Tipping the concierge . . . the poll . . .

[jrbdad]

Was the tip for concierge? I have only seen automatic tips for the 4 service positions (head server, server, assistant server, host) When we sailed last month, concierge was not an automatic gratuity b/c they have no "recommended" amount..

If you are talking about the tip for alcohol, that is automatic everywhere on DCL, but it is not 33%, it is 15% so it should have been about $6.75 for a $45 bottle of wine. Not sure if you were on the classic or new ships, but that is one of the reasons we prefer the new ship's concierge lounge with the free drink before dinner.. we would just get a nice glass of wine then.

I agree - we prepaid our tips (then added as appropriate), but nothing for concierge. We filled that in on the form the second to last night. I just put a set amount that I thought was fair for the extra service we received.

 

[bmer1rick]

Yes, Panos personally delivered the wine to us and it was a concierge tip. We also had a party in our room. There were 2 servers. We tipped them with cash before we left for the muster drill. Then got our bill and saw they already included the tip, without prior notice. So, just assume that Concierge tip is already included.

Understand. But think you are confusing a tip for concierge and the automatic 15% tip for all alcohol on the ship. You can be in a category 11 and get the same thing delivered to your room and you will be charged that. DCL has advertised this policy on their website: http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/onboard-services/gratuities/

 

[pdwimmer]

Understand. But think you are confusing a tip for concierge and the automatic 15% tip for all alcohol on the ship. You can be in a category 11 and get the same thing delivered to your room and you will be charged that. DCL has advertised this policy on their website: http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/onboard-services/gratuities/

Thanks so much for the advice. But the bill specifically separated the automatic tip and the tip for concierge. It is what it is and certainly am not upset. They work very hard. I should have done my research. My grandpa always told me, if you can't afford it don't do it. If you make an *** of yourself don't blame others.

 

[bmer1rick]

Thanks so much for the advice. But the bill specifically separated the automatic tip and the tip for concierge. It is what it is and certainly am not upset. They work very hard. I should have done my research. My grandpa always told me, if you can't afford it don't do it. If you make an *** of yourself don't blame others.

Just wanted to make sure you knew for future cruises. Glad to hear you enjoyed your concierge cruise. We love it when we are able to sail in concierge

 

[Subi WRX]

Yes, Panos personally delivered the wine to us and it was a concierge tip. We also had a party in our room. There were 2 servers. We tipped them with cash before we left for the muster drill. Then got our bill and saw they already included the tip, without prior notice. So, just assume that Concierge tip is already included. I would just wait until the end of your cruise, decide how you much want to tip extra, and then do so. We were tipping with cash each time for the drinks at happy hour, request for delivery, etc. I didn't know they were keeping a tally and would charge to our account anyway at the end of the cruise. It was my fault for not looking into it further. It wasn't anything sneaky that Disney did. It was my failure to get all the facts. In any event, the concierge were great.

Have never seen this. Will look for it next time. thanks for the warning.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Thanks so much for the advice. But the bill specifically separated the automatic tip and the tip for concierge. It is what it is and certainly am not upset. They work very hard. I should have done my research. My grandpa always told me, if you can't afford it don't do it. If you make an *** of yourself don't blame others.

Wow, I've never been charged an auto tip for concierge.

 

[iheartcruising]

Wow, I've never been charged an auto tip for concierge.

To clarify there is NO automatic tipping for concierge hosts. An envelope is provided and as many PP have mentioned you can add cash to the envelope or visit GS and add a tip to your account. Of course this is all optional. I'm not sure why this is such a confusing topic...

 

[BethA]

We traveled concierge only once. We assumed tipping was discretionary so we did so VERY generously. Then we receive or bill. They already applied a tip without my knowledge. So next time, if I do travel concierge, they'll get a nice hand shake. (Example, asked to have a bottle of wine delivered. $45 for the wine and a $15 tip automatically included). I gave the concierge a $20 when they delivered to me. So now I know.

We have never had a concierge tip added. It had to be for something else.

 

[disneywonderfun]

Perhaps some guidance from other cruiselines. I went to an online cruiseship tip calculator and found the following recommended tips:

Crystal Penthouse butler tip: $5 per person per night ($140 for family of four for 7 nights)

Celebrity suite butler: $3.50 per person per night ($98 for family of four for 7 nights)

Oceania butler: $4 per person per night ($112 for a family of four for 7 nights)

Princess suites have an extra $0.50 per person per night on the total gratuity in contrast to their nonsuites

Anyway, those are all of the options that include a butler which might equate to the concierge staff as on DCL. I guess it might be possible that a butler might provide even more service (i.e. unpack luggage, etc.) than the DCL concierge staff.

Do these numbers seem to work for most people? It would seem that $100 for a seven night cruise might be considered right in the middle of a recommended tip if DCL did offer a suggested gratuity. Obviously, if there are only two passengers, perhaps the number should be adjusted downward a bit. Opinions?

Makes me feel a little better seeing the other numbers as we did tip more than that for our concierge staff on our last cruise. I know I was worried I under tipped them, but perhaps I actually was on the high side. Who knows.

DWF

 

[disneywonderfun]

Perhaps some guidance from other cruiselines. I went to an online cruiseship tip calculator and found the following recommended tips:

Crystal Penthouse butler tip: $5 per person per night ($140 for family of four for 7 nights)

Celebrity suite butler: $3.50 per person per night ($98 for family of four for 7 nights)

Oceania butler: $4 per person per night ($112 for a family of four for 7 nights)

Princess suites have an extra $0.50 per person per night on the total gratuity in contrast to their nonsuites

Anyway, those are all of the options that include a butler which might equate to the concierge staff as on DCL. I guess it might be possible that a butler might provide even more service (i.e. unpack luggage, etc.) than the DCL concierge staff.

Do these numbers seem to work for most people? It would seem that $100 for a seven night cruise might be considered right in the middle of a recommended tip if DCL did offer a suggested gratuity. Obviously, if there are only two passengers, perhaps the number should be adjusted downward a bit. Opinions?

Makes me feel a little better seeing the other numbers as we did tip more than that for our concierge staff on our last cruise. I know I was worried I under tipped them, but perhaps I actually was on the high side. Who knows.

DWF

Just curious if there are any opinions about the data I included on my prior post from other cruiselines.

DWF

 

[jlemieu1]

Just curious if there are any opinions about the data I included on my prior post from other cruiselines.

DWF

I would be curious if the butler is the cabin stewart too? My guess is they have a CS too.

 

[disneywonderfun]

I would be curious if the butler is the cabin stewart too? My guess is they have a CS too.

They all appear to include another tip entirely for the cabin steward.

DWF

 

[kaseyC]

Perhaps some guidance from other cruiselines. I went to an online cruiseship tip calculator and found the following recommended tips:

Crystal Penthouse butler tip: $5 per person per night ($140 for family of four for 7 nights)

Celebrity suite butler: $3.50 per person per night ($98 for family of four for 7 nights)

Oceania butler: $4 per person per night ($112 for a family of four for 7 nights)

Princess suites have an extra $0.50 per person per night on the total gratuity in contrast to their nonsuites

Anyway, those are all of the options that include a butler which might equate to the concierge staff as on DCL. I guess it might be possible that a butler might provide even more service (i.e. unpack luggage, etc.) than the DCL concierge staff.

Do these numbers seem to work for most people? It would seem that $100 for a seven night cruise might be considered right in the middle of a recommended tip if DCL did offer a suggested gratuity. Obviously, if there are only two passengers, perhaps the number should be adjusted downward a bit. Opinions?

Makes me feel a little better seeing the other numbers as we did tip more than that for our concierge staff on our last cruise. I know I was worried I under tipped them, but perhaps I actually was on the high side. Who knows.

DWF

Most of those cruise lines also have a dedicated Concierge. We have sailed a number of times in NCL's Haven suites with a butler and concierge staff. The butler takes care of everything within the suite (he's not the room steward) and the concierge takes care of everything outside of the suite.

Some examples:
Our butler stocked our fridge with chocolate milk when he found out how much my DD loved it. When we ordered dinner from one of the restaurants, he brought it in courses. He showed us how to use the fabulous espresso machine in our suite. He brought us daily treats.

The Concierge made our dinner reservations at specialty restaurants. They escorted suite guests into shows before the general public. They handled priority tendering and disembarkation. The took care of spa appointments.

We tipped both separately based on usage. Edited to add: We usually start with about $2.50 pp per day and adjust up as needed.

 

[disneywonderfun]

Most of those cruise lines also have a dedicated Concierge. We have sailed a number of times in NCL's Haven suites with a butler and concierge staff. The butler takes care of everything within the suite (he's not the room steward) and the concierge takes care of everything outside of the suite.

Some examples:
Our butler stocked our fridge with chocolate milk when he found out how much my DD loved it. When we ordered dinner from one of the restaurants, he brought it in courses. He showed us how to use the fabulous espresso machine in our suite. He brought us daily treats.

The Concierge made our dinner reservations at specialty restaurants. They escorted suite guests into shows before the general public. They handled priority tendering and disembarkation. The took care of spa appointments.

We tipped both separately based on usage. Edited to add: We usually start with about $2.50 pp per day and adjust up as needed.

That is good information, thanks! We basically have only sailed DCL with our kids, so our experience with other lines is negligible.

DWF

 

[kaseyC]

That is good information, thanks! We basically have only sailed DCL with our kids, so our experience with other lines is negligible.

DWF

Most of our DCL cruises have been in suites too. I use the basically the same $2.50 pp per day as my base amount for concierge, adding more as necessary. We are a family of 5.

We try to be fair but I don't want to go overboard with the tipping because we are already paying a hefty premium to sail in a suite.

 

[jlemieu1]

Most of those cruise lines also have a dedicated Concierge. We have sailed a number of times in NCL's Haven suites with a butler and concierge staff. The butler takes care of everything within the suite (he's not the room steward) and the concierge takes care of everything outside of the suite.

Some examples:
Our butler stocked our fridge with chocolate milk when he found out how much my DD loved it. When we ordered dinner from one of the restaurants, he brought it in courses. He showed us how to use the fabulous espresso machine in our suite. He brought us daily treats.

The Concierge made our dinner reservations at specialty restaurants. They escorted suite guests into shows before the general public. They handled priority tendering and disembarkation. The took care of spa appointments.

We tipped both separately based on usage. Edited to add: We usually start with about $2.50 pp per day and adjust up as needed.

Thanks for the info, I'm looking into a NCL Haven trip in 2014 with the new Breakaway ship. Meyer Werft makes very nice ships.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Most of our DCL cruises have been in suites too. I use the basically the same $2.50 pp per day as my base amount for concierge, adding more as necessary. We are a family of 5.

We try to be fair but I don't want to go overboard with the tipping because we are already paying a hefty premium to sail in a suite.

I feel the same way. We always book our suites in advance (no cheap port upgrades) so it's hard to justify a super large tip since Disney charges such a premium for suites. We are also only a party of two who doesn't ask for a whole lot of anything. We do around 5$ pp day. I had worried we were being cheap, but I now figure I'm more in line.

 

[kcashner]

I've never heard of an automatic concierge tip. There is an automatic tip applied to ANY bar item, but this goes to the bar staff. The 15% is pooled and divided among all the bar workers; any additional you add to the slip goes to the person who actually served you.

Originally on DCL concierge was a fully salaried position. There were no concierge tip envelopes, and a tip was not expected. The "story" (whether true or not) is that so many guests asked about concierge tipping that it was changed to "your discretion" and an envelope is supplied. At the time of this change, the salary to the concierge staff was reduced--thus, they are no longer a "fully salaried" position. My understanding is that the concierge tips are pooled and divided among the concierge staff--while you do have a person assigned to your room, they work as a team to provide coverage to all guests 24/7. In addition, at least on the larger ships, there is a "concierge manager;" I have no info as to how he does or does not figure into the tip sharing.

 

[luv that cruise]

Okay, I thought Concierge employees were prohibited from taking tips.

When we cruised in 2000 (I think) we tried to tip but they politely declined. On subsequent cruises I didn't offer. It's been quite a while since we were in a concierge room so not sure when they started delivering concierge tip envelopes.

 

[frugalwitch]

I thought paying all that extra money for Concierge was to cover/include all the services provided, meaning no tips for concierge staff.