What do you tip your royal genie?

[VeggieCruiser23]

10 hours ago, RFerrington said:

We usually tip between $500-700 depending on what we do.  In-suite parties are a huge amount of work for the Genie and room attendants. We rarely do the parties anymore. They were really fun but became a lot of work for US too so we haven’t done one in a while.

For In-Suite parties, can you invite guests not staying in your suite and would food and drinks be included? Just wondering 🙂

[suss1234]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Our rule of thumb is about $100/day. If they are a super genie, more. 

How many people is your 100 per day based on? Thanks.

[luckyinpa]

5 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

What is the Royal Genie?

A

 

 

The Royal Genie is the ultimate insider, crafting exclusive one-of-a-kind experiences, all designed around the Star suite guest. The Royal Genie does not just tend to the Star guest’s suite — they make the entire ship their suite, creating personalized VIP experiences tailored to the guest’s exact tastes.

Royal Genie Services exclusive for Star guests:

• Royal Genie Escort and Expedited Luggage Handling on Day of Boarding and Final Departure
• Arranges Prime Seating in Select Entertainment Venues
• Provides Dining and Beverage Recommendations and Manages Reservations
• Coordinates Shopping in Onboard Luxury Brand Boutiques
• Plans Special Celebrations for Personal Events
• Handles Special Requests
• And much more…

Royal Genie Services are for guests residing in Star Suites. Due to the exclusive nature of these services, they cannot be extended to friends and family members sailing on the same voyage who are not booked as Star guests.

 

this was a good read. on NCL the concierge takes care of  reservations and billing issues etc..butler is basically for anything in the room. 

 

what does a concierge on royal do?

[RFerrington]

7 minutes ago, VeggieCruiser23 said:

For In-Suite parties, can you invite guests not staying in your suite and would food and drinks be included? Just wondering 🙂

Yes.  The only thing that you would pay for would be wine or liquor.  All food (specialty restaurant during normal operating hours) and all water, sodas, beer, juice would be complimentary. 
 

Party guests do not have to be Star Class or even suite guests.  I used to host a party every cruise for the Roll Call Cabin Crawl so there were guests from all different cabin categories.  I’ve had upwards of 75 people come to these events.

 

Having said that, I have read that some Genies were balking at big, open parties such as the Cabin Crawls.  I think (as with most everything else), it will depend upon individual ships rules and Genie attitudes.  I have not done a big party like that in a number of years.

[TheBucketLister]

2 hours ago, Jkaczanowski said:

Yep.  Us too.  We’re in an A2 on the 3/18.  Remarkably the 1BR A3s weren’t much less expensive, so I have some concerns.  But I keep reminding myself that they probably copied room descriptions from the Asian sailings which don’t have genies.    

My TA just got back with me after he emailed his contact at RC, and received a response. They informed him that Star Class is on the Wonder of the Seas for at least the NA sailings, and to get the deployment out, they just copied all the descriptions from the China deployment.

Edited September 18, 2021 by TheBucketLister

[TheBucketLister]

Nothing to see here!

Edited September 18, 2021 by TheBucketLister
Duplicate post

[neverbeenhere]

You are safe. 

[kmorg1234]

Does anyone know if Reyno will be returning?  He was great!

 

[Kbonner]

I guess a genie receives the same basic salary like a guest service employee or a concierge?

How many suites does a genie typically look after?

Anybody knows?

[LXA350]

Guys, this American attitude of tipping is just so redicioulous. Don't get me wrong, if I pay USD 10K-20K plus or even much more for a week of vacation which includes the services a Genie it's the damn responsiility of the company, RCL in this case, to esure that the employees are getting the desrved salary. On top of it, the Genie is part of the Service I am purchasing, hene I should not feel obliged to tip them aditional hundreds of dollars.

[mrpie90]

8 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

Guys, this American attitude of tipping is just so redicioulous. Don't get me wrong, if I pay USD 10K-20K plus or even much more for a week of vacation which includes the services a Genie it's the damn responsiility of the company, RCL in this case, to esure that the employees are getting the desrved salary. On top of it, the Genie is part of the Service I am purchasing, hene I should not feel obliged to tip them aditional hundreds of dollars.

WOW.

 

I think you may have just opened one BIG can of Worms

[A&L_Ont]

40 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

Guys, this American attitude of tipping is just so redicioulous. Don't get me wrong, if I pay USD 10K-20K plus or even much more for a week of vacation which includes the services a Genie it's the damn responsiility of the company, RCL in this case, to esure that the employees are getting the desrved salary. On top of it, the Genie is part of the Service I am purchasing, hene I should not feel obliged to tip them aditional hundreds of dollars.

If, that’s a big if, you ever sail Star Class you best explain your philosophy to the Genie on embarkation day right after they explain what they do for you. Then share that again with your cabin attendant, as they are equally responsible for what happens in your room such as keeping your beverages stocked. 

[LXA350]

2 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

If, that’s a big if, you ever sail Star Class you best explain your philosophy to the Genie on embarkation day right after they explain what they do for you. Then share that again with your cabin attendant, as they are equally responsible for what happens in your room such as keeping your beverages stocked. 

 

If some are driving the Genie crazy literaly 24/7 then yes, they would deserve 100 - 200 tip but if they are ensuring that your requests you provided to them at the begining of the cruise are met, get you those seats reserved and are at the end of the day not spening more than 1 hour max a day dealing with your cabin / needs all in, I am sorry, this is their job.

[A&L_Ont]

16 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

 

If some are driving the Genie crazy literaly 24/7 then yes, they would deserve 100 - 200 tip but if they are ensuring that your requests you provided to them at the begining of the cruise are met, get you those seats reserved and are at the end of the day not spening more than 1 hour max a day dealing with your cabin / needs all in, I am sorry, this is their job.

 

Thanks for expounding  your thoughts as an individual who rarely tips.  Others will see it differently as you.  Like I said, if you are ever going to sail Star Class share this with your Genie on day one, or prepare to part with some dollars on the last day because it is more than just saving seats. 
 

Now, if you are just here to sway those who tip in Star Class you are wasting your time.  Think about it this way, a Vegan never changes a meat eater even after sharing their views.  It’s the same thing here about tipping. 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2021 by A&L_Ont

[islandwannabee]

11 hours ago, suss1234 said:

How many people is your 100 per day based on? Thanks.

On Allure Several week ago, was told by concierge, there were 11 rooms that require genies and 3 genies.

[dleahy4444]

12 hours ago, suss1234 said:

How many people is your 100 per day based on? Thanks.

I’m wondering the same thing. It is just my husband and I in the suite and we are pretty self sufficient. Don’t get me wrong, we certainly will tip our genie because he is there to provide his services and if we don’t use them that’s on us, however i think it is appropriate that a couple that barely used his services should tip somewhat less than a large group with lots of requests. 

[Jasukkie]

Eye-opening thread for those of who never book genie level suites. Money means different things to different people. We just had a regular balcony cabin and tipped our cabin steward an extra $100 which I thought was generous lol. When I see $100/day tipping I think, wow, that would pay for another cruise, in steerage class.

[dleahy4444]

26 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

Eye-opening thread for those of who never book genie level suites. Money means different things to different people. We just had a regular balcony cabin and tipped our cabin steward an extra $100 which I thought was generous lol. When I see $100/day tipping I think, wow, that would pay for another cruise, in steerage class.

That is so true. I think that there is an assumption that if you book a star class suite that you are at a certain income bracket, but that is not always the case. A family may have been scrimping and saving to treat themselves on their yearly vacation. Or, like my husband and I, have bid on a star class suite that we could never afford otherwise. To tip or not to tip, and tip amounts are such personal choices.  But with that said, the attendants who provide service at the star class level, in my opinion, should be tipped (if you do tip) in accordance to the level of service you receive, balanced with the norm for that category stateroom.  Just my opinion 

[AshleyDillo]

59 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

When I see $100/day tipping I think, wow, that would pay for another cruise, in steerage class.

Me too, but my mother is gonna spend my inheritance with or without me..so I go with it. 😂

Edited September 18, 2021 by AshleyDillo

[dasi11]

The Star class room includes the tips you normally get charged to your room.  I do tip the room attendant over and above.  We were 5 people in a 2 bedroom ATS.  We tipped $100+ a day for the 5 of us.  Not sure if that was enough.  The genie planned our whole day and saved seats for us where ever we wanted.  He took us in early for laser tag and other activities.  He planned snacks and champagne for us to have for the water shows.  He found us at our meals to make sure everything was perfect.  He asked to get our laundry and Ironing done.  He walked us on a off the ship.  This was especially nice the last morning on the ship.  Our luggage was waiting in a special area so we could move quickly in the crowds.  

As for other tips, we did have a waiter we liked at CK that we tipped, since we kept getting him.  We left an extra cash tip at the pay restaurants.   We also had $1-2 dollars tips for drinks we got on the drink plan.  Life is too short to feel bad about getting good service and not rewarding it.  It is clear the service industry works on tips.

[RFerrington]

As a general rule, a Genie will have 3-4 suites to service on any one cruise.  I think they try and divvy up the rooms based on occupancy so that one Genie isn't getting 3 suites with 6 people each, etc.  I know that they rotate the ATS (and the UPS on OA) since they are so far removed from Deck 17 and are more "work" than the Deck 17 suites.

[karmamule]

I strongly suspect that genies are aware that tipping customs and norms differ by nationality. We as Americans have become used to supplementing insufficient wages with tips in certain industries and positions. In other countries people are paid a decent wage for these jobs and have federal-level assistance programs that help with the fundamental costs of life.

 

We *may* say on star class for the first time in October if we get one of our 3 RoyalUp bids. In that case we plan to pay some amount based on how much we end up using our genie, and for our attendant and favorite/regular waiters and bartenders as well.

 

If someone normally doesn't tip, I would take into consideration the fact that many genies come from countries that don't have a robust safety net, and the tips will no doubt be a welcome addition especially after the COVID shutdown. But, I'm coming from a culture of tipping and I would not presume to judge someone who is used to something different. (I remember visiting Sydney Australia and some cab drivers were rather offended when we offered them a tip.)

 

As a prior poster noted, not everyone in star class is flush with money, and some may have stretched to the limit to afford a suite or benefited from the RoyalUp gods, and they should enjoy their vacation even if they can't tip much if any.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

According to the British Butler Institute which recruites and trains Royal Genies, the positions are 2 stripe (whatever that means) and the monthly salary is $2,150 per month and contracts are for at least 5 months.

[compman9]

31 minutes ago, Yorkshire-Pudding said:

According to the British Butler Institute which recruites and trains Royal Genies, the positions are 2 stripe (whatever that means) and the monthly salary is $2,150 per month and contracts are for at least 5 months.

 

So, three cabins at an average of $500 a week plus that monthly wage and two contracts a year is around $90k tax free with full board thrown in

 

That's a very good job anywhere in the world

[AshleyDillo]

25 minutes ago, compman9 said:

 

So, three cabins at an average of $500 a week plus that monthly wage and two contracts a year is around $90k tax free with full board thrown in

 

That's a very good job anywhere in the world

 

They are working 7 days a week, much longer hours than the 40-hour work week standard in the US.  I do agree their working conditions are much better than some of the other crew onboard with much better pay and more freedoms onboard.