Entertaining in RS

[mpffls]

The Cabin Crawl on our cruise ends in a RS.

It has been requested that there be Champagne provided.

Does X have an extra charge for that? and what would be an appropriate tip for the Butler....

 

New to this....and have no idea how it is handled!

 

thanx... trish

[Classynfun1]

Technically, there should be a charge but I have never seen additional charges when we have hosted parties in suite. If you give your butter notice, not only will he have drinks available, but he will also ensure a spread of snacks and such as well. The butlers really make entertaining fun! :D

 

As far as tipping, we typically tip extra for the cruise based on how demanding we were! :) Our last cruise was our honeymoon and we did have 2 in suite parties. I think we tipped somewhere between $100 per party and another $150 from cover the rest of that week? Plus whatever the standard tip was. There have been some cruises where we have tipped more, but we asked for more/cruises were longer.

 

Enjoy!

[Project_gal]

The "rules" are that cold food and fruit juice are free. Hot food, alcohol and sodas are charged for but, as Classy says, the "rules" are not always applied. Speak to your butler as early as possible in the cruise and be clear what you want. He can help with many things from decorating your suite through to ensuring that the party ends when you would like.

 

Do not be surprised how your guests behave if they have not seen a RS before. We had never taken part in a Cabin Crawl when we invited one to finish in our suite. As I opened the door to the group, my husband stood prepared to show them round. He loves doing that. But the group just swarmed in and was everywhere. People started phoning partners and friends to join them. (We had kept the final venue as a surprise.) We looked at each other and said "what have we let ourselves in for?".

 

However, it was just the initial excitement. Very quickly, everyone settled down to more civilised behaviour and everyone, without exception, thanked us before they left.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Project_gal

[chemmo]

Remember each cabin can bring on board two bottles of wine which can be champagne. We have never hosted a cabin crawl but have a sailaway. We simply brought on board two bottles of champagne (much cheaper than buying on X) and added them to the 'free' bottle in the room. The butler put them all on ice and as others have said provided a range of tasty snacks...He did a little rearranging of furnishings, provided champagne flutes and a selection of other glasses. He offered cold drinks which we declined. We told him we would be offering our guests drinks from our minibar if they didn't like champagne and if it did need a full restock post party we would expect to pay towards....

 

I am fairly sure if you ask for extra bottles of champagne you will be charged. The rule seems to be fruit juices and cold snacks free, alcoholic beverages and hot snacks paid for...

 

The champagne was perfectly adequate for our guests (who came with wine offerings themselves). The butler served the drinks and then during the course of the party checked the minibar was ok (only a couple of beers used). He also checked we had enough snacks still and topped up glasses.

 

Best bit was at the end when our guests left to change for dinner. I went to side the platters and collect the glasses and was firmly ushered onto the balcony with another glass of champers whilst our butler and another returned our room to its pre party state.....wish that happened when I hosted a party at home!

 

We were not charged for any items from the inclusive RS minibar. I don't know if that is because only a few items had been used....if it had been demolished we would have been happy to pay for the convenience.

 

Perhaps on your roll call you could suggest people bring a bottle of champagne (either brought on board or provided in their room)....Just an idea.

Edited September 26, 2016 by chemmo

[hvbaskey]

For our sail-away party, our Butler set the table, put out some nibblies and iced our Champagne. Other guests brought more bottles and more ice containers magically appeared!

 

For our "Cabin Crawl" (we were the last on the list); we decided not to put out drinks, food, etc., only because of the # of people and we had dinner reservations that evening (so needed to move the party along!). We entertained for about 20 minutes (or so) and then moved the party along.