What have butlers done for you?

[riffatsea]

Hi

Taking our first Celebrity cruise in October for our anniversary

Have not used the services of a butler,so am wondering how you all have employed them?

Thanks for any thoughts

[jelayne]

They deliver any items you want from Room Service, they will keep your mini bar stocked with the water, soda and beer you want, they can make reservations at the restaurants for you.  If you have laundry to send out they pick it up and return it.  We have had wine spilled on a blouse, heel came off shoe, button came off, forgot to bring cuff links in each case the Butler was able to fix the problem.

[riffatsea]

Thanks for writing! 

Do they come to your cabin each day or do you call them?

 

[cdn_tbird]

26 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

Thanks for writing! 

Do they come to your cabin each day or do you call them?

 

You will have a business card in your room with their number. They answer right away. They only come to your room if needed. My wife mentioned to our butler that she missed the afternoon scones in the Retreat because our excursion was late in getting back. From the next day onwards he dropped off some scones every afternoon.

[riffatsea]

Nice!

Thanks for explaining 

[LGW59]

31 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

Thanks for writing! 

Do they come to your cabin each day or do you call them?

 

Strike up a casual conversation with him/her, they will get to know you a bit and ask some questions.  I saw mine in the hallway often and he always wanted to know what he could do.  On my 3rd day he commented that he noticed I went to breakfast everyday at 9am but would see me coming back to my room around 7:30 after getting a cup of coffee.  He suggested why don't I bring you a coffee (he suggested capuccino) and pastries so it is here when you get up.  From that point forward, every morning in my room on the dining room table they both magically appeared and as the bedroom was upstairs I never ever heard him come in the room.  I did not spend a lot of time in the room but I did go a few times for a break/nap.  He would see me (they always are around the rooms they service) and would ask if I'd like snacks and a beverage, from then on, every afternoon whenever I went to the room, crackers/cheese, a few shrimp cocktail and a small fruit plate witing there on the table.  I did call him as I had a reservation at Eden that I wanted to chage, he took care of it.  He came to my room 15 minutes before the res time and asked if he could escort me to Eden...I said no thank you, but that is the kind of stuff they can do for you and by all appearance they are so sincere and work so hard.

[markeb]

Honestly, the butler can do almost anything that guest services would do, as well as the things already mentioned. Ours would see us in the hall, like LGW59, and ask if we needed anything. They offered to bring snacks, a glass of wine, etc. We had cans of water and diet coke in the cabin. "Most" things you do, from laundry to room service to help with an excursion, they can handle. I don't feel we've ever stressed one (we've only had two so far...), but their role is to make things easy. And they seem to have the tools and connections to do that!

 

And yeah, they'll remind you of suite seating in the theater, which we've done more by accident than intent.

[Cap_D]

Read somewhere on CC that Butlers have "magic" phones that receive text messages when the seapass card is swiped in certain places.  Those phones also connect them to anywhere on the ship and working with concierges they are able to get priority outcomes.  Perhaps increasingly important as non-transparent pricing, unclear offerings, and cutbacks will result in greater onboard issues and a failure to meet expectations.  Cruises require a cash outlay in advance of receiving any services, and many of the means used to cultivate customers are arcane, e.g., requiring advance payment months in advance, reliance on hype and TAs, creating false notions of scarcity, OBC, constant sales with prices that result in the same amount or more, low cost labor that create a sense of value and service (often real) yet around an illusion, and presumption that the customer can't easily opt-out or find alternatives.  Now, we can also add a false narrative on CC that Covid and supply chain issues result in reasons for lower food quality, a need to retain more money and invest less in services.  So, for some customers the Butler is one method to make sure expectations are met - and at the prices paid for rooms with Butlers, expectations should be met.  Some rooms are 20k or more, which on land would be a number of fancy dinners with actual high-end wine and drinks with homemade ingredients not premix or Monin.  Problems with the food, rando upcharges, coffee needs (exacerbated because only major premium line not not provide a coffee machine in each suite room), room noise, seating, lines, a button, etc.  bring it up until its resolved. 

Edited January 6, 2023 by Cap_D

[LaCal]

The butler will also set up a full meal like Breakfast or Dinner for you on the balcony or in your suite 

 

Love having a full hot breakfast a few times in suite during our cruise and maybe one lunch 

[islabahia]

We have enjoyed full breakfasts and full dinners on our balcony.  We specify which afternoon snacks we prefer also.  The butler takes care of any suite issues (arranges maintenance, etc).  We take good care of those who take care of us.

[Spurs Fans]

What can they do? It will vary by butler, of course, but if you take the time to get to know them, treat them with respect and just be friendly, they’ll do most anything that’s legal. (Some might do a bit more.) Lol. 

[owensjro]

We were on a sailing shortly after restart and the buffet was quite limited. Halfway through the 11N cruise my daughter was desperate for something "kid-friendly" so we asked the Retreat Concierge if they knew of any place we could get chicken nuggets from on the ship. They coordinated with our Butler and we enjoyed the BEST scratch-made chicken nuggets in our room for lunch one day. It's the little things that make the cruise extra special 🙂

[carolinagirlsince1993]

We were in a suite for our 25th anniversary.  Somehow we ended up with 6 single women who thought it would be fun to order every appetizer, entree and have each served one at a time.  After one night of this, less than romantic dining and being the last in dining room we opted to eat in cabin.

At breakfast butler served us on balcony, me with delicious fresh berries each morning and lovely coffee.

Dinner served a course at a time.  So lovely, we love dining outside and so very romantic.

[2belgiantervs]

I don’t do caffeine but love the herbal mint tea from El Baccio. It is only served hot, I prefer it iced. Our awesome butler would have a fresh carafe of iced herbal mint tea in our suite at all times! I didn’t even ask him to do this. I just mentioned that I would get the hot tea and put it over ice in our suite. It’s the little things like this that I truly appreciate.

[jbcallender]

Just be prepared...once you have a suite and butler, you won't want to go back......

[bigbenboys]

Friends in a sky suite asked their butler to set up an anniversary party for about 10 people. Wine, sparkling wine, water, soda and snacks. Went to a party in the PH. They had Sushi on 5 items as snacks.

We have coffee and fruit delivered at 7am each morning by the butler. Celebrated a birthday in a sky suite.

[DaKahuna]

7 hours ago, carolinagirlsince1993 said:

We were in a suite for our 25th anniversary.  Somehow we ended up with 6 single women who thought it would be fun to order every appetizer, entree and have each served one at a time.  

 

 When was this?   We have always had a table for just the two of us in Luminae unless we asked others to join us or others asked us to join them. 

 

[riffatsea]

We are very low maintenance people but all these wonderful experiences sound great!

Can't wait!

[bnurick]

45 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

We are very low maintenance people but all these wonderful experiences sound great!

Can't wait!

We honestly use our Retreat Host for everything. It helps them to know exactly what you want/prefer so they don’t have to guess. I usually write everything down that isn’t an ongoing item like daily ice at a certain time and specific afternoon canapés so food doesn’t go to waste. Mostly on port days we have coffees and breakfast delivered as an alarm clock.  They usually know everyone on the ship so everything to a haircut is just a quick call for them.  The last night we give a personal thank you note and extra cash gratuity for an excellent job.  Never had a bad host.

[prmssk]

To be honest - not much.  We sailed a Sky Suite in 2021 and a penthouse in 2022 and neither butlers we had were top performers.  Don't be afraid to talk to your butler and ask for things that would make your cruise better.  This thread as a lot of great ideas.  But not all butlers are created equal so don't go in with too high of expectations or you may be disappointed.

 

The concierges in Michael's Club or the Retreat Lounge (depending on the ship) can also be a great help when it comes to dealing with anything Guest Services would handle or reservations for dining, shore excursions, etc.  They also have a lot of knowledge and know a lot of people in different departments on the ship.  Even the bartender in Michael's Club was helpful in finding me an iLounge employee when I forgot the password I used to set up my internet.

[Cap_D]

It also should be noted that customer profiles and workflow are done through an electronic portal that the butlers, concierges, hosts, and others have access to and then take directions from, use for keeping notes, and passing info to others with access PLUS the APP that is the customer interface with some of the same services (albeit with limited rights).  So, sometimes it's about getting access to someone with the magic phone, iPad, or computer terminal or as simple as DIY on the APP.  As a practical matter, the butler is the face of all of that, and is able to physically do things and tasked with keeping track of open items, but not the only one that plays a part of the overall team.

[horseymike]

Don’t know. Never had one.🤣

[DaKahuna]

 We have found ourselves making a last minute decision to dine in a speciality restaurant and have have our butler call the maitre'd of that restaurant and arrange for us to get a table at the last minute. 

We informed him ahead of time that we would understand if it was too late and he said not to worry and made it happen.  

 

On our last Celebrity cruise we had our butler change the afternoon canapes to shrimp cocktail.  After the 4th day we asked him if he could just make it every other day instead of daily! We were getting a dozen shrimp or more every day.  I did thank him profusely for adding a side of horseradish to add to my shrimp cocktail sauce as I find their standard sauce, which my DW likes, too mild for my taste. 

 

I guess my short answer would be -- your Personal Retreat Host, formerly known as your Butler, can do as much or as little as you want to make your cruise enjoyable and special.  There will always be some things they cannot get done but know that most of them will do anything and everything in their capabilities to achieve your requests. 

 

Full disclosure:  We have only had one Butler that we found was a let down.  It was on our Edge sailing in February 2020.  She came by the first day and introduced herself.  Asked if there was anything she could do, took care of what we requested that day and in the remainder of our 7-day cruise we saw her in the passageway twice, at the theater twice, and four times when she was in the Retreat Lounge helping to set up for afternoon snacks.  Other than acknowledging our presence she did not inquire as to how things were going, if there was anything we needed, etc.   Thankfully, those before and after her have been much better. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Forgot to mention, your butler also takes care of you laundry needs as well as shoe shining.   We usually just bag it up and leave it near the front door.  When ready they will return it to your room and hang in the closet.  Recently the first chic night is usually day two so often have the butler get our Jacket's pressed. 

 

In addition to the card that both your room attendant and butler leave you -  there is a button on your phone. 

 

We have had some wonderful butlers who stop by daily to check on us and see if he can do anything for us.   They often also drop off unexpected treats.  

 

I can honestly say we have really only had one so-so butler.   He was extremely efficient and anything that was asked of him was quickly delivered or fulfilled.   He just had zero personality.  We nicknamed him Lurch.  Basically stone faced, never a smile or small talk - more like a robot.  As such for one of the few times we did not feel compelled to give additional tips.

 

For the cruise the Suites Manager asked if we would like to take him with us for the next cruise and we declined.   He asked if there was a problem and we said - no -  but really liked the butler that serviced the room we were moving to.  I would say our next butler was a 10 and earned a good extra gratuity.

[DisneyJen]

In June @DJ's DH and I splurged on a Royal Suite on Summit for our anniversary and my 60th birthday.

 

Our butler was definitely lacking as the meals we ordered en suite (breakfast, lunch and dinner) were not delivered course by course by rather all as once. Hot items were warm and cold items were room temp.

 

There was no over the top service from the bulter even though we were in what is classified as an upper suite even after talking with the Retreat Concierge staff.

 

On the the other hand the service in Luminae and on the Retreat Deck was outstanding.

 

Our room steward was a rock star and we believe he would be an excellent butler.

 

We are booked on the Equinox in May in a Sky Suite. We have lowered our expectations in terms of what we are expecting from the butler.