Penthouse Butler

[puppyluv1]

We are considering booking a penthouse cabin and I am curious what the butler does. 

[ronrick1943]

If it's legal, I think about anything you ask.  Like maybe getting extra dinner reservation, picking up laundry ad bring it back, sea appointments, special events for you at dinner (birthday , etc), helping with tours, helping solve a problem before it becomes one.  And so much more---some people like them, some don't.

[kjbacon]

The coolest thing ever is the customized dinners on the balcony. Last year, our butler asked us if he could do that for us and while we had no concept what to expect, we said sure! Turned out to be the most luxurious treat we could imagine.

[puppyluv1]

Sounds nice.  Thank you for the info!

[Hambagahle]

We had a "big" anniversary on one of our cruises.  My husband asked the butler if he could get some flowers.  (Not easy on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic!) . Lovely flowers arrived right on the day.  Turns out he had "borrowed" them from one of the many displays around the ship.  (Flowers had to be put into their rightful place next day - but goes to show the butlers are resourceful. ) Aside from that - they are especially useful in getting you dinner reservations in speciality restaurants.   I think on Regent you are limited to one reservation per cruise.  Once on board ask the butler to get another for you wherever you want it.  They somehow manage.   

We are very partial to Indian food.  (Almost all if not all the butlers are Indian).  So we ask once a cruise to have an indian meal in our suite.  And it is delicious.  Butler arranges it all.

[daetchief]

In a phrase; "The Butler fills in the Unknown or the Unexpected."  After you get settled and discover something that was expected wasn't arranged or something unexpected was available but you were unaware of it, the Butler is a perfect agent for resolving the issue.  Most who scoff at having a butler and state they never use him/her are perfectly correct that they are unnecessary , but even if you are able to brighten a single day or evening by requesting something 'extra' their value will be seen.

On a Baltic Cruise where we were disembarking in South Hampton and staying a few days in London, my wife met a couple of ladies from London who were extraordinarily helpful is helping us use our time wisely  and see the most we could while in their city.   We were blessed to have a suite with a butler and they were in an 'H' suite.   Upon inviting the ladies for drinks and canapes in our suite for the next port departure, all I needed to do was mention to the Butler that we were expecting guests at 5:00 and he arranged for a wide range of deluxe canapes, the wines that the ladies preferred [he found that info] and presented everything with flair and finesse.   After dinner when we returned to our suite and it was if there had been no gathering what so ever.  Everything was back in it's place and nothing was out of place.   Only the Best!

[mrstanley]

We have had a butler a few times. Not once did they do anything for us. In fact the last time we had one we were annoyed  with him because every time he came into our suite he smelled like he had just smoked a cigarette.

YIKES!!!  We were on the Explorer this past September and had a great suite attendant ... we had no complaints.

 

[daetchief]

11 minutes ago, mrstanley said:

We have had a butler a few times. Not once did they do anything for us. In fact the last time we had one we were annoyed  with him because every time he came into our suite he smelled like he had just smoked a cigarette.

YIKES!!!  We were on the Explorer this past September and had a great suite attendant ... we had no complaints.

 

There are many of the Cabin Stewards that are hard charging - possibly aiming for the Butler or Lead positions.  If or when you have one of those, it feels like you are blessed with Butler level service even when in a Veranda Suite.  Last year on Voyager we were so-blessed.  Haven't had a 'Bad' butler yet, but some were better than others.  Looking forward to one day having a female butler.  I've always heard exceptional comments regarding the few that are aboard Regent ships

[Hambagahle]

We had a less than great - in fact really not good at all - butler once.  He couldn't get anything right (and I don't think he was new either).  One memorable morning I ordered boiled eggs, toast and coffee for breakfast.  I got all three of those but no butter for the toast.  When I asked Jeeger where the butter was his reply was "You didn't ask for butter"  !!  I sent him off to get some but by the time he came back with it eggs, toast and coffee were all stone cold and we went to have breakfast in La Veranda!   But he was the only butler we have ever had who was not really great at his job.

 

All the butlers seem to be Indian.  I have heard they all go to a "Butler Academy" somewhere, and I suppose it must be in India.   Wherever they are trained they are wonderful.

[Gilly]

2 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

All the butlers seem to be Indian.  I have heard they all go to a "Butler Academy" somewhere, and I suppose it must be in India.   Wherever they are trained they are wonderful.

 

I believe most (all?) our butlers have been trained within the Taj group of hotels and I agree, they are generally first class.  We enjoy and appreciate their personal and very attentive service, especially in situations such as the one @daetchief describes above.

 

There are many of the Cabin Stewards that are hard charging - possibly aiming for the Butler or Lead positions.  If or when you have one of those, it feels like you are blessed with Butler level service even when in a Veranda Suite.  

@daetchiefWhilst the housekeeping staff are indeed excellent, we are always aware of their heavy workload - they are responsible for a large number of suites - and I would hesitate before making any specific requests of them.  In fact, we do what we can to make their workload lighter wherever possible.

Edited November 30, 2019 by Gilly

[papaflamingo]

We did 44 nights on Mariner.   We had a PH so we had a butler.  Ours was FANTASTIC!!!!   So, what did we use him for?  Well, we could order canapes for the room every day if we wanted and he delivered as advertised.  He asked me if I was going to have a drink and I said "yes" so he offered to fix it for me.  I was "all in" on that but my wife said "it's bourbon and ice, fix it yourself!"  Oh well.  😂 

One thing that was very useful, we had some days where we had a snorkeling tour followed by an island tour.  We had only a very short time to get to the ship, grab lunch, and change.  We had our butler deliver lunch at a designated time so it would be waiting for us in the cabin when we returned to change.  Definitely a plus for us!  
As I mentioned I drink bourbon.  I noticed that the bottle was getting near the end so I was going to ask the butler for another.  But I looked behind and he had already stocked a second bottle!  

Room service, at the time you want, and course by course if you desire.  Turning in excursion tickets if you cancel, reservations in specialty dining,  sending laundry, etc.  Really just ask for anything, as others have said, and they will produce it for you.  

I'll simply add my own personal thoughts.  We are pretty "low maintenance."  So we would never upgrade simply to have a butler.  But if one comes with the cabin, we won't hesitate to use him or her and honestly, for a long cruise, it was nice to have a personal "go to" guy for anything we needed. 

Edited November 30, 2019 by papaflamingo

[puppyluv1]

Totally agree with papa flamingo that we would not upgrade just for a butler. The larger room is the real attraction, but the butler sounds like a very nice perk. Thank you to everyone for sharing their experiences. 

[angie7911922]

With having a butler you would have nice personalized service. You will have the same person assisting you whenever needed. You would also get pre dinner canapes in  your suite. But on the other hand, all the service they provide can also be done by the regular personnel. But in that case it can be a different person all the time..... I would not book especially for a butler but all the bigger suites come automatically with one.

[ronrick1943]

Really to sum it up they just make your cruise so much better..............period.

[RJ2002]

We also happily accept and enjoy the services of the butler that comes with larger suites.  However, like some others, we don’t book a suite specifically to have a butler.  For instance, on our recent Navigator cruise, we were content with our DV suite and saw no need to book a PH level suite since it is the same size as a DV.   Now, on the Mariner it was a different story, and we very much appreciated both the additional square footage of a PH along with the services of our butler. 

[UUNetBill]

7 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Really to sum it up they just make your cruise so much better..............period.

I’d amend that to say they *may* make a cruise better.  We’ve had a few who were outstanding and a few who were borderline annoying.

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, UUNetBill said:

I’d amend that to say they *may* make a cruise better.  We’ve had a few who were outstanding and a few who were borderline annoying.

Sorry we're in a named suite so they may be a little different with more time to spend--we just haven't had a problem.

[Sirlancelot]

On 11/29/2019 at 4:34 AM, kjbacon said:

The coolest thing ever is the customized dinners on the balcony. Last year, our butler asked us if he could do that for us and while we had no concept what to expect, we said sure! Turned out to be the most luxurious treat we could imagine.

Sorry to butt in but we are many time Royal cruisers but consider to splash out on Regent. We wondered if the butler could bring the steakhouse/speaciality restaurant dinners to the cabin since we read so much about "you only get one time at the steakhouse per cruise due to capacity control. Is that possible 

Edited December 2, 2019 by Sirlancelot
typi

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, Sirlancelot said:

Sorry to butt in but we are many time Royal cruisers but consider to splash out on Regent. We wondered if the butler could bring the steakhouse/speaciality restaurant dinners to the cabin since we read so much about "you only get one time at the steakhouse per cruise due to capacity control. Is that possible 

I know you can if you're in one the named suites, not sure about other suites.

[commodore2010]

8 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

I’d amend that to say they *may* make a cruise better.  We’ve had a few who were outstanding and a few who were borderline annoying.

 

Agree with this wholeheartedly. We have had a butler on almost all Regent Cruises. Butler service is very inconsistent almost 50/50.  We are low maintenance and do not ask for anything special.  No special in suite meals, preparing drinks, baths, etc.  Maybe a specialty dinner reservation is all we ever ask for.  Even then they are 50/50 on getting the basics right. 

[Sirlancelot]

59 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

I know you can if you're in one the named suites, not sure about other suites.

I am going to completely sound ignorant but - what is a named suite?? Penthouse A B & C or?? Sorry to be dumb! 

[Camillus112]

31 minutes ago, Sirlancelot said:

I am going to completely sound ignorant but - what is a named suite?? Penthouse A B & C or?? Sorry to be dumb! 

 

You would not be the only one.  I imagine they would be named for particular officers, sponsors, godmothers, etc.  I have only been in a PH-C suite...so why should I know?  Hope somebody knows.

[UUNetBill]

46 minutes ago, Sirlancelot said:

I am going to completely sound ignorant but - what is a named suite?? Penthouse A B & C or?? Sorry to be dumb! 

 

12 minutes ago, Camillus112 said:

 

You would not be the only one.  I imagine they would be named for particular officers, sponsors, godmothers, etc.  I have only been in a PH-C suite...so why should I know?  Hope somebody knows.

“Named Suites” are suites that are named instead of being designated with a category letter, i.e. Master Suite, Grand Suite, Explorer Suite, etc.

[Pinksunset]

We were in a “named” suite; the lovely Mariner.  I had no idea that we could have had in suite dining from the specialty restaurants.  Did I need to corner the Butler and ask HER what “special benefits” we were entitled to? Or is this published somewhere, or only on this very helpful Cruise Critic?   

[ronrick1943]

54 minutes ago, Pinksunset said:

We were in a “named” suite; the lovely Mariner.  I had no idea that we could have had in suite dining from the specialty restaurants.  Did I need to corner the Butler and ask HER what “special benefits” we were entitled to? Or is this published somewhere, or only on this very helpful Cruise Critic?   

Your Butler should tell you all that stuff when you meet them the first time on the suite tour.