Butler Letter

[Shoppie124]

I've seen where people have posted they give their butler a letter at the beginning of the cruise.  Does anyone have a sample of what they give them.  This is our first time in the Haven and I don't want to miss anything!

 

Thanks!

[Paphillyguy]

On my last cruise on the Escape, I was going to have something to give them.  I decided against it.   So when we got the to room I made a list of a few items like empty refrig, ice tea pitcher, lounger for balcony, pub mix.  I had left it in the room on my carry on so I would not forget to review it with the butler.  When we came back to the room after lunch the paper was still on top of my bag on the floor but all of the items were already completed.  When the room stewart came in to introduce himself, I said thank you for addressing the items.  I said I wrote them as reminders to myself to review with him and the butler and he said I saw it on your bag and figured I would get a start.  I consider that great service.   

[Peachypooh]

I make a short list of things that I would like and then add to it if there is something amiss

in the room like a burned out light bulb. I  leave the list by the bar set up if I don't

see the butler before muster drill. Sometimes he comes by and I will ask him in person and

offer the list but he usually has a notepad. As to what things, like a certain type of snack in

the afternoon or extra bottles of water (if we are in a suite that includes them). Sometimes

extra supplies for the bathroom. Since the steward and butler work as a team if one is not

responsible for an item they will inform the other. Very hard working people.

Edited June 19, 2019 by Peachypooh

[GA Dave]

Our letter:

To Our Haven Butler;

     Judy and I are very excited to be sailing on the Getaway with you this week.  This is the perfect way for us to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary!
Below are a few items we would like to share with you to make your job easier.
- Please empty our mini-bar fridge and load in as many of our pre-purchased water package bottles as possible.
- Please supply us with (4) foam pillows (no feathers please).  We prefer firm pillows if possible.
- Judy has an allergy to mushrooms.  Please be sure that no snacks brought to our cabin contain mushrooms or have been on any surfaces used to cut/clean raw mushrooms.
- For snacks, the only seafood we eat is shrimp.
- Preferred snacks are cheese & crackers, summer sausage, strawberries, cookies (no peanut butter), peanuts & cashews, M&M’s, and chocolates.  Judy likes lemonade and unsweet tea.
- We prefer dark roast coffee (Italian and French roast).  No decaf or tea please.  We also use artificial sweeteners in our coffee (i.e., Sweet & Low, Equal).
- We will need pressing service of several items as soon as our luggage is delivered.  We will need these items returned in time for our anniversary dinner on Monday night at Moderno.

- We will most likely be requesting breakfast in our room for Wednesday and Thursday in Harvest Caye and Costa Maya, as we have early excursions and will want to be off the ship as soon as it is cleared at the dock.  We will use the hang tag to order what we would like the night before.

- On disembarkation day, we would appreciate it if you could let us know the latest we will need to be out of our room.  We are staying overnight Sunday in Miami and cannot check in until at least noon.

Thanks in advance for all your assistance!

[Falckon]

Having sailed several times in suites, we have experienced various levels of service, from being totally ignored to having every request granted. We have found that communicating your likes and dislikes, in writing, on the first day, results in the best experience. Below is a portion of the written request that we provided to our butler on our most recent cruise.

 

"We look forward to sailing with you for the next eleven days. We have sailed on NCL in the Haven on several cruises and have found that it helps to communicate what we like and don’t like on the first day.

These are the requests that we submitted to the concierge desk and accessibility desk.

1.    Firm Pillows

2.    Light blanket with no duvet

3.    Empty the mini-fridge

4.    Pitcher of orange juice in the mini-fridge

5.    Distilled water for both CPAPs

As for afternoon snacks, we don’t care for canapes or sweets.

We do enjoy cheese and crackers, sandwiches, chips, pretzels, nuts, and bar mix.

Thank you,"

As a result, our butler flawlessly followed these instructions and we had a wonderful cruise. Below is a photo of our typical daily snacks to which the butler frequently added other surprises.

 

[BirdTravels]

Ask your butler for things that you want to try for snacks and they will bring it in addition to your default snack-of-the-day. You want to build that in-person rapport with your butler and concierge, not leave them a note. 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by BirdTravels

[NLH Arizona]

I usually let the Pre-Concierge know what I would like; for example, pitchers of ice water and iced tea, empty the mini fridge, no pre-determined snacks, etc. and then just request other things from the Butler as I go.

[elwood_98034]

I would be too embarrassed to ask for any of that sort of thing.

[NLH Arizona]

25 minutes ago, elwood_98034 said:

I would be too embarrassed to ask for any of that sort of thing.

The great thing about The Haven is, you can ask for as much as you like or as little as you like.  If the Butler can handle your request he/she will and if they can't, they will let you know.

[JOHNHOWARTH2]

4 hours ago, elwood_98034 said:

I would be too embarrassed to ask for any of that sort of thing.

I quite agree. I am still trying to work out if  post number 4 is meant as a joke or not. 

[david_sobe]

5 hours ago, elwood_98034 said:

I would be too embarrassed to ask for any of that sort of thing.

You could verbally ask for 3 cheese ziti.  It does not have to be in writing.

 

 

I do agree with a few posters that a letter or note seems arrogant to me and could not do such a thing.  Would you give a letter to your waiter or waitress of what you wanted to order and how it is to be delivered? Probably not.  Seems odd to me but its apparent people do it.  It reminds me of what a king or dictator would do.

Edited June 21, 2019 by david_sobe

[Shoppie124]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

You could verbally ask for 3 cheese ziti.  It does not have to be in writing.

 

 

I do agree with a few posters that a letter or note seems arrogant to me and could not do such a thing.  Would you give a letter to your waiter or waitress of what you wanted to order and how it is to be delivered? Probably not.  Seems odd to me but its apparent people do it.  It reminds me of what a king or dictator would do.

You make some good points.  I'm surprised it took until post 11 for the TCZ to come up.

 

I was debating the letter due to some food allergies.  If the letter isn't the way to go how can I be sure they don't bring things I'm allergic to?

 

[Peachypooh]

39 minutes ago, Shoppie124 said:

You make some good points.  I'm surprised it took until post 11 for the TCZ to come up.

 

I was debating the letter due to some food allergies.  If the letter isn't the way to go how can I be sure they don't bring things I'm allergic to?

 

I can see both points. On some cruises the butler and room steward are so busy you sometimes never see them.

My note is just a few things jotted down on a post it note with thank you after it. And I only leave it if

I haven't seen them in person. I will refer to it if I am lucky enough to see them in person. There are

usually only a few things. They sometimes ask for the post it so they can be sure to jot it down and not

rely on their memory.

[Laszlo]

5 hours ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

I quite agree. I am still trying to work out if  post number 4 is meant as a joke or not. 

I'm pretty sure post 4 is 100% serious. Just off the Escape in a Haven cabin. Person next to me on the Sundeck called their butler on the portable phone to go to their cabin and bring them a book they had forgotten. LOL

[newty25]

Keep it short and sweet. Falckon has a great example.

 

If you need something for a specific day of the week or port, don't list it... they're likely to forget and you'll likely assume that they won't forget and therefore not mention it again.

[AlexandNessa]

We leave our butler a quick note explaining no sweets, please, and advising we prefer healthy snacks in the afternoon (fruits and veggies). And salty snacks and sandwiches for a late night feeding. 

 

One of our butlers was Seka. We'd had her in December 2017. Fast forward to October 2018 when we had her as our butler again. We did not need to leave her another note. She came to see us immediately upon boarding and she was waving our note from 2017. She laughed and said, I saved your love note! Healthy in the afternoon, salty at night! 

 

The only time she ever broke that was if the pretzel bread was fresh out of the oven. She would always get that to us hot, if possible. 

[elwood_98034]

7 hours ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

I quite agree. I am still trying to work out if  post number 4 is meant as a joke or not. 

It bothers me to think that someone is employed to run around after other people. It makes me very uncomfortable. I put a troll post on the TCZ thread about taking a servant on the cruise, and I didn't get flamed for it as I was expecting. That bothers me too.

I don't want people thinking they have to put snacks (or anything else) in my room each day. If I want snacks I will get off my fat arrr....backside and go get them myself.

[elwood_98034]

2 hours ago, Laszlo said:

I'm pretty sure post 4 is 100% serious. Just off the Escape in a Haven cabin. Person next to me on the Sundeck called their butler on the portable phone to go to their cabin and bring them a book they had forgotten. LOL

I bet they didn't leave a tip at the end of the cruise either.

 

And I guess we can circle back to all those posts where people have said, 'Gee, I didn't see my butler for the entire cruise!'. Maybe now we know why.

[NLH Arizona]

6 minutes ago, elwood_98034 said:

And I guess we can circle back to all those posts where people have said, 'Gee, I didn't see my butler for the entire cruise!'. Maybe now we know why.

I guess I'm a little dense on this one, why?

[Junebug27]

14 minutes ago, elwood_98034 said:

It bothers me to think that someone is employed to run around after other people. It makes me very uncomfortable. I put a troll post on the TCZ thread about taking a servant on the cruise, and I didn't get flamed for it as I was expecting. That bothers me too.

I don't want people thinking they have to put snacks (or anything else) in my room each day. If I want snacks I will get off my fat arrr....backside and go get them myself.

Same, we are in a suite in a couple weeks, we literally said when we see the Butler let’s make it clear we are easy, we love a few extra bath towels and bottled waters, but that’s it. like we have every other time.  Everything else we can do ourselves.

 

btw I am extremely relieved the TCZ post is a troll post, hoi polloi yikes. 

[AlexandNessa]

Wow. This thread took a turn I wasn't expecting. 

 

The first time we had a butler, we spoke to him about our snack habits. He completely forgot and we only got the standard issue snacks  from Day 3 on. One day we got cookies (after saying we don't like sweets. They went to waste). He was too busy and overwhelmed with others, I guess. 

 

Second cruise, we left a quick polite note and all went much more smoothly. I actually think some butlers prefer notes. Not novellas or life stories. Just a quick note to say here's how to easily keep us happy. And if I had any food allergies, I wouldn't think twice about putting that in writing. 

 

I never lay out our entire cruise plans up front. If I want breakfast early one day, I'd just let the butler know the day before, etc. 

 

[elwood_98034]

14 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

I guess I'm a little dense on this one, why?

2 possible reasons:

1. They wanted their trail mix to have the coconut flakes picked out.

2. The butler spent the entire cruise picking the coconut flakes out of someone else's trail mix.

 

End result: No butler for them.

[Shoppie124]

12 minutes ago, AlexandNessa said:

Just a quick note to say here's how to easily keep us happy. And if I had any food allergies, I wouldn't think twice about putting that in writing. 

deleted.. clearly I can't read today😂  or maybe it's all that red pinot grisio I'm drinking

Edited June 21, 2019 by Shoppie124

[elwood_98034]

23 minutes ago, Shoppie124 said:

deleted.. clearly I can't read today😂  or maybe it's all that red pinot grisio I'm drinking

Did you know that Pinot Grigio is actually the white version of the Pinot Noir grape, and the Pinot Grigio and the Pinot Gris are technically the same grape, but the types grown in different countries taste quite different? 

How crazy is that? Charlie, in Jack Reacher (2012).

Edited June 21, 2019 by elwood_98034
Typo

[Two Wheels Only]

9 hours ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

I quite agree. I am still trying to work out if  post number 4 is meant as a joke or not. 

 

Personally, I speak to the butler with requests. That way, any misunderstandings can be cleared up ASAP. I see nothing wrong with writing a note, though.

Some people might feel more comfortable leaving a note. Some people might feel more comfortable speaking directly. 

Neither is wrong, IMO. 

 

4 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Person next to me on the Sundeck called their butler on the portable phone to go to their cabin and bring them a book they had forgotten. LOL

 

I've done similar. If I'm in a H6 and I forget something in the courtyard, I'd have no problem with calling the butler to go and get it. While he/she is up there, they might as well bring some banana bread or carrot cake to the stateroom, LOL. 

 

3 hours ago, AlexandNessa said:

One of our butlers was Seka. We'd had her in December 2017. Fast forward to October 2018 when we had her as our butler again. We did not need to leave her another note. She came to see us immediately upon boarding and she was waving our note from 2017. She laughed and said, I saved your love note! Healthy in the afternoon, salty at night! 

 

That is a perfect example of why people continue to book suites/Haven. Excellent job by the butler. 

 

1 hour ago, elwood_98034 said:

I put a troll post on the TCZ thread about taking a servant on the cruise, and I didn't get flamed for it as I was expecting. That bothers me too.

 

Many people bring a "nanny/au pair" type while on a cruise. It isn't as strange as it seems.