Understanding what the Butler can do

[nevadashaun]

I have one cruise with Silversea under my belt.....wonderful time and have rebook again for December. I was hoping to understand more of what the Butler can do to make the sailing better. Could some of the Silversea veteran's explain some of the functions or services Butlers should be performing or what services you can ask for......Thanks

[CASHIPman]

Well they won't go-go dance for you.:D

I've had them unpack and pack for me on trips. For the most part they seem to do that quite well as long as you give them a little bit of instruction.

[Northerncheapo]

That's a great question, Nevada. I too, only have 1 SS cruise under my belt and we were at a loss as to what to do with Arvin.

 

He always asked, "is there anything I can do" , "what do you need" and I realize now that by always saying, "no, we're fine, thank you" that we were in fact making HIS job more difficult because he couldn't antisipate our needs since we never asked for anything.

 

Right off the bat, we told him we would be low maintenance and did like our privacy, so don't worry about us. I had to laugh on the last night of cruising because he dragged out our suitcases from under the bed and wrote a note "I took the liberty of washing your luggage since they had a few scufs on it". LOL...now, THAT is service!

 

He did take care of our laundry, served us breakfast in our suite a few times, and helped with some internet issues. Would love to hear everyone else's answer.

[turnip eater]

That's a great question, Nevada. I too, only have 1 SS cruise under my belt and we were at a loss as to what to do with Arvin.

 

He always asked, "is there anything I can do" , "what do you need" and I realize now that by always saying, "no, we're fine, thank you" that we were in fact making HIS job more difficult because he couldn't antisipate our needs since we never asked for anything.

 

Right off the bat, we told him we would be low maintenance and did like our privacy, so don't worry about us. I had to laugh on the last night of cruising because he dragged out our suitcases from under the bed and wrote a note "I took the liberty of washing your luggage since they had a few scufs on it". LOL...now, THAT is service!

 

He did take care of our laundry, served us breakfast in our suite a few times, and helped with some internet issues. Would love to hear everyone else's answer.

 

Silversea arranges for everyone's suitcase to be brought out and cleaned...nothing to do with having a butler.....I suppose they like to have clean luggage to deal with;)

[Northerncheapo]

Oh really, Turnip? I had no idea, I just thought Arvin was looking for 'something' to do, LOL. Thanks for that!

Anita

[weretired]

glad I'm not the only 1 who wants to know how to enjoy the benefits.:)

[turnip eater]

Oh really, Turnip? I had no idea, I just thought Arvin was looking for 'something' to do, LOL. Thanks for that!

Anita

 

You'll just have to go on more SS cruises.....:D The butlers do vary, from ones that you never see to others that hover outside your door.:eek:

[ging466]

Silversea arranges for everyone's suitcase to be brought out and cleaned...nothing to do with having a butler.....I suppose they like to have clean luggage to deal with;)

 

That did not happen on my recent cruises. The only time my suitcase moved was when I pulled it out myself...my suitcase is white and definitely shows the dirt!!

 

Whilst I really liked all my butlers, none of them offered to pack or unpack for me. On the days of embarkation and disembarkation they seemed to be so flustered...probably packing other passengers' suitcases:) It just seem so much easier for me to do it myself.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[meow!]

Years ago, they used to have a pair of cabin attendants (one senior and one junior) working as a team for 15 cabins. A year and a half ago, they changed that to one butler and one attendant, still for 15 cabins. Now the attendant does all the cleaning while the butler does everything else, from booking restaurants to ordering room service, anything reasonable and "included". The butler is basically your contact person for everything.

[Northerncheapo]

Meow, is the ratio different if you're in a more expensive suite or is it like that for all cabins? thanks.

 

Turnip, yes, I really do need to go on more SS cruises :)

[meow!]

It was twelve Silver suites per butler/attendant pair. We don't know about the higher ups.

[Emtbsam]

It was twelve Silver suites per butler/attendant pair. We don't know about the higher ups.

 

Gosh - that hardly seems fair to the poor person who has to clean the Silver suites. 12 Silver suites is comparable to 24 Veranda suites in square footage. Granted there are only 12 bathrooms, but it does seem like a lot more work.

[Herman The Cat]

I have one cruise with Silversea under my belt.....wonderful time and have rebook again for December. I was hoping to understand more of what the Butler can do to make the sailing better. Could some of the Silversea veteran's explain some of the functions or services Butlers should be performing or what services you can ask for......Thanks

 

I certainly underutilize our butler. I'll try to be more specific in terms of tasks.

• Unpack and pack suitcases
  
• Deliver extra towels, hangers, etc.
  
• Polish shoes
  
• Arrange for laundry and dry cleaning
  
• Make dinner reservations
  
• Be on call for any questions or items you need
  
• Restock or refill mini-bar
  
• Ice
  
• Serve food (meals, snacks) or drink (champagne anyone?)
  
• Arrange for insuite parties--invitations, organizing, serving
  
• Draw bath
  
• And of course...polish the silver! ;)
  

[KaraokeQueen]

Although this may seem trivial, one thing our butler did daily was to clean the screens of our electronics (laptops, IPads, IPhones) and also our eyewear, which added up to 10 different items. He also polished every pair of shoes we had in our closet. All this was done without requesting. I have to say the level of service we received could spoil a person.

[Foodiejudy]

That sounds fantastic! Is there a limit to the beverages you can request in your mini- bar? For instance, can I request a specific wine that is not crazy expensive? First time on SS this September and cannot wait.

[Randyk47]

Our first, and pretty much our last, conversation with our last Celebrity butler went pretty much like:

 

Butler: "If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask."

 

Us: "We'd like to arrange having coffee, juice, and croissants delivered to our cabin at 7 AM every morning."

 

Butler: "I don't do that."

 

Us: "OK. How do we do that?"

 

Butler: "You'll have to find the room steward and ask him."

 

Us: "Who is our room steward?"

 

Butler: "I don't know. He'll probably come by sometime and introduce himself."

 

Us: "We also have some dry cleaning we'd like done. How do we arrange that?"

 

Butler: "That's not my job. You'll have to talk to your room steward."

 

Us: "Can we arrange for fresh ice every afternoon?"

 

Butler: "That's not my job. You'll have to talk to your room steward."

 

That's paraphrasing but pretty much the gist of the conversation. We didn't book Silversea because of the butler, been there, done that on Celebrity and he was useless. It's somewhat encouraging to read this thread, maybe our experience will be different this time. :)

[Stumblefoot]

It's somewhat encouraging to read this thread, maybe our experience will be different this time.

Here's how your Butler experience would have gone on SilverSea I imagine.

 

Us: "We'd like to arrange having coffee, juice, and croissants delivered to our cabin at 7 AM every morning."

 

Butler: "Yes sir Mr. Randy. I will arrange that with room service right away. May I ask, would you prefer regular or decaf coffee? Also, what is your juice preference? And, finally, would you enjoy jam, jelly, or marmalade with your croissants?"

 

Us: "We also have some dry cleaning we'd like done. How do we arrange that?"

 

Butler: "I can take care of that for you right now if you would like. Are there any items that you would like to wear this evening?"

 

Us: "Can we arrange for fresh ice every afternoon?"

 

Butler: "It would be my pleasure to take care of that for you. Is there a particular time you would like your ice refreshed?"

 

Have a great time on your cruise!

[Randyk47]

Here's how your Butler experience would have gone on SilverSea I imagine.

 

Us: "We'd like to arrange having coffee, juice, and croissants delivered to our cabin at 7 AM every morning."

 

Butler: "Yes sir Mr. Randy. I will arrange that with room service right away. May I ask, would you prefer regular or decaf coffee? Also, what is your juice preference? And, finally, would you enjoy jam, jelly, or marmalade with your croissants?"

 

Us: "We also have some dry cleaning we'd like done. How do we arrange that?"

 

Butler: "I can take care of that for you right now if you would like. Are there any items that you would like to wear this evening?"

 

Us: "Can we arrange for fresh ice every afternoon?"

 

Butler: "It would be my pleasure to take care of that for you. Is there a particular time you would like your ice refreshed?"

 

Have a great time on your cruise!

 

That sounds great! We're not demanding people. My paraphrasing really runs along the lines of the things we like or ask for on a cruise or at a resort. We certainly don't sit around in our cabin dreaming up "butler challenges" just to see how far we can push the limits. :) As for our Celebrity butler....interesting fellow who really started coming by a lot the last couple of days of the cruise. No auto-tipping on that cruise so we really got the idea that he was fishing for his tip at the end. Considering we decided his motto was "Nothing is too good for my passengers....and that's exactly what they get." :rolleyes: our tip was in lines with his attitude though, in all honesty, he did get basically the minimum recommended amount. :) The saving grace on that cruise was our room steward who was fantastic and ought to have been a butler...a fact we pointed out in our cruise comment sheet at the end of the cruise and was reflected in our tip to him.

[Herman The Cat]

That sounds great! We're not demanding people. My paraphrasing really runs along the lines of the things we like or ask for on a cruise or at a resort. We certainly don't sit around in our cabin dreaming up "butler challenges" just to see how far we can push the limits. :) As for our Celebrity butler....interesting fellow who really started coming by a lot the last couple of days of the cruise. No auto-tipping on that cruise so we really got the idea that he was fishing for his tip at the end. Considering we decided his motto was "Nothing is too good for my passengers....and that's exactly what they get." :rolleyes: our tip was in lines with his attitude though, in all honesty, he did get basically the minimum recommended amount. :) The saving grace on that cruise was our room steward who was fantastic and ought to have been a butler...a fact we pointed out in our cruise comment sheet at the end of the cruise and was reflected in our tip to him.

 

I think the interesting distinction here is training and professionalism. I think Celebrity (which I have cruised with before) may train their butlers. Silversea sources their butlers through the Guild of Professional English Butlers, which is an international organization that trains and certifies professional Butlers. Our Silversea butlers, and a few others we met onboard, had actually worked at some butler-intensive resorts such as the Barj Al Arab in Dubai. Perhaps Celebrity, and other ships that have butlers, take their most service-oriented staff and make them butlers. That being said, experience is such an individual thing, and I am sure there are those who have had butlers on Silversea ships that did the minimum required. But ours have always gone out of their way to be helpful yet unobtrusive. I also believe they take their cue on service from the guest.

[Herman The Cat]

That sounds fantastic! Is there a limit to the beverages you can request in your mini- bar? For instance, can I request a specific wine that is not crazy expensive? First time on SS this September and cannot wait.

 

I have requested certain types of wines in the room -- i.e., I would like a California Chardonnay, not a South American one -- but I have never requested a certain vineyard (I would like Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay). However, of course you could request Grey Goose instead of Absolut vodka. But I think the wine (vineyard) changes frequently on the ships.

[meow!]

Our first, and pretty much our last, conversation with our last Celebrity butler went pretty much like:

We had been on Celebrity several times. One butler was just like what you described, but on another voyage, the butler was so good that we ended up giving him double the recommended tips. So it depends a lot on the particular person you happen to get.

 

Our butler last November/December on the Spirit was new, and he admitted that it was his first contract with no prior experience, and he was being trained on the job (not Silversea's presumed "experienced" butler). He was nice enough, and got our restaurant reservations, etc. done. He did forget a number of things, and had to be reminded several times, such as changing shower caps and toiletries (might be the cabin attendant's job, but the butler would still be responsible for following through). Not excellent, but he generally did his job.

 

We felt the previous senior/junior attendant pair system was more cozy, while the new butler/attendant system was more formal. Some pluses and minuses both ways.

[Randyk47]

If there was one thing that bugged us on Celebrity, again before auto-tipping, was the pretty obvious attempt by the staff, from our butler to a couple of bar personnel, to press for tips the last couple of days. About the only people who didn't do that was our waitress in the main dining room who was a jewel from day one to the last and our room steward who was a better butler than the butler. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't sense that'll happen on the Wind.

[Scotspea]

OOps wrong cruise line, thought I was on SS but must have inadvertently gone to Celebrity! :rolleyes:

[Randyk47]

OOps wrong cruise line, thought I was on SS but must have inadvertently gone to Celebrity! :rolleyes:

 

Sorry if I offended. I was trying to get some idea of what to expect in terms of butler service on Silversea. My only other experience has been on Celebrity where it obviously wasn't all that great. Doesn't seem to me that it would have made much sense to go to the Celebrity board and ask them if they thought I'd get the same service on Silversea. :D

[Scotspea]

No offence taken, just trying to inject a bit of humour. :D