advice on tipping in advance to consierge and butler?

[Fishbait17]

I just called my PCC at NCL and told her that we wanted to prepay our gratuities. I don't think its an uncommon thing to do because she got right on it, and like I said, we'd done it before on other cruiselines. I didn't specify how much per person, I think they just do a percentage like with any other tip, but I imagine this percentage is based on the length of the cruise. (Ours is 7 days) I have the exact amount we're prepaying in tips in my notes somewhere and will try to look it up for you, but that could take a while since I have literally a notebook full at this point with everything from things I'm going to preorder for the room - like bottles - to shows and specialty restaurants and excursions based on current ones available. Like I said, this is going to be a completely worry free vacation for me. (A first) Remember also, that the prepay in grats for me is just a base and I plan to tip further based on services provided.

 

Thanks for your interest!

 

Oh almost forgot, there is no voucher that I know of, it just magically goes to them and they have a sheet that shows the prepaid grats.

 

Just be warned that generally, when someone tells their NCL rep they want to "prepay their gratuities", it is only for the DSC, and does NOT include the butler and concierge or kid's crew - this is extremely common. NCL reps are frequently uninformed and often give an incorrect answer to questions and often know nothing about Butler and Concierge tipping (I know because of some VERY wrong answers they have given me). You can easily figure out if extra has been included for the butler and concierge this way: Take the number of passengers and multiply by 7 days, then multiply again by $12 per day and write down your answer. Then compare it to how much you were charged by NCL for prepayment. I suspect you will find the numbers match exactly, which will show that the Butler and Concierge tips have not been prepaid. If the amount charged by NCL is higher than your figured amount, then something extra has been included for these extra staff members and you can see exactly how much, but not how it will be divided among them. But, since extra gratuities (for Butler, Concierge, Kid's Crew) are discretionary, I highly doubt that NCL is willing to calculate how much you would like to tip each of these. Just don't want you to get a nasty surprise at the end of your trip or stiff these crew members inadvertently because a rep gave you some misinformation! :)

 

I often charge my extra tips to my onboard account, and they always give me a voucher to present to them after I decide on the amount.

 

Robin

 

 

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[emcelh]

Just be warned that generally, when someone tells their NCL rep they want to "prepay their gratuities", it is only for the DSC, and does NOT include the butler and concierge or kid's crew - this is extremely common. NCL reps are frequently uninformed and often give an incorrect answer to questions and often know nothing about Butler and Concierge tipping (I know because of some VERY wrong answers they have given me). You can easily figure out if extra has been included for the butler and concierge this way: Take the number of passengers and multiply by 7 days, then multiply again by $12 per day and write down your answer. Then compare it to how much you were charged by NCL for prepayment. I suspect you will find the numbers match exactly, which will show that the Butler and Concierge tips have not been prepaid. If the amount charged by NCL is higher than your figured amount, then something extra has been included for these extra staff members and you can see exactly how much, but not how it will be divided among them. But, since extra gratuities (for Butler, Concierge, Kid's Crew) are discretionary, I highly doubt that NCL is willing to calculate how much you would like to tip each of these. Just don't want you to get a nasty surprise at the end of your trip or stiff these crew members inadvertently because a rep gave you some misinformation! :)

 

I often charge my extra tips to my onboard account, and they always give me a voucher to present to them after I decide on the amount.

 

Robin

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I suspect you're right Robin. If NancyG or anyone else wanted to have those tips covered in advance you could probably buy OBC to cover the amount you expect to tip then use vouchers to give to the staff.

Wouldn't that work?

[dexddd]

 

I often charge my extra tips to my onboard account, and they always give me a voucher to present to them after I decide on the amount.

 

Robin

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

We did this the last time so we didn't have to worry about taking the extra cash with. I went down to Guest Services on Day 6 of a 7 day and asked to get tip vouchers for Butler, Concierge, and we also extra tipped room steward. I knew 2 out of the 3 last names but it really didn't matter as the person had to go in the back and look up their employee number (or something along those lines - it was 4 digits).

 

She wrote up a paper charge slip like you often see elsewhere on the ship and gave us a copy which we could put in an envelope with a note. It was much nicer being able to do it this way.

[MrsNancyG]

Just be warned that generally, when someone tells their NCL rep they want to "prepay their gratuities", it is only for the DSC, and does NOT include the butler and concierge or kid's crew - this is extremely common. NCL reps are frequently uninformed and often give an incorrect answer to questions and often know nothing about Butler and Concierge tipping (I know because of some VERY wrong answers they have given me). You can easily figure out if extra has been included for the butler and concierge this way: Take the number of passengers and multiply by 7 days, then multiply again by $12 per day and write down your answer. Then compare it to how much you were charged by NCL for prepayment. I suspect you will find the numbers match exactly, which will show that the Butler and Concierge tips have not been prepaid. If the amount charged by NCL is higher than your figured amount, then something extra has been included for these extra staff members and you can see exactly how much, but not how it will be divided among them. But, since extra gratuities (for Butler, Concierge, Kid's Crew) are discretionary, I highly doubt that NCL is willing to calculate how much you would like to tip each of these. Just don't want you to get a nasty surprise at the end of your trip or stiff these crew members inadvertently because a rep gave you some misinformation! :)

 

I often charge my extra tips to my onboard account, and they always give me a voucher to present to them after I decide on the amount.

 

Robin

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

While this had not been my experience in the past, in the past I hadn't cruised NCL. So just for safety sake, I'll give my PCC a call later today or tomorrow to make sure we're talking grats and not DSC. Although when I pointedly asked if our butler and conceirge was included in the grats she assured me they were. But it can't hurt to double check.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

[computerworks]

I would be very surprised if it did...since there is no set formula at NCL for butler/concierge grats.

 

Let us know what you find out.

[gskimmel]

We did this the last time so we didn't have to worry about taking the extra cash with. I went down to Guest Services on Day 6 of a 7 day and asked to get tip vouchers for Butler, Concierge, and we also extra tipped room steward. I knew 2 out of the 3 last names but it really didn't matter as the person had to go in the back and look up their employee number (or something along those lines - it was 4 digits).

 

She wrote up a paper charge slip like you often see elsewhere on the ship and gave us a copy which we could put in an envelope with a note. It was much nicer being able to do it this way.

 

We will be in a suite in September and will be our first time on NCL. Can we tip using cash or do we need to use the voucher system?

[DaisyGoldberg]

JMO, but since they are not included in the DSC (Daily Service Charge) I'm sure they would appreciate (expect?) at least a little "somethin somethin" from you.

 

Of course, it's totally up to you if you want to acknowledge them or not, but once you're onboard you might find that you use them more than you think you will. ;)

 

 

I'm actually a very good tipper -- wouldn't dream of stiffing them, especially if they did nice things for us when we're out.

 

I just don't like people hovering over me, and feeling like I'm supposed to find something for them to do, or else I'm wasting their time. Glad to hear that's not the case!

[computerworks]

We will be in a suite in September and will be our first time on NCL. Can we tip using cash or do we need to use the voucher system?

 

Cash is just fine.

[Sparkygirl]

We are in our first suite in September traveling with our 20 month old. Who would be responsible for things for the toddler? The butler, room steward, both?

 

Thinking about snacks, dirty diapers, etc.

[softsands]

Wow, thanks for the responses...you see, TIP means to "insure" promptness. This to me means that you would invest in advance...I know that when my uncle had his daughter's wedding he tipped all the servers $20 and told them if everything went well, he'd have another $20 at the end of the reception. This back in the 80"s so a twenty was pretty nice.

 

I guess that impressed me, and since I am really hoping to have an outstanding experience on this cruise, I wondered how to best engage the perks of the suite. I know from being in service long ago that you cannot typically provide outstanding service to all, so you choose where to put your best energies.

 

I know what one person said really IS TRUE, you get what you give. I'm always aware that no one is beneath another and value everyone, so I do usually find people are kind in return.

 

Not sure what to do.

I thought of $100 as a good week tip for each, NEVER thought of tipping the kids counselors!

 

Do you tip bartenders as you go like in a regular bar on land?:confused::confused:

 

Tipping in advance is gauche.

[MrsNancyG]

Tipping in advance is gauche.

 

Or cost effective, however, your comment leads me to believe that cost is not an issue for you and therefore you don't consider that it may be to anyone else either. Opinions are like butts...everyone has one.

[candygirl27540]

Any answers yet on the pre paid butler and concierge tips?

[dwjoe]

I just called my PCC at NCL and told her that we wanted to prepay our gratuities. I don't think its an uncommon thing to do because she got right on it, and like I said, we'd done it before on other cruiselines. I didn't specify how much per person, I think they just do a percentage like with any other tip, but I imagine this percentage is based on the length of the cruise.

I think there may be some confusion between "service charges" and "gratuities".

 

Service charges are a fixed amount per guest per day (currently $12) and go towards compensating the crew. You can easily prepay them if you wish.

 

On NCL, gratuities beyond the service charge are at your discretion, not for any fixed amount. It is common to give a gratuity to the concierge and/or butler according to services rendered. I've seen numbers here like $50-$100 for a 7 day cruise but it could vary widely depending on how much you used their services. Since there is no set amount, I don't see how you would prepay them. Doesn't mean it's impossible, but I have not come across any thread about that on cruisecritic.

 

On other cruise lines, "service charges" are known as "gratuities" hence the possible confusion.

 

here are references to NCL's FAQ on this topic

http://www2.ncl.com/faq#service-charge

http://www2.ncl.com/faq#tipping

[MrsNancyG]

I think there may be some confusion between "service charges" and "gratuities".

 

Service charges are a fixed amount per guest per day (currently $12) and go towards compensating the crew. You can easily prepay them if you wish.

 

On NCL, gratuities beyond the service charge are at your discretion, not for any fixed amount. It is common to give a gratuity to the concierge and/or butler according to services rendered. I've seen numbers here like $50-$100 for a 7 day cruise but it could vary widely depending on how much you used their services. Since there is no set amount, I don't see how you would prepay them. Doesn't mean it's impossible, but I have not come across any thread about that on cruisecritic.

 

On other cruise lines, "service charges" are known as "gratuities" hence the possible confusion.

 

here are references to NCL's FAQ on this topic

http://www2.ncl.com/faq#service-charge

http://www2.ncl.com/faq#tipping

 

I stand errr, sit, corrected. In contacting my PCC yesterday on this topic, first I found out she's gone and that makes me sad. But new eyes on my account brought new insight. Indeed it was DSC she had put down for prepayment, now I'm working with my new guy so we can put a certain amount aside for room stewart, butler and conceirge (an amount of my choosing, which for now will be the minimum I feel is acceptable which I can add to as the cruise progresses) as I continue to rack up OBCs and Casino promotions. So with a little extra effort, my prepaid grats will indeed be taken care of one way or another. So a big thanks to the OP for the topic and helping me discover this error far enough in advance to correct it to my liking.

[computerworks]

Glad it got clarified... so you would have no surprises. :p