Suites butlers

We love having a butler. Our last butler Roland was amazing.

We had a full breakfast served every morning (except debarkation day); he kept our ice bucket full; he exceeded my sister's need for sliced lemons; he brought us great snacks every day; he supplied iron & ironing board whenever we needed (think 4 gals travelling together); when we told him our suite would be part of the cabin crawl for our M&G group he made sure we had extra glasses, ice, etc. And he was just an all around friendly, nice guy.

Needless to say we compensated him well for all that he did for us.

Enjoy the experience...

Wow this sounds so great. We had a butler on Azamara and he was not like that at all. We had a butler when we stayed at Sandals also and I knew we were not using him but I did not know what to ask for. He kept hovering around trying to be helpful.. in retrospect trying to earn a better tip. But we were younger and happy to have free drinks and great sailing and diving.

We've had great service from butlers over the years (we've sailed exclusively in suites for the past 13 years). One of our favorite butlers of all times was Anoop who has become an outstanding concierge! We eat breakfast and most lunches in our suite, ask for certain types of sweet/savory snacks and have had dinner brought in a few times.

A great butler/concierge team can make your cruise truly extraordinary!

Is it possible to request snacks for a certain time of day? I would rather have something in the evening as opposed to before dinner. Or can you have both? My husband can eat anytime of day!

 

 

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You can order room service at any time of the day or night, and if you have a butler, you are, by definition, in a suite, so that means room service is complimentary (unless you order a party tray or something).

My kids wanted chocolate ice cream one night after splash academy, so I called the night butler phone and requested 2 ice creams. They were there in about 10 minutes, and my kids were happy.

Some of the treats, you can also leave to eat later, though I would put some in the fridge (like sauces or the little canapes) if you're going to wait hours to eat them.

This is a little different than what others have posted but I thought it was very good of the butler to do it: On the first day, we met our butler (not going to say the ship or the butler's name) and asked him/her how to use the coffee machine to make hot water (for tea) and that it wouldn't be necessary to bring snacks to our room since we really didn't need the extra food. So after this, we didn't see him/her until about the 5th day.

 

Fast forward: my wife happened to like the Bulgari soap and shampoos and looked to buy some in the boutique. Weren't available. So she asked the butler where else she might purchase. Well next thing you know, our butler brought perhaps a year's supply of the soap and shampoo. As a gift! (This is why no name of ship or butler since I'm not sure he/she should be doing this. It wasn't like our butler smuggled the soaps and shampoos into our room or anything like that but I still thought what he/she brought was really generous.)

 

Actually the other thing our butler did on the first day was to swap out the champagne (which we don't drink) for a bottle of red wine. Needless to say we left a nice tip for our butler's...

Funny you mention this. I was thinking last night about our last trip and how it seemed they were rationing out the Bulgari.

Stayed in the Haven a couple of years ago on the Breakaway.

Didn't use the Butler as much. But, he was attentive. We would go to the Haven every afternoon while on board to get a glass of wine and I'd get a bourbon. Upon noticing this by the 3rd day, our Butler just brought it to our room. Not neccessary, and actually not wanted, but he observed our routine enough that he believed he was being helpful. No harm, no foul.

He would deliver finger sandwhiches, fruit, chocolate strawberries and/or M&Ms, too. We were usually gone from the cabin, but they were there when we returned...assuming late afternoon.

On 3 mornings, we would get breakfast in the suite (vs going to the Haven restaurant for breakfast). He brought it and set it up in our Suite. But, aside from having table service, it wasn't too far different from having breakfast room service in a regular cabin.

Can't think of much else. We really didn't require him for much.

Our concierge, on the other hand, helped quite a bit. He did all of our dinner reservations (including incessant changes of said reservations), our show reservations, our excursion reservations, any billing issues....he did it all. And, we were in a constant state of change for all of it. He complied with a smile and a "no problem" at every request. He got a nice tip.

One of our favorite memories of one of our butlers was when we were on the Jade in Europe a couple of years ago. We decided we would like to play dominoes one night if we could find a set. We called the butler and she came up right away to find out exactly what we wanted. Apparently she had never heard of dominoes before. She promptly returned with four complete sets since there were four of us wanting to play. We never told her any difference and thanked her.

One of our favorite memories of one of our butlers was when we were on the Jade in Europe a couple of years ago. We decided we would like to play dominoes one night if we could find a set. We called the butler and she came up right away to find out exactly what we wanted. Apparently she had never heard of dominoes before. She promptly returned with four complete sets since there were four of us wanting to play. We never told her any difference and thanked her.

Well that would be something unique - 4 games of simultaneous solitaire !

Apparently NCL does not use Google for crew training - ah er on everything !

Just off the Breakaway yesterday. First stay in Haven(H4): used butler to get tv fixed and relayed toilet not flushing(blockage one day), checked in about 1/2 hour, called butler back to let him know flushing was working. He relayed message to other cabins

ordered breakfast in suite first day.

ordered lobster dinner one night(Haven) Butler serves you all courses)

dessert delivery from Le Bistro(2 nights)

snacks delivered in the afternoon-kept for late night

picture of water in refrigerator daily

fruit bowl daily

ordered pizza at night-2 nights-night butler

We never specifically requested a snack

gummy bears, peanut M&M's, cookies cake near pool.

We almost requested cheesesteak from savor(lunch), but decided to go there.

How does the lobster dinner work? Is that on the menu overnight in the haven and you just chose to have it in your room?

On the Dawn in December, the M&M's were not the real thing, they were impostor M&M's; there were no M's or M's on the candy.

Real M&Ms on the Jade and they were delicious! ;)

On the Dawn in December, the M&M's were not the real thing, they were impostor M&M's; there were no M's or M's on the candy.

In the Haven, even the candy is unlisted.

How does the lobster dinner work? Is that on the menu overnight in the haven and you just chose to have it in your room?

Yes, lobster, filet and lobster, are on the a Haven restaurant menu and you can order and have it serves en suite.

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I am pretty excited about m and m's for a snack! Canapes I expected but M and m's ...woo hoo!

Plain and Peanut!! :D:D

One thing our butler did while on the Panama Canal, partial transit (this was on Pearl), we invited a small group to our forward penthouse suite while going through the canal. He delivered lunch from the suite restaurant for all of us, along with a pitcher of OJ and passion fruit juice, and an extra bottle of champagne for mimosas. He also brought extra bottles of water, enough for everyone, and our afternoon snack was also enough for everyone. Needless to say, he got a good tip at the end of the cruise!

On port days we would estimate our time back (normally an hour before the required time) and had the butler deliver an assortment of wings and appetizers from O'Sheehan's. They were always delivered promptly as requested.

when you stay in the Haven...you get a cordless phone...you can take it off the ship with you when in port...ive heard (we didnt try this) that when you are about to board the ship from a long day of priority excursions maybe a half day private yacht rental that ones legs can feel a lil dodgey...so DW could summon the butler before boarding the ship to have a warm bath drawn awaiting ones arrival back to the sanctuary of the Haven.

Best,

mark

when you stay in the Haven...you get a cordless phone...you can take it off the ship with you when in port...ive heard (we didnt try this) that when you are about to board the ship from a long day of priority excursions maybe a half day private yacht rental that ones legs can feel a lil dodgey...so DW could summon the butler before boarding the ship to have a warm bath drawn awaiting ones arrival back to the sanctuary of the Haven.

 

Best,

mark

Haven't ever requested having a bath drawn (aside from preferring to do that myself - and leisurely baths are among the treats of a relaxing cruise - just curious if one needs to leave the temperature preferred or what!?), but they will do that if requested.

We've called ahead to let the butler know we'll be ready for the requested snacks, to help him with the timing.

More generally, non-Haven suites we've been in also had the cordless phones, as well as Haven suites.

(This was for suites on ships that had no Haven, so perhaps it is different from what takeadip posted about this being specifically for Haven passengers?)

After all, OP asked about "suites and butlers", not specifically about only Haven suites.

We have requested very little of our butler on our two suite cruies, and we received a LOT.

Received without a request:

- snacks in our room each afternoon. On our last cruise, we got the snack of the day, plus a plate of cookies and a full fruit bowl every day because the butler noticed my kids liked cookies and fruit.

- daily check in to see if we needed anything

Requested:

- room service in our room for a breakfast on a port day with an early tender time: linen cloth, full set up, very nicely done.

- room service for lunch for my mother on two port days when we were ashore and left my mom behind: butler checked on her three times, made sure she had everything she needed

- pitcher of orange juice to make mimosas from the sparkling wine that came with suite

- plates to serve snacks we brought with us for cabin crawl

Our first butler was good, our second butler was knock your socks off great, so your mileage may vary.