Tipping Concierge on Fantasy/Dream

Fladis32

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
What is the current thinking on this topic? How much do you currently tip? The last time we cruised we tipped all three staff in one lump sum (they were all quite helpful and always so friendly). We tipped our bartender in concierge separately. My husband thought that we went WAY overboard with our tip, but I refuse to tip on the cheap.
 
I want to say we averaged $50/day to the team. You are going to find numbers all over the map though based on party size, how much they used services, etc.

ETA: We also tipped the bartender generously as he was a real asset to our trip.
 


How many people are involved in the concierge team? The calculator at http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com doesn't seem to take concierge hosts into account.

On the big ships there are 3 concierge staff (not including bartenders) on the Classics I think its 2. They concierge staff pools the tips. I believe the bartenders are separate, but not sure if the 2 bartenders pool their tips or keep them separate.
 
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I want to say we averaged $50/day to the team. You are going to find numbers all over the map though based on party size, how much they used services, etc.

ETA: We also tipped the bartender generously as he was a real asset to our trip.
So just to clarify - on a 7 night you would tip $350?
 
$350 seems excessive. We just self-upgraded from a Cat 4A to a Concierge 1-bedroom on a 4 night Dream cruise. The delta was an additional $4K. You would think a part of that extra cost was to pay for the Concierge staff. We always give the staff a tip (this will be our 6th concierge level cruise), but $50/day may be a bit much. There was talk a few years ago that Concierge staff were "salaried", thus it was argued they need not be tipped. Also, not until recently, were tip envelopes provided specifically for "Concierge".
 


$350 seems excessive. We just self-upgraded from a Cat 4A to a Concierge 1-bedroom on a 4 night Dream cruise. The delta was an additional $4K. You would think a part of that extra cost was to pay for the Concierge staff. We always give the staff a tip (this will be our 6th concierge level cruise), but $50/day may be a bit much. There was talk a few years ago that Concierge staff were "salaried", thus it was argued they need not be tipped. Also, not until recently, were tip envelopes provided specifically for "Concierge".
I didn't remember getting a concierge tip envelope before this last cruise in January. Thought I was just getting old and forgot.

I usually put $120 - $150 cash in the envelope. Now I'm wondering if I have been a "cheapskate"
 
So just to clarify - on a 7 night you would tip $350?
Yes.

As I said previously, that is what we did based on our experience. Since no guidelines are given, I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to feel like they are not giving enough and, if people give numbers, they will be all over the map.

Previously it's been said that you should give what your kind heart dictates and your budget allows. Both are important parts of the equation.
 
I've stayed concierge 3 times and never know what to tip. Matter of fact, I don't remember what I did last time from trip to trip. I just pick an amount that I'm comfortable with and don't worry about it until I see one of these threads and start worrying about whether I tipped too much or little. I've always wondered if people tip differently according to what category they booked.
 
We've stayed in concierge many times. The concierge hosts pool their tips, so even if you give it to one, they share. We use the concierge lounge frequently, and also ask the hosts to switch things around for us. We usually have a 1 bedroom suite, and an additional stateroom for our son. I too have read these boards and have tried to figure out what is the right amount of the tip. My calculations end up being 150-200 per host, for a 7 day cruise. I have no idea if i am over or under tipping.....I wish disney would put a guideline in place
 
I forgot to add we also tip the bartenders separately in cash. they always add drinks waiting, and one to go!
I should also add that we add on to our server and stateroom host tips as well. These folks make their real money on tips, not the stipends that Disney pays. They are all on contracts not full time benefits all though some have worked on Disney ships for years. I have asked the concierge hosts about tipping, and they always say give what you feel is right... :-)
 
There was talk a few years ago that Concierge staff were "salaried"

I have a friend who was Concierge on board for many years, although he has now left the company. I remember when they added the envelopes and I made an off the cuff comment suggesting that presumably they took their salary away in lieu of the envelopes. I got a look that told a thousand words.

Guess Disney can't afford their salary anymore! ;)
 
In past threads, I think the consensus was about $25 per guest for a 7 day cruise with less or more depending on how much you used the lounge, the service you got, and what you can afford. Personally, if we had barely used the lounge, I would have felt comfortable tipping a lot less than that. However, since we used it more than anyone else that we saw in there, I tipped twice the "average" amount for a 7 day cruise with 9 guests. Another way to look at what is reasonable is to estimate the number of concierge guests (ie. ~40 staterooms/suites on the Dream/Fantasy with ~4 guests in each) and calculate the salary each concierge would receive per year, keeping in mind that they work intensively during each contract (16 weeks?) and then are home for a long period between contracts (8 weeks?, I can't remember the exact numbers). This is just for reference to give you an idea of how I came to a figure that I felt comfortable with myself.

[QUOTE="PhilP, post: 55159075, member: 569301"[...] There was talk a few years ago that Concierge staff were "salaried", thus it was argued they need not be tipped. Also, not until recently, were tip envelopes provided specifically for "Concierge".[/QUOTE]

I was shocked when I learned first hand how little the concierges are paid per month by DCL. The information that you heard is, unfortunately, not correct, at least not as of a few months ago.
 
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Another way to think about it is in terms of other tipped positions. Server and room host get $4 per guest per day. Assistant server $3 per guest per day. Head server $1 per guest per day.

At the end of your cruise, figure out how much you used the on board concierge services relative to those other positions and determine a tip that you are comfortable with.

IMO, the higher fare pays for the larger room, access to the lounge, and the services of shoreside concierge. We treat the on board experience as a separate tipped position.
 
On our first 7 day cruise in 2014 we were told they were a salary position we paid a total of70 a person foWe figured the extra we paid was for the lounge and their services. The second in 2015 we were told the same they are salary and for a 3 day we paid a total 50 a person. We also tipped the bartender seperate. If it was just a tipped position I feel they would give us envelopes with a set minimum like everyone else. I was told that at the beginning there were so many that wanted to tip that they started giving the envelopes. I don't know if any of its right.
 
On the previous concierge cruise we were not even aware we were supposed to tip them until the envelope showed up on the last night. All together the host spent perhaps 10 minutes with us the entire cruise, changes a Palo reservation and applied some gift cards to our bill, and did not respond to a personal request made by one of our party. We tipped her $50 and gave her a bottle of wine. Generous for what we received I feel. I was not overly impressed with the service... it was minimal, doing mostly what we asked and no more.
 

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