Suite butler

[welshy74]

Hello

we board Britannia on Sunday and for the first time ever we booked a suite.  I’ve never had a ‘butler’ on board before so looking for some advice from those that have previously had one. 
firstly the tipping. Do you tip on day one, smaller tips throughout or at the end.  What is a good tip?  Should we give the butler £50 at the beginning and ask them to look after us or tip as we use room service etc.  Is £50 too little or too much? 
secondly booking restaurants.  I have seen reviews that the speciality dining books up very fast and the MDR queues are a nightmare.  Can the butler pull strings to get you booked in or skip the queue for MDR?  

Thanks  

[brian1]

50 quid,you'll get a butler in the buff for that.

[BrianI]

With P&O, tipping is included in your fare.

https://ask.completecruisesolution.com/help/ext/PO/making-reservations/gratuity

Brian

Edited August 25, 2021 by BrianI

[welshy74]

On 8/18/2021 at 1:44 PM, alyssamma said:

 

2 minutes ago, BrianI said:

With P&O, tipping is included in your fare.

Brian

I know this but read somewhere the butler is not included in the pre paid gratuities but the cabin steward is.  🤷‍♂️

Edited August 25, 2021 by welshy74

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, welshy74 said:

I know this but read somewhere the butler is not included in the pre paid gratuities but the cabin steward is

Never seen that anywhere. As a member of the housekeeping team, the butler will be included in the tip pool.

Without wanting to start yet another tipping thread,  I woukd treat the butler the same as a steward. If they go over and above the norm, I would tip, but otherwise, no.

Personally, I think tipping in advance (or bribery) smacks of lack of class !

[Rupert2251]

4 minutes ago, welshy74 said:

 

I know this but read somewhere the butler is not included in the pre paid gratuities but the cabin steward is.  🤷‍♂️

All tipping is included with P&O even the butler, but if you want to tip extra you can. We tipped him at the end of the cruise, they are not pre paid gratuities like on other cruise lines.

[Harry Peterson]

We've always tipped at the end, though I've never seen anything suggesting that tips to butlers aren't included.  The price for a suite is higher,  so that should cover the tips too from the P&O standpoint. 

 

Never tried to use them for MDRs and always made Epicurean reservations soon after boarding. 

 

They'll happily book Epicurean etc,  but I doubt they'd do MDR. We've never queued though.

[SeaJane]

We always tip at the end, but only if we feel the butler has gone over and above etc. We’ve used him in the past for booking speciality dining and he’s always managed to get us what we have asked for.  I realise things might be slightly different at the moment, but I would certainly suggest you ask him if he can help with your bookings.

[Harryjacobs]

50 minutes ago, wowzz said:

 

Personally, I think tipping in advance (or bribery) smacks of lack of class !

^^^^^  This100%

As a young man I worked in the service sector where tipping was taken for granted.  You always knew the character of a person who tipped in advance and they were usually the obnoxious ones with demanding personalities.  

Show some class if you want to tip and give at the end.  It shows appreciation for a service rather than paying and demanding a service.

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Never seen that anywhere. As a member of the housekeeping team, the butler will be included in the tip pool.

Without wanting to start yet another tipping thread,  I woukd treat the butler the same as a steward. If they go over and above the norm, I would tip, but otherwise, no.

Personally, I think tipping in advance (or bribery) smacks of lack of class !

 

Starting to agree with Wowzz to often. Tipping in advance is bribery.  Butlers have quite a few cabins to look after,  you shouldn't expect more than your fair share.

 

We had a great butler with P&O don't think any bribe could have got better service, with  a big smile. We used him for lunch and afternoon tea. Aurora has a proper dining table in suites. Tipped him at end because felt it was over and above.

 

On our last Cunard butler was OK,  he just got his share of auto gratuities.  

[Tilly20]

With booking a suite you should get priority (early boarding) which should help with the availability of booking speciality dining.

 

in a suite you should get the menus for the main dining room the evening before and you can arrange to have them served in your suite. 
 

Enjoy! We’ve got our first suite in September. 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, welshy74 said:

 

I know this but read somewhere the butler is not included in the pre paid gratuities but the cabin steward is.  🤷‍♂️

There is now no such thing as pre paid gratuities, P&O abandoned charging gratuities a few years ago, and increased basic pay to compensate all hotel staff. So it is left entirely up to individuals whether to tip any member of staff.

[welshy74]

Point taken RE forward tipping.. not something I’ve ever done in the past but never saw it as some sort of bribery.  I know Americans do it a lot and we have seen this with Americans we meet on board US ships but that’s their culture I guess.  
We will tip at the end like we usually do with the attendant.  
 

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Starting to agree with Wowzz to often. Tipping in advance is bribery

You are only agreeing with me because we are right!

I have been shot down in flames on other forums regarding my view on "advance" tipping.

Just totally crass - and, when you think about it, ineffective. 

If you give someone cash the monent you meet them, what incentive is there for them to go above and beyond?  They would do better to impress those passengers who have not given them anything in advance,  in the hope of a farewell tip.

 

[Camberley]

We tip our butler a little bit at the end. I would have paid him more if he didn’t bring those dreadful canapés. Ok, one night’s were ok but the rest….it’s like P and O’s gone to Iceland and even they’d run out of inspiration! 

 

The butler was most useful for getting us into the speciality dining venues that were apparently fully booked etc and finding out information, but that is really about it with the butler service from our side of things.

 

I hope you enjoy the cruise. Honestly, the suite experience is great - not just the space and priority embarkation etc but the breakfast alone!

 

 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Camberley

[Harry Peterson]

Is there ANYBODY who enjoys those canapés?  I wonder what percentage are actually eaten.

[Camberley]

I understand the copious left-overs of these are given to the P & O IT folk to keep things going smoothly on the IT front 😀

[brian1]

53 minutes ago, Camberley said:

I understand the copious left-overs of these are given to the P & O IT folk to keep things going smoothly on the IT front 😀

Is that why they're called megabites.

[Windsurfboy]

Best to tell bultler you don't want canapes from day 1 ,  save him/her a lot of effort,  must be frustrating for them delivering plates then taking away untouched. Anything you can do to make their life easier  , showing consideration and patience, will get you better service. 

[daiB]

2 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Is there ANYBODY who enjoys those canapés?  I wonder what percentage are actually eaten.

Yes I love the smoked salmon on rye and the odd time you get large prawns. Oh and just remembered the strawberries dipped in chocolate.

 

The rest 🤮

[welshy74]

29 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Best to tell bultler you don't want canapes from day 1 ,  save him/her a lot of effort,  must be frustrating for them delivering plates then taking away untouched. Anything you can do to make their life easier  , showing consideration and patience, will get you better service. 

I wonder if we can request bar snacks instead.. prefer that with our afternoon cocktail.  

[Windsurfboy]

58 minutes ago, welshy74 said:

I wonder if we can request bar snacks instead.. prefer that with our afternoon cocktail.  

 

In a suite you can get anything from room service menu at no cost , could try smoked salmon.   No harm in asking for what you like.

 

P&O was our first cruise nevermind first suite. In Cunard they swapped canapes  for strawberries in chocolate.  Just ask they can only say no , just check you won't be charged.

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, daiB said:

Yes I love the smoked salmon on rye and the odd time you get large prawns. Oh and just remembered the strawberries dipped in chocolate.

 

The rest 🤮

 

Sorry  hadn't read Harry's reply above , after our first lot of canapes we  just cancelled them. If we'd  have known about others.

 

But it was our first cruise and hadn't researched via cruise  critic.  So just ask for what you fancy

[daiB]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Sorry  hadn't read Harry's reply above , after our first lot of canapes we  just cancelled them. If we'd  have known about others.

 

But it was our first cruise and hadn't researched via cruise  critic.  So just ask for what you fancy

Just tell you butler which ones you like. 

[Camberley]

9 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Best to tell bultler you don't want canapes from day 1 ,  save him/her a lot of effort,  must be frustrating for them delivering plates then taking away untouched. Anything you can do to make their life easier  , showing consideration and patience, will get you better service. 

Sadly we did last time but still they kept coming. Gotta love a trier 🤣🤣