Tipping the Concierge?

I know this is a topic that can be very personal.

I have looked for guidelines on tipping a RCL concierge with no luck.

Does anyone know of a reliable reference?

or.... want to share their own ideas of what is acceptable.

I would also love to hear from others - something other than "it's a personal decision." For the two of us, we have tipped everywhere from $0 to $50. I would like to know if we are at least in the ballpark of acceptability. $0 for the concierge that did nothing, including not bothering to learn our names.

Jane (from the duo Dick and Jane)

Chicago, Illinois

I would also love to hear from others - something other than "it's a personal decision." For the two of us, we have tipped everywhere from $0 to $50. I would like to know if we are at least in the ballpark of acceptability. $0 for the concierge that did nothing, including not bothering to learn our names.

 

 

Jane (from the duo Dick and Jane)

Chicago, Illinois

That's what we do and once in a while a little more for someone truly special.

(Hi, Dick and Jane)

I would also love to hear from others - something other than "it's a personal decision." For the two of us, we have tipped everywhere from $0 to $50. I would like to know if we are at least in the ballpark of acceptability. $0 for the concierge that did nothing, including not bothering to learn our names.

 

 

Jane (from the duo Dick and Jane)

Chicago, Illinois

I'm in the same "ballpark" with you too as far as the tipping range...We've also at times tipped the waitstaff more than the Concierge as they seem to do most of the work...

But this can and has varied so much whether it be the CL or DL so we just go with whatever the situation turns out to be...but usually we are a very low key cruiser without many needs from either concierge.

We've also had some great ones and not so great ones.

I would also love to hear from others - something other than "it's a personal decision." For the two of us, we have tipped everywhere from $0 to $50. I would like to know if we are at least in the ballpark of acceptability. $0 for the concierge that did nothing, including not bothering to learn our names.

 

 

Jane (from the duo Dick and Jane)

Chicago, Illinois

but it is personal..based on how much you feel their services are worth.. what do you use them for?

we also factor in their friendliness and accessibility

We also are in that ballpark but lately it seems to be on the lower side. During our 4 weeks of cruising in Jan/Feb the CL was always busy so we mostly visited the DL. We rarely saw the DC except when he was checking cards @ the entrance. He was friendly but we used him for no services and he never walked the lounge to spend time speaking with guests. The servers made out like bandits because they were the friendliest, most helpful ever. One in particular made sure to stop each evening and give us a rundown on the next day's port. Not only did he recommend restaurants and bars but once he found out that we looked for wifi in the ports he always offered ideas on where the least expensive and fastest wifi could fount at each port.

We pay for service and probably over pay when we're made to feel important or like the person actually cares.

We are also in the $0-$50 range. We always tip the bartenders and tend to give more to them.

One of my favorite discussions, since I can't understand when posters will say they've tipped $50 or $100 just for the Conceirge "being there".

I use the common sense method of tipping - if the concierge provides a service, then a gratuity is in order. If I had to quantitate it, I'd say if I had a problem that took an hour of effort to resolve, that would be worth about $50.

One of my favorite discussions, since I can't understand when posters will say they've tipped $50 or $100 just for the Conceirge "being there".

 

I use the common sense method of tipping - if the concierge provides a service, then a gratuity is in order. If I had to quantitate it, I'd say if I had a problem that took an hour of effort to resolve, that would be worth about $50.

Is that per person or per couple? Sometimes I think we way over tip. And then again, sometimes I think we're not giving enough.

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We are in that ball park as well. I have given more at times when it was earned and deserved.

Is that per person or per couple? Sometimes I think we way over tip. And then again, sometimes I think we're not giving enough.

 

 

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Per couple.

Also, forgot to mention that in the lounges, its the waiters that get the majority of my tip.

What a great thread.

If the Concierge would ever take the time to call me ahead of the cruise, then he shows interest in me..............I will increase his tip, and that has never happened in our previous 4 cruises.

All these years we have on every cruise needed his assistance with at least one issue..........so we usually give $50.

Now, the bartenders on the other hand get a tip at the beginning of the week and the end.......need I say they always keep our drinks full.......they deserve every penny:D

We are good for 2 drinks a night in the lounge, before dinner.

Sea Ya

I truthfully never thought of tipping the servers last time. I did tip the concierge though. Wow, now I feel cheap :(. At least I know for next time!

~Jacqui~ Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We generally tip on the last evening. On some recent cruises with multiple lounges we started bringing small bills so we could tip the bartenders/servers each evening.

Jane (from the duo Dick and Jane)

Chicago, Illinois

We tip the concierge 20% of any services provided (cabana, etc.). We also tip if they provide a no-charge service. But if no service is provided, no tip.

We always tip the waiters in the CL. We are there every night. :)

I've always been confused about the right amount to tip.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We tip the servers every time we get a drink. We only tip the concierge if he does something for us.

If you ask the concierge to do something more than they are supposed to do...tip them what you feel that service is worth. If you don't utilize their services, you don't need to tip them.

So, let your conscience be your guide. There is not set amount or right/wrong thing to do here.

I do not tip officers. Usually there is a bowl for tips near where the bar tender makes the drinks. I will place a dollar in that bowl for the waiter/bar tender.

We have only been on a couple of cruises and the last one was RCI, I researched here to find my answer.

I did all my own bookings for dinners, tours and shows but still tipped $20 to the two concierges (concierge and assistant maybe?), as for the drink staff it was a $1 a drink, so basically $2 each time my DH and I got a drink. I leave to your imagination how much money that was but I can tell you half way through the first night the staff worked out what we were doing and we always had another drink in front of us when we finished the previous drink. The staff were lovely and we asked them about the families back home and it made me appreciate our lives even more. The last night the last drink looked more like a tankard than a glass. Needless to say we really enjoyed our cruise.:D:D:D:D:D:D

As far as the concierge goes, if it hadn't been for them on one of the recent trips, the waiters would never have been seen! They had to round up the waiters and speak to the bar manager or whatever that position is called. So if you have a good waiter, and the food in the lounge is well looked after, the concierge may be doing more behind the scenes that you may realise.

So our rule of thumb is similar to others here, with a bit of mental arithmetic on the drink total as far as the drink waiters' tips, and depending on what bookings etc the concierge has helped with. And attitude. We do like a friendly atmosphere!

Now I don't feel guilty about not tipping our Concierge this past cruise. She waited until the last night to come to tell us hello and ask if we needed anything. I can only hope she is on vacation when we take our B2B in November.

This was on the Navigator. On the Serenade in December our Concierge greeted us every morning when we went in the Diamond Lounge, offered to fix our coffee for us, helped clear the tables of empty glasses and dishes every night and help get drinks when the bar servers seemed to be over welmed. This guy was receiving tips left and right on the last evening.

I'm with most others. The Concierge does run the lounge, so if the lounge runs great, service, etc. then he deserves at least something. If I don't use him at all, but the lounge is running to the level I expect, then I'll tip about $10 to each (if more than 1). If I use his services and he is friendly and greets us, etc. the tip goes up accordingly. On Legend the Concierge was great, we used him a few times, but he ran a great lounge, he came over nearly every night to greet and talk to everyone who came in about their day, etc. So we tipped, I think, $40, and heavily tipped the bartenders. I also usually tip on day 1 or 2 if the bar staff looks attentive, and they will fall all over themselves helping you. For that I'll tip at the end also. A $10 or $20 usually goes a long way. But like others said, if you don't use the concierge, he barely greets you coming in, and the lounge is just "average," then no tip or a small tip is just fine. Remember, tipping is a reward for a level of service.

We always make use of the concierge and the lounge, so I believe last time we tipped around $120 or $150. I figured $10-$20 per day depending on use, but we did talk to him and use his services before and during the cruise. If I didn't use the concierge at all and he/she didn't get to know us I would have no issues not tipping or just tipping a bare minimum.

I am the same as KLB. Always tip based on service. Francis on Grandeur was always there, helped with Cabana, so we tipped him well. Wait staff was also great. Tipped them well.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk

I do not tip officers. Usually there is a bowl for tips near where the bar tender makes the drinks. I will place a dollar in that bowl for the waiter/bar tender.

The Concierge is not an officer. ( I think) ??

I have never seen a tip bowl in the Concierge Lounge either??

Also - separate comment...

I still have not been able to locate any written reference material except for "Hotel Concierges" and really appreciate everyone's input here.

On our last cruise I completed a form at the Purser desk to add a tip for Concierge and was able to leave a comment on the form. The tip showed as a separate charge which I appreciated when reviewing the bill. I did this on day 5 of a 7-day cruise because I really don't enjoy the hand shake pass of money or the display of an envelope. I was VERY surprised on the last day when the Concierge thanked me for the gratuity.

I am going to continue tipping the Concierge this way. The bar waiters... Not sure here, but probably will give them cash near the end of the trip.