Butler unpacking/packing

[Knobhdy]

I have a few questions for those of you who travel in suites and do take advantage of the advertised unpacking and packing service of the butlers.

 

* Did they offer the service on the first day, or did you ask for it? If you had to ask, when did you? When you first get to the suite? At turn down that night?

 

* Did you enjoy the service? Would you use it again?

 

* Did you have to be in the room while they unpacked/packed? Would they unpack while you were at muster for instance?

 

* Did you get a tour of where everything went? Did you lose anything, only to find it in a place you wouldn't have thought to look 2 or 3 days into your cruise?

 

If you do not use the unpacking/packing service, please do not respond to this thread. There are plenty of threads available of people stating that they would never want anyone else to unpack their luggage. I have read those already.

Similarly, please don't post about tipping the butler, unless it directly relates to the experience of having your luggage unpacked or packed. There are many threads on that topic as well, and we don't need to get bogged down in that here.

 

Thanks.

[time2cruise1]

Good luck finding anyone who has used the service.

Edited July 15, 2013 by time2cruise1

[BikerAl]

Good luck finding anyone who has used the service.

 

Amen to that. Out of curiosity, I have asked each of our butlers if they have ever been asked for this service, and not one has. None have ever offered the service to my recollection.

Edited July 15, 2013 by BikerAl

[perkydebrajean]

I didn't use it but I believe I have read a post from someone who said that their elderly parent used the unpacking service.

[Cashew14]

I have a few questions for those of you who travel in suites and do take advantage of the advertised unpacking and packing service of the butlers.

* Did they offer the service on the first day, or did you ask for it?If you had to ask, when did you?

When you first get to the suite? At turn down that night?

Our butler always asked the second we entered the room (he was standing in the corner next to the table lamp, ready to go)

* Did you enjoy the service? Would you use it again?

We loved it, especially since we paid for the service

* Did you have to be in the room while they unpacked/packed?

We did not have to be in the room but chose to stay to watch him in case he put my toothbrush on the right side of the sink instead of the left side

Would they unpack while you were at muster for instance?

* Did you get a tour of where everything went?

Yes, we did get the tour when he finished, it lasted around 2 and a half hours and he also handed us a map where to find everything

Did you lose anything, only to find it in a place you wouldn't have thought to look 2 or 3 days into your cruise?

Only once we could not find a carefully packed deodorant only to discover the butler put it in a cupboard and has not informed us, which led the butler to be thrown overboard....and rightly so

If you do not use the unpacking/packing service, please do not respond to this thread. There are plenty of threads available of people stating that they would never want anyone else to unpack their luggage. I have read those already.

I absolutely agree, why on earth would anyone NOT use the service since it is on offer. At the end of the day he has nothing else to do than to be there for you, and you only.

Similarly, please don't post about tipping the butler, unless it directly relates to the experience of having your luggage unpacked or packed.

Of course we don't tip the butler. It's his job.

There are many threads on that topic as well, and we don't need to get bogged down in that here.

Of course we won't get bogged down on any other irrelevant posts.

Thanks.

Have a great cruise.

:D

Edited July 15, 2013 by Cruisebabe11

[philip_eunice1]

I have a few questions for those of you who travel in suites and do take advantage of the advertised unpacking and packing service of the butlers.

* Did they offer the service on the first day, or did you ask for it?If you had to ask, when did you?

When you first get to the suite? At turn down that night?

Our butler always asked the second we entered the room (he was standing in the corner next to the table lamp, ready to go)

* Did you enjoy the service? Would you use it again?

We loved it, especially since we paid for the service

* Did you have to be in the room while they unpacked/packed?

We did not have to be in the room but chose to stay to watch him in case he put my toothbrush on the right side of the sink instead of the left side

Would they unpack while you were at muster for instance?

* Did you get a tour of where everything went?

Yes, we did get the tour when he finished, it lasted around 2 and a half hours and he also handed us a map where to find everything

Did you lose anything, only to find it in a place you wouldn't have thought to look 2 or 3 days into your cruise?

Only once we could not find a carefully packed deodorant only to discover the butler put it in a cupboard and has not informed us, which led the butler to be thrown overboard....and rightly so

If you do not use the unpacking/packing service, please do not respond to this thread. There are plenty of threads available of people stating that they would never want anyone else to unpack their luggage. I have read those already.

I absolutely agree, why on earth would anyone NOT use the service since it is on offer. At the end of the day he has nothing else to do than to be there for you, and you only.

Similarly, please don't post about tipping the butler, unless it directly relates to the experience of having your luggage unpacked or packed.

Of course we don't tip the butler. It's his job.

There are many threads on that topic as well, and we don't need to get bogged down in that here.

Of course we won't get bogged down on any other irrelevant posts.

Thanks.

Have a great cruise.

 

:D

 

 

Lol to funny

[CapeCodCruiser]

I can't wait to use this service! Thanks for asking such specific questions. We pack most things in packing cubes and put those directly in the drawers - that avoids having a stranger handling my under garments.We then unpack the things that need to be hung up.

[garycarla]

I don't get it. We have been in suites and prefer to unpack ourselves so where we know where the heck things are. Not to hard to unpack.

 

And he surely will not be doing in during the muster drill. For starters, the bags may not even be there yet. And, all ship members have jobs during these drills.

[emcelh]

I have a few questions for those of you who travel in suites and do take advantage of the advertised unpacking and packing service of the butlers.

 

* Did they offer the service on the first day, or did you ask for it? If you had to ask, when did you? When you first get to the suite? At turn down that night?

 

* Did you enjoy the service? Would you use it again?

 

* Did you have to be in the room while they unpacked/packed? Would they unpack while you were at muster for instance?

 

* Did you get a tour of where everything went? Did you lose anything, only to find it in a place you wouldn't have thought to look 2 or 3 days into your cruise?

 

If you do not use the unpacking/packing service, please do not respond to this thread. There are plenty of threads available of people stating that they would never want anyone else to unpack their luggage. I have read those already.

Similarly, please don't post about tipping the butler, unless it directly relates to the experience of having your luggage unpacked or packed. There are many threads on that topic as well, and we don't need to get bogged down in that here.

 

Thanks.

 

Please come back and let us know how it worked out for you.

[punkincc]

I have a few questions for those of you who travel in suites and do take advantage of the advertised unpacking and packing service of the butlers.

* Did they offer the service on the first day, or did you ask for it?If you had to ask, when did you?

When you first get to the suite? At turn down that night?

Our butler always asked the second we entered the room (he was standing in the corner next to the table lamp, ready to go)

* Did you enjoy the service? Would you use it again?

We loved it, especially since we paid for the service

* Did you have to be in the room while they unpacked/packed?

We did not have to be in the room but chose to stay to watch him in case he put my toothbrush on the right side of the sink instead of the left side

Would they unpack while you were at muster for instance?

* Did you get a tour of where everything went?

Yes, we did get the tour when he finished, it lasted around 2 and a half hours and he also handed us a map where to find everything

Did you lose anything, only to find it in a place you wouldn't have thought to look 2 or 3 days into your cruise?

Only once we could not find a carefully packed deodorant only to discover the butler put it in a cupboard and has not informed us, which led the butler to be thrown overboard....and rightly so

If you do not use the unpacking/packing service, please do not respond to this thread. There are plenty of threads available of people stating that they would never want anyone else to unpack their luggage. I have read those already.

I absolutely agree, why on earth would anyone NOT use the service since it is on offer. At the end of the day he has nothing else to do than to be there for you, and you only.

Similarly, please don't post about tipping the butler, unless it directly relates to the experience of having your luggage unpacked or packed.

Of course we don't tip the butler. It's his job.

There are many threads on that topic as well, and we don't need to get bogged down in that here.

Of course we won't get bogged down on any other irrelevant posts.

Thanks.

Have a great cruise.

:D

 

Am I getting a hint of sarcasm here?:D:D. I thought you were totally serious until I got to your response on the 3rd question.

 

We've never tried keeping our butler in the corner by the table lamp. It can be difficult depending on the layout of the room, and we sometimes find we have to keep moving him from spot to spot.:D

[js]

While I guess I won't ask for this service, I, too, pack in packing cubes and would love for someone to do this for me since it is one part of my vacation I absolutely hate to do (unpack), interestingly enough I love to pack, go figure! More than I hate to unpack, I do not like to fill my over the door shoe hanger with all our toiletries but I do that too for our family. While I guess I wouldn't ask after seeing that no one does or has asked, I would absolutely pay extra for someone to at least unpack and put items in my over the door shoe hanger such as the suntan lotions, hair essentials, meds, etc. Oh well, I guess I am the butler for my family :)

Edited July 15, 2013 by js

[CapeCodCruiser]

While I guess I won't ask for this service, I, too, pack in packing cubes and would love for someone to do this for me since it is one part of my vacation I absolutely hate to do (unpack), interestingly enough I love to pack, go figure! More than I hate to unpack, I do not like to fill my over the door shoe hanger with all our toiletries but I do that too for our family. While I guess I wouldn't ask after seeing that no one does or has asked, I would absolutely pay extra for someone to at least unpack and put items in my over the door shoe hanger such as the suntan lotions, hair essentials, meds, etc. Oh well, I guess I am the butler for my family :)

 

So why not have the butler do it?

[js]

So why not have the butler do it?

 

It sounds from these boards that it is not something that anyone would want to ask their butler to do but for a quick $25, I would love the over-the-door shoe hanger filled. Not even my luggage, but that darn hanging thing annoys the heck out of me that I fill it with all our stuff!

[Brighton Line]

Our Butler on the Star did offer it when he greeted us and then did the tour of the suite and how to use the coffee machine.

We refused, I'm 6'8" and tend to put my stuff in higher locations so I don't have to bend down as much and did not want to go thru that with the butler. I can unpack in 10 minutes so its no bother.

 

The service in the suite was outstanding. We asked an order of Blue Lagoon's wings to be in the suite when we returned from shore. About 30 wings later....

 

Great service, have a great time and enjoy being pampered.

[Knobhdy]

Our Butler on the Star did offer it when he greeted us and then did the tour of the suite and how to use the coffee machine.

We refused, I'm 6'8" and tend to put my stuff in higher locations so I don't have to bend down as much and did not want to go thru that with the butler. I can unpack in 10 minutes so its no bother.

 

The service in the suite was outstanding. We asked an order of Blue Lagoon's wings to be in the suite when we returned from shore. About 30 wings later....

 

Great service, have a great time and enjoy being pampered.

 

 

 

Thanks for an honest response. Clearly there is quite a bit of extra snark around here. And I thought I got enough of it at home.

 

This will be my first cruise and I am very much looking forward to it. I love boats and world travel; hopefully this trip will be the best of both.

[SissasMomE]

Thanks for an honest response. Clearly there is quite a bit of extra snark around here. And I thought I got enough of it at home.

 

This will be my first cruise and I am very much looking forward to it. I love boats and world travel; hopefully this trip will be the best of both.

 

There always is :rolleyes: Glad you found your answer though.

[ms91bw]

I don't often reply, but having seen this question come up so often thought it might be useful.

 

I've never had a butler on NCL, but have on other ships, and have often taken the offer of packing and unpacking. In addition I worked as a butler at a five star hotel in London for many years, so have some firsthand experience.

 

Butlers rarely offer to unpack, but you can certainly ask them, and this would be done when you first see them. If you have more than one case then they will usually check which case(es) you want them to unpack. I always travel with two cases and have one unpacked by the butler and do the other myself.

 

You should not expect to be present when they unpack, either you leave it to them or do it yourself. Likewise they will be busy on embarkation day and would usually not unpack until you have gone to dinner on the first night. At the end of the voyage you would again need to leave instructions about what to pack where.

 

You should not expect a 'tour' of where things are, you work it out yourself, but can obviously ask if you cannot find something.

 

Finally, in my opinion there is a gap between the expectation and reality of having a butler on cruise ships. In the days when butlers routinely unpacked, it was also expected that they would lay out clothes each day, therefore they would know where they had put things. They would also lay out your night clothes on the bed every evening (which for those that don't know is the origin of the 'towel animals', in the old days it was the night gown that was formed into an animal, and the towel is a modern substitute).

 

If you have any other general questions feel free to ask, but again I have only travelled in an ordinary cabin with NCL so my knowledge is not specific.

[Fishbait17]

While we have never taken advantage of this service, we have asked about it (out of curiosity) a couple times and been offered once (in the Garden Villa). Basically, here is the impression we were given: If you are in the Garden Villa, it shouldn't be a problem, as these butlers are fully prepared for such a service and the time it takes, and can be done shortly after luggage arrival most of the time. In Owner's Suites, it is something that could probably be done in a somewhat timely manner (like sometime during or after dinner the first night), as a bit more service time is expected to be given to these suites. On Jewel-class ships, a Haven Suite will be right behind the OS in order, and the butlers *may* be able to fit you in sometime the first night, depending on their workload and if they have a good Haven butler to help. In lower level suites (and Haven suites on the Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, since they are ALL Haven suites), it may or may not be done the first night or the next day, as these butlers can have up to 8-12 rooms each to service, and more important services (like making introductions, showing guests their suites and serving reserved dinners, escorting, etc) will take precedence. Embarkation day is an extremely busy day for the butlers, with easily twice, maybe three times, the duties that any other day entails. As it is, many guests do not even meet their butler until the second day (typically on the Epic and Breakaway, but often in lower level suites on Jewel class ships as well). if everyone asked for this service, it would be nearly impossible to finish everyone's unpacking by even the end of the second day, once you factor in all of the butler's many duties, plus these requests. So basically, you can request the service, and depending on the level suite you are in, it may or may not be done in a timely fashion, although unless in the Garden Villa, I'm not sure you could give them a distinct time frame to do it. We *almost* went for it when in the GV, as our wonderful butler Roland so wanted to assist us that first day, but just couldn't bring myself to do it - we even thought about our "extra" tip amount for it...

 

Robin

Edited July 15, 2013 by Fishbait17

[CapeCodCruiser]

I don't often reply, but having seen this question come up so often thought it might be useful.

 

I've never had a butler on NCL, but have on other ships, and have often taken the offer of packing and unpacking. In addition I worked as a butler at a five star hotel in London for many years, so have some firsthand experience.

 

Butlers rarely offer to unpack, but you can certainly ask them, and this would be done when you first see them. If you have more than one case then they will usually check which case(es) you want them to unpack. I always travel with two cases and have one unpacked by the butler and do the other myself.

 

You should not expect to be present when they unpack, either you leave it to them or do it yourself. Likewise they will be busy on embarkation day and would usually not unpack until you have gone to dinner on the first night. At the end of the voyage you would again need to leave instructions about what to pack where.

 

You should not expect a 'tour' of where things are, you work it out yourself, but can obviously ask if you cannot find something.

 

Finally, in my opinion there is a gap between the expectation and reality of having a butler on cruise ships. In the days when butlers routinely unpacked, it was also expected that they would lay out clothes each day, therefore they would know where they had put things. They would also lay out your night clothes on the bed every evening (which for those that don't know is the origin of the 'towel animals', in the old days it was the night gown that was formed into an animal, and the towel is a modern substitute).

 

If you have any other general questions feel free to ask, but again I have only travelled in an ordinary cabin with NCL so my knowledge is not specific.

 

 

EXCLUSIVE AMENITIES ON SUITES AND PENTHOUSES

Special Services

Distinctive keycard

Butler & concierge service

Butler to unpack your luggage

 

As NCL promotes this service as an amenity I would imagine the butlers are trained to expect it.

[Love my butler]

Very easy. When you meet your butler mention you would like him/her to unpack your luggage. You can tell them any preferences you might have about locations etc. They will do it as soon as they have time, which is usually right away.

 

Great service and butlers seem to really enjoy providing this service.

 

Also remember your butler with perform just about any service you ask, within reason.

[Knobhdy]

Thank you.

 

These responses have been very helpful and informative. I have a much better idea of what to expect in all regards when it comes to my suite.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[sjnyc323]

I never asked my butler to unpack easier for me to do it and know where everything is

 

Suzanne

[TracieABD]

I am far to OCD to allow someone else to pack or unpack me. Come to think of it, I do most of the packing and unpacking for my entire family...:eek: (I can box fold like a champ!)

 

Should I be expecting a tip????

[che5904]

(which for those that don't know is the origin of the 'towel animals', in the old days it was the night gown that was formed into an animal, and the towel is a modern substitute).

 

Well now, isn't that an interesting tidbit of information. :) Thanks

[bliss_fully_happy]

I am far to OCD to allow someone else to pack or unpack me. Come to think of it, I do most of the packing and unpacking for my entire family...:eek: (I can box fold like a champ!)

 

Should I be expecting a tip????

HA - I want my tip too for all the packing and unpacking I do! hmm, what should I tell the hubby my going rate will be.......