Tipping for Suite "perks"

[rbyrd2531]

I agree with Sail as to whom is tipped. We usually tip the Concierges $11 per person per day, and more if they have really gone out of their way to arrange something special for us. I know most people prefer not to use dollar amounts, as that is something only you and your wallet can decide, but this is what we tip, and I feel that some people would like some sort of an idea. We value our Concierge's as well as our room service people, cabin stewards and waiters.

 

thanks for naming an amount to give us an idea. Nothing worries me more about our cruise than figuring what to tip and when to do it. So it is most common to tip at the end of the trip?

 

It will be hard not to tip each time for room service since that is what I am used to doing in hotels.

[RuthC]

It will be hard not to tip each time for room service since that is what I am used to doing in hotels.

Room Service is different. The steward who delivers a tray one time might not return with another tray. Most of those who have ever posted about it say we tip at the time of service for room service.

Other postitions, those where people stay in one assignment, tend to be tipped at the end of the cruise, or when they are leaving that assignment.

[sail7seas]

It will be hard not to tip each time for room service since that is what I am used to doing in hotels.

 

 

We always tip for Room Service each time we receive an order.

We have Room Service breakfast almost every morning and even though we almost always have the same steward for the whole cruise, we still tip each morning.

[Sage]

We always tip room service when delivered. Also, we have never had bad room service. The best room service we have ever had was on the Noordam, and the most memorable was on the Volendam. There were six at the table for breakfast on the Volendam, and when I opened the door, there were six very handsome young men each with a tray and one young man with a table cloth. Thank you Noordam and Volendam.

[refman]

i`ll take a pair size 11

[refman]

Themajority of the time there are females in the Neptune lounge so we take along some Victoria Secret showel Gel or Body Butter for them along with slippers and a monetary tip.

 

We are well known for giving out slippers. We generally give away a dozen pair each cruise.

 

Ruth & Jim

 

i`ll take a pair size 11

[AZjohn]

Hi Gang,

OK, the more I read this thread the more lost I’m feeling. Next month will be our first “NL” experience (got our first SC cabin:D). I have read for a long time now how nice the two concierges are in NL but having a hard time understanding why they would get as much as what the auto tips are for the entire crew gets to split ($11 per person per day). Are you all hanging out there all day or what? I thought it’s just a place I can grab a cup of my cappuccino? I know the concierge’s can make an occasional reservation here or there, but what kind of service do they perform for everyone to tip them so much? I need a little help here please:o.

Thanks,

John

[rbyrd2531]

Room Service is different. The steward who delivers a tray one time might not return with another tray. Most of those who have ever posted about it say we tip at the time of service for room service.

Other postitions, those where people stay in one assignment, tend to be tipped at the end of the cruise, or when they are leaving that assignment.

 

Thank you Ruth... I also hate to ask but since there is probably not a dollar amount on the menu for room service, does anyone know a good rough minimum to tip? Even if breakfast is available in the Pinnacle, I doubt we will do much more than room service for breakfast so would like to tip well.

[dulcetto]

We always tip for Room Service each time we receive an order.

We have Room Service breakfast almost every morning and even though we almost always have the same steward for the whole cruise, we still tip each morning.

Hi First time Cruiser here

 

Can you please tell me how much you normally tip for Room Service

 

Thanks

[dandro]

Hi Gang,

OK, the more I read this thread the more lost I’m feeling. Next month will be our first “NL” experience (got our first SC cabin:D). I have read for a long time now how nice the two concierges are in NL but having a hard time understanding why they would get as much as what the auto tips are for the entire crew gets to split ($11 per person per day). Are you all hanging out there all day or what? I thought it’s just a place I can grab a cup of my cappuccino? I know the concierge’s can make an occasional reservation here or there, but what kind of service do they perform for everyone to tip them so much? I need a little help here please:o.

Thanks,

John

 

I'm just as lost as John. We did not have access to the NL, so didn't have to deal with all of this, but for future cruises (and I hope there are many) I want to do things right. What exactly does this concierge person do to deserve such lavish rewards? Is our (DH & I) $11 per day per person not enough that we need to bring large amounts of currency onboard? If I understand this thread correctly, we are obligated to tip the concierge, the person who brings snack, the person who wipes the crumbs off the floor, the waiters in the Pinnacle Grill that handle breakfast (but not the waiters in the main DR), the room stewards, the person that brings you room service....where does it end? I certainly don't want to committ any faux pas on our next cruise and have staff members follow us off the ship demanding their tips! If you all do it, then does that mean that they have come to expect being given large sums of money and gifts? I don't want to appear to be a cheapskate. I'm just trying to understand all this tipping stuff...I thought I had it easy by just paying the auto tips. Guess I have a lot to learn!:eek:

[LVSue]

So my philosophy is that basically we're covered and any outstanding service gets a little extra. Am I wrong?

 

AZJohn, I think the kind replies to my post indicate common sense about extra tipping should prevail. If you get special services, you might feel inclined to tip a little extra, no matter what level. If your experience with NL is minimal...? And, as I've indicated, there are several times when I felt we got extraordinary service (above and beyond) and therefore tipped extra (but never anything like $11/day). To me, it makes no sense for tips to be pre-collected (or automatically collected) only to have to worry about additional tipping. I really like being able to go with my gut for extra $$$.

[AlexandNessa]

While we have never utilized the concierges to the extent that we felt an $11 per person per day tip was justified, we do tip them.

Bottom line, it's up to you how much to tip the concierges. Tip what you feel comfortable, based on how much you've run them ragged. :)

[AZjohn]

AZJohn, I think the kind replies to my post indicate common sense about extra tipping should prevail. I really like being able to go with my gut for extra $$$.

 

Tip what you feel comfortable, based on how much you've run them ragged. :)

I’m not saying I have any issues with tipping above and beyond for great service above and beyond. I’m asking what that great service is that results in tipping them? How would one run them ragged? What services are they providing (in addition to reservations)? That is what I feel I’m unaware of, what services do I not know about.

Thanks,

John

[AlexandNessa]

Think of the concierge as your SPOC (single point of contact) for the cruise. You do not have to visit the front desk; you can ask the concierge. You do not have to visit the shorex desk; you can just ask the concierge for whatever you need, etc. Have a problem with your onboard account? You can ask the concierge to straighten that out for you, rather than visit the purser's desk.

One evening, we decided to stay in and asked the concierge to get us some DVDs. Then we realized that we could easily have done it ourselves by going to the library, and felt bad about asking the concierge to do that.

We also ask the concierge to arrange hot appetizers in our room for formal nights. Once, my BIL lost a button on his tux, and the concierge took care of that for him.

Just a few examples of how the concierges have helped us and why we tip them.

[dandro]

I'm not being dense on purpose, just trying to learn. Please be patient with me.

 

Can't you just call room service to get your hot appetizers?

 

And it seems like it would be a great way to get out of your room area by visiting the shore ex. desk, the front desk, the purser's desk if there are problems. Why not go to the source of the problem instead of using a third party? Not to mention the great experience of seeing more of the artwork on the ship and getting a bit of exercise. A win-win situation, IMO.

 

And can't a passenger call or visit the dining room to make their own reservations?

 

Yes, I have stayed in hotels before that have had concierges but never availed myself of their services.

 

I guess I am more of a DIY type of person. And it's NOT to avoid tipping! I just like being self sufficient.

[AZjohn]

Oh, OK thanks for the examples. Didn't realize they will take care of ALL issues. Maybe I just didn't think there would be any issues :rolleyes:(lol). But it's good to know just incase;).

Thanks,

John

[KAKcruiser]

Tipping is entirely voluntary. The auto tip would certainly cover everybody. Some people choose to remove the auto tip (though I don't think many would) and some people choose to add extra.

[LVSue]

I’m not saying I have any issues with tipping above and beyond for great service above and beyond. I’m asking what that great service is that results in tipping them?

 

That's what I meant by your gut. Everyday normal services to me are just that. What the people are paid to do.

 

However, when my suitcase is missing at sailaway, the steward who uses his head to check on unlabeled luggage (yes, I forgot to put the room number on the tag), discovers that there are two people with my name on board, that the suitcase has been delivered to the wrong person on deck 5, retrieves it and brings it to me on deck 7 has gone above and beyond. The NL concierge who ignored my worries from the outset does not.

 

The wine steward who searched the ship after MDR ran out of our favorite Beaujolais, stashing bottles for us, deserved it, though the ship didn't for running out.

 

You know when someone has gone above and beyond. I do tip room service, too.

[AlexandNessa]

I'm not being dense on purpose, just trying to learn. Please be patient with me.

 

Can't you just call room service to get your hot appetizers?

 

And it seems like it would be a great way to get out of your room area by visiting the shore ex. desk, the front desk, the purser's desk if there are problems. Why not go to the source of the problem instead of using a third party? Not to mention the great experience of seeing more of the artwork on the ship and getting a bit of exercise. A win-win situation, IMO.

 

And can't a passenger call or visit the dining room to make their own reservations?

 

Yes, I have stayed in hotels before that have had concierges but never availed myself of their services.

 

I guess I am more of a DIY type of person. And it's NOT to avoid tipping! I just like being self sufficient.

 

 

Personal preference, and I don't think it really has anything to do with self sufficiency, but that is just my humble opinion. If you sail in a suite, you are welcome to use the concierge's services as much or as little as suits you. The way I see it, whether I ask the concierge to handle something, or I wait in the line at the Front Desk to handle something, it all gets handled just the same.

Your post sort of made it sound like suite folk only spend their time going back and forth between their suite and the Neptune, and that visiting the shorex desk is a great excuse to "get out" or exercise. Perhaps you didn't mean it like that, but I take exception to that.

[LVSue]

If you sail in a suite, you are welcome to use the concierge's services as much or as little as suits you.

 

Exactly—the NL is hardly a "perk" if you have to pay extra for it.

[dvdfreakmc]

Very interesting and helpful thread. Tipping is such a personal thing but it is helpful to know what some of you do.

[English_in_Spain]

My cruise next April will be my first on HAL since the auto tipping began.

 

Do passengers in suites pay the same amount for the auto tipping as non-suite passengers?

 

On RCI, suite passengers pay a higher level of auto tips.

[Krazy Kruizers]

My cruise next April will be my first on HAL since the auto tipping began.

 

Do passengers in suites pay the same amount for the auto tipping as non-suite passengers?

 

On RCI, suite passengers pay a higher level of auto tips.

 

The $11 auto tip per person per day is the same amount of all passengers no matter what cabin category you are in.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There is no way we would tip the concierges $11 per day per each one of them.

We don't use them that much as we pre-book excursions and speciality reservations before the cruise.

We do use them when we need to make change -- or like on our last cruise, we had a new port added and we needed to book a shore excursion -- so we had that takne care of then -- especially since the shore excursion desk wasn't opening up until the time when we would be at dinner.

We have had an occasional laundry problem that they had to take care, a dead hair dryer, a few locked safes when we got on board, a refrigerator frozen up -- tiny things that they took care of for us.

So we tip according to how much we use them on a cruise.

[Sage]

I'm sorry if I started a firestorm of sorts. I'm tired of people dancing around the subject of what they tip when the question of tipping is a sincere one. These people are asking for a guide line, and I think that they deserve an answer. We may tip a bit more, or a lot more, from what some replies are saying, but we do use them frequently and appreciate what they do for us. For example, I mentioned that I have a severe food allergy, and the Concierge arranges for me to eat things I enjoy without making a scene or explaining my allergy to everyone that I meet. I love eating food from the Lido, and I usually know what I will have the day before, just as I do in the dining room, so my order is ready at a certain time, without my having to hold up the line, or speak to several people. I merely tell them my name, and what I ordered, and they serve up my food, and I move along quickly in the line, so that I don't hold the rest of you up.

 

Over the years, we have had Concierge's go ashore and pick up medication for us in town, loan me their personal blow dryer when the one in the suite didn't work, loan me a pair of dress shoes when my heel broke, and then arrange to have my shoe repaired, arrange sail away parties, remember that my DH should only eat the sugar free desserts and make sure that they always have a plate for him with what he likes tucked aside, during suite luncheons make sure that I have only the foods that I could eat and have the Chef walk with us through the line, or they arranged the food to be prepared ahead of time. Also on HMC, the food eaten there was what I could eat as well.

 

These young women and men are gracious, well trained, and a delight. They assist the complaining passenger with the same smile as they do the passenger who come to compliment them. Tipping is a personal matter as Sail says, so decide for yourself. I know this is a long post, but perhaps it will answer a few of the questions that you may have.