Tipping Butler in the Suites

[isdoo]

At the end of the day tip anyone what YOU want - don't be led by anyone else.

 

I have tipped well and have tipped nothing.

 

Personally having stayed in a few suites on NCL I find the concierges and butlers poor.

 

However if you enjoy it, then tip as you see fit.

[LMaxwell]

Just a quick question; if the butlers and concierge are not part of the tipping pool, does that mean they are compensated at "regular" levels by the company? For instance, on Royal Caribbean the concierges are not in the tip pool, but are considered part of guest services and get a pretty competitive wage. Some choose to tip for their services, but it is optional.

 

I would find it difficult to believe these butlers and concierges, who can only attain these positions through years of stellar service, are not being paid a going wage for their position to start with.

[isdoo]

Just a quick question; if the butlers and concierge are not part of the tipping pool, does that mean they are compensated at "regular" levels by the company? For instance, on Royal Caribbean the concierges are not in the tip pool, but are considered part of guest services and get a pretty competitive wage. Some choose to tip for their services, but it is optional.

 

I would find it difficult to believe these butlers and concierges, who can only attain these positions through years of stellar service, are not being paid a going wage for their position to start with.

 

NOt aware of any cruise line that does not follow this system.

[vulcan1971]

I went back a couple of pages to review postings made by various people as I had many impressions that I wanted to comment on until I took them all into perspective for how and when they were written.

 

With that said, I only have one comment to make.... and that is regarding the the DSC and tipping of the Concierge and Butler.

 

On Celebrity, the butler that provides services in your suite IS part of the distributed tips from the DSC. A concierge is available for higher end suites (in the private Michael's Club lounge), but that person does not receive part of the DSC. I cannot speak to other cruise lines since i have not had a suite on those cruise lines.

 

On Norwegian, I have only ever stayed in a Haven suite (NCL Pearl, NCL Epic), with an upcoming cruise planned for February 2016 (in The Haven). I have seen conflicting views being posted from people for what/who they think are covered by the DSC. Has everyone here taken the time to read the Norwegian FAQ in its entirety??? It very clearly states that the butler and concierge ARE NOT provided compensation from the DSC.

 

 

I have included links below for the two questions covered by the FAQ:

 

What's the service charge?

 

What about gratuities?

 

 

I agree that tipping IS very personal. The interactions you have with staff are unique and will vary widely from cruiser to cruiser. Therefore, the value I place upon actions and services provided to me during my cruise by the various staff is going to be different from other cruise passengers. Hence, the amount that people choose to tip will vary based on this experience. There really is no right or wrong answer to how much to tip.

[vulcan1971]

Just a quick question; if the butlers and concierge are not part of the tipping pool, does that mean they are compensated at "regular" levels by the company? For instance, on Royal Caribbean the concierges are not in the tip pool, but are considered part of guest services and get a pretty competitive wage. Some choose to tip for their services, but it is optional.

 

I would find it difficult to believe these butlers and concierges, who can only attain these positions through years of stellar service, are not being paid a going wage for their position to start with.

 

LMaxwell -

 

This discussion of how staff is compensated (through wages, the DSC, or additional passenger cash gratuity) is frequently brought up on the Celebrity boards. Lots of differing viewpoints on what the staff have said to passengers when (solicited or not) those conversations happen. I am apprehensive about what I believe based on who is saying it. What I will say is that NCL is more transparent about this compensation process in their FAQ than the Celebrity website.

[isdoo]

Has everyone here taken the time to read the Norwegian FAQ in its entirety??? It very clearly states that the butler and concierge ARE NOT provided compensation from the DSC.

 

 

Nothing mentioned like that for UK / EU guests - http://www.ncl.co.uk/helpful-information/faqs/#service-charge

 

Which is why different cruise fares exist for UK & USA customers.

[vulcan1971]

Nothing mentioned like that for UK / EU guests - http://www.ncl.co.uk/helpful-information/faqs/#service-charge

 

Which is why different cruise fares exist for UK & USA customers.

 

Thanks for the post. I don't always go to country specific websites to look at information and the differences therein. With that said, I also don't compare fare rates being charged on those country specific websites to evaluate for different pricing. Maybe it is possible that on the whole there is a higher rate paid by UK travelers upfront where some of that money goes to the staff behind the scenes because the cruise line already understands that a difference in "tip culture" across different cruise markets exists and as such doesn't want to deal with passengers that either don't understand how to adapt to a different set of rules or don't want to. I have read these tedious arguments on other cruise forums and I am not looking to recreate that discussion here.

[PCLMassachusetts]

So you would, for a family of 5 in a 2BR Villa, budget $350 for butler and $175 for concierge as a starting point for a 7 day cruise? $525 in addition to the $420 DSC plus extra tips to the steward and kids club personnel, plus auto 15% for drinks all seems a little much... I know that tipping is personal and there really is no wrong answer except skipping out all together, but that guideline seems to be pretty excessive IMO.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Agreed. Family of 5, two adults and three kids. No way does the butler earn a $350 tip. Our Butler was great but in reality all he did was bring snacks each day and a movie to our room each night. I felt that a $100 tip for the Butler and $50 for the Concierge was fine.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Agreed. Family of 5, two adults and three kids. No way does the butler earn a $350 tip. Our Butler was great but in reality all he did was bring snacks each day and a movie to our room each night. I felt that a $100 tip for the Butler and $50 for the Concierge was fine.

 

 

Not so fast there. If the family of five ate most of there breakfasts and dinners in the suite, then $350 would have been in order. [emoji12]

[rvsullivan]

Five people in a two bedroom suite and then think it's excessive to tip a fair amount for the butler, concierge and kids club? Tipping the steward who is already on the DSC is up to you, same thing for paying the 18% on your drinks. If you don't want to have the butler and concierge serve you, I think it only fair to ask them not to rather than "stiff" them after they do the work. You could skip the drinks and kids club, entertain your kids and drink the included drinks and have plenty left for the butler and concierge?

It's hard for me to grasp when folks know in advance what is expected and the norm, and still want to justify not tipping.

As for the UK folks not having to tip. I don't normally go on the UK website so I must say you're probably right. However, I do know from many posts on here that folks that book through the UK site generally pay more and have terms and conditions that are more restrictive than ours.

 

I don't normally post on these kinds of threads because, those that are going to "stiff" the staff will not have their minds changed and the rest of us will never understand. Sad.

[cadien]

I don't see how it can be stiffing when there's no official fair amount.

[vulcan1971]

I don't see how it can be stiffing when there's no official fair amount.

 

You decide what is fair based on your own personal interactions with the staff and your requests made of the staff. The more you ask of them, the more you should consider tipping. "Stiffing" is giving nothing to the staff at the end of the cruise when their work was done and services rendered.

Edited June 7, 2015 by vulcan1971

[cadien]

You decide what is fair based on your own personal interactions with the staff and your requests made of the staff. The more you ask of them, the more you should consider tipping. "Stiffing" is giving nothing to the staff at the end of the cruise when their work was done and services rendered.

 

Certainly. But the poster being addressed said they would pay less than the 'official' amount rather than nothing.

 

Plus there have been plenty of people who come back and say they ended up tipping more than they intended after they actually experienced the service, so any pre-cruise tar and feathers seems unnecessary.

[PCLMassachusetts]

Not so fast there. If the family of five ate most of there breakfasts and dinners in the suite, then $350 would have been in order. [emoji12]

 

You are correct Leavethekids. I was referring to our situation where we ate no meals in suite, had a dvd brought to the room at night and a tray of snacks each afternoon. Had we used the Butler more, we would have tipped more.

Edited June 12, 2015 by PCLMassachusetts

[DMH15]

Agreed. Family of 5, two adults and three kids. No way does the butler earn a $350 tip. Our Butler was great but in reality all he did was bring snacks each day and a movie to our room each night. I felt that a $100 tip for the Butler and $50 for the Concierge was fine.

 

 

We got several escorts from the concierge thru secret hallways. A bridge tour and more. You really had none?

[wimsikl]

We got several escorts from the concierge thru secret hallways. A bridge tour and more. You really had none?

 

Wow, I never got any of that. Looking forward to seeking it out!

[DMH15]

Wow, I never got any of that. Looking forward to seeking it out!

 

 

In your future I hope. We just got off the Jewel and Hanno Meyer was our concierge. Love that man! Also Karin G. and Monica were excellent.

 

But Hanno is our fave.

[PCLMassachusetts]

We got several escorts from the concierge thru secret hallways. A bridge tour and more. You really had none?

 

Nope. But we didn't ask for any either. The Concierge greeted us each morning at breakfast and made a couple dinner reservations. Nothing out of the ordinary and no strings were pulled to get into reservations that were not available. In fact one time we were told that nothing was available for that night/restaurant. We weren't upset because we didn't really expect any special treatment, just ate somewhere else that night.

[sail7seas]

Not really excessive, These guys only make 5 figure incomes.

 

So?

 

That is plenty.

 

Plus they get accommodation, food, drink etc.

 

Not a bad life.

 

But hey if you think that they are great, then go ahead and tip more.

 

Personally I think that the majority are not worth it.

 

There is no reason to tip extra. UK booking terms makes this crystal clear. USA terms might encourage you to tip more, but that is because you have been brought up to tip everyone whether they deserve it or not.

 

 

Five figure salary? That could be $10,000. I could not live on $10,000 a year AND sail in a suite that comes with Butler and concierge service. How many could? The butler may get room and board but many likely have families they support from all their months at sea. I realize five figure could also mean considerably more but I wouldn't think it as much as some imply.