Butlers For Everyone

[john12268]

 

SILVERSEA SET TO EXPAND BUTLER SERVICE

TO ALL ACCOMMODATIONS ABOARD ITS FLEET

(Ft. Lauderdale, FL -- March 18, 2009) Luxury travel innovator Silversea Cruises is raising the bar in personalized service with plans to feature butlers for all guest accommodations aboard its award-winning fleet. The enhanced service will be phased in gradually over the coming months.

The line's newest all-suite ship, Silver Spirit, will feature butler service in all accommodations when launched in December.

"By expanding the butler service, we're essentially elevating the qualifications and caliber of our hospitality staff to ensure we continue to deliver a guest experience of unsurpassed quality," said Christian Sauleau, executive vice president of fleet operations for Silversea. "Our butlers come to us from some of the world's finest hotels and grandest homes, already highly trained in the art of recognizing guest preferences and anticipating their needs, ever attentive yet in the most unobtrusive manner."

Sauleau added, "Each butler, assisted by a suite attendant, is empowered to troubleshoot problems and provide special service touches, if desired by the guest -- for example unpacking and packing clothing, facilitating a dry cleaning request or preparing a scented Jacuzzi bath -- ultimately creating a suite environment where one can relax and feel totally cared for."

As the complimentary butler service rolls out to all accommodations, it will join an already expansive array of all-inclusive amenities available to Silversea guests, including a premium assortment of wines, champagne and spirits served throughout the ship, all gratuities, and on select sailings, the Silversea Experience®, an exclusive shoreside event. All accommodations are ocean-view (most are suites) and feature Pommery Champagne upon arrival; fresh fruit and flower arrangements; selection of European bath amenities; fine bed linens; premium mattresses; choice of pillow; plush robes and slippers; personalized stationery; 24-hour room service; in-suite beverage cabinet stocked daily on request with guest's selection of wines, spirits, bottled water and soft drinks; and twice daily suite service with turndown nightly.

Currently, complimentary butler service is available in the top-category accommodations -- Royal, Grand and Owner's Suites. In the coming months, it will be rolled out to Silver and Medallion Suites as follows:

-- May 7: Silver Wind

-- May 17: Prince Albert II

-- May 19: Silver Whisper

-- May 30: Silver Cloud

-- June 7: Silver Shadow

Butler service will then be extended to all accommodations on all ships as follows:

-- September 21: Prince Albert II

-- October 9: Silver Cloud

-- October 24: Silver Whisper

-- November 9: Silver Wind

-- December 2: Silver Shadow

Silversea Cruises is recognized as an innovator in the luxury segment, offering guests large-ship amenities aboard its intimate, all-suite vessels: Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper -- and launching in December, Silver Spirit -- all designed to offer an atmosphere of conviviality and casual elegance. With the addition of the regal expedition ship Prince Albert II, the company's itineraries encompass all seven continents.

In the U.S., Silversea has been voted "World's Best" by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler (nine times) and Travel + Leisure (seven times), and rated Number-One luxury cruise line by high-net-worth consumers in the 2008 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI). International awards include "World's Leading Luxury Cruise Line" from World Travel Awards (2007) ; "Five Star Diamond Award" from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences (2009); "Number One" small-ship line in the Readers' Choice" survey conducted by Britain's Condé Nast Traveller magazine (2007); "Best Luxury Cruise Line" by Spain's Cruceros & Destinos magazine (2008); "Best Luxury Cruise Line" by Australia's Luxury Travel & Style Magazine (2009); and "Best Luxury Cruise Operator" according to Asia's Travel Weekly (2008).

# # #

 

For more information on Silversea Cruises, please contact a travel agent.

For a complimentary brochure, please call toll-free (877) 215-9986 or visit http://www.silversea.c

[meow!]

All those ships have a pre-determined (before construction) number of staff cabins/berths. So there can be no substantial increase in the number of staff personnel (unless they convert some guest cabins to staff cabins). So there is no room to house additional staff.

 

The way it has been for years, there are two cabin attendants working in pairs, one junior and one senior. My guess is perhaps they are going to rename the senior attendant a butler, or rename their (first line) supervisor a butler. Give those reclassified staff members some additional training, and tell them to perform some extra duties, and that will be it. Am I right?

[WesW]

Meow, believe you're right, heard from another knowledgable cruiser early this a.m.

he suggested to implement this new Butler initiative, they may have to cut back on stewardesses, have the wait staff work butler shifts or butlers working in the bars. IOW, he suggests there will be juggling of uniforms and staff. However, I like SS is adopting new initiatives to try to set themselves apart from their competition. Proof will be in consistency of service delivered.

[sw18]

Whilst I, and from what I gather, the stewardesses like the current "double act" arrangement I do think this will set SS apart from similar lines. If the concept is as well executed as it is for Queens Grill suites on Cunards QM2 it should work well, but only with similar staffing levels.......the girls on SS look after a lot of suites under this system & do a great job - to bring all these extras in will need a sizeable increase in numbers.

 

I don't need my bath drawn, my luggage unpacked or other trivial tasks - but I do like having a dedicated point of contact/trouble shooter who can deal with alternative dining arrangements, impromtu pre dinner cocktails pre dinner etc etc

[wripro]

The reason is won't work like QG on Cunard is that there is a fundamental difference between the service you receive from your steward on Cunard and what you can get from your stewardess and room service on Silversea. On SS room service is delivered by wait staff, your stewardess will perform pretty much anything you request. ON Cunard you need the butler to accomplish these requests. IMO there is no need for a butler on SS, and yes, they are trying to set themselves apart. However, they are also putting themselves in the same category as Azamara now. They also have butlers for every cabin but it's all in the uniform, not the function. I suspect the same will hold true on SS.

[Jade13]

However, they are also putting themselves in the same category as Azamara now.

 

How is that? We are scheduled to be on Azamara next year, but thought it was the upper end of Mass Market, no?

[freddie]

"Our butlers come to us from some of the world's finest hotels and grandest homes, already highly trained in the art of recognizing guest preferences and anticipating their needs, ever attentive yet in the most unobtrusive manner."

 

While I think this is an interesting announcement, which, one hopes, will presage even better service on Silversea, Sauleau's description of the butlers is rather preposterous.

 

Full disclosure here: we have never cruised in a buttled suite, although we will be doing so later this year on Regent Voyager from Rio to Ft.L. However, we have talked with many people on our Regent and Silversea cruises who have had butlers, as well as read loads of posts and reviews concerning butlers. I don't recall anyone suggesting that their experience was anything close to having their own personal "Jeeves". Geez, after all, how many of the "world's finest hotels and grandest homes" are in Manila?

 

Please understand that my last comment was not in the remotest sense intended to suggest that the butler staff is not a great group of dedicated people. However, it's just absurd to suggest that they are something right out of "Upstairs, Downstairs". Frankly, that is good, considering that the social divides of that system were pretty repugnant.

 

It would be so refreshing if Silversea would avoid such idiotic hyperbole, just as it would be if Regent would drop its self-annointed "Six-star" status, which just comes back to bite Regent in the hindside whenever something is not up to that silly level of promised quality.

 

We'll be pleased if our butler on Voyager can just get us decent nibblies with cocktails; and we won't give a fig whether he or she has ever set foot in a fine hotel or grand home. Lordie, we certainly haven't!!

 

Cheers, Fred

[dougburns]

We've had a butler 3 times on Regent ships. We'd rather have a good stewardess. We have found the butlers to be rather poorly trained and, with 1 exception, to be real amateurs. On our Nov Shadow cruise there were 2 stewardesses handling several staterooms together. I would suspect that butlers on SS will service several staterooms just as they do on Regent. It remains to be seen whether this change will be a good thing or a bad idea.

[oregon50]

Butler staff will be from India, which would match the press release description. One pinay stewardess per suite. Get rid of caucasian crew and the entire mix changes. Bring back the European bar staff or I'm jumping ship. I really miss sitting at The Bar five hours every evening.

[duct tape]

Please feel free to do so. I can't imagine that after 5 hours at the bar every evening that you are still sitting! Cheers!

[DebbieH103]

I have not done a butler suite on a ship, but we stay in butler suites at Sandals all the time. Those butlers are trained by the butler guild, whereas it looks as these won't be. The one thing we enjoy the most from those trips (11 of them so far with butler) is the packing and unpacking. I guess I will experience it in December on Wind. If it works like the butler service we are used to, lots of people do not want anyone touching their stuff, so there is not a big issue there. I imagine there are still going to be those issues. I know people that won't even leave the cabin while the stewardess does the room due to lack of trust. There will be people that don't want to impose and people that almost take advantage. I see this as something that will require tweaking, as does every new feature.

 

We did a Medallion suite on Silver Whisper in 12/07, and we received the canapies every night, but it was always whatever they decided to bring. Sometimes, it was not to our liking, and other times it was.

 

Obviously, not that many cabins have jacuzzi tubs, so they won't be doing that for everyone (unless we are all going to other people's cabins). I am thinking it won't be too much for them to handle.

 

The troubleshooting point of contact is something Regent could well learn. Not because they are worse than SS but because they are bigger, so of course more people have issues. I think in my Christmas cruise blog, I wrote that people walk up to anyone on staff and expect them to handle anything or at least call someone. At least if the expectation is they go to their butler/liason, perhaps a few disappointments will be eliminated. Bravo to SS for trying this.

[wripro]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with Debbie. AFAIC, these butlers are nothing more than a marketing gimmick, just like Cunard's "White Star Service" which is anything but! On SS you can get practically anything you want from either your stewardess or room service, except for packing and unpacking, which I doubt more than one percent of people will use. And trust me, SS knows this. So they can dress up a few people in Butler's uniforms and they will be doing they same thing as other staff can do, and market it as a difference between them and the other luxury lines.

[billcrooz]

right on wripro; no question your room stewardess will take care of just about everything; i cannot think of anything they can't or won't do for you. A better idea for SS would be to hold of all the mailings they have been sending lately almost on a daily basis and incorporate this into a savings on the tariff

[curlyQ]

Butler staff will be from India, which would match the press release description. One pinay stewardess per suite. Get rid of caucasian crew and the entire mix changes. Bring back the European bar staff or I'm jumping ship. I really miss sitting at The Bar five hours every evening.

 

 

Cunard Queen's Grill accommodations are with Indian butlers too. The entire thing is over hyped and its gives a false impression of what one can expect once onboard. All he did was deliver the alcohol to the suite one time and basically stand around and chatted to me some days while the stewardess made the bed and cleaned the bathroom. The leather binder in the suite which has everything you need to know about everything had no pages, just the cover. I asked him 3 times over 3 days before he got to refilling refill it.

 

Of course the only 3 times I ever 'rang' for the butler during the day and I was informed he was 'off duty'. They would then have to page another butler who was just as bad.

 

Unless you dine in suite a lot, there is not much more they can do. Someone else on this topic said "it's all a marketing gimmick" - which it truly is.

 

I dont expect an English chap in tails with his nose stuck in the air saying "my word" - but come on cruise lines - wake up!

[njguy_south]

Seriously, one needs to know how to politely use the services of a butler. They don't just stand around looking pretty. (And not all are from India on Cunard -- and would it matter if they were?)

 

I have asked butlers to clean and polish shoes, take my suits to be brushed (not dry cleaned, but good old-fashoined brushing), to assist in wheeling my mother to the dining room in her wheel chair, return an item to the ship's shop, pick up my watch order from the jewelers' shop, arrange for selected clothes to be taken away and cleaned (and returned to my closets and dressers without my involvement), make ship-board arrangements, put thogether cocktail parties and deliver invitations (or arrange to) to guests for those parties, have my maill stamped and sent without my having to go to the desk myself, and the list goes on.

 

One needs to know how to employ the butler. Once he or she knows you mean business, believe me they will work their tail off for you. If they suspect that you will not be demanding on their time and services, they will (like many employees) shirk their duty. Above all, while being firm, one needs to be genuinely repectful and kind.

 

I find it demeaning and degrading to call a butler a renamed steward or stewardess. They have been trained, like a true nanny has been trained, to do their job professionally.

[DebbieH103]

Thanks, njguy for this post.

[meow!]

As most of us have agreed, butlers on Silversea (other than those high suites) will be glorified cabin attendants, perhaps with some additional duties, and not a third staff member (in addtition to the current attendant/assistant pair), as the crew:passenger ratio has not increased.

 

Having said that, we had butlers only twice, on Celebrity Mercury and Century, in their minisuites, where the butlers were in addition to the pair of cabin attendants. Our feeling is a butler is as good or as bad as the person you happen to get.

 

One butler hardly did anything, and on the last night, we had a stomach upset, and asked him for gaviscon or pepto bismol. He told us that the doctor's office was closed, and to call the doctor ourselves the next day, when we would have disembarked. The other butler was very nice, changed our dining seating, sent us sandwiches every afternoon, gave us priority tender tickets (instead of lining up ourselves to get regular tickets), etc. He could facilitate things that passengers would have trouble doing by themselves. We ended up tipping him double the recommended rate.

[spook1]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with Debbie. AFAIC, these butlers are nothing more than a marketing gimmick, just like Cunard's "White Star Service" which is anything but! On SS you can get practically anything you want from either your stewardess or room service, except for packing and unpacking, which I doubt more than one percent of people will use. And trust me, SS knows this. So they can dress up a few people in Butler's uniforms and they will be doing they same thing as other staff can do, and market it as a difference between them and the other luxury lines.

It is my understanding one Jeeves will service four or five lower priced suites. In our case we'll say "hello" after the indroduction and that will be the end of our relationship.

[meow!]

, as the crew:passenger ratio .

Can someone teach me how did that "symbol" appear in my posting, and how do I get different symbols to appear within the text of a posting. When I click on the symbols list at the bottom, it will only appear on the title line

[Host Dan]

Can someone teach me how did that "symbol" appear in my posting, and how do I get different symbols to appear within the text of a posting. When I click on the symbols list at the bottom, it will only appear on the title line

If you want other smilies in your posts, click on post Reply" not "quick reply".

 

Host Dan

 

PS How that other smiley appeared is a mystery!

[flag fan]

Can someone teach me how did that "symbol" appear in my posting, and how do I get different symbols to appear within the text of a posting. When I click on the symbols list at the bottom, it will only appear on the title line

 

There should be smiley (or frownie?) faces in a box on the right of the box for typing text. Click on one of those and an emoticon will appear in the text (like a colon and parenthese, which makes a side-ways smiling face); when you click "submit reply" (or "preview post") this will show up as a picture of a smiley face.

 

If you click on the "Post Icons" on the bottom, the symbol will show up in the Title block. These include more than just faces, but I don't think these extra symbols (thumb down, question mark, light bulb, etc.) can appear in the text.

[meow!]

There should be smiley (or frownie?) faces in a box on the right of the box for typing text. .

Somehow I don't see that faces box, is there something wrong with my computer program? Thanks

[hvsteve1]

I recall a program a few years back on the Travel Channel where they sent a team of hospitality experts to high end hotels to evaluate the accomodations and see how far they could push the staff. On one episode they boarded what was then the Raddison Seven Seas Mariner. One of the guys, playing a spoiled wealthy cruiser, complained to the butler that he always had monogrammed towels at home. When he later returned to his suite, all the towels had been monogrammed. The ship got some of their highest ratings. So, the butler does, on occassion, result in service above and beyond.

[wripro]

njguy_south,

 

What you describe is a situation with a dedicated butler, someone whose specific job is ONLY to be a butler. That is not what you will find in most of the suites on SS. If you read their own description you will see that there are additional services that butlers provide in Grand, Royal and Owner's suites. These are the true butlers. The rest of the suites will get stewardesses in different uniforms performing the same things they would anyway, with the exception of packing and unpacking. And I highly doubt more than 3% of passengers will use this service. Otherwise there would be lots of unmade beds and dirty toilets.