Suite equality

[jakeT]

I think one of the problem is there are a only a few Butlers. If one or two people used them a lot it takes them away from the other people. When they are serving full diners to two cabins. There really no time for anything else. Plus they have time off in the middle of the day. Can't expect them to work 15 hours a day

[Sail_Away_To_Europe]

What you say is so true! Once, when we had a forward suite on the Spirit, the butler also covered the aft suites. One of the guests ran the man ragged - cocktail parties, in-suite dining, teas, champagne served in the theater, etc. We still had service from our butler but he was exhausted. Our steward picked up some of his responsibilities but it wasn't the service we were used to. It certainly didn't stop us from booking more suites as our budget allowed.

 

I've seen this a few times lurking on the NCL boards, and it worries me a little. All the other things aside, is in-suite dining, particularly a one-course breakfast every morning, really that high maintenance?

 

I'm an introvert who just doesn't like being around people early in the morning. I love having breakfast in my room each day. It's never seemed to be an issue on other lines with butlers (this is our first with NCL) and no one, especially the butlers, have ever made me feel high maintenance, but the butlers of course wouldn't. I just can't seem to get beyond the fact that I see this all the time on this forum.

 

Am I going to have to suck it up on my vacation to avoid being one of those people?

[OceanDreaming2]

I think one of the problem is there are a only a few Butlers. If one or two people used them a lot it takes them away from the other people. When they are serving full diners to two cabins. There really no time for anything else. Plus they have time off in the middle of the day. Can't expect them to work 15 hours a day

 

I've seen this a few times lurking on the NCL boards, and it worries me a little. All the other things aside, is in-suite dining, particularly a one-course breakfast every morning, really that high maintenance?

 

I'm an introvert who just doesn't like being around people early in the morning. I love having breakfast in my room each day. It's never seemed to be an issue on other lines with butlers (this is our first with NCL) and no one, especially the butlers, have ever made me feel high maintenance, but the butlers of course wouldn't. I just can't seem to get beyond the fact that I see this all the time on this forum.

 

Am I going to have to suck it up on my vacation to avoid being one of those people?

 

 

You will be fine Sail Away. As Jake said, it's when there are only a few butlers (i.e. Spirit, for example, only has 2 I believe) and one or two parties demand numerous extras from them. Breakfast is probably the least of their worries.

 

Enjoy your cruise! :) And welcome to Cruise Critic! :D

Edited March 22, 2014 by OceanDreaming2

[Fishbait17]

I've seen this a few times lurking on the NCL boards, and it worries me a little. All the other things aside, is in-suite dining, particularly a one-course breakfast every morning, really that high maintenance?

 

I'm an introvert who just doesn't like being around people early in the morning. I love having breakfast in my room each day. It's never seemed to be an issue on other lines with butlers (this is our first with NCL) and no one, especially the butlers, have ever made me feel high maintenance, but the butlers of course wouldn't. I just can't seem to get beyond the fact that I see this all the time on this forum.

 

Am I going to have to suck it up on my vacation to avoid being one of those people?

 

Absolutely not! Breakfast in your suite is no problem at all (and my favorite thing as well :D) - A quick delivery. It's more the people who order lunches and dinners and want it served course-by-course (a four course dinner served to one cabin will tie up the butler as much as four different cabins having the same dinner served at one time). Serving meals course by course does nothing to really improve the meal - instead of it sitting in covered dishes in your cabin, it's sitting in those same covered dishes nearby (hallway, nearby pantry, etc) and the butler simply uses his time bringing each course for you and taking the used dish away. People will sometimes throw cocktail parties and expect the butler to stay and serve drinks and canapés, etc - tying up the butler for an hour or two, when he could be serving dinner to several other cabins instead. And the thought of Calling the butler to serve you champagne in the theater when there are waiters already there for that purpose? Ridiculous, but it happens.. That's the kind of monopolizing that OceanDreaming is speaking about.

 

Robin

Edited March 22, 2014 by Fishbait17

[TrumpyNor]

I have been in a 2-bedroom Haven Suite on the Gem, a Penthouse Suite on the Jade and in a Haven Spa Suite (the smallest of the "regular" suites) on the Epic. But since we are Platinum we also have concierge service when we are in a regular balcony cabin or a mini suite. And I can honestly say that all concierges we have met on our NCL cruises have been good - and some have been great, but so far we have had no reason to complain. Never felt that they didn't treat us as good as everybody else...

 

But the very best concierge we ever had, was actually on our last cruise on the Spirit. He was an Italian - Francesco Veccia, and he was just fantastic! Always a friendly smile, always eager to help with whatever, always going beyond what you should expect. We were in a regular balcony cabin, but had a personal VIP upgrade from the captain, so we met him every day for breakfast and lunch in Cagney's.

 

I have learned that a smile and a few friendly words can make wonders in making connection with your concierge (or butler)....

[Da-Painter]

I love having breakfast in my room each day. It's never seemed to be an issue on other lines with butlers (this is our first with NCL) and no one, especially the butlers, have ever made me feel high maintenance, but the butlers of course wouldn't. I just can't seem to get beyond the fact that I see this all the time on this forum.

 

I am sure your butler would be more then happy to accommodate you. It would help his scheduling, if you let them know you would like breakfast in your suite every morning, so they could plan their day/week better, with the other guests they are attending to. :cool:

[Aladdin1968]

Having done more or less all types of Haven suites, I must in all honesty say that the level of the suites did matter in how much attention we got. When we had a lower level suite the concierge most of the time did not recognize us. When having a high level suite the concierge walked in and out our suite at least 2 times a day spontaneously. From the perspective of the concierge, I can see the logic, though.

 

Butler is different. This depended on our own interaction: on cruises we really needed the butler, we told the butler at day 1 and got all the attention for the whole cruise, with an exeption on the Gem once, when we had a guy that was rubbish (replaced after day 3).

Edited March 23, 2014 by Aladdin1968

[Chuck2810]

Three points, if I may:

 

First - before we castigate the multi-course diners and the theatre champagne drinker, consider that the butler may have suggested or taken that step on their own. If a suite guest orders a champagne - maybe they call the butler in.

 

Second - daily breakfast is one of my joys and about all we request. Rather than waking to a beeping alarm it is nice to have the butler bring juice and maybe a light bite - and then get a real meal in the restaurant after getting ready 90 minutes later.

 

Third - and I hope is isn't true - but is it possible the staff keep reviews of us. They know 'Bill' gave the last butler or concierge a big tip or even more so if he stiffed them. That could effect behaviors.

 

 

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Edited March 23, 2014 by Chuck2810

[disfan13]

Three points, if I may:

 

First - before we castigate the multi-course diners and the theatre champagne drinker, consider that the butler may have suggested or taken that step on their own. If a suite guest orders a champagne - maybe they call the butler in.

 

Second - daily breakfast is one of my joys and about all we request. Rather than waking to a beeping alarm it is nice to have the butler bring juice and maybe a light bite - and then get a real meal in the restaurant after getting ready 90 minutes later.

 

Third - and I hope is isn't true - but is it possible the staff keep reviews of us. They know 'Bill' gave the last butler or concierge a big tip or even more so if he stiffed them. That could effect behaviors.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

We are in a data driven world - wouldn't be surprised. ;)

 

It may also depend on how they are treated by the guest - we are pretty easy and tip well. We rarely have an issue with service from ay stateroom on any line. This will be our first suite on NCL - we will see in a couple of weeks.

[NLH Arizona]

Absolutely not! Breakfast in your suite is no problem at all (and my favorite thing as well :D) - A quick delivery. It's more the people who order lunches and dinners and want it served course-by-course (a four course dinner served to one cabin will tie up the butler as much as four different cabins having the same dinner served at one time). Serving meals course by course does nothing to really improve the meal - instead of it sitting in covered dishes in your cabin, it's sitting in those same covered dishes nearby (hallway, nearby pantry, etc) and the butler simply uses his time bringing each course for you and taking the used dish away. People will sometimes throw cocktail parties and expect the butler to stay and serve drinks and canapés, etc - tying up the butler for an hour or two, when he could be serving dinner to several other cabins instead. And the thought of Calling the butler to serve you champagne in the theater when there are waiters already there for that purpose? Ridiculous, but it happens.. That's the kind of monopolizing that OceanDreaming is speaking about.

 

Robin

I'm pretty self sufficient, so I only used my butler for a couple of things throughout the week. One being a ruse to get him to my cabin to give him his tip. I asked if people really called him for stupid things and he said there was one couple who would not push the button on the coffee maker, so they called him everytime just to push the button and he said they drank a lot of coffee.

[kcwingwalker]

I'm pretty self sufficient, so I only used my butler for a couple of things throughout the week. One being a ruse to get him to my cabin to give him his tip. I asked if people really called him for stupid things and he said there was one couple who would not push the button on the coffee maker, so they called him everytime just to push the button and he said they drank a lot of coffee.

 

One can only hope that this couple were great tippers. Sadly often people like this have the attitude that they have paid for service and tip as little as possible.

[Love my butler]

Depends on you and the concierge. To receive the best service you must be pro-active. If you are quiet and reserved most butlers and concierge will respect your silence. Ask and ye shall receive.

[agargoyle]

Hi,

 

We have never been lucky enough to travel in a suite as of yet but we are Platinum cruises with NCL. This gives us concierge service. We hardly use that service becauyse like most cruises we can fend for ourselves.

 

One cruise we called nearly every day for something -- dining room said they were full, show was full --- and always got a helpful response.

 

Did you see the concierge? No. Often it was the assistant that got back to us but it made it one of our best cruises because we truely were freestyle and made choices on a whim.

 

I would think if there is any "special" guests in the Haven that NCL wants to keep happy or a demanding group, the concierge services and be stretched thin.

 

In December the family will be in the 2 bedroom suite in the Haven. I guess we will let the butler and concierge know on the first meeting what are expectations are that way they know what they have to strive for to please us.

 

I wonder if the people that complain about poor service never let the butler and concierge know what they want -- they are trained professionals but they cannot read minds. So if you expect to see them every day say so. I always tell my room steward if I what I expect...extra towels, extra coffee, etc. Extra tips are given if my expectatins are met -- I also let them know that I will be speaking or leaving a written megssage to the Hotel Manager or Head of Housekeeping if they do a great job.

[DMH15]

Three points, if I may:

 

First - before we castigate the multi-course diners and the theatre champagne drinker, consider that the butler may have suggested or taken that step on their own. If a suite guest orders a champagne - maybe they call the butler in.

 

Second - daily breakfast is one of my joys and about all we request. Rather than waking to a beeping alarm it is nice to have the butler bring juice and maybe a light bite - and then get a real meal in the restaurant after getting ready 90 minutes later.

 

Third - and I hope is isn't true - but is it possible the staff keep reviews of us. They know 'Bill' gave the last butler or concierge a big tip or even more so if he stiffed them. That could effect behaviors.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Wouldn't it be a hoot if they reviewed us like we do them??? Haha.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[knitlady037]

we have had pretty good experiences with concierge services. In 2012 we saild in the DOS with Monica as our concierge. She was wondeful and treated the friends we were with as well as she did us. That was in April. In Sept we decided at the last minute to go to Bermuda on the Star. No suites were available so we had to book an obstructed ocean view as the Star balcony only holds 3. Went to the suite waiting area at the peir to say hello to Monica. She remembered me right away and asked if we were in the same suite. We explained how er could not get one and she then gave us full VIP privledges and said to come to the suite area. She was just as attentive as she was when we were in the DOS. I thought that was wonderful of her to do for us.

My daughter cruised last year on the Breakaway with Ryan as concierge. There was also a very large group (around 25) of "famous" VIP's also in the Haven. According to her they were so demanding of the concierge services that they ran him ragged. He was never available to help other passengers. I had Ryan as my first concierge on the Gem and received outstanding service from him in an SF sft suite.

This year we are on a B2B on the Dawn. First week in an SJ and second 12 days in DOS. Will compare any difference in service.

One time we were booked in a obstructed ocean view on the Gem with Carlos as concierge. We are platinum members. Never received the concierge welcome letter or any contact with him. I knew the hotel director at the time and she asked about our trip. I told her about the lack of Concierge service and she was on it immediately. the next cruise I had with Carlos was a 1 night with VIP in a mini suite. When we went to the Vip area to check in we received the biggest welcome from Carlos. He also escorted us off the ship the next morning.

[Demonyte]

we have had pretty good experiences with concierge services. In 2012 we saild in the DOS with Monica as our concierge. She was wondeful and treated the friends we were with as well as she did us.

 

This was the exact cruise I was referring to earlier - for us being with people from DOSs or being alone were very different experiences when interacting with Monika, but I have to admit that her behaviour might have been caused more by our younger appearance or her assumptions than the actual suite category per se. Either way, I wouldn't say that we got the same wonderful service as many others in our CC group. :)

 

This year we are on a B2B on the Dawn. First week in an SJ and second 12 days in DOS. Will compare any difference in service.

 

I doubt that you will notice any difference, the concierge will already know that you are DOS pax for the most of the trip. ;)

[Sail_Away_To_Europe]

Thanks everyone for assuring me I won't be a high-maintenance harpy if I ask for breakfast every day. I was horrified by the idea that I was asking for things beyond the normal bounds.

 

I apologize to the OP for the slight derailment of the thread. I have no experience with NCL to offer you, but I will say, working in one of the most status obsessed cities in the world, that it's been my experience that differences in service boil down to two things and neither of them, surprisingly enough, is income.

 

The first always seems to be age and the second is always the level of willingness to explicitly state your requirements, which seems to increase as you get older. I bet it holds true with NCL as well. If you need something from the conceirge, you will likely have much better luck if you lay out your requirements clearly.

[mafig]

Is Jomar still a butler?

 

I've read recent reviews where people talk about their room steward Jomar and wonder if it's the same person (who has possibly been downgraded/demoted). It's also possible that Jomar is a common name.

 

At the end of the week I was avoiding Jomar because I wanted to stangle him he was so frustratingly bad.

[donnabonna]

I had Jomar on the Star in 2012 and he was terrible for us also. Combined witth Patrick as the concierge and it made for a very disappointing first suite experience. My second try on the Gem last summer was the complete opposite. I can't say enough wonerful thingss about that experience. I now understand what the difference is between a good butler/concierge and a bad one.