Concierge and Butler Tipping

[kimchambers18]

I will be setting sail on the NCL Pearl on 06/19 to Alaska for 7 days. I will be staying in the 3 bedroom Garden Villa "The Haven". My question....I have already pre-paid the service charge and I understand that the Concierge and Butler is not included. What would be an appropriate tip for both of these people? I don't want to under tip anyone. Thanks in advance for replies. I am so excited! :)

[ColinIllinois]

This questions is asked quite often. A quick search will get you many threads like this one you should find helpful.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1578992&highlight=concierge+and+butler+tipping

 

Cheers.

[jewelmick]

I've read all the old posts about this topic...there is so much contradictory advice.

 

Here is what I have come up with for our upcoming Med. cruise. I plan to start the butler at $100, this will include all the normal stuff (pillows, snacks, coffee, extra towels, etc)..if we do any in room meals, or above and beyond stuff, that will be extra. The concierge will start at $50, I have most everything already booked...only need to use the early on/off help...and maybe switch a dinner res or two...anything beyond that (if I lose something and need help recovering, excursion changes/advice) will be considered extra and tipped up. The steward will start at $50 and has the most potential for extra...I have a teenager after all.

 

So, that's my plan so far...if we have problems or major personality conflicts I will adjust down...but I don't anticipate this happening.

[NLH Arizona]

You'll love the suite life. You will get a many answer to your question. The first time I was in a suite, I asked this question on here and got everywhere from $35 a week for two passengers to $500 a week for two passengers. To say my head was spinning from all the answers, was an understatement. I finally settled on $10 a day per person for the Butler and $5 a day per person for the Concierge and this has served me well on all my cruises. I've given more and thankfully, I've never had bad service, so I've never had to reduce that figure.

 

Tipping is very personal and a lot of different things go into the amount given. There is how your service was, how much service you asked for, what one budgets for tips, etc. Give what you feel comfortable giving and your Butler and Concierge will be very grateful no matter what the amount is.

[SuiteCruiser]

I agree with NLH Arizona, that is the way I work as well. Being in the Garden Villa you will be getting extra treatment over and above a regular suite, so we always tip more when in the GV.

[kboltwkreations]

We were on the May 15th sailing! First of all you are going to have AMAZING staff with Susie (con) and Robin (butler) if they are the same as we had (we were in 14500). There were 5 of us in the Garden Villa so we tipped $400 to each of them. Amazing room and great service from everyone.

[Two Wheels Only]

Tipping is very personal and a lot of different things go into the amount given. There is how your service was, how much service you asked for, what one budgets for tips, etc. Give what you feel comfortable giving and your Butler and Concierge will be very grateful no matter what the amount is.

 

^^ Someone should "copy-paste" this whenever the question comes up.

[Ktuluorion]

I will be setting sail on the NCL Pearl on 06/19 to Alaska for 7 days. I will be staying in the 3 bedroom Garden Villa "The Haven". My question....I have already pre-paid the service charge and I understand that the Concierge and Butler is not included. What would be an appropriate tip for both of these people? I don't want to under tip anyone. Thanks in advance for replies. I am so excited! :)

 

 

Base it on what you feel the service is worth. For reference, the concierge did a LOT for us, and saved us a lot of time on several tasks that would have required waiting at the reception desk. We gave her $300 on a 12-day voyage. The butler didn't do much, we ordered room service a couple of times and he brought daily snacks (but ignored the preferences we requested). We gave him $250.

[dttampa]

I will be setting sail on the NCL Pearl on 06/19 to Alaska for 7 days. I will be staying in the 3 bedroom Garden Villa "The Haven". My question....I have already pre-paid the service charge and I understand that the Concierge and Butler is not included. What would be an appropriate tip for both of these people? I don't want to under tip anyone. Thanks in advance for replies. I am so excited! :)

 

I think you're right on track with your estimates. We've done the GV twice. On the Star we had an amazing Butler and Concierge team Arnie and Monica. They seemed to really enjoy our very large group and continually suggested extra things they could do for us. On the Dawn we had lukewarm service from staff members who seemed overwhelmed and counted every soda we drank. We had to make multiple requests for basic things. We felt like we were bothering them.

 

We tipped the first extremely well, and the second fairly.

 

 

Since the Butler and Concierge do not benefit from the daily service charge, they depend heavily on tips. We the promotions that include the dsc they have lost out on a lot.

 

 

We'll be in the GV for the Panama Canal Cruise 10/5/16. Hope you'll post a review so we know what to look forward to.

[dttampa]

We were on the May 15th sailing! First of all you are going to have AMAZING staff with Susie (con) and Robin (butler) if they are the same as we had (we were in 14500). There were 5 of us in the Garden Villa so we tipped $400 to each of them. Amazing room and great service from everyone.

 

Oh, please tell us about the GV experience. WEre you on the Pearl?

[GUT2407]

I will be setting sail on the NCL Pearl on 06/19 to Alaska for 7 days. I will be staying in the 3 bedroom Garden Villa "The Haven". My question....I have already pre-paid the service charge and I understand that the Concierge and Butler is not included. What would be an appropriate tip for both of these people? I don't want to under tip anyone. Thanks in advance for replies. I am so excited! :)

 

Depends on how much they do for you.

[cruzsnooze]

I didn't use the butler and didn't tip. I only used the concierge when we wanted to go with the group of suites to disembarkation, nothing above and beyond didn't tip. The spectrum of tipping is anywhere from zero to a gazillion dollars.

[BirdTravels]

I didn't use the butler and didn't tip. I only used the concierge when we wanted to go with the group of suites to disembarkation, nothing above and beyond didn't tip. The spectrum of tipping is anywhere from zero to a gazillion dollars.

 

Zero is the wrong answer.

[richard k]

We were on the Pearl last September in a aft suite and we tipped the butler $150.00 who did a lot for us room service got us drinks took my scooter back to our room etc .The Concierge got a $100.00 she did fix a problem with our dinning schedule .

[cruzsnooze]

Zero is the wrong answer.

 

For me it's the right answer. I don't tip if I don't use the service. That's why the range is from zero to a gazillion dollars.

[SuiteCruiser]

For me it's the right answer. I don't tip if I don't use the service. That's why the range is from zero to a gazillion dollars.

 

So you turned down the snacks, refilling of the coffee, etc? Using the butler is not just extras like in room dining, it's the services that they provide every day. Unless you told them day one that you don't want anything, you would have used them.

[cruzsnooze]

So you turned down the snacks, refilling of the coffee, etc? Using the butler is not just extras like in room dining, it's the services that they provide every day. Unless you told them day one that you don't want anything, you would have used them.

 

I don't eat in the cabin so did not accept snacks and told him not to bring them. I don't like the Lavazzo coffee so no refills were necessary. The suite costs so much more then other cabins that I believe you already paid for the extra services even if you use them.

Tipping has gotten out of hand and the guilt people on these boards try to lay on new cruisers is unrealistic. The vast majority of people don't go around handing out dollar bills to everyone.

[Mack704]

In theory, I agree with cruzsnooze. Tips IMHO relate directly to service provided.

 

DW and I were in a aft facing penthouse suite on the Pearl May 15-22. First of all, the room steward was fantastic. He knew us by name by day two. He was on time with everything expected plus more.

 

At the end of the cruise, we slipped him an extra $20, even though he's a participant in the automatic gratuities.

 

The concierge got us priority boarding and de-boarding. Also, she was very friendly when she saw us in the suite dining area. Nothing else. We slipped her a $20 anyway.

 

The butler did bring snacks on the days we didn't have the 'do not disturb' on the door front. And he kept the Lavazzo well stocked. And even brought us room service a couple of times.

 

We thought that was worth a $40 tip and gave him same. I'm not sure what the butler and concierge could do to warrant $150 and $100 tips, respectively. But I think we were more than fair with our donations to them.

 

Harvey

[SuiteCruiser]

I think it's fair if you don't use the butler at all like cruisesnooze, then don't tip. The issue with the butler is that they're paid by their tips. I think it would be great if NCL paid their staff and then if you want to tip an extra $20 then that's great. But that's not how it works, you pay them and I figure if I can afford a suite, I can afford $70 for the butler and $35 for the concierge each for a week and can work up or down from that based on service for the week.

 

I will be in a suite by myself for the transatlantic on Epic this year, so will plan on 13 days worth of tips for the butler of $130 and $65 for the concierge.

 

When we were in the Garden Villa, the butler brought trays of sandwiches, not the little tea ones, but big delicious sandwiches, chips and pico, guacamole. He spent a lot of time in our suite, served us dinner one night with rose petals on the table cloth, poured water for us, cleaned it all up afterwards, he far exceeded our expections. There were 7 of us in the suite and we paid far more than $10 each per day, but the experience warranted it.

Edited June 11, 2016 by SuiteCruiser

[DMH15]

I think it's fair if you don't use the butler at all like cruisesnooze, then don't tip. The issue with the butler is that they're paid by their tips. I think it would be great if NCL paid their staff and then if you want to tip an extra $20 then that's great. But that's not how it works, you pay them and I figure if I can afford a suite, I can afford $70 for the butler and $35 for the concierge each for a week and can work up or down from that based on service for the week.

 

I will be in a suite by myself for the transatlantic on Epic this year, so will plan on 13 days worth of tips for the butler of $130 and $65 for the concierge.

 

When we were in the Garden Villa, the butler brought trays of sandwiches, not the little tea ones, but big delicious sandwiches, chips and pico, guacamole. He spent a lot of time in our suite, served us dinner one night with rose petals on the table cloth, poured water for us, cleaned it all up afterwards, he far exceeded our expections. There were 7 of us in the suite and we paid far more than $10 each per day, but the experience warranted it.

 

 

I agree with your every word.

[ColinIllinois]

I don't eat in the cabin so did not accept snacks and told him not to bring them. I don't like the Lavazzo coffee so no refills were necessary. The suite costs so much more then other cabins that I believe you already paid for the extra services even if you use them.

Tipping has gotten out of hand and the guilt people on these boards try to lay on new cruisers is unrealistic. The vast majority of people don't go around handing out dollar bills to everyone.

 

Agreed. Basic butler/concierge services are part of the higher fare you pay for the Haven/suites.

[triptolemus]

Depends on how much they do for you.

 

How insightful.

 

22+ ppd ftw!

[cruzsnooze]

I think it's fair if you don't use the butler at all like cruisesnooze, then don't tip. The issue with the butler is that they're paid by their tips. I think it would be great if NCL paid their staff and then if you want to tip an extra $20 then that's great. But that's not how it works, you pay them and I figure if I can afford a suite, I can afford $70 for the butler and $35 for the concierge each for a week and can work up or down from that based on service for the week.

 

 

 

 

What has the ability to afford a suite got to do with anything? What someone can afford does not change the price or value of something. If I can afford to pay a 100% tip at a restaurant should I? I only tip 15% -20% like most people.

[BirdTravels]

So,,, whether you think you used the butler or not, the butler has duties that he preformed in your suite every day. Even if you don't drink the coffee, the butler comes to check and refresh the water. Checks for laundry. On embarkation day, if you were escorted to the havens, the concierge staff and butlers do that. If you got a room key, the concierge staff is responsible for getting those ready for you on embarkation day. Every day, they check your reservations to see if there are dinners you need to be escorted to.

 

Whether you say "I didn't use them, therefore I owe them nothing" they have routine duties they preform for you. Every day. And they do work for tips. And to stiff them is unfair.

[Son of a son of a ...]

4 people, 1 cabin, 7 days in Haven on Epic. $100 to the butler and $100 to the steward. We were pretty undemanding guests.

 

Agree - it is an individual choice.