Concierge tipping - cautionary tale!

[Sarco11]

No, the concierge gratuity is "at your discretion" like it always was, the difference is now they actually provide you with a formulaic recommendation vs before where it was a complete mystery. You will still need to explicitly add the gratuity if you want it charged to your account.


I didn't see an actual jar. I'm sure you could just hand cash to them though and they'd take it.

Trying to alleviate the overall level of concern with the new system -- we sailed the Wish about a month ago and I liked the new system WAY better than the old way.

To clarify what happens -- we received our paper tip slips per usual, with an additional letter that said the following:

"Our guests often ask for guidance regarding gratuities for the Concierge Team. As a suggestion, we recommend $8 per Guest per day for your voyage. It is however up to your discretion to determine the gratuity amount you feel is appropriate, based on the excellent services provided by your Concierge Team. Your gratuity will be shared among the Concierge Team:"

And then it had two columns with names explicitly listing the people among whom the gratuity would be split. Then there's just one spot to put a number. I was told if you don't want it split evenly, you could explicitly list amounts on a separate sheet, but we did not do that.

I liked the new system because:
a) It equally rewards both the hosts and servers -- we assumed the 'Concierge tip' included everyone on our first cruise, and only found out on our second cruise that it didn't.
b) I don't have to bring a ton of cash to be able to tip all the servers
c) Having a recommendation at least provides you with a framework to work off of vs before where it felt like such a shot in the dark
d) The explicit list of who is included (which Glenn said they only recently started including) also allows you to make sure you cover anyone else that isn't there, and should eliminate the shadiness from OP's experience. We did have a couple evening bartenders not on the list; we did ad hoc tips for them as we felt was warranted.
e) There are SO MANY PEOPLE working the Wish concierge lounge. It's so much simpler to just give one tip and be done with it rather than trying to chase down all those people to give them cash. And while overall we felt the level of service was great, it really did end up being more of a team effort vs us having a few individuals we saw all the time. Thus, an even split feels like the most fair thing since I'm sure even the people we didn't see as much were working hard to help the overall population of guests.

So don't stress! I found it much less awkward than before. I'm sure it was a tough transition for hosts that were used to getting the whole tip but again, I think it makes for a more streamlined and equitable experience.

Have an amazing cruise!

Thank you so much for this information! This is super helpful, and I am glad that they incorporated some procedures to take out some of the initial confusion. I really appreciate the time you took to write this out. Stress level definitely reduced

 

[Froxfield]

Lol you do realize that many cruise lines hire people from international countries that pay low. It's not just the US based cruise lines that do that.

Of course. But low pay for people from low wage economies is a slightly different issue from tipping or not.

 

[John VN]

Just out of curiosity I searched and found a source being *ZipRecruiter* Not sure about accuracy >>>

" ... As of Dec 25, 2022, the average annual pay for a Cruise Ship Concierge in the United States is $48,992 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $23.55 an hour. This is the equivalent of $942/week or $4,082/month ... "

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

Just out of curiosity I searched and found a source being *ZipRecruiter* Not sure about accuracy >>>

" ... As of Dec 25, 2022, the average annual pay for a Cruise Ship Concierge in the United States is $48,992 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $23.55 an hour. This is the equivalent of $942/week or $4,082/month ... "

not sure for tipped position but non tipped positions on DCL is less than half of what is mentioned and no salary for those weeks between contracts

 

[BrokeMack]

not sure for tipped position but non tipped positions on DCL is less than half of what is mentioned and no salary for those weeks between contracts

This whole discussion is going to revolve around how we feel individually about fair wages and whether the DCL employees should be making what we consider a good wage in the US or if it's okay to pay a fair (or better in many cases, hence why these castmembers have chosen to spend so much time away from their families) wage for their home countries. If you have an ethical dilemma then you might consider a different vacation, or you should tip according to your conscience (but don't be a cheapskate, if you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to cruise).

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

This whole discussion is going to revolve around how we feel individually about fair wages and whether the DCL employees should be making what we consider a good wage in the US or if it's okay to pay a fair (or better in many cases, hence why these castmembers have chosen to spend so much time away from their families) wage for their home countries. If you have an ethical dilemma then you might consider a different vacation, or you should tip according to your conscience (but don't be a cheapskate, if you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to cruise).

exactly but it explains why there are very few CM that are actually from North America or western Europe that stay on the ship for years unless they can work their way up. I used to be a CM at DLP and my monthly salary when I started was 930 EUR and then I had to pay DLP another 275 back for lodging (sharing a bedroom with another CM) I worked my way up a little but still; amazing experience: glad I did it, been there done that... Disney is no prison, if you are not happy with the salary you can always leave and find yourself another job but a basic CM def doesn't earn the figures mentioned before.

 

[Maremax]

All the above highlights what a ludicrous farce "tipping" US style is!!! We now look for cruise lines where gratuities are included: much to be preferred. After a myriad of US holidays and cruises, I have never understood why the US seems to think that this gratuities system ensures better service.

You don’t tip until the end of the cruise so you can tip based on service provided.

 

[ohmyminnie]

I am confused. If you book Concierge, and add the option for auto-gratuities, will that include the main dining servers, etc, as well as the Concierge Team? So if I do that, I don't need to worry about any individual tips? I have done auto-gratuities in the past, but this is our first time in Concierge.

 

[quinnc19]

I am confused. If you book Concierge, and add the option for auto-gratuities, will that include the main dining servers, etc, as well as the Concierge Team? So if I do that, I don't need to worry about any individual tips? I have done auto-gratuities in the past, but this is our first time in Concierge.

I just got off the Wish this week. I received a print out of all the auto-gratuities for the servers and cabin stewards in my cabin plus a separate sheet of paper described above that I could enter an amount for the Concierge staff. That had to be turned in to Guest Services or Concierge to be enacted. HTH!

 

[ohmyminnie]

I just got off the Wish this week. I received a print out of all the auto-gratuities for the servers and cabin stewards in my cabin plus a separate sheet of paper described above that I could enter an amount for the Concierge staff. That had to be turned in to Guest Services or Concierge to be enacted. HTH!

Thank you!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

I just got off the Wish this week. I received a print out of all the auto-gratuities for the servers and cabin stewards in my cabin plus a separate sheet of paper described above that I could enter an amount for the Concierge staff. That had to be turned in to Guest Services or Concierge to be enacted. HTH!

This^^^ We had this in September. We went to guest services to add our concierge tips-was just more comfortable for us. We were also able to grab some extra envelopes there as we had some concierge members that were extra helpful that we wanted to add some additional gratuities in cash. Took the guesswork out it. You may also do all this at the lounge. Extra envelopes were available there as well.

 

[ohmyminnie]

This^^^ We had this in September. We went to guest services to add our concierge tips-was just more comfortable for us. We were also able to grab some extra envelopes there as we had some concierge members that were extra helpful that we wanted to add some additional gratuities in cash. Took the guesswork out it. You may also do all this at the lounge. Extra envelopes were available there as well.

Thanks so much! I am assuming it can all be put on our credit card if we go through Guest Services or at the lounge?

 

[MomOTwins]

Thanks so much! I am assuming it can all be put on our credit card if we go through Guest Services or at the lounge?

Yep—just goes on the card on file for stateroom charges

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Thanks so much! I am assuming it can all be put on our credit card if we go through Guest Services or at the lounge?

yes, on the card on file. Have a great cruise!

 

[KVacc]

So then can you pre pay concierge gratuity?

 

[Sarco11]

I do like the new system and see how it would be very useful for first time concierge guests. I ended up tipping maybe slightly less than normal. There were 7 people listed on the form--we could not figure out who the fourth person was on the food/beverage team (mainly saw the same 3 folks who were great). It was still a lot more contemplation and math than desired on a vacation

Although I know concierge is typically full, it seemed like there were WAY more people than the past 5 cruises (okay, so should not count the early 2022 pandemic era cruises), and we never talked to a host during the welcome luncheon, so I missed all the info on the new internet. The person who helped most was the guest services gentleman that was up to cover the lounge during the luncheon--and I was told that I could not provide him any sort of monetary thank you. He did get a big mention in the survey. Thanks again Christiano from Brazil!

No more cruising over 3 day holiday weekends!

 

[robinb]

Lol you do realize that many cruise lines hire people from international countries that pay low. It's not just the US based cruise lines that do that.

Actually, the DCL ships sail under a Bahamian flag so they follow the employment rules of the Bahamas and not the US due to maritime laws.

 

[KevinFL]

..

 

[Jsoenning]

I hope ours was shared, we put our tip (did cash) in the envelope with the concierge label and handed it to a host. We did the $8 / day per person in the room and then added extra thinking it would be split amongst the whole team.