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Yiks! A Butler


nana541

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Today thru a wonderful stroke of luck and a DH who spoils me I find myself with a Seven Seas Suite (Aft) anddddd a Butler for our upcoming Mariner cruise. Did I say my DH is a sweety and spoils me?

 

Anyhow, what in heavens name do you do with a Butler? Would any of you who have had the pleasure of a Regent Butler please tell me what your "favorite" thing your Butler did for you. Maybe then I will figure out what to do with him?

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We usually have butlers and first like to get to know them -- where they are from, their families, etc. As you know, they will bring appetizers from the butler menu at approximately 5:00 p.m. If you want to cancel or change excursion or dining reservations, they will take care of that for you. They also make sure you have the items you want/need in your suite (fill out the butler form that should be on the Regent website under "Your Account". They will check your suite every day to make sure you have what you need.

 

Some people like them to pack or unpack your luggage. We prefer not to have that done (in fact, it it sounds rather yucky).

 

I think it is fair to say that we are all excited about your cruise and can't wait to read abut it:D

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Thanks TC2!!! We are very excited and this "upgrade" is (I think) a once in a lifetime opportunity.... :) Never imagined that a Butler would be in our future.... So i really want to go about this in the right way. Your advice is greatly appreciated.....

 

I promise to do my best to report on our Adventures on the ship and on land! Thank god internet time is finally free as the internet service is the pits! Has any one figured out how to get iPads to work with Regents onboard internet service. I am still bringing mine even though I know there is an iPad included with our cabin. Mine has my Kindle books already loaded :)

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I reported this a few years back, but it bears repeating.

 

The Travel Channel used to have a show where a trio of critics---restaurant, hotel and design---would check into a hotel under phony identifications with hidden cameras and see how far they could push the staff to please them. One week they went on Regent. It might have been Mariner. The hotel guy checked into a butler suite and played a spoiled rich guy. He whined to the butler that, at home, he was used to having everything monogrammed. When he returned from dinner, all his bathroom towels had his monogram added. That's the kind of service some people get from butlers.

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was when my husband packed and only ONE pair of dress pants--WHITE! Yikes, I unpacked and there was a stain! Yup--Butler got it fixed right away.

 

Another time we were on a ship that required tuxedos and a friend insisted on renting. The tuxedo he got, just 15 minutes before dinner had pants that would have fit two of us. The butler rounded up a LOT of safety pins and we pinned him in. Don't know if he managed to go to the bathroom or not! Certainly didn't unbutton his coat which thankfully was the right size--LOL

 

Butlers are wonderful. We actually cruised with TC2 and her butler was so good to her, he delivered something to us after they left (we stayed on) and he had tears in his eyes as he knew we were having a good time together. He was so proud that he could deliver her package.

 

Butlers work hard and they have hearts.

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Today thru a wonderful stroke of luck and a DH who spoils me I find myself with a Seven Seas Suite (Aft) anddddd a Butler for our upcoming Mariner cruise. Did I say my DH is a sweety and spoils me?

 

Anyhow, what in heavens name do you do with a Butler? Would any of you who have had the pleasure of a Regent Butler please tell me what your "favorite" thing your Butler did for you. Maybe then I will figure out what to do with him?

 

On our cruise last August on the Voyager our butler, without any request from us surprised me for my birthday. Upon return from dinner our suite was decorated up with balloons, streamers, and a Happy Birthday banner. On the table was a bottle of champagne along with a wondeful cake. Most thoughtful on his part. Throughout the trip one can expect many extras if you only ask.

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Our least favorite butler was Joachim, the diminutive Spaniard on the Paul Gauguin.

 

My 5-ft blonde wife was alone in the cabin unpacking when Joachim introduced all 5-2 of himself in a most flowery and suggestive manner, concluding with "please let me know if there is anything, ANYTHING AT ALL, that I can do for you, Madam. (Wink, wink.)

 

I think he believed that he was Zorro, but he was far more reminiscent of the progenty of an illicit (and biologically impossible) union between Sgt. Garcia and Manuel from Fawlty Towers...

 

Needless to say, we required none of his, er, services during the remainder of the cruise.

 

I learned later that this was his modus operandi, and that it occasionally succeeded. I like to think the end involved a jealous husband and the deep South Pacific, perhaps in the vicinity of Amelia Earhart's last plane...

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Our Butler showed us how to use the iPad. It only took 5 minutes. I also saw people taking their iPads to the computer room for the expert to explain it to them.

 

Whenever you want room service, you can call your Butler instead. That sounds a bit strange but he will be the one that brings it to you and sets it up in your suite anyway. BTW, they try to go ashore in the afternoon so another Butler will probably answer the phone and relay the message.

 

I'm trying to remember what ship you'll be on. Anyway, on the Mariner we had Roy as a Butler and he was absolutely amazing. This is what I wrote on my review (posted on the Review board of CC) about him. This is from January of last year:

 

SERVICE: This is the area where everyone excelled on this trip. The following is what I put on our comment card about some of the staff: “Roy, is the best Butler we have had. If he had waited until we asked him to do something, he would have done nothing for us (which has happened on previous cruises). We are low maintenance while Roy is proactive. When he saw my husband walking down the hall with excursion tickets, Roy stopped him, took the tickets and told him that he would take care of it for us (and he did). He is a wonderful person and a perfect Butler.

 

On our Deember cruise (Voyager), Raj was our Butler and was also proactive. During one of our chats I mentioned the new menu in Signatures and how we missed the mushroom soup. He promptly made a special order for us. Then he stopped by our table at dinner to see how we enjoyed it. This was very over the top -- we had not seen that kind of excellent service before.

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We had Raj as our butler for our 111 days on the Voyager in 2011 and it spoiled us. Not only did he perform all of the services others have talked about, we had him unpack for us. While I did rearrange some, it really saved me a lot of time.

 

We became friends and when we got to Mumbia, he insisted on taking us to dinner to meet his wife and friends. It was a great experience and one of the highlights of our trip.

 

He arranged several get togethers in the cabin for us, made sure our shoes were always shined, cleaned a very dirt shoe that I was going to through away and generally made us even more spoiled than we were.

 

I would never turn down a butler!

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Thanks everyone for the advice! I am sure we will be spoiled.... And I can't bring my butler home with me??? We are sailing on the Mariner 4/2 out of Barcelona.

Now for one final issue and I don't want to start a problem.... Assuming our Butler is as wonderful as some have described.. What would be the kind of tip we should provide him???? Ya I know but we have always rewarded a couple special crew members who provided excellence in their service to us...

Advice???

 

PS Grothj - I'm excited I didn't turn down the Butler either thanks to DH!

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I tried to not respond to this post as it goes against everything that I believe Regent stands for. And, I understand that people from the U.S. have some kind of weird compulsion to tip (I was born here and understand that compulsion). However, I have a very firm belief that tipping on Regent undermines everything good that Regent has to offer.

 

When you tip a Butler, you ignore the people who prepared the food that he delivers to your suite. When you tip the Steward/Stewardess you ignore the people who wash and iron your linens. Actually, when you tip the staff it encourages an expectation that should not exist on this type of luxury cruise line. If people from the United States continue to do this, the entire premise upon what luxury cruise lines were built would be diminished. IMO, tipping the crew disrespects Regent (and I feel very strongly on this issue). Here we have a thread (different thread) that does not want to tip tour guides and drivers -- people who are not receiving extra money from Regent for serving you. . . . yet, passengers want to go against guidelines and tip the crew.

 

If there is money burning a hole in your pocket, donate to the Crew Fund. At least this benefits ALL crew members! Sorry for being heavy handed and sarcastic. . . . but, hearing that some people tip (against suggestions) and others don't makes me furious.

 

Would love to hear that you enjoyed your upgrade and your Butler. But, please, if you tip the Butler, don't post it on CC.:mad:

 

P.S. It is due to my deep respect for CC rules that I don't state exactly how I feel. PLEASE -- don't ruin Regent!

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I tried to not respond to this post as it goes against everything that I believe Regent stands for. And, I understand that people from the U.S. have some kind of weird compulsion to tip (I was born here and understand that compulsion). However, I have a very firm belief that tipping on Regent undermines everything good that Regent has to offer.

 

When you tip a Butler, you ignore the people who prepared the food that he delivers to your suite. When you tip the Steward/Stewardess you ignore the people who wash and iron your linens. Actually, when you tip the staff it encourages an expectation that should not exist on this type of luxury cruise line. If people from the United States continue to do this, the entire premise upon what luxury cruise lines were built would be diminished. IMO, tipping the crew disrespects Regent (and I feel very strongly on this issue). Here we have a thread (different thread) that does not want to tip tour guides and drivers -- people who are not receiving extra money from Regent for serving you. . . . yet, passengers want to go against guidelines and tip the crew.

 

If there is money burning a hole in your pocket, donate to the Crew Fund. At least this benefits ALL crew members! Sorry for being heavy handed and sarcastic. . . . but, hearing that some people tip (against suggestions) and others don't makes me furious.

 

Would love to hear that you enjoyed your upgrade and your Butler. But, please, if you tip the Butler, don't post it on CC.:mad:

 

P.S. It is due to my deep respect for CC rules that I don't state exactly how I feel. PLEASE -- don't ruin Regent!

 

sorry TC2 that is exactly the reaction I expected ( afraid of anyway)... I do not want to start a 20 page thread. We love Regent for exactly these values and I was only concerned due to the catagory of cabin may have "unspoken expectations" and we do not want to "short" a valued crew member when we should have known better! We have in the past donated to the crew fund but have also "slipped" a modest amount to one or two for Exceptional service!

 

I know this is a difficult subject and want to just do the correct thing.

Thank you soooooo much for you response, i truely respect your feelings on this subject. I do not want to ruin Regent and the values we all love!

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nana541: Thank you for being so understanding. We always stay in upper suites and do not tip our butler. Still, when they see us a year or so later, they run up to greet us. They are all lovely people. Being kind to them and interested in them and their lives is what makes them truly happy.:)

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Last April we were fortunate to have Raj as our butler. He, and the rest of Navigator's wonderful crew, made for an amazing cruise.

 

We donated to the Crew Fund. As a matter of fact, I asked Raj about to whom to give the envelope, and he told me that the Purser's desk would be the place to go, and he offered to take care of it for me. He thanked us profusely and sincerely for the fund donation, and said that when he had a family emergency (his brother had been severely injured in an accident and subsequently died) the fund was there for him. We did not tip him or our stewardess extra, even though we were sorely tempted to do so!

 

We received a lovely thank-you card from the front desk for our donation.

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Tipping is a matter of personal choice; I don't think a nominal gift is out of line; Our butler did something so exceptional for us that it would have been in bad taste not to gift him a little something; We still contributed to the crew fund to say thank you to everyone; I rarely tip personally onboard Regent because of the policy but I doubt that a small token will "Ruin" Regent.

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Nana, I forgot to mention that one evening when our butler was delivering the canapes, we jokingly said, "Gee, Raj, these are great, but we really miss having popcorn...!"

 

The next thing we knew, he was at the door with a big bowl of popcorn, delivered on a silver tray, and presented with a huge smile and a flourish. I keep remembering all the little things that makes Regent service such a wonderful thing!

 

So, don't be afraid to ask for some fresh popcorn if you so desire.....:)

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TC2, You certainly let everyone know that tipping is not a good thing! You and I generally agree; but here I think you are Scroogish. The best thing to do, you're right, is to give to the crew fund. But, and a big but in my mind, is that it's not wrong to give a small present for service above and beyond. As an example; we had a really special waiter on SS, we ascertained his wife's desires and bought a small set of earings in Puerto Mont. He didn't know what they were but the fact we had thought of his family overwhelmed him. I really don't care if you disapprove, response on a personal level means a lot.

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