Timing of tipping butler and concierge

[janyyqin]

Hello. I need the advice on when to tip the butler and concierge. Should I tip them when I need the service? Should I wait till the last day? Should I tip them part of it at the beginning of the cruise? What's the pons and cons?

[Greciangirl]

I tipped the night before debarkation based on the service i used and received. I dont believe their are any benefits to tipping ahead of time although some think you will get better service that way.

 

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[NLH Arizona]

I tip the Butler the last day/night and I tip the Concierge the morning of disembarkation.

 

I know some think that if you tip upfront you get better service, but in over 35+ cruises, I've never tipped upfront and have always had fantastic service from Room Stewards and Butlers and Concierge (except for one) and I don't think her service would have improved if I tipped upfront or stood on my head.

[janyyqin]

I was just back from the Jewel NCL for the Mexican Riviera cruise. I had a two bedroom family villa in the hevan level. My Butler was very good to us throughout the trip. I tipped my Butler the morning before the disembarkation. And he disappeared after that. He did not even replace the fresh fruit bowl that he always do for us. I wonder if I tipped him too early.

[zqvol]

Hello. I need the advice on when to tip the butler and concierge. Should I tip them when I need the service? Should I wait till the last day? Should I tip them part of it at the beginning of the cruise? What's the pons and cons?

 

 

The last evening on board is an appropriate time.

[amarvel]

We always tip the evening before disembarkation.

[DMH15]

I was just back from the Jewel NCL for the Mexican Riviera cruise. I had a two bedroom family villa in the hevan level. My Butler was very good to us throughout the trip. I tipped my Butler the morning before the disembarkation. And he disappeared after that. He did not even replace the fresh fruit bowl that he always do for us. I wonder if I tipped him too early.

 

 

Or they ran out of fruit. It happens.

[Greciangirl]

Has any one had Willie on the Getaway and if so what did you think of him as a butler?

 

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[perkydebrajean]

We tipped our butler and room steward the last evening and the concierge when we met up with her for disembarkation.

[phissy]

Do you mean Willie Hernandez??

He is from Goa, India. ( south Goa , not North)

If this is the one you mean, yes, that really is his last name. Many migrated fromSpain to Goa India years ago. They have Spanish last names.

[Greciangirl]

Yes what did you think of him?

 

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[phissy]

We really like him , ans consider him a friend.

We first met him on the Pearl. He was our room steward. Next year, he heard we were on board and came by to visit. We were aft and he had forward. Next year, we were in Suite and again, he came by to see us. He invited us to his wedding, exchanged info and we received a beautiful letter from him. He told us then he was hoping to move to one of the " new" ships. We have not seen him since his move but glad to hear he is on the ship he wanted. Is Prem the HD on that ship? We miss him also. I remember hearing he went to either Getaway or Breakaway.

From your post , I cannot tell if you like him as a butler or if you had issues with him?

He does have a great smile and is always happy.

[Greciangirl]

We really like him , ans consider him a friend.

We first met him on the Pearl. He was our room steward. Next year, he heard we were on board and came by to visit. We were aft and he had forward. Next year, we were in Suite and again, he came by to see us. He invited us to his wedding, exchanged info and we received a beautiful letter from him. He told us then he was hoping to move to one of the " new" ships. We have not seen him since his move but glad to hear he is on the ship he wanted. Is Prem the HD on that ship? We miss him also. I remember hearing he went to either Getaway or Breakaway.

From your post , I cannot tell if you like him as a butler or if you had issues with him?

He does have a great smile and is always happy.

Well i have mixed feelings. He did not come by to introduce himself and our room steward kept making excuses for him stating there was a large family in the haven aft (we were forward) and he was extremely busy. None of our pre concierge requests were done as far as snacks etc although that has been a common problem with the pre concierge dept from what i understand so i dont really fault him. We just didnt have much contact with him which was unusual based on our previous experience with other butlers. And when we ordered a pot of coffee in the morning he asked why we werent using the machine in the suite. We like to chat and get to know the staff and we just didnt have that with him. Maybe he was having an off week or there were issues in the aft but we just kind of felt we were forgotten.

 

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[Barb Nahoumi]

Or they ran out of fruit. It happens.

 

Either that, or it's no longer fresh at cruise end. My husband ordered bananas with cereal on last day's breakfast, and the waiter said that they weren't good. He recommended something else.

[garnet115]

When I tried to give a small tip to the butler on the first day, he declined and told me to tip him at the end after I see whether I am satisfied with the service received. I tipped him the afternoon before disembarkation, and he accepted it, but assured me that it could have waited until the next morning, when he served us in-suite breakfast. Tipping the day before did not impact his service on the last morning, when he showed up with a smile. The same goes for our room steward.

[TSUmom]

On our last cruise we actually just had it done through our on board account the day before disembarking. We were not sure how or when the Butler or Concierge would be notified but the morning of Embarkation they both told us thank you for our generosity.

[cb at sea]

Tipping on cruises is traditionally done on the last evening.

[vicocala]

I went to guest services in the middle of my cruise and had the tips for the butler and concierge added. A couple of days later I got a nice thank you from the butler and I think he was a bit surprised as we left him what I thought was a generous tip considering he basically only brought us the mid-afternoon snacks. They receive notification when you do it through customer service and it avoids the awkwardness I feel handing someone money directly.

[detroitlions]

But tipping before service does not make sense . What are you tipping for expected service lol. No and all of this is usually a stupid debate on these boards.

[Tricialy]

I tip the Butler the last day/night and I tip the Concierge the morning of disembarkation.

.

 

This is what we do - we used to tip both on disembarkation day, but sometimes if the butler is busy we didn't see him and felt bad leaving it with the Concierge. I'm sure they passed the envelope on, but why add extra work for someone? :)

Edited January 18, 2016 by Tricialy

[janyyqin]

I sure like your butler. What's his name?

[janyyqin]

how much did you leave for them? And how long your cruise is? And how many people in your suite?

[Number34]

I like the idea of paying the tips through guest services, especially as it will save me currency exchange costs as it will be classed as expenditure. I would also like to leave it until the last evening so I can decide how much based on the service I get. How easy is it to do?

[ColinIllinois]

I like the idea of paying the tips through guest services, especially as it will save me currency exchange costs as it will be classed as expenditure. I would also like to leave it until the last evening so I can decide how much based on the service I get. How easy is it to do?

 

 

Not hard at all if you don't mind standing in line. It's usually busy the last evening.

[janyyqin]

That's the part I don't like, waiting in the line. Maybe we can call to request to take it into the account.