Butler services?

[wesnliz]

Booked a haven and apparently it comes with butler service. What does that entail? Would love to know what you have had them do or what they can do.

[sjbdtz]

And concierge....

[wesnliz]

I would be interested to hear about both but definitely have a better idea as to what the concierge does

[tumblew467]

The butler's job is to take care of all of your needs and requests within your suite except for cleaning which is done by a cabin steward. The butler will help you unpack and pack your luggage,( if you like) keep your suite stocked with beverages, deliver food and beverage orders, serve you breakfast, lunch & dinner if you prefer to have it in your room, deliver afternoon snacks.

The concierge will make specialty restaurant reservations, book shore excursions, provide reserved seating in the theater, and provide information of all onboard activities.

 

off of the haven site:

Freestyle Cruising® begins the moment you book your vacation. Our Elite Pre-Cruise Concierge will arrange your dining, spa and entertainment requests before you even

set sail.

you can call the concierge desk number for assistance: 1855-625-4283 M-F 9A-9p EST

 

They will email you a generic type of form for the type of pillows you would like, extra towels, coffee selections etc.

[Kingofwylietx]

Here is a nice thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1437066&highlight=butler

[tumblew467]

here is the site for ncl and the haven

ncl.com/welcomethehaven for info

[Loucat]

They are clear about who does what.

The butler ensures all stateroom needs are met; checks on you twice a day. If you want movies; he gets them.

Will unpack etc but I will do that!

Delivers afternoon treats and replaces glasses and their coffee machine gizmo needs.

He did organize our closet as I guess he thought that was needed!

He also is the one who brings you to your suite when you board.

NCL has the best suite service of all lines we have sailed!

[albertamom]

We love the suite life!

 

The butler services that we enjoy the most are the daily afternoon snacks, supplies for the Lavazza coffee machine and personalized room service a few times (pretty much anything that you want from any restaurant on the ship, with the appropriate fee charged for entrees from the Specialty Restaurants).

 

The more that we cruise, the more that I think the Concierge is even more valuable. We are extremely appreciative of priority disembarking. On port days, he/she will whisk you to the front of the line as people are leaving the ship. If on an NCL excursion, you can meet your group on the pier, instead of sitting through the group gathering in the theater. On your final day, just tell your concierge when you would like to be off the ship, and he/she will tell you where to meet and you'll be escorted off (again, right to the front of the line). Priceless! :D

 

Enjoy!

[wesnliz]

I've seen a couple of people mention afternoon snacks/food. What kind of afternoon snacks?

[wesnliz]

Also, I've seen people say they dine in their rooms (breakfast / dinner etc.) But it says in room dining not available in all havens. What's the difference or am I misinterpreting it?

[jjikids]

I've seen a couple of people mention afternoon snacks/food. What kind of afternoon snacks?

 

You can request what you like otherwise different platters ,we got canapés, chocolate covered strawberries, little sandwiches, fruit, cheese and crackers, cakes, chocolate chip cookies.

[DMH15]

I've seen a couple of people mention afternoon snacks/food. What kind of afternoon snacks?

 

They vary. Savory to sweet. Mini sandwiches, canapés, chips and salsa, nuts, cheese and crackers, choc covered strawberries, cookies, brownies, cream puffs, confections, etc. if you mention which you prefer a good butler will bring that.

 

Last year on the Sun our butler Teresa brought my diabetic mom a plate of sugar free treats and another for me that were not sugar free.

[wesnliz]

What about hot breakfast and other meals in an aft facing haven?

[Leavethekidswithmom]

I've seen a couple of people mention afternoon snacks/food. What kind of afternoon snacks?

 

 

They had a snack menu for suites that they did away with years ago. You just let your butler know what you like, M&M's, cookies, certain fruits. A good butler will pick up on what you like the first day and keep you well stocked. Also make sure you let him know you are going to take care of him on the last night. As for in suite dining, I'm not sure what kind of table they have in a H6 on the Epic. You can order anything from any restaurant, your butler will deliver it to your suite.

[Medtech2]

I never did get any of the pillows I requested ahead of time with the pre-concierge and none when I asked on board. I was particularly disappointed not to get a reading wedge.

 

I did however get over 30 plums when I said that I liked them, which was way too much and went to waste.

 

We got pretzel roll BLT's, cheese trays, veggie trays and he somehow found peanut M & M's after first telling us "No."

 

Also after saying "No" he gave us wine when we said we did not want the bubbly stuff.

 

Once he saw I liked the chamomile tea for the Lavazza a whole drawerful appeared. Try that over ice! Best ever!

 

In fact he brought so much food we skipped dinner several nights because I was raised not to waste things and it drove me crazy. I asked him to stop and actually stopped him at the door one day and would not let him in. He looked like he was about to panic.

 

When I could not turn on our jetted tub I called him and he got it working (while I stood there in my bathrobe).

 

We also drove him crazy because we would turn on the Do Not Disturb light and then forget about it and leave. Meanwhile he could not enter or call so could not do his duties and would pounce when he saw us in the hallway. We really did not need him to keep waiting around like that but he insisted so be mindful of your Do Not Disturb light. On the other hand he would just walk in if we didn't have it on...

 

He showed up the last morning really early to carry our bags to the exit, even though we wanted to wait until the last minute. I would like to think it was because they had to turn around so many cabins (Getaway) and not because he wanted to get rid of us lol.

[lester81]

We have stayed in the 2 bedroom Family Suite twice, non Haven, and both trips we were able to order Specialty Dinning to our room for dinner. It was perfect as we would put the kids to bed and then be able to have a nice dinner in our room. The butler takes and brings your order. Sets table with linens, etc. We also ordered Cagneys breakfast and lunch to our suite with the same service. There is also a suite breakfast menu which we ordered from every morning as just easier with little kids.

 

You can pre-order items to your room so it's all there upon arrival. Milk for the kids, buckets of beer, bottles of liquor, water bottles, etc.

We have loved our suite experiences and just booked another for next winter:)

[amcb]

You can pre-order items to your room so it's all there upon arrival. Milk for the kids, buckets of beer, bottles of liquor, water bottles, etc.

We have loved our suite experiences and just booked another for next winter:)

 

This is very intriguing. We understand the challenges of traveling with little ones and the idea of being able to have milk or juice available for the kids when we arrived sounds fabulous! How did you go about pre-ordering? We will be in a penthouse suite in May on Pride of America.

 

:-) amcb

[NYteacher]

This is very intriguing. We understand the challenges of traveling with little ones and the idea of being able to have milk or juice available for the kids when we arrived sounds fabulous! How did you go about pre-ordering? We will be in a penthouse suite in May on Pride of America.

 

:-) amcb

 

You can try pre-ordering via the pre-cruise concierge, but I have heard that is hit or miss. You can just tell the butler when you arrive that you'd like milk and juice and he/she will provide them fairly quickly.

[tumblew467]

What about hot breakfast and other meals in an aft facing haven?

 

There is an in suite menu you can pick from or tell him what you want and he will bring it for you.(Pretty much anything you want they will get and if they can't they will tell you)

You can get meals from the specialty restaurants if you would like , you pay for the up-charge on them.

Have them deliver the specialty menus or MDR menus to your room so you can see if there is anything on them you would like.

We were in the aft penthouse last year and it was wonderful. I had breakfast 3x that week delivered. I ordered off of the suite menu and it was plenty. Enjoy the suite. You'll love the views and the service. In fact we are booked on the breakaway 5/10 same aft suite. Can't wait.(the only down fall is the long, long walk to get to the haven)

[tumblew467]

Oh forgot to mention you have a doorbell for the suite.

[tommyboyCAN]

If you have UDP, and want to dine in your suite, to have to pay the service charge?

[Demonyte]

If you have UDP, and want to dine in your suite, to have to pay the service charge?

 

The butler has never been covered by DSC so the changes with gratuities with speciality dining have not affected that in any way - you should take in-suite dining in account when tipping the butler just like before.

[tommyboyCAN]

I actually meant the speciality dining fee. If you eat from Cagneys in your room, is that fee waived just like it would be if you ate at the restaurant itself.

[lester81]

This is very intriguing. We understand the challenges of traveling with little ones and the idea of being able to have milk or juice available for the kids when we arrived sounds fabulous! How did you go about pre-ordering? We will be in a penthouse suite in May on Pride of America.

 

 

 

:-) amcb

 

 

We used the pre- cruise concierge both trips and it worked wonderfully. Our first trip I called and ordered, our second we ordered via email. Keep in mind if you sneak to your room before they are technically ready it may not be there but certainly will be after lunch! I would recommend heading to Cagneys for lunch which is where you are usually escorted to lunch upon embarkation.

 

We ordered breakfast to our suite all but once per cruise. The suite menu offers full breakfast and you can request additional items not listed. With little kids, one in particular who is very picky, we asked for strawberries, peanut butter, Cheerios, etc that weren't listed but received every time.

[Carnac767]

If you have UDP, and want to dine in your suite, to have to pay the service charge?

 

 

We did not on Gem.