Cruise to Mostly Nowhere--Part 3

[Psoque]

From our experience trying out a variety of cruise lines, we can have had some cruises with EVERYBODY on the ship were eager to say NO! to everything, and some cruises with staff who NEVER said no to us as long as our requests were even halfway reasonable.  It’s possible that our sampling is limited, but I associate certain cruise lines as “nay-sayers lines,” and some as “never-say-no lines.”. I have a suspicion that some cruise lines tell their staff to never give their customers a plain “NO” as an answer to any question/request.  I’m hoping that our first Oceania cruise in the near future will be a “never-say-no” experience, but perhaps the OP’s report suggests otherwise?  I guess we will have to find out.

[ak1004]

7 minutes ago, Psoque said:

From our experience trying out a variety of cruise lines, we can have had some cruises with EVERYBODY on the ship were eager to say NO! to everything, and some cruises with staff who NEVER said no to us as long as our requests were even halfway reasonable.  It’s possible that our sampling is limited, but I associate certain cruise lines as “nay-sayers lines,” and some as “never-say-no lines.”. I have a suspicion that some cruise lines tell their staff to never give their customers a plain “NO” as an answer to any question/request.  I’m hoping that our first Oceania cruise in the near future will be a “never-say-no” experience, but perhaps the OP’s report suggests otherwise?  I guess we will have to find out.

 

Some people suggest that O belongs to “nay-sayers lines” and SS belongs to “never-say-no lines.” Our experience was the opposite. On our last O cruise every single request was filled, including 2 special requests for food at dinner and breakfast. SS was pretty close, but still one request was denied. 

[julia]

4 hours ago, hankandteri said:

His line from that film that I use to this day is “I will alert the media.” What was the line you’re referring to?

Oh, I loved "I will alert the media!"  😅😅

Unfortunately, his best line was too risqué to post here (think Dudley Moore in the bathtub), but he nailed it!

[Sujormik]

14 hours ago, hankandteri said:

That would be very elegant and oh so Downton Abbey, except it would be quite a feat. The PH bathtubs were removed in Riviera’s recent dry dock refits. The new bathrooms are fantastic, though, even if no butler is required to operate the shower for you. 

Hmm, I thought I saw a photo of a tub on Marina…alas, Calgon obviously will not take me away.

[Psoque]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Some people suggest that O belongs to “nay-sayers lines” and SS belongs to “never-say-no lines.” Our experience was the opposite. On our last O cruise every single request was filled, including 2 special requests for food at dinner and breakfast. SS was pretty close, but still one request was denied. 

How "reasonable" was the request that was denied on Silversea?

[basor]

17 minutes ago, Sujormik said:

Hmm, I thought I saw a photo of a tub on Marina…alas, Calgon obviously will not take me away.

No you were correct - they left some bathtubs in Penthouses and verandas:

 

Penthouse Suites and Staterooms with the bathtub and shower:

PH3: 9138, 9145, 10002, 10003, 10004, 10005, 10008, 10009, 10010, 10011

A4: 9002, 9003, 9004, 9005, 9006, 9007, 9008, 9009, 9010, 9011, 9012, 9019, 9126, 9128, 9130, 9132, 9133, 9134, 9135, 9136, 9137, 9139, 9141, 9143

B4: 7010, 7011, 7012, 7014, 7015, 7016, 7017, 7018, 7019, 7020, 7021, 7022, 7023, 7024, 7025, 7026, 7027, 7028, 7029, 7031, 7102, 7104, 7105, 7106, 7107, 7109

[ak1004]

22 minutes ago, Psoque said:

How "reasonable" was the request that was denied on Silversea?

Fresh pomegranate juice. 

[cruiserchuck]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

Fresh pomegranate juice. 

Maybe they did not have any fresh pomegranate onboard.

[Psoque]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Fresh pomegranate juice. 

Call me crazy, but I’m not sure asking for a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice could be used to discern “nay-sayer” cruise line from the “never-say-no” cruise line.  

[Psoque]

When we were cruising a few years ago, with one of the “never-say-no” cruise lines, I thought about playing a game of asking a series of increasingly unreasonable requests to the cafe servers onboard, to see when would they relent and just say no to us.  The objective of this game, which was never played since my husband strongly asked me (more like threatened me) not to, is to ask as many marginally unreasonable requests before they say no.

If I ever play this game again, I would no start this game with asking for freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.  I think that would be too bold of a move, even for me.

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

Maybe they did not have any fresh pomegranate onboard.

Yes, this was the reason they provided.

 

1 hour ago, Psoque said:

Call me crazy, but I’m not sure asking for a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice could be used to discern “nay-sayer” cruise line from the “never-say-no” cruise line.  

I agree. This was a singe example, not necessarily representative.

 

Before sailing on SS, I asked on CC what's the difference between O and SS. One of the members responded that on lines like SS, they will prepare for you anything as long as they have the ingredients on board. And if they don't, they will try to get it in the next port.

 

It's possible that there were no pomegranates in this region at this season. I'm pretty sure that if they had pomegranates on board, they would prepare the fresh juice.

 

On Oceania we asked to have cherry jubilee. The MDR manager had no idea what I'm talking about, but she wrote the request and said they will get back to me. A few hours later, a message in my cabin saying that my request has been approved. We asked for it in the morning, got it for dinner. It was never part of the menu.

 

My point is that while O is considered by many a “nay-sayers line” and SS a “never-say-no line.”, in many cases they might be closer than people think.   

[bob brown]

I have not ever used the services of a butler on a cruise ship, as I am of the “I’d rather do it myself” personality.

In reading various accounts on butler services on  different Cruise Critic threads, I can see that for some people,  the butler does provide valuable extra services, especially for those in large suites hosting cocktail or dinner parties.

But in my view, offering butler service is just a marketing ploy…🤷‍♂️

[Sthrngary]

On 6/9/2023 at 12:42 PM, hankandteri said:

Still, I have this vague sense that I squandered a valuable resource that could have opened the door to special opportunities, privileges and experiences. So, for those of you who have had butler service on Oceania, what did I miss out on? How could I have better managed our butler service aboard?

@hankandteri My first butler was about five years ago.  I was uncomfortable asking for anything because I don't like to embarrass myself. In my "Real" world, I am the butler, room Stewart, chief and handy man.  I was completely disappointed with my first butler.  On my second opportunity, I googled what butlers do and don't do for you.  Found GREAT information.  I then watched lots of YouTube Video's on what butlers do. 

 

My second butler I did something very unconventional.  I created a butler letter.  I learned to share likes and dislikes, needs or wishes.  I explained a little history about each member of my party.  I ask what we could to or share that would make the butlers job easier.  I then did something I hesitate to even share.  I will but I know what is going to happen.  I have shared this before.  In my butler letter, I pre-tipped them upfront.  The result was I had a very good experience with a butler that could not do enough for me and more importantly my family.  

 

Fast forward two more cruised, a refined butler letter and a much clearer understanding of what to expect.  I was on Crystal Cruises and our butler literally made the cruise for us.  He was a new level.  The letter helped but his was the real reason it worked.  That cruise taught me, the better the cruise brand, the better trained and accommodating the butler was.  Our Celebrity and NCL Haven Butlers were ok.  Nothing like our Crystal Cruise Butler. 

 

My lesson on cruising is to know how things work.  Not everyone want to go to the lengths I go to.  I fully understand that.  I have the time and enjoy the research.  The number one thing I realized is know what you want in your Vacation Life and never use the real world as your data source.  I love engaging with everyone, enjoying everyone company including every member of the crew.  Laugh and visit with them. Some how, my last few butlers have be over the top.  It took some learning but it would out GREAT.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

[Rainbow3fe]

On 6/9/2023 at 1:42 PM, hankandteri said:

This third and final installment of my reflections on our May 22 cruise from Barcelona to London aboard Riviera will be a departure from yesterday's incendiary offering. It's really only directed at someone who has sailed in a suite with Oceania, or has an interest in doing so.

 

I live in the wilderness. Literally. My property borders a national forest in Alabama. The county I live in has a total of three stoplights. The nearest one of those is 10 miles or from my front door. If I want a Big Mac or to see the inside of a big box store or have a medical emergency, I have to travel an hour or so each way. Between guests and crew, there are many more people on the Riviera than live in the five towns nearest my house--combined.

 

All that is to say this: in my very rural world, I don't often interact with butlers, and the few people living near me are forced by circumstance to handle most day-to-day tasks on their own. So when I learned my PH2 cabin would come with a butler, I wondered what in the world I would do with him or her.

 

Now that the cruise is over, I still don't know, and I have this nagging feeling that it's all my fault and that I somehow let both of us down.

 

We've had concierge service on prior cruises and on those cruises, our concierge always found little ways to surprise and delight us. I suppose I was expecting butler service to be like that, only more so. I can honestly say that our butler performed no meaningful tasks for us on this cruise and didn't add a smidgen of value to our overall cruise experience. I think that's on me somehow. Where did I go wrong?

 

Our butler was pleasant enough when we met him, and he looked every bit the part in his fancy butler livery. That's kind of where the relationship started and ended.

 

I asked two things of him on day one.

 

We were traveling with a party of 10 other people, and I asked him if he could help us snag the only 12-top in the Grand Dining Room. He told me that he only worked with the specialty restaurants and that we should go see the Maitre 'D for that. Oh. Okay. Mustn't ask for that.

 

I asked if he could ensure there was ice in the bucket when we returned from shore in the late afternoons and also when we turned in for the evening after the shows. This is something we ask for on every cruise, and having reasonably fresh ice on hand has never been a problem on prior cruises with Oceania or any other line. This time we were told that ice was refreshed on a schedule twice daily and we could call for more at any time. So, when we returned to an ice bucket filled with chilled water every afternoon and evening we exchanged wry smiles and thought wistfully of our butler.

 

At that point I was out of things to ask for, and it seemed kind of rude to keep asking for things outside his scope of service. Other than when he dropped breakfast off on a couple of days when we had early shore excursions or passing by him a handful of times in the corridor, we didn't see or hear from our butler again for the remainder of the cruise, and I couldn't think of a reason to page him. I don't think we saw him at all, even in passing, on the last three or so days of the cruise. We had the best and most attentive stateroom attendant on the planet, so our suite was always immaculate and I didn't feel as if I was missing out on anything. Except ice. Come to think of it, I probably should have asked her about that.

 

Still, I have this vague sense that I squandered a valuable resource that could have opened the door to special opportunities, privileges and experiences. So, for those of you who have had butler service on Oceania, what did I miss out on? How could I have better managed our butler service aboard?

We haven't had a butler and will on our Vista 2024. Thanks for this insightful post. We definitely will ask to get fresh ice in the afternoon. 😎🌻

[Rainbow3fe]

On 6/10/2023 at 10:09 AM, Psoque said:

From our experience trying out a variety of cruise lines, we can have had some cruises with EVERYBODY on the ship were eager to say NO! to everything, and some cruises with staff who NEVER said no to us as long as our requests were even halfway reasonable.  It’s possible that our sampling is limited, but I associate certain cruise lines as “nay-sayers lines,” and some as “never-say-no lines.”. I have a suspicion that some cruise lines tell their staff to never give their customers a plain “NO” as an answer to any question/request.  I’m hoping that our first Oceania cruise in the near future will be a “never-say-no” experience, but perhaps the OP’s report suggests otherwise?  I guess we will have to find out.

Honestly, we have never met a worker on Oceania who said "no" to our requests. They've all been extra attentive and willing to find a solution to any problem.