Did I Under Tip the Concierge?

[JerseyMom]

I recently completed a 10-Day cruise in a non-Haven suite. I made all of my dinner reservations and shore excursions myself. There were 3 of us and the only time we used the services of the concierge was for boarding and disembarkation. On the last day of the cruise I gave her a Thank You note with $50 inside. She was also very professional and always made sure that we knew she was available for anything we might need. My thinking was we barely used her services at all and we gave her the equivalent of $25 per service. We tipped our butler $300 ($10 pp per day) because he brought breakfast to the suite for about 5 days, snacks everyday and took care of special requests such as keeping the suite stocked with green tea and honey. We also gave the cabin steward $100 - it would have been more had he not been part of the DSC.

 

I know tipping is a personal thing but I am thinking now maybe I should have given the concierge more? I have seen the figure $5 pp per day and I would have had no issue giving her $150 had she assisted us with reservations or shore excursions. Just for embarkation and debarkation, $150 seems like a lot to me.:confused:

[ColeThornton]

If that is all you used her for then yes, I think that is generous enough. I personally wouldn't have give the steward that much extra but nothing wrong with that if you wanted to do it. I say that about the steward because as a Haven guest you pay more for the DSC charge.

[KeithJenner]

For what you used them for, that sounds fine.

 

I think the concierge is a difficult one. Some people use them a lot, whereas others barely come into contact with them.

 

Personally, I like to arrange things myself, so I extremely rarely use a concierge at all, at a hotel for example. I think that on the one occasion we were in the Haven we just asked for help with one restaurant booking (because i thought we should) and it ended up being harder work than just booking myself. We have him a fairly small tip to cover the fact that we got an invite to a couple of things.

 

 

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[JerseyMom]

If that is all you used her for then yes, I think that is generous enough. I personally wouldn't have give the steward that much extra but nothing wrong with that if you wanted to do it. I say that about the steward because as a Haven guest you pay more for the DSC charge.

 

Good point. Steward was very good but I had forgotten that our DSC charges were higher (I prepaid the DSC rather than have it show up on the final bill).

[JerseyMom]

For what you used them for, that sounds fine.

 

I think the concierge is a difficult one. Some people use them a lot, whereas others barely come into contact with them.

 

Personally, I like to arrange things myself, so I extremely rarely use a concierge at all, at a hotel for example. I think that on the one occasion we were in the Haven we just asked for help with one restaurant booking (because i thought we should) and it ended up being harder work than just booking myself. We have him a fairly small tip to cover the fact that we got an invite to a couple of things.

 

 

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Thanks, Keith. I feel a little better now. I prefer to get all of my reservations out of the way before I sail. That way I can relax and just enjoy my cruise rather than have to worry about whether or not I can get dinner reservations at Cagneys at 7 on Saturday night or whether or not there is still room in the shore excursions I want.

[roger001]

Like you, we just never have any need for the concierge. I know they are there if needed, and thank them for that. I think I usually go $75, but nothing wrong with $50 either. No correct answer.

[Two Wheels Only]

I feel a little better now.

What would you have done if the responses were the opposite?

[JerseyMom]

What would you have done if the responses were the opposite?

Consider it a lesson learned and just plan on doing better next time.

[lcpagejr]

Consider it a lesson learned and just plan on doing better next time.

 

Excellent response!! Sounds to me what you did was more than fair and hopefully the positive feedback will allow you to put this little worry to rest!!

[ravenjls]

Please help me understand why people are paying so much in tips. If this is a tip than you are saying the concierge did $250 worth of services for you for a 20% tip of $50. The butler did about $1500 ($150 per day to bring canapes/ and 5 breakfasts) worth of services for 20% tip of $300. It sounds like everyone is paying FOR their services not tipping for already paid for services.

[NLH Arizona]

OP, your question is "did you under tip the Concierge"? If you felt comfortable with the amount you tipped, that is all that matters. I'm sure the Concierge was appreciative with what you tipped.

[bmwman]

Please help me understand why people are paying so much in tips. If this is a tip than you are saying the concierge did $250 worth of services for you for a 20% tip of $50. The butler did about $1500 ($150 per day to bring canapes/ and 5 breakfasts) worth of services for 20% tip of $300. It sounds like everyone is paying FOR their services not tipping for already paid for services.

 

$300!!!! - I suppose the US tipping culture is very different to UK.

 

Why pay someone to do their job. I would tip them but not $300.

 

Anyway ship tips are interesting subject for the IRS and no doubt the UK HMRC.

[VideoTech]

Please help me understand why people are paying so much in tips. If this is a tip than you are saying the concierge did $250 worth of services for you for a 20% tip of $50. The butler did about $1500 ($150 per day to bring canapes/ and 5 breakfasts) worth of services for 20% tip of $300. It sounds like everyone is paying FOR their services not tipping for already paid for services.

 

No, the OP is saying they felt the concierge deserved a tip of $50. This is not a percentage tip, such as on a restaurant bill, and you shouldn't look at it like that. In this situation, you're tipping for what you feel is the added value of the services you received. You are not required to tip anything to the Butler and Concierge. But most people do because they like to express their appreciation for the value received.

[cruis247g]

I recently completed a 10-Day cruise in a non-Haven suite. I made all of my dinner reservations and shore excursions myself. There were 3 of us and the only time we used the services of the concierge was for boarding and disembarkation. On the last day of the cruise I gave her a Thank You note with $50 inside. She was also very professional and always made sure that we knew she was available for anything we might need. My thinking was we barely used her services at all and we gave her the equivalent of $25 per service. We tipped our butler $300 ($10 pp per day) because he brought breakfast to the suite for about 5 days, snacks everyday and took care of special requests such as keeping the suite stocked with green tea and honey. We also gave the cabin steward $100 - it would have been more had he not been part of the DSC.

 

I know tipping is a personal thing but I am thinking now maybe I should have given the concierge more? I have seen the figure $5 pp per day and I would have had no issue giving her $150 had she assisted us with reservations or shore excursions. Just for embarkation and debarkation, $150 seems like a lot to me.:confused:

 

Absolutely fine!

[JerseyMom]

$300!!!! - I suppose the US tipping culture is very different to UK.

 

Why pay someone to do their job. I would tip them but not $300.

 

Anyway ship tips are interesting subject for the IRS and no doubt the UK HMRC.

I have lived in the UK and I can tell you it is a very different tipping culture. Even here it has changed. When I was a child it was common knowledge that a typical tip on a restaurant bill was 15% and you could tip extra if the service was outstanding. Now the base is 20% if service is adequate and you adjust it up or down depending upon the level of service you get. Here many in the service industry are paid lower wages than other industries and tips are meant to compensate for the difference.

[zqvol]

IMO you overtipped both of them.

[lowroller]

I recently completed a 10-Day cruise in a non-Haven suite. I made all of my dinner reservations and shore excursions myself. There were 3 of us and the only time we used the services of the concierge was for boarding and disembarkation. On the last day of the cruise I gave her a Thank You note with $50 inside. She was also very professional and always made sure that we knew she was available for anything we might need. My thinking was we barely used her services at all and we gave her the equivalent of $25 per service. We tipped our butler $300 ($10 pp per day) because he brought breakfast to the suite for about 5 days, snacks everyday and took care of special requests such as keeping the suite stocked with green tea and honey. We also gave the cabin steward $100 - it would have been more had he not been part of the DSC.

 

I know tipping is a personal thing but I am thinking now maybe I should have given the concierge more? I have seen the figure $5 pp per day and I would have had no issue giving her $150 had she assisted us with reservations or shore excursions. Just for embarkation and debarkation, $150 seems like a lot to me.:confused:

 

You were in a non Haven suite and had the use of a Butler and Concierge?

[KeithJenner]

You were in a non Haven suite and had the use of a Butler and Concierge?

 

 

 

All suites have the use of the concierge and have a butler allocated to them, regardless of location.

 

Excluding mini suites, of course. They aren’t actually suites, or anything like them.

 

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[newmexicoNita]

I recently completed a 10-Day cruise in a non-Haven suite. I made all of my dinner reservations and shore excursions myself. There were 3 of us and the only time we used the services of the concierge was for boarding and disembarkation. On the last day of the cruise I gave her a Thank You note with $50 inside. She was also very professional and always made sure that we knew she was available for anything we might need. My thinking was we barely used her services at all and we gave her the equivalent of $25 per service. We tipped our butler $300 ($10 pp per day) because he brought breakfast to the suite for about 5 days, snacks everyday and took care of special requests such as keeping the suite stocked with green tea and honey. We also gave the cabin steward $100 - it would have been more had he not been part of the DSC.

 

I know tipping is a personal thing but I am thinking now maybe I should have given the concierge more? I have seen the figure $5 pp per day and I would have had no issue giving her $150 had she assisted us with reservations or shore excursions. Just for embarkation and debarkation, $150 seems like a lot to me.:confused:

I think you did fine. In fact more than fine. Let's face it, the tipping business is getting out of hand. I have no problems with tipping. I know this is a huge part of their income. I am not considered a cheap tipper either, but when I see some of the figures that are thrown around on these board my hair stands up on end.

[roger001]

I think you did fine. In fact more than fine. Let's face it, the tipping business is getting out of hand. I have no problems with tipping. I know this is a huge part of their income. I am not considered a cheap tipper either, but when I see some of the figures that are thrown around on these board my hair stands up on end.

 

I'm with you on that. I tip always, happy to do so. Love the crew and think they deserve it. However.....some of the tips mentioned are way beyond what I think is appropriate. And....I think the "$10 per person per day" for the butler thing gets kicked around like it is an industry standard or in a rule book somewhere. I don't know where it got started, but that amount is nothing but someone's opinion. Unless the butler is devoting himself/herself for hours at a time to just servicing your cabin needs, that's excessive. Again....opinion...though.

[NLH Arizona]

I'm with you on that. I tip always, happy to do so. Love the crew and think they deserve it. However.....some of the tips mentioned are way beyond what I think is appropriate. And....I think the "$10 per person per day" for the butler thing gets kicked around like it is an industry standard or in a rule book somewhere. I don't know where it got started, but that amount is nothing but someone's opinion. Unless the butler is devoting himself/herself for hours at a time to just servicing your cabin needs, that's excessive. Again....opinion...though.

Some folks, including me, start with $10 a day per person for the Butler and add or subtract based on services and when asked what we tip, we state it and that is probably why this figure is posted by some. You might think it is excessive, but some don't, just as you probably think what you give is a correct amount, while others might think it is too high or too low, IMHO.

[558]

I think you did fine. In fact more than fine. Let's face it, the tipping business is getting out of hand. I have no problems with tipping. I know this is a huge part of their income. I am not considered a cheap tipper either, but when I see some of the figures that are thrown around on these board my hair stands up on end.[/quote]

 

You certainly have that one right, and on both counts!

I always consider tipping a personal matter and will NEVER brag about how much I tip, who I tip, when and where I tip and of all places on a public forum where talk is cheap! Wouldn't it be interesting if the big tippers tossing wads of cash around on these forums were to actually post some kind of proof of their generosity to substantiate their claim/s?

Like I said, talk is cheap.

[BostonGal35]

$50 is way more than i would give them. but we never use them other than the priority disembark. we too book everything ourselves in advance of boarding.

[NLH Arizona]

$50 is way more than i would give them. but we never use them other than the priority disembark. we too book everything ourselves in advance of boarding.

I don't give the concierge as much as the Butler, because I also make all my own reservations, etc. and only use them for embarkation and disembarkation. I think $35 is appropriate to start with for a 7 day cruise. Edited March 6, 2018 by NLH Arizona

[Two Wheels Only]

Wouldn't it be interesting if the big tippers tossing wads of cash around on these forums were to actually post some kind of proof of their generosity to substantiate their claim/s?

Like I said, talk is cheap.

If giving a tip via Guest Services, you will get a hand-written receipt with the amount tipped and to whom it was given. I suppose people could post pics of that if they really wanted to post things.

 

Otherwise, it isn't important how much or little someone else tips so there is no real need for proof.

I could claim that I tipped $1,000 to my last butler and it wouldn't make a difference to anyone.

I could claim that I tipped $1 to my last butler and it wouldn't make a difference to anyone.