Role of the Butler

[garycarla]

That wait for ice was WRONG. I probably would have stuck my head out in the hall and gotten some from another steward - unless they were all off as well.

 

Online checkin and boarding passes - if I did that, it would be the concierge. Actually, we never do that as we get them when we check our bags at the airport.

[dlynn0366]

I have done three NCL cruise's with NCL, the first in a Haven Spa and the last two in a DOS and I'm booked in a DOS on the Gem Mar 2015. I ask only one thing of the butler and that is the first day for an iron for a couple of hours. I still tip $150 for the week and because I don't ask the butler for anything simply because I don't need anything he or she is quite often at the door asking me if I want something :)

[OceanDreaming2]

Our concierge was wonderful as was our steward! The butler was okay but certainly not good, great or even excellent.

 

Jorge needs more training.

 

We had fun and we will cruise again.

 

The butler reports to the concierge. If you had any issues with Jorge, you should have mentioned it to Karin.

 

Also, Karin should have approached you about printing your boarding passes or any incidental items throughout the cruise.

[L3GWG]

We always travel in suites and never had a bad experience. Butlers are not personal to one suite and always do what the can to accommodate if possible but the are not personal servants . There are always room stewards in corridor who can get the ice,for you. Printing boarding passes, are you real, go to Internet cafe and do it yourself or one of your group.

I always treat people as I would like treated myself , did you do that?

In my head you have no right of complaint , if I was the butler would I have the right of complaint against the passenger..........

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[goldmom]

I think the OP has a right to feel a bit disappointed. We've asked our Butler for extra ice and he always brought it without any problem. Yes, the boarding passes would be through the Concierge though we usually just do it ourselves in the Internet Cafe.

 

If you go by the general rule of thumb that the Butler takes care of everything in the cabin and the Concierge takes care of everything out of the cabin, then getting ice (or at least arranging for ice to be delivered) would fall under the Butler's duties.

 

I think the OP just had a Butler who fell short. We've always had amazing Butlers and I'm sorry that the OP's experience wasn't as special as it should have been. If what the OP was asking for didn't fall under the Butler's duties, then he should have referred her to the proper person.

[KateQ22003]

I've been in the OS in the Sky with my third time coming up.

 

*What suite were you in so I can check the toilets first!!!

 

*I guess I can't be upset about the ice if you didn't tell him you were having guests. He most likely delegated that task to the room stewart.....who was probably quite busy!

 

*I'm glad Karin is still the Concierge! She is a joy! I would have discussed Jorge's performance with her and she would have taken care of his lack-luster abilities. I know that if I have him in 5 weeks, and he treats me like this, there will be a discussion with Karin and not a very big tip!! :(

 

*Otherwise, how was the cruise?

 

Why should you have to tell the butler what the ice is for? You want ice. Period. If you want to bathe in it, what does it matter to the butler? I would be mad if I didn't get ice for hours, guests or no guests.

[david_sobe]

It goes to show everyone can have a different suite experience on different ships. The butler has never brought ice to any of the suites I have stayed in. Every day the house keeping person would ask me what time to bring ice or tell me that it was filled. I believe they wheel around an ice chest with their cleaning stuff and fill ice during the evening turn down. I don't believe the butler handles everything related to the cabin. They don't clear the fridge or fix toilets. House keeping not only cleans the cabins but also reports broken things in cabin. On Epic the sink and shower were messed up with spewing only scalding hot water. The butler was not involved in this at all. The requests such as maintenance or the lounger example I used earlier that I made to the butler, I was always told to call house keeping. And they were fantastic butlers. So I think it is unfair to call a butler lazy or bad just because they stick to their role and don't go outside the scope of the job.

Would you call housekeeping to deliver lunch? I think not. Then would you call the housekeeping person lazy for not delivering lunch? Would you call the concierge to iron your clothes?

You get the point ;)

Edited July 13, 2014 by david_sobe

[SeaShark]

Next time, report him to the concierge. If things don't change, notify the HD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The butler reports to the concierge. If you had any issues with Jorge, you should have mentioned it to Karin.

 

Confusion over the specific job duties of either the butler or the concierge is behind many threads here on Cruise Critic. Getting correct information out there simply benefits everyone.

 

Reporting the butler to the concierge is NOT good advice...the concierge is NOT the butler's supervisor.

[KateQ22003]

It goes to show everyone can have a different suite experience on different ships. The butler has never brought ice to any of the suites I have stayed in. Every day the house keeping person would ask me what time to bring ice or tell me that it was filled. I believe they wheel around an ice chest with their cleaning stuff and fill ice during the evening turn down. I don't believe the butler handles everything related to the cabin. They don't clear the fridge or fix toilets. House keeping not only cleans the cabins but also reports broken things in cabin. On Epic the sink and shower were messed up with spewing only scalding hot water. The butler was not involved in this at all. The requests such as maintenance or the lounger example I used earlier that I made to the butler, I was always told to call house keeping. And they were fantastic butlers. So I think it is unfair to call a butler lazy or bad just because they stick to their role and don't go outside the scope of the job.

Would you call housekeeping to deliver lunch? I think not. Then would you call the housekeeping person lazy for not delivering lunch? Would you call the concierge to iron your clothes?

You get the point ;)

 

My butler always brings ice whenever I ask for it. Not sure if that's his "job", but he has always been perfectly willing. I do think anything inside of the cabin is his responsibility, but obviously not maintenance issues..

[goldmom]

It goes to show everyone can have a different suite experience on different ships. The butler has never brought ice to any of the suites I have stayed in. Every day the house keeping person would ask me what time to bring ice or tell me that it was filled. I believe they wheel around an ice chest with their cleaning stuff and fill ice during the evening turn down. I don't believe the butler handles everything related to the cabin. They don't clear the fridge or fix toilets. House keeping not only cleans the cabins but also reports broken things in cabin. On Epic the sink and shower were messed up with spewing only scalding hot water. The butler was not involved in this at all. The requests such as maintenance or the lounger example I used earlier that I made to the butler, I was always told to call house keeping. And they were fantastic butlers. So I think it is unfair to call a butler lazy or bad just because they stick to their role and don't go outside the scope of the job.

Would you call housekeeping to deliver lunch? I think not. Then would you call the housekeeping person lazy for not delivering lunch? Would you call the concierge to iron your clothes?

You get the point ;)

 

While I agree with your point. I also think that the Butler would be your first point of contact for a problem in the cabin. As a passenger I may not know specifically which department to call for a problem. The Butler should be able to assist you and tell you who to call.

We had a situation once where a bird flew into our cabin. I didn't know what to do and called the butler. He sent a crew member to catch the bird.

As to getting ice from the butler, we went back to the cabin late afternoon and all our ice had melted. I called the butler to ask for ice. He not only brought the ice, but brought a champagne bucket of ice which he had the steward fill everyday so we'd always have plenty of ice. Maybe he was just a really good butler! LOL!

[Fishbait17]

OP has a right to be disappointed, not so much in the requests, but definitely in the attitude of the butler. The things they asked for May not have been the butler's responsibility, but he should have directed them to whomever would be responsible for taking care of it.

 

OTOH, many of the requests could have been taken care of quickly had they been directed to the correct personnel. While we have never requested BPs from the concierge, we know they could take care of it if asked (perhaps at a cost if need be). For room repairs, we call housekeeping or the front desk. As for the ice, we have a serious ice addiction lol - can never have enough ice! On day one, we ask the steward for our champagne bucket to be kept filled, knowing that ice is generally only filled after the morning and evening room cleanings. We often have a small cooler that we keep filled as well. But on occasion, we will return from a port day to bowls of melted ice, and simply check the hallways for stewards to fill the ice for us - they are usually nearby and often the ice chest is right there in the hallway (we don't fill it ourselves unless they have the plastic gloves handy). Op's butler should have informed the steward to fill the ice, without question, but sometimes things just slip by or are forgotten, not necessarily ignored. (The butler may have been in the middle of taking a large dinner order from another cabin or serving a cocktail party for someone, it happens). In that case, being proactive, looking for a steward, calling the butler back to remind him, whatever, is called for. If everything else done well, it's just a simple error, no big deal. Unfortunately, it sounds like the OP had only three requests and they were all handled poorly.. Bad luck and with a butler who sounds either sub par or was not feeling well or who was run ragged that particular sailing.

 

Robin

Edited July 13, 2014 by Fishbait17

[cruise4kicks]

Reporting the butler to the concierge is NOT good advice...the concierge is NOT the butler's supervisor.

 

Hate to disagree, but the butlers now report to the concierge. Not sure when that change was made, but it was true in February/March on the Getaway, according to Anoop Bhanu.

[OceanDreaming2]

Reporting the butler to the concierge is NOT good advice...the concierge is NOT the butler's supervisor.

 

Perhaps I have misunderstood all these years. Just who do the butlers report to, if not the concierge?

[ks]

Perhaps I have misunderstood all these years. Just who do the butlers report to, if not the concierge?

 

Last year we were in a 2-BR Suite on the Epic. We always request ahead of time that the sparkling wine be replaced with non-alcohol wine. The 2nd evening we realized that the 2 bottles of sparkling wine had not been replaced. Our assigned butler was off duty so we asked the Night Butler to replace the wine. (It was about 7 P.M.) His reply was "It's a gift and cannot be replaced." My response was "I will call Anoop, the concierge and ask him if it is possible." His new response was "I will take care of this right away." Within a short time he arrived with 2 bottles of non-alcoholic wine and took the sparking wine away. I am not sure if the butler's report to the concierge but just mentioning that I would call Anoop caused that butler to accomodate our request.

Edited July 13, 2014 by ks

[dexddd]

Absolutely! I said i was not referring to the OP- I was agreeing with David Sobes post and expanding.

George/ Jorge sounds like he needs a vacation himself,,.

 

However- he may not have known about the boarding passes. We have ALWAYS been approached by the concierge, even the least friendly of them, and received our passes. Never have I printed my own or had to ask in my cruising memory since 2001. DCL, NCL, RCL., multiple suites each line.

 

And as for the toilet- I would not have waited. Period.

 

We've never had anyone ask about boarding passes on NCL. To us, it doesn't really matter much though as it really isn't that big of a deal to do it at the airport.

Edited July 13, 2014 by dexddd

[SeagoingMom]

Wow. For someone who has not yet cruised in a suite, but hopes to some day, this entire protocol seems way too complicated. It appears that I would be paying for three (count 'em -- THREE) people to serve me (concierge, butler, steward), yet I would have to know exactly whom to ask for what, and if I asked the wrong person, I would either not get service in a timely manner, or get no service at all. This doesn't sound like the "suite life" I imagined. It seems as though it's the passengers, not the staff, who are the ones who need training to figure out how to get the services they are paying for. All the explanations/apologies/excuses presented on this thread about why passengers don't get the service they ask for, though undoubtedly reflective of reality, simply diminish the value of the high cost of a suite.

 

I don't understand pax who are happy to pay for a particular level of service and equally happy to make excuses for the cruise line when they don't get the level of service they paid for. Many then go about giving all kinds of explanations to other pax about all the valid reasons why they also should not expect to receive the services they, too, have paid for! Sometimes they even blame the passenger for not getting the service they paid for because they "asked the wrong person" or "expected too much." The mind boggles.

[triptolemus]

It's not that complicated, really. What you're seeing here is not the norm. The norm is a very seamless experience between those three roles. When you ask any of them for something, it just gets done.

 

You are reading about an anomaly. Squeaky wheel gets the grease...and all of that. More people complain than praise, particularly on the internet...remember?

[paulsurf]

This was simply a case where " the butler didn't do it "

[SeaShark]

Perhaps I have misunderstood all these years. Just who do the butlers report to, if not the concierge?

 

For most guests (IOW, non-suite guests), their needs are to be handled through the Guest Services Department (which many times involves standing in line at the front desk).

 

Obviously, NCL would not want suite guests standing in line at Guest Services, so their needs are addressed by the butler and/or concierge. Not surprisingly, the butler and concierge are part of the Guest Service Team and they report directly to the Guest Service Manager...same as the folks at the front desk.

[OceanDreaming2]

For most guests (IOW, non-suite guests), their needs are to be handled through the Guest Services Department (which many times involves standing in line at the front desk).

 

Obviously, NCL would not want suite guests standing in line at Guest Services, so their needs are addressed by the butler and/or concierge. Not surprisingly, the butler and concierge are part of the Guest Service Team and they report directly to the Guest Service Manager...same as the folks at the front desk.

 

Interesting. Thanks.

[ncklhaus]

For most guests (IOW, non-suite guests), their needs are to be handled through the Guest Services Department (which many times involves standing in line at the front desk).

 

Obviously, NCL would not want suite guests standing in line at Guest Services, so their needs are addressed by the butler and/or concierge. Not surprisingly, the butler and concierge are part of the Guest Service Team and they report directly to the Guest Service Manager...same as the folks at the front desk.

 

Hey SeaShark! :)

Can you contact me please? :D

I need your help with a Meet & Greet. :eek:

JoAnn dot nickl at yahoo dot com

Thank you so much!

[SeaShark]

Confusion over the specific job duties of either the butler or the concierge is behind many threads here on Cruise Critic. Getting correct information out there simply benefits everyone.

 

Reporting the butler to the concierge is NOT good advice...the concierge is NOT the butler's supervisor.

 

Hate to disagree, but the butlers now report to the concierge. Not sure when that change was made, but it was true in February/March on the Getaway, according to Anoop Bhanu.

 

 

Just to follow-up on the above....

 

 

Since the specifics of the job duties of both the butler and concierge are frequent topics on this board, I recently asked for...and received...copies of the actual job description/specification for each of these positions.

 

These documents indicated that the GSM (Guest Servies Manager) was the direct supervisor for both the butler and the concierge...thus my original statement above.

 

Based on BeckyThane's reply, I sent an inquiry off to get clarification on the issue. My source has confirmed exactly what BeckyThane posted. A change has been made: the butler now reports directly to the concierge, the concierge then reports directly to the GSM.

 

LoveMyButler and OceanDreaming2 were/are correct....reporting the butler to the concierge IS good advice. I retract my statement from Post #33 as it is not accurate. :o

[OceanDreaming2]

Just to follow-up on the above....

 

 

Since the specifics of the job duties of both the butler and concierge are frequent topics on this board, I recently asked for...and received...copies of the actual job description/specification for each of these positions.

 

These documents indicated that the GSM (Guest Services Manager) was the direct supervisor for both the butler and the concierge...thus my original statement above.

 

Based on BeckyThane's reply, I sent an inquiry off to get clarification on the issue. My source has confirmed exactly what BeckyThane posted. A change has been made: the butler now reports directly to the concierge, the concierge then reports directly to the GSM.

 

LoveMyButler and OceanDreaming2 were/are correct....reporting the butler to the concierge IS good advice. I retract my statement from Post #33 as it is not accurate. :o

 

Thanks for following up and for posting the clarification.

[NayRN]

Our concierge was wonderful as was our steward! The butler was okay but certainly not good, great or even excellent.

 

Jorge needs more training.

 

We had fun and we will cruise again.

 

Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed the cruise otherwise! I'll be sailing in an OS in about a month......I'll make sure to follow through with any requests if he's our Butler! ;)

[cadien]

We always travel in suites and never had a bad experience. Butlers are not personal to one suite and always do what the can to accommodate if possible but the are not personal servants . There are always room stewards in corridor who can get the ice,for you. Printing boarding passes, are you real, go to Internet cafe and do it yourself or one of your group.

I always treat people as I would like treated myself , did you do that?

In my head you have no right of complaint , if I was the butler would I have the right of complaint against the passenger..........

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Complaint against the passenger because they didn't know what the butler was and was not responsible for? NCL provides very little information about that on their website. If you don't frequent this specific forum, and certainly no one is morally obligated to, there's no way to know. Unless the butler clarifies. Doing THAT is part of their job. Not performing those extra tasks. Providing the information when asked.