What does the butler do ?

Silly question, but not having cruised I would like to know what the butler "adds" to the experience. Can anyone give me some ideas about what the butler has done for them on a Regent cruise ? Thanks for any help. :o

Silly question, but not having cruised I would like to know what the butler "adds" to the experience. Can anyone give me some ideas about what the butler has done for them on a Regent cruise ? Thanks for any help. :o

The only time we had a butler was when we were upgraded to a butler suite.

Except for bringing some insipid hors d' oeuvres every day at 4:30, he did nothing else for us. To be fair, we didn't ask him to do anything, and since we would have had to call him each time to do something, we made the calls directly ourselves.

We would never pay extra for a butler suite...this was a free upgrade.

I believe you will find the service to be so good in every respect on Regent, the need for a butler may not be necessary...except as a novelty of course..

Thanks for the info. In fact, it is an upgrade for us as well...Have been told they can unpack your bags and stuff like that. Actually I don't really want him to unpack for me. Now REPACKING might be another story...

We don't really make use of the butler, but have had one on both our Regent cruises. He managed all laundry (I decided that if I was on holiday, I was not going to spend part of it hanging out in the laundry room); he dealt with getting another reservation at Prime 7; when the schedule in the Caribbean was unexpectedly changed, he re-organised a restaurant reservation on St. Barts for us.

We have had a butler suite on most of our Regent cruises. The butlers vary quite a bit in terms of what they can do or suggest for you. I suppose that is human! Some of the best butlers have:

obtained special hors d'oeuvres for us that we like and are not on the menu; set up additional dining reservations for us in speciality restaurants; set up a surprise birthday party for my husband, complete with baloons, streamers, cards, cake etc AND a complimentary bottle of Veuve Cliquot; produced a birthday cake for me and a lovely bunch of flowers at short notice (!); brought, without being asked, a second bottle of Calvados when our firt one was getting low (Husband really appreciated this!!); set up a special Indian meal for us one night at the CR;

I could go on and on. If you havea great butler - Raj, Pritham come to mind - they really really take care of you. And it is a great feeling. On the other hand if the butler is less motivated (and I have only had ONE like this!) they are next to useless.

We have had a butler suite on most of our Regent cruises. The butlers vary quite a bit in terms of what they can do or suggest for you. I suppose that is human! Some of the best butlers have:

obtained special hors d'oeuvres for us that we like and are not on the menu; set up additional dining reservations for us in speciality restaurants; set up a surprise birthday party for my husband, complete with baloons, streamers, cards, cake etc AND a complimentary bottle of Veuve Cliquot; produced a birthday cake for me and a lovely bunch of flowers at short notice (!); brought, without being asked, a second bottle of Calvados when our firt one was getting low (Husband really appreciated this!!); set up a special Indian meal for us one night at the CR;

I could go on and on. If you havea great butler - Raj, Pritham come to mind - they really really take care of you. And it is a great feeling. On the other hand if the butler is less motivated (and I have only had ONE like this!) they are next to useless.

I agree with Gerry above. A butler will do as much, within reason, as you want him to do. He is there when you want him. I doubt if many use his services to unpack but he will if asked. It is nice to have a butler around, but like Responder, I would not pay extra merely for that. The better suites are worth the extra, though.

We've only had a butler twice. Yes, they give you a hors d'oeuvre menu, and bring them every day (and yes, they are mostly insipid--next time I will see if I can get something off-menu!) They have handled laundry, and they also deliver room service (so, if you want dinner in your room he will deliver it course by course). We rarely use room service, however I was feeling ill one night, and he brought me soup and sandwich, and clucked over me, which is always nice. I would never ask them to pack/unpack for me.

It's nice to have one, I liked it, but I would never spend the money for a butlered suite except to get a larger room.

Based on our experience they make it more difficult to get anything done on the ship since all requests have to go through them, including room service.

We certainly didn't have all our requests go through the butler. I agree with the majority of other posts. Our butler did as much as we asked him to. He handled laundry done by the ship, restaurant reservations, tracking down a soft drink that was running out on the ship, saw to it that minor repairs to the cabin were taken care of, etc.

I would not pay extra for a butler either, but when our upgraded suite came with one, it was certainly a positive for us.

We've had a butler once. He had little to do except for the day we had a cocktail party in our cabin for a dozen friends. We would normally not spend extra money just to have a butler. There are even circumstances when you are at a disadvantage having a butler. If you have a butler he delivers your room service order. Even in the middle of the night the butler on call will deliver your order. Your butler is assigned 8 or 9 cabins. If the tours are all leaving at 8:30 or 9:00 and four cabins order a room service breakfast at 7:00 am only one of the four will see breakfast at 7:00 am.

We started using butler suites because of included Business Class air on European itineraries. In addition to the air, we also had larger suites (in most cases) and the butler. Some butlers are considerably better than others. Our last butler was quite pro-active. He saw my DH walking down the hall with excursion tickets in his hand. He stopped him and ended up taking care of the cancellation for him. While having a butler is nice, you have certainly have a wonderful criuse without one:-)

My favorite example of a Butler story is one that I once saw on the Travel Channel. They used to have a show where three travel experts (hotel, food, decor) would check into hotels and really put the staff through their paces to see how good these places really were. One of the programs had them sail on a Regent ship, I believe Mariner, to try it out for food, accommodations and staff. One of the men had a butler suite and posed as a spoiled rich guy. He complained to the butler that all of his towels at home were monogrammed and he missed that. When he go back from dinner, the butler had monogrammed all the towels.

On Oceania our butler asked my husband for his shoes so he could polish them - without asking;

On Oceania our butler asked my husband for his shoes so he could polish them - without asking;

They have done this regularly on both Regent and Silversea. A bit surprised that this happens on Oceania.

Having a butler is nice but certainly not necessary. We had one on Mariner last January and frankly he was about as handy as my oldest grandson when asked to help us with the dishes. He looked niffty in his long tail coat and he tried his best to keep my wife and I pleased with his service - what there was of it. Trouble was he had 7 or 8 cabins to serve and as a consequence he was late for most of them, or so I imagined.

In short order he began to appear more a dashing about cabin steward than a butler.

In all honesty we asked little of him. When I did, however, he wasn't as swift with the response as I would have liked. What he had not explained to me on our first meeting was that I should have selected the little finger foods from his 'hors' list on the first day for all the days of the voyage. I made the mistake of only asking for the first day's delights and had trouble getting what I desired on the days to follow.

Then there was the restocking of the refrigerator with my desired beers and wines. If I went through 3 of the 4 cans of beer in an evening, he invariably waited until the next day, and only after I had consumed the 4th can, before he restocked. This meant a call and a wait when I really expected my butler to have anticipated my beer need and brought the 3 beers when I had gone off to dinner. There were problems with the restocking of wines, as well, and no matter how often I spoke or left notes asking for a wine change, the uncorked ones remained until I began setting them outside my cabin door.

There were times when the butler was simply too busy somewhere among the cabins to come my way. I found it quicker to run my errands or do whatever instead of waiting. But, I must add, there were some among my fellow travelers who enjoyed the service and offered up no complaints.

We are booked on Regent for April 2012 and I again have a butler. Wish me luck! - Jack Morris

Jack, enjoy your butler. I can't imagine the scenario where I would have need for one, as I could never let anyone pack my bags (the best I've heard). I get on the ship and want to be left alone! The more "staff" you have to worry about, the more chance they have to disappoint, especially when you don't need them anyway!

Jack, enjoy your butler. I can't imagine the scenario where I would have need for one, as I could never let anyone pack my bags (the best I've heard). I get on the ship and want to be left alone! The more "staff" you have to worry about, the more chance they have to disappoint, especially when you don't need them anyway!

You said it quite succinctly....

We seem to have always gotten the same service from our cabin stewards as others have from their Butlers...and with no added pretense..

You said it quite succinctly....

 

We seem to have always gotten the same service from our cabin stewards as others have from their Butlers...and with no added pretense..

Yes, very well said. Pretty useless all of the three times we have had one

We found them to be very busy, hard to find and little in terms of added value

Our cabin stewards have always been amazing but as of late, we notice they are also really overworked

They have done this regularly on both Regent and Silversea. A bit surprised that this happens on Oceania.

Why?

The best butlers we have had have actually been on non-luxury lines: Celebrity and Oceania. On Oceania, we were traveling with my parents and my partners' parents. We all had the same butler because our rooms were in pretty close proximity. He was amazing! He knew we were traveling together and did things like bring us special appetizers each evening. He also made sure we got extra reservations at the specialty dining venues and, because his wife was one of the wine stewards, we got amazing wne service wherever we went for dinner. She would show up whether stationed there or not because he told her where would be! He helped us arrange special excursions, had a special dinner cooked for us in the main dining room, and even made sure we got a full breakfast the morning we disembarked. I have nevr felt as well cared for by a butler on any other line. I guess what I am saying is much depends on the person you get as your butler.

We had a butler once due to an upgrade and completely enjoyed the experience. Our butler was wonderful but the value added wasn't enough to warrant paying for a higher cabin. I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed that lightening strikes twice.

The best butlers we have had have actually been on non-luxury lines: Celebrity and Oceania. On Oceania, we were traveling with my parents and my partners' parents. We all had the same butler because our rooms were in pretty close proximity. He was amazing! He knew we were traveling together and did things like bring us special appetizers each evening. He also made sure we got extra reservations at the specialty dining venues and, because his wife was one of the wine stewards, we got amazing wne service wherever we went for dinner. She would show up whether stationed there or not because he told her where would be! He helped us arrange special excursions, had a special dinner cooked for us in the main dining room, and even made sure we got a full breakfast the morning we disembarked. I have nevr felt as well cared for by a butler on any other line. I guess what I am saying is much depends on the person you get as your butler.

SanFranCruizer - Well said and your comments echoed a few others I heard at dinner time on Regent's Mariner. My description was based on one experience and I have to bow to yours as being the more reliable because you have used butlers many times. There was absolutely nothing 'amazing' about my butler and had he been solely in my employ I would have sent him away to chip paint.

Here is my list of what I expect from a butler on any Regent vessel.

1. Introduce him/herself as soon as is possible.

2. Be knowledgeable in everything the vessel has to offer me.

3. Make clear his hours and workload - I want to be fair in my expectations.

4. Explain what he shall do for me and when he will do it.

5. Take care of my reservations on the ship and off.

6. Ask me about my special/unique requests - Diet, health, issues.

7. Oversee my refrigerator as if it were his.

8. Inquire about my shoes, laundry, etc.

9. Surprises my wife with something chocolate without prior notice.

Jack Morris

SanFranCruizer - Well said and your comments echoed a few others I heard at dinner time on Regent's Mariner. My description was based on one experience and I have to bow to yours as being the more reliable because you have used butlers many times. There was absolutely nothing 'amazing' about my butler and had he been solely in my employ I would have sent him away to chip paint.

 

Here is my list of what I expect from a butler on any Regent vessel.

 

1. Introduce him/herself as soon as is possible.

2. Be knowledgeable in everything the vessel has to offer me.

3. Make clear his hours and workload - I want to be fair in my expectations.

4. Explain what he shall do for me and when he will do it.

5. Take care of my reservations on the ship and off.

6. Ask me about my special/unique requests - Diet, health, issues.

7. Oversee my refrigerator as if it were his.

8. Inquire about my shoes, laundry, etc.

9. Surprises my wife with something chocolate without prior notice.

 

Jack Morris

DATO'S LAW: Wishes expand in direct proportion to the resources available for their gratification. ;)

DATO'S LAW: Wishes expand in direct proportion to the resources available for their gratification. ;)

Fascinating quote regarding Dato's Law - Orgánica de Protección de Datos - but how does it apply to the subject at hand? Jack Morris

Fascinating quote regarding Dato's Law - Orgánica de Protección de Datos - but how does it apply to the subject at hand? Jack Morris

Didn't you post a wish list, even if it was tongue-in-cheek? :confused: