Butler/Concierge Duties and Tipping

[Sparkygirl]

Shouldn't that be the way NCL does it?

 

 

 

Ensure that the folks who paid the highest premium prices, get the most individualized attention.

 

 

Are you saying that those who booked the aft SF's on the Dawn paid more and get more personalized service then my family who has booked the forward SA deluxe owners suite which is lumped in with the new SF and SJ suites on deck 12? I'm not following your logic in this..I thought the suite hierarchy started with the GV then SA sequentially down through the alphabet. Unless the ship also has haven suites in which the hierarchy is GV, S1-S number then to non haven suites SA and down.

 

 

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[jmele999]

Are you saying that those who booked the aft SF's on the Dawn paid more and get more personalized service then my family who has booked the forward SA deluxe owners suite which is lumped in with the new SF and SJ suites on deck 12? I'm not following your logic in this..I thought the suite hierarchy started with the GV then SA sequentially down through the alphabet. Unless the ship also has haven suites in which the hierarchy is GV, S1-S number then to non haven suites SA and down.

 

 

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You are correct that the deluxe owner suites are classified as an SA, but they are cheaper than the 2 bedroom family suites.

[madgran]

You are correct that the deluxe owner suites are classified as an SA, but they are cheaper than the 2 bedroom family suites.

 

I think you may be wrong about this. We paid over 1200 more for our dos than the 2 bedroom family suite was.

[Sparkygirl]

I think you may be wrong about this. We paid over 1200 more for our dos than the 2 bedroom family suite was.

 

I believe when we originally booked our DOS it was about 1,000 more than the 2 bedroom family suite. We wanted to picture windows in our bedroom with the second bedroom and a living room so we went ahead and booked it.

 

Even currently at the least expensive sailing with both room types available on the Dawn that I could find the DOS was priced at $300 more than the 2 bedroom family suite.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Sparkygirl

[cruzsnooze]

I wouldn't give $10 PP per day, IMHO that's too high. You are supposed to get great service on s ship so it would have to be over the top for me to give more then $50 for both of us for a 7 night cruise. I personally think people who claim to be so generous with tipping are few and far between and a lot of BS'ing is displayed on these boards.

[DMH15]

I wouldn't give $10 PP per day, IMHO that's too high. You are supposed to get great service on s ship so it would have to be over the top for me to give more then $50 for both of us for a 7 night cruise. I personally think people who claim to be so generous with tipping are few and far between and a lot of BS'ing is displayed on these boards.

 

I will give you my word. No BS. I may be in the minority but don't care. I budget $10 pppd for butler and concierge. Just how I roll.

 

 

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[Sparkygirl]

I will give you my word. No BS. I may be in the minority but don't care. I budget $10 pppd for butler and concierge. Just how I roll.

 

 

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No BS here either. I have also budgeted $10 pppd for the butler and yes I am including the two minor children 3 and 11 in that calculation. I've seen posts where the $10 pppd is based on two adults and even with children in the cabin the guest opts to exclude them from the tip amount.

 

Financially it is a jump from $140 ($10 pppd for 2 adults) versus $280 ($10pppd for 2 adults and 2 children) In our case the 3 year old makes the extra tip budget warranted. I know we will order food into our room, we will request milk and juice in addition to the soda and alcohol. These extra requests require follow up and monitoring by the butler.

 

The concierge I have budgeted at $5 per person per day again kids included for a total amount of $140 for the cruise. Once again the children are the ones who benefit most form the priority debarkation, etc.

[NLH Arizona]

I will give you my word. No BS. I may be in the minority but don't care. I budget $10 pppd for butler and concierge. Just how I roll.

 

 

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Same with me, I budget $10 for me (I travel solo) for the butler and $5 pppd for the concierge. If the posters thinks it is BS, so be it, I don't answer to them. I wouldn't call $10 pppd generous, I'd call it an average tip, but that just my opinion.

 

One should give what they feel is right, that is why they call it a personal decision.

Edited January 3, 2014 by NLH Arizona

[time2cruise1]

Same with me, I budget $10 for me (I travel solo) for the butler and $5 pppd for the concierge. If the posters thinks it is BS, so be it, I don't answer to them. I wouldn't call $10 pppd generous, I'd call it an average tip, but that just my opinion.

 

 

 

One should give what they feel is right, that is why they call it a personal decision.

 

 

Add me to the list of those that budget $10 pppd butler, $5 pppd concierge. That does not mean it is the exact tip I always provide. Up and down depending on services consumed. I did a Panama Canal cruise on the Star once and after 15 days all the butler got from me was $50. He was let go by NCL 2 weeks later. I guess I was not the only unhappy guest.

 

 

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Edited January 3, 2014 by time2cruise1

[Vyhanek]

$10 pp per day is not the average suite tip! Not anywhere close.

 

Perhaps if the guy is bringing you breakfast everyday, and you require a lot of his attention then perhaps I could see it. But if you are more of an average suite passenger or you have 4 people staying in the suite, there is no way $10 per person, per day for the one employee is anywhere near appropriate.

 

Plus, they are salaried employees!! Not like the waiters and room stewards who all share in the standard $12 per person per day and are completely dependent on their tips.

 

For our family of 4 we generally tip the concierge $50 for the entire week! We have him book a couple dinner reservations, maybe book a spa treatment and maybe one lunch in the courtyard.

[JustinCornell]

Tipping is personal, there's no right or wrong IMO.

[jmele999]

I am budgeting $10 per person per day for the butler and $5 for the concierge for our upcoming cruise on the Jewel on 1/19/201 However, that amount will be adjusted according to the service received. For example, I cannot justify giving the butler $20 per day when he only brings our daily snacks. On days on which we use him for serving dinners, his tip will be higher.

[Fishbait17]

Add me to the $10 pp per day for the Butler and $10 per day total (not pp) for the Concierge as a starting point, even with parties of more than two. Only once has the butler been given less (poor service, hardly saw him, but he fulfilled some of his behind the scenes duties and that's worth something) and most of the time he receives more, sometimes much more, dependent on our requests. For 7-day sailings, the range has been from ~$50 (it may have been more, but know it wasn't over $100) for poor service to $375 for spectacular Garden Villa service - I would say our average has been $150-200 per week for two. Tips for the Concierge have been all over the place - from $50 to $250, mostly based on use and need of services, but also on how attentive they were in general.

 

Robin

Edited January 3, 2014 by Fishbait17

[philip_eunice1]

I wouldn't give $10 PP per day, IMHO that's too high. You are supposed to get great service on s ship so it would have to be over the top for me to give more then $50 for both of us for a 7 night cruise. I personally think people who claim to be so generous with tipping are few and far between and a lot of BS'ing is displayed on these boards.

 

 

Can I be your butler pls pls pls :rolleyes:

[KweezyCruiser]

$10 pppd and never any meals in the suite. I consider it the baseline.