on the gem 12/6/08 not good so far

[maverick600]

The staff is not doing great. The butler stinks. He gives us attitude whenever we ask for anything. We are in an owners suite and got told by the butler that he cant bring us breakfast from cagneys because he has 18 other rooms to service. Terrible.

[welove2cruise232]

Sorry to hear that... hope things improve before we sail in January! Who is your butler?

 

Can you tell us anything about the entertainers on board?

[BikerAl]

I think asking the butler to serve breakfast from Cagney's is a bit over and above what I expect from our butler. He/she is responsible for 12 suites, as your were told, and breakfast time is probably the most difficult period of the day. Remember, he/she is responsible for 2 AE's stern, deck 8, 2 AC's, 1 AA forward and 2AE's stern deck 9, and 2 AD's stern, 2 AC's and 1 AA forward deck 10. It would be virtually impossible to provide service to each of these in a satisfactory manner.

 

He/she will take care of evening requests with ease, as they are much more spread out.

 

Al

[llam]

:(OH MY! So sorry about the treatment you are receiving from your butler. I hope that after you report this to the management you receive the service that you deserve and payed for. Keep us posted on how things progress. I hope that you have a great cruise inspite of this poor experiance.:)

The staff is not doing great. The butler stinks. He gives us attitude whenever we ask for anything. We are in an owners suite and got told by the butler that he cant bring us breakfast from cagneys because he has 18 other rooms to service. Terrible.

[cruzinaway]

The staff is not doing great. The butler stinks. He gives us attitude whenever we ask for anything. We are in an owners suite and got told by the butler that he cant bring us breakfast from cagneys because he has 18 other rooms to service. Terrible.

 

Sorry to hear about your issues on the Gem!

 

We were on the Gem in May in an OS and our buter Antonio was great...always had a smile, always went out of his way to get things done for us, etc. Is he still there?

 

While I sympathize with your situation, one butler cannot be two places at once. We asked for something to be delivered one night and Antonio told us he wouldn't be able to do it since another suite was hosting a cocktail party during that time. Completely understandable in my opinion. Another room steward took care of our delivery and yes, it wasn't served by "our butler", but it was still taken care of without any hassles or attitude.

 

Were you given another option for your breakfast delivery?

 

If you truly are finding your cruise to be less than satisfactory I suggest you notify management immediately. Give them a chance to turn things around for you and your family.

 

Hope you have a better time in the days ahead!

[alexkrn46]

Sorry to hear you are having this issues. We are going on in two weeks and have a CV would also find this unacceptable.

[BarbCT605]

The staff is not doing great. The butler stinks. He gives us attitude whenever we ask for anything. We are in an owners suite and got told by the butler that he cant bring us breakfast from cagneys because he has 18 other rooms to service. Terrible.

Wow, that must have been very disappointing. For the price you pay for an Owner's Suite, you should be getting top-notch service. This *includes* breakfast from Cagney's, if that's what you want!

 

Vacations are getting away from the "attitudes." That's all you need is 'tude from the butler.

 

Including some posts from other pax, something is not quite right with the personnel on the Gem right now.:(

[Zzannahk]

Is there really only one butler for everyone? On the Dawn there were 2.

[VoyageVirgin]

Perhaps it was a timing issue? - if not, speak with your concierge about it, if it's still a problem then speak with the Hotel Director about changing your butler if you're not happy with his services. It's been done before.

[VoyageVirgin]

Is there really only one butler for everyone? On the Dawn there were 2.

 

No, there's a few more butlers on any Jewel Class NCL ship - up to 6 that I can think of - and probably more.

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

Is there really only one butler for everyone? On the Dawn there were 2.

 

On the Jewel we had the 2 OS on deck 9 and we had different butlers for each.

[BarbCT605]

Is there really only one butler for everyone? On the Dawn there were 2.

If I'm not mistaken, there are a total of 4 butlers on the Dawn.

Perhaps it was a timing issue? - if not, speak with your concierge about it, if it's still a problem then speak with the Hotel Director about changing your butler if you're not happy with his services. It's been done before.

Very good advice.:)

 

The problem is if the butler really has 18 cabins to take care of, there may not be enough butlers on this cruise. 18 is too many cabins for proper service.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I think asking the butler to serve breakfast from Cagney's is a bit over and above what I expect from our butler. He/she is responsible for 12 suites, as your were told, and breakfast time is probably the most difficult period of the day. Remember, he/she is responsible for 2 AE's stern, deck 8, 2 AC's, 1 AA forward and 2AE's stern deck 9, and 2 AD's stern, 2 AC's and 1 AA forward deck 10. It would be virtually impossible to provide service to each of these in a satisfactory manner.

 

He/she will take care of evening requests with ease, as they are much more spread out.

 

Al

 

Yes but how many people actually order the breakfast set up in cabin? I can understand the OP's disappointment because of the issue with his/her services when they paid for it. Hopefully things improve.

[EileenN]

It certainly is an issue that should be address while on board and as soon as it happens, if possible. I would put a call into the Hotel Director about it and ask his opinion. Don't let it ruin your vacation, you have paid enough to have certain expectations. The hotel directors make it clear on the first sea day that if you have any concerns, please bring them to his attention immediately rather than complain or have bad feelings later. Hope it goes well for you. Let us know.

[jp2001]

While I would understand if a butler tells me he can't be there for the specific time requested because he already got other requests in that time frame, I think he should offer another time (8:30 instead of 8 for example, or ask the room service people if they could deliver it instead of him and then share his tip he would receive at the end of the cruise).

 

You pay for a butler, he should do everything he can to make sure your requests are fulfilled. Of course, his services should also be rewarded with a good tip commensurate to the services rendered.

 

If there is only one butler for 18 cabins, it's the Hotel director issue (poor management). With more butlers, they could give better service and people would tip them better at the end of the cruise. If they don't have enough butlers, they run everywhere without being able to give a good service to anyone and won't get good tips.

[Jmur728]

I would certainly take this to the hotel director. The reason you stay in these suites is to have the extra perks. It's not like you asked for miracles to happen, just breakfast from a specific location.

[Leafpeeper]

How are the seas? Wondering about weather since the Skins Golf Tournament had golfers wearing fleece in Florida. Although it does look like temps are gonna warm up. Anything is better than being in the northeast today.

[Arwenmark]

I did not get the impression they just wanted breakfast From Cagney's and the posts I have seen said Suite passengers were entitlted to eat breakfast there not have it served from there. but anyway they also want it served to them by their butler. Now if all 12 or in this case 18 cabins wanted served breakfast how exactly does One person do that?

Yes they are paying for the butler but they are also asking a bit much since it is not their personal butler with no one but them to take care of.

 

Still, if they have a problem they should take it up with the Hotel manager. and not wait out the week then complain.

[alexkrn46]

Personally, I don't care who brings my breakfast, why did this escalate to an issue, I agree poor management, hope the rest of your cruise is better.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

One of the biggest perks of having the bulter is being able to have room service from any restaurant on the ship. This was a legitimate request. If all else failed the butler should of asked a room service guy to deliver it.

[MrsLeo]

This is not an unreasonable request. In cabin dining is one of the perks offerred in these high end suites. The OP should definitely not be getting attitude regardless. The OP needs to go directly to the Hotel Director and hash this out while on board if they want this situation to change.

 

I understand the need to vent and air your frustrations, but if you bring these issues to the attention of management at the time, they often can be resolved quickly and easily to your satisfaction.

[FLbeachbaby]

Prem was the HD on the Gem a few months ago, I am sure he is there and will fix whatever is wrong. The Gem is the best run ship NCL has because of him. Now...if he's not there, then I don't know. There are at least 2 Butlers on the Gem I had the pleasure of being served by and talking to them in the Courtyard villas. Now we did have Reba on our floor and her family took up quite a bit of time, but those Butlers made sure everyone was happy even if they were working 15 hours a day. I can't help but think there is something more to this.

[Gypsea]

And why is this one butler not able to handle 18 cabins? All of the cabins on the entire ship are handled by the staff delegated to the masses in regard to room service. We are talking big numbers but truthfully I do not know how many staff.Al, do you know???? That is why (on myany lines*(( RC for example)))if you request your room service order be delivered at 8 am it may in fact be quarter of. Especially if you are on the lower decks.... they have to start them early to get the higher decks done by that same time. Then on to the next 15 minute increment. It's not socket rience people!!

 

Playing devil's advocate we can also assume the suite people may be running this poor man ragged and if he is IN FACT the only butler I doubt it's attitude so much as being short staffed for whatever reason. NCL's fault not the butler. Then again it could be the butler that can't handle 36 people. Hard to tell from the cheap seats.

 

Since BikerAl obiviously knows the drill I assume there may be a bit of "over the top expectation "afoot here...just guessing Flame Away!! Whatevs.

[Bobbye]

Since BikerAl obiviously knows the drill I assume there may be a bit of "over the top expectation "afoot here...just guessing Flame Away!! Whatevs.

 

It's not "over the top expectation" for a suite passenger. Suite passengers can have meals served in their suite from any restaurant on board. That's one of the extras I always look forward to when we're lucky enough to have a butler.