Have you ever been "butled?"

[dwrist]

Thanks for the reply.... sounds like you really enjoy the Butler service.... You had all of your meals served in your room by the Butler? wow.... We like getting out and about and seeing all of the ship...enjoying all it has to offer.. We usually try to eat at least once in each of the available facilities .... Spend a lot of time at the pool or just walking around so a Butler would not be a plus for us.....:)

 

No we did not have all our meals in the cabin. I wrote a variety that he served us. During Alaska the pool really was not an option for us. :)

[mbisson]

Have you ever been "butled?"

 

Not me, I've Never even been to prison! ;)

 

-Monte

[dwrist]

Good point Monty.:) When did we change nouns to verbs to make words??:D

[shoreguy]

Just returned from the Star to Alaska. We were in an Owner's Suite and had Butler service. We used Henry for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He brought snacks, drinks, took our laundry, pressed my DH jacket and pants for formal night. Hot Chocolate for Glacier Bay. Anything we asked he was willing to do. We are low maintenance people so easy to please.

But on the other hand, in Cagneys we had Sanja, a server that needs to be promoted to a Butler position. She is one outstanding server and knows her stuff. She is on vacation starting this Sunday and will be back onboard the Pearl in October.

 

Checkmate 1955--It is our understanding that butler services are with AD suites and above only. That is what we were told for the Pearl in April. You tip the butler for his services and the butler does not get a percentage of the daily charge. I think the mininum tip they recommend is $10 daily per person. Remember that is mininum and if they do more they need to be compensated for it. They are working for tips only.

 

Hope this helps.:)

 

Thanks for the tip on Sanja I will look her up when we get onboard Dec 2.

 

Checkmate no butler for the mini :( Penthouse only that would be AE and up

[shoreguy]

Thanks for the reply.... sounds like you really enjoy the Butler service.... You had all of your meals served in your room by the Butler? wow.... We like getting out and about and seeing all of the ship...enjoying all it has to offer.. We usually try to eat at least once in each of the available facilities .... Spend a lot of time at the pool or just walking around so a Butler would not be a plus for us.....:)

 

 

I have been butlered (I to have not been to prison :D ) 6 times and never had a dinner in the cabin. I like you like to get out and try everything on the ship. That said a full breakfast in the cabin on a nicely set table is wonderful. Better yet on the balcony arriving in port in the early morning:)

[sjbdtz]

A poster mentioned that they like to hang out poolside.... could we have our butler serve dinner there?

[mbisson]

Better yet on the balcony arriving in port in the early morning:)

 

IMO-that would be pretty near the limit in luxury!

 

-Monte

[dwrist]

Better yet on the balcony arriving in port in the early morning:)

 

It happened!!!:D

[MartiniGal]

We were on the Dawn July 22 - 29 and had butler service in an AB Penthouse. Our butler's name was Anshuman and he was very good. He would bring us our breakfast each morning, and always made sure we had everything we needed. He was always available. He was able to even "guess" what we wanted for bfast after a couple of days because one time I had incorrectly filled out the card, and neglected to indicate the number of portions for each item. And we ordered different things each day -- but he knew. He also arranged hors d'oeurves for a cocktail party we hosted one evening and threw in many extra selections for us. We (husband, me and teenage daughter) really enjoyed the butler service during our week on the Dawn.

[Baitman19]

We have had the pleasure of being butlered by Maxi. It was our 30th Anniversary and I get and up sell to an AE. He was our first butler experience. We did have two dinners in our cabin and breakfast a few more. It was our first time and didn't really know what to expect. As Shoreguy says "Once you get a penthouse, it's your only way to travel".

 

We then had Carmen for two cruises in the Owner's Suite and she spoiled us rotten. Breakfasts on the side balcony. We even had dinner for 8 in the cabin one night. On our second cruise with her she escorted us to the cabin and opened the door and said, "Welcome Home"! We have since become friends and e-mail each other weekly.

 

On our last cruise we had Anshuman. Carmen was going on vacation the day we embarked and she told Anshuman what we liked and everything was in our cabin waiting for us. He was great!!! One morning when we didn't have breakfast in the cabin, he called around 9:30am to see if we needed anything before they closed for breakfast. It was a very active cruise for the CC's "Leid-Back Cruisers" on this trip. We needed to play a prank on Eka in the Star Bar and asked Anshuman to get us 8 large table cloths and safety pins. We dressed up in tablecloth diapers and went to the Martini Clinic.

Just to show you how a butler will go out of their way to serve you. I ordered dinner for 5 of us to be in our cabin at 6:30pm and Anshuman was late coming. He called and said he would be a little late, but not to worry. He came in and tells me that he had to go to 4 restaurants to get the meals. I had ordered from the wrong menu and he went to Le Bistro to get escargot, to Bamboo to get a wrap, to Cagney's to get an appetizer and to the main kitchen for the rest and he's apologizing to me for being late.

 

We're sailing on the 9th of September and will be butlered again and hope to have Anshuman again.

 

The more you do it, the more comfortable you become with it. It is the ONLY way to cruise.

 

If you ever have a chance to get "Butlered", try it.

 

Happy Sailing,

Monty

[shoreguy]

Butlered story - AB Penthouse Dawn - Feb 2006 - 11 day cruise

 

 

We forgot to order breakfast the night before and decided to give the butler a break and went to the main dining room. I had a taste for one more morning of eggs Benedict which out butler had brought several mornings already.

We were seated poured our coffee and juice and handed menus. No eggs Benedict :( The waiter came to take our order and I asked if I could get eggs Benedict. I was told sorry no not possible. Would you check. Sorry no. :mad:

I had brought that handy portable phone that NCL gives you. Dialed out butler Putu Abadi while still seated at the table and our waiter standing there. " would it be possible to get eggs Benedict? " The answer as expected no problem but it will take me about 20 minutes :)

Had a second cup of coffee and headed back to the penthouse meeting Putu at the door with our breakfast.

[mbisson]

Butlered story

Had a second cup of coffee and headed back to the penthouse meeting Putu at the door with our breakfast.

 

Oh, I hope he's the butler for our inside cabin on the Sun in a couple weeks ;)

 

-Monte

[CruiserDoc]

It sounds like this 'butlered' thing could get addicting!! Please, more comments on what is a typical amount for tipping the butler ($10/day was suggested earlier). Do you tip as served or at the end, like in the old days of cruising?

[tlm]

Oh, I hope he's the butler for our inside cabin on the Sun in a couple weeks ;)

 

-Monte

 

Monte

 

You're welcome to share ours!

 

Toni ;)

[mbisson]

Monte

 

You're welcome to share ours!

 

Toni ;)

 

Toni:

I just gotta meet you guys!!! IN A FEW DAYS :)

 

-Monte

[dwrist]

It sounds like this 'butlered' thing could get addicting!! Please, more comments on what is a typical amount for tipping the butler ($10/day was suggested earlier). Do you tip as served or at the end, like in the old days of cruising?

 

It is addicting!

I think I said a mininum of $10 a day. If the butler does alot for you, you really should compensate them more. We have tipped from $140 dollars for a 7 day cruise to $250 dollars for a 8 day cruise at the end. We would also add tips thru the week. Depends on situation and the amount of work we would ask of them.

[watchdiva]

Checkmate - there are VERY few people that I give my cell # to (I hate my cell:eek: ). Family, my boss (who never, ever calls me on it, says that I work too hard as it is) and NCL! My ringtone is caribbean music don'tcha know.

 

As for tipping, I would think it depends the individual (the tipper, not the tippee). Denny took such incredible care of us that we wanted him to know how much we appreciate him, not just by thanking him daily but monetarily as well. If I recall correctly, we tipped in the vicinity of $200-250 for the week. Denny made us well aware that he was available to us WHENEVER we needed him and when we asked him who covered for him during his "off" time - he smiled and said "just call me and it will be my pleasure to help you".

[tlm]

Toni:

I just gotta meet you guys!!! IN A FEW DAYS :)

 

-Monte

 

Getting excited??

 

Toni

[Whippets]

LateCruiser, please come over and join us on our roll call thread. We have a very nice group of people sailing 2/2/07 on the Pearl.

 

Diane

[flyingpirate]

Just returned from the Star to Alaska. We were in an Owner's Suite and had Butler service. We used Henry for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He brought snacks, drinks, took our laundry, pressed my DH jacket and pants for formal night. Hot Chocolate for Glacier Bay. Anything we asked he was willing to do. We are low maintenance people so easy to please.

But on the other hand, in Cagneys we had Sanja, a server that needs to be promoted to a Butler position. She is one outstanding server and knows her stuff. She is on vacation starting this Sunday and will be back onboard the Pearl in October.

 

Checkmate 1955--It is our understanding that butler services are with AD suites and above only. That is what we were told for the Pearl in April. You tip the butler for his services and the butler does not get a percentage of the daily charge. I think the mininum tip they recommend is $10 daily per person. Remember that is mininum and if they do more they need to be compensated for it. They are working for tips only.

Hope this helps.:)

 

Oh, I'm so sorry, we're missing Sanja! She was our favorite, along with her partner Loredana, who moved over to the Dawn April 13, a week after we got off!

 

Which os were you in, do you know the butler for 10506? Roberto & Rommel on cabins?

 

I think it's important to point out that this is not true, as many people seem to think that the butlers and concierges subsist on tips alone. They do not.

 

They are staff salaried positions, paid relatively equal to land jobs with room and board. Good tips can be a hefty bonus.

[dwrist]

Oh, I'm so sorry, we're missing Sanja! She was our favorite, along with her partner Loredana, who moved over to the Dawn April 13, a week after we got off!

 

Which os were you in, do you know the butler for 10506? Roberto & Rommel on cabins?

 

I think it's important to point out that this is not true, as many people seem to think that the butlers and concierges subsist on tips alone. They do not.

 

They are staff salaried positions, paid relatively equal to land jobs with room and board. Good tips can be a hefty bonus.

 

We were misinformed about the butlers apparently. So they are paid staff, we were told onboard that they were not paid and exsisted on tips only.:eek:

Thank you for clarifing for us. Now the surprise--Sanja will be transferring to the Pearl in Oct and will be on her for the Crossing if she is not married:) Are you on that crossing?

We were in 9006 and had Henry as butler, Lloyd and Ven on cabins. Ven is also transferring to the Pearl in Oct. He is one top notch cabin boy. The butler for 10 was a partner with Roy last Feb. His name started with a Ju... He is also very professional. We met him last Feb and again had the pleasure of talking with him at the Captain's Party.

 

Have a good day and thanks for the info.:)

[House_Atreides]

What a great experience with these 2 fellas.

We were in 9076 on the repo from Miami to San Fransico in Apirl/May of this year. It was an awesome cruise!!!

We hosted a party for our CC friends. These 2 fellas really put together the party very well! They fussed over the presentation and everything.

Also our concierge, Marieke, stopped in to say hi :D

We had breakfast every morning on the balcony (aft suite---HUGE balcony...see my signature for link to photos). Always delivered with a smile and promptly.

This was Theodore's first cruise as a butler. He did an outstanding job!! We tipped him extra for great service over the 17 days we were onboard. Of course, we tipped Roel too :D

Poor Theodore hated to see us go. He said to us "you were my first people" and gave us hugs. I felt bad leaving him, I said he could come home with us ;) .

Awesome service from the butlers, awesome ship, awesome cruise, did I say awesome?????

See ya!

Mary ;)

[juried]

We have had the pleasure of sailing in the Villa on the Dawn ...twice. Our favorite Butler was Denny, but I can honestly say I never had a bad butler experience.

Along with all the special treatment (escorted embarkation, front of the line for the chocolate buffet, special tours, dinner anytime-anywhere, the captain came to our parties plus several senior staff including the CD, the list goes on and on)

We awoke daily to find a great breakfast spread and every night we got sandwiches and snacks delivered around 10pm.

We hosted parties in the Villa (Red Sox Party in 05 and Mardi Gras in 06) with well over 100 guests (maybe 200+) and the butler and concierge saw to everything from food and drink, staff, decorating, piano player... etc. We also hold poker games and hot tub parties (kids) and the butler brought all kinds of yummy treats.

As far as tipping, it appears we over-tip, perhaps about 10x what others do, but there are 7 of us in the suite and we can be a handful. At the end my husband gives a generous bonus as well. We think the cruise is all about service and accommodations and let me tell you the Villa is the best of both.

Enjoy.

[alfies_my_baby]

Is it appropriate to tip your butler daily, or just at the end of the cruise?

[shoreguy]

Is it appropriate to tip your butler daily, or just at the end of the cruise?

 

The most common method is at the end of the cruise. No set rules. Not many have posted that they tip daily. Some will pre tip a little or after a party for the extra effort and then adjust the final tip to the level of service.