NCL Butler Service Tipping Question

[tony11727]

For my next cruise in July 2013, I went all out and booked an aft suite that, to my surprise, includes a butler. The problem is, I can't seem to find a) what services I can expect the butler to provide over and above the room steward, b) what is the appropriate tip, and c) is auto tip an option.

 

On top of this, I booked through a travel agent so I could make sure that I was a good distance from other family members on the cruise. (Love them, but don't want to be on top of each other). As a result, when I've called NCL to ask a question, they won't answer and will revere me to my travel agent, who isn't much help.

 

Any advice from some more experienced cruisers?

[Krazy Kruizers]

You should really ask your questions on the NCL board.

Whenever we have a butler on any cruise line that has them, they will bring your breakfast to you if you order cabin service. They will take care of delivering laundry if you send out anything to be washed, pressed, dry cleaned. Some will even unpack your suitcases and jelp you pack at the end of the cruise.

We also use a TA and for ordinary questions we can call ship services to ask questions for HAL.

[jimswims]

There has been a lot of discussion about the butler and concierge services on NCL. The best thing is to come over to the NCL boards and use the search function. There may be some current threads but the search function will bring up lots of discussion and hopefully a list of services. The NCL site may also have this.

 

The butler and concierge are not included in the daily service charge. The gratuity for them is extra. I believe that you can go to the Guest services desk and put this on your account. We were going to do this last time but decided to just bring the cash.

 

I will give you my personal experience with NCL butlers and concierge. We have been in several NCL suites. The butler is responsible for your in-suite dining requests. Room service for suites can consist of a hot breakfast, a great lunch, or dinner from any of the restaurants. The menus will or should be in your suite. If you order a dinner from a specialty restaurant you will still pay the cover charge but it will be served in your suite. The concierge is responsible for making your dinner reservations, spa appointments, VIP events, and also priority embarkation and disembarkation. He/she also can take you to the chocolate buffet before the other guests. I am sure that there are other things that are offered and available.

 

There are other perks and little things that seem to be unique to what the concierge and butler do that have made our NCL cruises better than any other. For instance, one concierge made it a point to come by to every dinner that we had to be sure that we were happy with our meals and service. We went to different restaurants every night and at different times so I was really surprised and impressed. One butler realized that we liked ice tea in the afternoon. Every afternoon we had pitcher of ice tea with sandwiches and fruit in our suite when we arrived back from port/pool. We never thought to ask this the first time. Our next time on a cruise we asked the butler for this and he was very happy to provide this for us. The butler also delivers daily afternoon treats like chocolate strawberries etc. This is usually with a note from a hotel director, captain, etc.

 

The concierge also may offer you seating in the reserved area in the theater. There is an area for suite passengers. The suite category dictates who is allowed to sit there and I read that this varies depending on the ship as some ships have more suites. We have always been invited to sit in this area. It is nice for us as we usually prefer to sit in the balcony and enjoy the shows.

 

The other person who is part of the suite team is the room steward. He/she is included in the DSC but I have found that they are the best on the ship and go out of their way to make the suite/cabin experience extra special. We have always tipped extra to him/her as well.

 

Finally, a suite perk is the breakfast, lunch in Cagney's or other restaurant for suite passengers. This may not be a big deal for some but I personally loved going to a breakfast in a quiet area where the served french press coffee and attentive service. The team there gets to know the passengers and it feels personal and a nice way to start the day.

 

Sorry for the long rambling. You may have known all this already. Hopefully some of this may be helpful to you. Enjoy the suite life of NCL :)

[Keith1010]

As mentioned, for all NCL specific questions the best place to post is the NCL cruise line board.

 

Also, remember one of the benefits of a TA is to let them run down things for you. So, if you can't get an answer to something on the NCL Board ask your TA to find out for you.

 

Keith

[CruiserBruce]

The NCL board is here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

[rvsullivan]

You could have had NCL make the same arrangement to keep you away from your family!! One of the downsides to using a TA with NCL is you have to make all your contact and or questions through them. NCL is paying them a commission to handle all your needs. If they are not performing, fire them. You can switch you booking back to NCL unless your TA has a penalty clause?

 

Rule of thumb, butlers handle in suite requests and concierge handles out of suite requests. Both need to be tipped individually as they are not part of the DSC. Depending how much you utilize them, it seems that many suggest for two people, $10 per day per person for the butler and $5 per day per person for concierge. Enjoy!!

[SMerritt]

"Finally, a suite perk is the breakfast, lunch in Cagney's or other restaurant for suite passengers. This may not be a big deal for some but I personally loved going to a breakfast in a quiet area where the served french press coffee and attentive service. The team there gets to know the passengers and it feels personal and a nice way to start the day."

 

On Check-In day you are escorted to the above for a wonderful and relaxing lunch while you wait for your suite - Cagney's is a great way to start your day!

[tony11727]

Thank you all for your responses, they were very helpful. I don't know why I didn't think to post directly on the NCL board. I guess sometimes the most obvious things aren't all that obvious!

[jimswims]

"Finally, a suite perk is the breakfast, lunch in Cagney's or other restaurant for suite passengers. This may not be a big deal for some but I personally loved going to a breakfast in a quiet area where the served french press coffee and attentive service. The team there gets to know the passengers and it feels personal and a nice way to start the day."

 

On Check-In day you are escorted to the above for a wonderful and relaxing lunch while you wait for your suite - Cagney's is a great way to start your day!

 

Yes:D! The ability to be escorted on the ship as the first passengers to Cagney's is really nice. This year our butler came to the pier and got us and brought us to our suite to put our carry-on's away then to Cagney's for lunch. This was all before 12:00.