Butler a no show in Haven

[graphicguy]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Each day there is a "standard" treat delivered to all suite guests. To make it easy on the butler, you can order additional treats any day (i.e., rather than asking them to remember that if there is fresh fruit, you would prefer a cheese tray,,, just order a cheese tray). Just talk to your butler about what you want and when you want it. 

 

For us big kids we will sometimes order a PB&J sandwich with chips in addition to whatever the standard treat is. Canapes, shrimp, cheese, fresh fruit are other things. 

 

We always ask for bowls of peanut M&Ms, gummy bears, and bar mix along with pitchers of water and ice tea in our mini fridge. 

 

I see you had Anoop as a Concierge on one of your cruises.  He’s one of my favorites.  Great guy.  He always knew where I was via my dinner reservations he made, and would always stop by to make sure I was taken care of by the restaurant.

 

He overheard me one night while I was in the Haven bar (concierge desk was right around the corner) stating I could use a nice steak.  He came to the bar, asked what I was doing “right this minute”...just having a drink.  He grabbed my drink and escorted me down to Cagney’s and had them seat me for a steak, immediately.

 

Just one of many great concierges NCL employs.  

 

Concierges help me much more than any of my Butlers.  It’s not that the Butlers don’t help.  I just don’t need them to do much.  Keep me stocked with coffee for the coffee maker.  Snacks I can take or leave in all frankness.  Nice to have, but totally unnecessary.

[NLH Arizona]

15 hours ago, UDKO said:

Thank you.  Slightly concerned about aft Haven but will make the best of it.

I've been in an aft Haven suite and had excellent service from the Butler.

[UDKO]

Great!  Thank you!

[BoundForSea]

So heres my feedback on this, 5 times Haven 3 times YachtClub on MSC...

 

1.  Aft Penthouses are the best IMHO on the ship, the Butlers for them, expect less service than you would in the actual Haven. Twice we stayed in them and both times this was the case. YMMV obviously however this was our experience. 

 

2.  Having stayed in the YC 3 times I can tell you that its similar. Last cruise in Feb we had the best of the best and time before, ABSENT and a massive waste. What I learned is you have to speak up. Tell Concierge on NCL and be specific in the problem and what you want and on YC go directly to the YC Director. 

 

Hey, heres an interesting question, what kind of snacks do you guys request? Ive seen so many replies about snacks I almost want to start a thread and hear what everyone likes!! 

 

 

[UDKO]

What is the dress code in the Haven restaurant?

[BEACHBARB]

There is no dress code for Haven Restaurant.  Most people dress nicely but I've seen people with backwards baseball caps, t-shirts and jeans.  

 

We had 2 great butlers - Roland who was a hoot and Seka - she was awesome. Still keep in touch with her on facebook.  Those were both on the Breakaway.  This year on the Bliss - I don't even remember his name but we did get snacks and on the last day when we needed help with luggage (aft balcony carrying off luggage) he got everything taken care of.  We don't require much.  Next time we are going to be in the Haven proper area.  Can't wait for Encore - fingers crossed it will happen in February.

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, UDKO said:

What is the dress code in the Haven restaurant?

 

The Haven restaurant is "cruise casual" for all 3 meals...

 

Cruise Casual: the Freedom of Freestyle Cruising

Dress cruise casual anytime during the day, in the buffet and in most specialty restaurants. For women, it includes summer and casual dresses, skirts, regular or capri pants, shorts, jeans and tops. Khakis, jeans, shorts and casual shirts are fine for men. Swimwear is acceptable at the buffet and outdoor restaurant, but a shirt or a cover-up and footwear are required.

Be sure to pack a sweater — the air conditioning can be chilly. Kids 12 and under are welcome to wear nice shorts in all our restaurants.

 

Please Note: We want you to be comfortable, but tank tops for men, flip flops, baseball caps, visors and jeans that are overly faded, with holes or tears and worn below the hips are not permitted in main dining rooms or specialty restaurants.

 

All Decked-out: Smart Casual

Dress smart casual in our more formal dining room* or in our more upscale specialty restaurants. For women, it includes slacks or jeans, dresses, skirts and tops. For men, it's jeans or slacks with a collared shirt and closed-toed shoes. Kids 12 and under are welcome to wear nice shorts in all our restaurants.

 

*Dress codes differ by ship for MDRs. When in doubt, check the dailies for which restaurants are "smart casual".

Edited May 14, 2020 by Two Wheels Only

[samiam0403]

On 5/11/2020 at 12:02 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

There is a standard list that (usually) changes daily. If you want more or less of something or want something not on the list, let your butler know.

 

 

They may or may not honor it, though. I think it was when we were on Getaway, we requested no 'fish' type snacks - requested pretzel rolls or sandwiches or any other snack. Our butler told us he probably wouldn't be able to do that, and proceeded to deliver the standard snacks that included salmon and whatnot. 

 

Happily, our butler on Epic (Richard) when we had a 2 bedroom suite was AMAZING. Always greeting us by name, asking if we needed anything, checking on us, and happily swapping out snacks. Sometimes he even brought us 2 or 3 different types of snacks. He was the epitome of what I expected from a butler when we book suites.

[gmbhardy]

5 hours ago, samiam0403 said:

They may or may not honor it, though. I think it was when we were on Getaway, we requested no 'fish' type snacks - requested pretzel rolls or sandwiches or any other snack. Our butler told us he probably wouldn't be able to do that, and proceeded to deliver the standard snacks that included salmon and whatnot. 

 

Happily, our butler on Epic (Richard) when we had a 2 bedroom suite was AMAZING. Always greeting us by name, asking if we needed anything, checking on us, and happily swapping out snacks. Sometimes he even brought us 2 or 3 different types of snacks. He was the epitome of what I expected from a butler when we book suites.

 

We also had Richard when we stayed in an Epic aft suite a coup of months ago  (see post #33). He was the epitome of inept.

[AstoriaPreppy]

I also had a very... odd experience with an NCL butler. We stayed in a suite with my father in law on the Gem a few years ago, and needless to say, we were not overly impressed. 

We didn't meet our butler until midway through the second day, and he explained his role as 1) bringing us room service, 2) bringing us afternoon canapés, and 3) "servicing your espresso machine." I found that part particularly hilarious as we have the identical Nespresso machine at home, and it doesn't really require servicing. 

 

The tips and tricks I'd read about in advance of our trip ended up being fails. I'd read about unpacking; this didn't happen for obvious reasons. I'd read they'd bring you snacks on deck if you called them; this was not the case. I'd read that you could call using the phone when returning to the ship to order lunch to your suite; we did this once and ended up waiting almost two hours for BLTs.

 

Essentially, he didn't seem interested in our stateroom at all. We'd go days without seeing our butler, and then see him wheeling another passenger to dinner past the martini bar. When we hit rough seas and most of the glassware in our cabinet ended up getting smashed, it took an entire day after calling him to get a replacement. 

 

Keep in mind that the concierge was completely the opposite: when we saw her around the ship she'd stop to chat, see how things were going, if we needed anything, etc. The butler would walk by like he didn't even know who we were, and never once stopped to speak to us intentionally after his initial introduction.

 

It was all very odd. 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

On 5/14/2020 at 11:01 PM, gmbhardy said:

We also had Richard when we stayed in an Epic aft suite a coup of months ago  (see post #33). He was the epitome of inept.

All butlers on the ship work for the Concierge. Did you raise the issue with the Concierge at the time?

 

And you could have raised the facilities issue to the Concierge or Guest Services if your room was immediately cool. When we reported an HVAC issue, it was resolved that same day and Guest Services called daily to check that everything was still satisfactory. 

[sverigecruiser]

On 5/15/2020 at 3:55 PM, AstoriaPreppy said:

I'd read about unpacking; this didn't happen for obvious reasons.

 

What did your butler say when you said that you wanted him to unpack for you?

[Two Wheels Only]

53 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

What did your butler say when you said that you wanted him to unpack for you?

 

By the time that they met the butler, it was too late for him to unpack (I guess). 

 

On 5/15/2020 at 9:55 AM, AstoriaPreppy said:

We didn't meet our butler until midway through the second day...

 

[david_sobe]

Yes those "snacks" are standard.  I've had great butlers and tried to stop them yet they kept coming.  They mass produce those trays that must be delivered.  You can order something else and have it delivered but I found it almost impossible to stop them from coming. I think they don't know what to do with the extra tray and you are messing with the routine LOL

I hate to waste food which is why I tried to stop them.  Think from NCL perspective.  Can you imagine everyone ordering special snacks every day?  It would make their jobs much more difficult.  The mass produced snacks streamline the process.

 

Am I the only person to ever try and stop snacks from coming?   While I enjoy chocolate covered strawberries, they are so over rated IMHO.  It was those fishy sandwiches I tried to stop LOL

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

By the time that they met the butler, it was too late for him to unpack (I guess). 

 

 

 

I assume that if they wanted the butler to unpack they called him and asked. If not, how could the butler know that they wanted that?

[AstoriaPreppy]

2 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

I assume that if they wanted the butler to unpack they called him and asked. If not, how could the butler know that they wanted that?

 

We didn't even meet our butler until midway through the second day. That's when he introduced himself, gave us his card with contact details, etc. 

Re Bird's amazing photos of white-tablecloth meals: I'm quite jealous! We kind of expected this level of service, but any orders ended up being dropped off on our table on a room service tray. We were also very direct in communicating that our father in law was diabetic re snacks, but still ended up getting chocolate covered strawberries multiple days. Overall, our butler ended up functioning more as a random room service drop-off crew member, not someone who tried to have/build a relationships with us. He wasn't bad per-se, but he wasn't particularly good. 

 

My biggest takeaway is that we should have talked to the concierge immediately, but didn't realize this was her role. 

[dexddd]

3 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

We didn't even meet our butler until midway through the second day. That's when he introduced himself, gave us his card with contact details, etc. 

Re Bird's amazing photos of white-tablecloth meals: I'm quite jealous! We kind of expected this level of service, but any orders ended up being dropped off on our table on a room service tray. We were also very direct in communicating that our father in law was diabetic re snacks, but still ended up getting chocolate covered strawberries multiple days. Overall, our butler ended up functioning more as a random room service drop-off crew member, not someone who tried to have/build a relationships with us. He wasn't bad per-se, but he wasn't particularly good. 

 

My biggest takeaway is that we should have talked to the concierge immediately, but didn't realize this was her role. 

For us, those pictures are not even close to what we've gotten or requested and then received for snacks.  I suspect that few ever get that type of service.  Us too when say no the first day to certain snacks they still show up.

 

As far as meals, we do routinely get what is ordered and usually delivered no problem.  We have done a few dinners but mostly breakfasts.

[Two Wheels Only]

25 minutes ago, dexddd said:

For us, those pictures are not even close to what we've gotten or requested and then received for snacks.  I suspect that few ever get that type of service. 

 

For us, the snacks & meals are the same as Bird's pictures. The only difference is the clear plastic wrap that covers everything (probably removed for photos). The meals have the hard clear plastic covers.

 

We usually have meals setup on the balcony. That's one of the reasons why balcony size is important to us. I might have made one or two posts about balcony size on the forum...😁

Edited May 22, 2020 by Two Wheels Only

[DMH15]

Ahhhh.  Reminds me of several years ago.  Our first suite on NCL.  THE WONDERFUL aft PH on the Sun.  
 

Met our butler.  He was not very good.   Other suite pax agreed.  Two guys looked puzzled when we mentioned snacks.  They had not gotten any.  The concierge Karin G was incredible.  We all spoke to her about him.  Sad thing is Sun uses 2 butlers and the other, Armando was said to be excellent.  Eventually we learned that first hand.  Why?   Our butler got off in a port and did not return.  This was a 2 week South American Cruise too.  
 

Have cruised many NCL suites since.  Loved Owners suite on Epic.  The Magnificent Maxi could teach a master class on butlering.  We love our afternoon snacks.  It was my sis, my niece and me.  Sis likes savory. I like sweet and niece is vegan.  He tailored to our individual likes.   He was fantastic. 
 

As snacks are being discussed, I travelled with my mom several times in suites.  Every butler was great.  Mom was diabetic.  They brought her wonderful sugar free sweets.  And mine were traditionally sweet.  I tasted some of hers and they were great.  
 

Tried MSC Yacht club last year.   Different. But equally enjoyable.  

[pcakes122]

9 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Am I the only person to ever try and stop snacks from coming?   While I enjoy chocolate covered strawberries, they are so over rated IMHO.  It was those fishy sandwiches I tried to stop LOL

I definitely always stop the afternoon delivery of what we have always affectionately referred to as "sh*t on a shingle." 😂  I hate chocolate-covered fruit so the strawberries are out for me.  I am also grossed out by the ever-popular bowls full of gummy bears and M&Ms.  First, if I am going to eat candy it's should be special and not something I can buy at 7-Eleven, and who knows whose hands were in those bowls earlier?  That said, the butlers have delivered some great handmade chocolates and I've never turned those down!

 

There are a few things that I do like to have during the day to snack on (grapes and sliced pineapple) so I always let the butler know and they usually bring that around noon.  Occasionally we'll ask for some cheese, crackers and nuts if we are sitting out on the balcony with wine or cocktails.  If I'm planning to spend the evening in the casino, I usually let the night butler know to drop off some late night snacks (BLTs or PB&J) around midnight so that they are there when I get back. ( I usually skip dinner if I am doing well in the casino 😉)

 

I've seen tons of pictures on CC of tables full of food and snacks and it boggles my mind. How much can people eat in a day?  I eat breakfast every day when cruising, but I never eat lunch and I skip dinner probably every third day and I still think it's all too much food!  Is all that food they are getting delivered going to waste? Sometimes I just think it's a case of people think if it's "free" they can't say no. 🤷‍♀️

 

[david_sobe]

8 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

I definitely always stop the afternoon delivery of what we have always affectionately referred to as "sh*t on a shingle." 😂  I hate chocolate-covered fruit so the strawberries are out for me.  I am also grossed out by the ever-popular bowls full of gummy bears and M&Ms.  First, if I am going to eat candy it's should be special and not something I can buy at 7-Eleven, and who knows whose hands were in those bowls earlier?  That said, the butlers have delivered some great handmade chocolates and I've never turned those down!

 

There are a few things that I do like to have during the day to snack on (grapes and sliced pineapple) so I always let the butler know and they usually bring that around noon.  Occasionally we'll ask for some cheese, crackers and nuts if we are sitting out on the balcony with wine or cocktails.  If I'm planning to spend the evening in the casino, I usually let the night butler know to drop off some late night snacks (BLTs or PB&J) around midnight so that they are there when I get back. ( I usually skip dinner if I am doing well in the casino 😉)

 

I've seen tons of pictures on CC of tables full of food and snacks and it boggles my mind. How much can people eat in a day?  I eat breakfast every day when cruising, but I never eat lunch and I skip dinner probably every third day and I still think it's all too much food!  Is all that food they are getting delivered going to waste? Sometimes I just think it's a case of people think if it's "free" they can't say no. 🤷‍♀️

 

The newer ships with the Horizon lounge has all the cookies, gummie bears, and M&Ms anyone can want.  Its just steps away for those staying in the haven.  No need to ask your butler.  The lounge was only about 10 steps away from our cabin door.

Its a nice gesture.  I learned my lesson in not trying to stop them because you put the butler in a bind.  I do agree some seem to take pleasure in getting food and snacks delivered just because they can.  Did you really need and eat 2 full bowls of gummie bears along with 6 giant chocolate chip cookies 😩

Edited May 22, 2020 by david_sobe

[pcakes122]

Just now, david_sobe said:

The newer ships with the Horizon lounge has all the cookies, gummie bears, and M&Ms anyone can want.  Its just steps away for those staying in the haven. 

I know, isn't that disgusting? It's bad enough that it's cheap candy but I don't want to think about how many hands were rummaging through those bowls. Also, I don't eat that kind of candy normally so maybe that's why I'm averse to it.

 

I really have no issue with letting the butler know exactly what I need and when I need it.  I'm more concerned with wasting food and having my cabin cluttered by tables full of plates of stuff that no one is ever going to eat ( just so I can take photos of it to say look what I got! Lol)

 

I never have anything delivered during that 4 p.m. window when the canapes are delivered, and I've never had a butler indicate it was a problem for them to skip me.

[Trimone]

People please, there is a difference between a Butler and a Servant ? 

[ColeThornton]

3 minutes ago, Trimone said:

People please, there is a difference between a Butler and a Servant ? 

 

Are you asking a question or making a statement?

[Trimone]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

Are you asking a question or making a statement?

Statement, a butler only deals with beverages, a servant fetches things you’ve forgotten?