Retreat tipping

[asnaleah]

We are new to the Retreat and want to do the right thing regarding tipping the Concierge. Thanks!

[George C]

We sometimes tip concierge and sometimes not depending what they do for you, you will get a butler or it may be called a personal concierge we tip him or her plus a room steward and we will tip them.

[papaflamingo]

If you use the Concierge, then by all means tip.  If not, consider the Concierge may be the one who runs the Retreat.  So tip as you feel.

[TeeRick]

If we have used the Retreat Concierge during the cruise - to make dining reservations, get tickets for shore excursions, or handle any issues for us, yes, we usually tip them.  Personal choice.  We are much more inclined to tip the butler (now called Personal Retreat Host) at the end of the cruise unless we never saw them.

[kenb]

Who is included in "all inclusive" tipping?

[jelayne]

Dining staff, stateroom attendant, Retreat Host ( Butler),and a portion to other staff you would not normally encounter.

[NCHPcruiser]

We do not tip the Retreat Concierge.  Other than an occasional conversation or perhaps making a reservation or two we don’t have much interaction with them.   Typically if we need something we ask our Butler for help who we do tip at the end of the cruise.  How much (or little) depends on the service she/he provided.    Extra tipping is not required to ANYONE although many do.  Who we tip extra changes from cruise to cruise depending on service that goes beyond the expected.  

[jelayne]

On the Edge the Retreat Lounge has 3 Retreat Hosts and during the course of the day/evening 4-6 others serving drinks, snacks, etc.   Rather than try and find them all at the end of the cruise we tipped the 3 Hosts and wrote Thank you notes to the others with a tip.  We asked the 1of the RH to deliver them. 

[Cruise a holic]

We almost always tip the concierge in the Retreat and bartenders.  The amount varies as some help us significantly others do little for us.

[Jim_Iain]

We sometimes tip the concierge if they have done more for us than just their normal duties.   Example was on a couple cruises, I  had them book Private Journey excursions for us a day before we arrived in a restricted port.    They jumped through hoops and got it arranged and even escorted us off the ship to find our tour guide and make sure there were no problems. 

[peanut head]

4 hours ago, jelayne said:

Dining staff, stateroom attendant, Retreat Host ( Butler),and a portion to other staff you would not normally encounter.

Is this the dining staff in Luminae?

[asnaleah]

Thanks to all with your helpful replies. We intend to tip our Butler (now Retreat Host?), and will also tip the Concierge if she does extra things for us. First cruise in two years and don’t want to screw up! 😀

[cruisestitch]

Yes Luminae staff are included as are staff in Aqua Spa Cafe, Oceanview, Mast Bar and other no-extra-fee locales

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, peanut head said:

Is this the dining staff in Luminae?

If you are in a suite,  yes. 

 

[TeeRick]

16 hours ago, peanut head said:

Is this the dining staff in Luminae?

Luminae staff are covered in the basic daily pre-paid gratuity.  And of course that amount per day is highest for suite passengers.  Many of us do give extra tips for Luminae servers at the end of the cruise but it is not required.  Luminae serves as a team and we usually provide a team tip in cash in an envelope to the Luminae Maitre 'D to be pooled and split.  We often ask for names to be mentioned in our customer comment surveys too.  Lots of different opinions on this.

[DCPIV]

I'm happy to tip a Concierge if they do something special or especially difficult or if I ask them to do a LOT of stuff, but I don't tip them just for keeping the door open and being pleasant.  I don't mean to be some sort of Scrooge, but at some point the premium we pay for the Retreat has to be more than a cover charge.

 

That said, I tip a Concierge more often than not because, more often than not, they end up doing something that makes me want to do so.

[msteries]

Not sure what it will be like in these covid times if Retreat pool area is too crowded to risk, but if I get my drinks quickly and made well I always tip the staff out there. But probably the best thing you can do for any staff that gives fine service is to have paper and pen so you can write down their names and mention them specifically on that final survey.

[Momma Rene]

Does anyone have experience in tipping the Luminae host?  We always get a table for two and for the upcoming cruise, I would be very happy to have the table by one of the windows.  

 

We have always tipped our waiter in Luminae.  We usually get the same waiter every night.

[LGW59]

22 minutes ago, Momma Rene said:

Does anyone have experience in tipping the Luminae host?  We always get a table for two and for the upcoming cruise, I would be very happy to have the table by one of the windows.  

 

We have always tipped our waiter in Luminae.  We usually get the same waiter every night.

what do you mean "have experience"?

[Momma Rene]

16 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

what do you mean "have experience"?

I meant someone who has tipped the host and not guessing at what is appropriate or what might occur.

[LGW59]

Just now, Momma Rene said:

I meant someone who has tipped the host and not guessing at what is appropriate or what might occur.

Ah OK, to me it is a personal choice of when to and how much to tip.  I just say do what feels right/best to you.  Any tip will be appreciated.

[asnaleah]

We have always tipped the host at Luminae. 

[jelayne]

It is our understanding that Luminae works as a team ( like Blu ) and so the tips are pooled.  So if that’s accurate a tip to the hostess goes into the pool.  We tip extra at the end of the cruise in 1 envelope addressed to the Luminae staff and we give the envelop to the MaitreD or hostess.  

The exception to the Luminae pool being the Sommeliers who are not in the pool for the dining room.  

[Jim_Iain]

The Maitr'd of Luminae will attempt to fill you seating request but it may not always be possible.   For example if you usually eat at 8:00 and he seats you at a window table as there is one available but if someone showed up at 7:50 and requested the window they would probably be seated.

 

It is possible that you could work with the Retreat Host and say you would like a window by the table and willing to wait in the lounge until one is available they would probably accommodate.

[DaKahuna]

I use the ‘Additional Gratuities’ from that I get from the Retreat Host.  There is a space on the form for Luminae Restaurant, Butler, Room Steward, and one other I cannot remember. We also give additional cash tips to Waiter, Assistant Waiter, and Sommelier.  
 

It is my understanding that cash tips given directly to staff does not go into the tip pool.