What services do a butler offer?

[cruisecounsellor]

Hi, we are currently onboard and have a suite with butler but we don’t seem to be utilising him anymore than we would our room steward. 
 

He’s always around and offering an hello or good morning but really we don’t feel like we are using his services or challenging him with any special requests!

 

Everything is good in the suite, we are happy, it’s just that in over 30 cruises we’ve never had a butler before and we just want to make the most of his services and resources onboard. 
 

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions on things we could ask for?

 

Thanks!
 

 

[Pinboy]

15 minutes ago, cruisecounsellor said:

challenging him with any special requests!  

Everything is good in the suite, we are happy,

LOL-- You answered your own comment with ---" Everything is good in the suite, we are happy ".

So, nothing to " challenge " him with--- except maybe an arm wrestling contest ?

It reminds me of Yogi Berra when he said,  referring to a restaurant:

" Nobody goes there anymore--- the lineups are too long"

Just enjoy the cruise , and, if you do have a request, your Butler will be there to help you.

 

[cruisecounsellor]

Yes, everything is good but nothing is above or beyond what we would get and expect from a good room steward, so we don’t seem to have a use for the butler 🤷🏻‍♂️

[DCPIV]

I tend to agree with Pinboy on the matter.  If you're happy, you're happy!  What's really nice about having a butler is when you do need something, such as changing or cancelling an excursion, making or changing reservations (dining and spa), or other such things.  You wouldn't ask your Room Steward to do that. The butler also tends to be more visible and accessible when you do want something like that.  Yes, you can handle that sort of thing easily enough, but not as easily as asking your butler to take care of it.

 

If you ever care to dine in your room, your butler will make that a much more special event than just having room service drop off some trays.  We enjoy dining out too much at night to ever have done that, but it's nice to know it's there.

 

That said, I much prefer breakfast in the room, so I always ask our butler for is to bring a bit of breakfast, some coffee and espresso, and a smoothie from the Spa Café.  I know room service can bring breakfast and coffee, but the smoothie is not a standard deal.  Our butler also will set things up more nicely.

 

If nothing else, you just might ask him for a nice cocktail while you're out on your balcony.

[snowballs mom]

We had our first suite this past March, and we had a fantastic butler. We prefer room service for breakfast, since I am not social when I first get up. Our butler delivered it and set it up very nicely on the table. He even poured the coffee. He would not allow us to do anything to help. We were surprised on a couple of afternoons with a bottle of wine and some treats in our room when we returned from shore. He also found a pair of scissors when I needed one, and took care of returning some tickets for an excursion I canceled. A couple of the services may sound minor, but they saved me quite a bit of running around and waiting in lines, so they were much appreciated.

[sunsetme]

Do they unpack for you?? That would be a nice perk.

[snowballs mom]

2 minutes ago, sunsetme said:

Do they unpack for you?? That would be a nice perk.

It is in the list of provided services on the website. I did not have them do it.

[Jim_Iain]

Celebrity has change the name of the position from Butler to Personal Retreat Host.  Talking to a couple Suite's manager they said that many were "intimidated" by having a butler.

 

Their basic task is to take care of you while your Stateroom Attendant take care of your room.   They take care of you laundry, polish shoes, deliver any meal.  They can also make dinner reservations,  excursions etc.  They also take your drink orders, bring you coffee or Cappuccino and refresh you Ice 2x a day.    Most things you might need you could either ask you "Host" or one of the Retreat Concierges.     A couple years ago the reorganized the management so both the Host and the Concierges work for the Retreat Manager.   

 

Your host is very helpful if you are entertaining in the Suite and will setup your room with Glasses, Plates etc as well as nibbles.    When in upper suites we have had parties with as many as 50 guests and was handled with no problem.   He even answered the door and invited new arrivals in.   The beauty is after the party you just go to dinner and when you return your suite is cleaned and back in perfect condign.    

 

The now do afternoon tea in the Retreat, but if you prefer just ask for it to be delivered each afternoon.   They also often bring snacks in the evening pre-dinner.   Since we aren't big eaters we let him know at the beginning not to leave anything.  

 

They also are in the Theater on Chic nights to greet you and let you into the reserved space for Retreat Guests.  

 

Finally they also will escort you to the Front of the line for Tender Service as does the Retreat Concierges from the Retreat.

Edited June 6, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[CruisersTimesThree]

2 hours ago, sunsetme said:

Do they unpack for you?? That would be a nice perk.

That is a service they provide but I believe most people don’t utilize it. Myself personally like to do my own unpacking and decide where things need to go, plus I would never take up that much time with a butler as they have other suites to service. Embarkation day is very busy for them welcoming passengers aboard and providing information to each of their assigned suites.
Also, if you have them do this for you,  it is required that you stay with them the entire time as they do this chore.

[Mark_K]

If you like fresh fruit ask for him to bring you some, room service breakfast is good, he will make specialty dining reservations for you, ask him to empty the mini fridge and put some of your favorite sodas/waters in it, and maybe an adult beverage.  

[chemmo]

25 minutes ago, CruisersTimesThree said:

That is a service they provide but I believe most people don’t utilize it. Myself personally like to do my own unpacking and decide where things need to go, plus I would never take up that much time with a butler as they have other suites to service. Embarkation day is very busy for them welcoming passengers aboard and providing information to each of their assigned suites.
Also, if you have them do this for you,  it is required that you stay with them the entire time as they do this chore.

Agree, unpacking is not a service we have used or wanted either.
 

The only guests I know who have used this service were an elderly couple with mobility issues and they informed the shoreside concierge pre cruise that they would appreciate some help packing and unpacking.

Edited June 6, 2022 by chemmo

[chemmo]

4 hours ago, cruisecounsellor said:

Hi, we are currently onboard and have a suite with butler but we don’t seem to be utilising him anymore than we would our room steward. 
 

He’s always around and offering an hello or good morning but really we don’t feel like we are using his services or challenging him with any special requests!

 

Everything is good in the suite, we are happy, it’s just that in over 30 cruises we’ve never had a butler before and we just want to make the most of his services and resources onboard. 
 

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions on things we could ask for?

 

Thanks!
 

 

Simple things, phone him for early morning speciality coffee, request a specific snack (cheese and crackers?) to be delivered to your room each afternoon, phone him when you get back from an excursion with soggy trainers and they will be returned dry and clean.

 

Alternatively, don’t feel obliged to use him at all! Some cruises we rarely ask the butler for anything on others we may arrange a party or a special in suite dining evening…

[calicakes]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Celebrity has change the name of the position from Butler to Personal Retreat Host.  Talking to a couple Suite's manager they said that many were "intimidated" by having a butler.

 

Their basic task is to take care of you while your Stateroom Attendant take care of your room.   They take care of you laundry, polish shoes, deliver any meal.  They can also make dinner reservations,  excursions etc.  They also take your drink orders, bring you coffee or Cappuccino and refresh you Ice 2x a day.    Most things you might need you could either ask you "Host" or one of the Retreat Concierges.     A couple years ago the reorganized the management so both the Host and the Concierges work for the Retreat Manager.   

 

Your host is very helpful if you are entertaining in the Suite and will setup your room with Glasses, Plates etc as well as nibbles.    When in upper suites we have had parties with as many as 50 guests and was handled with no problem.   He even answered the door and invited new arrivals in.   The beauty is after the party you just go to dinner and when you return your suite is cleaned and back in perfect condign.    

 

The now do afternoon tea in the Retreat, but if you prefer just ask for it to be delivered each afternoon.   They also often bring snacks in the evening pre-dinner.   Since we aren't big eaters we let him know at the beginning not to leave anything.  

 

They also are in the Theater on Chic nights to greet you and let you into the reserved space for Retreat Guests.  

 

Finally they also will escort you to the Front of the line for Tender Service as does the Retreat Concierges from the Retreat.

So, please don't laugh at me, but I'm kinda extra with my ice.  I have one of those old fashioned(VINTAGE) metal ice cube trays( with the lever that you "crack").  On our Oceania cruise, our butler brought it down to Culinary and had it frozen for me.  He brought it back each morning with my half and half for my iced coffee.  Would the butler in our Suite on X do that too?  We're cruising on Reflection in September. 

[DCPIV]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Your host is very helpful if you are entertaining in the Suite and will setup your room with Glasses, Plates etc as well as nibbles.    When in upper suites we have had parties with as many as 50 guests and was handled with no problem.   He even answered the door and invited new arrivals in.   The beauty is after the party you just go to dinner and when you return your suite is cleaned and back in perfect condign.    

 

 

That sort of thing is a blast.  We've never entertained, but we were invited to a party in the Reflection Suite, and the Retreat Host (who also happened to be ours) was all over it.  Empty trays were swapped out for full ones.  Drinks were refilled.  He was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.  Incredible service!

 

On the same Reflection cruise, a bunch of us decided to have a "hall party" in the little, secluded hallway that served the Reflection Suite and Signature Suites.  Our Retreat Host again was all over it.  Food and drink like nobody's business.  He even hung balloons in the hallway!

 

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

Simple things, phone him for early morning speciality coffee, request a specific snack (cheese and crackers?) to be delivered to your room each afternoon, phone him when you get back from an excursion with soggy trainers and they will be returned dry and clean.

 

That's a good way to put things, too.  Simple things.  Those simple things can go a long way.  If you have a long day ahead of you, it's nice to come back to a tea service or something cool and refreshing.

[39august]

I have the butler either leave a shrimp cocktail or a cheese plate with good crackers each evening. We ask for ice twice a day. Our Personal Retreat Hosts usually bring a bottle or two of wine on different days.

[islabahia]

We enjoy breakfast daily and several nights we have dinner in our suite (we give the butler adequate notice).  We let our butler know our snack preferences (for example cheese with crackers (no saltines), M&M’s if available.  We make sure that our butler knows how much we value his taking care of us at the end of the cruise.  We like to take care of those who take care of us).

[mk960072]

7 hours ago, sunsetme said:

Do they unpack for you?? That would be a nice perk.

they will if you ask them to.

 

[mk960072]

we used our butler by providing a list up front of what we would like; had read that it is nice if you can provide in writing a list of what you want and provide it to your butler so they dont have to guess and figure out what you want.  Therefore, we requested ice in the ice bucket at certain times each afternoon, asked for specific drinks to be placed in the room at 5:00, we knew he would provide canapés but we shared what we liked/wanted and didn't like.  I requested a pillow menu, requested extra towels in the room, and we celebrated my birthday one day and the butler sweetly placed flower, balloons, champagne, and a cake in the room as a surprise.  

 

We did see other couples who had butlers that came up to the Retreat pool and brought them drinks and checked on them.  We were on the Edge July 2021 when she first sailed post COVID and the suites were sold out and we found the bartenders and Retreat pool staff came around and took excellent care of us, therefore we didn't miss our butler.  

 

I normally dont utilize a butler that much so we tried to utilize them more as we have found, at least at a land based resort, if you dont use them the other couples they are assigned to will and then you fall to the bottom of the taking care of list quickly.  Therefore, when you do need something we found we had to wait as opposed to being needy, which was disappointing.  As a result of telling our butler on Celebrity what we wanted, we found him to try to meet our expectations and did a great job. 

 

 

[Cap_D]

8 hours ago, DCPIV said:

I tend to agree with Pinboy on the matter.  If you're happy, you're happy!  What's really nice about having a butler is when you do need something, such as changing or cancelling an excursion, making or changing reservations (dining and spa), or other such things.  You wouldn't ask your Room Steward to do that. The butler also tends to be more visible and accessible when you do want something like that.  Yes, you can handle that sort of thing easily enough, but not as easily as asking your butler to take care of it.

 

If you ever care to dine in your room, your butler will make that a much more special event than just having room service drop off some trays.  We enjoy dining out too much at night to ever have done that, but it's nice to know it's there.

 

That said, I much prefer breakfast in the room, so I always ask our butler for is to bring a bit of breakfast, some coffee and espresso, and a smoothie from the Spa Café.  I know room service can bring breakfast and coffee, but the smoothie is not a standard deal.  Our butler also will set things up more nicely.

 

If nothing else, you just might ask him for a nice cocktail while you're out on your balcony.

Ditto.  It's an ask once and it gets done with follow-up type experience. Plus the bikers have much more at their disposal then any Ritz butler considering they have carte blanche throughout the ship to make things happen and coordinate with others members of the team   Gordon on Edge was terrific.  We didn't need much, but he did help arrange a special and priceless experience for a inquisitive under 5 cruiser, and was available to handle things that otherwise might require waiting in a line, on hold, following up, or checking the voicemail.  Plus a familiar and ubiquitous presence in the hall, room service attendants for breakfast number one and more.  Frequently also knows what direction a spouse is headed in after exiting the room, and realizes when you night need some coffee or waters delivered.  It's a unique level of service and personalization of what otherwise could be a very nice albeit more impersonal or preset vacation experience.  They make the experience something more than a nice room. Certainly more engaged then anyone else in your overall satisfaction next to the servers and maiterd at Luminae if in Retreat.  They also serve as a bridge between the app / computer record that follows you around the ship and reality. They also have magic phones!

 

But if on a budget, or just don't mind tending to everything a bit more on your own, we would not hesitate to book a no butler room.   Seems all cruisers say the crew makes the difference, and at least on Edge the crew was all personable, attentive and engaged.  They are there to serve, even the cleaning crew wiping down the glass railings the plaza.  All super friendly and that adds to the comfort level in ways that can't be quantified. The plus side of celebrity is the diverse cruisers, overall ship and crew are all present for the same quality experience, so extras are just that.  Most of the ship literally is decorated and uses the same materials and soft goods.  The food is generally the same, etc.  No need for FOMO.

 

Btw, in terms of a personal experience, Reeza at Scoops is the standout.  He memorized all the names of guests he meets and then rmebers them throughout the cruise. He should be the cruise director.

[chemmo]

8 hours ago, calicakes said:

So, please don't laugh at me, but I'm kinda extra with my ice.  I have one of those old fashioned(VINTAGE) metal ice cube trays( with the lever that you "crack").  On our Oceania cruise, our butler brought it down to Culinary and had it frozen for me.  He brought it back each morning with my half and half for my iced coffee.  Would the butler in our Suite on X do that too?  We're cruising on Reflection in September. 

He will bring you any speciality coffee you like. However, health  and hygiene rules may prevent him putting your ice tray in a freezer for  you, especially in these covid conscious days (risk of contamination). However, the butler will full up your ice bucket as often as you want. I suggest you request twice daily filling and see how you get on. If you run out or it is melting when you return from an excursion just telephone. You and I must be total opposites….I spend every cruise saying ‘just one ice cube please’ and still frequently get a drowned drink!

 

 

[HC2023]

Just a question (new user here!) but which rooms get a butler? Is it every Retreat level room or just the "big" suites?

[DCPIV]

3 minutes ago, HC2023 said:

Just a question (new user here!) but which rooms get a butler? Is it every Retreat level room or just the "big" suites?

 

All the Retreat does. It's quite nice! 

[chemmo]

15 minutes ago, HC2023 said:

Just a question (new user here!) but which rooms get a butler? Is it every Retreat level room or just the "big" suites?

All Retreat rooms.
 

There does seem to be a lot of questions at present about the “big” suites. I think following covid and cruise cancellations along with the ‘move up’ programme there have been lots of cruisers trying these rooms for the first time.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by chemmo

[HC2023]

24 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

All the Retreat does. It's quite nice! 

 

12 minutes ago, chemmo said:

All Retreat rooms.
 

There does seem to be a lot of questions at present about the “big” suites. I think following covid and cruise cancellations along with the ‘move up’ programme there have been lots of cruisers trying these rooms for the first time.

 

 

 

Ooooh that does sound nice! Looking at a celebrity cruise for next year and tempted by this!

[Cruisegoer]

On 6/6/2022 at 10:50 AM, cruisecounsellor said:

Hi, we are currently onboard and have a suite with butler but we don’t seem to be utilising him anymore than we would our room steward. 
 

He’s always around and offering an hello or good morning but really we don’t feel like we are using his services or challenging him with any special requests!

 

Everything is good in the suite, we are happy, it’s just that in over 30 cruises we’ve never had a butler before and we just want to make the most of his services and resources onboard. 
 

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions on things we could ask for?

 

Thanks!
 

 

Challenge him????  Why should he be subject to your challenges? If you have a reasonable request or need sure but CHALLENGE? No wonder the service industry, including cruise ships, is losing staff by the thousands.