Butler Service in Suites?

[Bababooey Land]

 

2) Tipping? I like to leave an extra tip, especially if our butler is good and helpful. we will have elderly parents in an adjacent stateroom who will need a lot of butler help. Is it a cardinal sin to tip him/her at the beginning, or should we tip at the end?

 

 

We tip at the beginning, middle and end of cruise. all of course depends on the service we receive.

[dvanlinge]

So how much do you bribe, oops sorry Tip, them at the beginning and middle to give you outstanding service? My thought is they should be giving outstanding over the top service no matter if you tip extra or not. I have had butlers on Celebrity and NCL and have never tipped before the end of the cruise and have almost always gotten excellent service, then at the end I will tip according to the amount of extra care they gave.

[Bababooey Land]

So how much do you bribe, oops sorry Tip, them at the beginning and middle to give you outstanding service? My thought is they should be giving outstanding over the top service no matter if you tip extra or not. I have had butlers on Celebrity and NCL and have never tipped before the end of the cruise and have almost always gotten excellent service, then at the end I will tip according to the amount of extra care they gave.

 

iv had this "bribe" conversation on here a few times. lol

 

call it you wish. doesnt bother me. but i dont think its a bribe.

 

I am a family of 5. (at least on the last cruise). The butler goes out of his way the entire cruise, they work extremely hard. (we all know).

I feel tipping ahead of time is a gesture that I will take care of him. for all he knows, i wont tip anything at the end except the bare min. I also dont want to feel like I am taking advantage of him without tipping each time for room service, etc. When I first meet him, I give him a very reasonable list of a few items that we need for the kids and for ourselves. With this list of "work", I hand him a tip upfront. Between the breakfast he brings every morning, the snacks, milk , etc. tipping a few bucks upfront is worth it.

 

I agree in a perfect world, people shouldn't need tips to work hard. but iv noticed over the years the better tippers get extra service and extra smiles :) You need to do with what you feel comfortable with.

[dkjretired]

It is possible, so long as the appropriate cover charge is paid.

 

Have never heard of anyone doing it, as a matter of fact on this board those in suites have said it is not possible.

[scifimonkey]

Don't feel you have to tip early to get good service from your butler. We had terrific service from ours which earned him a good tip at the end but I seriously doubt that an early' bribe ' could possibly have gained us any additional favour. Be pleasant, friendly and don't treat the butler like a skivy. That will achieve far more.

No point in getting them to unpack if you have to be there as it saves no time and frankly if you have to show them where you want things you may as well do it yourself.

Let the butler book your restaurants (he always managed to get us in even when we made a really late call).

If you are lucky enough to be one of the last ships into Venice, book yourself a starboard suite and have your butler serve breakfast for the sail in. There must be other destinations where similar breakfast, lunch afternoon tea or dinner opportunities exist. Let him bring you your favourite treats at your favourite times or make sure that there is a bottle of bubbly or some beers on ice when you get back from a hot dusty excursion. Didn't think of the bath option but sounds like a smart call.

They also have a way of obtaining additional kit if you need it. There were three of us in our cabin and after making a passing comment about only having two balcony chairs ( not even a request) a third chair magically appeared. Hopefully there was not some poor soul wondering where their chair went.

As first timers on Celebrity the butler was also a font of all knowledge about the ship and had the inside track on what was likely to be busy and when and full of useful reminders about activities that might be of interest on the following day. If you prefer different nibbles or fruit types or pillows then just mention it and they will ensure that you get what you want.

Our cruise would have been great without the butler but he just added that additional bit of gloss to the experience and ensured that we booked the same ship again this year.

[junetraveler2014]

We tip at the beginning, middle and end of cruise. all of course depends on the service we receive.

 

We fully agree on your way of tipping for all service provided. And disagree with all, that it is a bribe. Different strokes for different folks. I personally will do what I want!:eek: and ask no one to follow!

[Jane2357]

We fully agree on your way of tipping for all service provided. And disagree with all, that it is a bribe. Different strokes for different folks. I personally will do what I want!:eek: and ask no one to follow!

 

I totally agree with the both of you! We tipped our butler and both room stewards upfront on our last cruise, as we always do - while discussing a short list of things we would request (sheets changed every 3 days, refrigerator cleaned out, ice bucket full, cheese platter for afternoon snacks). I don't consider it a bribe but as payment for the services I'm requesting at that moment. It also lets them know that I'll reward them for extra that they do.

 

Shoot the last cruise I over-packed so badly and it was our room steward who had to heft all that luggage - the man deserved it!!!! :D

[cle-guy]

Have never heard of anyone doing it, as a matter of fact on this board those in suites have said it is not possible.

 

I've had BLU brought in and a steak from Tuscan brought in.

[Gonzo70]

I've had BLU brought in and a steak from Tuscan brought in.

 

That is more the exception than the norm and is not company policy. Sometimes they do extras when you are in the PH that is above and beyond - but in general suites are not entitled to room service from Blu or Specialties. No harm in making the request - and occasionally it may be granted (especially in the larger suites) but people should not expect that this is a common occurrence as most people have reported being told no when asking for this.

[dkjretired]

I've had BLU brought in and a steak from Tuscan brought in.

 

You are the only person who has ever reported that they could do that.

[cle-guy]

You are the only person who has ever reported that they could do that.

 

I guess I'm lucky! On my last Reflection, I had asked butler about doing dinner for 8 but using Qsine as the menu just to get a bunch of nibbles and bites, he said so long as all my guests paid the cover it cold be done. I got a terrible cold though the last 3 days and wasn't up to hosting so never did it. Butler did ask me if he should postpone to a later date but I never did do the Qsine dinner.

 

I always approach my butler in a friendly non demanding way, looking for options and always have been met with satisfactory results, except when I was told that as a solo traveler paying the single supplement in a suite, that I could dine in BLU but could not bring a guest.

 

SO they sat me at a table with an empty chair across from me to enjoy my dinner without my guest, because they said they simply did not have space to accommodate. (and yes, I understand Suite guests are not ENTITLED to BLU, but if they can make space for me, not sure why after paying for 2 people to cruise and bringing only myself, only 1 is allowed, and then forced to stare at an empty chair).

 

I would have been fine being told there was NO space (not even for me) but that I could come and stare at an empty chair while the place was supposedly booked too full (with 2 6 tops empty and several 2 tops open) I did raise this to the Hotel director who agreed with me and refunded my onboard spend and provided alternate dining arrangements on another night that I declined, as I was actually enjoying the MDR. I had told him I wanted NOTHING in return, just that that moment of dining with my new friend was ruined, and there seemed to be no reason for them to have ruined that moment.

 

I did suggest that if they intended to give me benefit of only 1 traveler after paying for 2, I'd happily accept a refund of half my cruise fare - to make my point.

 

 

I've read many replies on CC about what is acceptable and not acceptable to ask of butlers, and many stories of what can't be done. I've also received many off-line emails from CC members who frequent suites telling me not to believe all I read here, and simply ask and see what happens, and that's worked flawlessly. I've received help from TA's off line who have made calls on my behalf to help me arrange sail away party in advance. So many things are possible just for asking and by being a bit flexible.

Edited March 6, 2014 by cle-guy

[Gonzo70]

Wow, that is crazy about Blu. Sometimes people on board interpret policies way too strictly/literally and throw common sense aside. Really silly they would not let you bring a guest under the circumstances.

[wwcruisers]

I totally agree with the both of you! We tipped our butler and both room stewards upfront on our last cruise, as we always do - while discussing a short list of things we would request (sheets changed every 3 days, refrigerator cleaned out, ice bucket full, cheese platter for afternoon snacks). I don't consider it a bribe but as payment for the services I'm requesting at that moment. It also lets them know that I'll reward them for extra that they do.

 

Jane, your post made me think. Growing up in the South, I was taught that there is a difference between a tip and a bribe -- and a lady always knows when to use which! ;)

 

We do not generally tip our room stewards or butlers in advance, as we only have a couple of requests (ice and extra towels) when we meet them on embarkation day. Usually, we receive great service, and reward that at the end of the cruise with an envelope containing an extra tip and a thank-you note. We recently did a b2b (in the same cabin) on Century. I couldn't help but notice that our cabin crew were friendly and efficient on the first leg -- but, they really stepped up the service afterwards! So, maybe you're onto something, here. :cool::D

[dkjretired]

Wow, that is crazy about Blu. Sometimes people on board interpret policies way too strictly/literally and throw common sense aside. Really silly they would not let you bring a guest under the circumstances.

 

I agree in this case, its a shame they can't be as consistent in enforcement of some of their other policies.

[junetraveler2014]

So how much do you bribe, oops sorry Tip, them at the beginning and middle to give you outstanding service? My thought is they should be giving outstanding over the top service no matter if you tip extra or not. I have had butlers on Celebrity and NCL and have never tipped before the end of the cruise and have almost always gotten excellent service, then at the end I will tip according to the amount of extra care they gave.

 

The world runs on grease!

[H2OH!]

Seems like the butler handles anything, including room service.

 

That being said, can the Butler bring a special order item say off the MDR menu during Formal Night, if we aren't feeling like dressing up?

 

The reason I ask this, is on our last Oceania cruise, we just had a standard OV cabin, and it was not allowed. You had to have a higher stateroom with a butler to get anything off the MDR menu delivered. It was a bit annoying as my wife was not feeling well, and they would not budge an inch. :mad:

 

Yes they will. In january 2014 we had a CS with the 52 inch tv. On the first formal night DH wanted to watch the nfl playoff games...so much so that we turned down an invitation to the captains table and ordered dinner from main dining room. We had the premium drink package but still ordered a bottle or two of wine so we did not have to leave our fabulous cabin. It ended up one of favorite nights...together, enjoying the nfl playoffs and being together. Perfect!!

 

Hapy sailing!

[curtdesilets]

Yes they will. In january 2014 we had a CS with the 52 inch tv. On the first formal night DH wanted to watch the nfl playoff games...so much so that we turned down an invitation to the captains table and ordered dinner from main dining room. We had the premium drink package but still ordered a bottle or two of wine so we did not have to leave our fabulous cabin. It ended up one of favorite nights...together, enjoying the nfl playoffs and being together. Perfect!!

 

Hapy sailing!

 

It would be a tough call for me as well: NFL Playoffs vs a Captains Table dinner. Glad it worked out so well. Now if the ship only had TIVO, you could have done both. :D I'm sure we are in good hands with our butler.

[JEDIKNIGHT]

Bababooey……

 

I agree with you, it’s not a bribe. It’s how YOU choose to compensate someone. Thus far I’ve never tipped upfront, I do it at the end but to each his own.

 

BTW happy Baba-Birthday. You are 53 this week and I listened to your party on the radio with Robin in the background ;) As an aside, I have an 18 month old boy….and my Wife is dismayed that somehow, his nickname has become “baba-booey”….so our home is a daily house of booey-bombing.