Haven Tipping

[sjbdtz]

[quote name='fshagan']DSC covers everyone except the butler and concierge.

The butler is, well, the butler. On land, when the doorbell rings, the butler answers the door. On the ship when the doorbell rings, you go and open the door and it's the butler. I had trouble with that at first.

[/QUOTE]


Thank you for this. I literally LoLed. :D


Stephen

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[MisterFidgetpants]

Does the company publish guidelines with suggested amounts?

[cadien]

[quote name='MisterFidgetpants']Does the company publish guidelines with suggested amounts?[/quote]

They do not. That's why there end up being so many threads on the subject.

[phissy]

We will be in a Suite on our upcoming cruise and have all 4 promos from March. We have an OBC of $300 and since everything we normally spend is now gratis, we plan on giving our Butler, concierge and room steward our OBC through credit vouchers from account. Amounts for each to be determined.
Last three cruises, we had either great Butler,or great concierge or great room steward. Never during the same cruise. It would be nice to have at least two out of three be great during a cruise. Maybe this time. ;) happy travels

[DMH15]

[quote name='phissy']We will be in a Suite on our upcoming cruise and have all 4 promos from March. We have an OBC of $300 and since everything we normally spend is now gratis, we plan on giving our Butler, concierge and room steward our OBC through credit vouchers from account. Amounts for each to be determined.

Last three cruises, we had either great Butler,or great concierge or great room steward. Never during the same cruise. It would be nice to have at least two out of three be great during a cruise. Maybe this time. ;) happy travels[/QUOTE]

It really can be magical when that happens. After reading all about the suite life on my first cruise in a suite I had an awesome concierge and room steward but the butler was not good at his job. So much that he left in one port and did not get back on.

Since then we have been lucky. Very lucky.

[cruzincouple_808]

It will be my cost time in the with a Butler & concierge as well in Jan.

Do you tip them everyday? Or do you tip them on the last night of the cruise? I am doing a 7-day.

[NLH Arizona]

[quote name='cruzincouple_808']It will be my cost time in the with a Butler & concierge as well in Jan.

Do you tip them everyday? Or do you tip them on the last night of the cruise? I am doing a 7-day.[/QUOTE]I don't tip everyday, as I prefer to tip on the last day/night of the cruise.

[pixiedust777]

[quote name='vicocala']Changing the subject in my own thread but where is the reserved seating in the theater? I had previously reserved my dining and shows before I got the Haven. Would we be better off just going ourselves?[/QUOTE]

The reserved seating for the Haven on the Epic was the first 5 rows on the far left side of the theatre. It was okay but not worth reserving. We went early to get seats in the Center of the theatre.

[pixiedust777]

[quote name='fshagan']DSC covers everyone except the butler and concierge.

The butler is, well, the butler. On land, when the doorbell rings, the butler answers the door. On the ship when the doorbell rings, you go and open the door and it's the butler. I had trouble with that at first.

The butler will hand any room service orders, make sure the coffee maker is operating, bring you canapes or chocolate covered strawberries each afternoon, etc. The room steward will clean the suite.

The concierge will help you with any reservations you need at shows, dinner, etc.

It's customary to tip the butler and concierge since they are not included in the DSC.[/QUOTE]

Just got off the Epic on Wednesday and were in a lovely Haven Suite.
First time on NCL. Probably the last.
We had a terrible time with our Butler ringing the doorbell and then just entering. After it happened a couple of times my DH had a word with him.
The room steward was no better. The sign indicating do not disturb seemed to not mean a thing.
The concierge was okay at best and several times we had to go back and have things corrected.
It was very difficult at the end of the cruise to leave a tip. We did but not nearly what we have on previous sailings on other lines in similar accommodations.

[vulcan1971]

[quote name='pixiedust777']Just got off the Epic on Wednesday and were in a lovely Haven Suite.

First time on NCL. Probably the last.

We had a terrible time with our Butler ringing the doorbell and then just entering. After it happened a couple of times my DH had a word with him.

The room steward was no better. The sign indicating do not disturb seemed to not mean a thing.

The concierge was okay at best and several times we had to go back and have things corrected.

It was very difficult at the end of the cruise to leave a tip. We did but not nearly what we have on previous sailings on other lines in similar accommodations.[/QUOTE]


Sorry to hear about your experience. Definitely not the norm. If you didn't escalate to guest services or another appropriate level, things like this go unaddressed.


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

[watchdiva]

Pixie...what did the hotel director have to say when you brought these problems to his attention?

[pixiedust777]

[quote name='watchdiva']Pixie...what did the hotel director have to say when you brought these problems to his attention?[/QUOTE]

My DH spoke with him.
He said he received an apology but little else was offered.
They must have been spoken to because neither of them spoke or acknowledged us for the remainder of the cruise.
I did not want to keep harping on it as we were travelling with friends and I was not going to let inexcusable behaviour ruin my cruise.
NCL will just not see me as a repeat customer.

[DMH15]

[quote name='pixiedust777']My DH spoke with him.

He said he received an apology but little else was offered.

They must have been spoken to because neither of them spoke or acknowledged us for the remainder of the cruise.

I did not want to keep harping on it as we were travelling with friends and I was not going to let inexcusable behaviour ruin my cruise.

NCL will just not see me as a repeat customer.[/QUOTE]

I am sorry you feel that way as I posted earlier my first suite butler experience was a disappointment.

So glad subsequent "chances" were great. In April on the Jewel, Hanno (C), Jennifer (B) and Errol (RS) were fantastic !

There is a reason that restaurant critics visit a restaurant twice before publishing a review.

Happy cruising wherever you end up.

[blondie1746]

We always tip the butler, concierge and room steward in the Haven. Always depends on level of service. Our last cruise we did not give the butler as much as usual because the service wasn't as good. But our room steward was great so we tipped him well. and don't forget the Haven courtyard staff. Jon, the courtyard valet, was so nice. I think that's the reason we ate lunch (from Modernos) quite a few times in the courtyard. It was so relaxing. And breakfast once or twice. He took care of us anytime we were in the courtyard.

We always tip well. These people work hard, long hours, away from their families. And we think they deserve it.

[rainy4stu]

We have booked aHaven owners suite for next year on the Jewel and I have spoken to NCL twice and both times I was told that tips for butler and concierge are included in our pre paid tips. Bit confused after reading this thread as to who is right. We usually cruise with Celebrity and end up tipping extra anyway but do like to budget in advance. Is it different for UK bookings? Edited June 6, 2015 by rainy4stu

[fshagan]

[quote name='rainy4stu']We have booked aHaven owners suite for next year on the Jewel and I have spoken to NCL twice and both times I was told that tips for butler and concierge are included in our pre paid tips. Bit confused after reading this thread as to who is right. We usually cruise with Celebrity and end up tipping extra anyway but do like to budget in advance. Is it different for UK bookings?[/quote]

NCL has communication problems. Here is what their website says at [url]http://www.ncl.com/faq#tipping:[/url]

[quote]
Also, certain staff positions (e.g., concierge, butler, youth program staff and beverage service) provide service on an individual basis to only some guests and do not benefit from the overall service charge. We encourage those Guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities.
[/quote]

I would read that to mean that the concierge and butler are not part of the "overall service charge" (or DSC).

The salespeople (oops, "Personal Cruise Consultants") on the phone say a number of different things about it. Who knows? They may have more up to date info than the website.

[tarps14]

Never ever take the phone reps information as gospel. I would say more often than not, they get it wrong. And they definitely got it wrong on the tipping. Butlers and the concierge staff are not included in the DSC.

Pixiedust777-we also had the unfortunate experience of someone walking in on us after knocking once and not waiting for an answer. It was one of the beverage staff delivering our liquor. And it was a vvveeerrryyy inopportune time. :o The DH actually walked the gentleman back to the door and pointed out the do not disturb indicator. I would say within the hour, our butler knew about it, and was incredibly apologetic, as well as the concierge and eventually the hotel director. They didn't hear it from us as we told no one else. They bent over backwards the rest of the cruise to make up for it. I truly wish your experience had been handled differently by the staff so that it wouldn't have left such a horrible memory for you. Your experience was definitely the exception as opposed to the rule.