Suite - Are gratuities pre-paid or not?

[MIAMIMEDIA]

My family and I are going to be on the NCL Star in a Family Suite. (First time in a Suite) Do we get charged standard daily gratuity rate ($12) or does it cost more because it is a Suite?

Do I tip the concierge and butler separately (at the end) or are they included in the daily gratuity charged to my room daily?

Do I tip them each time I use them on top of that (as I would a room service delivery)?

Do I need to tip at Cagney’s for breakfast and lunch?

I am so confused… :confused:

Can someone please explain the process?

[russianmom]

My family and I are going to be on the NCL Star in a Family Suite. (First time in a Suite) Do we get charged standard daily gratuity rate ($12) or does it cost more because it is a Suite? Yes- it's the standard $12/pp/day - this covers the other workers around the ship

Do I tip the concierge and butler separately (at the end) or are they included in the daily gratuity charged to my room daily?Yes- they are not included in the $12/day

Do I tip them each time I use them on top of that (as I would a room service delivery)? That is up to you but not really necessary if you plan to tip at the end for the entire trip

Do I need to tip at Cagney’s for breakfast and lunch? We did- on Sat we gave each server addt'l tips as they had been wonderful to us and our son all week

[monteman]

Tipping at Cagney's or any other venue is entirely up to you. Not expected always appreciated. Enjoy the suite life!

[MMMD]

On our cruise we set aside $40 per day ($20pp) to split between the Butler & Concierge. We ended up giving the Concierge a bit more because he really went out of his way for us.

 

We also gave our Steward an extra $125, as he did a lot of little things for us and was so sweet.

 

We tipped at all restaurants. We usually left $10 for breakfast or lunch at Cagneys (all the staff in Cagneys are wonderful), and $20 or so for dinner at all Specialty restaurants.

We left $10 for dinner in the MDR the 2 times we ate there and in the Blue Lagoon.

 

Tipping is a very personal decision. Some I'm sure tip more and some less, but this is what we were comfortable leaving.

 

We enjoyed ourselves so much and loved the 'suite' life.

 

I hope you and your family have as great a time as we did.

[Hikini]

First let me say, I hope you love the family suite as much as we did, and we're looking forward to being in the same one again coming up. Are you in one of the new suites on deck 12?

 

Your questions have already been answered but I'll add a little tidbit as well. Maybe this would be considered a no-no to some but we didn't tip the concierge at the end of the cruise because we did not use her services once. We met her at embarkation but that was the only time we ever had any interaction with her, so we didn't feel we "owed" her anything. (Nothing against her at all; it's just the way it worked out.)

 

However, our butler was very nice and very present. We didn't 'use' him much, but he did help us when needed. I believe we tipped him $150 at the end of the cruise.

 

Our room stewards in the suite were top notch and so friendly. I know they are included in the tip pool but they were over and above, so they each got an extra $40 at the end of the cruise.

 

As for Cagney's, extra tipping is not required as they are also included in the DSC, however, once again we felt that we really wanted to tip extra because of the level of service we received. We did this on an inidividual basis, one-on-one with the servers at different meals, but not every meal. (DH and I don't like to carry our wallets, purses or anything else with us while on board, if possible.) On the last full day, I went into Cagney's just as they were closing after lunch and found our 3 favorite waiters and gave them each an envelope with a little extra in it. One of them received more than the others, as she took such great care of my elderly parents. They ALL did, but she shined extra brightly in our eyes.

[Fishbait17]

Maybe this would be considered a no-no to some but we didn't tip the concierge at the end of the cruise because we did not use her services once. We met her at embarkation but that was the only time we ever had any interaction with her, so we didn't feel we "owed" her anything. (Nothing against her at all; it's just the way it worked out.)

 

Tipping is completely discretionary of course, but I think sometimes people underestimate a concierge's duties and don't know that certain services came from them. There is the obvious: embarkation and restaurant/spa reservations, checking up on you in Cagney's or in your suite, etc. Then there is the not-so-obvious: Priority tendering tickets, VIP luggage tags, suite disembarkation, special seating in the theater (for those that qualify), etc. I am certainly not saying you used any of these services (and I have had a couple of not-so-great concierges as well), but there might be some people out there who think that perhaps, because they never saw the concierge, they did nothing. :)

 

Robin

[Hikini]

Tipping is completely discretionary of course, but I think sometimes people underestimate a concierge's duties and don't know that certain services came from them. There is the obvious: embarkation and restaurant/spa reservations, checking up on you in Cagney's or in your suite, etc. Then there is the not-so-obvious: Priority tendering tickets, VIP luggage tags, suite disembarkation, special seating in the theater (for those that qualify), etc. I am certainly not saying you used any of these services (and I have had a couple of not-so-great concierges as well), but there might be some people out there who think that perhaps, because they never saw the concierge, they did nothing. :)

 

Robin

 

I agree with you completely. But truly, we did not use any of these services on this cruise I am speaking of. I was hesitant to not leave any tip at all for the concierge but when we thought about it, even though we knew those services were available to us, we didn't use any of them. Not on purpose or to be cheap - it's just the way it worked out. She didn't check up on us in Cagney's, but that's not to say she wasn't doing her job. We saw her all over the ship helping other folks and we knew she was very busy. It didn't bother us at all that we didn't have interaction with her and we never felt she was ignoring us. We just never called upon her this trip.

 

Thanks for pointing out to others who may not know all of the things a concierge can do for you.

 

We love the level of service on NCL. We've never, ever been disappointed!

[valleyvillage]

"Tipping is never expected, always appreciated." This was in reference to servers at Cagneys for the Suite life.

 

This is always how I have felt on NCL, nobody had a hand out for a hand out!

 

Well done!

[Hikini]

"Tipping is never expected, always appreciated." This was in reference to servers at Cagneys for the Suite life.

 

This is always how I have felt on NCL, nobody had a hand out for a hand out!

 

Well done!

 

In a nut shell! Perfect! :)

[tennisfanusa]

Wow - I'm trying to get the expenses in my head and they are quickly adding up.

 

7-day cruise

Concierge ($20/day) = $140

Butler ($20/day) = $140

Steward (additional $40) = $40

Plus tips at Cagney's each day for breakfast and/or lunch = approximately $100

Plus $12/day for usual = $84

 

$464 just on tips :eek:

[fiftyguy]

Tennisfanusa - do not stress the tips. You can only do what you can afford. Some will tip the staff generously while others will do what they can afford. I try to reward good service, but I stay within my budget.

Don't stress and enjoy your trip.

[marelind]

Wow - I'm trying to get the expenses in my head and they are quickly adding up.

 

7-day cruise

Concierge ($20/day) = $140 $100

Butler ($20/day) = $140 $150

Steward (additional $40) = $40 we had two stewards. The steward who told us how hard he worked, how his guests loved him, how we could trust him and leave our computer out when we were out of the cabin got $20. The steward who got the egg crate for my bed the first day, who made all the towel animals and remembered what we liked got $30.

Plus tips at Cagney's each day for breakfast and/or lunch = approximately $100 we did not eat every breakfast and lunch in Cagney's. I've just never left a tip for the servers in Cagney's. I don't feel obligated since they're in the tip pool.

Plus $12/day for usual = $84

 

$464 just on tips :eek:

 

There's a wide range of what people tip. Above I showed what we did in February.

[SuiteTraveler]

This is a more realistic tip estimator - you can compare the tip for the Celebrity Suite to the NCL suites:

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

Typically you tip:

butlers: $3.50 per day per person

Concierge: $1.25 per day per person

 

If the butler does anything extra special for you, increase the tip to reflect that. For example, my butler setup 2 last minute parties in my suite for 15 - 20 guests, so I gave him an extra $100 for each party (or approx. 15% of what the food and wine would have cost) - he was incredibly grateful - so grateful, I wished I could have given him more - but frankly, he deserved the money because he did a great job - he served the guests and posed for photos with them! I gave our concierge $35 for a 7 day cruise. She was so appreciative that she insisted on walking my luggage off the ship for me. We gave her another $20 in appreciation. It doesn't take much to make people happy and they work hard and deserve the money. I'd rather be generous to people who work hard for me than not.

[tennisfanusa]

Tennisfanusa - do not stress the tips. You can only do what you can afford. Some will tip the staff generously while others will do what they can afford. I try to reward good service, but I stay within my budget.

Don't stress and enjoy your trip.

Thank you for your kind words :)

 

I booked the Penthouse suite for myself and my mother as a surprise for her. This is a once in a lifetime trip for us so I want everything to be perfect. I also want to make sure I "act the part" and tip appropriately. My grandmother was a waitress until the age of 72 so I know how important tips are!

[che5904]

Wow - I'm trying to get the expenses in my head and they are quickly adding up.

 

7-day cruise

Concierge ($20/day) = $140

Butler ($20/day) = $140

Steward (additional $40) = $40

Plus tips at Cagney's each day for breakfast and/or lunch = approximately $100

Plus $12/day for usual = $84

 

$464 just on tips :eek:

 

You forgot the 15% on booze and the 18% if you use the spa services

[tennisfanusa]

Thank you for your kind words :)

 

I booked the Penthouse suite for myself and my mother as a surprise for her. This is a once in a lifetime trip for us so I want everything to be perfect. I also want to make sure I "act the part" and tip appropriately. My grandmother was a waitress until the age of 72 so I know how important tips are!

Thank you marelind and SuiteTraveler. I know the people work very hard, so I just want to pay them what is appropriate. I will gladly use that tip calculator to assist me.

 

So here's some questions I have (since you guys are being so nice):

 

#1 - From reading the boards, I know the concierge does this: books your dinner reservations (and gets you window seating), spa treatments, priority to tender, priority to disembark, early access to chocolate buffet (Spirit), preferred seats at the shows...what else am I missing?

 

#2 - A butler will set up your food if you choose to dine in your cabin, right? How did you do a party in your room? Did you know that many people on the cruise?

[MIAMIMEDIA]

Thank you for all the information.

 

One more question...

 

What does the butler do?

Does the family suite on the Star have room for 5 to eat breakfast in the room?

 

What is the role of the concierge?

 

Please excuse my ignorance, I am a newbie to the suite life