Butler's duties?

[FoxyTerrier]

I saw this tread and was quite interested in what the Butler will do:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1635936

 

We are booked in a Celebrity Suite and I understand a butler will be assigned to us and this is our first Celebrity cruise.

 

So I will ask the same question - what tasks will he do for us and what's over the top? I don't want to over work the guy. I do not want them to unpack or pack for us.

 

Also what other perks do you get when booked in a suite? Discount in the specialy restaurants by change?

 

We have sailed HAL many times in suites but they don't have a butler service.

[Orator]

I saw this tread and was quite interested in what the Butler will do:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1635936

 

We are booked in a Celebrity Suite and I understand a butler will be assigned to us and this is our first Celebrity cruise.

 

So I will ask the same question - what tasks will he do for us and what's over the top? I don't want to over work the guy. I do not want them to unpack or pack for us.

 

Also what other perks do you get when booked in a suite? Discount in the specialy restaurants by change?

 

We have sailed HAL many times in suites but they don't have a butler service.

 

Butler service is wonderful. They will bring your breakfast and set the table. They will serve dinner in your Suite if you desire. They bring a cart of afternoon snacks. Shine shoes, take laundry and dry cleaning ans make reservations as you need them. Just ask and they'll do.

 

You receive a comp. dinner in a Specialty Restaurant of choice for each week. That means a 14 day cruise gives 2 comp. dinners

 

They are now giving Suite guests "reserved" seating in Theater, but that's not a biggie.

 

As a Suite guest you can have dinner in Blu for $5.00 per person, per day. Breakfast will be free in Blu for you. Most, not all, really love Blu. There are dozens of threads on Blu.

[Flickershot]

I'm glad my thread sparked some conversation! :D

 

That sounds awesome! I will make sure to book a Suite on my next cruise. It sounds like a lot of fun!!!!

[nobog]

I'm sorry. I just don't get the butler thing. I can (and prefer) to unpack my own clothes. I am perfectly capable of making a rest. reservation if so inclinded. I do not eat breakfast, lunch or dinner in my room. My shoes have a reasonable shine. I prefer to be left alone and don't need any coddleing. This will be contrary to many but thats OK. JK

[Texed]

I'm sorry. I just don't get the butler thing. I can (and prefer) to unpack my own clothes. I am perfectly capable of making a rest. reservation if so inclinded. I do not eat breakfast, lunch or dinner in my room. My shoes have a reasonable shine. I prefer to be left alone and don't need any coddleing. This will be contrary to many but thats OK. JK

 

I don't think anyone said you HAD to have a butler.

[Project_gal]

I'm sorry. I just don't get the butler thing. I can (and prefer) to unpack my own clothes. I am perfectly capable of making a rest. reservation if so inclinded. I do not eat breakfast, lunch or dinner in my room. My shoes have a reasonable shine. I prefer to be left alone and don't need any coddleing. This will be contrary to many but thats OK. JK

 

I'm sorry you don't "get the butler thing". It's your loss! We have never asked our butler to unpack or pack. Very few people in suites want this service so that, increasingly, our butler usually asks if we want help. The logisitics mean that it would be difficult for any butler to do this for all his guests. We have also never asked our butler to make restaurant reservations, serve lunch or dinner in our suite [we have had breakfast delivered but, other than the table cloth and presentation, this is not different to regular room service breakfast delivery] or shine our shoes. I very much prefer to be "left alone" and I am pretty certain I never been "coddled" [although I am never certain how a coddled egg differs from one that has been poached]. All I know is that our cruises would definitely be missing something if we did not have a butler. Lack of a butler has been a deciding factor in not trying some other cruise lines.

 

To answer the OP, the butler is most valued for the little things that you will not think about. For example, on our last cruise, we purchased some flowers for our suite. I had also purchased a couple of plastic vases in Dollar Tree and the flowers were just waiting for our luggage to arrive so that I could put them in the vases. When our butler dropped by to introduce himself, he noticed the flowers. A few minutes later he returned with a vase and, without any fuss, just started arranging them. When I noticed, I argued that it was embarkation day and he must be very busy but he graciously completed the arrangement and then looked after them throughout the cruise that they continued to look wonderful. On another cruise, when it came to time to pack, I noticed a screw had come loose on our luggage. I rang Guest Relations who asked Maintenance and they could not find a suitable screwdriver. Our butler noticed me trying to tighten the screw with a nailfile, disappeared and returned a few minutes later with just the right screwdriver.

 

Sue

 

Sue

[pmk515]

Nah. Forget all that. I'd rather not get a butler and then talk about how I didn't get a butler online. Much better.

[Nancyquilts]

The butler sounds pretty much like a cabin steward to me.:D

[cruiseerf]

Hey all:

 

Just off a long cruises in a large suite. Our Butler was amazing. He explained that on a ship of so many people our Solstice class ship had only 60+ suite Cabins out of 700 cabins...where people had really PAID up and deserved extra service.

 

When the Butler makes your reservations he does it with the heads of most of the venues.....They work it to get you in. We didn't prepay any reservations and had 7-8PM dining times at Blue, and all Specialty restaurants last minute. He pulled the Rabbit out of the hat many times... We never had to eat at 6 or 9pm. Our friends tried to get into restaurants and had a hard time....they were not in a suite.....It has consistently made a difference for us...on other lines as well. We believe you DO get what you pay for!

 

In room we enjoyed continental breakfast and fresh squeezed orange juice a few mornings. We skipped afternoon tea because we LOVED Cafe Bacio and spent our time there.

 

Our butler arranged 4 cocktail parties for 12+ people bringing in cheese platters, shrimps, guacamole, etc At the end the cleanup was brutal and they had the cabin ready in 35 minutes....Great team.

 

In our eyes having the butler is not about coddling, it is about making your vacation as easy and thought free as possible. Between our butler and the drink package.....we lived very well and would book butler cabins again and again...and we did :)

 

Happy Sails all.

[Lyn2005]

We are looking forward to our first suite with a butler! I should set the record straight though, just because you have a suite doesn't mean you have spent a great deal of money for it. You may have been lucky like we were to find an amazing deal on suites. Otherwise we would have been happy enough with an oceanview with veranda.

[Orator]

There are no right or wrong responses. People who cruise are different as different can be. All cruise for different reasons and desire varying levels of service. Some want lots of activity, some just want to find a quite spot somewhere. Some want to meet as many people as possible, some want to be left alone. Some question what they've never experienced, some complain about everything they've experience, some just enjoy. Hope you all have an opportunity to experience Margarito and you'll perhaps know why some enjoy just having a Butler.

[dkjretired]

I'm sorry you don't "get the butler thing". It's your loss! We have never asked our butler to unpack or pack. Very few people in suites want this service so that, increasingly, our butler usually asks if we want help. The logisitics mean that it would be difficult for any butler to do this for all his guests. We have also never asked our butler to make restaurant reservations, serve lunch or dinner in our suite [we have had breakfast delivered but, other than the table cloth and presentation, this is not different to regular room service breakfast delivery] or shine our shoes. I very much prefer to be "left alone" and I am pretty certain I never been "coddled" [although I am never certain how a coddled egg differs from one that has been poached]. All I know is that our cruises would definitely be missing something if we did not have a butler. Lack of a butler has been a deciding factor in not trying some other cruise lines.

 

To answer the OP, the butler is most valued for the little things that you will not think about. For example, on our last cruise, we purchased some flowers for our suite. I had also purchased a couple of plastic vases in Dollar Tree and the flowers were just waiting for our luggage to arrive so that I could put them in the vases. When our butler dropped by to introduce himself, he noticed the flowers. A few minutes later he returned with a vase and, without any fuss, just started arranging them. When I noticed, I argued that it was embarkation day and he must be very busy but he graciously completed the arrangement and then looked after them throughout the cruise that they continued to look wonderful. On another cruise, when it came to time to pack, I noticed a screw had come loose on our luggage. I rang Guest Relations who asked Maintenance and they could not find a suitable screwdriver. Our butler noticed me trying to tighten the screw with a nailfile, disappeared and returned a few minutes later with just the right screwdriver.

 

Sue

 

Sue

 

For some of us it is not a loss, I've had butlers on cruise ships and in hotels and it is just not my thing. I'm a simple person and I believe there are many of us out there, just not a big deal.

[pmk515]

We just wanted the larger stateroom and veranda. The butler is just the cherry on top.

[laurenvit]

We just wanted the larger stateroom and veranda. The butler is just the cherry on top.

 

this.

[RPPerkins]

We just wanted the larger stateroom and veranda. The butler is just the cherry on top.

I agree. We got upgraded to a Sky Suite and the butler comes with it. Breakfast on the balcony will be cool. Was more interested in priority tendering for Santorini.

[olemissreb]

We just wanted the larger stateroom and veranda. The butler is just the cherry on top.

 

This was us on our first =X= cruise and we've done it again for our Millie cruise next year.

 

I do have to say the Butler came in handy though when we found out my DH left his suit pants at home!! We called Theo (our butler) and found out there is a very limited stock of tuxes on board. Theo was able to get a tux for DH and everything was fine. I also loved how Theo would set up our breakfast in the mornings and then chat with us for a while about the island we were heading to - we got some great lunch recommendations from him! He was also great when it came to tea time - he remembered how we took our tea after the first day and he'd always have us steer clear of the pastries or sandwiches which just weren't up to Celebrity standards.

 

I hope we get another "Theo" on our Millie cruise!