Butlers

[loosygoosy]

What have you asked them to do and what will they do?

 

 

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[Jim_Iain]

We are usually not very demanding of our butler. He will usually try to do anything to help make your trip more enjoyable.

 

Here are a couple items I have asked for.

 

Pitcher of Ice Water - he refreshed it automatically 2x a day

 

Special Dining appointment

 

Taking care of laundry

 

Morning breakfast

 

occasional afternoon cappuccino

 

Helping to host a party in suite - he set up brought nibblies and stayed around ad poured wine. When went to dinner all torn down and back to normal by our return

 

Swapped the bubbly for Chardonnay

[Project_gal]

What have you asked them to do and what will they do?

 

 

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You will get all sorts of lists posted but they are other people's lists. Your butler is there to make your cruise great for you. One person may crave a coffee first thing in the morning and another a hot chocolate when they retire at night and, a third, tea in the afternoon. None of them want all three just because that is what others have requested.

 

My advice is to think about what would make your cruise great and then discuss these things with your butler when you first meet him. He will discuss with you the best way of achieving that.

[chemmo]

Agree with last post....it is all about your wants and needs. We have never (and will never) ask for packing unpacking help, rarely dine in suite, do not need escorting to seats in the theatre. However we love our afternoon tea, enjoy a nice platter to be left to eat late at night on the balcony...

 

Making the best of your butler is all about communication....telling him what you would like but then listening to his suggestions too. Some of our nicest suite experiences have been when our butler has taken the initiative and surprised us with that little bit of unasked for service.

 

We always try to remember how busy our butler is too. If we do want to dine in suite we let him know early, if we are going to host a little sail away we let him know at least the day before....

[Mynki]

Agree with Project_Gal also.

 

Have a think about all of the little things that would make your trip more enjoyable and discuss to make your trip more enjoyable. Remember too that you also have the Michael's Club concierge on hand to also help achieve a memorable trip.

 

Don't be afraid to ask. Their jobs are to make your trip more enjoyable and in my experience they seem to enjoy helping you.

[bjahil47]

Our butler, Felix, on your cruise last month on Equinox was great. Sadly he was retiring after the cruise after ours. He brought me a fresh pitcher of iced tea twice a day and Diet Coke for my husband. He brought our breakfast most mornings. He brought us appetizers every afternoon. He kept polishing my husbands shoes (without my husband asking). He kept asking what he could. We are relatively low maintenance - we can pack/unpack ourselves, make our own dinner/spa reservations, etc. He was just fantastic.

[ClaudiaB]

Our butler, Felix, on your cruise last month on Equinox was great. Sadly he was retiring after the cruise after ours. He brought me a fresh pitcher of iced tea twice a day and Diet Coke for my husband. He brought our breakfast most mornings. He brought us appetizers every afternoon. He kept polishing my husbands shoes (without my husband asking). He kept asking what he could. We are relatively low maintenance - we can pack/unpack ourselves, make our own dinner/spa reservations, etc. He was just fantastic.

 

Felix has been our butler twice. Sadly, Celebrity's loss is the Wynn Hotel private butler service's (Vegas) gain. He set up a small party for us for a few friends we met on an excursion. That was really special.

He also polished shoes without asking. We're pretty independent and never needed much, but they're there to help you and make your cruise special. I always liked to have some fresh raspberries and strawberries so those were always in our cooler.

[writerjoe]

Celebrity Silhouette Royal Suite Butler

 

Bar set up: We had requested a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka and Bombay Sapphire Gin. We like Moscow Mules, so our butler kept the bar stocked with ginger beer and fresh limes. Also San Pellegrino, Evian, Stella Artois and Diet Coke were stocked daily.

 

Bedding: We requested 2 extra pillows and an extra blanket to be used when one of us decided to sleep on the balcony lounge.

 

Breakfast served in the room: cappuccinos and smoked salmon eggs benedict (not on the menu) daily. Along with fresh fruit and pastries.

 

Laundry: Because we had been traveling for a month we had a lot of laundry. Our butler had us leave two large piles of clothing: laundry and dry cleaning. He told us he'd fill out the paperwork. Everything was done to perfection.

 

Late night snacks: We stay up late so our butler always arranged either a shrimp cocktail or cheese plate to be left in our refrigerator. Also a plate of cookies and milk.

 

Technology: Our butler had our ipad connected to our living room television.

 

Orlando was fantastic and attentive. We hope to have him again.

[dthomaso]

Is the butler assigned to only one cabin or do they have multiple cabins to service?

[Project_gal]

Is the butler assigned to only one cabin or do they have multiple cabins to service?

 

Multiple suites.

[Rascal1]

we prefer the butler to leave us alone and if we need him/her we will ask. It's normally the case that they are surprised by how little we ask of him/her and don't seem to believe us when we say we don't need/want anything. I suppose I'm that used to doing stuff at home and if I want a coffee/drink/food I like the excuse to go and see what's happening on the ship. I feel uncomfortable with others doing things for me that I can do myself. But appreciate that's just us and that's the beauty of cruising you can do it how you prefer which is what the butler service is meant to be, personalised around what you want/need.

[marsda]

We are in an aft Sky Suite on the Eclipse this January.This is our first suite (although we have had Junior Suite before) with a butler, and I am more curious than excited about the experience. I am wondering about how the hosting of small parties actually works. Is that available for Sky Suites, or just the larger suites? Are there any additional charges for items served at a small party (wine, bar, etc), or is it already included? If you request breakfast served in the room is it like room service being delivered on a tray, or do they set up the table on the balcony or bring in a table to the suite? I am assuming the Sky Suites are the smallest square footage assigned in the suite category. We have 26 cruises completed, but find ourselves feeling like newbies with the suite experience. Any advice is appreciated!

Marsha

[wrk2cruise]

When you order room service the butler will set the table with a tablecloth and arrange all the food/drink ready for you to sit down and enjoy. Very enjoyable on the balcony.

 

I think the key for hosting a small party would be to discuss with the butler a day or 2 before. My understanding is they can supply some small things like cheese plates or other cold goodies but any drinks or hot food would be a charge. I personally would do a special tip to the butler for doing any special party and amount would depend on how much he was able to do.

 

The room/balcony is not real large in a sky suite so I would recommend keeping invite list to 6-8 max.

[conquesodor]

Interesting thread. Thanks for sharing. Maybe one day I'll cruise with this level of service, but for now I can afford and happy to get a standard veranda cabin. :-)

 

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[ridge4]

We just returned from our first experience in a suite, on Eclipse. I am now utterly spoiled.

 

Arnel, our butler, was wonderful. On mornings we had breakfast in the cabin, he served it for us. We were in a S1 and it had a table which could be raised or lowered to a comfortable height for two, one sitting on the sofa and one in a chair. You could also chose to have it on the balcony. He brought me my specialty coffee with breakfast. Not having to troop down to Cafe del Bacio in the early a.m. was great.

 

At our request, he emptied the mini-bar, and kept the fridge stocked with Coke Zero (for me) and Coke and root beer (for hubby). He noticed my husband brought a handful of M&M peanuts to the cabin one evening, and thereafter we received a large bowl of them, replenished when it ran low.

 

My husband hurt his knee on an excursion, and Arnel fussed over him like a mother hen, bringing loads of ice day for the swelling, bringing him little tidbits, and checking on his comfort. He rigged up an arrangement of the life jackets for hubby to keep his knee elevated, and an ice bag.

 

You can request your favorites from the canape tray each day to be repeated rather than cycling through the selections.

 

One morning we had an early excursion, and were just getting ready for bed the night before when we realized we had not fetched beach towels. One call to Arnel and they were delivered at 6:30am.

 

The butlers can really make the trip special with those extra touches.

[rockdoctor]

When my wife was ill, she encouraged me to continue taking shore excursions. The butler checked on her several times during the day. It was a great relief.

[chemmo]

We are in an aft Sky Suite on the Eclipse this January.This is our first suite (although we have had Junior Suite before) with a butler, and I am more curious than excited about the experience. I am wondering about how the hosting of small parties actually works. Is that available for Sky Suites, or just the larger suites? Are there any additional charges for items served at a small party (wine, bar, etc), or is it already included? If you request breakfast served in the room is it like room service being delivered on a tray, or do they set up the table on the balcony or bring in a table to the suite? I am assuming the Sky Suites are the smallest square footage assigned in the suite category. We have 26 cruises completed, but find ourselves feeling like newbies with the suite experience. Any advice is appreciated!

Marsha

 

General rules seem to be cold items and fruit juices free, hot items and alcohol at additional cost. Remember, however, you can bring two bottles on board with you. On our last cruise when we were hosting at sail away we just asked the butler to put the champagne we brought on board on ice....