Marina Concierge & Executive Lounge

[DC0743]

Can anyone please explain the difference between the two lounges? I will be booking a cruise on Marina and I am trying to decide between an A1 and a PH3 room.

[JimandStan]

Can anyone please explain the difference between the two lounges? I will be booking a cruise on Marina and I am trying to decide between an A1 and a PH3 room.

 

The two lounges are very similar. The difference lies in the fact that as a Concierge passenger in an A1, you'll be fetching the goodies from the lounge yourself. In the Penthouse, your butler takes care of all that. ;)

Treat yourself, having a butler is heaven.

[Bruin Steve]

This one will be new to me...they didn't have such lounges on Nautica (unless I missed it)...

What kinds of "goodies" can I expect my Butler to be getting me from this Executive Lounge?

[DC0743]

Thanks,

I'm new to Oceania, what is available in the lounge? Is wine available?

[spindrift]

No, wine is not available. It is wonderful as they have water, soft drinks, coffee, specialty coffee, rolls (in the morning) and little sandwiches in the afternoon.

 

it is a lovely touch--not to replace the major venues. Enjoy

[raffeer]

The two lounges are very similar. The difference lies in the fact that as a Concierge passenger in an A1, you'll be fetching the goodies from the lounge yourself. In the Penthouse, your butler takes care of all that. ;)

Treat yourself, having a butler is heaven.

 

Let's not get carried away here. The Executive Lounge is on deck 11, a comfy place worth the short stroll. You really don't need the Butler to select your goodies and if you had the fellow we did on the MV you'd still be waiting.

[searanch queen]

Let's not get carried away here. The Executive Lounge is on deck 11, a comfy place worth the short stroll. You really don't need the Butler to select your goodies and if you had the fellow we did on the MV you'd still be waiting.

 

I sure hope we don't have the person you had because my hubby already has his list ready and he plans to get all he paid for on this PH trip, including his butler!

[JimandStan]

I sure hope we don't have the person you had because my hubby already has his list ready and he plans to get all he paid for on this PH trip, including his butler!

 

I hesitate to say this on a Cruise Passenger forum, for obvious reasons, but I believe that many passengers who have a disappointing experience with their butlers have only themselves to blame.

 

For example, on the day that you embark, the Butlers are trained to have a discussion with "their passengers" outlining what a butlers duties are, and how they can help to enhance your cruise.

 

During this discussion, a good butler will try to figure out how much "butlering" a particular client will require. Unfortunately, they are often waived away, by the very same passengers who will later say that their butler was useless.

 

Speaking as a person who has found that having a butler can absolutely MAKE ones cruise experience, I suggest the following:

 

When your Butler comes into your suite, treat it like the business meeting that it is. Sit down with him calmly, and let him introduce you to the butler system as he handles it. Then, tell him what your requirements are (yes, you may certainly compose a list beforehand). Be VERY frank.

 

If you want a perfect, well chilled martini on your coffee table every day at 5, tell him so. Some passengers adore canapés at cocktail time, others hate that they "spoil" ones dinner. He won't know where you stand until you tell him.

 

Similarly, if you require your slippers and your robe layed out when the bed is turned down each evening, mention it. Your butler heads a staff of three who service your room, and he is your liaison to the other two.

He may not ever touch the slippers, but he will see that they are where they need to be.

 

In terms of additional Specialty Restaurant reservations, or other "extras" along those lines, remember not to micromanage your butler. He will have the experience in the way that the ship works that you lack. Your butler can guide you into the best night to get a table for 4 in Polo, or tell you how arrange for a cab at 4AM on debarkation day.

 

Use his ship-smarts to your advantage.

 

If, after all this, you still get the sense that your butler is, shall we say "unmotivated", the key is to make your feelings known immediately to the General Manager. Don't spend any time stewing over it.

 

The GM cannot fix a problem that is unknown to him, but will move heaven and earth to make you a satisfied customer once you have made an issue known.

[orchestrapal]

We have had only one Butler on Oceania that we would have graded as a B rather than an A+. Even then it was not his service but rather his bland and disinterested personality. Jim and Stan are right, communication on the first day will make the relationship exactly what you want it to be. Relax and enjoy.:)

[raffeer]

I agree with your suggestion SJ not quite to the "sitting down with him" part but the discussion is held.

Unfortunately the combination of a butler new to the role and an ill passenger led to an unmemorable experience with the passenger recalling all the wonderful butlers she had been pampered by on previous O cruises and wishing one of them had been there.

Bringing the situation to Bruno/Keith's attention was beyond the available energy.

[A Knitter]

I have had a Penthouse just once and the experience was well worth it. Our trip was port intensive and he knew to have a bottle of wine chilled with goodies ready for our return from the day. I love chocolate covered strawberries. They weren't on the menu but he had some made. Additional reservations in the specialty restaurants were offered without us asking for more. In the morning, coffee was brought before I got out of bed and was served in bed. While enjoying my coffee, he got our breakfast. He was aware of our routine and he did a outstanding job. I truly wanted to take him home. We bought some paintings and he found a cardboard tube to safely get them home. I had hoped to get a PH on the T/A this November but they were sold out.

[Bruin Steve]

I hesitate to say this on a Cruise Passenger forum, for obvious reasons, but I believe that many passengers who have a disappointing experience with their butlers have only themselves to blame.

 

For example, on the day that you embark, the Butlers are trained to have a discussion with "their passengers" outlining what a butlers duties are, and how they can help to enhance your cruise.

 

During this discussion, a good butler will try to figure out how much "butlering" a particular client will require. Unfortunately, they are often waived away, by the very same passengers who will later say that their butler was useless.

 

Speaking as a person who has found that having a butler can absolutely MAKE ones cruise experience, I suggest the following:

 

When your Butler comes into your suite, treat it like the business meeting that it is. Sit down with him calmly, and let him introduce you to the butler system as he handles it. Then, tell him what your requirements are (yes, you may certainly compose a list beforehand). Be VERY frank.

 

If you want a perfect, well chilled martini on your coffee table every day at 5, tell him so. Some passengers adore canapés at cocktail time, others hate that they "spoil" ones dinner. He won't know where you stand until you tell him.

 

Similarly, if you require your slippers and your robe layed out when the bed is turned down each evening, mention it. Your butler heads a staff of three who service your room, and he is your liaison to the other two.

He may not ever touch the slippers, but he will see that they are where they need to be.

 

In terms of additional Specialty Restaurant reservations, or other "extras" along those lines, remember not to micromanage your butler. He will have the experience in the way that the ship works that you lack. Your butler can guide you into the best night to get a table for 4 in Polo, or tell you how arrange for a cab at 4AM on debarkation day.

 

Use his ship-smarts to your advantage.

 

If, after all this, you still get the sense that your butler is, shall we say "unmotivated", the key is to make your feelings known immediately to the General Manager. Don't spend any time stewing over it.

 

The GM cannot fix a problem that is unknown to him, but will move heaven and earth to make you a satisfied customer once you have made an issue known.

 

Thanks for the primer, JimandStan...

 

I think a big problem is that most people have no idea what to do with the butler even after he's introduced and explained himself...

 

I think I am typical of most cruisers...

 

I am a simple man...At home, I have no full time servants...the cleaning lady, the gardener and the pool guy all come once a week and I stay out of their way...When I stay at a hotel, the maid comes in briefly while we are out, makes the bed, changes the towels and is gone...

 

So, when we cruise, we usually book just an "ordinary" balcony cabin...and the service and pampering we get from the "ordinary" cabin steward is really sufficient to fulfill all of our wants...and beyond...

 

On those occasions when we step up and book a suite...and get the butler...we really have trouble coming up with things for him to do that we don't usually get from our cabin steward in ordinary balcony cabins...We sort of worry that the poor guy will be bored...We may ask for a few everyday things...keep my ice bucket filled, etc., and a few special items now and then, and pretty much leave the rest up to him...

 

Of course, since we don't ask for much, we don't complaing if he doesn't do more...

 

One Alaska cruise on Celebrity, we took our daughters (then 20 and 22) and booked two sky suites, one for us, one for the girls...We didn't ask much of the Butler, but our daughters ran him ragged for a week (he didn't seem to mind--I think serving two beautiful young girls beat the endless stream of older folks he was, no doubt, accustommed to)...They had him bringing breakfasts and snacks to their suite, constantly rotating their DVDs for the DVD player, fetching them items they "needed", making them appointments for the spa...

 

We soon discovered an extra benefit...he seemed to always know exactly where they were...what time they woke up, when they left the ship in port, where on the ship they were headed...and he would report to us on their whereabouts...That entire cruise, it seemed the "team"--Butler, Cabin Steward, Assistant Cabin Steward--camped out outside our doors almost around the clock...We rarely opened our own cabin door...We never had a single moment all cruise long when anything was left needing, where we needed to find someone to help with any issue...

 

We decided that this particular Butler, "Ashwin", was the absolute best...The daughters asked for a LOT, and he kept them happy,...we asked for little...yet he found many things to do that we hadn't even asked for and probably should have...So, my standard for a Butler is that, even if you don't ask for something, they can "read" you and provide those services you didn't even know to ask for...

 

This upcoming cruise on Marina, we will have our first Oceania butler and look forward to see what he will provide...It's not like we didn't feel pampered and well taken care of without a butler last couple of cruises on Nautica...

[Mura]

We generally tend not to use the butler very much, but it never occurred to us to blame him for NOT doing a lot when we didn't ask him to. (Reminds me of a temp job I had many years ago at Continental Airlines where I kept asking for work from the other secretaries/typists but no one had anything, and then I was criticized for sitting there and reading. Sometimes you can't win.)

 

I normal procedure is to let the butler book specialty restaurants -- which as I've said before, we don't always use. We'll order the afternoon canapes and perhaps breakfast in the room if we have an early touring date.

 

The one time we used him a LOT was when I'd blown out my knee and couldn't do much, so we had him running.

 

I can't say that we've ever had one who wasn't pleasant and smiling on all occasions and amazingly efficient.

[findacruise]

We just returned from TA on Marina (yes, we loved it) and were in an A1 on 10th deck. We found we seldomed used the lounge since it was on 9. Not that we are lazy, as we did a lot of stairs (due to elavator situation - a whole other topic!) but just didn't find it convenient to stop by. We have booked our next cruise in an A3 on 9. It's less money for the same stateroom, same location on the ship and easier access to the lounge. We liked the fact the water is cold and did grab some to take on shore excursions since what they hand our as you leave is not chilled, now that its free (glad of that and other freebies). The sandwiches mentioned are also availabe in Barrista's - my new love. Hope they put one on the R ships - but that's off topic!

[lovetocruise16]

Stan and Jim: glad that you put into words what we were thinking. We have had butlers on 3 O cruises and they have all been extremely professional, helpful, and friendly. You are correct to say that the passengers must state clearly upon meeting the butler what their (reasonable) wishes are. The butlers we have had greatly enhanced our Oceania experiences. Your comments should certainly help those who have "disappointing" experiences with their butlers. A little thought beforehand is all it takes. However, if there is a problem, I would first confront the butler for an explanation before going to the General Manager.

[wripro]

Just returned from the 19 day crossing. My PH was very close to the lounge and I found it much easier to just go there in the morning, get my juice and coffee myself than to page the butler, wait for him to return the call, tell him what I want, then wait for him to deliver it. Our butler could not have been nicer, but I am not one who has canapes at five (if I did I couldn't eat dinner or I'd gain too much weight.) The only thing I really wanted from him was extra alternate restaurant reservations. On this he delivered well and so I was happy.