Concierge Tipping

[36kruzes]

Karyn -- Just what tasks is the concierge performing in this lounge? Upcoming July cruise will be the first RCI ship I've sailed to even offer a Concierge "Lounge."

 

If one just visits it on occasion for a quiet place to sit and some snacks and/or soft drinks, and asks for no help with tours, future bookings, meal reservations, etc., I honestly see no need for any more than the most minimal tip. I agree that Diamond level and turning other people on to cruising RCI ought to be enough and yes, they should give us some perks.

 

Unless they really go out of their way, excessive tipping seems as silly as thanking someone for sending me a "thank you" note!

 

 

 

The concierge is RCL's "tip" to me for being a lotal customer and getting to Diamond level where you can take advantage of this service. The concierge would have to go above and beyond his normal duties to get a tip from me.

[sgttami]

In addition to Maritza on Serenade, we also did tip her assistant...I forget...how much...maybe $20???

[rubrrick]

My DW and I were on the Jewel for the transatlantic and Baltic trip last month, we tipped the concierge Mpho, and also tipped Margarita, the bartender in the other concierge lounge on deck 13. I agree with some other posters, that they should be looked at as a concierge in a hotel, and if they take care of you, take care of them!!:)

 

Rick

[negc]

Karyn -- Just what tasks is the concierge performing in this lounge? Upcoming July cruise will be the first RCI ship I've sailed to even offer a Concierge "Lounge."

 

If one just visits it on occasion for a quiet place to sit and some snacks and/or soft drinks, and asks for no help with tours, future bookings, meal reservations, etc., I honestly see no need for any more than the most minimal tip. I agree that Diamond level and turning other people on to cruising RCI ought to be enough and yes, they should give us some perks.

 

Unless they really go out of their way, excessive tipping seems as silly as thanking someone for sending me a "thank you" note!

 

I don't think most people are suggesting "excessive tipping" In fact most, with the exception of perhaps Karyn who apparently doesn't believe the concierge deserves a tip at all, suggest that the tip should be commensurate with the service or services provided. Our experience with the concierges on our cruises is that they have been very helpful whenever we had problems getting a reservation for a particular night in Chops or Portofino, have provided us with early debarkation tags and tickets to the Ice Shows (saving us from having to stand in a long line at a designated time to get them). One concierge emailed a restaurant in Aruba so that we could cancel our reservation when a schedule change had us arriving in Aruba a day early (a day when the restaurant would be closed and we would have difficulty in reaching them on our own to cancel). Another saw to it that we had two lounge chairs on our large aft balcony when our room steward was either unable or unwilling to satisfy our request. In those instances, I believe that a generous tip was in order. Knowing our drink preferences and having them ready almost as soon as we entered the lounge was certainly worth a nominal tip. Overall RCI provides better perks for its most loyal guests and access to the concierge lounge is just one of them. While it makes good business sense for them to reward loyalty, it is not something to which we are "entitled" but something:) which I, for one, appreciate.

[sgttami]

Concierge Lounge ammenities are a "tip" for all of us who have earned it in sailing with the same line over time....

 

The concierge provides a service and although you are not required to tip, the service received is worth at least a few $$$, especially if you frequent it every day..we never requested show tickets, excursions etc. We mostly had a few drinks there. When we had access to it and never went, obviously we didn't tip.

 

My previous posts show what we paid...

 

Two guys that we met on Serenade to Alaska tipped $200 for the week. They said it was well worth it. Considering all the cocktails they consumed, they felt they were ahead of the game..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pam

[tootsieh]

We were on the Explorer in Feb and had Ricky--he was wonderful. We tipped him $100. We were on the Mariner in May and had Ricardo and Jay. They were incredible. We tipped them each $ 50---they did say "thank you". I don't mind leaving a tip if I know they appreciate it---but the main thing is that they gave exceptional service!!

[mettler]

We were on the Radiance Repositioning Cruise in May and did not get service yet alone good service from the Conceirge that cruise. We are Diamond members and had Excellent Service in the conceirge lounge on the Explorer in December.

 

On the Radiance the Bartender serving the drinks at Happy Hour (5-8:30) favored guests and made us wait up to 15 minutes to get a single drink standing at the bar while serving seconds to others sitting at the Bar. The Conceirge was never available in the evenings - only a very busy bartender who didn't seem happy serving drinks. The one time we actually saw the conceirge in the evening was at 8:25 pm after hurrying up the stairs to get a drink before dinner after the show ran late. She refused us- said it was too late-they were closing while at the time was making a drink for another cruiser. It was not 8:30 yet! I guess she was anxious to head off to dinner herself.

 

The next nite we arrived early-right at 5pm when they were opening and ordered drinks- no one else there so we were served. I gave the Bartender $5 and after that we were able to get drinks the next night-last nite of the cruise...

 

One morning I stopped by the lounge for coffee and danish which was supposed to be served till 9:30 am. While I was sitting there she called Room service at 9:15 and had everything picked up at 9:20. Too bad if you slept in and arrived at 9:25! Never a smile on her face when cruisers came in. I asked her to make us reservations for Chops, no smile or friendly talk, made us feel like we were bothering her to make the reservations.

 

She never acknowledged our presence or asked us if we needed anything. On the Explorer our Conceirge was always smiling and greeting the guests. Made second drinks for us if our glasses were empty during happy hour time.

 

We only tipped the Bartender to get drinks, not the Conceirge on this cruise. Normally we would have given her a tip on the last nite for service. I heard later from another Diamond Member the Normal Conceirge was sick and this lady was filling in for her.

[PAGA]

The first night of the cruise I gave him $20 ( we were traveling with 2 others who were in an interior room and he let them use the lounge each night with us) and at the end of the cruise we gave him $100.:

 

 

Wonder how many other people Ricky extended that opportunity to...we are Diamond and were very frustrated on the 6/2 Explorer sailing that Ricky was constantly trying to juggle people so that everyone could have a seat (since he wouldn't allow anyone to leave with glassware). We typically ended up standing in the "overflow" area he had set-up outside the concierge lounge overlooking the promenade. Fortunately we met some nice folks because of this situation, but with the overcrowding present in that lounge throughout the week there was no reason Ricky should have extended a welcome to guests who hadn't earned the privilege.

[caviargal]

Wonder how many other people Ricky extended that opportunity to...we are Diamond and were very frustrated on the 6/2 Explorer sailing that Ricky was constantly trying to juggle people so that everyone could have a seat (since he wouldn't allow anyone to leave with glassware). We typically ended up standing in the "overflow" area he had set-up outside the concierge lounge overlooking the promenade. Fortunately we met some nice folks because of this situation, but with the overcrowding present in that lounge throughout the week there was no reason Ricky should have extended a welcome to guests who hadn't earned the privilege.

 

It is the abuse of these privileges that will cause RCI to reconsider this perk.

 

What a shame that you had to stand outside while other who had earned the privilege to be there were accomodated. :(

[sandees]

Wonder how many other people Ricky extended that opportunity to...we are Diamond and were very frustrated on the 6/2 Explorer sailing that Ricky was constantly trying to juggle people so that everyone could have a seat (since he wouldn't allow anyone to leave with glassware). We typically ended up standing in the "overflow" area he had set-up outside the concierge lounge overlooking the promenade. Fortunately we met some nice folks because of this situation, but with the overcrowding present in that lounge throughout the week there was no reason Ricky should have extended a welcome to guests who hadn't earned the privilege.

 

I'm sorry I said anything- my mother was in a wheelchair and couldnt be left alone and my brother in law just lost his wife- we added them late and no additional suites were available- Ricky was kind to us- though we did not take up your seats- we stood every night ( except my Mom who was in a chair) so I am not to blame because you sat in the hall-we were conscious of the inconvenience and did not take the chairs in or out of the lounge.

[GMoney]

I'm sorry I said anything- my mother was in a wheelchair and couldnt be left alone and my brother in law just lost his wife- we added them late and no additional suites were available- Ricky was kind to us- though we did not take up your seats- we stood every night ( except my Mom who was in a chair) so I am not to blame because you sat in the hall-we were conscious of the inconvenience and did not take the chairs in or out of the lounge.

 

It helps if you provide the meaningful details upfront. You can't blame someone for drawing conclusions based on incomplete info.

 

I don't know what's right or wrong here, but you can always forgo the lounge when traveling with folks with extenuating circumstances.

[sgttami]

We tipped Concierge $50 on Serenade to Alaska.

We went there every night before dinner and she was wonderful.

Never went in the AM

 

Tipped $10 on Adventure of the Seas, only went there twice.

 

Didn't tip on Voyager since we never went to the Concierge Lounge. (We were travelling with others who weren't eligible so we skipped it.)

 

Hope this helps..

 

 

We are travelling with my parents and brother in October. They have cruised but never RCI...

 

We're probabbly going to skip it this time also (unless we sneak away one night)...

Pam

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[cruisePRN]

There are a lot of over tippers (or braggers) who tip for everything. I have never left anything less then the recomended tips and always round up . I do not tip the pursures desk when they help me figure out a problem, nor do I tip in the buffet, i don't tip extra when i order a drink since 15% is already included.

Instead of flaming people why not just share the information they are seeking. i'm not trying change anybody's tipping habits nor will anybody change mine.

[ebonybee]

Here is just some information on the concierge that was shared with us by the purser's(sp) desk. She stated that the concierge is a salaried position and does not depend on tips. We were told this, when we requested a tip envelope. We had decided for a 10 day cruise where we used the lounge everynight, that $50.00 was sufficient. However, he did have an assistant that worked harder for us than him. We decided to tip the assistant $30.00 (not salaried), and place the remainder in an envelope for him. We thanked him but explained that we split the tip with his assistant. I wonder if the concierges automatically share if they have an assistant?

[sandees]

There are a lot of over tippers (or braggers) who tip for everything. I have never left anything less then the recomended tips and always round up . I do not tip the pursures desk when they help me figure out a problem, nor do I tip in the buffet, i don't tip extra when i order a drink since 15% is already included.

Instead of flaming people why not just share the information they are seeking. i'm not trying change anybody's tipping habits nor will anybody change mine.

I was one of those who left a higher tip but only because I had no idea at all what should have been left...reading the following persons about the concierge being salaried, I feel dumb. I thought everyone on the ship( excluding the captain- and his staff) depended on tips. I wish I had known this before I went on my cruise.

[booze brothers]

No need to feel dumb. Giving is from the heart ~ use your insticts and tip accordingly.

[banderboo]

I was one of those who left a higher tip but only because I had no idea at all what should have been left...reading the following persons about the concierge being salaried, I feel dumb. I thought everyone on the ship( excluding the captain- and his staff) depended on tips. I wish I had known this before I went on my cruise.

 

why would you feel dumb? Personally I don't tip someone because they are/are not salaried. I tip because they gave me good service. I tipped the concierge because we received good service. I have also not tipped the waiter and asst. waiter in the dining room when I did not use it but instead tipped the wait staff in the windjammer where my family ate dinner. tips are not mandatory, nor should you feel that they are. Yes most of the crew depend on them but they should be earned (and in most cases they go above and beyond) not just given because they don't make alot of money.