Suite with connecting balcony-?? About service

[PDIDDYwife]

On Getaway:

 

We are booked in as aft PH with connecting balcony, sister has Forward facing PH with connecting balcony.

 

1. Will the same steward service the suite and the connecting balcony?

 

2. In your experience- is the butler service affected by the distance from the Haven?

 

thanks

PDW

[rvsullivan]

1. Probably

2. Yes

[PDIDDYwife]

1. Probably

2. Yes

 

Thanks!

 

All we really want is the daily snack when we return from an excursion.

We do not require a Cagney's meal delivered and served course- by - course.

Edited February 22, 2015 by PDIDDYwife

[sverigecruiser]

1. Probably

2. No

[AEckhardt]

The Butler service has nothing to do with your proximity to the Haven. No worries there.

[rvsullivan]

The Butler service has nothing to do with your proximity to the Haven. No worries there.

 

Of course it does. On our last cruise (Dawn), the Butler for our adjoining DOS also covered the aft suites (some of them). They were always complaining because of the length of time he took to serve them. If he was working forward, when he finished, he had to head back there, get what they wanted from around the ship and then return to the forward suites which were his primary duties. They did not have dedicated aft Butlers. Perhaps on some other ships there is an aft Butler, but not on any I've cruised on, 6 so far.

For routine things such as daily snacks, it was regular service, he scheduled his trip back there and took care of them. But their primary location was always forward.

Edited February 22, 2015 by rvsullivan

[triptolemus]

Of course it does. On our last cruise (Dawn), the Butler for our adjoining DOS also covered the aft suites (some of them). They were always complaining because of the length of time he took to serve them. If he was working forward, when he finished, he had to head back there, get what they wanted from around the ship and then return to the forward suites which were his primary duties. They did not have dedicated aft Butlers. Perhaps on some other ships there is an aft Butler, but not on any I've cruised on, 6 so far.

For routine things such as daily snacks, it was regular service, he scheduled his trip back there and took care of them. But their primary location was always forward.

 

A butler who complains is not a butler. They are an overworked waiter.

 

But yes, I agree... Last butler on Star had ALL the suites on deck 10... Fwd and aft... What's that...like 8...10 suites?

[dexddd]

On the BA (presume same on GA) at least some of the butlers were working both forward and aft. Ours did and he said the butler pantry was forward by the Haven area and they had to cart stuff back there. In all reality, you can have good or bad service in either location.

[AEckhardt]

Of course it does. On our last cruise (Dawn), the Butler for our adjoining DOS also covered the aft suites (some of them). They were always complaining because of the length of time he took to serve them. If he was working forward, when he finished, he had to head back there, get what they wanted from around the ship and then return to the forward suites which were his primary duties. They did not have dedicated aft Butlers. Perhaps on some other ships there is an aft Butler, but not on any I've cruised on, 6 so far.

For routine things such as daily snacks, it was regular service, he scheduled his trip back there and took care of them. But their primary location was always forward.

 

 

Again, that has nothing to do with the Haven. There is no Haven on the Dawn, so that had no impact on your butler service.

[AEckhardt]

Butlers are assigned blocks of suites. Their duties remain the same, regardless of your suites location. If you are having a problem with your butler not properly attending to your reasonable requests, you can take that up with concierge. Being in or near the Haven does not change that.

[GeezerCouple]

A butler who complains is not a butler. They are an overworked waiter.

 

But yes, I agree... Last butler on Star had ALL the suites on deck 10... Fwd and aft... What's that...like 8...10 suites?

 

The "complaining" was apparently by the occupants of the aft suites, about the length of time it took the Butler to get to them, given that the Butler was usually closer to the front of the ship.

IF the Butler complained about anything, it wasn't mentioned in the post.

 

But if the Butler did complain to passengers, that would indeed be completely inappropriate.

 

GeezerCouple

[Godiva830]

When I was on the BA in Aug in an aft penthouse, my butler was assigned to all the aft penthouses (12) and he would have to get everything anyone asked from the Haven area. I only know this info from him not because he complained, but bc I asked him about his job. Our last night onboard I had him bring dinner to the cabin to eat on the balcony and I had him bring all courses at the same time bc I knew he'd be running back n forth on that huge ship. 1 thing he misunderstood in what we wanted (shrimp cocktail) and he was able to get it from cagneys quickly bc cagneys is aft.

[triptolemus]

The "complaining" was apparently by the occupants of the aft suites, about the length of time it took the Butler to get to them, given that the Butler was usually closer to the front of the ship.

IF the Butler complained about anything, it wasn't mentioned in the post.

 

But if the Butler did complain to passengers, that would indeed be completely inappropriate.

 

GeezerCouple

 

You're right... I misread that.

[rvsullivan]

You're right... I misread that.

 

Yes you did. The butler never complained, the guests did. Because he was forward, he could respond to those suites in minutes or even seconds. However, when busy times, dinner for example, it is a long hike after everything is gathered up, to the rear. Not saying right or wrong, just a fact. The guest were very vocal to the concierge and to us in Cagney's when they found out we were forward. The butlers did the best they could, but just not the same. On our latest Dawn trip, each Butler had 10 cabins. Ours had forward only for this trip, adjacent Butler had forward and aft suites. They rotated cabin assignment each week to reduce the extra workload.

As I said, for routine deliveries such as afternoon snacks, there was no difference in service. Problems came at breakfast and dinner times. Seems some of the aft suites wanted many of their meals in suite and a few of the DOS and GV did too. Conflict!