Have you been butled?

[Jana]

Does anyone have butler experience to share with me? I'm one of Cruise Critic's writers. I'm doing an article on butler service... which ships have it, what level of accommodation you need in order to get it, what's good about it, whether or not it's worth it.

 

Has anyone had an extraordinary cruise because of a butler?

 

Please talk to me!

 

Jana

[jhannah]

I wish! ;) My experience has just been with Princess and HAL, and neither offers butler service.

 

It should make for an interesting story. Good luck with it.

[Jana]

Thanks, Vegas Jim.

 

We either need to expand your horizons or get HAL and Princess to reinstate the service!

 

(I'm not totally crazy, though, lots of people have Celebrity and Oceania in their signature lines so thought I'd ask here too).

 

Jana

[Spender Nui]

I know this won't help you but you couldn't force me to have a butler.

[Jana]

Actually, it DOES help me! Why? Tell me why?

 

(I've had 'em twice, lovely experience. Once I was alone, and it was super though not necessary. Once I was with my mom... my dad had passed away not too long before and I wanted to pamper her and take care of her; it was sweet.)

 

Is it that you don't want the intrusion? You just want to be left alone?

 

Please tell me.

 

Jana

[Krazy Kruizers]

I can remember when we used to have butler service on Princess - loved it!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Unfortunately HAL has just a concierge for the PS and S passengers.

 

They are very good but not quite the same as a butler as they have so many other things to do like work most of the day in the Neptune Lounge.

[lougee1043]

we had a butler last march 05 on the x galaxy --think we were in a sky suite---------except for the one nite we ate in the cabin and he served dinner course by course we really didnt utilize his service --wife wouldnt think of letting him pack or unpack - had a bit of a problem regarding seating in the d/r and we took care of it ourselves---never thought of involving the butler -- would have taken a $100.00 ship credit to our onboard account in lieu of his services

[AWED23]

Does anyone have butler experience to share with me? I'm one of Cruise Critic's writers. I'm doing an article on butler service... which ships have it, what level of accommodation you need in order to get it, what's good about it, whether or not it's worth it.

 

Has anyone had an extraordinary cruise because of a butler?

 

Please talk to me!

 

Jana

Jana,We had Queens Grill accommodations on the QM2 in February 2005....8 days carribean RT-NYC.....A young Dutch lady served as our Butler and she was very pleasent but when asked about shoe service gave me a quizical look and said she might be able to find ME some polish...She was a glorified head maid who offered none of the things I expected. We will be on a larger suite on Silver Seas in January and I expect a good bit better service...Also next September aboard Regent Navigator we will have a Butler. We have sailed many times in suites aboard HAL and find that their concierges can handle anything! and the suites are given complete express shoe service!....Oh, and there was a concierge lounge on the QM2 but the people manning it were not very helpful at all. They were a bit too busy to make dining reservations for us....Well, no more QM2......It has been my experience after 26 cruises with HAL[all in suites] that the combination Neptune lounge/concierge along with the great cabin stewards we have always been fortunate to have, we get all the service/pampering that we need or want...We are not going on Silver Seas and Legend for a Butler but in spite of the "Butler Service'.

[iceman93]

We did use the butler service in our cabana at HMC, and it was well worth the extra expense. Along with the personalized service came far better food (catered from the PG instead of cook-out hamburgers), unlimited free alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and unlimited use of free beach toys. The butler got us on the first tender to shore, walked us to the cabana, and took care of our every whim all day. I don't think I'd ever do HMC any other way!

[boomerSexyK]

We were on X Constellation, Sky Suite, Eastern Carib. Nov/05,7 days, butler was included with the Sky Suite.

This was our anniversary as well as our 1st cruise and not knowing how we would feel about cruising, we figured we would give it the "Royal" treatment to get hopefully, a great impression right out of the gate. We knew we wanted a balcony and decided to step up to the Sky suite with butler service.

Our butler, Arvind, introduced himself almost as soon as we arrived in our stateroom. A very pleasant fellow, although quiet and reserved. He gave us his card with his phone number on it for anything that we may require. He did offer to unpack for us, which was declined by DW, and checked thoughout the cabin with us to make sure everything was in order. He delivered Hor'douvres each evening about 5:30PM as well as an afternoon tea trolley with small cakes etc. Since we usually had early seating for dinner, the pre-dinner treats arrived about the time we were leaving for dinner, so were usually wasted (not that they were all that appetizing anyways). We didn't bother with the alternative restaurant, so didn't need him to book that. The only shore excursion we booked was a car rental and the Hotel Concierge took care of that for us. We really didn't make use of his services all that much. Although, I will say on the nite of our anniversary we decided to dine in our suite and we had mentioned that we were sorry we would miss the Lobster that night in the dining room. He offered to take care of it all for us. Dinner arrived. 2 Lobster tails each!! The kitchen staff sent us a small cake (torte) with a card and Arvind surprised with a bottle of Champagne from him. The meal was great and much appreciated.

I don't think we would bother with the "butler" service again. We just didn't make that much use of him. Considering the extra booking charge (Sky Suite 251sq.ft at $3480 w/butler vs Veranda 191sq.ft at $1580 sans butler) and the per diem gratuity ($3.50pp/day) as well as the "additional" cash gratuity, it was an expensive week for a service that we just didn't make that much of.

In our opinion, our room steward and the hotel concierge could have taken care of any of our needs just as well.

That said, it was nice to pamper ourselves and have our very own butler for a week, just wouldn't do it again.

[dougnewmanatsea]

We either need to expand your horizons or get HAL and Princess to reinstate the service!

Princess, yes, but HAL cannot reinstate it as it is not something they ever had to begin with.

 

I've been on lines that offer bulters (Celebrity, Cunard, the "old Princess") but never in a suite so I'm afraid I can't help you either...

[shonuf]

Our only experience with a butler was on the Galaxy in January of '05. We had a Sky Suite for our Panama Canal cruise. Our butler was delightful, his name was Challs (pronounced Charles) and his catch phrase was "Shall I pour?" He brought our coffee and served as our wake up call every morning along with afternoon tea and hors d'oeuvres. He took care of booking our shore excursions for us and arranged for my husband to send me roses for our wedding anniversary. (DH had TRIED to do this through ship's services prior to the cruise and hit more than one roadblock). One comment to Challs and it was a done deal.

 

Do I need a butler, no, of course not. Did it add to the enjoyment of the cruise, absolutely. In fact, it was the best part of the cruise as far as I was concerned. Read into that what you will.

[refman]

we had a cabana on HMC in may 06 cruise and opted not for the butler service, however, the cabana next to us did have him and not in a negative way but it just appeared to be very intrusive, just my opinion.

[Creeks]

Don't remember which line we were on,

but there was a 'butler' on the floor, (not serving our cabin),

who was a very young fellow, drowning in his 'butle' suit!

Had to laugh every time we saw him..........

[lorimay]

We had a butler on the Celebrity Summit three summers ago. We had a Celebrity Suite and our butler was a nice young man named Ricky. Maybe we didn't take advantage of the services he could perform, but I really thought it was pretty much a waste of time. He did deliver hot breakfast each morning (regular cabins could only get continental) and nice tea cookies and then appetizers each evening, but I felt he was just a glorified cabin steward. He also had a LOT of suites to cover so we never felt like we got much of his time. I think there's a snob factor to saying you had a suite with a butler, but I like the concept of a concierge lounge much better.

[kryos]

I couldn't imagine what I would do with a butler.

 

Can't wait to read your article just to find out how others have used him.

 

I never book the suites on HAL that would entitle me to Naptune Lounge privileges, but I can't even imagine what I would do with the concierge service. I book most of my shore excursions in advance and it seems very easy to get a Pinnacle Grill or a beauty salon appointment onboard ... certainly not the kind of thing I would need him to take care of for me.

 

So, I'll be looking forward to hearing others' take on this. Is it possible to effectively utilize the services of a butler, or is having one more of a "status" thing?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[bepsf]

Jana--

 

Although HAL does not offer butler services, if you host a party in your stateroom a waiter will stay to serve, clean up, etc.

 

When I was on Oosterdam last fall, I hosted a party on my corner verandah - ordered the food and drink and had invitations sent via the concierges in the Neptune Lounge. The morning of the party, the waiter (Ferdinand) who brought the Champagne and glassware pretty much took charge and set up the party for me: arranging a table for the hors d'oervres, and setting up the drink service area and tying the verandah door open so my guests could come and go as they pleased without dealing with the door (as you know, they want to close tight on HAL ships!) Meanwhile, the F&B Manager herself arrived with a fleet of waiters bearing trays of food (much more than I needed - but oh well!) and when my guests started arriving, Ferdinand greeted each of my guests with glasses of champagne and ensured that everyone had plenty to eat and drink the entire time - I got to enjoy my party and guests without lifting a finger! Afterward, he tidied up - between he and my room steward you'd have never known that there was a party there that afternoon.

 

I've also attended private ensuite parties on that and other HAL cruises where waiters have served everything from Champagne and Hors d'oervres like my party, to Banana and Strawberry Daquiris where they set up bar w/ blenders in the dressing room of the Deluxe Suite, and handed drinks to guests as they entered the party!

 

The thing that has impressed me the most about the waiters on HAL who have provided these "private" services is that they have never shied away from these types of duties or had to "ask permission" from somebody or another to stay and spend the time serving: they see that a guest has a need, they ask permission to step in and take care of it, and they fulfill the need - that simple.

 

Now aboard MSC Opera, it was a completely different story. Ordered Champagne and nibblies for our sailaway party in one of the top suites that faces forward overlooking the Bridge - but the waiter simply dropped off the bottles and tray of food and disappeared. Gail/Tuggers and I ended up raiding the nearby butlers pantry ourselves for another ice bucket and ice (to chill the bubbly) and glassware!

 

Just a word about HAL Concierge Services: Although they were only available to PH and SA/SB/SC Deluxe Suite passengers in person and on the phone via the Neptune Lounge, Superior Veranda Suite (SS/SY/SZ) passengers can now access the same services via a phone concierge (located in an office behind the Front Desk) The concierge will help you arrange parties, make dinner reservations in the grillroom, spa appointments, shore excursions and private tours - generally act as point of contact for anything you need throughout the ship (they arranged for my jacuzzi-tub and medicine cabinet door to be repaired on the Noordam inaugural as well as get my shareholder's credit posted to my shipboard account!)

 

Hope this helps, Jana!

[Jana]

Thanks to all of you who have responded. (Brian, did you ever see my note to you on the Musica inaugural thread???)

 

I have been butled twice. The first time was on Regent Navigator. My dad had recently passed away and I wanted to do something nice and pampering for my mom. We didn't use him too much, but the few times we did, it was really sweet. He made my mom her first "dirty" martini, and set up dinner in our suite one night, full table service. Plus, he was GORGEOUS, possible son-in-law material (I'm always, always looking, LOL). I would have taken him home in a heartbeat.

 

The other time was on Norwegian Spirit. I wasn't in a suite but I was the first journalist to be aboard after it transferred from Malaysia to the U.S., going from Superstar Leo to Norwegian Spirit. (Its a wonderful, beautiful ship). The standard cabins are tiny, really, really tiny, so imagine my surprise when, on the second day (first full day,) these two incredible butler guys tried to wheel in an entire room-service table (that didn't fit) with a hot breakfast! They told me they were "mine" for the week, and we decided that if I got anything from them we'd scrap the rolling table and do it via tray.

 

Since I was alone --and not in a suite-- I really didn't use them for anything but I was really impressed with their professionalism, willingness to help, and impeccable service. The responses I've received from NCL guests mentioned these two guys again and again.

 

Jana

[gizmo]

Hi Jana,

 

I have absolutely no need for a butler. The concierge can handle excursions and anything else I might need. I don't need a special butler to deliver hor d'oerves. I have had them delivered by a steward with no problem. Same goes for any room service. If Mr.Gizmo needs his shoes shined the cabin steward will take care of it. The cabin steward takes care of ice being delivered at certains times everyday. All I have to do is ask on the first day and it will be there at the time I specified.

 

I just don't see what a butler does that Hal doesn't already provide.

[bdcbbq]

I can't think of anything reason that I would need a butler while cruising or staying at a hotel. I'm so used to taking care of myself that I think it would be a waste of money. If I needed anything I'm sure the ship's staff would easily meet any of my needs. The concierge service would be nice for a special occasion or if I was traveling with a group and wanted to have a couple of small parties.

 

When I cruise, I want to be out where the action is. I don't want to eat or party in my cabin.

[mydogs]

We had a butler on the Mercury. He was very polite and almost too attentive. Sometimes I felt he was intrusive. We really liked the size of the suite but felt we could have done without the butler. One day we were on the balcony and did not hear him knock, so he stuck his head around the wall from the next balcony to announce his presence and almost gave us coronaries. We knew that cabin was vacant. So imagine our surprise. :cool: :cool: :cool:

[riz]

Hi Jana

 

I have taken 2 cruises this yesr where I had the opportunity to have a butler. The first was NCL Spirit over Christmas and the second was the NCL Sun in April.

 

The Spirit was a big disappointment. Our assigned butler Rey Dava was never to be found and never answered his phone. When we would request things ourselves we would be directed to a butler we could not find. When found he was confrontational about us calling room service directly etc etc and the experience really was not a good one. We were one of a handful of suites that had him and all were complaining....there were numerous threads about him and I was still reading complaints about him months after my cruise.

 

In April I had Rommel as my butler. He was great. I say this because he was friendly and was always looking for something to do for us. We ordered meals a few times and it was nice to have him set the table etc...but we never asked him to stay and serve. As far as packing and unpacking et etc....we weren't interested and it wasn't offered.

 

All in all the butler thing I can say I have have done it but found I can certainly do without it. I have cruised enough to know what I prefer in a line or cabin and HAL really fills that need for me.

 

I think for most the idea of a butler is great but once they experience it they realize that they could take it or leave it...I'll leave it.

[bepsf]

Jana--

 

Missed that note but went back and looked at the thread again...

 

Please feel free to e-mail me bep_sf@yahoo.com - Would love to meet you for coffee when you come to SF!

:)

[AWED23]

Brian and Gizmo have said it better than I....I too have entertained in my suite upon occasion and always have the same experience/quality service as described by Brian...The last time was just 3 weeks ago aboard the Prinsendam and just by chance Frits the Hotel manager was at the concierge desk checking on something with Rollie the Concierge when I came in to make my request for Dom P. and hors'deurves.at 5:00 PM for 6 people. Rollie made his notes and then Frits told him to add a note requesting "Bitterballen" be added on his authority because Mr. ******** likes them!......at 4:45 PM everything arrived and was set up and handeled as described by Brian....At 5:15 PM Frits arrived with a second bottle of Dom and sampled the bitterballen!....Now that is why I do not need a "Dam" butler...........PS. The second bottle of Dom P never showed up on my bill.......