The Butler

[TEXASMUNK]

Have never had a "butler" what the heck does the butler do for you on Celebrity?

 

I drink coffee so I can't come back to work and say "My butler knew how I took my tea":o

[JNLROSE]

We had one on Mercury and Stanley would bring anything we ordered from room service to us, coffee drinks from the Cova (if he gets them they're free), set up for a cocktail party for us, brought snacks around every afternoon & then pasteries a little later, always replaced the fresh fruit bowl daily, and generally hung out & was there if & when we needed him. One time when we were returning from shore, he was walking past the x-ray machine area & grabbed all our bags & said he'd take them to our suite for us! THAT was nice! ;)

We personally would not want another butler unless we were in the PH, (which we won't be) we don't "do" a lot of room service, we love to "cruise" the ship and we just don't like to be bothered. We'd prefer the larger suite without a butler and have the use of a concierge lounge instead. Just our opinion! :D

[bryanjaync]

very interested in this topic. Sending my parents on a 10 day Zenith cruise in suite with butler. For example, my dad loves ice tea (he's a southerner), can they ask the butler to have a pitcher of tea and ice available in the room ?

[idssms]

The butler makes an excellent experience outstanding!!

 

They are at your beck and call for the duration of the cruise right up to you finish the "special" breakfast he brings on the day of departure.

 

If you are real nice to him, he will bring your suitcases out to the port with you so they dont get lost. Celebrity gives the butlers a lot of implied authority when dealing with the suite guests. If they like you and you take care of them, the soda and booze in your cabin is comped whether in sky, cebebrity, RS or PS. Just use common sense and treat them special.

 

 

don

[rubrrick]

We had one on Mercury and Stanley would bring anything we ordered from room service to us, coffee drinks from the Cova (if he gets them they're free), set up for a cocktail party for us, brought snacks around every afternoon & then pasteries a little later, always replaced the fresh fruit bowl daily, and generally hung out & was there if & when we needed him. One time when we were returning from shore, he was walking past the x-ray machine area & grabbed all our bags & said he'd take them to our suite for us! THAT was nice! ;)

 

We personally would not want another butler unless we were in the PH, (which we won't be) we don't "do" a lot of room service, we love to "cruise" the ship and we just don't like to be bothered. We'd prefer the larger suite without a butler and have the use of a concierge lounge instead. Just our opinion! :D

 

Rose...........sounds like you prefer to travel on Royal Caribbean. We like both, and the fact that we do not have a butler on Royal Caribbean has never bothered us. We find on RCCL, when we are having a large party, the guest relations staff makes sure that we have a bartender and someone from room service to take care of cleaning and refreshing appitizer trays.

We will be aboard the Mercury in a couple of weeks, so we do have a butler (does Stanley work the port side of the Penthouse deck?) and I must say that he is great for doing lunches in, as well as the small extras that my DW and I are used to doing ourselves!!

 

Rick

[JNLROSE]

Hi Rick!

You're right, we may very well like RCCL instead. We're exploring them along with Princess & HAL right now.

Stanley went on Infinity I believe. I don't think he was planning on returning to Mercury, said he much preferred the M class ships. He was REALLY great, but like I said we just didn't have need to use him much. We had a few snacks & lunch-type meals out on the balcony but other than that & 1 breakfast, we didn't eat in the cabin, we like to go out to the restaurants to eat most of the time. More fun to watch people! :D We're very early morning people so room service is not a great option, we get snacks from the buffet on the way back from the gym!

[judyfssw]

We had our first experience with a butler on our last cruise. And, to answer your first statement, the butler will give you your coffee just the way you like it. On the first morning, George asked me how I liked my coffee. I told him half decaf and half regular. He poured it and handed me the cup (I was standing not knowing what to do with myself). Every morning, after that, he poured my coffee the same way. We had breakfast in our room every morning because it was easier on our mom and he arrived with everything that we ordered and sometimes some extra things that he remembered from before and thought that we would like. We didn't have any parties but we had a wonderful experience with George. He was absolutely delightful.

Have a wonderful cruise.:)

[cechase]

Rose: We were on the Mercury 1/2/2006 11 night cruise and Stanley was our butler for RS1026. He was our fifth butler in less than two years, and he was in our opinion the best butler that we have ever had. [This equated to the largest tip we have ever given a butler]. And we have had some really good butlers, including Keith on our previous Mercury cruise, and the legendary Lawrence on Century.

 

Stanley will be shortly leaving Mercury to go home to Goa for leave and to get married. He said that he will return and be on Connie. He was really great, always present, happy and smiling. He greatly enhanced our cruising experience. My DW now takes the position that on our future cruises, we will have a butler!

[JNLROSE]

Hi Charlie!

WOW, I didn't know Stanley was back on the Mercury. He was really excellent! We had him in SS 1215. I wonder if he will be on Connie in March 2007 when we sail her again???? I'd love to meet with him again. :D

[LadeeBug100]

Your parents will absolutely get a pitcher of tea whenever they want it.. That was the main service our butler provided for us, it was great!!!

 

One evening we had dinner in our room , the butler set the table with a tablecloth and all of the plates and forks(just like in the dining room) and served our meal to us.

 

We also had breakfast on the balcony most mornings which the butler brought to us.

 

Anything you order from room service the butler will bring.

 

I did not think we would use the butler, but just having the pitcher of tea in our room was worth it, HAHA.

[sueclark]

One of the things we enjoy most, is ordering our coffee, juice and pastries to be delivered every morning at 7:00. It works best in the bigger suites, CS, RS & PS because you have a separate bedroom. We just ask him to deliver it and not wake us up if we are still sleeping. It's so nice to have a cup as soon as you get out of bed!

 

We almost always have a cocktail party or two and he will make all the arrangements including having the invitations delivered and he will check in during the party to make sure everything is ok - if he's not too busy (they service 8 -10 cabins) he will even serve. If you want him to serve at the cocktail party make arrangements ahead of time so he can arrange for coverage. (and remember to tip nicely)

 

The easiest way to remember what the butler does is: the steward(ess) takes care of the cabin, the butler takes care of you.

[Keith1010]

Sue, do you find that the butler who services the PS services the same number of suites (8-10) as the other butlers do? Do you find that they have a more experienced butler assigned to the PS categories or is it just a matter of luck who you get?

 

When you stayed in the PS, did any of the officers or the social hostess stop by the PS to greet you?

 

Keith

[uktog]

. If they like you and you take care of them, the soda and booze in your cabin is comped whether in sky, cebebrity, RS or PS. Just use common sense and treat them special.

don

 

This is one thing that slightly bothers me. Should it not be either everyone or no on in a suite is comped. We have had one butler who brought us some wine on the last day, one who brought us champagne each formal night and one who said if you want more champagne let me know - we did, we asked for one more bottle last formal night and got a charge on our sea pass. Did we treat anyone differently - absolutely no except at the end their extra tips over and above that which was prepaid did vary, but they were not to know that throughout the cruise.

Some people drink, some do not so I wonder should each butler not have an "allowance" to comp things up to a value that applies for all suites they look after???

[dabear]

idssms: I'm curious about your comment that the butler can comp your drinks , liquor and coffees from the cova cafe. We'll be in a suite on the Connie next week and never had a butler before. In the past we were in consierge class and always had our breakfast on the balcony, but did pay for any liquor ordered in our room. Can you explain further. Are you suggesting tipping early ?

[flashdog_1]

Before he answers let me just say that all suite passengers will receive free cova cafe drinks like capuccino if it is ordered thru room service, not in person. If you go in person, you pay just like anyone else sitting there. It is one of the suite perks.

[idssms]

idssms: I'm curious about your comment that the butler can comp your drinks , liquor and coffees from the cova cafe. We'll be in a suite on the Connie next week and never had a butler before. In the past we were in consierge class and always had our breakfast on the balcony, but did pay for any liquor ordered in our room. Can you explain further. Are you suggesting tipping early ?

 

 

The first day on the ship get your game plan ready. Meet the Butler and have him bring his boss down to meet you the Asst Chief Housekeeper. I will leave it to your imagination as to what really gets these folks motivated but,, you can insure almost anything if you treat them well.. they are there to provide a service and they are all there to earn money to send home to support their familys. The Asst Housekeepers have access to hordes of the Celebrity Champagne and certain wines. They must have an allocation each cruise for which they can comp the guests.

 

I am a bit fortunate to have befriended some of the staff on some ships and have some parties with the brass. I would just tell the Butler that I was having so and so in my suite and here's what they drink, Absolute, Crown Royale, Grey Goose and voila,, it appeared.. On my Nov 05 transatlantic we had a Celebrity Suite and the service and ammenities was commensurate to the service I had 5 months before in the PS of the Millie. But,,, I did pay for it in my own way.

 

Bottom line,, the "directors" of your vacation are the Chief Asst Housekeeper and the Asst Maitre D.. They are behind the scenes but have a lot of authority.. Trust me, they both can make things happen,, be nice to them.

 

I read on here all the time that at tip night,, its the first guests hear about both of these folks,, Asst Housekeeper and Asst Maitre D. Once you get seasoned they will become your best allies IF you want an outstanding cruise and not just an Excellent cruise.

 

Check out my last review when I was on the Millennium this past Nov 05, it was posted last week under the "review" section above or click below to read it.. and check out some pics...

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=14681

 

remember, A picture is worth more then 1,000 words!!

 

 

Don

[dabear]

Idssms: thanks for your reply. Your right that so many pax cruise and never meet the ass't chief housekeeper unless there is a problem. I think you should thank them for jobs well done or to be well done. I also enjoyed your review of you last cruise. Enjoy!

[idssms]

Thanks Dabear!!

 

I am going on the Mercury in May to Alaska and will do a review and another Transatlantic on the Millie in Nov.

 

Once you figure out who has the power on the ship,, its a breeze getting things done and having a great time.

 

Its like the service,, the Master Sargents really have the power, not the generals and colonels.. Get to know the Chiefs and Master Sargents and you have it all..

 

The asst chief housekeep just snaps his fingers and the butlers and stewards jump at attention. I never have complained to a room stewart,, I take it up a level. Just like youd do in real life is a store or business. The difference on a cruise ship is a boss is allowed to take a gratutiy for his/ner services. At Home Depot or Walmart I hope the asst mgrs wouldnt take a tip...

 

Have a great week ahead!!

 

Don

[sueclark]

Sue, do you find that the butler who services the PS services the same number of suites (8-10) as the other butlers do? Do you find that they have a more experienced butler assigned to the PS categories or is it just a matter of luck who you get?

 

When you stayed in the PS, did any of the officers or the social hostess stop by the PS to greet you?

 

Keith

Hi Keith,

Yes, the butler that serves the Penthouse also serves other cabins and yes, they are usually the most experienced. We've never had a bad butler in any of the suite categories.

 

We have had officers stop in to greet us a number of times - most often the Hotel Manager. The Social Hostess' job has changed a lot lately - she is much more involved with Captains Club members and other groups onboard than with the suite passengers. I believe she has a new title now, but I can't remember it.

[idssms]

I think its like anything else in life. If the brass takes a liking to a guest they will stop by and visit often , have dinner and drinks, if they arent comfortable they may make a professional visit just to be courteous.

 

I dont think the Captain makes vists to every P.S. guest unless you happen to hit it off with him at his dinner!!

 

Don

[Keith1010]

Sue, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. It's most appreciated.

 

Don, thank you as well for providing your thoughts.

 

Keith

[MarkSpark]

On the "C" class ships, I think, if memory serves me, one "Butler" sevices the "Royal Suites" and the "Penthouse Suites" on one side, or maybe both sides. At least thats what I think the famous "Laurance"(sp) told us when we sailed on the " Century" a few years ago in a "Royal Suite".

 

Mark