Butler Service

[verodoodle]

also interested in the list. First SS coming up in Jan. my email is

verodoodle@yahoo.com

 

Thanks

Dave

[kennedyd]

I too would like a copy of the list if possible. wanderlust128@yahoo.com

We have a suite on Reflection for an upcoming cruise next year.

Thanks!

[swiss]

I too would like the butler list trunnels@huntingtonenergy.com

[jjwoben1]

Please put the list on the thread:)

[Miss SeaBee]

You will love the Royal Suite experience on Millie. If you have Nelson as your butler, you are very fortunate! He will take wonderful care of you!

[olemissreb]

You will love the Royal Suite experience on Millie. If you have Nelson as your butler, you are very fortunate! He will take wonderful care of you!

 

Which RS were you in on the Millie? We will be in 6137 (or 6135 can't remember which is the RS and which is CC) for our Alaska adventure next year. Hope Nelson will still be there!

[rburke]

Did anyone ever get a copy of the Butler List?

[Tranquil Waters]

Did anyone ever get a copy of the Butler List?

 

Did anyone send cash with their request?:D

[Gonzo70]

Just an FYI this is an old thread and the poster who mentioned the list has only posted on Cruise Critic once in over a year, and none at all in 2012.

 

Was hoping she'd respond; while I personally would not feel comfortable handing a butler a "to do" list, I would not mind handing my wife one. :D

[rburke]

while I personally would not feel comfortable handing a butler a "to do" list

 

I don't think I'd hand one a list, either, but it would be nice to know some of their capabilities. I mainly want to look at it to see some of the things that the butler is asked to do.

[TLCOhio]

Butlers are used by different people to a different extent and for a variety of tasks. There's no right or wrong or list that one can produce to say it's worth it. Just depends on the individual. Personally I book a suite for the extra space, but it is nice to have my breakfast laid out properly by the butler on a table and cloth in the morning where he becomes used to knowing what I have and adds something regular that's not there just in case I forgot to order it on the card. It's also pleasant for me to have afternoon tea, cakes and sandwiches delivered to the room in the afternoon and having a generally more attentive and interactive relationship with him rather than the room steward who makes up the room in the morning and turns down the bed in the evening. Phil

 

Gonzo70: Just an FYI this is an old thread and the poster who mentioned the list has only posted on Cruise Critic once in over a year' date=' and none at all in 2012. Was hoping she'd respond; while I personally would not feel comfortable handing a butler a "to do" list, [b']I would not mind handing my wife one.[/b]

 

Appreciate the helpful insights from Phil and the good update above from Gonzo70. Did you tell your wife about the "crack" you made regarding her and what was the reply she made to you?

 

For our Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Celebrity Solstice sailing, departing Sydney, 14 days, finishing in Auckland, we have a suite booked. A number of friends are traveling with us and they will also have suites. That could give us some good options to do some "entertaining", having a private dinner or two, etc., in our suite, etc. More flexibilities and options!!??

 

On our Silversea cruise July 2010 along the Norway coast, we did not know what to expect from their Butler concept provided to all rooms. Hype or real? Was the Butler idea as more of just a marketing gimmick?

 

Both for us and the other couple/friends traveling with us, we were pleasantly surprised and well pleased with the "reality". Initially, it was a she or Butleress. She was great and our friends there love her and how she operated and helped. Our Butler (after moved with a room technical problem) was Parai Dubhaski from India. He was also super, very knowledgeable and helpful. He had worked previously with Silversea as a waiter in the dining room before doing his training for this position. Their service, spirit and style was super excellent!!! My wife liked coffee around 4 pm and it was there in the room every day after she made one passing mention.

 

For services or needs, you could just dial the phone to page our Butler and then he or she would call right back. The Hotel Director told us the "secret" or idea with the Butler service is to have a "central point of contact" to coordinate and supervise things in order to improve satisfying customer needs and interests. Our Butler had 15 rooms under his responsibility. My verdict is that it was really a “value added”. With the Butler and most all of the staff, there was a great attitude. It was not just a fake smile and only a “HI!”. They work hard being helpful and knowledgeable. Impressive!!! We didn't have the Butler unpack or pack our suitcases. Nor, did we abuse the service by asking for too much or minor things.

 

BIGGEST BUTLER SUCCESS: We wanted to have a “pizza party” in our suite to watch the World Cup battle between Spain and Holland in 2010. How did it happen and work? Super great!!! And the game was good, too, going into overtime to get a winner. Our Butler was spectacular in arranging all of the details. Our Columbus friends-neighbors, Janet and Denny, were there, along with new friends Sharon and Issy from the Washington, DC, area. Six people worked well for a party in our suite. We started at 8 pm with egg rolls, shrimp, crab claws, chips, etc., as a warm-up, plus a tub of chilled Champagne, wine, beer, etc. Then around 9 pm, after the game started a half hour earlier, the five different pizza selections arrived along with hot dogs, cookies, etc. We could have had more food, but we were stuffed and very happy. Not only was the game good, but out our large balcony door and window, we could watch the spectacular mountains along the coast go by as we sailed south along the Norway coast. See below as proof!

 

It was food ordered off of the room service menu. The Butler handled the details and made it all come together in a very easy and enjoyable manner. Looking to do some of these "down under" fun events a few times on the Solstice as we head north up along that scenic New Zealand coast.

 

Reactions and thoughts?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 79,586 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 99,950 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

For the World Cup Championship game, Spain versus Holland on July 11, this was our “PIZZA PARTY” set-up in our room as we sailed along the Norway Coast south of the Lofoten Islands. This set-up worked well for size with six in that space. We ordered in advance off of the regular room service menu, set-up through our wonderful Butler. In place of eating in the main Dining Room, we had our food and drinks in the suite. Eight people would have been too tight for such a party in a regular suite.:

 

[Judyumcer@aol.com]

We have had butlers on Regent and Oceania. We really didn't need them. A cabin steward would of been enough. They really didn't "do" anything special for us. But, we really didn't require anything extra. We did go to a party in a friend's suite and the butler did do a beautiful job setting up the party. They also served us dinner in the suite course by course a couple of times. Ane we did have a few shrimp cocktails in suite before going to dinner. We really just wantd a penthouse suite; not butler service.

[Xcitdcruiser]

I enjoyed reading this thread - are there any more 'butler stories' out there?

[girljerk]

Really love the list idea from Bellybutton530! I would like to make an addition, on your list you might signify the things that are urgent requests. For instance, my husband uses a CPAP machine. On Royal we usually need an extension cord and some distilled water, which the ship provides. We need that request filled on the first day (or the DH might end up on the balcony, LOL).

 

We routinely sail in the OS on Royal and the concierge sends out an e-mail a week before we are scheduled on the ship. I usually send him my list of requests then. This list includes the before mentioned items and any excursions that I have not booked yet.

 

This is our first time sailing on Celebrity, so I will include those items in my list for the butler on our Celebrity sailing and a thank you tip.

[RCCL Fan]

After reading this thread, I am so hoping to get a price drop so I can upgrade to a Sky Suite. Right now it's more than double the cost of my balcony so I just can't swing it... but maybe my cruise won't sell well? :)

 

 

I KNOW!!! I started out wanting a Sky 1 for my first celeb cruise. I have the money, but man can't seem to justify in my head nearly paying twice the amount of the next category down, just to have someone "do stuff for me"

 

These comments are making me want to do it, but twice as much is too much.

[Zoey1]

Just got back last night from sailing on the Reflection, our 3rd Celebrity Cruise. Someone had mentioned Nilesh Veneker as a butler..he went above and beyond. The only request we made (which we have done in any type of room) was to empty the fridge so that we could store sodas or yogurt in there. You never had to even mention omething more than once, he was kind and caring, very informative but not "in your face" we hope to ave him again on a future cruise!

[girljerk]

I KNOW!!! I started out wanting a Sky 1 for my first celeb cruise. I have the money, but man can't seem to justify in my head nearly paying twice the amount of the next category down, just to have someone "do stuff for me"

 

These comments are making me want to do it, but twice as much is too much.

 

I understand how you feel. I had to work my husband up the ship, through Royal. We started out in what I lovingly refer to as the bowels of the ship. I was happy just to be on the ship then. Next came a porthole. In 1999, we took my daughter on her graduation trip, that meant a balcony for a family of 4. Yea!

 

I remember those days ," ...for just a couple hundred dollars more we can have an X room...". That was my common sense approach to justifying the move up to my DH. Once we got to concierge level and learned how to use the added perks, there was no going back.

 

I have seen lots of negative comments on other threads concerning butler service and concierge service. I have done both and I would never go back to doing with out. I work in a profession where I maintain a high public profile and customer service is paramount. It is my job to serve my customer and keep them happy. I take great pride in that. I care about the people I serve and want them to have a good experience. The people in my district know me by name and that says a lot.

 

Having said that, when I go on vacation, I feel the need to relax and feel special. I need good customer service to rejuvenate me. I deserve it! Do you? LOL. That's another one of my arguments to justify the move up. Guess what, I don't have to do that anymore. Clearly my logic worked. Have a wonderful marriage!

[Chrisv94]

Just got back last night from sailing on the Reflection, our 3rd Celebrity Cruise. Someone had mentioned Nilesh Veneker as a butler..he went above and beyond. The only request we made (which we have done in any type of room) was to empty the fridge so that we could store sodas or yogurt in there. You never had to even mention omething more than once, he was kind and caring, very informative but not "in your face" we hope to ave him again on a future cruise!

 

 

What suite did you have?? We will be on the Reflection this coming weekend (im counting hours, literally lol) in a Celebrity Suite.

[Zoey1]

What suite did you have?? We will be on the Reflection this coming weekend (im counting hours, literally lol) in a Celebrity Suite.

 

We were in Celebrity suite 1235. Really lovely! If you have any questions, I would be happy to try and answer them.

Wendy

[Taniamusic]

Amen to that.... Besides that, after I wear an evening outfit, I pack it away in a suitcase.

 

That is such a great idea! Thanks for the tip!