Concierge Tipping

[UncleDanny]

So I am seeing a huge range of answers regarding Concierge hosts tipping. I am thinking $100 each for a 3 night cruise on the Dream. It is my first Concierge stage and I am pretty sure that they do keep in their notes who does and does not tip.

The reason I am assuming that is because I worked in a high end hotel and I know that anytime a guest was a ”Friend of Benjamin” (AKA $100, generous tipper) it was absolutely noted in their profile. I believe Disney uses a very similar system so I think Its a safe assumption to make.

I am a believer in tipping before service is tendered so I want to get it right as soon as I get on the ship.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

[Marc D]

Few things to consider :

- The three hosts pool their tips, so you should consider an amount per night, not per person, and without consideration about who actually helped you. They often pass requests from one to another based on their schedule.
- The amount you tip should be based on how much they actually helped you, with a minimum amount per night. On one particular cruise, they went out of their way for us multiple times and we upped the tip. We also tip more if we have a cabana since the hosts also manage them on CC day.
- To us, that minimum amount for the hosts is lower than 100$ per night, but we are Canadian and do not have the same views about tipping as Americans.
- In my experience, having been multiple times in Concierge on all four ships, I do not believe they treat anyone differently, be it the first or the tenth time you sail, and however you tipped previously.
- You should also tip the lounge bartender and the lounge food host. We tip both based on how much we use their services.

For a 7-nights cruise, with normal interactions with the hosts and a cabana, we usually tip them 600 $. Without a cabana, we would tip around 500 $.

 

[stink]

i have always tipped in cash (not including restaurants) , is there a way to tip the cruise concierge staff via credit card or onboard account ?

 

[Marc D]

i have always tipped in cash (not including restaurants) , is there a way to tip the cruise concierge staff via credit card or onboard account ?

Yes. You can always modify the amounts for the regular tipped positions by going to the Concierge hosts or guests services. You can also tip any CM that is allowed to receive gratuities by filling the same form. Finally, the regular tipping sheet with the coupons includes a space for the Concierge team. In all those scenarios, the gratuities will be billed to your onboard account.

Since we are not Americans, we rarely have US cash on us so we bill all that we can to the onboard account, including extra gratuities.

 

[ucf_knight]

So I am seeing a huge range of answers regarding Concierge hosts tipping. I am thinking $100 each for a 3 night cruise on the Dream. It is my first Concierge stage and I am pretty sure that they do keep in their notes who does and does not tip.

The reason I am assuming that is because I worked in a high end hotel and I know that anytime a guest was a ”Friend of Benjamin” (AKA $100, generous tipper) it was absolutely noted in their profile. I believe Disney uses a very similar system so I think Its a safe assumption to make.

I am a believer in tipping before service is tendered so I want to get it right as soon as I get on the ship.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Just curious what are some things the concierge does that is “tip worthy” so to speak? I’ve never stayed concierge so if they are deserving of a tip something good must be going on.

 

[Marc D]

Just curious what are some things the concierge does that is “tip worthy” so to speak? I’ve never stayed concierge so if they are deserving of a tip something good must be going on.

On our last B2B cruise, they :

- Welcomed us onboard and presented us a personalized itinerary ;
- Gave us a cook kit (recipe book, chef hat, a bunch of recipes, a honorary DCL cook certificate) for our son after he had multiple discussions about the recipes onboard ;
- Booked two cruises for us ;
- Welcomed us and visited multiple times when we were in a cabana at CC ;
- Brought us multiple times to the front of the line with a direct elevator to get off the ship ;
- Organized and hosted three private events on the Concierge deck and lounge ;
- Comped us the ultimate package at CC when they couldn’t get us a cabana ;

Plus, anytime they see you looking for something, they come rushing. They do plenty of small things that make everything easier. They give you tips all the time and make sure you’re aware of things to come. And that’s the things we noticed as a very low maintenance party. Some fellow guests make them work the entire cruise. Lunch and dinner in the room multiple times during the week, moving reservations around, organizing private transport in ports, etc.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Just curious what are some things the concierge does that is “tip worthy” so to speak? I’ve never stayed concierge so if they are deserving of a tip something good must be going on.

A few things concierge staff has done for us:

1) Found us a private driver and tour guide in Kirkwall when there was absolutely none to be found after I reached out privately to guides I found online and DCL said they had none left to book (this was after booking a cruise quite last minute). If you have ever been to Kirkwall, you know they have a limited amount of credentialed tour guides and drivers. I have no clue how they pulled this off.

2) Brought my DS a Mickey plush and get well card when he got sick on a cruise

3) Found suitable shoes for my DH to wear to Remy when I forgot to pack his dress shoes

4). Adjusted our Remy reservations, adjusted our MDR rotations

5). Found us a cabana after booking after the concierge booking window opened

6). Walked us off the ship on disembarkation day so we could quickly meet our car to get to the airport - we were the first family off the ship. (using the private elevator PP mentioned in the previous thread)

7). Eliminate the need to ever visit or stand in line at Guest Services

8). Make sure we have tickets/reservations for any meet and greets or special events and adjust times as needed

 

[KashasMom]

We were in concierge first time on the 5 night NYC to San Juan cruise on the Magic. Whenever (and wherever) I asked about tips, the answers were all over the place. It would be helpful if Disney provide some guidelines. I have to say though that as nice as the concierge staff were they did not do anything for us (not a slam, just fact). Didn't book excursions, no cabanas since no Castaway Cay, no Palo, didn't book princess/Frozen meetings. We tipped very well for the 3 hosts, the bartender, and the...gentlemen who replenished the food in the lounge. We loved the extra space in our room and really enjoyed lunch on embarkation day but for us the best was the private meeting with Donald Duck. Other than that...we're fine cruising non-concierge. (The lounge at the terminal might be nicer at Port Canaveral. It was pretty crappy in NYC.) To the OP, I don't understand why you would tip upfront? Just curious.

 

[DCLDVC1]

So I am seeing a huge range of answers regarding Concierge hosts tipping. I am thinking $100 each for a 3 night cruise on the Dream. It is my first Concierge stage and I am pretty sure that they do keep in their notes who does and does not tip.

I think $100 per host is more than generous for a 3 night cruise.

 

[CarolynU]

Do you mean $100 each for each host per person staying in the stateroom ? So $300 plus per person in the room? Assuming that three people help you?

 

[tink1970]

You might want to plan that much (which is generous) and then scale up or down as you see fit at the end of the cruise. On my last 4 night cruise on the Dream, I left a total of $200 for our cabin (2 adults) for the 3 concierge lounge hosts- one host ensured I was able to meet with a Palo rep on embarkation day to double check our reservations, and another handed DH a bag of popcorn on two different evenings. I'm pretty sure the bartender got $20-25/night from DH as well.

 

[CarolynU]

You might want to plan that much (which is generous) and then scale up or down as you see fit at the end of the cruise. On my last 4 night cruise on the Dream, I left a total of $200 for our cabin (2 adults) for the 3 concierge lounge hosts- one host ensured I was able to meet with a Palo rep on embarkation day to double check our reservations, and another handed DH a bag of popcorn on two different evenings. I'm pretty sure the bartender got $20-25/night from DH as well.

Thank you. There are three of us in concierge for 5 nights, so we are really trying to get on top of the tips that we should give and who to give them to. Not the stateroom folks because that’s a given as usual but the additional service from the concierge team.

 

[tink1970]

Thank you. There are three of us in concierge for 5 nights, so we are really trying to get on top of the tips that we should give and who to give them to. Not the stateroom folks because that’s a given as usual but the additional service from the concierge team.

You're so welcome-It's so hard because DCL provides NO guidance! Even on these boards you'll get a range of suggestions from nothing to American tipping culture lectures to a large amount. I prefer to budget high especially if I know I'll be using them a lot and then either have more in the budget if I didn't utilize them as much or not get hit with sticker shock if I do, lol. It's definitely hard when there aren't guidelines for sure. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[pangyal]

I always, always struggle with figuring out tipping for Concierge. After reading other boards, I had thought we tipped appropriately for each cruise, but when reading this thread, I feel like we did not. It really is all over the place. I also have a hard time figuring out appropriate amounts because probably 85% of everything has already been taken care of by Shoreside when you get onboard the ship, so there’s really not *that* much left for the hosts to do. Now, we’ve had times where we need to scramble (for example, during Dorian, they changed our Eastern to Western and everyone had to get new excursions booked for the new ports all at the same time) and they’ve proven invaluable, so we tipped more then.

And to the OP: We have had the same hosts multiple times over and they definitely know us and remember us. I have never felt like they were judging us by the amount of gratuity we had left them on our last cruise. I guess that’s what makes them excellent hosts. We have been treated like gold no matter how much we had historically tipped, so I’d say definitely just budget for what you feel comfortable with and don’t overdo it just because you think you might get better service (you won’t, because they are incredibly good at their jobs and manage to treat guests equally well and with the utmost care). Enjoy your cruise!

 

[UncleDanny]

We were in concierge first time on the 5 night NYC to San Juan cruise on the Magic. Whenever (and wherever) I asked about tips, the answers were all over the place. It would be helpful if Disney provide some guidelines. I have to say though that as nice as the concierge staff were they did not do anything for us (not a slam, just fact). Didn't book excursions, no cabanas since no Castaway Cay, no Palo, didn't book princess/Frozen meetings. We tipped very well for the 3 hosts, the bartender, and the...gentlemen who replenished the food in the lounge. We loved the extra space in our room and really enjoyed lunch on embarkation day but for us the best was the private meeting with Donald Duck. Other than that...we're fine cruising non-concierge. (The lounge at the terminal might be nicer at Port Canaveral. It was pretty crappy in NYC.) To the OP, I don't understand why you would tip upfront? Just curious.

I always do that to let the hosts more aware of our presence. As a bartender, whenever somone dropped me $100 at the start, they never waited for a drink and I usually was able to get them a nice version of what they were drinking

 

[CarolynU]

You're so welcome-It's so hard because DCL provides NO guidance! Even on these boards you'll get a range of suggestions from nothing to American tipping culture lectures to a large amount. I prefer to budget high especially if I know I'll be using them a lot and then either have more in the budget if I didn't utilize them as much or not get hit with sticker shock if I do, lol. It's definitely hard when there aren't guidelines for sure. Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you so much. I seriously had no clue before your post.

 

[Wakey]

I always do that to let the hosts more aware of our presence. As a bartender, whenever somone dropped me $100 at the start, they never waited for a drink and I usually was able to get them a nice version of what they were drinking

People gave you $100 in tips before you did anything as a bartender?

 

[pangyal]

I always do that to let the hosts more aware of our presence. As a bartender, whenever somone dropped me $100 at the start, they never waited for a drink and I usually was able to get them a nice version of what they were drinking

Ha, I wish I’d worked at your bar when I was working in the service industry! I’d be lucky if some remembered to leave a quarter as they staggered out at the end of the night.

I’m not sure what the hosts on the cruise could or would do over and above the norm for anyone who tips in advance. They’re already so gracious with everyone and provide excellent service. My belief is that they would thank you politely and provide the same level of service they do with everyone. They’re really just there to make things smooth in case of any issues like changing bookings or getting a last-minute ticket to a meet and greet, which they would and will do for anyone, gratuity provided or no.

Is there something specific you are looking for the hosts to do that you are considering tipping in advance for?

 

[skippybosco]

We are staying in concierge for an upcoming cruise and I have some additional questions not answered here. (I come from a country that does not have a tipping culture, so I apologize if these sound silly)

1) If I understand correctly, tips are automatically added to the check-out bill at the end of the cruise, including the concierge room host. The discussion in this thread is tipping over the automatic tip for a thanks of a service above and beyond. Did I understand that correct?

2) If I order room service to our room, is it expected that we tip or each delivery person individually at the time or is that part of the automatic tip?

3) If not automatic, do we tip cash at the time or how do we add it to the end of cruise bill? I'd prefer not to have to keep cash on hand?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are staying in concierge for an upcoming cruise and I have some additional questions not answered here. (I come from a country that does not have a tipping culture, so I apologize if these sound silly)

1) If I understand correctly, tips are automatically added to the check-out bill at the end of the cruise, including the concierge room host. The discussion in this thread is tipping over the automatic tip for a thanks of a service above and beyond. Did I understand that correct?

2) If I order room service to our room, is it expected that we tip or each delivery person individually at the time or is that part of the automatic tip?

3) If not automatic, do we tip cash at the time or how do we add it to the end of cruise bill? I'd prefer not to have to keep cash on hand?

Room service is not part of the auto gratutities. Most people will tip $l.00 per item, or $5.00 for a full meal service.

You can add the tip to the room service bill (which they may or may not give you). You can ask for it if it's not evident and any tip you put on the bill will be added to your onboard account.