Butler Services

[DebbieH103]

Silversea has put out a page on their website outlining the difference between the new "standard" butler service and that in the upper suites. http://www.silversea.com/silversea.aspx?id=1846&page_type=butler&page_id=onboard

[WesW]

thanks for posting debbie

[LOGHL]

Silversea has put out a page on their website outlining the difference between the new "standard" butler service and that in the upper suites. http://www.silversea.com/silversea.aspx?id=1846&page_type=butler&page_id=onboard

 

It's a fiasco !!!!! They are just calling the room stewards butlers.. to sound fancy....

[Keith1010]

Can someone please tell me how this will work.

 

Specifically, on our cruise there was a stewardess and an assistant stewardess. Will there be a butler on top of this or are they eliminating one of these positions.

 

I am well aware of what butlers can do as we have had them on other cruise lines such as Crystal but where we have had them we have also had a stewardess and assistant stewardess so the butler.

 

But, I'm trying to figure out how the butler service will work in terms of the standard service. Specifically, are the increasing the number of rooms that the stewardesses/assistant stewardesses will have since the butler will do things such as

"Ensuring your suite is immaculate" which to me is the responsibility for the stewardess or are they cutting back on either the stewardess or assistant stewardess positions.

 

Can any of the seasoned Silversea cruisers or others who know please elaborate.

 

Thanks,

Keith

[DebbieH103]

It is sort of an upgrade of one of the positions, but we are looking forward to the unpacking and packing, as we enjoy that on some of our land trips and are now quite used to people in this level going through our stuff.

 

I don't expect it to be a fiasco. I expect it just to be a notch above.

[TLCOhio]

Silversea has put out a page on their website outlining the difference between the new "standard" butler service and that in the upper suites. http://www.silversea.com/silversea.aspx?id=1846&page_type=butler&page_id=onboard

 

Agree with the many wise posters that it all seems very, very confusing. In checking Silversea website, it had these very flowery words:

 

"Your journey becomes one of ultimate luxury with privileges that go beyond the expected. Without even asking, your every wish seems magically to materialise before you, presented with a polished finesse that could only be attributed to the deft skill of our professional butlers. Around the world and around the clock, your butler is available to pamper you with countless luxuries and delightful surprises."

 

What does that really mean? How does it work with "your every wish seems magically to materialise before you"? Can these Butlers read minds and forsee the future? Will this be "never-never land" with magic and secret wands? Sounds like lots of BS and/or mostly what the "maid" would have been doing (except the mind-reading). Aren't these (ensure your suite is immaculate, replenish your in-suite bar and preferred beverages, refresh the ice bucket, turndown bedclothes nightly, etc.) done by the stewardess? Personally, I kind of prefer doing my own unpacking and packing. That way I put out what I want where I need it, know where it's at, etc.

 

Somebody from Silversea should jump on this board and clear up the confusions they have started about business as usual and mind-reading magic skills. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Keith1010]

It is sort of an upgrade of one of the positions, but we are looking forward to the unpacking and packing, as we enjoy that on some of our land trips and are now quite used to people in this level going through our stuff.

 

I don't expect it to be a fiasco. I expect it just to be a notch above.

 

Debbie, while we have had wonderful experiences with Butlers on many cruise ship voyages and they all offer upacking/packing our experience is that in reality it can be a real challenge. Unlike a land trip where people are checking in and checking out on different days the turn around day on embarkation day is quite busy for all staff. I hope it works for you but I just wanted to note that on the day of embarkation the butlers are extremely busy so if too many people ask for their items to be unpacked it will be a challenge.

 

Personally, we have never used this feature on our cruises although we know people who have so we are aware of the challenges if too many people request it both on embarkation day and a day or two before the end of the cruise For su, we think it's one of those that it's easier to do it ourselves plus we don't want others touching all our items. But again, if it's something that you enjoy hopefully it will work out perfectly for you.

 

I am very interested to know if this represents the incremental addition of staff or if there will be butlers added and fewer stewardesses/assistants.

 

I hope that it's done successfully.

 

On the lines that do it successfully (and we've sent it work well on both luxury and a premium cruise line) that's great but we've also seen it work terribly on one line ourselves where it was eliminated after a one year trail and on another line where it is in place but not working from what others tell us.

 

Keith

[DebbieH103]

I will certainly be trying it out, and if it is a failure, I will let you all know. The advantage of unpacking yourself besides knowing where things are is you do it on your schedule. However, I am all for getting the cruise started. I haven't seen Silversea mess up too much in the past, so I hope the logistics were considered before it was advertised. I may be naive here on this one, but I am hoping for the best.

 

I agree that most of the other stuff sounds like what they already do. Also, when we were in a medallion suite (obviously phased out on the new ship but still existing on ships that will have this feature in 2010), they brought us canapies every night. Others, of course know they did this in silver suites. The web page doesn't list this for those categories, and what about if one's every whim is a canapy? I know we were not in love with the mystery canapies completely, although they included caviar and many other exotic things. We would have rather been able to select what canapies we wanted. Maybe the top suites can do that now. I am sure had we asked before, we could have got what we wanted and most will be able to now.

[wripro]

This just confirms what I have said all along. These butlers are nothing more than a marketing gimmick. They will not preform any function that room service and your stewardess are not performing now with the exception of packing and unpacking. And I would bet very very few people will request that as most people don't want strangers touching their stuff. And SS knows that, trust me. For the few, like Debbie, who do want that service, this is an added benefit. If you look at the useful extra services a butler can perform they are limited to the upper level suites....no change from before. This is just like Azamara which promises a butler in every suite but in reality all it is a uniform change for one of the attendants.

[meow!]

On the Shadow/Whisper, there are 295 crew for 382 passengers (0.77 crew per passenger). On the newbuild Spirit, there will be 376 crew for 540 passengers (0.70 crew per passenger). This is a reduction of 10%. We saw the Shadow's crew working very hard, spinning from deck to deck, from the breakfast buffet to the evening theatre. If they are going to have substantial additional duties with reduced numbers, especially for a full ship, perhaps we should feel sorry for the crew, or they may not be able to perform their chores as fully as before!

 

P.S. It looks likely that they will not have the manpower to add a third tier of cabin attendants as butlers for everyone. They likely will just call the present attendants butlers and assistant attendants as attendants. Glorified titles the world around.

[wripro]

Glorified titles and different uniforms. If these butlers really meant anything there would be no difference in the functions they perform in a vista suite or a grand suite.

[Wellseasoned]

Meow, I understand your fascination with the details, but the precise crew per passenger and square footage of this and that is not my own particular prime concern. Regarding butlers, I don't see much improvement from the previous very good system. I have sailed Silversea for 12 years from Veranda to Owners suites and don't really see what the butlers add. We would never allow others to unpack for us, or to pack. Otherwise the steward staff do everything and do it well!

 

 

 

silvrsea in

[Keith1010]

On the Shadow/Whisper, there are 295 crew for 382 passengers (0.77 crew per passenger). On the newbuild Spirit, there will be 376 crew for 540 passengers (0.70 crew per passenger). This is a reduction of 10%. We saw the Shadow's crew working very hard, spinning from deck to deck, from the breakfast buffet to the evening theatre. If they are going to have substantial additional duties with reduced numbers, especially for a full ship, perhaps we should feel sorry for the crew, or they may not be able to perform their chores as fully as before!

 

P.S. It looks likely that they will not have the manpower to add a third tier of cabin attendants as butlers for everyone. They likely will just call the present attendants butlers and assistant attendants as attendants. Glorified titles the world around.

 

Thanks for the thoughts on this.

 

I think they are making a mistake to do what they are doing.

 

We know what true butlers can do as we have enjoyed this service on a couple of cruise lines; including Crystal that we sail regularly. They are wonderful.

 

But we have cruised with a butler that was more like what you described and also we know of another cruise line that is doing the same sort of thing and it has not worked.

 

I would rather not have a butler than have one that really is not a bulter. We were fine on Silversea without the butler as we were fine on Seabourn without the butller because of the size of the ships. Maybe it would be more important on their newer ships to us but it certainly was not needed on the ships we have sailed with both lines.

 

Keith

[TLCOhio]

I think they are making a mistake to do what they are doing. We know what true butlers can do as we have enjoyed this service on a couple of cruise lines; including Crystal that we sail regularly. They are wonderful. I would rather not have a butler than have one that really is not a bulter. We were fine on Silversea without the butler as we were fine on Seabourn without the butller because of the size of the ships. Maybe it would be more important on their newer ships to us but it certainly was not needed on the ships we have sailed with both lines. Keith

 

Wise words and thoughts, as always, by Keith.

Per http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/butler

it defines this noun as:

Etymology: Middle English buteler, from Anglo-French butiller, from Old French botele bottle. Date: 13th century

1 : a manservant having charge of the wines and liquors

2 : the chief male servant of a household who has charge of other employees, receives guests, directs the serving of meals, and performs various personal services

 

This definition and my past understanding (not from personal experience) says a butler would be someone with a high level of knowledge and skills. Another definition says: "chief servant of a household, in charge of serving food, silverware; having charge of the wines and liquors."

 

None of the definitions say "marketing gimmick for cruise lines".

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[flag fan]

On Silversea there are a few things listed for butlers that regular cabin stewards do not do: provide a choice of pillows (available on some lines even without butlers, such as the Concierge Class in Celebrity), convey food preferences to the dining room staff, make dinner reservations, arrange for private fitness sessions, pack and unpack luggage.

 

I have never had a butler and don't expect the experience to be exactly the same as the butlers in penthouse suites (on Silversea or on other lines), but it does sound as though the cabin staff (whatever you call them) are providing more service than room attendants do. I hope it works out.

 

Azamara provides butlers for all cabins, but the initial reviews were not positive--the passengers apparently found that the butlers were just like cabin stewards. I think that with realistic expectations the butlers on Silversea could be a big success--adding an extra level of service beyond that provided in other luxury lines for passengers in regular cabins.

[wripro]

What are realistic expectations? You can ask your stewardess for any pillow you want. And can you imagine what would happen if everyone on embarkation day asked to have his/her luggage unpacked? Nothing else would get done because these "butlers" are also your cabin stewards and need to do everything else they usually do. A true butler is a dedicated one who has no other duties. These you will only find in the Grand, Royal and Owner's suites, not even in the silver suites.

[cechase]

My late wife and I had six different butlers on six different Celebrity cruises. In almost all cases they were all excellent with several superior. We never had them pack or unpack, because we considered that a personal matter, and of course, my wife did not want them to handle her things. About the only difference between our Silversea cruise without a butler and our Celebrity cruises with a butler was that on Celebrity, our butler would bring appetizers around 3:00 p.m. every day, shined my shoes, took items for pressing or cleaning, set the table in our suite for breakfast, and if we had dinner in our cabin he would make the table preparations in our cabin and serve each course [rather than the room service steward]. On one cruise, my wife was ill with two visits to the infirmary, and the butler was great spending considerable time with her and making her comfortable.

 

On our Silversea cruise, while we had a Silver Suite, we did not miss the butler at all, and received wonderful service from Patricia and her assistant. With the exception of our ordering beverages for our suite, Patricia and her assistant were like very compentent ghosts. On Celebrity butlers do present the passengers with a third cabin person to tip, and usually receive the largest tips.

 

Frankly, on Silversea, I am just as happy without a butler because of the excellent room service and outstanding suite attendants. I think that "faux" butlers is a bad idea for Silversea.

[DebbieH103]

One thing we have found with land-based butlers (all Butler's Guild trained) that we have had is inconsistency. What I mean to say is that some do a lot on their own without the guest asking, while others wait for guests to ask. I expect a lot of this being waiting for guests to ask. We plan to do so. It is the little things that make a difference. A lot of this, I know is for guests to have a "go to" person.

[WesW]

More fidelity on the SS Butler program from The Expert Cruiser: (e.g. Butlers

will wash your luggage, clean your glasses/sunglasses (ala Seadream), give a personalized tour

of the ship) Pls see this link:

 

http://www.expertcruiser.com/blog/on-silversea-the-butler-will-do-it-all/

[CatServants]

We have had butler service twice while on Celebrity cruises, once while in a Celebrity Suite, and the other while in the Penthouse Suite. The level of service provided by Celebrity's butler service is comparable to what will be offered by Silversea for its standard cabins, and after having experienced it on Celebrity I can't say that either my wife or I were very excited by it. We have, and always will, do our own packing/unpacking, and the rest of what these butlers offer is really just a replacement for standard room/cabin service. And, while the first butler (Arles) we had on Celebrity was a pleasure, the butler on our second Celebrity cruise was actually so unpleasant to deal with that we ended up dreading having to see him every morning. At least with standard room service we would have gotten a fresh face in the mornings....

[WesW]

Am looking forward to experiencing "our" butler...after our January Spirit maiden cross or during, will provide feedback on our butler.

[Keith1010]

Am looking forward to experiencing "our" butler...after our January Spirit maiden cross or during, will provide feedback on our butler.

 

ColonelWes, I look forward to your thoughts on this after you experience the service. For me that will be the key.

 

When you provide feedback, I would be interested in what you found about the service and if you saw changes in the roles of the stewardesses/assistant stewardesses because of the butlers.

 

Keith

[unfathomable]

Friends asked us for drinks before dinner on Whisper. Turned out they were in an Owner's Suite. The butler had organized it -- for five of us, including our hosts. The suite was amazing, there were really too many canapes -- but after the first round of drinks the butler was a spare part. Having canapes delivered was nice, but in a "home from home", I would be happy to pour my own drinks.

[TLCOhio]

I would be happy to pour my own drinks.

 

YES, there are times when you want or need less or more of the hard stuff and can more quietly adjust to your practical circumstances.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[meow!]

... give a personalized tour of the ship) ...

We have toured the bridge and the galley (twice on two voyages), even the laundry room on deck 2 (15 day Panama Canal) on the Shadow. How about the engine room on the Spirit a couple of years from now if we manage to get on it?