NCL suite with butler

[Tumbleweed01]

This is our 1st cruise and we decided to book a suite. It says we get a butler. What does a butler do for you on a cruise. We want to utilize our options :)

Thanks!

[sdmike]

The butler takes care of things in your suite, and the concierge takes care of things outside your suite. Mostly folks use butlers to provide in-suite meals and drinks when they want to do that, but at least one person said the butler helped them unpack (although most respondents cringed at that). They will also address problems promptly, like working with others to make sure issues are fixed.

 

Remember, your butler and concierge are not included in the DSC pool of $12 per day. You will need to tip them separately, generally based on usage.

 

There are several threads on these boards about butler usage. Try a search on butler perks.

[bonvoyagie]

A good butler will be proactive to your wants and needs. They will take notice of your likes and dislikes and keep one step ahead of you.

 

At the very least the butler will be reactive to your needs and respond to your requests.

 

Some people provide a list of what they expect of the butler along with a pre cruise tip - this provides some incentive for the butler to meet the requests to get the rest of the tip.

 

Some of the suite perks include afternoon snacks whic the butler delivers - the snacks come from various departments of the ship such as the hotel director etc. The butler will also change out the fruit bowl and keep the mini fridge stocked. Again I have heard of people who like Coke asking for the fridge to be stocked with Coke products instead of the Pepsi that is served on the ship.

 

You can eat every meal in your room if you want - served by the butler. On our only suite cruise we used the butler for breakfast every morning - it provided a nice wake up call. If you have any problems with your cabin the butler is your go to person - they will contact the room stewards or maintaince and make sure everything is right for you.

 

All of this does come at a price - your tip amount should reflect both your usage and the response of the butler to your needs. We are very self sufficient and therefore don't use the butler that much. Our last suite was 10 years ago and I am sure that things have changed a bit - the list of suite perks has gotten longer including breakfast and lunch at Cagneys etc.

[InTheCruisingYearsOfLife]

... You can eat every meal in your room if you want - served by the butler. On our only suite cruise we used the butler for breakfast every morning - it provided a nice wake up call. ....

 

I would be very interested to know how reliable the butler is in delivering breakfast to your suite promptly within a specified window of time, preferably on the order of fifteen minutes. We stayed in a deluxe owner's suite on our last cruise, but didn't get around to trying this service, since we were so conviently collocated with Cagneys. But on our upcoming cruise, we will have a number of shore expulsions that will require us to tumble out of bed, get ourselves fed, and get overboard ASAP. Seems like it might be wise to have breakfast delivered, but ONLY if it comes reliably on time.

 

Thanks for your insights.

 

InTheCruisingYearsOfLife

[NengEuis]

But on our upcoming cruise, we will have a number of shore expulsions that will require us to tumble out of bed, get ourselves fed, and get overboard ASAP.

 

Ahhhhhh, thanks for the giggle. Love this. :D

[ansmom]

We used our butler on the epic to bring us breakfast every morning since we had to get out of bed so early. It worked out great and he was on time everytime

[Tumbleweed01]

We are booked in a Aft-Facing Penthouse. Do anyone know if this includes free sodas or bottle(s) of alcohol?

[peg013]

We are booked in a Aft-Facing Penthouse. Do anyone know if this includes free sodas or bottle(s) of alcohol?

 

No, it does not. Only Owners Suites, Deluxe Owners Squites and the Garden Villas include soda and alcohol.

 

You will have a bottle of sparkling wine and water provided free.

[puddles99]

I would be very interested to know how reliable the butler is in delivering breakfast to your suite promptly within a specified window of time, preferably on the order of fifteen minutes. We stayed in a deluxe owner's suite on our last cruise, but didn't get around to trying this service, since we were so conviently collocated with Cagneys. But on our upcoming cruise, we will have a number of shore expulsions that will require us to tumble out of bed, get ourselves fed, and get overboard ASAP. Seems like it might be wise to have breakfast delivered, but ONLY if it comes reliably on time.

 

Love the visual :p Our experience was that our Butler was extremely reliable and timely (unless we told him he didn't need to be because we didn't really want to get out of bed) - LOL!

[Alliea]

No, it does not. Only Owners Suites, Deluxe Owners Squites and the Garden Villas include soda and alcohol.

 

You will have a bottle of sparkling wine and water provided free.

Water is not provided free in these rooms. Only OS, DOS, and GV is water free.

[mizLORInj]

We are booked in a Aft-Facing Penthouse. Do anyone know if this includes free sodas or bottle(s) of alcohol?

 

For a category SF you will have a bottle of water and sparkling wine waiting for you when you board--probably already on ice. Those are the only drinks included in that suite fare.

Have fun!! We enjoyed our aft PH suite.

[InTheCruisingYearsOfLife]

Love the visual :p Our experience was that our Butler was extremely reliable and timely (unless we told him he didn't need to be because we didn't really want to get out of bed) - LOL!

 

Thank you, Puddles, and the other respondents. I guess we'll give our butler the opportunity to earn a nice, fat tip. To keep it reasonable, we'll only ask him to deliver breakfast to us at the specified time. He need not chew it for us; we'll do that much for ourselves.

 

(I love your handle. I had a friend in high school that several of us nicknamed "Puddles", or "Pud" for short. He tolerated it well, up until the 25 year class reunion, when he confided that it wasn't really all that endearing to him. Imagine that.)

 

 

InTheCruisingYearsOfLife

[InTheCruisingYearsOfLife]

For a category SF you will have a bottle of water and sparkling wine waiting for you when you board--probably already on ice. Those are the only drinks included in that suite fare. [emphasis mine]

 

 

I'm not sure the sparkling wine provided at that level of accomodation is actually considered drinkable. I think its intended purpose might be for sterilizing surgical instruments, or diluting red wine stains that you might get in your dinner jacket if the seas are particularly rough one night. As such, it is unwise to leave it on ice; it will probably dissolve the wine stain better if it is warmish. Of course, this means it will also probably go all Mento-in-the-Coke on you when you open the bottle, but if you are in port at the time and you aim the cork just so, you can probably send it sailing just off the neighboring cruise ships port bow. Indeed, this artillery application might be the third reason they provide this bubbly bottled syrup to the big bucks folks. But drinking? Perish the thought.

 

Not that I'm opinionated or snobbish or anything.

 

Have fun!! We enjoyed our aft PH suite.

 

Ah, the aft penthouse, the "Hind Quarters". Truly the best place to be. As SheWhoMustBeObeyed and I intend to be, four weeks from today!

 

InTheCruisingYearsOfLife

[WaldosPepper]

I'm not sure the sparkling wine provided at that level of accomodation is actually considered drinkable. I think its intended purpose might be for sterilizing surgical instruments, or diluting red wine stains that you might get in your dinner jacket if the seas are particularly rough one night. As such, it is unwise to leave it on ice; it will probably dissolve the wine stain better if it is warmish. Of course, this means it will also probably go all Mento-in-the-Coke on you when you open the bottle, but if you are in port at the time and you aim the cork just so, you can probably send it sailing just off the neighboring cruise ships port bow. Indeed, this artillery application might be the third reason they provide this bubbly bottled syrup to the big bucks folks. But drinking? Perish the thought.

 

Not that I'm opinionated or snobbish or anything.

 

 

 

Ah, the rump penthouse. Truly the best place to be. As SheWhoMustBeObeyed and I intend to be, four weeks from today!

 

InTheCruisingYearsOfLife

 

I am howling with laughter!! :D:D:D

[InTheCruisingYearsOfLife]

I am howling with laughter!! :D:D:D

 

I "fixed" the last paragraph a bit though. And regarding the sparkling wine, I think perhaps Mento in Coke might actually taste better.

 

Not that I'm opinionated or snobbish or anything.

 

InThe

[WaldosPepper]

I "fixed" the last paragraph a bit though. ...

 

I just fell off the couch... :D

[puddles99]

(I love your handle. I had a friend in high school that several of us nicknamed "Puddles", or "Pud" for short. He tolerated it well, up until the 25 year class reunion, when he confided that it wasn't really all that endearing to him. Imagine that.

 

LOL! Glad I could help you conjur up some fond memories . . . I've been using that "handle" since the early 'net days and it has just stuck. There are many different versions of how I came by that name, and my choice of which story to go with differs depending on the audience. :D

 

Thanks for always making me chuckle . . . I'm also cruising in a rump penthouse in the months ahead!

[InTheCruisingYearsOfLife]

I just fell off the couch... :D

 

Well, Barbara, just having this wee chat has truly helped me. We booked this stern penthouse over a year ago, and up until now, I have always referred to it as "That Penthouse which, in the case of the Norwegian Spirit, is the singular stateroom located directly above the ship's anus." But that's a bit long-winded, and abbreviating it to just "The Anal Penthouse" seems a bit, um, abrupt.

 

But now, four weeks from the gangplank, I finally have it: "The Hind Quarters".

 

 

SheWhoMustBeObeyed has recently completed a community college class in PhotoShop, and our house is now swimming in Costco-printed glossy posters of our grand-children, our vacations, landscapes she has designed (it being the case that this is her profession) etc., all collaged together into neat Where's Waldo fashion -- a characterization I expect you to appreciate, considering your moniker.

 

So I've given her this charge, as her necessary tribute due for the privilege of sharing the same artillery syrup as I will soon be enjoying: Create for our stateroom door a mosaic of all things (except human) rump-end -- high density derrières, a Posterior Poster - with the title "The Hind Quarters".

 

This will be the first time we have ever de-institutionalized our stateroom door, though I understand this to be a popular tradition among cruisers the world around. This might be a nice new tradition to add into our cruising tradition. And it seems all the more apropos since our stateroom is destined to be the final stop of our Meet and Greet's Cabin Crawl.

 

InThe

 

PS: Note: in the interests of good taste, no human anatomy allowed. The closest I'm likely to get is perhaps a reprint of my favorite Robert Service poem, Bessie's Boil. Google it.

[iluvdoxies]

I would be very interested to know how reliable the butler is in delivering breakfast to your suite promptly within a specified window of time, preferably on the order of fifteen minutes. We stayed in a deluxe owner's suite on our last cruise, but didn't get around to trying this service, since we were so conviently collocated with Cagneys. But on our upcoming cruise, we will have a number of shore expulsions that will require us to tumble out of bed, get ourselves fed, and get overboard ASAP. Seems like it might be wise to have breakfast delivered, but ONLY if it comes reliably on time.

 

Thanks for your insights.

 

InTheCruisingYearsOfLife

 

Ours came right on time.