Even after reading lots of topics - I am still confused - tipping in a suite....

[DMH15]

As far as I am concerned, when I pay the large price for the Haven I am paying for these services. These are not services taken for granted, but have been paid for. That being said I do tip for services above and beyond. But to tip extra because an elevator was held or a tender was waiting for me or a reservation was made is, as far as I am concerned, the concierge`s job and what I have paid for in the hefty price.

Sorry. I disagree. Kinda like saying you paid the hefty price for your steak at a restaurant and therefore no tip to your server. Like the server, the butler and concierge are "service positions". Your hefty price provides you access to them, acess that is not provided to non-suite passengers. When services are actually performed, such as elevator being held or a tender provided with special handling or a reservations made, the person performing that service is spending time doing things for YOU. If they are not being tipped by you, better their efforts are spent on others who graciously provide monetary appreciation.

[hpecorari]

We are retired and we tip according to what we ask of the butler, concierge, and room steward. We figure $300 and split accordingly. If there is above and beyond maybe more. We also tip the Cagney's hostess and wait staff. We are not millionaires by any stretch but we factor in special tips as part of our vacation.

 

I do the same thing. The reason I asked, "what about those who are retired' is because someone mentioned tipping according to what they make per hour on their job. I, personally, don't see what someone makes per hour on their job has to do with what to tip others per hour and how one can use the amount per hour they make to figure out how to tip someone else.........but maybe that's just me.

 

Harriet

[DMH15]

I do the same thing. The reason I asked, "what about those who are retired' is because someone mentioned tipping according to what they make per hour on their job. I, personally, don't see what someone makes per hour on their job has to do with what to tip others per hour and how one can use the amount per hour they make to figure out how to tip someone else.........but maybe that's just me.

 

Harriet

Absolutely agree.

 

I cruise in PHs. I work as an office accountant and general office. I make decent pay, but as a divorced woman with no kids I just manage my money smartly and budget for the kind of vacations I like. I am in PH1 and a CEO making over 10x my salary is in PH2. We use the butler and concierge in similar fashion. Does he tip 10x my tip? No way. (Or, do I tip only 10% of his fair tip based on my earnings?)

Edited July 6, 2015 by DMH15

[wilmingtech]

$800 for one week per cabin...lets say on the light side 4 cabins per butler. That would be 3200.00 per week or 12,800 per month if that was the standard rate of tipping. That's a little bit crazy (153,600.00 a year in tips alone for those counting)

 

I grew up in the service industry and while I work in a completely different environment these days (still tipped on occasion) for the first half of my life 90% of my income was from tips.

 

Two types of tipping - Discretionary and Non-Discretionary (Dtip and NDtip)

 

There are typically two reasons for the Dtip. 1. Because you are expecting a specific level of service. 2. Because you are grateful for a service that has been provided.

 

NDtip would be an expected tip and usually this is a flat rate tip and is the corporate way of levying costs to the guests to making prices seem cheaper. In the case of cruising a 499.00 inside instead of a 599.00 or in the good ol USA its the ability to pay your servers in a resteraunt half minimum wage while they are expected to get a 15-18% tip from guests thus keeping the costs of food dishes lower.

 

In the case of Non-discretionary tipping, I suggest that you ALWAYS pay this. The only reason to not pay this is if the person receiving the NDtip is not doing their job. For example your room is not made up after being out all day. If the person providing the service performs that service then the NDtip should be paid.

 

Now my point of view on this is that if you are going to leave none or less than the specified NDtip then you should inform the persons that would receive this tip as to why you are not tipping (preferably at the time of incident) At the very least inform the person they report to.

 

According to NCL the DSC (NDtip) is split between the room steward, servers and back of house services (I'm assuming assistant waitstaff, expediter and maybe the stewards in the kitchen and pool areas) I am sure there is a document or info somewhere on how it gets distributed. (My educated guess is that the additional 2$ per person for suites is going to butler and assistants working in the suite area)

 

As far as discretionary tipping - (This includes the kids program, butler and concierge services who are salaried according to NCL) you can wait until the end of the week to tip but I think anyone who works in the service industry would rather get the tip when the service is rendered. Not only that but it gives the person you are tipping a "barometer" of how well or poor they are doing. If you ask a butler to stop bringing savory snacks and instead bring desserts for your wife at the end of the day and then hand him a 10$ bill you can bet either you'll have desserts every night or a pocketful of 10$ bills at the end of the week. The downside to this is always having to have a handful of 1s, 5s and 10s in your pocket.

 

In addition to that if a service member goes out of their way for you then let them know the service is appreciated by handing them a 5 or 10 when the service happens. Most experienced and well trained staff will go out of their way for you regardless of a tip but it is always appreciated even if they don't accept it (unless its a cultural thing such as tipping a white collared worker in India or certain employs in Asia as it can be considered rude)

 

My overall preference as a guest is something higher end hotels are now doing where tipping is not allowed (as service should be exemplary regardless of tipping) and all employees will not accept tips. Most of these places will allow you to leave a tip for the entire staff at the end of the stay and mention someone by name if they need to be recognized. I think this is what NCL is pushing for this from a corporate level but it would be difficult for them to encourage employs to make less (especially if they are making 800$ a week in tips per cabin!) for a flat rate that NCL would have to pay out of pocket to make up for the Dtips that personel is currently making.

 

How Much to Tip?

I'd start at tipping 10$ per butler per day per cabin. That's 70$ for a week. More if you need butler services. We are very independant and would use a butler for very little but I know and understand that there are many whose experience is greatly improved buy using a butler.

 

Using the simple one butler per 4 cabins that's 280 a week, 1120 a month or 13440 in additional tips a year added to your salary. I'm sure somone out there knows how many butlers there are per number of cabins. If you use the butler more than tip more...less, tip less or not at all if so inclined.

 

As far as Concierge, I would tip as needed and more heavily tip depending on the request. If I need a specific table with a specific view at a specific time with specific persons then maybe tip a 20$ but if its just to ask if they can make a reservation for us maybe 5 or 10.

 

That could be 100$ for the week for the concierge if used at all. I can't see us using the concierge much as we preplan dinners before the cruise and are pretty loose leaf and just go with the flow once we get on.

 

As for tipping the personnel in the kids club, there is not enough money in the world to get me in there babysitting other peoples kids. Lets just say we appreciate what they do and generously let them know.

 

-Sean

[sail7seas]

I'm going to be a solo in a Penthouse on Dawn.

Should I double the tips over and above the DSC seeing I have to pay double the fare?

 

[rvsullivan]

Every week of so someone comes along and determines they have done the math and Butlers and Concierges are making 10's of thousands per month and thus deserve very little or no tips. I've never understood how the amount of money a person makes has anything to do with the service they provide and therefore should not be tipped.

You know that the Butlers are not making $150,000 or more per year!! People would be lined up to get one of the jobs, especially on the Pride of America where it is mostly an American crew.

Most that worry and try to convince others to lower or not tip at all are simply trying to justify being cheap! No other reason. Those that refuse to tip will never be swayed to do the "right thing" and just need to be ignored. The real issue is the new cruisers that are convinced to stiff the hard working crew by this small minority.

Edited July 6, 2015 by rvsullivan

[DMH15]

$800 for one week per cabin...lets say on the light side 4 cabins per butler. That would be 3200.00 per week or 12,800 per month if that was the standard rate of tipping. That's a little bit crazy (153,600.00 a year in tips alone for those counting)

 

I grew up in the service industry and while I work in a completely different environment these days (still tipped on occasion) for the first half of my life 90% of my income was from tips.

 

Two types of tipping - Discretionary and Non-Discretionary (Dtip and NDtip)

 

There are typically two reasons for the Dtip. 1. Because you are expecting a specific level of service. 2. Because you are grateful for a service that has been provided.

 

NDtip would be an expected tip and usually this is a flat rate tip and is the corporate way of levying costs to the guests to making prices seem cheaper. In the case of cruising a 499.00 inside instead of a 599.00 or in the good ol USA its the ability to pay your servers in a resteraunt half minimum wage while they are expected to get a 15-18% tip from guests thus keeping the costs of food dishes lower.

 

In the case of Non-discretionary tipping, I suggest that you ALWAYS pay this. The only reason to not pay this is if the person receiving the NDtip is not doing their job. For example your room is not made up after being out all day. If the person providing the service performs that service then the NDtip should be paid.

 

Now my point of view on this is that if you are going to leave none or less than the specified NDtip then you should inform the persons that would receive this tip as to why you are not tipping (preferably at the time of incident) At the very least inform the person they report to.

 

According to NCL the DSC (NDtip) is split between the room steward, servers and back of house services (I'm assuming assistant waitstaff, expediter and maybe the stewards in the kitchen and pool areas) I am sure there is a document or info somewhere on how it gets distributed. (My educated guess is that the additional 2$ per person for suites is going to butler and assistants working in the suite area)

 

As far as discretionary tipping - (This includes the kids program, butler and concierge services who are salaried according to NCL) you can wait until the end of the week to tip but I think anyone who works in the service industry would rather get the tip when the service is rendered. Not only that but it gives the person you are tipping a "barometer" of how well or poor they are doing. If you ask a butler to stop bringing savory snacks and instead bring desserts for your wife at the end of the day and then hand him a 10$ bill you can bet either you'll have desserts every night or a pocketful of 10$ bills at the end of the week. The downside to this is always having to have a handful of 1s, 5s and 10s in your pocket.

 

In addition to that if a service member goes out of their way for you then let them know the service is appreciated by handing them a 5 or 10 when the service happens. Most experienced and well trained staff will go out of their way for you regardless of a tip but it is always appreciated even if they don't accept it (unless its a cultural thing such as tipping a white collared worker in India or certain employs in Asia as it can be considered rude)

 

My overall preference as a guest is something higher end hotels are now doing where tipping is not allowed (as service should be exemplary regardless of tipping) and all employees will not accept tips. Most of these places will allow you to leave a tip for the entire staff at the end of the stay and mention someone by name if they need to be recognized. I think this is what NCL is pushing for this from a corporate level but it would be difficult for them to encourage employs to make less (especially if they are making 800$ a week in tips per cabin!) for a flat rate that NCL would have to pay out of pocket to make up for the Dtips that personel is currently making.

 

How Much to Tip?

I'd start at tipping 10$ per butler per day per cabin. That's 70$ for a week. More if you need butler services. We are very independant and would use a butler for very little but I know and understand that there are many whose experience is greatly improved buy using a butler.

 

Using the simple one butler per 4 cabins that's 280 a week, 1120 a month or 13440 in additional tips a year added to your salary. I'm sure somone out there knows how many butlers there are per number of cabins. If you use the butler more than tip more...less, tip less or not at all if so inclined.

 

As far as Concierge, I would tip as needed and more heavily tip depending on the request. If I need a specific table with a specific view at a specific time with specific persons then maybe tip a 20$ but if its just to ask if they can make a reservation for us maybe 5 or 10.

 

That could be 100$ for the week for the concierge if used at all. I can't see us using the concierge much as we preplan dinners before the cruise and are pretty loose leaf and just go with the flow once we get on.

 

As for tipping the personnel in the kids club, there is not enough money in the world to get me in there babysitting other peoples kids. Lets just say we appreciate what they do and generously let them know.

 

-Sean

 

C'mon. We all know the GV isn't "one cabin". And it certainly is not your typical suite. And we pretty much know the service is a notch above for the GVs. As it should be.

Edited July 6, 2015 by DMH15

[Imalismom]

Thank you for those that answered - I think I have this one figured out now - will put a more in each envelope and then go from there as to whether I leave it all in there or take a some out.

 

Have one more tipping question, but will start new topic on it.

[wilmingtech]

C'mon. We all know the GV isn't "one cabin". And it certainly is not your typical suite. And we pretty much know the service is a notch above for the GVs. As it should be.

Sorry - you are correct. I was not thinking GV. Was thinking 1 and 2 bedroom suites. But still I think 10$ per person per day is extreme. Should your expected tips be more than 15-20% total of what you paid for the suite?

 

So to the original question posted by the OP -

What's the baseline? What's the expected amount? What's too little? What's too much? NCL is telling people on their website that no tip other than the DSC is expected but tips are welcome, I highly disagree with that but what is reasonable? It seems there are as many answers as there are cruisers and the world may never know [emoji1]

 

-Sean

Edited July 6, 2015 by wilmingtech

[phissy]

Poster is on the POA. There is no Haven so comments regarding courtyard and Haven do not apply.

I agree with all who wait until end of cruise to decide how to tip. Our service has been very uneven in our last 3 Suites. Great butler, terrible room Steward and concierge. Great room stward, bad butler etc, you get the idea.

You cannot anticipate who will shine and make your cruise a fabulous experience. I do bring actual thank you cards in which I enclose the tips to each recipient.

Who knows, it may be our butler, room steward or even hostess at Cagney's who stands out. All receive tips, but some more than others.:D

[hpecorari]

NCL is telling people on their website that no tip other than the DSC is expected but tips are welcome,-Sean

 

Well, that's only half true :) NCL's website also says that certain people such as Butlers, Concierges and child care givers are NOT a part of the DSC and don't receive any of the DSC so therefore should be tipped accordingly.

 

Harriet

[Kingmaker_inc]

We are not millionaires by any stretch but we factor in special tips as part of our vacation.

 

Exactly.

[DMH15]

Sorry - you are correct. I was not thinking GV. Was thinking 1 and 2 bedroom suites. But still I think 10$ per person per day is extreme. Should your expected tips be more than 15-20% total of what you paid for the suite?

 

So to the original question posted by the OP -

What's the baseline? What's the expected amount? What's too little? What's too much? NCL is telling people on their website that no tip other than the DSC is expected but tips are welcome, I highly disagree with that but what is reasonable? It seems there are as many answers as there are cruisers and the world may never know [emoji1]

 

-Sean

I stick by my $10 pppd based on my wants and needs. I base this on two in a cabin as this is what I have always done. I have cruised with my 80 year old mom and my 18 year old vegan niece. So, yes... We are not your average suite guest. But I joke my mom actually gave one of our butlers the shoes off her feet. She had brought new shoes on the cruise, they had a small heel and she decided she was too unsteady. She asked our butler's shoe size and long story short they were a perfect fit.

 

I am more than happy to have the "problem" of tipping an excellent butler as my first one was not good at all. This was discussed between a few of us in suites that cruise. Our dear concierge was so apologetic and tried to help resolve the issues. But what do you do when your butler gets off in one of the ports and keeps going? Yes, that actually happened! I much prefer tipping a butler who is actually there.

 

And finally, I will be in a PH next time with my sis and niece. We have discussed a combined $25 per day allotment for each of the the butler and the concierge and $10 per day for our steward if we feel he or she is excellent. Since we have only had excellent stewards we want to be prepared. If the steward is average to below average we would leave no extra. So, this would be $60 times 7 (nights) for a total of $420 for 3 people, roughly 10% of our cruise fare. I can live with that. And I believe those we tip will be fine with that too. Of course, this is based on receiving good service and those being tipped staying on board for the whole cruise.

Edited July 6, 2015 by DMH15

[Kingmaker_inc]

NCL's website also says that certain people such as Butlers, Concierges and child care givers are NOT a part of the DSC and don't receive any of the DSC so therefore should be tipped accordingly.

Harriet

 

 

Harriet or anyone else, can you please direct me to where it is explained who is in on the DSC and who isn't? I would find that very helpful for future cruises.

[zqvol]

Still trying to figure out how much to tip the concierge and butler.

 

We will be on the POA.

 

I have made all our dinner reservations, and have made all our shore excursions for each port.

 

We will be DH, me, DD (aged 22) and her friend ( also 22 - figured she might want someone her own age to pal around with) .

 

We may or may not have some breakfast in the cabin - but if it is hard getting the two girls up, we might for them.

 

We did request the mini frig be emptied, and we requested some pillows. We also are having a "congrats" package put up before we get to the cabin.

 

I have an envelope for each day already for whoever cleans the cabin ($20 each day).

 

I want to have these two tips in an envelope also already. I was thinking $100 for the butler and $50 for the concierge - but I do not want to give them too little - however, I think for what we are doing $350 as some have suggested in other topics is too much.

 

What would you do in my case?

 

First the DSC covers the people who clean the room. If you want to give them extra by all means feel free to do so, but don't feel like you need to add anything extra.

 

Concerning the butler and concierge, I find it impossible to decide what, if anything to give them until we get on the ship. I suspect that you are not going to use the concierge for anything and use of the butler is going to be minimal. You are probably over tipping, but if you are comfortable with those figures feel free to use them. Based on what you have said you are going to use them for I suspect that a total of $75 is more than enough.

[sail7seas]

I stick by my $10 pppd based on my wants and needs. I base this on two in a cabin as this is what I have always done. I have cruised with my 80 year old mom and my 18 year old vegan niece. So, yes... We are not your average suite guest. But I joke my mom actually gave one of our butlers the shoes off her feet. She had brought new shoes on the cruise, they had a small heel and she decided she was too unsteady. She asked our butler's shoe size and long story short they were a perfect fit.

 

I am more than happy to have the "problem" of tipping an excellent butler as my first one was not good at all. This was discussed between a few of us in suites that cruise. Our dear concierge was so apologetic and tried to help resolve the issues. But what do you do when your butler gets off in one of the ports and keeps going? Yes, that actually happened! I much prefer tipping a butler who is actually there.

 

And finally, I will be in a PH next time with my sis and niece. We have discussed a combined $25 per day allotment for each of the the butler and the concierge and $10 per day for our steward if we feel he or she is excellent. Since we have only had excellent stewards we want to be prepared. If the steward is average to below average we would leave no extra. So, this would be $60 times 7 (nights) for a total of $420 for 3 people, roughly 10% of our cruise fare. I can live with that. And I believe those we tip will be fine with that too. Of course, this is based on receiving good service and those being tipped staying on board for the whole cruise.

 

This is the first time I will be sailing solo as I lost my DH last year. I don't know if I am expected to tip double though I will be alone in the Suite. Any thoughts?

 

Edited July 6, 2015 by sail7seas

[Starflyr3]

Im trying to figure this out, myself.

 

We'll be in a family suite, and $40/day for the butler and $20/day for the concierge seems a bit much, but if we use them extensively, maybe not. about $300 for butler, $150 for concierge, plus $150 for kids club and then some amount for Cagneys and courtyard attendant, along with bartenders, etc? so...bring along an additional 1k for tips? On top of the 9k pricetag for the room itself? I guess its reasonable.

[sail7seas]

If you look at it as( + - ) 10% it doesn't sound so much. :)

Except that it is in addition to DSC already paid (presumably).

 

Edited July 6, 2015 by sail7seas

[vinnytman]

C'mon. We all know the GV isn't "one cabin". And it certainly is not your typical suite. And we pretty much know the service is a notch above for the GVs. As it should be.

 

 

There were 5 of us in the GV. There's 3 bedrooms, huge living room, dining room, and 2 floors of outdoor space.

 

But we were planning on tipping the butler $350. We tipped $800 because we had a few dinners in our room consisting of steak from cagneys and lobster from le bistro -- on the same nights. We all had the UDP so no extra charges[emoji1]

 

Never one complaint from our butler. It was some running around. But we always made sure to tell him early afternoon what our dinner plans were so he'd be prepared.

 

One day our espresso machine broke and I called him. I told him to check on it when he had time. Literally a few minutes later he was in our room with a new espresso machine.

 

It was exceptional service. But we having nothing to judge the experience against since it was our first NCL cruise, and we've never had a butler in our lives.

[DMH15]

This is the first time I will be sailing solo as I lost my DH last year. I don't know if I am expected to tip double though I will be alone in the Suite. Any thoughts?

 

This is a question I have been asking myself because I too am contemplating trying a solo cruise for simply R & R.

 

I really haven't read much about tipping while cruising solo, especially in a suite. But I am inclined to treat it like I do when I dine out solo. I expect servers would spot a woman alone and groan thinking their tip would be lower than a couple, or even a single man Fortunately, I get great service most of the time and I expect that is in part to my attitude and friendliness. When dining alone I bump my tip up to 25% to 30%. So, using that rationale with the same level of service I would bump my $10 per day up into the range of $13 to $15 per day, rounding to probably $100 for a 7 night cruise.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

This is the first time I will be sailing solo as I lost my DH last year. I don't know if I am expected to tip double though I will be alone in the Suite. Any thoughts?

 

 

I'm sorry for you loss. I'm also a solo cruiser these days, so I was wondering the same thing when I took my first solo cruise last year. But, no, you tip for one since you're receiving service for one. Of course, they would earn more in tips if there were more people in the room, but that doesn't mean you have the burden of making that up. If there were two people in a room that could have four people in it, they wouldn't be expected to tip double.

 

When I cruised solo last year, I prepaid the DSC and then tipped my steward a little extra at the end of the week because he gave me excellent service. But, I didn't tip double.

[DMH15]

Im trying to figure this out, myself.

 

We'll be in a family suite, and $40/day for the butler and $20/day for the concierge seems a bit much, but if we use them extensively, maybe not. about $300 for butler, $150 for concierge, plus $150 for kids club and then some amount for Cagneys and courtyard attendant, along with bartenders, etc? so...bring along an additional 1k for tips? On top of the 9k pricetag for the room itself? I guess its reasonable.

I believe it is reasonable to use $10 pppd for guest 1 and 2 and $5 pppd for guest 3 & 4 providing you are a unit and not making complicated requests, such as dinner served from 4 different restaurants and of course this would be a baseline, adding more if I utilized services extensively.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for the comments about solo cruiser tipping. Very helpful.

 

[watchdiva]

Sail...Our son is a solo cruiser in PH or OS and has always tipped according to the service he has receive and not on a predetermined amount (I can tell you he is very generous). You should tip on your degree of satisfaction with services rendered. If for any reason you are dissatisfied with the service, speak with the HD to resolve sues/concerns while on board. The HD's on NCL are very accessible....

[ColinIllinois]

This is the first time I will be sailing solo as I lost my DH last year. I don't know if I am expected to tip double though I will be alone in the Suite. Any thoughts?

 

 

 

Absolutely not. You are only one person. Tip accordingly.