$$$ for butler's and consiear

These people work 6-9 months or more, depending on their contract. They are away from their families, yes, by choice, but trying to make a better life for them. They don’t know weekends, or days off. They may get an afternoon in port, if their color is that day. They have to put up with some people who think they’re “entitled” to treating the people who serve them like crap. I did not say everyone. They work very long hours & split shifts at that. In my opinion they deserve their salary & all the tips we can give them. We are the lucky ones who are able to do these cruises, they are the ones who make our cruises worth going again & again. Don’t make your tip an obligation, make it a sincere thank you.

Honestly, tip what you're comfortable with and kiss it up to God. There will always be people who tip more than you and people who tip less. Tip what you can live with and don't give it a second thought.

So,,,, it sounds like when you go to a restaurant for a late meal, you say to yourself, “this waiter has got enough tips today, so I am going to stuff them”?

:'):'):')

I seriously have no clue how you extrapolated that from what I posted.

I will try to explain it in simpler terms. New suite guests looking for "guidelines" on what is an appropriate tip should NOT use the MADE-UP guidelines posted earlier in this thread. They should trust themselves and their own judgment, just they way they do at home when they are tipping for services no matter where they are. The "guidelines" posted and reposted on these Cruise Critic threads are someone's OPINION, not a FACTUAL guideline.

So, as a way to prove my point that this is not what is happening in REALITY, I did the math to illustrate that there is NO WAY a concierge is making $500,000 during a 9-month contract. So, new suite guests should not feel any PRESSURE or GUILT if they do not wish to (or cannot afford) to tip what someone else SAYS they are tipping. Most people are definitely NOT tipping their butlers $560 a week for a family of four! (plus concierge & steward!)

Every time the tipping question is asked, the same posters jump right on the thread to let new folks know that the GUIDELINES are you have to do this and that. If you want to share what YOU tip, fine. But please stop posting these numbers as if they are some "approved guideline." It's not fair and it's not true.

And just because I am standing up in an effort to protect the new folks doesn't have any reflection on what kind of a tipper I am. I am a solo cruiser who sails with the casino as a focus and, as such, I would venture to guess that my cruise budget & tipping habits are higher than average. It is not fair to compare my situation to working parents travelling with children. Apples & oranges. That's why I don't try to tell people how to spend their money. And I just don't like to see people who are truly looking for help be pressured into "keeping up with the Jones'" because a stranger on the internet made up some numbers.

From what I've read - they don't get any of the DSC.

Not true. Only the butler and concierge are excluded from the DSC. The room stewards (and waiters) in the Haven and Suites are part of the DSC pool, and the DSC for Haven and Suites guests is higher.

So, obviously you have not had a butler and don’t know what they really do in conjunction with the room steward.

I have sailed Haven with a butler. He dropped off snacks every afternoon. That was literally about it. Considering he couldnt possibly serve 14 cabins breakfast, I would venture that most cruisers use him for little more than the included snacks as well.

I tip almost everyone extra as well, within reason. The butler did very, very little. Even the $75 or so we gave him was probably overkill for the amount of service we received.

I'm glad to see I have not missed anything in the 18 months I've been away...

Thanks everyone for your input. I have decided what I am going to do. I think this has run its coarse and does not need any further discussion.

Just to keep everyone up to date...

NCL Daily Service Charge in now $14.50 per person per day on mini suites and lower and

$17.50 per person per day on Suites and Higher.

Those booked before March 2018 can prepay grats at rate of booking reservation. Also, gratuities added to drink, dining and spa packages (all onboard purchases) is now 20% .

And that includes children age three and up! So for the three of us we will be paying $52.50 a day. Which does not include the extra gratuities for bar and restaurant. Yea, it’s unlikely I’m tipping extra for regular staff. Well, except the person that brings my drinks to me poolside. Definitely want him to keep coming around. Lol.

As far as the butler and concierge, I’ll wait to see what they do for us. But I’m hoping things go well, and then they will get a nice tip. Definitely not $30 a day though (for the three of us). Probably more like $100-150. And $25-50 for the concierge. More if they are really good and less if not really used.

Honestly, cruise ship tipping is out of hand. This is just another way they cut costs and pass things on to the patrons.

Just for reference, my Haven tips go as follows.....

-room steward=$75....he or she does more to make me enjoy my cruise than anyone

-Haven bartender=$50.....he or she spends sometimes hours/day serving me.

-Conncierge=$50...they make all my dinner and show reservations and take care of all my customer service issues

-Butler-$25 if they don’t bring any meals to us....$50 if they do serve us any meals

All of these people have been extremely appreciative whenever I’ve offered my gratuities!

We just did a 2 bedroom suite with 3 people 11 day cruise, we tipped the butler $120 ($40/person), concierge $120, and the steward $200 for the 11 days. The butler dropped off snacks every day and answered a few questions and told us a few things. The concierge did some stuff for us automatically as being in a suite, not because we asked. This of course was in addition to the daily service charge. We made all our own reservations in advance of getting on the ship.

Of course tipping is a very country specific item. In many countries they do not have tipping like in the US, you expect to be paid what the job is worth no tipping needed. In the US they pay small expecting the customer to make up the difference with the tip. It is a way to offer a lower cruise price up front and hit you with back end charges.

So, obviously you have not had a butler and don’t know what they really do in conjunction with the room steward.

Your assumption is incorrect. We just don’t use the Butler as much as some people might. We book suites for other reasons.

And I do know the differences between the duties of the Butler and steward. The steward does more for us so why would I tip the Butler more?

Your assumption is incorrect. We just don’t use the Butler as much as some people might. We book suites for other reasons.

And I do know the differences between the duties of the Butler and steward. The steward does more for us so why would I tip the Butler more?

Most of us see and appreciate the room steward more. Not everyone needs someone to take care of them and can manage on thier own.

We didn’t use the butler or concierge for anything not included in the fare so we saw no reason to give them a tip.