What do you do about poor butler service?

[Mrmacman]

We returned in mid-January from our second cruise on the Dawn. First time in a suite. I too felt somewhat unimpressed with our Butler. As an avid reader of this board, I knew very well what to expect. Twice he forgot things that were ordered for breakfast. Never explained what happened until I finally asked where these item were after the 2nd oversight. He told he "I forgot". And that was it. Most days the breakfast dishes sat in the room from 9am until 5pm. The only reason they were removed is that we frequently had room service snacks that we ordered and they arrived at 5pm. Maybe it's me, but I think they should know enough to remove the old dishes in less than 8 hours. I mentioned it once and nothing changed.

 

The last annoying thing was that on day 2 the fruit bowl was empty, we were specifically asked if we would like it refilled. Two days later, when I ran into him, I asked would he please refill the bowl as he promised. 8 hours later it was done.

 

These are small little things, but generally reflect my feeling that I did not get great service, just good. I did tip him early in the cruise also.

 

Would I do a suite again? Yes, because I liked the cabin. But I would not plan on the Butler being very attentive.

[sunshine 229]

We haven't enjoyed the luxury of a suite or a butler on NCL yet but we did have a suite, with a butler on a Celebrity cruise and it certainly was a nice addition to our cruise. He served us breakfast on our balcony several mornings, brought us snacks and tea in the afternoon and, when we asked at one point if he could tell us where we might obtain glue to fix a sandle strap that had come apart he took the sandle away with him and returned that evening repaired.

 

In the future, if I felt butler service was totally unacceptable I think I would take it up with the concierge. If it was barely adequate but not terrible I'd probably mention it on the comment sheet they give you at the end of the cruise with explicite examples.

On Celebrity the tipping was discretionary and our butler got a nice little bonus above the suggested amount. If it had been just barely adequate that bonus would not have been forthcoming.

[mushroom]

Watchdiva, you're so right about Denny. We were fortunate to have him on the Spirit. We were hosting a party of 16 in our suite and he handled everything - even re-arranged the furniture to accommodate the crowd. He was always available when we needed him and his pleasant manner put us at ease (because we are not used to butlers and had absolutely no idea how to work with one!)

[riz]

Greenie -

 

Just so you know we sent a letter after our Christmas cruise and had a few replies and phone calls....some from Colin Veitch others from VP's. They gave us $200 OBC for a future cruise.....pretty much the only reason why we booked an Owner's Suite in April. We are going to give it a try again. If we have a good experience then NCL has gained some loyal and frequent cruisers....I hate to say it but I think if we have a similar experience we shall return to HAL...no butler there but love the Vista class ships.

[EileenN]

I have yet to experience a Butler service. I will this Sunday. AB on the Dawn. If I was not satisfied with the service or experienced an attitude, I would certainly mention it to the Hotel Director. We have discussed the CD's role and our likes and dislikes about them. Perhaps we should praise the butlers that have been effective by name. .. It does not hurt to have a heads up on what to expect. We have our own levels of expectation.

[gcjstri]

FYI, we had a butler for the first time in Oct. 04 on the Star and he was not very good. We never ordered any meals to our room. We asked him to bring us some tobasco sauce and he told us which restautant we could go get it at. We asked for a extra towel for the bar area and he told us to use one from our bathroom. Our butlers name was Arnie.

We will be on the Sun April 8th in a AC suite and i sure hope he is not our butler.

 

minimom:)

[TrinaLC]

One suggestion: let the Butler know as far in advance as possible of special requests, even "regular" things like lunch in-room. They do juggle lots of cabins so it helps.

 

Hopefully NCL mgmt will take note of the very specific complaints about one individual butler. Lapses will happen especially if a butler has lots of demanding pax on one cruise, but what was written about this one person is not acceptable.

[Barney22]

This tread will be interesting. Many seem to just grin and bear it. The protocol is to contact the the concierge and then the Hotel Director. There is no reason you should not receive the level of service expected.

 

I think the first thing to do is communicate with your butler. They are not mind readers. The one time I was not happy I simply took the time to talk to the butler explain in clear detail what I expected. Everything was fine after that.

 

Keep in mind I have only had the chance to experience this level of service 4 times. Thank you upsell desk.

I agree with Shoreguy. I always attempt to work with the person I am having a "problem" with. Follow the chain of command out of respect for each supervisory position. When all else fails there is a Staff Captain on board that is in charge of all employees.

[angeljt]

Lucky - our most recent NCL cruise was the inagural year for the Dawn when it still sailed out of Miami. We had an AB and the butler was truly outstanding! If I could have packed Denny into my suitcase and brought him home with me, I would have. He took the most incredible care of my husband and I and met with us the first day to introduce himself, explained to us how best to contact him and showed us how to use the portable phone while around the ship. He came in each morning after the room stewards cleaned the suite to make sure that everything was done to his expectations.

 

If you are ever lucky enough to have Denny as your butler, he will make your cruise experience super-special.:)

We were lucky enough to have Denny in October 2005 and he was fantastic. Such a nice person and so eager to please. The next to last day he didn't bring us the refill of ice that he had brought every other day and we wondered what happened. Turned out that he was ill. He still showed up in the AM smiling, but you could see that he was not feeling well. He apologized for not bringing the ice. He was soooo sweet and had been fantastic the whole time. His wife was expecting their second child in February when he was to be leaving the ship for vacation. He brought a picture of his daughter and wife to show us and he was just so proud. A truly nice man is Denny. I hope some of you will be lucky enough to have him as your butler.

Jackie

[AmyinVail]

We had Denny on the Dawn back in 2003 in an AB and he was fantastic. We also were lucky enough to be in an AA this past November on the POAm and had Josh, who was even better. We're two for two and it's the sole reason we sail NCL. We tried HAL in the highest category and only had two concierge and a lounge. We missed the butler. I don't know what I would do if I had bad service.....we go out of our way to treat the crew (including concierge and butler) like family and I feel we've always been treated incredibly while sailing. We're taking this year off of cruising and taking two land vacations instead. But, talk of breakfast on the balcony has me second guessing our decision.......:rolleyes:

[Cruiser#5]

This should be an interesting thread.

 

Well, I can't say I had poor service from our Butler but I do believe our first introduction should not have been when you first order your food. I think it theyshould have come by prior to room service to introduce themselves. I ended up tipping both for my very first Room service.

 

On a number of occasions I did try to make small talk with him but he always seemed to be in a rush to get out (maybe I looked scary :eek: ) Just kidding.

 

I have read so many great reviews on this board on everyones experience

All in all, our butler(s) was okay..nothing great to talk about.

 

However, I did find our Room Stewards far more superior in their services and only wish they were the Butlers. Roberto (our Room Steward) was the first person I met, as soon as we arrived in our cabin, within 15 mins or so, Roberto brought up our suitcases and even rushed out to get us ashtrays.

I found he was eager to please and was always willing to get us anything we needed.

[SailAways]

, Roberto brought up our suitcases and even rushed out to get us ashtrays.

I found he was eager to please and was always willing to get us anything we needed.

 

If you were fortunate enough to have the same Roberto whom we had on the Spirit in 2005, he is absolutely wonderful. He and the stewardess, Jennifer were a team that worked beautifully together. They knew our names before we even reached the cabin, and greeted us with a smile that never went away. We were thrilled to have such wonderful care on our cruise, especially since we were in an inside cabin. I had stated in my earlier post that I felt pampered and spoiled on this cruise, and the credit goes to these two wonderful hard-working, lovely people.

[swoosh2005]

we last sailed on the Dawn in January in the AB, and had a brand new butler, Ronald. He was very accomodating and was there when we needed him. We had breakfast in the cabin a few times and some room service.

He was very eager to please and I'm sure he will continue to do a good job.

That said, we still missed Lanie very much. She was our butler on 3 previous cruise on the Dawn. She left some big shoes to fill!

Denise

[Cruiser#5]

If you were fortunate enough to have the same Roberto whom we had on the Spirit in 2005, he is absolutely wonderful. He and the stewardess, Jennifer were a team that worked beautifully together. They knew our names before we even reached the cabin, and greeted us with a smile that never went away. We were thrilled to have such wonderful care on our cruise, especially since we were in an inside cabin. I had stated in my earlier post that I felt pampered and spoiled on this cruise, and the credit goes to these two wonderful hard-working, lovely people.

 

Not sure if he was the same person, he has a little girl around 4 years old and he;s originally from Costa Rico. He was the nicest person I met and feel he would be a fantastic butler should he continue along that line of work. Alicia was his partner who was nice as well and they made a fantastic team. Roberto actually opened up to us on a personal level which was really nice.

 

When we completed our cruise, we have to fill out the comments card and boy did I give him good reviews...I also indicated a few things about the butler too :)

[greenie]

I agree with Shoreguy. I always attempt to work with the person I am having a "problem" with. Follow the chain of command out of respect for each supervisory position. When all else fails there is a Staff Captain on board that is in charge of all employees.

 

 

This makes sense. But then too, who wants to have to expend all that time & energy when on a much-needed, long-awaited vacation away from the stress of having to deal with people who don't do their jobs well!? Not us, that's for sure! I think for some people, dealing with it directly a few times and then saying the heck with it when that doesn't help is healthier and makes for a far more satisfying vacation. Depends on the personalities involved, perhaps.

[seahorse]

This makes sense. But then too, who wants to have to expend all that time & energy when on a much-needed, long-awaited vacation away from the stress of having to deal with people who don't do their jobs well!? Not us, that's for sure! I think for some people, dealing with it directly a few times and then saying the heck with it when that doesn't help is healthier and makes for a far more satisfying vacation. Depends on the personalities involved, perhaps.

 

I agree Greenie. Spending all of your time "fussing" and getting upset after you tried to fix the problem is counterproductive.

 

That is why we made a joke and a game about Alex:D

[Sail Happy]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just wondering, with all the complaints about the butler Rey, what cabins were you in? I'm travelling with people who will be in a Suite and want to warn them ahead of time if they might get him!

 

Thanks!

Sail Happy

[riz]

Sail Happy -

 

 

I was in 9210....Met people that were on Deck 10 (they had 4 suites) that were also having problems with Rey.

[annie m]

Sail Happy -

 

 

I was in 9210....Met people that were on Deck 10 (they had 4 suites) that were also having problems with Rey.

 

Something must have gone wrong somewhere because we had Rey for our Butler on the Thanksgiving cruise of the Spirit. We were in an AB and although he was not the happiest butler we ever had, we did see him often and was always accomodating. Never made us feel as though we were putting him out.

[sjbdtz]

:cool: From: http://www.guildofbutlers.com/home.php

 

 

In modern times butlers receive excellent salaries for the dedication and commitment required to succeed in this fascinating profession.

 

A butler has to ensuring that "sir or madam's every household need is met, often before it is requested. Their skills need to cover such tasks as cooking, valeting, driving, surfing the web, gardening, DIY and knowing a few karate kicks. :rolleyes:

 

A well trained butler will bring social skills and etiquette to a household as well as an ability to take over and run an entire home. A good relationship between a butler and his employer is also essential; neither too familiar nor too distant, in order to achieve the mutual respect and trust needed for a successful placement. If the mix is right it is often a job for life.

 

Imagine what it would be like to employ a butler.

 

It's 07:00, and an immaculate breakfast tray is brought to your room and the discreet movement of "James" gently awakens you as he opens the curtains and begins to lay out the clothes he has carefully selected for your day. You are reminded that you have 30 mins before the car will be at the door to take you to the airport before which you need to deal with the urgent post on the breakfast tray.

 

07:30 sees you in the car, the children happily with the au pair at breakfast, safe in the knowledge that James will be back to the house in time to take them to school and check they have everything!

 

(The little darlings are a little excited about the approaching holiday and 3 weeks on the Yacht cruising the Greek islands, but James will be there to keep them in order leaving you free to relax in the sun.) Back in the car the evening's dinner menu is confirmed, along with accompanying wines - no worries for you about whether to serve a Liebfraumilch or Chablis with your first course! You make a final decision over the short-list of theater selections for the following evening, knowing that interval drinks will automatically be pre-ordered and supper at a nearby restaurant booked.

 

On board you leave domesticity to James and start planning your next million.

 

Back at home, and the children on their way to school, your butler will check that the silver has been cleaned immaculately - possibly doing it himself if necessary - and that any domestic staff are supervised. Arrangements for the impending dinner are finalised: a successful evening "at home" necessitates checking behind-the-scenes with military precision, ensuring a seemingly effortless event.

 

A variety of tasks could occupy your butler's day, and might be as varied as checking "Sir/Modom's" clothes for possible dry cleaning, polishing shoes, arranging car servicing or ensuring flowers are fresh. A visit to the gym could also be on the agenda as personal appearance is vital along with an ability to handle oneself should the occasion arise!

 

Cut to the end of a perfectly smooth day: guests departed, and lulled by the evening's immaculately served dinner and wines.

 

Its time for one last nightcap served by the butler and so off to bed knowing that the butler will lock up and make sure that all is secure for the night.

 

As always the butler did it.

[seahorse]

Stephen,

 

You are reading too many English Novels:D

[Sail Happy]

Hi Riz,

 

Thanks for answering! I guess we'll just have to see who my fellow cruisers get. At least now I know the correct chain of command to tell them to go through if they have a problem. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the butler--it's really surprising that NCL didn't at least re-assign him to another type of job after all the complaints. Thanks again for bringing up the subject.

 

Sail Happy

[logcabin]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and suggestions. I will be sure to wait and see who we have as our butler on our July Spirit cruise. If we are not happy with him, we'll request another from the conceirge. I'll also keep an eye on future Spirit reviews to see if anything changes and if the email to NCL gets a responce or action.

 

Thanks, Again.

[RichNY]

Logcabin...

 

Here is a little tip you might want to try...Most good butlers try to meet with the passengers as soon as possible....When you first meet your butler ask him/her to get or do little something for you. After he fills you request now is the time to tip...I usually tip $20..up front..This way you've established working relationship and it should be smooth sailing from there...

 

Good Luck...Most butlers will do an excellent job..

[flyingpirate]

:cool: From: http://www.guildofbutlers.com/home.php

 

 

In modern times butlers receive excellent salaries for the dedication and commitment required to succeed in this fascinating profession.

 

A butler has to ensuring that "sir or madam's every household need is met, often before it is requested. Their skills need to cover such tasks as cooking, valeting, driving, surfing the web, gardening, DIY and knowing a few karate kicks. :rolleyes:

 

A well trained butler will bring social skills and etiquette to a household as well as an ability to take over and run an entire home. A good relationship between a butler and his employer is also essential; neither too familiar nor too distant, in order to achieve the mutual respect and trust needed for a successful placement. If the mix is right it is often a job for life.

 

Imagine what it would be like to employ a butler.

 

It's 07:00, and an immaculate breakfast tray is brought to your room and the discreet movement of "James" gently awakens you as he opens the curtains and begins to lay out the clothes he has carefully selected for your day. You are reminded that you have 30 mins before the car will be at the door to take you to the airport before which you need to deal with the urgent post on the breakfast tray.

 

07:30 sees you in the car, the children happily with the au pair at breakfast, safe in the knowledge that James will be back to the house in time to take them to school and check they have everything!

 

(The little darlings are a little excited about the approaching holiday and 3 weeks on the Yacht cruising the Greek islands, but James will be there to keep them in order leaving you free to relax in the sun.) Back in the car the evening's dinner menu is confirmed, along with accompanying wines - no worries for you about whether to serve a Liebfraumilch or Chablis with your first course! You make a final decision over the short-list of theater selections for the following evening, knowing that interval drinks will automatically be pre-ordered and supper at a nearby restaurant booked.

 

On board you leave domesticity to James and start planning your next million.

 

Back at home, and the children on their way to school, your butler will check that the silver has been cleaned immaculately - possibly doing it himself if necessary - and that any domestic staff are supervised. Arrangements for the impending dinner are finalised: a successful evening "at home" necessitates checking behind-the-scenes with military precision, ensuring a seemingly effortless event.

 

A variety of tasks could occupy your butler's day, and might be as varied as checking "Sir/Modom's" clothes for possible dry cleaning, polishing shoes, arranging car servicing or ensuring flowers are fresh. A visit to the gym could also be on the agenda as personal appearance is vital along with an ability to handle oneself should the occasion arise!

 

Cut to the end of a perfectly smooth day: guests departed, and lulled by the evening's immaculately served dinner and wines.

 

Its time for one last nightcap served by the butler and so off to bed knowing that the butler will lock up and make sure that all is secure for the night.

 

As always the butler did it.

 

On a ship, it seems, the butler is really just a well dressed, personal waiter, that's all. He/she is just there to bring food and drink.

 

Our last butler, Chris, on the Star, was always harried, but in no way gave "bad" service. He stopped by several times a day and called just to see if we needed anything, but maybe it was becasue we were AA. I did mention to Natasha that his work could be a little better, but I didn't feel that it need to go to F&B. If necessary, I would have complained. We are not Hi Maint, but I do want the simple service we're paying for.

 

My parents always had a butler in the house, although he was called a houseman or majordomo. Ours was African American, not British, so it wasn't as formal, but he did most of the above, as well as the duties of sometime gourmet cook, chauffeur, bodyguard, overseeing the other staff , big shoulder to cry on and generally keeping everything going.

 

He was in the labor room with me when my son was being born......That's a butler!