We booked a sky suite!! Butler questions.

[traveljule]

We booked a sky suite on the Mercury sailing next April! :D Now comes my second favorite thing to do (the 1st being cruising:rolleyes: ), planning and thinking about our cruise! We have never had a butler before and I was wondering what to expect from their service. Also, do you tip as you go, each time they do a service, or tip at the beginning or end. How much should we budget for tipping a butler for a 7 day cruise? Most likely we will have breakfast in our cabin and definately cocktails and wine.

Thanks from all you Celebrity pros out there!!

Julie

[KaraokeMusic]

For tip information take a look at this site;

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

Dick

[Luxuriate]

For tip information take a look at this site;

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

Dick

 

Thanks for attaching this link!

[raudacruise]

We booked a sky suite on the Mercury sailing next April! :D Now comes my second favorite thing to do (the 1st being cruising:rolleyes: ), planning and thinking about our cruise! We have never had a butler before and I was wondering what to expect from their service. Also, do you tip as you go, each time they do a service, or tip at the beginning or end. How much should we budget for tipping a butler for a 7 day cruise? Most likely we will have breakfast in our cabin and definately cocktails and wine.

Thanks from all you Celebrity pros out there!!

Julie

 

Tip at the end of the cruise. And Celebrity allows you to get the tips charged to your shipboard account that you sign up normally with a credit card. You get a voucher the last night of the cruise that you put in the butler's envelope. You can add more but if you want it to be less you need to contact them. Also, you will have other folks looking for tips and as mentioned TP's calculator is a good tool. All of the other folks you can also charge to your shipboard account.

 

If you are planning on getting off the ship (which I'm guessing you will) you can get cash at the casino with no service charge (again, against your ship account). The ATM adds about 3% plus whatever your bank charges - don't use it. But don't spend all of your cash in the casino either ;).

 

Hope this helps.

[chrismch]

Just returned from a cruise with SS cabin. Per Celebrity, the charge is 3.50 per day p.p. which can be automatically paid from your sea pass card. You can also add extra on your own - they do leave envelopes in your room. You do not tip the butler each visit like you would for room service. That is their job to provide all the room service you need outside of cleaning the room - which is the cabin attendant's job. The butler will bring meals to your room, prepare the coffee table (which raises up to chair level)with a tablecloth and set the dishes and utensils and food. He/she will pick up the dishes when you call to have them removed. You will also have afternoon tea service which you personally choose from their assortment of goodies cart. The evening appetisers are a pre-arranged medley of 2 sets of 3 appetisers unless you request otherwise in advance. The butler can also unpack for you, provide you with complementary shoe shines and arrange for specialty dining or set up spa treatments (both at your expense - not free) if you don't want to make the call.

[dkjretired]

Additionally, you will still have a room steward/stewardess who should also be tipped.

[STUR]

We Injoy The Sky Suite There Is A Sugested Tip For The Butler And Room Steward

 

We Give The Butler And Room Steward A Little Extra At The Begining Of The Cruise $20.00 Each And Tell Them What We Expect And Eleve Me It Pays (they Bend Over Backwords And Are Avaliable For Every Beck And Call)

 

Stur Dayton,ohio

[Donnaluv2cruise]

Our butler also arrnaged for us to get on an excursion we had not booked last minute. Also we forgot to get my husbands shirt pressed for formal night and let him know, and voila! Done in 5!

[Beth AC]

What funny timing this question has! I was just logging in to ask the same question! We booked a sky suite for the March 31 sailing (5 nights). I am more interested in what the Butler's DO??

 

Anyone stayed in room 1209 on Century?

 

thanks,

Beth

(First time Cruiser!!)

[CatServants]

The butler handles just about anything you want. Want board games? He'll get them. Want a reservation? He'll make it. Food/meal deliveries (including dinner in your SS, served course by course)? The butler again.

 

When you get to your cabin, your butler will introduce himself and give you a basic overview of what he can do for you. You'll get into the "Suite Life" pretty quickly. ENJOY!!!

 

Happy cruising!

 

Denise

[traveljule]

For tip information take a look at this site;

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

Dick

 

Love the tip calculator! Thanks for the link!

[traveljule]

Our butler also arrnaged for us to get on an excursion we had not booked last minute. Also we forgot to get my husbands shirt pressed for formal night and let him know, and voila! Done in 5!

 

So they will press your clothes?? To me that is a great benefit since I am not the best packer in the world;) .

[Jim_Iain]

Your butler does not personally press your clothes. He will arrange to have them pressed or laundered at the prevailing rate or expedited pressing fee.

[Leela]

What does a butler do?

 

Imagine a really good cabin steward, one you've really appreciated because he or she can get anything done. Now imagine that this person just handles stuff for you personally, rather than handling stuff for you personally while also having to clean your room. Add in a sprinkling of Concierge-type magic (like getting dinner reservations or shore excurions set up). That's the butler.

 

Don't be intimidated, if it helps you can think of him as a very good cabin steward who dresses up.

 

Actually, the best cabin steward I ever had was better than the worst butler I've ever had, but you get the idea. In both cases, these people are here to help you be comfortable and to enjoy your trip.

 

By the way, from time to time on other threads I've seen remarks that made me think that some people get the idea that the butler is assigned to just them. This is not the case. The butler is shared amongst the a number of suites in the same area of the ship. So no worries about him not having anything to do because you are a very laid-back person who doesn't need anything. Like all staff, he'll be very busy the whole week!