Butler & concierge tipping

[havenfan]

Stevie you are wrong. Most people from the phillipines are Christian. Look it up.

 

True, but another very large contingent of stewards and waiters comes from Indonesia, where people are predominantly Muslim. Stevie's point may still be valid.

Edited October 29, 2014 by havenfan

[jackson bernard]

True, but another very large contingent of stewards and waiters comes from Indonesia, where people are predominantly Muslim. Stevie's point may still be valid.

 

Some of them may not want to take the cheap booze thinking they would get more money instead.

 

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[BuffetPantsPls]

I don't see this as any different from a restaurant where you can order a $15 main course salad or a $75 surf-and-turf. The waiter has to do the same things in either case but I still give him 15% either way if I don't particularly like him and 20% if I do.

 

 

 

I personally have never ordered even a $100 bottle on my own dime. When I've had to entertain clients, however.... As long as the department head would sign off on 20%, I'd happily tip 20%.

 

i've had a friend and i where the single bottle was our meal.

 

the bottle was 350$ and we tipped 20% on it. At the end of the night, we had the convo with teh sommelier about whether or not they expect 20% on such bottle =)

[DMH15]

Some of them may not want to take the cheap booze thinking they would get more money instead.

 

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My butler gladly took my leftover Absolut. Which did not alter my generous tip BTW.

[hpecorari]

Re giving alcohol to staff:

 

On our last Behind the Scenes tour we were told by an officer that NCL has a zero tolerance policy for alcohol. No staff may drink alcohol whilst on board the ship;

 

This is 200% wrong! I can't believe an NCL officer told you that as it isn't true. There are crew bars on board so that means they can drink while on ship.....just not while on duty and must be sober when working.

 

I would therefore suggest that left over bottles of wine (a puzzling concept I must say) are not appropriate gifts to staff.

 

Let me put a couple of pieces of that puzzle together for you. Some people, me, for example, don't drink. Therefore, there are leftover bottles of wine or champagne that I have due to various reason that I receive them. Could be a TA, could be an NCL officer, could be a new friend I met onboard, could be a few other reasons.....that I receive bottles that I don't drink. Hope some of the puzzle pieces are coming together for you.

 

 

Harriet

Edited October 30, 2014 by hpecorari

[havenfan]

the bottle was 350$ and we tipped 20% on it. At the end of the night, we had the convo with teh sommelier about whether or not they expect 20% on such bottle =)

 

And his answer was...?

[havenfan]

I was once informed by a former NCL kids club counsellor that the crew can buy their alcohol on the ship at a small markup to what the cruise line pays for it, i.e., wholesale and duty free, so alcohol may not be a very efficient gift for cruise ship employees.

 

"In fact some of the cheapest alcohol you can buy anywhere is at the ships crew bar!"

http://www.cruisehive.com/what-crew-members-do-in-their-spare-time/119

 

Some of them may not want to take the cheap booze thinking they would get more money instead.

 

My butler gladly took my leftover Absolut. Which did not alter my generous tip BTW.

 

I think DMH15 has got it right. If you've already got a bottle and you're otherwise going to throw it away, by all means give it to the crew; it's a nice thought. But don't assume that they'll value a bottle at $XX just because that's what it would cost you on the ship.

Edited October 30, 2014 by havenfan

[cathyoo]

So what?

 

Why do you care what other people do with their money? Are you suggesting that people who read about your so-called excessive amounts are naive or incapable of deciding for themselves?

 

I always worry that we are not tipping enough. I don't to be the cheapskate and would feel bad if I undertipped. It does make me worry when people talk about tipping hundreds of dollars that what I give will be considered an insult.

[BuffetPantsPls]

And his answer was...?

 

pay to play, but he certainly doesn't expect it nor feel slighted unless someone literally took up the table on a busy night for a good chunk of time.

[ColinIllinois]

I always worry that we are not tipping enough. I don't to be the cheapskate and would feel bad if I undertipped. It does make me worry when people talk about tipping hundreds of dollars that what I give will be considered an insult.

 

 

Don't worry what other people tip. Tip what YOU feel is appropriate for the situation and YOUR budget.

[medsed]

Re giving alcohol to staff:

 

On our last Behind the Scenes tour we were told by an officer that NCL has a zero tolerance policy for alcohol. No staff may drink alcohol whilst on board the ship; they are tested randomly. This is because they may be called upon for emergency duties at any time.

 

I would therefore suggest that left over bottles of wine (a puzzling concept I must say) are not appropriate gifts to staff.

 

 

I watched the crew drink wine while at the off duty pool crew area...it was,literally directly in front of my balcony.. I also watched people buy drinks for a few of the entertainers....who,raised a glass with the crowd a number of times.

[SteveH2508]

I watched the crew drink wine while at the off duty pool crew area...it was,literally directly in front of my balcony.. I also watched people buy drinks for a few of the entertainers....who,raised a glass with the crowd a number of times.

 

As I stated before, we thought it odd at the time - maybe he was referring to the bridge crew only?

[pieshops]

I watched the crew drink wine while at the off duty pool crew area...it was,literally directly in front of my balcony.. I also watched people buy drinks for a few of the entertainers....who,raised a glass with the crowd a number of times.

 

FYI entertainers are not crew generally, they are free to hang anywhere on the ship during their off time and can drink and eat in any restaurant and generally have a regular cabin. As opposed to the crew that have their own section of the ship and can not be in the passenger area unless working

Edited October 30, 2014 by pieshops

[DMH15]

I always worry that we are not tipping enough. I don't to be the cheapskate and would feel bad if I undertipped. It does make me worry when people talk about tipping hundreds of dollars that what I give will be considered an insult.

 

 

I am sure they are very appreciative as some people do not tip at all.

 

 

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[jpjolo]

I have a side-note relating to the discussion about offering a bottle of wine, or something as a thank-you.... many stewards are from the Phillipines. The largest monotheistic religion there is Islam, which doesn't permit alcohol.

 

So, when somebody declines your offer, saying that 'it's not allowed', they may be trying to decline for another reason - which they have chosen not to share with you.

 

 

.

 

You might be thinkin of Indonesia buddy. The Philippines is about 90% Christian with a sizable majority of Catholics. It would be quite embarassing if someone takes you on your advise based on the information you provided.

[medsed]

I am sure they are very appreciative as some people do not tip at all.

 

 

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I will never understand people who do not tip at all...it should be part of ones vacation budget...ships' crews work so hard to make your vacation wonderful...and I must say NCL crews are magnificent!!

[DMH15]

I will never understand people who do not tip at all...it should be part of ones vacation budget...ships' crews work so hard to make your vacation wonderful...and I must say NCL crews are magnificent!!

 

 

I know. Hope it is just a case of being uninformed or assuming it is included.

 

 

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[Love my butler]

I will never understand people who do not tip at all...it should be part of ones vacation budget...

 

Everyone is different and are free to make their own choices. Variety is the spice of life.

[conandrob240]

Just off BA and I can tell you we tipped nowhere near $10pp/d for our butler. He did absolutely nothing except drop off a few snacks and deliver breakfast 2 mornings and, for both of those breakfasts, he seemed annoyed when we called him. Frankly, I thought he was rude every time we spoke to him.

 

Our concierge was very nice but, again, the price point of $5pp/ is simply ridiculous. He did nothing but greet us ( very warmly), change one show reservation for us and call ahead to the MDR the night we wanted to eat there.

[dexddd]

Just off BA and I can tell you we tipped nowhere near $10pp/d for our butler. He did absolutely nothing except drop off a few snacks and deliver breakfast 2 mornings and, for both of those breakfasts, he seemed annoyed when we called him. Frankly, I thought he was rude every time we spoke to him.

 

Our concierge was very nice but, again, the price point of $5pp/ is simply ridiculous. He did nothing but greet us ( very warmly), change one show reservation for us and call ahead to the MDR the night we wanted to eat there.

 

Who did you have?

[rocky55]

Just off BA and I can tell you we tipped nowhere near $10pp/d for our butler. He did absolutely nothing except drop off a few snacks and deliver breakfast 2 mornings and, for both of those breakfasts, he seemed annoyed when we called him. Frankly, I thought he was rude every time we spoke to him.

 

 

 

Our concierge was very nice but, again, the price point of $5pp/ is simply ridiculous. He did nothing but greet us ( very warmly), change one show reservation for us and call ahead to the MDR the night we wanted to eat there.

 

 

Hi. I had the same butler you did and was not that happy either. I am pretty easy to please. I did tip him but I would have tip more if he was better. I also felt like he did not like his job and dos seem bothered. I did like the concierge. I did tip the waitors it's in the haven after we are there but not the maitre d. She never tried to get to know us and I actually thought the host was the maite d.

On a side note , Connie I didn't see you at the m&g. Where you there? I was looking forward to meeting you.

 

 

 

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[conandrob240]

I totally agree. We tipped a few of the bartenders in the Haven who went out of their way to make us feel welcomed every time we entered. Anoop the concierge and his asst concierge were very sweet but other than answering a question here and there, I am not sure what their purpose is. Our butler was terrible, like I said always seemed annoyed. I thought the male restaurant host was a bore, bordering on rude. Female maître d' was nice to us once she found out we knew Jullian ( F&B manager). ;)

 

I am sorry I missed the M&G. We had quite a bit of family drama with my sister first few days (not totally unexpected but annoying nonetheless)

 

Overall, I don't think service as a Haven guest was all that great. I got as good or better service in the MDR and other bars. We are glad we upgraded because the pool area was great as we had 2-3 fairly cool days so could use the pool and my 7 yr old niece hated the regular pool b/c it was salt water. We liked the snacks, the rooms were awesome and we all adored our balconies.

[marymunro]

Havenfan' date=' I agree with your question completely and I for one am glad you asked the question.

Fwiw, we were 4 people (2 adults, 2 children) in a H6 suite on breakaway. We had two meals delivered to the suite, both supper. I used the coffee maker once and we asked for two pitchers of juice for the fridge midway through the cruise. Concierge made two reservations for us. We tipped the butler $200, concierge $100 and an extra $50 for our room steward. We also tipped the Haven restaurant Maitre D $20 and the occasional $5 for above average service at meals. I thought it was appropriate at the time, though sometimes I wonder. We didn't see the butler or concierge after giving them our tip voucher, but our room steward was very grateful.

I look forward to reading what others consider "usual" service.

 

 

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I was wondering how the tips were directed to the right people... How does the voucher work??? Thanks!

[Mom2B&Z]

I was wondering how the tips were directed to the right people... How does the voucher work??? Thanks!

 

 

When you go to the guest service desk, they can look up the names of the people assigned to your cabin, which are put on the voucher. We were able to give the voucher directly to the concierge and our room steward, we left the one for the butler in the room. The guest services desk told me the money would be directed to these people whether I gave them a copy of the voucher or not, though I have no way of proving it. I preferred to have staff having a record of the tip,so they could ensure they received the funds.

HTH

 

 

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[chrisc71]

When my family sailed on the Star we had butler and concierge. Our butler was always around bringing snacks or was a nearby when we called for something. He added greatly to our enjoyment of the cruise. We gave hime a nice tip at the end of the week.

 

The concierge was useless and missing the whole week. We called to get reservations and was told the place was filled for the week. No mention of a waitlist or he would check to see if a cancellation came up during the week. We did not tip him and did not feel bad at all. Felt he provide nothing during the week.

 

Tip what you want to who you want.

Edited December 7, 2014 by chrisc71