personal butler and practically live-in RCCL and Oasis customer service expert. He was AMAZING! He definitely delivered the "WOW" that would be very easy to get used to. We gave him $125 when we were leaving (about $18 per day) - and we felt well worth every cent!

 

BTW - I am happy to read this thread and see that people are honest and forthcoming with the information. While tipping is truly a personal thing, it is reassuring to know what others have done for those deserving.

[Langley Cruisers]

I thought the whole purpose of the 'cruise card' was that it was so your cruise was 'cashless'...now I have to walk around with a wad of $1-$5 in my pocket to ensure that I get service?

 

Of course not. Is that what you got from this thread? No no. You do not have to tip nightly. We didn't; we tipped our servers at the end of the cruise on the last evening. They had been with us all week.

 

They don't care, money is money. But I do think that they remember you better if you tip each night.

 

Mmm... our servers in the DL on Serenade remembered us just fine. :) They were wonderful and attentive.

.

[fsjosh]

This thread has brought up a couple questions for me. Hopefully this isn't hijacking the thread as it's semi on topic. But I am doing my first suite on Allure in November and I have no idea what the concierge does or what we should expect from him. Is he just in the lounge? We are going to do a drink package, so I don't know that we will be using the lounge much, if at all, for the free cocktail hour. Is there another reason to use the lounge that I'm missing? But other than the CL, what normal uses would a guest have for a Concierge?

[marci22]

But I am doing my first suite on Allure in November and I have no idea what the concierge does or what we should expect from him. Is he just in the lounge? We are going to do a drink package, so I don't know that we will be using the lounge much, if at all, for the free cocktail hour. Is there another reason to use the lounge that I'm missing? But other than the CL, what normal uses would a guest have for a Concierge?

 

I use the concierge as a safety/backup. If you have any issues on board, ask the concierge about it before you make the trek to guest services. Often they can take care of it for you. Some concierges are more helpful than others so as usual, ymmv.

[mconthehighseas]

This thread has brought up a couple questions for me. Hopefully this isn't hijacking the thread as it's semi on topic. But I am doing my first suite on Allure in November and I have no idea what the concierge does or what we should expect from him. Is he just in the lounge? We are going to do a drink package, so I don't know that we will be using the lounge much, if at all, for the free cocktail hour. Is there another reason to use the lounge that I'm missing? But other than the CL, what normal uses would a guest have for a Concierge?

 

A concierge can make things happen. If there is a waiting list for an excursion you want, the concierge can get you a reservation. They can get you the appt you want for the salon, make sure you get the time you want for dinner, things like that. At least a good one can. If your ship stops at Labadee, they can also get you a cabana.

 

The Royal Caribbean website lists the things available to you as a "Concierge Club guest" in their FAQs, but I think I hit the highlights.

[Sam.Seattle]

This thread has brought up a couple questions for me. Hopefully this isn't hijacking the thread as it's semi on topic. But I am doing my first suite on Allure in November and I have no idea what the concierge does or what we should expect from him. Is he just in the lounge? We are going to do a drink package, so I don't know that we will be using the lounge much, if at all, for the free cocktail hour. Is there another reason to use the lounge that I'm missing? But other than the CL, what normal uses would a guest have for a Concierge?

The most special thing ever done for us by a Concierge was when traveling in Mediterranean with "Mom" who was recently handicapped and needed to use a scooter. We were having a dilemma finding excursions that did not include a bus because Mom was not sure she could to any stairs. Much to my amazement, the Concierge arranged for a private van for our party of four at every port. He walked us off the ship at each Port and stayed with us until we found the driver. He negotiated the cost and we paid the driver direct. I still have no schema if we were just amazingly lucky or if other Concierges will do the same?? Then we have been on trips were we only found minimal use of the Concierge, but it sure is nice to know they are there if you want something special.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Sam.Seattle

[kccrzr]

The concierge can also get you on tenders. We had two tender ports on our most recent cruise and being able to get on the first tender allowed us much more time in port and saved us a bunch of time waiting in line for what may have been a much higher tender number.

[first_time_dav]

I am confused. We have never been on a cruise before and we are English so are coming from a different culture with regards to tipping.

 

We are pre paying our tips so we don't have the stress of worrying about when to tip, how much to tip, are we tipping enough? We generally only tip in a restaurant (about 10%) and tipping bar staff is something that people don't overly do here.

 

So when you guys are talking about tipping sometimes up to $50, are you not pre paying your tips? I am wondering if you mean you are tipping in cash as well as paying the pre paid rate set by Royal Caribbean?

 

My husband disagrees with the whole principle of tipping and believes that staff should be paid better. So I know he will refuse to tip anyone in cash on board if we have already paid the mandatory tip rate.

 

The whole idea of upsetting the staff and wondering what to do is stressing me out. I don't want to be stressed, I want to relax and not think I'm offending the staff.

 

Any opinions would be welcome. Remember, I said my husband disagrees with tipping, not me.