Can you dismiss the butler?

[Rusty Trombone]

I really don't care for the whole "master/servant" idea. Having one just seems snooty for the sake of being snooty. Would it be possible to dismiss the butler at the start of the cruise?

[heelfan94]

You can use the butler as much or as little as you prefer. But I don't believe anyone thinks of it as a master/servant thing. It's just a job. :)

[suzie9499]

I would think that the butler would be insulted if he/she were dismissed.

[heelfan94]

OP may be laboring under the assumption that the butler is there all the time. Not so at all. The butler will bring any meals you order in, take care of laundry needs and stock your refrigerator, or so I hear. If you don't ask for anything, you won't see him/her. :)

[smeyer418]

The butlers have any where from 10-15 rooms...they are there to help you but not stay in the suite with you :)...just think of it as someone who will come when you call..not someone who stands and waits...

[sjbdtz]

I really don't care for the whole "master/servant" idea. Having one just seems snooty for the sake of being snooty. Would it be possible to dismiss the butler at the start of the cruise?

 

 

In your mind, change the term "butler" to "assistant", or "helper".

 

Your butler does these things:

 

- arranges catering for any in-suite gatherings you may have, and delivers the food

 

- arranges your breakfast in-suite (if you ask for it), including silverware and linen tablecloth

 

- delivers 'treats' which are courtesy of the various officers on the ship (all VIP customers get the same 'treat' as each other)

 

So in reality most of what the "butler" does is deliver stuff. Oh yeah...they'll deliver DVD's from the library, too.

 

There's no master/servant relationship...they're no different than if you rang room service, and asked THEM to deliver your breakfast.

 

The butler will however get to know you a little bit, and will know for example that your coffee should always be decaf, or that you like eggs benedict even though they're not on the menu.

 

Your butler also is not part of the automatic tip-pool, and relies on tips to boost their earnings.

 

"Dismissing" the butler simply eats into their earnings, and relegates them to a more servile position in society. Isn't irony great?

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

It's just an added perk. You wouldnt dismiss your wait staff or room attendant would you? It is all the same.

[Entley]

Rusty,

What cruise are you going on; if you dismiss him/her I'd like to pick up their extra time!:D ;)

[watchdiva]

Why ever would you book a suite with butler service if you didn't plan on utilizing their services????!

 

These butlers are amazing men and women and believe me, they take great pride in what they do. Many have worked for quite a few years to be promoted to butlers and enjoy making sure their guests have a fabulous cruise.

[dwrist]

I really don't care for the whole "master/servant" idea. Having one just seems snooty for the sake of being snooty. Would it be possible to dismiss the butler at the start of the cruise?

 

What makes you think it is a "whole master/servant" idea? Far from it. The people that serve as butlers have a prestigious job. They are hand picked for their service to the public. They love their jobs, would do anything for you that is within the realm of reality. They can advise you on shipboard activities, on shore activities. They can serve meals to you with elegant fashion, with a smile and not throw the dishes, flatware and glassware on the table without a thought where they are to be placed or belong. They are up there with doctors, nurses, CEO's, CFO's and have a better attitude then most of the previous mentioned careers.:D

Who's being "snooty" about the idea of using a butler?

Use the butler and come back and tell us your experience. :)

[refman]

the butler position comes with a lot of bragging rights for these crewmembers as well as a individual financial reward, i, for one would`nt take this away for them and was one of the reasons we booked a suite on NCL. why not just book a cabin without the butler service?

[7SeasLover]

Wait and see what your Bulter is all about before you send him or her away. If you don't want their services, don't use them, but they are relying on their tip which is not part of the NCL auto gratuity. It would be a shame to dismiss the butler.

[beachchick]

the butler position comes with a lot of bragging rights for these crewmembers as well as a individual financial reward, i, for one would`nt take this away for them and was one of the reasons we booked a suite on NCL. why not just book a cabin without the butler service?

 

I can't answer for anyone but myself. I should think that someone might want to have the suite for the sake of the suite itself. Even without a butler, the suites are awfully nice.

 

As for us. We had our first butled cruise last December (PoH Courtyard Villa). DH and I are pretty independent and are happy to do things for ourselves. So much so, that I got "scolded" (not actually scolded, just reminded or informed) for ordering room service on the iTV the first full day instead of calling our wonderful butler and asking him to take care of it. He said, "Please let me help you make your cruise the best; I enjoy doing my job" (words to that effect). We honestly had felt that having a butler would be no big thing for us, but we were wrong. :D

 

Our butler was always happy to bring and do the things we needed (and even some things we hadn't realized we needed). He had some helpful information about this and that (ship, ports, etc.). What a treat. We ended up enjoying our butler's company and his services very much. He was wonderful and professional and enjoyable. There was never any kind of feeling of "servant/master," but rather "professional facilitator/passenger." Of course he was respectful, but not in a "I bow down to you" way. He did, in fact, make our cruise special. And the butlers certainly are respected by the rest of the crew. It's a prestige position--no question. (And I'm thinking the tips aren't bad either--and they earn every penny of them.)

 

beachchick

[Arwenmark]

Being a Butler is a very prestige's postition. It requires schooling and training, there is no reason to think of that as a master servant relationship.

[Casshew]

Even if you don't use the butler for anything, he is still going to check on you every day, he comes with the fresh fruit, he says hello. Then on the last day him and the other butler will be around hoping for tips.

[Suesan Jean]

I really don't care for the whole "master/servant" idea. Having one just seems snooty for the sake of being snooty. Would it be possible to dismiss the butler at the start of the cruise?

 

As the other posters have stated, the Butler will NOT be at your side 24/7.

 

The Butler will be there if you request meals in your cabin, to check and make sure your cabin has been made up correctly, bring fresh fruit and other little goodies you will get from time to time....

 

A Butler is tipped seperately, at the end of your cruise. It is all a matter of how little or how much you used their services.

 

On our first cruise we barely requested anything. On our 2nd cruise, well, we did, A LOT....!!! He brought us DVD's, meals, snacks, helped out with a party I had, he was WONDERFULL....!!!:D

 

And, on our 3rd cruise in April, I expect it to be a repeat of the 2nd....:D

 

We felt that the Butler was there to make our cruise even MORE SPECIAL.... We felt pampered, but NOT spoiled..... It was lovely....:)

[Lizzzys]

This story might help you to understand what your Butler might be able to do (or not do!) for you... tee hee!

 

Deluxe treatment can deliver the unusual

By Arline and Sam Bleecker

Chicago Tribune

(MCT)

To many cruisers, the notion of having a personal butler on board is like sprouting an extra thumb — a mostly unnecessary appendage. After all, isn’t a cabin steward’s attention service enough?

On occasion, our stateroom accommodations have included butler service and, frankly, we had no idea what to do with him. Beyond asking the tuxedoed young man to make certain our cabin was stocked with bottled water, we could think of little else to request. The butler would have gladly unpacked our suitcases or done our laundry, he said, but we declined.

Our curiosity, however, was piqued. How do passengers pamper themselves with personal butlers’ services, private concierges and even excursion-desk personnel? We asked cruise lines to reveal some requests and discovered that they range from the ridiculous to the sublime.

On Regen t Seven Seas, for example, one passenger asked the concierge to have the ship turned around because, he said, “The view from my window is not very good.” Others have asked if their butler could accompany them ashore to cater to their needs in port. Obviously, there are limits to which whims can get fulfilled.

On the other hand, some Regent passengers have requested a private dinner table, set up in the ship’s galley, for a ringside seat at mealtimes. In fact, Regent does extend this privilege sometimes, but at its discretion “as a surprise” for passengers, a spokeswoman said, depending on the number of requests, itinerary and evening’s theme.

Many lines seamlessly handle passengers’ hankerings: On Oceania Cruises, for instance, one suite passenger with a ravenous sweet tooth insisted that, at precisely 2:00 a.m. each morning of the cruise, the butler deliver to his cabin a 16-inch chocolate-chip cookie-dough cheesecake and a pot of hot cocoa.

Holland A merica’s team met this challenge: One flush passenger on a three-month-long sailing carried aboard a suitcase brimming with greenbacks because, for personal reasons, he preferred paying for everything in cash. His peccadillo was drinking Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac and his wife’s was Cristal Champagne. The couple frequently hosted lavish parties for eighty or more, arranged by the concierge, and, at one, gave each guest a bottle of costly vino, a gesture that obligated the concierge to obtain several cases of wine in ports the ship visited. By mid-cruise, the couple’s lavish lifestyle depleted their cache but, according to the line, the gentleman “sent for his son while the ship was in Hong Kong to deliver (another) suitcase full of money to (him).”

Another HAL passenger, in a penthouse suite on the Amsterdam’s world cruise, was eager to catch the views from Sugarloaf Mountain while the ship was docked in Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, the mountain’s cable car was not o perational at the time. Quick-thinking personnel at the ship’s excursions desk chartered a chopper to fly her to the pinnacle.

And for that passenger’s flight home, the ship’s staff arranged for a limo, a police escort, and a crew member to accompany her (and her million-dollar jewels) to the airport, a story that even has a Cinderella ending. According to a HAL spokesperson, “Somehow, there were some sparks flying in that limo ... so hot, that she is now married to (the crew member who escorted her).”

Some passengers’ wishes even can conscript the services of normally unseen personnel, like this request on Windstar: A passenger with a penchant for frogs was smitten by the frog-shaped bread the chefs had baked for the ship’s festive barbecue night. She went to the reception desk to ask to take the bread home, which required that it first be varnished to preserve it. Mission accomplished, courtesy of the ship’s carpenter.

On super luxury lines, you’d ex pect pampering to come with the territory. But even well-heeled passengers can stretch the self-indulgence envelope. A Silversea passenger on a Silver Whisper sailing in the Med was an avid skier. When he learned that the Austrian Alps got an overnight windfall of snow, he wanted desperately to tackle the slopes. Thing is, the ship was heading to Venice. “He asked our Concierge if he could make arrangements for a private jet to fly him to Innsbruck when the ship arrived in Venice,” a spokesman told us. Upon docking, a private jet flew him to Innsbruck and, after an afternoon of skiing, whisked him back to the ship where he arrived just in time for dinner. The cost for his afternoon of downhill skiing: $50,000 — plus tip for the resourceful concierge.

Cruising is synonymous with romance, and Norwegian Cruise Lines burnished that reputation this way: During a Hawaii cruise, a penthouse passenger decided to propose to his long-time significant-other but sought to do it with flair. He consulted the ship’s concierge who creatively suggested arranging for a charter plane to take the couple on a “deluxe aerial tour of the island.” Meanwhile, at the beach near the ship, the concierge would gather branches, leafy vines and large stones to spell out “Marry me” in the sand.

And one more extravagant indulgence ended happily ever after.

[driker2]

I really don't care for the whole "master/servant" idea. Having one just seems snooty for the sake of being snooty. Would it be possible to dismiss the butler at the start of the cruise?

My wife and I have cruised with NCL many times but twice now with a suite and a butler. In fact we're going again in a suite on the Pearl in September.

 

We have never felt anything remotely like a master/servent relationship with the butler. I suppose one could create that kind of relationship if it made them feel artificially important but . . . not for us. In fact we became quite good friends with our butlers, Anshuman from India and Arnie from Manila. Great guys!

 

As others have said -- it is what you make it. The suites are terrific and I've never met a butler I didn't like. Wish I could say that about all of the pasengers sometimes.

:D

[lov2sailtoo]

I really don't care for the whole "master/servant" idea. Having one just seems snooty for the sake of being snooty. Would it be possible to dismiss the butler at the start of the cruise?

 

Everyone could use a batman, especially little boys!!

[lov2sailtoo]

...because I've two of them and they are sooo messy!!!!

[refman]

I can't answer for anyone but myself. I should think that someone might want to have the suite for the sake of the suite itself. Even without a butler, the suites are awfully nice.

 

As for us. We had our first butled cruise last December (PoH Courtyard Villa). DH and I are pretty independent and are happy to do things for ourselves. So much so, that I got "scolded" (not actually scolded, just reminded or informed) for ordering room service on the iTV the first full day instead of calling our wonderful butler and asking him to take care of it. He said, "Please let me help you make your cruise the best; I enjoy doing my job" (words to that effect). We honestly had felt that having a butler would be no big thing for us, but we were wrong. :D

 

Our butler was always happy to bring and do the things we needed (and even some things we hadn't realized we needed). He had some helpful information about this and that (ship, ports, etc.). What a treat. We ended up enjoying our butler's company and his services very much. He was wonderful and professional and enjoyable. There was never any kind of feeling of "servant/master," but rather "professional facilitator/passenger." Of course he was respectful, but not in a "I bow down to you" way. He did, in fact, make our cruise special. And the butlers certainly are respected by the rest of the crew. It's a prestige position--no question. (And I'm thinking the tips aren't bad either--and they earn every penny of them.)

 

beachchick

i totally agree