Concierge Gratuites

[Kwami]

The concierge host called and said I didn't understand the form and was supposed to give them $8/night for each of the 7 concierge team members (=$8 x 12 nights x 7 concierge staff members).

I think *they* misunderstood the form. Disney says $8 per night per passenger, not $8 per night per concierge team member.

 

[Mango7100]

I haven’t

Not sure I have any advice because I still don't understand what Concierge was asking us for. Perhaps discretely ask a Concierge host when you board the ship.

To the comments above. Our state room was automatically charged $15.50/night/guest. We were on a 12 night cruise with 4 in our stateroom -- $744.

We received a separate form for the concierge tip that suggested $8/night/guest. We filled out the form and added (rounded up) $500 for concierge.

The concierge host called and said I didn't understand the form and was supposed to give them $8/night for each of the 7 concierge team members (=$8 x 12 nights x 7 concierge staff members). They came to our door with a new form for us to fill out. We rounded up and gave them $700. In addition, we gave the 2 concierge team members who bring the beverage cart around each night $100 cash because they were so entertaining.

It was a wonderful cruise, but to my earlier point, an uncomfortable ending. I hope they make it more clear on the expectation going forward.

I haven’t stayed concierge on DCL but just did the Haven on NCL and the only thing they told us was our butler and concierge desk were not included in prepaid gratuities and tip as we see fit according to the level of service. Handing you a form and coming back after you did it once and then telling you how much more to tip seems inappropriate. That’s a fast way to get a $0 from me

 

[KAS_73]

Wow. I've cruised concierge 12 times with DCL and have never had the hosts comment on the amount that I tipped. That's horrible. That being said, tip what you feel is deserved and try not to stress about it. I think it's nice that they've added a suggested amount because I suspect that many guests tipped nothing.

 

[Lillebelle]

Not sure I have any advice because I still don't understand what Concierge was asking us for. Perhaps discretely ask a Concierge host when you board the ship.

To the comments above. Our state room was automatically charged $15.50/night/guest. We were on a 12 night cruise with 4 in our stateroom -- $744.

We received a separate form for the concierge tip that suggested $8/night/guest. We filled out the form and added (rounded up) $500 for concierge.

The concierge host called and said I didn't understand the form and was supposed to give them $8/night for each of the 7 concierge team members (=$8 x 12 nights x 7 concierge staff members). They came to our door with a new form for us to fill out. We rounded up and gave them $700. In addition, we gave the 2 concierge team members who bring the beverage cart around each night $100 cash because they were so entertaining.

It was a wonderful cruise, but to my earlier point, an uncomfortable ending. I hope they make it more clear on the expectation going forward.

This is appalling. The gratuities have always been recommended, not required, and I can't imagine them calling you to say you did it wrong. May I ask which host this was?

 

[IamAnniM]

This Sept will be my first concierge cruise, on the Wish. I have prepaid our gratuities with DCL and will tip the concierge tip according to their exceptional use and service. I’m not sure what extra duties they perform so this will be new for me. . I had one cruise where my dining staff attendants were absolutely horrible and although I still tipped them according to DCL guidelines, I did have an issue with the head server who was to orchestrate their performances….I saw this person the first night and never again until “tip” time on the last evening. Their tip was reflective of their lack of performance. I’m not cheap, I am a generous tipper but do look for quality service that is expected on such a “Disney” experience.

 

[MKMK]

We are by no means uber frequent concierge guests, but the concierge team knows us from past trips (i.e. not comfortable identifying the host because they have always been amazing).

Have chalked this up to an overzealous concierge host trying to ensure their entire team received a good tip given the recent change in tipping guidelines.

 

[KashasMom]

This Sept will be my first concierge cruise, on the Wish. I have prepaid our gratuities with DCL and will tip the concierge tip according to their exceptional use and service. I’m not sure what extra duties they perform so this will be new for me. . I had one cruise where my dining staff attendants were absolutely horrible and although I still tipped them according to DCL guidelines, I did have an issue with the head server who was to orchestrate their performances….I saw this person the first night and never again until “tip” time on the last evening. Their tip was reflective of their lack of performance. I’m not cheap, I am a generous tipper but do look for quality service that is expected on such a “Disney” experience.

We had the exact opposite experience. We were traveling with a vegan and the head waiter came every night to check on his meal as well as to ask what he wanted cooked for him the next night. On the other hand, we had very little interaction with the concierge team (they booked nothing for us). We still tipped them all.

 

[IamAnniM]

I never NOT tip but I do take into account exceptional service. I find the pre paid gratuities DCL assigns quite low so I always add cash along with the vouchers

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Due to sail concierge in September. I am happy for somewhat of a guideline. If we use the team more, and receive exceptional service, we will tip more. Same as any other tipped position on board. But, if I was to receive a phone call that my tip was too low? They might be surprised as to how low I can go with a tip-

 

[KashasMom]

I think that my math is not correct. Can someone confirm? $8 pp per night - so $16 for 2 people x 5 nights = $90? Are they recommending you tip $90 total for *3* concierge hosts or for each host? $90 total for 3 hosts seems SO low! Does anyone know if that is automatically added to your account?

 

[DCLDVC1]

But, if I was to receive a phone call that my tip was too low? They might be surprised as to how low I can go with a tip-

Same here. My tip would be one digit.

 

[MomOTwins]

Same here. My tip would be one digit.

I know, right? That’s unbelievable! I try not to be a “Karen” but if a host complained to me about tipping hundreds of dollars in keeping with DCL’s published recommendations that would definitely be contacting guest services. I frankly still think you should report them by email. If I was to ever sail concierge, it would be a big budget stretch, and it makes me livid to think of planning a budget and then get slammed with an unexpected demand for EIGHT TIMES the recommended amount, especially since I doubt we would ask very much from the hosts onboard.

 

[kfamilylovesdisney]

Due to the $$ amount seeming really low, I tend to believe it is the "non-concierge host" team members in the lounge that the $8 covers. I still plan to tip for concierge how we always have. We use a rule of thumb of $100 x number of guests in stateroom x number of sailing nights. To illustrate - on a four night cruise for two guests - we will tip $800. (additionally, we will likely give each lounge food attendant another $50 and the bartender maybe $100 additional for the entire cruise - and would tip more for a longer cruise).

I appreciate people sharing what they tip, so thank you for the info!

I'm just so confused now. The suggested tipping leaves me at around $200 for the two of us on a four-night cruise as opposed to $800. That's a wide margin

 

[Drewsdad]

Do people tip the bartenders in the lounge each time they order a drink or wait and tip at the end of the cruise?

There was a gratuity to every drink I bought on the Magic…

 

[Maisie78]

There was a gratuity to every drink I bought on the Magic…

My question was about the Concierge lounge where there is no charge for drinks. Understood that a gratuity is added to each drink you purchase in other parts of the ship.

 

[barbja99]

Not sure I have any advice because I still don't understand what Concierge was asking us for. Perhaps discretely ask a Concierge host when you board the ship.

To the comments above. Our state room was automatically charged $15.50/night/guest. We were on a 12 night cruise with 4 in our stateroom -- $744.

We received a separate form for the concierge tip that suggested $8/night/guest. We filled out the form and added (rounded up) $500 for concierge.

The concierge host called and said I didn't understand the form and was supposed to give them $8/night for each of the 7 concierge team members (=$8 x 12 nights x 7 concierge staff members). They came to our door with a new form for us to fill out. We rounded up and gave them $700. In addition, we gave the 2 concierge team members who bring the beverage cart around each night $100 cash because they were so entertaining.

It was a wonderful cruise, but to my earlier point, an uncomfortable ending. I hope they make it more clear on the expectation going forward.

No way! How no earth would they expect that the concierge tip should be as almost as much as for everyone else that you tip combined? That's madness! And then call you on it. If they think people don't understand, fix the form, don't chase people down. Or, like others said, the form is right and they need an education session in form-reading and guest relations.

We've sailed concierge quite a few times, the last one in November 2021. The tip envelopes for concierge never had suggested amounts. I suppose that is a new thing. We always tipped concierge pretty well. Perhaps we'll trend down now. Its kind of the bad taste in my mouth that I get when they add "automatic gratuity" to my restaurant bill.

Our biggest tips went to the ones on the Wonder when there was no lounge and they had very personal service. Smaller lounges, bigger tips (better service, less people tipping). We tip the people who bring stuff to our room at the time of service (unless they run away too fast); I bring $2 bills for that and use multiples. They're a people-pleaser. We tip the bar tenders separately. We get way more mileage out of them than anyone else in the lounge.

 

[undertheradar]

We tip the stateroom host/hostess more, as we book suites. There is more to keep tidy and clean, so we appreciate them more.

As for concierge staff, we used to tip cash to the lounge servers, bartenders and food prep. With this new suggested tip for the lounge, we will probably reduce what we would tip the concierge host.

 

[Sammie79]

About to debark Dream. Wow! What a great concierge team (3 hosts and 4 staff members)! The service was exceptional. Loved early access to WD theater to pick best seats and fresh popcorn for the shows.

The entire concierge team (hosts and lounge staff) shares the gratuity and the suggests amount is $8/guest/night. The concierge rooms were almost sold out but only 2700 pax for the sailing. Had a great weather and will definitely do concierge again.

 

[Sarco11]

This is giving me anxiety. I thought after 5 concierge cruises that I had this tipping situation down pretty well. The # of people tipped went up during the pandemic as they were getting our plates for us and so forth. I also think that we did not tip the food folks on the first couple of cruises because I did not see them mentioned in all of the information I scoured to get an idea about Concierge tipping. I had read that $10/guest/night for the 3 hosts as a group was about right. So we went with that and rounded up quite a bit, usually getting to something easily divisible by 3. Plus cash for the other folks in the lounge.

Concierge rooms cost quite a bit more, and I would think that some of that cost is to pay the salaries of the cast members that are there to make it a concierge level experience. Tipping is for exceptional service, and should not be used to supplement salary like in American restaurants.

I am wondering if Disney, with these new guidelines in place, are taking the tips that were typically intended just for the hosts and now splitting it with the food and beverage folks as well? That could result in some aberrant behavior. But just speculation.

We always add a bit extra for the other tipped positions. I think that we need to up our room host tip, though, because they are always the best. We are very tidy people. I love gathering all dishes and empty bottles and such to one spot. The OCD goes on vacation as well

 

[Rococoyourboat]

I would think it is $8 X # of nights X # of guests in the stateroom. That’s how the regular stateroom tips are calculated. And I have never heard of a CM contacting to say “too low.” It is a SUGGESTED amount and not a mandatory fee. You should be allowed to tip more or less as you see fit. Honestly when someone acts entitled to a bigger tip, they usually get less or even none from me.

THIS! I am by no means a shoddy tipper but at the end of the day it's a reflection of the service I received and my gratitude for it. The audacity to suggest a tip was too low to a guest, when for all they know that guest recieved subpar services and was tipping accordingly.