Butler in QG fare

In a QG the amenities list Butler service, for which the cost is considerably higher than PG.

The daily service charge is the same for PG (no butler) and QG, so is the butler service wholly included in the QG fare?

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Yes it is wholly included. We always dine in the QG for breakfast, lunch and dinner but do find the Butler useful for snacks and sometimes bringing coffee in the morning. If you feel like afternoon tea in your suite this can also be arranged and they will set the table with table-cloth, linen napkins and so on.

Just as with your Steward in PG, you are of course free to leave a tip for your Butler at the end of the trip. We have always given something to ours.

We have only ever cruised once in QG and that was last October on QE and to be honest we never really used the butler except for cup of tea/fruit juice and croissant first thing in the morning and he bought canapes to your suite prior to dinner about 5ish. For what it costs we thought the butler, even though he was very nice, was not really worth it and wouldnt have had any great affect on the enjoyment of the cruise if we hadnt had one so I think for difference in cost next time will be PG suite for us. We left our auto gratuities on for the cruise but didnt feel the need to leave the butler any extra tips because for the majority of the cruise we only ever saw him for about 5 mins first thing in the morning.

We normally have fellow guests in for drinks and then the Butler is invaluble. They provide canapes, nibbles, sometimes extra wine and will set up, clear away and serve drinks as required.

I wouldn't say we use ours overly excessively, but we do definitely use them quite a bit. On one cruise last year, my husband had forgotten his cuff links. I was about to nip to the shop and buy some, but our lovely Butler provided some for us for the duration, from a colleague.

They have liased with the tailor to come and make alterations to dresses of mine and repair a mistake I made cutting open in the sewn up pockets of my husband's new suit - I cut the wrong stitching!

Yes, the Butler is very useful so we always tip extra.

I had a butler on QM2 in a Q5 (New York-Caribbean-New York) two years ago and he was superb. Saw him three/four times a day, couldn't fault him. Excellent in every regard. Listened to requests and learnt preferences fast. Nothing was too much trouble. Tipped of course.

On QE in a Q3 this year (Auckland-Brisbane) had two different butlers (change-over in Sydney) and both were nothing special, did the minimum required (seen at most twice a day). Neither was interested in my likes/dislikes. The first hung around on his last day for a minute or so... waiting for a tip (do something to earn one... ).

I think that I am not knocking a butler if you have use for one but we couldnt really find a use and dont particularly have many likes/dislikes that would involve a butler.

There are things the butler will do if you ask him, or her. They will unpack and pack your luggage. We used to have them bring coffee and juice at 7 am, though now with the automated coffee machine, and the tea kettle provided that is not as important. They will serve a meal if you choose to have one in your suite (you can order from the Queen's Grill menu). and very useful if you are having a party, they will set up, serve and clean up later. They tend to be very useful, though on one occasion, in a Q2 on QM2, the butler seemed to think it was our job to make his easier. A call to the hotel manager got that corrected. On QV my butler, a very kind lady called Santa actually served a dinner party for six and did a beautiful job. They are worth the extra fare in my experience.

I am really trying to judge what level of service is included, and if I were to receive help beyond this a tip has been earned.

So far, meals served in suite, arranging drinks etc for guests, solving unexpected mishaps are on my list to warrant a tip.

Of course, If you have any others.......

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There are things the butler will do if you ask him, or her. They will unpack and pack your luggage. We used to have them bring coffee and juice at 7 am, though now with the automated coffee machine, and the tea kettle provided that is not as important. They will serve a meal if you choose to have one in your suite (you can order from the Queen's Grill menu). and very useful if you are having a party, they will set up, serve and clean up later. They tend to be very useful, though on one occasion, in a Q2 on QM2, the butler seemed to think it was our job to make his easier. A call to the hotel manager got that corrected. On QV my butler, a very kind lady called Santa actually served a dinner party for six and did a beautiful job. They are worth the extra fare in my experience.

We have always had excellent butlers on Oceania and Crystal but this time on QM2 for 21 days our butler was a glorified steward. We are booked again and hope we land a butler who is a butler. Our steward on the other hand was fantastic.

Everybody to their own but my wife would never let anyone pack or unpack suitcases and we enjoy the dressing up and feeling of going out by eating dinner in the restaurant and would never have the butler serve us dinner in our suite.

I'm with you on unpacking. Clothes are easy to do. I would hate to spend the time I saved wondering where everything has been unpacked.

In practical terms, It may have been Cunard or another line, but you made an appointment to be unpacked. Sounds more inconvenient than DIY.

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I'm with you on unpacking. Clothes are easy to do. I would hate to spend the time I saved wondering where everything has been unpacked.

 

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This is exactly what I'd do! LOL

I asked my butler for caviar service one night on QV. It was a beautiful presentation. I ate it all by myself. I completely ruined dinner.

Our first butler, Nolly, on QM2 saw us in the passageway four years later. He recognized us. He was extraordinary. Just the nicest person. We were so impressed that he recognized us. We did see him first.

While we don't require a lot of attention, we do enjoy the interaction. It's a nice perk of the cabin. It's nice knowing that we have one and having access to the concierge rather than the desk downstairs is worth the price.

I asked my butler for caviar service one night on QV. It was a beautiful presentation. I ate it all by myself. I completely ruined dinner.

I asked him to take a special bottle of wine to the dining room and give it to the steward. It was ready at our table that night. We were going somewhere and wouldn't have had time to get it to the sommelier. So, there are all sorts of small items that you might normally do for yourself, but you may want to have someone else do for you.

 

 

Our first butler, Nolly, on QM2 saw us in the passageway four years later. He recognized us. He was extraordinary. Just the nicest person. We were so impressed that he recognized us. We did see him first.

 

While we don't require a lot of attention, we do enjoy the interaction. It's a nice perk of the cabin. It's nice knowing that we have one and having access to the concierge rather than the desk downstairs is worth the price.

After serving us tea/orange juice and croissants at 7-30am unless we were in the suite when he bought the canapes we never saw him from one day until the next.

We've sailed QG twice. Once the butler was superb (and we've seen him around the Concierge Lounge on other crossings). He provided lots of little extra touches, especially delivering a continental breakfast quickly after the usual room service time was over. On our other QG crossing, the other butler was a glorified cabin steward. Actually he did not meet the standard of the usual (very good) cabin stewards in Britannia class. So...good luck.