Butler: what can they do?

[laserboi]

Booked a suite on reflection. Never had a butler and wondering what they can do for us?

Thanks.

[Keith1010]

The butlers on Celebrity are excellent.

 

They can do a variety of items for you.

 

Breakfast in your room.

 

Or any other meal.

 

Or coming around with Canapés, in the afternoon/early evening.

 

Assisting with reservations.

 

Just to name some.

 

And they are just a terrific go to person.

 

Keith

[Cruizen Susan]

Our butler was wonderful, but we disappointed him because we did not keep him busy enough. He kept asking what he could do for us, and aside from the canapes and making our reservations and booking excursions, we really didn't need his services.

 

He was so conscientious and one afternoon I didn't feel well and was taking a nap. He came in with goodies and I was sleeping!!! He was very friendly and wanted to chit chat, but I would have rather been left alone.

 

We will be in an Aqua cabin next week and won't miss those services. But take more advantage of their willingness to serve you than we did and you will be more than happy :)

[russg140]

We kept our last butler busy:

 

- They can polish your dress shoes

- If you want to have laundry done, they will make sure it gets there and back, including having things pressed

- If you have any special drink requests (bottled water, Diet Coke, tonic, etc.) they will get it for you and make sure you stay stocked

- If you want fresh lemons every day for water/cocktails they will get it for you

- If you want to have a cocktail party in your cabin, they can arrange for canapes and mixers for you (not booze, however)

- Any problems you might have with your room/key card they will have fixed for you

- If you want to have breakfast on your balcony (we do every morning) they can get you Eggs Benedict (not on the Room Service menu) or anything you might like

 

If the Butler provides you with excellent service, make sure to reflect that in your gratuity at the end of the cruise.

[Keith1010]

I was thinking the only thing they can't do is come home with you. Now that would be a treat. LOL.

 

Keith

[ClaudiaB]

We've had many of them and at first we were like you.

Besides the obvious ones and ones listed, this is what I suggest and what we've experienced:

 

ASK him. What would he like to do.

What we DON'T do is ask him to make reservations for dinners because I guess being independent people we think it's silly to ask someone to make a phone call that we can easily do. We also don't get him to escort us on formal/chic nights to the reserved suite area on deck 5 center theatre. Just seems silly to us.

 

Once we were asked to the captain's table for dinner. We had opted to not do formal and were doing specialties on those nights instead. We didn't want to turn the dinner down, so we called the captain's club hostess and she said she'd lend my husband a tux for free, and have it fitted. OK. I had a sparkly top and black pants, so that worked. Tux came and then husband forgot how to do a bow tie. Called the butler and he came right down and did the bow tie!

 

In Skagway we went hiking up the Laughton Glacier (getting off the railroad to do this hike) and it started to sleet and was miserable weather (but a fabulous day!) by the time we got back to the ship. We were freezing. Butler happened to see us and within 5 minutes of getting to our room he had hot chocolate, hot tea and warmed towels (!!!) for us.

 

We met some great folks pre-cruise in Barcelona a couple years ago and decided to "pool" our wine purchases in a little cocktail party later in the cruise. We chose our suite. On the day of the event, our butler fixed our room while we were at lunch. Brought in layers of tablecloths for the buffet, dresser, and a serving table, lots of glassware and beautiful food: nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, crackers, shrimp, lump crabmeat, dates, olives, more things I don't remember. Oh, several floral arrangements! He came in to open the wines and said he'd serve, but we declined. We spent a few hours getting to know our new friends. It was great. Of course we tipped him well after that.

 

If you have special requests, like my usual "please may I have a little bowl of fresh raspberries every other day or so" they can do it. Instead of the usual cart of canapés they bring to your room every day I like to get cheese and crackers on one day, shrimp another day, veggies and hummus, etc. We don't really need all the sandwiches and sweet desserts at 4 in the afternoon when we're eating at 7:30. I even specified 'just broccoli, mushrooms and celery' for the veggies as I didn't want to waste tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers. He did it perfectly.

 

We tend to tip extra, maybe $40 a few days in, and then another $40 later on and then maybe $40 the last day. (on a two week cruise). We also give a few dollars for room service breakfast which is something we do on every single port day (to keep from having to go back and forth).

 

Also take advantage of the Michael's Club concierge. The shore side MC concierge will likely contact you by email or phone shortly before your cruise. They'll transfer it to the ship concierge. They're GREAT!! If you want a bridge tour, just ask. An engine room control room tour? Ask. They can make that happen. Extra hangers in your room upon arrival? Easy. Nothing in your room refrigerator/cooler? Always extra towels? These are things you can have already in place just by asking the Michael's Club concierge. Always want to have the bartender in Michael's make you a strawberry daiquiri? Let them know. They'll do it.

 

Have fun and enjoy your suite life.

 

Oh and fall in love with Luminae! We did!!!

[jules815]

We kept our last butler busy:

 

- They can polish your dress shoes

- If you want to have laundry done, they will make sure it gets there and back, including having things pressed

- If you have any special drink requests (bottled water, Diet Coke, tonic, etc.) they will get it for you and make sure you stay stocked

- If you want fresh lemons every day for water/cocktails they will get it for you

- If you want to have a cocktail party in your cabin, they can arrange for canapes and mixers for you (not booze, however)

- Any problems you might have with your room/key card they will have fixed for you

- If you want to have breakfast on your balcony (we do every morning) they can get you Eggs Benedict (not on the Room Service menu) or anything you might like

 

If the Butler provides you with excellent service, make sure to reflect that in your gratuity at the end of the cruise.

 

Thank you for posting. I'll be sailing on Connie in a couple of weeks with my daughter in a Sky Suite and this will be our first experience having a butler. While we don't mind doing a lot of the things a butler can do for us, we do enjoy ordering room service when we cruise. I've been thinking a lot about additional tipping for this cruise. We have gratuities included with our package, however, I always tip additional for room service, or anyone who gives us good service, and I wasn't sure if I should tip the butler every time they do something for us, or wait until the end. Now I know. Thank you.

[laserboi]

Great advice thanks!! We have breakfast on the balcony every morning. But only tip at the end of the cruise. Some have said they too each morning?

[emelle]

We were recently on Silhouette and were surprised by how much our butler Alex helped us since it was our first Celebrity cruise and our first Celebrity suite experience. We were in a Royal Suite (some of the below about the drinks may not apply if not RS or PH, I am not sure).

He kept the fridge full of drinks we liked and took away those we did not want. Brought coffee early for me every morning and even helped us set up our free internet connection without us asking (since we are both sometimes technically challenged!). Many other things have been already mentioned.

 

While on our first port shore excursion, my husband had a shoulder injury. While the ship doctors were great, our butler, when he heard about it (info like this travels fast on the ship), he appeared in our suite after our return from the ship hospital, even though he was technically "off." He immediately brought extra ice bags and made sure that we had ice bags appearing and always ready to go all through the next few days. He offered to help my husband dress etc (although that was not needed). He helped us make sure our Luggage valet was taken care of and offered to help with our luggage, since husband was in an arm sling (though we managed ourselves).

 

We enjoyed talking with him and did give him an envelope with a note and extra cash tip the night before leaving the ship.

 

During the cruise, I also made it a point to get comment cards from guest services or the concierge, so that I could comment on excellent service from those who helped us on the ship (not just the butler). Turned them in to guest services every few days. These comments obviously were shared with the employees, because they would thank me for them (of course not the reason I did it to begin with-I heard about this on CC and thought I would do the same).

[4774Papa]

We were upgraded once to a suite and our butler was great, but we just didn't need him. I don't need any hand holding.

 

He did bring the snacks in the afternoon with tea, which was nice, but frankly, I could do without a butler.

[varoo]

We were upgraded once to a suite and our butler was great, but we just didn't need him. I don't need any hand holding.

 

He did bring the snacks in the afternoon with tea, which was nice, but frankly, I could do without a butler.

Don't forget that you are already tipping the butler $7 per day for 2 of you, even if the butler does nothing for you at all.

 

At least $3.50 additional pp per day is the last figure I recall that was added for suite gratuities, so it may have changed since then.

 

Rather like you, we are also do it ourself types.

We like to stroll around the ship and select our own afternoon snacks on the spur of the moment as the mood strikes us, often preferring ice-cream or pizza or something from Cafe Al Bacio, even occasionally a hotdog from the grill instead of the treats from the butler's cart.

 

I know some are thinking that the butler would bring us whatever we wanted if we asked him for it, but my point is that we usually don't decide what we want until we have looked around.

When we see what we want, it would be silly to go back to the suite to ask the butler to go get it for us.

 

Unless we are not feeling well, we really do prefer to walk around the ship and do such things for ourselves.

 

We always decline the butler's offer to escort us to our seats in the theater on formal nights, as that seems a bit ostentatious to us.

(Maybe we would feel differently if we were British royalty, or the Obamas, or even the Trumps. ;))

 

 

Often we have already done whatever it is (such as taking our departure form down to put in the box at guest relations, or booking a specialty restaurant dinner reservation, or a shore excursion) before remembering that we could have asked the butler to do it for us.

 

Then we feel bad, and try to think up something for the butler to do so he doesn't feel useless.

 

Those who book suites all the time probably just ask the butler to do such things for them automatically without giving it a second thought, but we go back and forth between different category accommodations on different cruises, so are already accustomed to doing things for ourselves and actually prefer to do them ourselves.

 

 

The butlers really are very nice people who try to make everyone happy, so they keep leaving us food that we don't want, and we hate to see it go to waste.

 

Many times I have been tempted just to knock on the door of an inside cabin and hand that attractive, covered plate or fruit bowl, or tray with assorted goodies to anyone who answers the door, but they would probably think I was some lunatic trying to poison them. :D

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2016 by varoo

[LovetheSea]

I had a butler a few times. I guess I am not the butler kind of gal. He offered to unpack for us. No thanks. He brought us canapes in the afternoon. Which we didn't eat, after tasting a few.

Once he came in when my husband was in the see through shower. Luckily I was just coming in behind him and saw the situation and went into the bathroom and told hubby to close the blinds.

They were always eager to please. I tipped them well. But I would have rather had the privacy

[Cruise To Relax]

IMHO, using a butler is a personal preference. If you don't want to use them - great. If you do - great. Do I feel like the "elite" when I use them? Nope. If I did, I would not book a suite. We met another couple on a cruise and they wanted privacy. They had no use for a butler but wanted the other perks of the suite. They kept the privacy tag on their door all the time except when they went out so the cabin stewards could clean their room. They also told the Butler (kindly) they really only needed "x" service. The Butler respected their wishes. So, that is one way to enjoy a suite and not worry about trying to find something for the Butler to do. When you need something - call him. Whatever you decide - it is VACATION so get to do what we want (within rules of course 😱😁). Enjoy!

[Caribbean Chris]

Keegan on Reflection was just right - very helpful but never obtrusive. A good X butler can be of great help if you have any special needs.

 

We book suites because I need extra space for my service dog. Keegan met us on arrival at our door and personally escorted us to the location of the ship-provided relief box for the dog in a closed crew area.

 

This was very welcome since that's information needed soon after boarding and is often ridiculously hard to obtain ... on our first Celebrity cruise with the dog, the front desk had no idea, but "housekeeping will call you."... Time passed...the young Constellation butler sweetly said she knew nothing about it, was learning something new, had never seen a dog on board before, and - bottom line - gave no help, so we were still on our own.

 

So we really appreciated Keegan's professionalism.

[chemmo]

It has been the thoughtful touches that butlers have made that have made some of our cruises special...

 

Examples,

 

Returning early evening to the room telling the butler we are shattered and going to watch a film and butler ringing the bell a few minutes later with popcorn.

 

Us arriving back to our suite with a couple of new friends and the butler seeing us enter our suite asking if we want coffee or drinks bringing...

 

We mentioned to another butler, another cruise how much we enjoyed Indian food and him then arranging an in suite Indian meal for us.

 

We love our afternoon tea (yes, very British) and often we ask for little else (definately never packing unpacking) but it is so nice when staff go that little bit further.

Edited March 2, 2016 by chemmo

[Teenybk]

We're in a Sky Suite in a couple of months, which doesn't receive the complimentary full bar, although we have the premium drink package as a promo. Can we ask the butler to stock our fridge with soft drinks, water, and beer? Would anyone know how much it would cost? Wouldn't include liquor.

 

Somewhat off topic, but have Constellation suite question. We'll be staying in one of the renovated Sky Suites next to the Penthouse on the Constellation, which has the benefit of a larger bathroom, and we have most of the benefits of the higher level suites through promotions. Had the choice of upgrading to a Royal Suite for more money, but looking at the Connie's RS, doesn't look as impressive as S ships, and our SS renovated bathroom looks larger. Is it worthwhile to upgrade?

[Project_gal]

Somewhat off topic, but have Constellation suite question. We'll be staying in one of the renovated Sky Suites next to the Penthouse on the Constellation, which has the benefit of a larger bathroom, and we have most of the benefits of the higher level suites through promotions. Had the choice of upgrading to a Royal Suite for more money, but looking at the Connie's RS, doesn't look as impressive as S ships, and our SS renovated bathroom looks larger. Is it worthwhile to upgrade?

 

The M-class Royal Suites do not photograph well! Unlike the S-class ships, the M-class RS only has one bathroom but it does come with all the same perks so you would get your bar set-up. The M-class RS bathroom has a bath/tub and separate walk-in shower.

 

Personally, I would choose a RS over a Sky Suite any day.

[jagoffee]

We're in a Sky Suite in a couple of months, which doesn't receive the complimentary full bar, although we have the premium drink package as a promo. Can we ask the butler to stock our fridge with soft drinks, water, and beer? Would anyone know how much it would cost? Wouldn't include liquor.

 

Somewhat off topic, but have Constellation suite question. We'll be staying in one of the renovated Sky Suites next to the Penthouse on the Constellation, which has the benefit of a larger bathroom, and we have most of the benefits of the higher level suites through promotions. Had the choice of upgrading to a Royal Suite for more money, but looking at the Connie's RS, doesn't look as impressive as S ships, and our SS renovated bathroom looks larger. Is it worthwhile to upgrade?

 

I cannot answer the Constellation.

 

While in an SS on the Eclipse in January we were given two bottle of water each day which we the put in our frig. If you wanted the butler to fill it up it would most likely cost per drink.

 

We always have either the cabin steward or Butler empty our frig to make sure we are not charged incorrectly or consume anything by accident. The mini bar comes fully stocked unlike on Princess. Whenever we are coming back to our cabin we stop and get water, soda, or beer unopened and put them in the frig. This can be done by one person with both cards. After an initial supply we refill as necessary. Also if you want to enjoy a cocktail one person can go get two drinks. On our last cruise our Butler noticed we had the premium package and offered to get drinks for us if we would give him the numbers on our cards, but we are low maintenance and always got our own.

It was the third time that we experienced a butler and he was awesome. We never really were previously impressed,for some reason. You could always ask the Butler and perhaps over time he could fill up your frig for you, but make sure he empties it first. I think our last Butler might have done it for us.

Don't forgot to stop in and enjoy the Michael's club.

[skylight]

Loved the Coffee delivery every morning at 7am from Elivis our butler on Reflection. Wish we could take him home he was so thoughtful.:)

[Teenybk]

Actually, our SS Suite has a tub as well as a shower and photos show it larger than the Royal suites - it's next to PH so was redesigned to match decor.

 

Think we'll stay with Th SS and manage to stock the fridge. Thanks for the suggestion to empty fridge first.

[cl.klink]

On our very first cruise, a 2 week trip through the canal, we were upgraded to a RS, and had butler. Had never cruised before so did not know, exactly, how good we had it. The butler brought us breakfast and set the table with china and such every day. It was very nice to wake up to the sound of dishes and glassware clinking in the next room, and then coming out of bedroom to see a fully dressed table each morning. Not sure what else I'd have used him for, though, that would have felt all that different.

 

- Joel

[Teenybk]

Will definitely appreciate having breakfast brought to the room, especially since we have some very early morning excursions.

[ShawninFL]

Thanks for this thread. We will have our first ever suite and thus butler later this year on Equinox. I too have been worrying about what I would have the butler do. Being people who get through life just fine doing things for ourselves, I've been apprehensive about this service. But after reading through the thread I'm sure we'll be just fine and comfortable. I definitely foresee a number of breakfasts on the balcony!

[CapeCodCruiser]

We cruised in a suite last year and I was really looking forward to the Butler. Well all butlers are not created equal - this one never offered to do anything. On the first day I asked if he could take care of getting my husbands jacket pressed and returned before 5pm the next night for formal night - finally about 530 I had to call and ask for it - it took a while longer and it was obvious that he'd had a rush job done on it. We had to ask about everything.

 

Finally by the third morning I went to speak with guest relations and told them very nicely about my disappointment with the butler. I told them that I would love to see them turn this 1 star service into 5 star service. Oh my - they were all over it - I had a new butler immediately who was very nice and very attentive.

 

So if your butler is not what you expected let guest relations know and give them the opportunity to turn it around.

 

One thing that did disappoint was the unpacking - it has to be done while you are in the cabin - whats the point if it is not a time saver for you? I was hoping to up on deck while my unpacking was being done!

[buchananglasgow]

[emoji15] personally I would give him a large tip the minute he introduces himself and tell him I don't want to see him again till we get off the ship. I don't want anyone running after me and we don't like anyone coming into our room if at all possible. It's a total chill out time and I don't want anyone walking into our room at the drop of a hat.