Neptune Suite Concierge

We accepted an upgrade offer and will be in a Neptune Suite for the 1st time. Have read about the perks of the suite and wonder about the concierge. What does the concierge normally do, what would you consider to be extraordinary service from the concierge and do you tip the concierge?:confused: If yes, how much and when, at time of service or end of cruise?:confused: Help please:o

We've had the concierge do things like make reservations, set up hors d'oeuvres for cocktail parties, and make arrangements for en suite dinners. We've even had them arrange for some garment repairs.

We've always tipped the concierge. The tip amount varies depending on how much we called on the concierge for service. You usually have a team of two concierges on a Vista or larger ship. One of the two is invariably better than the other. In our case, better service = better tip. I hesitate to mention dollar figures because it's highly dependent on your situation.

Any and everything for which you would go to Front Office, the Concierge will handle. If you have special request for something you need or want, alternative dining reservations, spa and salon reservations.......... The combination of really good cabin steward and concierge makes your life very easy and comfortable on an HAL ship. :)

If you need help, ask the concierge. :)

We always tip the primary concierge as well as their alternate. There are always two on every ship as the concierge hours are roughly 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. They need a break and time for meal etc The alternate covers for them.

We have an envelope for each the last full day of our cruises. With rare exception, we tip the main concierge more than the alternate.

We had our first Neptune suite experiences this year. The answer to your question is "just about anything lawful as long as you are consenting adults." We used the consierge for everything from dinner reservations to appointments with Future Cruise Consultant. The took care of special requests for beverages and food too.

As Bumper said, they do everything that is legally possible.:D We always tip them at the end of the cruise and it depends on how much we have used their services.

As others have stated, the concierges will help you with just about anything you need.

We were in our first Neptune Suite earlier this year, and in our case, I really didn't notice that one concierge was the primary and the other an alternate. We tipped them equally.

I am odd person out here. We often stay in a Neptune Suite for the room that it has. We seldom ask the Concierge to do anything for us as I prefer to make arrangements myself. When I do ask the Concierge for something such as set up an in suite dinner, I tip accordingly at the end of the cruise. If I don't ask the Concierge for help, I do not tip.

I found the Neptune Suite Concierge to be most helpful. Right from the beginning of my cruise. I introduced myself soon after embarking and after reading the information about the service provided in the Suite. I was able to arrange the delivery of my pre-dinner hors d'oerves at the time I chose and was able to select cold/hot/both. Both of the individuals repeatedly emphasized that any and all requests or needs that would ordinarily go through the Front Office and/or the Shore Excursion Desk would be handled by them. And, they were. Soon after luggage delivery, a bag arrived in my Suite with no tags and was not mine. A call to the Concierge quickly brought a supervisor and my Stateroom Attendant to remove the bag.

Along with the Neptune Lounge itself with its amenities, having these HAL crew members along to assist you is part of making the Neptune Suite experience a really special one.

At the end of the cruise, I gave a gratuity to the person in the Lounge on duty and indicated that it was for both of them.

We accepted an upgrade offer and will be in a Neptune Suite for the 1st time. Have read about the perks of the suite and wonder about the concierge. What does the concierge normally do, what would you consider to be extraordinary service from the concierge and do you tip the concierge?:confused: If yes, how much and when, at time of service or end of cruise?:confused: Help please:o

Congratulations. It's been a long time since our 2009 cruising on the Maasdam from Montreal to Fl.

Enjoy the amenities of the Neptune Suite. Just ask and that concierge will take very good care of you. Enjoy breakfast in the Pinnacle which is a nice way to start the day.

The single, greatest benefit of sailing in a Neptune Suite is that you never need to go to the Front Desk for anything.

The typical things that I have asked them to handle have included: dining reservations; spa reservations; booking shore excursions; verifying my shipboard account; arranging for alterations on my partner's tux; following up on pre-ordered goods or services.

I have even had them arrange a cocktail party for our table companions in our suite, including arranging for extra glassware.

Thank you all for your prompt helpful responses. We are so used to doing things for ourself that we would not have thought to ask for many of these things.

It appears that the thing to do is tip at the end of the cruise. Do you tip based on the # of days, the number of times you use the services of the concierge, or both?

Congratulations. It's been a long time since our 2009 cruising on the Maasdam from Montreal to Fl.

 

Enjoy the amenities of the Neptune Suite. Just ask and that concierge will take very good care of you. Enjoy breakfast in the Pinnacle which is a nice way to start the day.

My God, didn't realize it has been 5 years.:eek:

I see you are going on longer cruises now, does that mean that Susan saw the light and retired. If so, congratulations to her.:cool:

Breakfast in the Pinnacle sounds like a winner.

Another question. I have heard that in Neptune Suites you will have menu's for the entire cruise waiting for you. I can't find this anywhere and am wondering if it is true. Would certainly help me plan when to reserve meals in the specialty restaurants.

Another question. I have heard that in Neptune Suites you will have menu's for the entire cruise waiting for you. I can't find this anywhere and am wondering if it is true. Would certainly help me plan when to reserve meals in the specialty restaurants.

You only receive the MDR menu for the same night in the morning of that same day.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't get them for the entire cruise

all at one time, just one day at a time.

The daily MDR menu will be in your stateroom the evening before or sometimes in the early morning. They are not all delivered at once. Enjoy!

Another question. I have heard that in Neptune Suites you will have menu's for the entire cruise waiting for you. I can't find this anywhere and am wondering if it is true. Would certainly help me plan when to reserve meals in the specialty restaurants.

I have never seen this. Just the menu for that day. Although I have never asked to see the menus for the entire cruise.

DaveOKC

There will be a daily dinner menu delivered to your Suite. I am not aware of a menu being available for the entire cruise, but it might be possible if you inquire of the Concierge.

I know that many find the Pinnacle Grill Breakfast option to be a delight. While it is a most certainly more quiet and relaxed venue, I found it to be too formal and too stilted for my taste. Maybe it was just what I experienced on one ship. I would most certainly try the experience again on a future cruise, with maybe the most vaulable time saving experience being on the day of disembarkation.

As for a gratuity for the Concierges, a daily calculated one would be appropriate for both to be divided as they see fit. That is what I did and what I would do again.

Basically - you use the concierge for everything and you never, ever have to go to the front office for anything. That's a HUGE benefit.:D And they will make your dining and shore excursion reservations as well. Yes, we tip the concierges (I do it equally, I see others do differently, it's entirely up to you) at the end of the cruise and I also tip the guy who keeps the Neptune Lounge supplied with food.

The menus are delivered to your cabin daily. I've never seen more than one day at a time. Enjoy your Neptune suite.:D And especially Pinnacle Grill breakfasts, and the wonderful coffee maker in the NL.

Thank you all for your prompt helpful responses. We are so used to doing things for ourself that we would not have thought to ask for many of these things.

 

It appears that the thing to do is tip at the end of the cruise. Do you tip based on the # of days, the number of times you use the services of the concierge, or both?

We have always tipped the concierges based upon how much we asked of them, how difficult our requests were to manage and the number of days we were aboard. If I particularly liked one or another, I sometimes urged my DH to put a bit more in the envelope. :) Some are so sweet and efficient, it's hard to not want to be a bit generous.

The room steward has the menus for the entire cruise if you just ask. We request them to help determine when we don't want to eat in the MDR.

Depending on how much we use the concierges, depends on how much we tip them.

Most time we get the dinners menus early in the morning. But we have been on a couple of ships when they were not delivered until after 1 PM.

Again, thank all of you for your help.:)