Question about how to tip concierge staff

[Cruising Girl]

.Thank you so much for your reply.I realize I had forgotten to put we will be on the WISH. I too had seen the totals that someone had done and agree that it was much more than I ever made in 40 plus years of teaching but also know that these are really wonderful people who are working hard and most supporting families back home. I usually in the past have always tipped more than double the recommended and more to stateroom and our wonderful server Nelia on the Fantasy. Will I have envelopes for all nine workers in there? Again--thank you.

 

[Blondie58]

European trip on Magic in August 2022. 3 concierge, 5 attendants in concierge room, 2 servers and 1 head of dining in dining rooms, 1 head and 1 assistant room attendant. We chose to do our own tips as we usually leave more than amounts suggested in most cases. (This cruise we had exceptional service and we tipped accordingly to all. In each case, as noted, more than suggested.) We took our own envelopes and even added some personal notes. DH did the tipping next to last night so we could personally speak to each person and thank them for the connections we had made throughout the week. We have never had any issue on a Disney Cruise other than some shore excursions that have been far less than expected. All others aspects, notably the great service, and getting to know folks is great!

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Cruising Girl, I think the number of folks dedicated to concierge varies based on the ship size, guessing it varies because there are more concierge rooms on the Wish versus say the Magic. I believe I've read that there are 9 folks on Wish and 7 on Magic / Wonder but am unsure on Fantasy / Dream. Believe Magic Wonder are 3 hosts, 2 bar, 2 food?

Disney apparently has shared a recommended $8 / person per day that the concierge team splits based on pre-set percentages of the total. I saw on Facebook where someone had the break-down. I've seen and added the math before but was chastised by folks, but you can do the math by multiplying the number of concierge rooms (e.g. 44 on Magic) by a reasonable number of guests per room (likely 3-4) by the $8 / day and you'll see that it seems Disney set a good minimum target that if everyone in concierge paid the team would likely be taken care of beyond the salaries the hosts already receive.

I've seen some say they tip $30 / day per person and if you do the math there each person would potentially receive well over six figures in tips per year.

At the end of the day I think you have to tip what you think is reasonable based on your interactions with the concierge team. In the past when we've sailed concierge we didn't make much use of the team on board but still tipped closer to the range that Disney is recommending (again $8 / day / person). We interacted more with the bar team for 1-2 drinks each night versus the actual hosts.

me personally I love math lol... so wish you had elaborated.. I suppose I could figure it out, but by $8/person do you mean per guest in the cabin or per concierge member?

 

[Lillebelle]

Looking back at this thread, things have changed a lot since it was initially asked so here's the updated info for posterity:

1) You can now tip the entire concierge team (not just the hosts) as part of the concierge tip you put on your account. Thus you do not have to bring cash anymore for tipping concierge servers, unless this is how you prefer to do things (the little envelopes are still available).
2) The sheet you get recommends "$8 per guest per day of your voyage" which will be "shared amongst the entire team of crew members in the concierge lounge." The sheet also literally lists who all those people are by name.
3) If you want to micromanage the amounts people get, there is a separate optional sheet you can fill out to award tips for specific people instead of or in addition to doing the big lump sum tip.

You'll still need to take the sheet(s) to someone to have the amount added to your account, assuming you're not doing cash. This can either be guest services or just pick the host that you feel most comfortable with and wait until they're available to do it.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Looking back at this thread, things have changed a lot since it was initially asked so here's the updated info for posterity:

1) You can now tip the entire concierge team (not just the hosts) as part of the concierge tip you put on your account. Thus you do not have to bring cash anymore for tipping concierge servers, unless this is how you prefer to do things (the little envelopes are still available).
2) The sheet you get recommends "$8 per guest per day of your voyage" which will be "shared amongst the entire team of crew members in the concierge lounge." The sheet also literally lists who all those people are by name.
3) If you want to micromanage the amounts people get, there is a separate optional sheet you can fill out to award tips for specific people instead of or in addition to doing the big lump sum tip.

You'll still need to take the sheet(s) to someone to have the amount added to your account, assuming you're not doing cash. This can either be guest services or just pick the host that you feel most comfortable with and wait until they're available to do it.

The last trip I was on was December 2023, and it was exactly as you write here, with the exception at least on that cruise it did NOT list a recommendation of $8 per guest per day...I looked for anything that would help and even asked the head concierge (had her on two cruises so thought she would tell me) and she just said they were not allowed to comment. I see now I over tipped lol. but I guess thats okay. thanks!

 

[Lillebelle]

The last trip I was on was December 2023, and it was exactly as you write here, with the exception at least on that cruise it did NOT list a recommendation of $8 per guest per day...I looked for anything that would help and even asked the head concierge (had her on two cruises so thought she would tell me) and she just said they were not allowed to comment. I see now I over tipped lol. but I guess thats okay. thanks!

FWIW we've always tipped more than what they ended up recommending, both before and after the change. So I wouldn't feel bad that you did more, I'm sure they were just aiming for something that most people wouldn't balk at. We've always gotten outstanding service and felt that it was worth the gratuities we gave.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

FWIW we've always tipped more than what they ended up recommending, both before and after the change. So I wouldn't feel bad that you did more, I'm sure they were just aiming for something that most people wouldn't balk at. We've always gotten outstanding service and felt that it was worth the gratuities we gave.

oh I agree, much rather over tip than under tip. I never feel pressured and tip to reward a good experience. at the end of the day, makes me feel good, hopefully makes the server feel good, win win. and I know they always go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, I do believe they smile a bit more because I smile back. I know the concierge head that we had had previously and remembered us by name, went out of her way to make my adult kids happy on their first cruise experience.

 

[llachance]

I did not add additional money to tip (Concierge once and probably never again). I got two drinks from the bar tender, the coffee machine never worked and there were a couple of groups of sailors that were repeat sailors and got fawned over by the concierge team. If I hadn't gotten a huge discount to be there I would have been thoroughly disappointed based on what I had read previous to the trip. The best perk was being able to get my seats to see the shows before anyone else came in.

 

[Jsoenning]

me personally I love math lol... so wish you had elaborated.. I suppose I could figure it out, but by $8/person do you mean per guest in the cabin or per concierge member?

Older post now I guess but the sheet we received was $8 per person in the room per day. For family of four $32 per day.