Winning bid and genie tipping..?

[SarcasmSpasm]

Hello!

I’m starting a tipping thread. I know, I know.  I should know better.  But this has a bit of a twist.

 

Right now we are traveling in Sky class. But we are hoping to bid on a Star class cabin in the Royal Up offer.

 

If we wind up “winning” it, we’ll get a genie. But we will have paid significantly less than we would have if we originally booked Star class.  Does that change peoples’ opinions on how much you should tip them?  Whether or not you think it does...what is the going tip for a 7 night cruise for a genie?

 

I wonder if a lot of genies have gotten screwed because of this scenario. We would NEVER want to skimp on tipping them. Just have no concept on what is acceptable vs what is cheap. 🤣

 

thanks for the help!

Edited June 4, 2019 by SarcasmSpasm

[Hogbay]

I HEAR you , I'm hoping of winning Lotto then tipping Won't be a issue 🙂

[lovescats5]

I do not see how much you spend on a room dictates how much you would give a genie.  The genie will do the same things for you if you paid $10,000 or $20,000 for a suite.  We give our genie $100 when he is showing us around the suite and then we see how he performs during the week.  If he goes out of his way during the week we tip extra.  We usually tip between $400 and $600 for the 7 days and if an outstanding job a little more.  Which ship will you be sailing on?  I am always amazed to hear things like this because of the 4 genie suites we have had they have been sold out by the time of sailing, but maybe that is because we book the suite and not a sky class and then hope to upgrade.  I also keep looking to see if the Grand Loft Suites go on sale for our November cruise but they keep going up, not down.  Hope you get your upgrade and enjoy your genie.  They will make sure you have an awesome trip.

[Casino Comp Chick]

31 minutes ago, SarcasmSpasm said:

Hello!

I’m starting a tipping thread. I know, I know.  I should know better.  But this has a bit of a twist.

 

Right now we are traveling in Sky class. But we are hoping to bid on a Star class cabin in the Royal Up offer.

 

If we wind up “winning” it, we’ll get a genie. But we will have paid significantly less than we would have if we originally booked Star class.  Does that change peoples’ opinions on how much you should tip them?  Whether or not you think it does...what is the going tip for a 7 night cruise for a genie?

 

I wonder if a lot of genies have gotten screwed because of this scenario. We would NEVER want to skimp on tipping them. Just have no concept on what is acceptable vs what is cheap. 🤣

 

thanks for the help!

 

Cheap is stiffing them altogether. I had that happen to me, now I only sail with family or friends I have known all my life.

[CasinoCruzGirl]

39 minutes ago, SarcasmSpasm said:

Hello!

I’m starting a tipping thread. I know, I know.  I should know better.  But this has a bit of a twist.

 

Right now we are traveling in Sky class. But we are hoping to bid on a Star class cabin in the Royal Up offer.

 

If we wind up “winning” it, we’ll get a genie. But we will have paid significantly less than we would have if we originally booked Star class.  Does that change peoples’ opinions on how much you should tip them?  Whether or not you think it does...what is the going tip for a 7 night cruise for a genie?

 

I wonder if a lot of genies have gotten screwed because of this scenario. We would NEVER want to skimp on tipping them. Just have no concept on what is acceptable vs what is cheap. 🤣

 

thanks for the help!

Hi there

 

we just got off the Allure on Sunday and originally had a crown loft suite and bid on the 2 bedroom ATS and won our bid. We had an awesome genie. There were 4 of us and were pretty easy going with our genie never had her go out of her way. In fact she kept appearing at every venue we were at to check on us.  We gave her a very generous tip that was well deserved. Do what you feel is right. There is no set amount. I’m sure you will do the right thing

[lovescats5]

Just FYI, the genie's set up the schedule so they know where you eat, what shows you are attending and where your activities are so they show up to make sure everything is going well and see if you need anything.  On Anthem our genie was always waiting at iFly and bumper cars to make sure we did not have to wait and reservations were still intact. They are always at the shows you want to see with saved seats to make sure you get the ones they think are best.  We have started requesting certain seats or areas to see the shows from that are not the typical reserved seating.  It is kinda fun to throw them a curve once in a while.  Can't wait to see Derick again  on Anthem in November.

[dodgestang]

 

5 minutes ago, lovescats5 said:

We have started requesting certain seats or areas to see the shows from that are not the typical reserved seating.  It is kinda fun to throw them a curve once in a while.  

 

We are back on Anthem again in August with a Genie.  First time was awesome....but since we've seen all the major shows....other than Comedian/headliner I can't see us going to other shows......but I was thinking about asking if they can reserve me the #1 seat at the casino table game I play 😉

[Davebhoy]

Having never cruised Star Class, and being incredibly unlikely to ever do so, this might be a daft question, but are the genie services not covered by the auto-grats?

 

The whole idea of the genie really does not appeal to me, but just wondered...

[ownedbypets]

Our Genie found us all over the ship.  They can check to see where you have used your seapass.

 

[Casino Comp Chick]

12 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

 

 

We are back on Anthem again in August with a Genie.  First time was awesome....but since we've seen all the major shows....other than Comedian/headliner I can't see us going to other shows......but I was thinking about asking if they can reserve me the #1 seat at the casino table game I play 😉

 

Would that be Let it ride?

[ownedbypets]

1 minute ago, Davebhoy said:

Having never cruised Star Class, and being incredibly unlikely to ever do so, this might be a daft question, but are the genie services not covered by the auto-grats?

 

The whole idea of the genie really does not appeal to me, but just wondered...

 

The Genie is not included

[Davebhoy]

1 minute ago, ownedbypets said:

 

The Genie is not included

Thanks!

[dodgestang]

1 minute ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

 

Would that be Let it ride?

Ultimate Texas Hold'em

[dodgestang]

4 minutes ago, Davebhoy said:

Having never cruised Star Class, and being incredibly unlikely to ever do so, this might be a daft question, but are the genie services not covered by the auto-grats?

 

The whole idea of the genie really does not appeal to me, but just wondered...

 

Tipping a Genie is like tipping a concierge.  You tip as you feel it is warranted.

 

As for 'the whole idea does not appeal"....I agree.  I thought it would be intrusive....I want to go on my trip and have a nice time, relax and not feel like I am being 'managed' around the ship ;).  But it was really really nice.  She met us at the pier, walked us on board, gave us a tour.  Made all our reservations before hand, changed it up without a second thought when we asked.  Got us seats at any show we wanted.  When we said the kids were staying in to watch a movie while we went out Chef's table, she took popcorn to the room for the kids.  When we wanted room service, we called her.  And it showed up at the exact time we asked for it ;).  When we needed to get through customs in Boston while still on ship.....she asked what time we wanted to do it...and then walked us to the front of the line at the time.  when we left the ship, she asked what time we wanted to leave....came to room with a porter and walked us to our car.  It only added to our trip without any negatives.

[Casino Comp Chick]

1 minute ago, dodgestang said:

Ultimate Texas Hold'em

 

Cool, we won’t be stealing each other’s seats but let us know if you were successful.

♠️ ♦️ ♣️♥️

[dodgestang]

LOL....August 1st....smile and wave boys.....smile and wave 😉

[jjtt]

2 hours ago, dodgestang said:

LOL....August 1st....smile and wave boys.....smile and wave 😉

 

Nice! That's the date of our cruise also! See you onboard!!  

[lovescats5]

I agree that the genie was an experience we thought would be fun and it was way more than that.  We did not have to worry about anything except what we wanted to do.  If we wanted to change where we ate, not a problem.  It was interesting that a couple of times we went to the restaurant before our genie showed up to see about getting in early and the answer was always that we would have to wait until we told them who our genie was and then they had a table for us.  We enjoy not worrying about getting reservations before hand or wondering if a specialty restaurant will have a table available.  The more we have a genie the more we feel like we are truly on a worry free vacation.

[Davebhoy]

13 hours ago, dodgestang said:

 

Tipping a Genie is like tipping a concierge.  You tip as you feel it is warranted.

 

As for 'the whole idea does not appeal"....I agree.  I thought it would be intrusive....I want to go on my trip and have a nice time, relax and not feel like I am being 'managed' around the ship ;).  But it was really really nice.  She met us at the pier, walked us on board, gave us a tour.  Made all our reservations before hand, changed it up without a second thought when we asked.  Got us seats at any show we wanted.  When we said the kids were staying in to watch a movie while we went out Chef's table, she took popcorn to the room for the kids.  When we wanted room service, we called her.  And it showed up at the exact time we asked for it ;).  When we needed to get through customs in Boston while still on ship.....she asked what time we wanted to do it...and then walked us to the front of the line at the time.  when we left the ship, she asked what time we wanted to leave....came to room with a porter and walked us to our car.  It only added to our trip without any negatives.

Thanks, dodgestang - does sound a lot less intrusive than I thought it might be. 

[lovescats5]

Let us know if the genie reserves you a seat at the gaming table.  That is one place we never visit, we live in Nevada and they do not build those beautiful casinos by paying our money.  We will be back on Anthem for our third time, in November, because we like the genie and my son can get in his week of iFly when ever he can.   Guess now it is not so much the stops but the iFly and bumper cars we go on a cruise for. 

[philpcruiser]

On 6/4/2019 at 5:57 PM, Davebhoy said:

Having never cruised Star Class, and being incredibly unlikely to ever do so, this might be a daft question, but are the genie services not covered by the auto-grats?

No, the Genie is not covered by auto-grats.  However the question should be posed: "Is the Genie covered by the $$$ extra it costs to go from Sky to Star class?"   Tip as you wish, but are tips approaching 500, 700, or 1K dollars warranted?

[tomservo]

I'm not sure how much more pro-active Genies are vs Haven Butlers, but on NCL for Butlers you typically tip based on usage and how pro-active they are. You barely use the Butler and they are rarely seen? They barely get a tip. Use the Butler a ton and they anticipate all your needs? Tip them well. I can tell you some of the tipping guidelines I've seen for Haven Butlers, if you want to use that as a starting point. For a cabin of 2, you can do 10-20 pp/pd, adding or reducing based on the above factors and your personal philosophies on tipping.

 

On a recent Haven sailing, our Butler was very unengaged and we asked very little of him, so he got 7.5 pppd (60 for a 4 day cruise). You also tip the concierge as well based on usage, and you can also tip your room steward a little extra if you like (although I believe that goes to a pool).