Do prepaid service charges include gratuity for Butler?

[pieshops]

This is SO CRAZY!! I leave in a few days. I'll ask my Butler! LOL I'll be sure to post back and let you know how this all plays out, but for now, I have very low expectations for NCL since I've now personally called 3 times and some of you have called as well, and we've all gotten different/slightly different answers to the same questions from them directly.

 

I shall take a few $100's in my pocket and focus my energy on great wine and making memories :)

 

Thanks all!

 

Don't let NCL s shoreside customer service which is notoriously bad get you off to a bad start. Once on board it will be awesome. Don't go into it with a bad attitude or you will have a self fulfilling prophecy lol

Edited October 22, 2015 by pieshops

[Cuizer2]

To avoid any confusion, bring cash for tipping butler and concierge (or not) and ask the HD after you board. If anyone should know, it would be him.

 

What if the HD is female?

[Meekofigaro]

You can add the gratuity for the butler and concierge to your on board account...and, if Im not mistaken, that can come out of the OBC you have, just not the DSC....any one know for sure about the OBC being used for the tips? I seem to have been wrong about everything else, so please let me know if Im wrong about this too...lol

 

 

You can use refundable obc.. We did it last week.

It was called a gratuity voucher. It is added to their paycheck at the end of the month.

We got envelopes and put each voucher in it with a note to let them know.

We also tipped the assistant concierge as well since we were told that it is up to the concierge on how much he shares with him. And ours was awesome!!

 

Kerry

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[watchdiva]

Then if the HD is female you would ask HER, correct? Wasn't aware that there were any HD's currently on staff that were female...the only female HD I knew was Jenny and she's been gone a while now correct?

[abe3]

All this stuff over tips.

[Cuizer2]

All this stuff over tips.

Better over tips than tip overs.

[abe3]

Better over tips than tip overs.

 

 

Well I would worry more about tip overs than tips. Lol.

Edited October 22, 2015 by abe3

[Sauer-kraut]

Just tossing this into fray. The suite DSC has ALWAYS been higher than the general population service charge. And yes, there were recent increases (twice in about 6 weeks) and none of them included the Butler and Concierge gratuities.

[BirdTravels]

Just got off the phone with NCL's conceirge line. (855)625-4283 where I was told by Beverley, an NCL employee, that the website holds terms and conditions for the generic cruise population based on general cruises. Each sailing, ship, and cruise type and suite can be and often are different. They've recently changed the policy on the tip pool to include the Butler service. We will, as always, tip extra based on level of excellence. We're very much looking forward to our first NCL cruise and thank you Sue for helping this newbie cruiser! :D

 

This is incorrect. The butler and concierge are NOT included in the DSC pool. They only get the gratuities provided by their guests. And you acknowledge service with your tips to them. And you acknowledge exceptional service with more tips.

[Love my butler]

Just tossing this into fray. The suite DSC has ALWAYS been higher than the general population service charge.

 

Absolutely incorrect. The suite Discretionary Service Charge just recently was made more than non-suites. Prior to this year ALL rooms were charged the same amount.

 

P.S. For all you new cruisers to NCL, you will often get five different answers to the same question when asking five different NCL employees.

Edited October 22, 2015 by Love my butler

[Samstress]

We just returned from a cruise in an Owners Suite. Our Butler and concierge were NOT included in the service charge tip pool. I had no problem leaving our Butler a substantial tip as he went above and beyond our expectations. I would actually book another cruise just to experience his kind of service.

[marelind]

Just tossing this into fray. The suite DSC has ALWAYS been higher than the general population service charge. And yes, there were recent increases (twice in about 6 weeks) and none of them included the Butler and Concierge gratuities.

 

Actually, the suite DSC has never been higher until the last 6 months or so. That is why there is confusion at this point. When the DSC was the same for suites and non-suites there was no question that the butler and concierge were not covered, because you got extra service above and beyond the non-suite cabins. When they made the DSC more for suites it causes one to wonder if the butler and concierge are now included, or what does the increased amount cover?

[klepton]

When they made the DSC more for suites it causes one to wonder if the butler and concierge are now included, or what does the increased amount cover?

 

I think an answer to this question would clear up at least some of the confusion. Why is there an increased DSC for suites if it doesn't include butlers and concierge? Perhaps someone has been given this info, I haven't seen it though.

 

I can speculate... suites are bigger and take longer to clean. As a result, a room steward (given the same amount of time) will clean fewer suite staterooms than smaller staterooms. So the DSC needed to be adjusted for the stewards who only clean 8 instead of 12 rooms.

 

That's just a guess on my part, but it makes sense.

[emcelh]

Then if the HD is female you would ask HER, correct? Wasn't aware that there were any HD's currently on staff that were female...the only female HD I knew was Jenny and she's been gone a while now correct?

 

The hotel director on the Gem now is also female.

[Meekofigaro]

I think an answer to this question would clear up at least some of the confusion. Why is there an increased DSC for suites if it doesn't include butlers and concierge? Perhaps someone has been given this info, I haven't seen it though.

 

I can speculate... suites are bigger and take longer to clean. As a result, a room steward (given the same amount of time) will clean fewer suite staterooms than smaller staterooms. So the DSC needed to be adjusted for the stewards who only clean 8 instead of 12 rooms.

 

That's just a guess on my part, but it makes sense.

 

We were in an aft penthouse and our Room steward has 15 rooms to do, 2 being suites.

Our Butler had 12 rooms...the whole aft of the ship. (This was on the Getaway)

 

Kerry

 

 

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Edited October 23, 2015 by Meekofigaro

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Maybe instead of going by what an employee tells you , you should go by the NCL Website or by calling and asking NCL, no digging necessary

 

To be fair there's like at best a 50 percent chance he will get the correct answer by calling NCL. To be further fair, there is contradictory informatoin on the NCL website in various places regarding this. That said, most of the information provided by NCL on their website (but not all) seems to indicate that butlers are not included.

[pspercy]

So what's a "typical" tip for a butler (USD / day), seriously, don't just say "up to you" because I've no idea where to start with these people.

Edited October 23, 2015 by pspercy

[Love my butler]

So what's a "typical" tip for a butler (USD / day), seriously, don't just say "up to you" because I've no idea where to start with these people.

 

If you tip your butler between $50 and $150 total for a 7 day cruise, you will be well within the norm.

[abe3]

If you tip your butler between $50 and $150 total for a 7 day cruise, you will be well within the norm.

 

 

I actually agree with Butler for once.

[susique]

Just my opinion, the service charge for suites is higher because you have option of Cagneys for breakfast and lunch. Crew in Specialty restaurant are not included in the DSC and suites do not pay the 18% gratuities on the perks that come with them.

[punkincc]

Actually, the suite DSC has never been higher until the last 6 months or so. That is why there is confusion at this point. When the DSC was the same for suites and non-suites there was no question that the butler and concierge were not covered, because you got extra service above and beyond the non-suite cabins. When they made the DSC more for suites it causes one to wonder if the butler and concierge are now included, or what does the increased amount cover?

 

Yes, and to compound the confusion, when NCL announced the increase in DSC for suites, they included a statement something to the effect that "The DSC for suites, which enjoy the services of a Butler and Concierge, is being increased to.....". This would certainly lead people to believe this was the reason for the increase.

 

If you look back in Search here, I'm sure you can find the many threads which resulted from this "mis speak" by NCL. Questions went out to various NCL Departments at the time. There was some back and forth between different departments of NCL, one confirming that yes indeed this is true, while another contradicted that Butlers were not in the DSC pool before finally agreeing that butler and Concierge were not included.

 

So, is it any wonder that staff are still confused?

Edited October 23, 2015 by punkincc

[skyfire53]

Brenda, I thought I had read somewhere that you could use your regular NCL OBC to tip the butler and concierge, just cant use it for the normal DSC, is that the case? Im hoping you can clear this up for me...:)

[hypercafe]

This DSC thing is very confusing. I just got off of the GEM. I tipped the Butler and concierge however I asked how they liked FDR. The reply was not too much as he is charging the pass more but giving the crew nothing. I said he increased the tips twice, they said they saw none of it as their pay was set on the contract they signed. As for the DSC it goes into a pool to pay the salaries. Seems rather odd to me.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Brenda, I thought I had read somewhere that you could use your regular NCL OBC to tip the butler and concierge, just cant use it for the normal DSC, is that the case? Im hoping you can clear this up for me...:)

 

Yes you can, I did this on my last cruise. You just go to guest services and tell them how much of your onboard credit you would like given to whom. They will then give you a voucher showing the amount that you can give to the butler, concierge, room steward, etc.

[NLH Arizona]

This DSC thing is very confusing. I just got off of the GEM. I tipped the Butler and concierge however I asked how they liked FDR. The reply was not too much as he is charging the pass more but giving the crew nothing. I said he increased the tips twice, they said they saw none of it as their pay was set on the contract they signed. As for the DSC it goes into a pool to pay the salaries. Seems rather odd to me.

Hope you didn't give him an extra tip because of his comments, because it sounds like he might be trolling for tips.