How much to tip in a suite?

[NYteacher]

FYI, There are things you can ask the butler to do that are not exactly in the room service delivery vein, but are quite nice.

 

For example, we asked for a pitcher of iced tea daily. Our son likes cookies so we asked for them daily as well. Some butlers are proactive, making suggestions of things they can do, others will fulfill every request, but you must make the request.

 

Have fun, I think we were on the Eurodam together last February.

[valleyvillage]

We have been using the front desk to leave the tips, put the voucher in an envelope with a little note to give them. :D

[everettdav]

My rule owners suite, Butler for 7 days $400 Concierge $100;)

[NengEuis]

We tipped $140 for the week to the butler. (So $10pp/day). We didn't ask for anything out of the ordinary, but she did bring us breakfast to the MINUTE requested each morning, had snacks there every afternoon, and she answered her ship phone every single time I called.

 

I tipped the room steward $80, and the Concierge $40 (since we didn't use them at all, but she did show us around the Haven on the first day)

 

Like a PP said, it's a very personal thing. The butler was fantastic, so I tipped her the max that I had budgeted for at the beginning of our vacation. I found her personally on the last morning (we were slow getting off the ship). The room steward's tip was left in the suite with his name on it. As we were walking out I saw him down the way and I said I left something for him.

[davesgirl51]

I really like the last few posts and they should prove helpful. I bring notecards in envelopes and write a note to our Butler and Concierge and Cabin Steward.

 

We don't tip in the restaurants except under extraordinary circumstances. I write "Vacation Hero" cards. Those cards are read by the top Officers and eventually get to the person they were intended for and serve as recognition for a job well done. They are part of the basis for promotion. They may like tips, but cards get them promotions.

[JMHAM1]

I really like the last few posts and they should prove helpful. I bring notecards in envelopes and write a note to our Butler and Concierge and Cabin Steward.

 

We don't tip in the restaurants except under extraordinary circumstances. I write "Vacation Hero" cards. Those cards are read by the top Officers and eventually get to the person they were intended for and serve as recognition for a job well done. They are part of the basis for promotion. They may like tips, but cards get them promotions.

 

Totally agree! If you take the time to write out a card for someone that lasts longer and has greater impact than a couple of dollars left tableside. That being said, I would never leave them a card in lieu of an actual cash tip.

 

I know from talking to the staff that the cards are taken very seriously and are a big consideration for promos. More people take time to complain than praise so if you get exceptional service, take the time to let them know via the vacation hero cards.

[davesgirl51]

Totally agree! If you take the time to write out a card for someone that lasts longer and has greater impact than a couple of dollars left tableside. That being said, I would never leave them a card in lieu of an actual cash tip.

 

I know from talking to the staff that the cards are taken very seriously and are a big consideration for promos. More people take time to complain than praise so if you get exceptional service, take the time to let them know via the vacation hero cards.

 

I didn't mean to imply that I didn't tip the Butler and the Concierge (and also the cabin steward extra) The money just went in with the notecard.:eek:. What a dreadful thought.

[insidecabin]

At $10pppd a butler with 20pax a cruise on a 10/2 contract(300days) would pull in $60k

[NengEuis]

At $10pppd a butler with 20pax a cruise on a 10/2 contract(300days) would pull in $60k

 

Yes, operating on the assumption that all passengers tip that much...which of course is not the case.

 

If my butler pulled in 60K a year for being away from her kids for 300 days and working her a$$ off week after week, I'd be okay with that. ;)

[TinaMaire2]

I bring note cards along and write a message to each. I like them to know I appreciate all the things they have done for us. As far as the amount we tip, it does depend on how we thought the service was. Usually the butler ($10+/pdpp) but we have tipped more. Room steward is between $50 - $100. The concierge really depends on how much they do. We had Adrian B. on the Pearl a few years ago and he was awesome! We saw him everywhere and he was always wanting to know what he could do to make our trip better. Tipped him well. Last year on the Dawn we had a concierge that was never around. I called once to make dinner reservations, had to leave a message. Waited a few hours and finally called and made it myself. Tried a couple of other times and it just never seemed to work. She did seem to find us on the last day when we were ready to leave!?!?! I did have a note and a small tip ready.

[rvsullivan]

At $10pppd a butler with 20pax a cruise on a 10/2 contract(300days) would pull in $60k

 

And you have a problem with that???? I have no problem with however much my butler makes. If everyone tips that amount or more, that's great. Too many don't tip at all or very little. For what they do, they earn every dime.

[dutchess43]

To the OP first tipping is up to you & depends how much you use the concierge, & butler. We were in a SJ suite on the Gem last month & we gave the concierge more then the butler. We never ate in the room or requested additional meals. The concierge Florentina went above & beyond therefore she was handsomely rewarded. Make your decision once you received service then tip accordingly.

[DebbieCruises]

Does this $10 - 15pp per day hold true for each butler? We will soon have the joy of being in the Haven Courtyard on the Pearl for a week. (I can't wait!) I know they have a butler in the Courtyard area and then each cabin has a butler to do the usual. We were able to upgrade for no extra charge, but it sounds like I need to plan to tip nearly the equivalent of another fare.

butler 1 = $140 - $210 (some go to $400 - $800???)

butler 2 = $140 - $210

concierge = $70 - $140

room steward = $35 - $100

daily service charge = $168 - $168

total = $550 - $828 or much, much more

plus 15% on all drinks and bottles of wine

plus extra tips for dining

plus tipping the stevedores

 

We're now over $1000...right? I thought the $1449pp charge for the cabin was amazing! I've always been happy to tip the hard-working staff and don't begrudge them the extra, but I guess I never realized how much it all adds up to in the end. I better make another trip to the bank.;)

[Fishbait17]

Debbie, quite honestly, in my different experiences with Haven suite, I have only tipped the Haven Butler once - other times I never even met him/her because we spend so little time in the Haven area.. If you use the Haven extensively and are served by the Haven butler, you should tip accordingly - meals and drinks being delivered to the Haven would warrant a better tip than just help getting you a towel or whatever. It really depends upon your use of both butlers, although I think most people generally (people who dont spend all day every day in the Haven) get much more service from their suite butler, and tip their suite butler a higher amount (which are the amounts people are mentioning on this thread).. There are some people who use the Haven butler much more extensively for meals, etc and thus, tip him/her at an equal or higher level than their suite butler. Either way, just follow your instincts for tipping. Hope this makes sense. PS, $1449 for a Haven suite is an AMAZING price!

 

Robin

[figgifumi]

we too have been wondering this! Find it interesting that NCL doesn't provide a recommended tip guidline... so atleast u know where to start. They always did that for other services. Does anyone know if the butler and concierge work only on tipa or if they recieve a base pay from NCL? I would assume they make a decent salary plus our tips right?

[rjm11]

We just came off the Dawn a week ago, and they had a happy hour every afternoon from 4:00 - 6:00 in the Spinnaker. We were told that this is now happening on all of the NCL ships. Our next trip, we will be in the Haven suites on the Pearl. (Yippeee!!:D) Anyway, would it be appropriate or even allowed to ask the butler to get us drinks from the happy hour bar and bring them to our cabin?

 

I don't know the answer to your question, but I would think the butler would do it if asked! Is this happy hour a suite- thing? Or was it for anyone on the ship?

[DebbieCruises]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I would think the butler would do it if asked! Is this happy hour a suite- thing? Or was it for anyone on the ship?

 

It was an open Happy Hour. The first day it was in the Pearly King's sports bar, but that proved to be way to crowded. So they moved it to the Spinnaker. They served a few appetizers and 2-for-1 house wine (red and white), beer, and one-liquor drinks. The head bartender told us it had been started on all of the ships a couple months ago.

[rjm11]

It was an open Happy Hour. The first day it was in the Pearly King's sports bar, but that proved to be way to crowded. So they moved it to the Spinnaker. They served a few appetizers and 2-for-1 house wine (red and white), beer, and one-liquor drinks. The head bartender told us it had been started on all of the ships a couple months ago.

 

Thanks Debbie- sounds great! We'll look for it in March on the Dawn!

[fergusonvt]

Tipping in a suite is all relative to how much you ask for and what is done for you in my opinion. On our cruise in Jan. we saw the concierge at embarkation and dis-embarkation and not once inbetween. Granted we never asked her for anything and didn't leave her a tip. The only task our butler did other than show us how to use the coffee maker was to bring our daily snacks but only brought what we requested once with the remainder being things we specifically told him we didn't want. We left him $50.00 but in my opinion he earned none of it.

[Fishbait17]

Tipping in a suite is all relative to how much you ask for and what is done for you in my opinion. On our cruise in Jan. we saw the concierge at embarkation and dis-embarkation and not once inbetween. Granted we never asked her for anything and didn't leave her a tip. The only task our butler did other than show us how to use the coffee maker was to bring our daily snacks but only brought what we requested once with the remainder being things we specifically told him we didn't want. We left him $50.00 but in my opinion he earned none of it.

 

Wow, that's surprising! The concierge did not attend the suites cocktail party or provide you with the invite or your priority bag tags or anything? Oh well, I suppose some concierges are far worse than others. It also surprises me that your butler did not maintain your coffee maker and supplies (cups, coffee, etc) and ice, but then again some are likely better than others.. Sorry about your experience!

 

Robin

[davesgirl51]

Hmmmmm...wondering if this is going to turn into a political discussion ;)

[fergusonvt]

Wow, that's surprising! The concierge did not attend the suites cocktail party or provide you with the invite or your priority bag tags or anything? Oh well, I suppose some concierges are far worse than others. It also surprises me that your butler did not maintain your coffee maker and supplies (cups, coffee, etc) and ice, but then again some are likely better than others.. Sorry about your experience!

 

Robin

 

We didn't go to the suites party so she may have been there. All the other stuff was left in our cabin when we were not in it. Not a horrible experience by any means, especially since we booked another PH.

[cruisingohiolibrarian]

This summer we tipped as follows.. $50 for the concierge. We did not really use him at all. $100 to our butler who brought us room servivce twice and generally did not do anything we asked such as empty the refrigerator, restock our fruit, etc.., We gave our two room stewards $100 a piece and they were fabulous!! (extra pillows, spilled something and needed clean up help, sparkling clean bathrooms) They went above and beyond to make us comfortable and we felt they deserved the tip more than the others. We also tipped the woman who worked in the Haven. She got us breakfast and lunch several times and was so nice to deal with. I think if you are low maintenance that you can leave less of a tip. We really only wanted a Haven suite for the extra room and private sun deck, not extra service.

[wwb]

Are you also keeping the $12pp per day tips in place as well, or are you removing them? Just got off the Gem, and some of the folks in suites removed the group tips and then tipped individuals. We left tips in place. We also tipped butler, concierge, Cagney waitress who attended us almost every day for breakfast and lunch, room steward. Every time we ate in Le Bistro or Cagneys we tipped an additional $20. Was what we did OK? It was our first experience in an suite. Hope we were appropriate in our tipping... the amounts we gave were similar to what I see here, but need to know if we should have removed standard tips???

Thanks,

wwb

[cabincop]

WWB you did amazing, it is sad people take off the dsc(12) that money goes to everyone who works on the ship ship cleaners, people who clean your sheets, dishwashers etc. I am sure that the staff will never forget you. I also leave tips in pay restaraunts, but never 20 which is very generous. It's nice to read about someone who kinda overtipped, so rare. I do tip in specialty places but not like you. I travel solo and when I tip in Bistro or one of them I leave between 5-10 so you did great. I also tip extra to my steward. I am glad you had a great trip I believe in the golden rule and so I get the impression you are one of the few people who understanbds these people give alot to us and give up so much to do so. Merry Xmas