Can you really appreciate/make use of a butler?

[sucramfree13]

I peronally don't think i could ask him to do anything. for example, I'd feel condescending to ask him to unpack for me. Not to say people who don't have a problem with it are, I'm just saying i would feel strange.

 

Or shining my shoes or drawing me a bath. Again, i know some people have no problem with this and arent condescending at all, but i couldn't do it. I envy those who can.

 

What are your thoughts?

[Muushka]

I would also feel strange asking a butler for the examples you gave.

 

On the other hand, I look forward to cappicinos in the AM and shrimp coctail in the PM.

 

Do they still substitute and give shrimp coctail instead of the yucky hors d'oeuvres?

[wwcruisers]

We had a butler on our Solstice cruise, a couple of years ago -- and he was a real treasure! :cool: No, we didn't have him unpack or pack for us -- I like to do that myself. But, among the services he provided were:

-- making sure that we had anything extra that we needed in our cabin, from extra towels and plenty of ice, to a step-stool (so I could reach the safe, which was on the top shelf of the closet);

-- making sure that we had fresh flowers and fruit in our cabin every day;

-- bringing the tea cart around every afternoon, and taking special requests for cheese plates/shrimp cocktails;

-- offering to set up a full breakfast service on our balcony;

-- offering to help us with reservations and tickets;

I can't ever remember being more spoiled than I was, that week! :p

[dln929]

I peronally don't think i could ask him to do anything. for example, I'd feel condescending to ask him to unpack for me. Not to say people who don't have a problem with it are, I'm just saying i would feel strange.

 

Or shining my shoes or drawing me a bath. Again, i know some people have no problem with this and arent condescending at all, but i couldn't do it. I envy those who can.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

You're going on a Celebrity cruise now, young man?

[sucramfree13]

You're going on a Celebrity cruise now, young man?

 

Oh no still RCl, but i was looking up about celebrity and NCl cruises and how some staterooms feature butlers.

[sucramfree13]

We had a butler on our Solstice cruise, a couple of years ago -- and he was a real treasure! :cool: No, we didn't have him unpack or pack for us -- I like to do that myself. But, among the services he provided were:

-- making sure that we had anything extra that we needed in our cabin, from extra towels and plenty of ice, to a step-stool (so I could reach the safe, which was on the top shelf of the closet);

-- making sure that we had fresh flowers and fruit in our cabin every day;

-- bringing the tea cart around every afternoon, and taking special requests for cheese plates/shrimp cocktails;

-- offering to set up a full breakfast service on our balcony;

-- offering to help us with reservations and tickets;

I can't ever remember being more spoiled than I was, that week! :p

 

Those seem nice

[fleckle]

It just depends on one's circumstances and what you like and perhaps even the mood you are in.

 

Even if you are the independent do-it-yourself type, a butler can be an asset if you are tired or recovering from an illness or accident or traveling with a small child or a person of any age with disabilities.

 

If you don't have a butler, your stateroom attendant will bring you extra towels or ice or whatever -- just ask.

 

You will get the flowers and fruit in your cabin without a butler if you are in concierge or aqua class.

 

But in any stateroom category you can pick up fruit at the buffet to bring back to your cabin, or just order whatever fruit you want from room service.

 

You can buy your own fresh flowers in port and ask your stateroom attendant for a vase.

 

If you go up to the afternoon tea in the buffet area, you will have a much larger selection of choices than what is on the tea cart.

You can also order the cheese plates, fruit plates and other items delivered to your stateroom from room service at no charge.

 

Without a butler if you order a full meal, it will arrive with all the covered dishes on a large tray and you will need to serve yourself instead of having the butler serve you. For most able bodied people, it is only a matter of taking a few steps to uncover the next dish you want and move it to the table.

 

We enjoy having some breakfasts and dinners out on the balcony. When we do not have a butler, we ask the person who delivers the room service to put the tray down on the coffee table inside the cabin. Then we uncover each dish and take it out to the balcony as we are ready for it.

 

Some people like having someone else make reservations and get tickets for them. Others prefer to do it themselves.

It is similar to the way that some people book their own cruises directly with the cruise line and others prefer to have a travel agent do it for them.

 

I think most people have times when we like to feel pampered and times when we like to feel independent and do things for ourselves.