Sky Suite Butlers (unpacking and packing)

Have never travelled in a suite before hence why I have no idea about the answer to this question! Hoping those who have can help me out!! It lists “helping with unpacking and packing” from your butler under Sky Suite amenities. Does anyone have much experience of how much help they are willing to provide? As in are they willing to do the whole thing, or is just minor things they will assist with? Does anyone have any experience of being a full time wheelchair user in an accessible sky suite? Are they willing to help those guests, or is the service the same across the board? This will be on the Constellation.

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You must be present when the butler is packing and unpacking for you.

As for assistance to someone in a wheelchair, butlers are not permitted to lift you or transfer you, if that is what you require. Are you not traveling with someone who can assist you?

You must be present when the butler is packing and unpacking for you.

 

 

 

As for assistance to someone in a wheelchair, butlers are not permitted to lift you or transfer you, if that is what you require. Are you not traveling with someone who can assist you?

Hey thank you for your reply :)

Oh yes assumed you’d have to be present for the unpacking /packing, I just wondered whether they are willing to do all the unpacking etc, or whether it’s minimal assistance they will offer.

Sorry should have clarified regarding the comment about assistance for being a wheelchair user, I meant in relation to the unpacking question still :) Fully understand they don’t offer assistance in terms of lifting/transfers etc.

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Aside from bringing afternoon tea and evening canapés, I was never blown away by the butlers. Never really wanted them packing or unpacking. Too personal for me.

We travel with our undies in an opaque plastic bag (an old GAP drawstring bag, actually), and we keep them that way in the drawers, so nothing to "see". Our Sky suite is supposed to have very limited closet space (less than most) so I think we'll have them give it a go.

When you say you have to "be present" for the unpacking, do you have to be in the cabin with them saying "this goes here, that goes there" or can you be on the veranda sipping champagne?

Hey thank you for your reply :)

 

Oh yes assumed you’d have to be present for the unpacking /packing, I just wondered whether they are willing to do all the unpacking etc, or whether it’s minimal assistance they will offer.

 

Sorry should have clarified regarding the comment about assistance for being a wheelchair user, I meant in relation to the unpacking question still :) Fully understand they don’t offer assistance in terms of lifting/transfers etc.

 

 

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Although I have never used a Butler to unpack, I am confident that they would help you as much as you wish. If they are reluctant (not likely IMO) I would suggest you contact the MC Conceirge or Suite Manager.

Enjoy your cruise and do not hesitate to ask for any help you need.

Hey thank you for your reply :)

 

Oh yes assumed you’d have to be present for the unpacking /packing, I just wondered whether they are willing to do all the unpacking etc, or whether it’s minimal assistance they will offer.

 

Sorry should have clarified regarding the comment about assistance for being a wheelchair user, I meant in relation to the unpacking question still :) Fully understand they don’t offer assistance in terms of lifting/transfers etc.

Yes, for sure they will help you unpack. The butlers are usually pretty busy on turnaround day when you board, so you might need to be flexible on that day depending upon him. Let him know in good time if you want the packing done.

Phil

Not to worry, if you get the butler that we got. Not only did he not not offer any service, he also did not offer the service when requested. When we called him about ordering room service (just one time), his answer was to call the room service line listed on the phone. Click. I am sure something about being in a lowly sky suite has something to do with that. Other sky suite guests "served" by him received the same treatment. It was nothing personal. We booked the next few cruises in Aqua staterooms since we were underwhelmed by the butler. While we enjoyed Luminae and Michael's very much, Blu + drinks package perk would do, with half the cost.

Frankly, unless you have a physical limitation, there is not much of a reason to have the Butler assist with packing/unpacking.

I think it is one of those things that sounds good on paper, but is not in reality.

I do not know anyone that uses this service, but nonetheless it is an advertised benefit.

We travel with our undies in an opaque plastic bag (an old GAP drawstring bag, actually), and we keep them that way in the drawers, so nothing to "see". Our Sky suite is supposed to have very limited closet space (less than most) so I think we'll have them give it a go.

 

When you say you have to "be present" for the unpacking, do you have to be in the cabin with them saying "this goes here, that goes there" or can you be on the veranda sipping champagne?

Is your Sky Suite an S1 or S2? The S2’s have great drawer and closet space.

Personally, I like to unpack myself.

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Is your Sky Suite an S1 or S2? The S2’s have great drawer and closet space.

 

Personally, I like to unpack myself.

 

 

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We're in the very well known to have little space m-class 6145 (an S1), but we liked the bathroom, that's why we chose it.

My Mom has limited mobility, was excited about the butler being available to help them unpack. He came in and hung up one item for them and was gone. My Mom said it was a joke. Never saw him the rest of the cruise. Last suite for them...found luminea pretty pretensious, also. They do like Michael's club (they are Zenith)

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Not to worry, if you get the butler that we got. Not only did he not not offer any service, he also did not offer the service when requested. When we called him about ordering room service (just one time), his answer was to call the room service line listed on the phone. Click. I am sure something about being in a lowly sky suite has something to do with that. Other sky suite guests "served" by him received the same treatment. It was nothing personal. We booked the next few cruises in Aqua staterooms since we were underwhelmed by the butler. While we enjoyed Luminae and Michael's very much, Blu + drinks package perk would do, with half the cost.

I had a similar experience in an accessible sky suite on the Summit. I was traveling with my Mother who required my full attention due to mobility needs. I read lots of wonderful reports on these boards and expected much more attention than we received. I could have used the help with hanging clothes in the closet, but this wasn’t offered. I called about dinner on our balcony and was directed to call room service. When the food arrived the butler did set up the veranda table with tablecloth, plates, etc, but left the rest of the meal on the table in our room “to make it easier for us to get to when we wanted something”. When I asked about afternoon canapés I was informed that we’d need to go to Michaels for these. I can go on but I’ll get aggravated all over again.

Our experience with the Butler in a Sky Suite was wonderful. Rudy, our Butler on Reflection, was always around to assist us with whatever we needed. Of course he would help a wheelchair bound person unpack! It may be a good idea to speak to the Concierge in Michael’s Club about having your Butler unpack for you when you stow your carryon bags, before you go to lunch at Luminae.

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In January I will be sailing in my first Sky Suite S3 on Edge. I'm not a needy guy but will be a bit ticked off if I ask him for help and he blows me off like some of you have posted.

I had a similar experience in an accessible sky suite on the Summit. I was traveling with my Mother who required my full attention due to mobility needs. I read lots of wonderful reports on these boards and expected much more attention than we received. I could have used the help with hanging clothes in the closet, but this wasn’t offered. I called about dinner on our balcony and was directed to call room service. When the food arrived the butler did set up the veranda table with tablecloth, plates, etc, but left the rest of the meal on the table in our room “to make it easier for us to get to when we wanted something”. When I asked about afternoon canapés I was informed that we’d need to go to Michaels for these. I can go on but I’ll get aggravated all over again.

Our room service was delivered by somebody from room service/kitchen? department. No butler. Left the tray with food on the table, gave him a tip and he left.

In January I will be sailing in my first Sky Suite S3 on Edge. I'm not a needy guy but will be a bit ticked off if I ask him for help and he blows me off like some of you have posted.

We decided we did not need the aggravation, so we are sticking with non-suite unless we want to go with a higher suite class in future.

Frankly, unless you have a physical limitation, there is not much of a reason to have the Butler assist with packing/unpacking.

 

I think it is one of those things that sounds good on paper, but is not in reality.

 

I do not know anyone that uses this service, but nonetheless it is an advertised benefit.

Did you read the OP's posts? I’d normally say "don’t bother", but in this case.....

Phil

We cruise in S1 suites and will be on the Reflection next week.

The thought of a butler unpacking our clothes, especially our underwear, creeps me out.

We never use the butlers for anything. Would rather not have them. They seem happy when they don’t have to do anything for us.

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I can see where the butler would be a great help to you with unpacking, particularly with hanging up clothes.

For those of you who have had unsatisfactory butlers and have not complained while on the ship, that enables those butlers to continue to be unsatisfactory for the next customers. If I had a butler who behaved like some of the ones described above, I would have a word with the Suite Manager. Some people are not suited to be butlers and the sooner they are moved to something else, the better for all concerned. And it doesn't matter whether you're in a sky suite or the penthouse. I've had excellent butlers in both places.

We are currently on the Constellation and there are 4 Butlers to cover 50 Suites ( 2 PH, 8 RS, 8 CS & 32 SS) on 4 decks.

I’m pretty sure that this time last year they were 5 or possibly 6 Butlers. Last year we rarely left our cabin without seeing at least 1 Butler in the hall. Rare to spot a Butler this cruise.

Having said that we are in a CS and our Butler has been doing a excellent job of providing what we ask of him. He checks in once or twice a day either in person or by phone to see if we need anything.

There have been some early port days and our breakfast has been delivered by him at 6am and he is still working into the evening. But imagine 4 people trying to deliver and set up breakfast for even 1/2 of the suites on a early port day.

I believe X’s marketing is setting up unrealistic expectations of what the Butlers can do based on the small number of Butlers.

12 cabins per Butler sounds about right to me. That is one hour per cabin per day on average, based on a 12 hour day. If 50% of the cabins order breakfast (not likely IMO) over a two hour period the average time would be 20 minutes a cabin.

I have never felt that the Butler was too busy.

But on my January cruise it seemed like I saw two Butler on our Deck 12.

Like others we have never asked for unpacking help. Last cruise I did have some mobility issues but my better half did the hanging up....We packed undies etc into plastic bags and dresses, shirts etc were already on wire hangers, cosmetics were in bags ready to just go into the bathroom....it took very little time.

I suggest pre cruise you contact accessibility at Celebrity (I assume you may have other requests too). Let them know you could use packing/unpacking help, they can then alert your butler to this to enable him to plan his time better.

On boarding, as someone else said, mention your request to the Michael’s Club host, she can then forward this information to the butler just incase he doesn’t already know through accessibility. As rooms are open and your luggage arrives you will need to be patient as the butler and room attendants focus on getting the luggage to each room first and then the butler will try to briefly say hello to all guests.

I am sure he will be willing to help but may suggest a suitable time to you and this could well be after muster...We tend to cruise higher suits and have at times on boarding requested some changes to room set up (bar items etc). Whilst the butler will listen to our requests on boarding we do not expect him to act on them until he has time (usually during the evening). Remember in addition to the luggage delivery some suite guests may have also requested their rooms to be set up for a sail away party...further work for the butler.

You will need to be in the room with him while he unpacks, you will need to direct him as to what you want where and watch so you know where everything is too quite apart from the rules....

I hope I haven’t put you off asking and receiving help....I honestly don’t think it will be an issue....Just as an alternative suggestion, is it the actual putting things away you will have difficulty with or getting the suitcases up onto the bed and stowing after? If it is the latter then there would be no issue asking the butler (or room attendant) to place your suitcases on the bed and open them, you then to store and your butler to stow later...just a thought....

As I said, last cruise I had a temporary mobility issue and all staff could not have been kinder. The butler did arrange for us to receive afternoon tea in the suite, the room attendant found me a shower stool so I could sit in the bathroom, the pool butlers (promptly and sensitively) hoisted me in and out of the Solarium pool. Whilst I didn’t enjoy using crutches and a wheelchair I can think of few holiday destinations where I would have found so many facilities at hand and so much support.

Hope you manage to sort and have a great cruise! I

Like most people we have never requested help with packing or unpacking. My husband and I have got the unpacking down to a fine art, helped by being very familiar with the rooms we book. We now know where everything goes.

However, I have health issues and we do not travel light. At the end of the last cruise, I ended up collapsing at the end of the evening after spending the day packing at the end of the cruise. I have to accept my limitations and will be asking for help with packing at the end of our next cruise but I will give our butler good notice and be flexible about when it is done. I am fully aware that crew members are particularly busy on the first and last days of a cruise and would not wish to make unreasonable requests.

I am sure the OP's butler will be more than willing to assist. By asking the question, it is clear that they do not have unreasonable expectations.

In January I will be sailing in my first Sky Suite S3 on Edge. I'm not a needy guy but will be a bit ticked off if I ask him for help and he blows me off like some of you have posted.

Based on my experience I doubt that will happen. Ours have all been excellent. Just make it very clear to him what you want from him at the start of the cruise etc and let him deliver. I think if people understand what they can and cannot so and communicate correctly all will be good.