Tipping the Butler

[iceman93]

I just had my first visit to HMC. While I would not rave about like some others and had no desire to stay there forever, I do think that if I ever have a future visit I will again book a cabana with butler service. The cabana was a WONDERFUL base of operations, a cool and shady place to relax and enjoy food and drink. Having a butler meant never having to stand in line for anything and getting much better food than the standard family cookout fare I saw at the BBQ.

 

Twinkletoes is right that it was kind of awkward having the butler at our beck and call, but not needing anything for much of the day. He kept checking to see if we wanted more drinks from the bar or anything, but really we were perfectly content most of the time! I think he was rather bored, but hopefully our tip at the end of the day made up for it.

[twinkletoes4445]

sail7seas...

 

I was talking about the mini-bar in the suite (sorry, I didn't make myself clear. My brain is on the fast track, but my fingers...what can I say). The TA said she thought everything that is in the mini-bar in the suite is complimentary, unless you ask for additional items. From your post, I gather that is not correct. I thought it sounded a bit odd...how would they keep track of the chargeable items, from the non. I have to admit...I am terrible when it comes to those things. It's usually the first thing I open when we check into a hotel. And it's usually a $4 bottle of cold water that I grab!

 

From what I have read, and the pictures that have been posted, HMC looks lovely. We probably won't do much but relax and read. :)

[twinkletoes4445]

I just had my first visit to HMC. While I would not rave about like some others and had no desire to stay there forever, I do think that if I ever have a future visit I will again book a cabana with butler service. The cabana was a WONDERFUL base of operations, a cool and shady place to relax and enjoy food and drink. Having a butler meant never having to stand in line for anything and getting much better food than the standard family cookout fare I saw at the BBQ.

 

Now that does sound nice. It sounds like they must have an area they "hang" and then check on you from time-to-time. That will work for me.

[sail7seas]

Your TA is mistaken. We have spent a great many nights (and days :) ) in those Suites and anytime we wished to use something from the mini-bar, there is a charge for it.

 

A steward comes daily to each cabin that has a mini-bar and he makes out a slip for anything that has been used so it can be billed to your shipboard account. Then he restocks it. You will also find bottled water in the suite. That, also, will be billed to your account if you use it.

 

 

 

[twinkletoes4445]

We had the sky blue cabana on our Christmas cruise -- no butler service -- and we were summarily ignored the whole day -- a couple of times someone flew through to drop some fruit or something at us -- but there was no offer of service for drinks or anything else

 

The comfort of the location and the shade were extremely nice -- I did, however, get heavily bitten by mosquitos. If I had known I would have worn repellant. If I was a sun worshipper rather than a sun hider it would also have been super.

 

The barbeque lunch was nothing special --

 

All in all we had a nice day but not one that I would repeat -- I will go back to either not going to in to HMC, or just going in for a swim and then back to the ship on future cruises.

 

Repellant is now on my list. Hmmm...I do love the idea of someone getting our drinks.

[twinkletoes4445]

sail7seas....

 

Thanks for the correct information. We may indulge, but we will do so knowing it's going to cost us.

[grannynurse]

twinkletoes,

We usually ask the wine steward (in charge of stocking mini bar) to only leave things in that we will use, like water, Heiniken, coke, and to restock those. We ask for an extra water (for shorex) instead of getting it at the gangway. Sometimes we've had a snack basket (but not lately).

 

I don't remember problems with mosquitos on HMC, but we were there in January, if that makes a difference.

We do take repellent tho, and used it, in Greenland, Scotland, and Norway.

As I said, we're not tropical cruisers.

I'm enjoying your excitement and anticipation of your upcoming cruise.

GN

[bdmidd]

All of this cabana info is so helpful! We are booked on the Westerdam in January 2007, SA catagory. Can you give me an idea the earliest date I can book a cabana? Don't want to miss out.

[sail7seas]

You can do it either through Ship's Services at 800-541-1576 or

I think you can book one online as a shore excursion for HMC. You will meed your confirmation number and your credit card handy. Any excursions booked prior to boarding are charged to your credit card and you will find the excursion coupons in your cabin when you board.

 

It is possible you may be able to book it now but if you have difficulty doing it on line call Ships Services and they will tell you if it is too early to book and when you will be able to.

[twinkletoes4445]

twinkletoes,

We usually ask the wine steward (in charge of stocking mini bar) to only leave things in that we will use, like water, Heiniken, coke, and to restock those. We ask for an extra water (for shorex) instead of getting it at the gangway. Sometimes we've had a snack basket (but not lately).

 

I don't remember problems with mosquitos on HMC, but we were there in January, if that makes a difference.

We do take repellent tho, and used it, in Greenland, Scotland, and Norway.

As I said, we're not tropical cruisers.

I'm enjoying your excitement and anticipation of your upcoming cruise.

GN

 

We drink a lot of water...so I'll make sure and ask the wine steward to make sure we have plenty in our mini bar.

 

We're going in early Feb., so maybe the mosquitos won't be a problem then. We travel a lot that time of year (to the Caribbean) and haven't had a mosquito problem so far.

 

I love vacationing...from choosing the destination...to shopping for clothing... to planning all the activities. It's so much fun! But this trip is a little different...this is really the first trip we've taken (out of the country), that we haven't had at least one kid along for the ride. :)

[Randyk47]

Twinkle - We were at HMC 2 March, rented the sky blue cabana and had a great time. We didn't do the butler service but the cabana was stocked as we had requested so things were just fine. We spent a good 5+ hours on shore and the cabana boys came by and checked with us about every 30-45 minutes early on though not much towards the end of the stay....which was fine. We didn't have any problems with the folks on the beach around us. We did see one couple, while we were in the water, come up and use the shower on the cabana but no biggie deal. We love HMC and if our cruise for next year has any downsides it's that a visit to HMC is not on the itinerary.

 

 

PS - No bugs of any kind during our stay.

[twinkletoes4445]

Randy....

 

The sky blue is one of the cabanas on my list. :) I do hope we are able to get a cabana....

 

I suppose I'll just try and make sure we can rent a cabana, and then decide later about the butler. From the pictures I have seen, what they have stocked in the cabana will probably be all we need, especially if we have breakfast that morning (prior to tendering off). I saw one picture where there were quite a few plates of assorted food from the buffet. We're going to try and pace ourselves a bit...with the food...so a butler may not be necessary. And most likely a drink or two will be the most we have during the day. I do love my umbrella drinks when we are in the Caribbean. :)

 

Glad to hear you didn't encounter bugs. Maybe we'll luck out.

[Randyk47]

Sky blue was really great....not a whole lot of traffic but close enough to restrooms, etc.

[twinkletoes4445]

Randy...

 

That looks wonderful! I like the shade...we are not sun worshipers. Love to lounge with a book and a umbrella drink, under a tree. Oh, and the blue ocean...now that's a living!

 

Thanks for posting the picture of your cabana. :)

[Randyk47]

Twinkle - Go to www.geocities.com/theklugspage for more HMC pictures. Just follow the link to our cruise pages.

[AlexandNessa]

Hi, just wanted to say that we tipped the butler and "cabana boy" (you will have both with the butler package) $40 each, and our butler politely told us that was "too much." (Of course, each of them accepted it gracefully.) So I think you would be fine in that range. Enjoy it. :)

[twinkletoes4445]

AlexandNessa....I do appreciate that info. So other than tips, is there any other reason I would need to carry cash? If I purchase anything (drinks or souvenirs) will they be added to my ship account?

Randy...I love the pictures. :) I also love your kitties...the one with the kitty sleeping (more like sprawling) down the top of the chair is so cute. I have four kitties...and an old gray/white kitty...she's 17 and still rules the roost (she looks just like the kitty lounging on the chair). We also have three Ragdoll kitties. They just turned three this month.

We're going to use HAL's hotel service. When I booked our cruise, the very last thing I would have thought about was a conflict with the Super Bowl. It turns out that Super Bowl Sunday is the day after we leave, however, hotels are not taking any reservations at this point (at least for cruisers who only want two nights). By the time I'd called twenty or so hotels, I would have gladly paid whatever they requested. Our TA contacted HAL and they have us on their list for a hotel. You've cleared something up for me. Our TA said we'd probably be at the Marriott in Hollywood, but in the back of the HAL brochure I have...it lists the hotel being on 17th street. After reading your review...I see I was wrong. This is no big deal, but it's nice to know exactly where we will be staying. I hope the service is better than you received...but considering it's Super Bowl time, I'm just glad we'll have a place to spend the night.

I really enjoyed your website. I especially loved the description of Dominica. If I close my eyes...I'm almost there. Last time we were in Dallas (we live in Shawnee, KS-which is about 20 minutes outside of KC), we spent time in Grapevine (hubby has a cousin who lives there) and we tasted quite a few different types of wines. They were really very good.

Thanks again for sharing your pictures and review...

[sail7seas]

[B]HAL used to book guests at Hyatt Pier 66 on 17th Street, FLL, but no longer uses that hotel.[/B]

[twinkletoes4445]

[quote name='sail7seas'][B]HAL used to book guests at Hyatt Pier 66 on 17th Street, FLL, but no longer uses that hotel.[/B][/QUOTE]

I thought that our TA mentioned the other hotel was the Hyatt. Is there another Hyatt in the area?

[Randyk47]

Twinkle - I think some of the confusion about the hotels HAL uses in Ft Lauderdale is caused by a fairly major shift to new properties after years and years of using the same properties. I know the HAL gal at the Hollywood Beach Mariott was lamented the "good old days" at the Hyatt Pier 66 and also mentioned, but not so fondly, the Mariott Marina property. Never got the chance to stay at the Mariott Marina but did like the Pier 66 property back in the early 90's. Have also stayed at the Westin Ft Lauderdale on Corporate Drive. This was a HAL arranged hotel that we had to go to because of booking the cruise late and spring break. We just couldn't find another hotel in town unless it was way out, a dump, or super expensive. Nice hotel but not much around it and it's a ways from the terminal.....would not be my first choice but given no other choice it's OK. Wife is a frequent stayer with Westin and they gave us an incredible suite even though HAL had booked just the basics. Certainly couldn't complain.....but being on the beach at the Mariott was a great way to start our vacation. :)

[sail7seas]

[B]The Hyatt Pier 66 and Marriott Marina were both purchased by a group of investors who also own the Bahia Mar and Boca Raton Resort (and a few others I think). The tower at Marriott Marina had severe damage from the hurricane and remains closed. There will be repairs made but the tower does not yet take guests. Having stayed at Hyatt Pier 66 dozens of times through the years, the changes we found at our last stay in January were substantial in ways that matter to us. We are undecided if we shall return. That is an amazing statement as we always really enjoyed our stays there.

Your TA may wish to update her information. HAL no longer uses Pier 66 or Marriott Marina for pre/post cruise stays. I absolutely know this to be true.

[bookworm0911]

[quote name='sail7seas'][b]Having stayed at Hyatt Pier 66 dozens of times through the years, the changes we found at our last stay in January were substantial in ways that matter to us. We are undecided if we shall return. That is an amazing statement as we always really enjoyed our stays there.
[/quote]

[B][COLOR=indigo]Just wondering what some of these substantial changes are. I'm sure knowing would help a lot of us here who are booking hotels for future cruises and had heard so much about how good the Hyatt is (was?). If you became disenchanted with that hotel after so many visits, I'm sure there were things that would bother a bunch of us too.[/COLOR][/B]

[twinkletoes4445]

[quote name='bookworm0911'][B][COLOR=indigo]If you became disenchanted with that hotel after so many visits, I'm sure there were things that would bother a bunch of us too.[/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]

That's so true. I am so thankful for this place and all the wonderful advice we are all able to get (and give). I'll stay away from the Hyatt.

I'm going to pass all this info along to my TA. :)

[bookworm0911]

[quote name='twinkletoes4445']I'll stay away from the Hyatt.

[/quote]

[COLOR=indigo][B]That's why I want more information as to what the changes are. They could be somethings that wouldn't bother you or I at all or maybe they would. Maybe it's a chef change and the food is not as good, but I might not plan on eating in the dining room anyway. Maybe the prices of rooms have gone way up yet that wouldn't be a concern of other people. Maybe the place was filthy and that would bother all of us. So I think we need the particulars to make an informed decision.[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR=indigo][/COLOR]
[COLOR=indigo][B]I'm sure your TA would want to know more also. [/B][/COLOR]

[twinkletoes4445]

[quote name='bookworm0911'][COLOR=indigo][B]That's why I want more information as to what the changes are. They could be somethings that wouldn't bother you or I at all or maybe they would. Maybe it's a chef change and the food is not as good, but I might not plan on eating in the dining room anyway. Maybe the prices of rooms have gone way up yet that wouldn't be a concern of other people. Maybe the place was filthy and that would bother all of us. So I think we need the particulars to make an informed decision.[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR=indigo][/COLOR]
[COLOR=indigo][B]I'm sure your TA would want to know more also. [/B][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

We're only going to be in FLL for two nights, so I can really deal with about anything...more or less, unless it's in a dangerous area, or flea-bag place. I do think I'll stick with the Marriott in Hollywood. If we were staying longer, I"d need to know a lot more about the complaints. In the end, it may not matter for us since we're there during Super Bowl. I may be sleeping in my rental car...and I am thrilled we were able to reserve one! :)