Giving Butler gratuity at the start of the cruise

[susique]

Maniac - Yes, tipping is "customary ", and people do wonder what others tip so they can feel they are adequately expressing their appreciation. When we were new to cruising this forum helped me decide how much or little seemed 'average'. How else would a person know. It would be embarrassing to ask fellow passengers while onboard.

 

 

On our last cruise on the Jade in January we spoke to a few suite passengers that gladly let us know that they do not leave more that $50.00 per cabin to the butler. We do leave more that that, but $10.00 pp a day is probably a CC custom and not what the other passengers in suites leave. We leave $100.00 to the butler and maybe $50.00 to the concierge if he does anything for us.

[cb at sea]

That is WAY too much tip....unless you're on a 20 day cruise or something! And no...tips on cruises are extended on the last evening...not before they've done anything for you!

[mamasylvia]

I appreciate your comment, susique. $10pp/day always seemed rather high to me. $100 sounds like a good starting point (up for exceptional service or heavy use, down for poor service or very little use).

 

And there is nothing wrong with bribes, if that is what you choose to do. It's not like the butlers are government officials. ;)

[zqvol]

Does anyone have any thought about giving the gratuity on the first day? Has anyone done this? We are on a 9 night and are planning to

give $300... wonder if this idea is a wise one? Be honest with your thoughts. We sailed in Haven 3 yrs ago(same ship and cabin,differ itinerary) and tipped at the end....

 

 

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Why?

 

How do you know what you are going to use the butler for? What if he does $50 worth of work for you, are you going to ask for a refund? A gratuity is a thank you for something well done, it should not be an incentive to do something. Wait until after the cruise to extend your gratuity.

 

(As a note or aside, some people who get gratuities before they do anything think that you are trying to bribe them, and are very uncomfortable about receiving a gratuity before they do anything.)

[zqvol]

Never stayed in the Haven, but we have been to Sandals and Beaches several times and had a butler each time. We always tipped $100 the first day and between $100 and $200 on the last day. Always had impeccable service and never had to ask for anything.

 

Have been to Sandals and Beaches many times too. Have never tipped before we were leaving and had impeccable service every time too.

[zqvol]

Not wanting to sound cheap but you are paying 30$ a day or more for tips which inlude your butler ...thereis at least 300$ right there ..plus your haven suite is a lot more because you have this extra swrvice ....do you really think you need to add more ?

Most Havensuites are twice to 3 times more than a balcony ....I visited the cabins ..they are nice but IMO not worth paying 3 times as much

I think if the guy treats you right you might slip him 20-50$ tops ...at the end .....not more .....300$ is reallyover the top

 

Michele

 

Butlers are NOT included in the DSC, so you are not giving the butler anyting from that $30 that you are mentioning.

[NLH Arizona]

On our last cruise on the Jade in January we spoke to a few suite passengers that gladly let us know that they do not leave more that $50.00 per cabin to the butler. We do leave more that that, but $10.00 pp a day is probably a CC custom and not what the other passengers in suites leave. We leave $100.00 to the butler and maybe $50.00 to the concierge if he does anything for us.

When I first cruised in a suite, I asked here on CC what I should tip and was surprised at the answers. It ranged from $35 dollars for a week to $500 for a week, so I settled on $10 a day per person to start, because it seem very reasonable to me based on all the answers. BTW, some have reported not leaving a tip at all, so it is what the person feels comfortable giving and no matter what the tip is, it will be appreciated.

[cooncat_mom]

We also tip at the end. I budget $100 for the week to start with and go up or down from there depending on the service. We generally don't ask anything of our butler except to refill the coffee machine occasionally, (No - we don't do room service either). I don't use the $10/pp/per day guideline. I would if we asked more though. We generally don't tip the Concierge either as I make all our reservations myself and we again ask nothing of the Conceierge. If we did, I'd start at $50 and go up accordingly.

 

I did have a Butler who was quite snippy about refilling the coffee machine (and we really asked nothing else), so her tip went down and the Room Steward (who was quite nice) had a larger tip!

[cruis247g]

We have done suites many times. The levels of service vary widely. You could easily go all week and never see or use the Butler. Same with the concierge. Just depends on our needs and his/her availability and service level.

I agree completely. The level of service has ranged from a butler we never saw to a butler who seemed to anticipate our wants. Our tip depends upon the level of service. Although I don't find early tipping offensive, we tip at the end.

[dodge9]

It's your money, tip how much and when you want. Seems odd that an adult can't figure this out for themselves without seeking advice.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Aren't these boards to share opinions, ask questions and get information on cruises? Why be ignorant? I don't understand when I read answers on a thread why some feel they can be outright rude to someone just wanting advice. Life can be so much better if you try to be happier and nicer to those around you.

[Laszlo]

Does anyone have any thought about giving the gratuity on the first day? Has anyone done this? We are on a 9 night and are planning to

give $300... wonder if this idea is a wise one? Be honest with your thoughts. We sailed in Haven 3 yrs ago(same ship and cabin,differ itinerary) and tipped at the end....

 

 

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What if you have lousy service? Are you going to ask some back? Have you ever tipped a waiter or waitress before the meal even started? We had a suite (not haven) a few years ago. Our butler was MIA, not that we really cared. We saw the woman three times during our cruise. Our room steward was over the top. Who do you think received the larger tip;)

[mamasylvia]

> why some feel they can be outright rude to someone just wanting advice

 

Sadly, there are people who try to make themselves feel better by putting other people down. My solution is the Ignore List. They can be as snarky or superior as they want and it doesn't ruin MY day.

[SailBreakaway]

We had a disappointing Butler last month. Couldn't and wouldn't help us determine what food delivered would be upcharged and what isn't. Was like pulling teeth getting ahold of him. Screwed up two food orders. This is becoming more the norm as service employee morale continues to drop. Our room steward was just awful. He argued and pushed back three times on making the guest bed. The morale subject is a whole other topic for another rainy day. Wages and benefits for contracts are far less than competitors and service contract employees are jumping ship (literally). Anyway, had I given 300$ ahead of time, it would have been 300x more painful. When you pay 1500-1700 per day, I expect a Butler to be exceptional. Regardless of a tip. The cruise line has staffing issues with finding and retaining good people. Not all, but it's becoming more and more of an issue. Recently the entire Teppanyaki chef staff left the Breakaway to go to RCCL for much better contracts. That's just one example to share. My point is, don't tip ahead of time as the chances of having tippers remorse as you walk off the ship is becoming greater.

 

Oh and tell the hotel director feedback slip that says they will contact you about your concerns, Nope. Didn't happen.

 

Of course, ymmv.

 

 

 

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[DMH15]

Whether a given crew member gets part of the DSC at all is irrelevant to tipping. The DSC and tips are two entirely different things. Even on the smallest ship with a crew of about 1000, if we conservatively say that 50% are part of the DSC and rounding up the DSC to $15 a day, that means that each crew member covered gets a whole whopping 3¢ a day per passenger from the DSC. That is 84¢ for a party of four for a 7-day cruise. Like that is a reason to choose to not tip someone you would otherwise tip? Give me a break. If people do not want to tip then by all means do not do so, but do not use the lame excuse that the DSC covers tips because it does not. BTW, Never posted under any other screen name.

 

 

I did not say anything about MY tipping. I did not say anything about anybody not tipping. am an excellent tipper. I love to tip. I tip everybody!!! Get it?

 

I just said this thread is about tips to the Butler it has nothing to do with a DSC

 

 

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[don't-use-real-name]

We had a disappointing Butler last month. Couldn't and wouldn't help us determine what food delivered would be upcharged and what isn't. Was like pulling teeth getting ahold of him. Screwed up two food orders. This is becoming more the norm as service employee morale continues to drop. Our room steward was just awful. He argued and pushed back three times on making the guest bed. The morale subject is a whole other topic for another rainy day. Wages and benefits for contracts are far less than competitors and service contract employees are jumping ship (literally). Anyway, had I given 300$ ahead of time, it would have been 300x more painful. When you pay 1500-1700 per day, I expect a Butler to be exceptional. Regardless of a tip. The cruise line has staffing issues with finding and retaining good people. Not all, but it's becoming more and more of an issue. Recently the entire Teppanyaki chef staff left the Breakaway to go to RCCL for much better contracts. That's just one example to share. My point is, don't tip ahead of time as the chances of having tippers remorse as you walk off the ship is becoming greater.

Oh and tell the hotel director feedback slip that says they will contact you about your concerns, Nope. Didn't happen.

Of course, ymmv.

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This may be a management problem BIG-TIME with assigning a butler to 20 cabins on a large ship (-AWAY class)

where as 10 cabins on a smaller ship and everything is hunky dory !

Have not been on the big ships but the small ones

I have had nothing but raves for the services of the butler

cabin steward and concierge.

It could as simple as "Never have so few been called to do so Much" and not be amply compensated for it !

Another aspect could be improper assignment of cabin location having the butler running all over to the ship

to please many folks in a no win situation. Doesn't happen with cabin stewards as they have their cleaning equipment and it is not realistic to drag it all over the ship and get the job done timely.

Things were working fine until the large ships were introduced - trying to get by with less help !

Perhaps work ratios are out of wacko - ship not sailing full easy to handle the load but not adding more help

when the ship is full results in customer satisfaction taking a deep six dive !

I wonder if NCL has someone checking this out - Secret Mystery Cruiser - reporting back that there is something

rotten in Oslo on the good ship LollyPop - Everything is coming up dandelions (weeds) !

With more young people cruising and not knowing of the past service on cruise ships - business as usual has

become the norm that seasoned cruisers are not going to expect and you will hear and read about it here at CC !

[zqvol]

Whether a given crew member gets part of the DSC at all is irrelevant to tipping. The DSC and tips are two entirely different things. Even on the smallest ship with a crew of about 1000, if we conservatively say that 50% are part of the DSC and rounding up the DSC to $15 a day, that means that each crew member covered gets a whole whopping 3¢ a day per passenger from the DSC. That is 84¢ for a party of four for a 7-day cruise. Like that is a reason to choose to not tip someone you would otherwise tip? Give me a break. If people do not want to tip then by all means do not do so, but do not use the lame excuse that the DSC covers tips because it does not. BTW, Never posted under any other screen name.

 

You logic is flawed. Only about 35% of teh crew is covered by the DSC, though in fact on NCL it seems that all crew are salaried and the DSC is just a service charge that is used to pay the crew. If you do some research by looking back a few years, you could see exactly how the service charge was distributed. It was nowhere near your numbers. The stewards receive about $3.50 pp/pd, and it goes on and on.

[darlene62]

I tip at end of cruise. My last 2 cruises have been in a haven suite and have had very attentive butlers Gian and Mark that have made the cruises special.....I have also had 2 exceptional room stewards that we have tipped extra because they also went above and beyond. My stress from my first haven cruise was using butler service late at night.....I just didn't want to wake my butler to wait on me......and then some nice cc person told me about the night butler :) ...We did use the night butler a couple of times last cruise and I tipped at time of service because hmmm I wanted to?? LOL I wanted to make sure they knew service was great and appreciated. Now all that said.....I still have issues with tipping in any industry.....I prefer just raise the price and make sure monies divided appropriately. There are many who I never see or think about that work at making my trip awesome.

[adam_s_allen]

You logic is flawed. Only about 35% of teh crew is covered by the DSC, though in fact on NCL it seems that all crew are salaried and the DSC is just a service charge that is used to pay the crew. If you do some research by looking back a few years, you could see exactly how the service charge was distributed. It was nowhere near your numbers. The stewards receive about $3.50 pp/pd, and it goes on and on.

 

The biggest problem with their numbers is that they are estimating what each crew member would get per passenger per day but then you would have to multiply that 3c a day by 2-4000.

[GUT2407]

Giving at the end is a gratuity. Giving at the beginning is a bribe. That's my honest opinion.

 

 

Yep, but many people here like to bribe.

[GUT2407]

Best rule for tipping: Tip who you want, when you want, the amount you want and do not worry about what other people do or say!

I'd add "and shut up about it".

 

 

Amazing that so many questions about tipping come from those in the world's major tipping culture.

 

But watch out when someone from a non tipping culture says they are confused by it all.

[Love my butler]

Any good butler with professional standards would refuse any 'pre'-tip. I would never insult them trying that and would regret it if I did get a poor quality butler. Most butlers I have encountered were great, but I have had a few duds.

 

Having said that, it's your money and your butler. Do what feels right to you.

[mamasylvia]

> Amazing that so many questions about tipping come from those in the world's major tipping culture

 

Not at all. We know what the guidelines are in tipping situations at home (restaurants, parking valets, hair salons) so we can tip appropriately. Tipping on a cruise ship is a new situation and if you don't know what most people do, you can insult a butler that you wanted to compliment or vice-versa. Tipping is more than just a gift of money; it is a form of communication and it helps to know the language (so to speak).

 

I too wish that companies would simply set reasonable prices and pay their employees a living wage, but I'm not holding my breath for it to happen in the U.S.

[dexddd]

We had a disappointing Butler last month. Couldn't and wouldn't help us determine what food delivered would be upcharged and what isn't. Was like pulling teeth getting ahold of him. Screwed up two food orders. This is becoming more the norm as service employee morale continues to drop. Our room steward was just awful. He argued and pushed back three times on making the guest bed. The morale subject is a whole other topic for another rainy day. Wages and benefits for contracts are far less than competitors and service contract employees are jumping ship (literally). Anyway, had I given 300$ ahead of time, it would have been 300x more painful. When you pay 1500-1700 per day, I expect a Butler to be exceptional. Regardless of a tip. The cruise line has staffing issues with finding and retaining good people. Not all, but it's becoming more and more of an issue. Recently the entire Teppanyaki chef staff left the Breakaway to go to RCCL for much better contracts. That's just one example to share. My point is, don't tip ahead of time as the chances of having tippers remorse as you walk off the ship is becoming greater.

 

Oh and tell the hotel director feedback slip that says they will contact you about your concerns, Nope. Didn't happen.

Of course, ymmv.

 

 

 

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You didn't even get the generic form letter response?

[dodge9]

Uh I think you need to look up the meaning of ignorant.:D

informal

discourteous or rude.

He was rude! He was ignorant. There was no reason to react like that.

[NMLady]

We also tip at the end. I budget $100 for the week to start with and go up or down from there depending on the service. We generally don't ask anything of our butler except to refill the coffee machine occasionally, ... I did have a Butler who was quite snippy about refilling the coffee machine (and we really asked nothing else), so her tip went down and the Room Steward (who was quite nice) had a larger tip!

 

Actually, refilling the coffee machine is the room steward's job.