All Upsell Discussions

I am so excited. I am going to do a search right now but what can I expect? What does your butler do? Can I get liquor from the butler?

Is it very windy windy up front? We are in Cabin 9000, is there a problem at night with the balcony? I heard some ships make the balcony doors stay closed at night?

Congrats on your upsell....how much additional did you have to pay and what category were you originally booked in?

I have heard that forward facing cabins can be windy....but until you try it yourself I wouldn't worry about it...only you can decide what your comfort level is.

Enjoy your upgrade!!

We went from a mini suite to the penthouse. I wish I could tell you what we paid, my husband called me and said that he took the upsell and when I asked how much he said Happy Valentines Day.

How sweet of him.....:p

OK, after searching I have found that I still have to order a bar set up, that I can handle.

We are in cabin 9000 on the bow. I know that we will have a sea door and that we have to keep the lights on the balcony out at night but can we still use the balcony at night? I have not problem sitting in the dark.( and in the wind)

Also, if anyone has been in an AC on deck 9 ,I would love to see pictures. I have seen picture of 10500,but it looks like the square footage is different and I am wondering if the cabin is that different.

I would like to hear more abut butler service though. I have read a few posts,but I want to make sure that I am going into this with realistic expectations.

Thanks!

OK, after searching I have found that I still have to order a bar set up, that I can handle.

 

We are in cabin 9000 on the bow. I know that we will have a sea door and that we have to keep the lights on the balcony out at night but can we still use the balcony at night? I have not problem sitting in the dark.( and in the wind)

 

Also, if anyone has been in an AC on deck 9 ,I would love to see pictures. I have seen picture of 10500,but it looks like the square footage is different and I am wondering if the cabin is that different.

 

I would like to hear more abut butler service though. I have read a few posts,but I want to make sure that I am going into this with realistic expectations.

 

Thanks!

AHHHHHHHH bulter service just remember you paid for the bulter so don't be shy and work him for all he is worth.

The biggest mistake people make is not using there bulter enough.

The bulter will serve you any meal any time from any reasraunt on the ship at your desire but remember if you order from Le Bisto the cover charge still applies.

He will also stock the frig for you.

3dblouder

Just thought I would bump this up to the first page in hopes of getting a few tips on the butler situation.

Thanks!

We had the exact same situation on the Dawn: mini suite upsell to an AB Penthouse (paid $1000 for an upgrade worth $4000 :D ). We didn't know exactly what to expect with a butler either, but we loved them. I say them because Lani, our first butler, left half way through the week because she was going home on vacation out of Miami. Then, Ryan came on board. And, 3dblouder is right, use him/her as much as you can. They really do love to serve. We were traveling with our 2 kids (2yo DD and 7yo DS). Well, they both just doted over the kids. One morning we asked for some extra milk for them and we never had to ask again. Every time we opened the fridge, there was fresh milk, and cream for our coffe, and limes for our Gin/Tonics (bar setup). Order breakfast a few times, too. They bring it in on a cherry wood butler's cart and serve it with white table linens and real silverware and real plates, real glasses, too. If you want a specific drink, just call him/her. It will be brought to you. If you want something to eat (just about anything), call him/her. You won't have to wait long.

I had heard about ordering eggs benedict for breakfast (not on the menu) here from Cruise Critics. Well, guess what? It worked! I had them 4 mornings and Lani and Ryan were happy to oblige.

Here's another tip: bring thank you notes. They go a loooooooong way. About 3 days into the cruise, I sent thank yous to the butler, the head chef, the Hotel Director, and the Cruise Director. Just because I really appreciated everything they had done for us. Well, I recieved notes and/or calls from each one so appreciative of my gratitude that they said that ANYTHING I wanted, just call. I took advantage, but didn't take advantage if you know what I mean. I was always thankful and polite, but asked for anything. One time, I needed bobby pins for my hair and don't think that Lani didn't go to the spa, pick some up, and bring them to me!!! She and Ryan were absolutely awesome!!! Enjoy the butler. You'll never cruise without one again!! :D

Hi Tink....I think it was our pictures of #10500 that you saw.

Here is the skinny on cabin size.

#9000 294 sq. ft. cabin and 284 sq. ft. balcony

#10500 357 sq. ft. cabin and 144 sq. ft. balcony

#10502 281 sq. ft. cabin and 208 sq. ft. balcony

Yes, the balconies are very windy when the ship is up to speed. If the balcony door is open it will actually make the hallway outside your cain very windy. A little trick to alleviate this is to to roll up a towel and put it over the gap at the bottom of your cabin entry door.

Now for the butler as it was stated to us by Karan (our butler), he is there to make us happy. He/she will handle all of your in-suite dining activities. You can order anything you want. One breakfast I ordered corned beef hash with three poached eggs which is not on any menu anywhere. Also, if you decide to have dinner in your cabin he will take care of this. But remember if you order from a surcharge restaurant you will be charged said surcharge.

Another thing your butler will handle is if you want to have a gathering in your cabin he/she will do all of the setup and cleanup work for this party.

By the way congratulations on your upgrade. Ask hubby to check if cabin #10500 or #10000 are available. These are IMHO the best values on the ship.

PE<---is hoping for an upgrade for our November Jewel cruise again...

Tinkerbelldee,

Congrats on your upsell! My friends and I are on the same cruise and our fingers are crossed that we wil receive a phone call with an offer to upsell!!! Please include us in a meet and greet if there is one to be planned. There wil be 5 of us. See you in April...

Come one folks, let's talk butler.

I think I have read every post on this boad about butlers and I still ned more.

How much do I tip? and how often?

How do I make sure that I don't act like a demanding American tourist?

Any tips or tricks?

Come one folks, let's talk butler.

 

I think I have read every post on this boad about butlers and I still ned more.

 

How much do I tip? and how often?

How do I make sure that I don't act like a demanding American tourist?

 

Any tips or tricks?

I was in much the same boat as you when I got my upsell to the aft penthouse suite. Our butler, Maxi was wonderful. I wanted to know how to use the digital espresso/cap maker in our suite. He took the time to show us how, but then told me to just call him because we are, after all, on vacation. I gave him $30 the day we met him. I had a spontaneous party in my cabin over an intense Scrabble game with 8 of my family members visiting. We ordered room service for EVERYONE for a total of about 10 dishes. He brought everything and threw in a couple extra chocolate mousses for everybody. We tipped him $2-3 per person when it was delivered. At the end of the trip I gave him $100. I hope I don't get flamed for quoting my personal tips... I wasn't sure what was correct and may have over/under-tipped. I felt I erred on the side of over since we really didn't use him more than that and I prefer to over-tip in the service industry.

As for acting like a demanding American tourist- a smile and thank you goes a long way IMHO. I heard of one tip on this site that said to take $10 or $20 prepaid calling cards to pass out. I got the impression they would like that but never got around to it. :(

Come one folks, let's talk butler.

 

I think I have read every post on this boad about butlers and I still ned more.

 

How much do I tip? and how often?

How do I make sure that I don't act like a demanding American tourist?

 

Any tips or tricks?

I was in much the same boat as you when I got my upsell to the aft penthouse suite. Our butler, Maxi was wonderful. I wanted to know how to use the digital espresso/cap maker in our suite. He took the time to show us how, but then told me to just call him because we are, after all, on vacation. I gave him $30 the day we met him. I had a spontaneous party in my cabin over an intense Scrabble game with 8 of my family members visiting. We ordered room service for EVERYONE for a total of about 10 dishes. He brought everything and threw in a couple extra chocolate mousses for everybody. We tipped him $2-3 per person when it was delivered. At the end of the trip I gave him $100. I hope I don't get flamed for quoting my personal tips... I wasn't sure what was correct and may have over/under-tipped. I felt I erred on the side of over since we really didn't use him more than that and I prefer to over-tip in the service industry.

As for acting like a demanding American tourist- a smile and thank you goes a long way IMHO. I heard of one tip on this site that said to take $10 or $20 prepaid calling cards to pass out. I got the impression they would like that but never got around to it. :(

Also,

Come one folks, let's talk butler.

 

I think I have read every post on this boad about butlers and I still ned more.

 

How much do I tip? and how often?

How do I make sure that I don't act like a demanding American tourist?

 

Any tips or tricks?

Also, a good tip gleaned from this site... I took a stack of $100 one dollar bills and passed them out anytime someone went out of their way! That went a long way in not being looked at like a demanding tourist if I showed a small bit of monetary appreciation.

Come one folks, let's talk butler.

 

I think I have read every post on this boad about butlers and I still ned more.

 

How much do I tip? and how often?

How do I make sure that I don't act like a demanding American tourist?

 

Any tips or tricks?

Verbal thank you's and tips will ensure that you are not a demanding tourist. We tipped at the end and it was based on our requests which were daily serving of breakfast in our room. Another day, he delivered DVD's.

Someone else here mentioned phone cards as a mean of tipping. However, that can be difficult since most of the crew is international and all the calling cards do not necessarily work for their country. We always go for the safe thing... CASH. If I remember correctly we tipped $75.00 for a five day and $125.00 for a seven day. Don't forget to tip the Concierge too, if you use him/her.

We're going on NCL's Jewel next Christmas and will be staying in a Penthouse Suite. I know these suites have butlers and concierge (thanks for the 'tips' regarding 'tips'!!), but you also have room stewards also---right? I'm just trying to put a little money back here and there now for tips so I won't stress my DH out too bad with $500 worth of tips for everyone at the end (we don't differ on many things---but the amount to be tipped is always one of them!!!).:o Thanks for any advice you can give!

We're going on NCL's Jewel next Christmas and will be staying in a Penthouse Suite. I know these suites have butlers and concierge (thanks for the 'tips' regarding 'tips'!!), but you also have room stewards also---right? I'm just trying to put a little money back here and there now for tips so I won't stress my DH out too bad with $500 worth of tips for everyone at the end (we don't differ on many things---but the amount to be tipped is always one of them!!!).:o Thanks for any advice you can give!

I left a tip for our room stewards at the end because they had gone out of their way to keep our messy cabin tidy and created towel creatures every night. I also tipped $2 every time someone made the extra effort- i.e. maitre' d, server. I think I spent about $100 in extra tips not including concierge and butler. Everyone was VERY helpful!

We're sailing March 5th on the Jewel and are booked in a mini-suite AF. Our TA inquired for us on an upsell to a Penthouse AE and the price was $500.00 each. Does that sound like a good deal??? I've seen upsells on these boards for less. Trying to decide any advice from seasoned cruisers!? :eek: Thanks!!!!

We're sailing March 5th on the Jewel and are booked in a mini-suite AF. Our TA inquired for us on an upsell to a Penthouse AE and the price was $500.00 each. Does that sound like a good deal??? I've seen upsells on these boards for less. Trying to decide any advice from seasoned cruisers!? :eek: Thanks!!!!

It really depends what you paid for your AF. right now there is no AE available for 3/5 Jewel. What they do is take the current cost for the cabin you want and subtract what you paid for the cabin you are in and divide it by 2. So If you paid 1,000 pp and the new cabin is 2,000.00 your upsell woulkd be 500.00pp.

Thanks for the info Annie. We paid about $1300 for our mini-suite, so I guess with your calculation, it's about right??? Is it worth it???

This sounds like an awful offer. We upgraded/upselled (:rolleyes:??) from an AE to an AC for $400.00 pp last November. This offer came about 2 weeks prior to sailing. I don't know if this makes a difference, but we are Gold Latitudes level.

PE

Thanks Annie M and PE for the scoop on upsells to penthouse! Annie, as you had said, all AE's are gone and TA says AC's are $900.00 pp! Maybe because you were Lattitude members it made a big difference! Can't see $1800.00 more! Thats getting up there!!!

that is weird - we had an AF we booked last week on the march 5th jewel sailing for about 1100pp and we upsold to a A4 for 600pp last week as well...maybe everything is now gone? (fyi we were offered the A3 for 700pp but since it is two of us we decided we did not need it)

Hi Gang, I have the oppertunity to upgrade from a Balcony to a Penthouse on the POAm for only $350.00 pp. Sounds like a great deal, but being that this is Hawaii and we will be on land more than on the ship, is it worth it? Besides the larger room and balcony what are some of the other "perks". Thanks

In the AE you will have:

access to butler and concierge service

Access to a limited CD and DVD library

nice bathrobes in your cabin

bathtub instead of just a shower

an amenities basket in the bathroom.

priority tendering

priority embarkation/debarkation

You can order off the full room service menu and not just the limited room service menu.

Your balcony will be larger with a table and 4 chairs, plus two lounge chairs.

You should get sparkling wine, canapes, and flowers in your room when you board, plus a tray of fruit or canapes a couple of times during the week.

You may get invited to the Captain's VIP reception.

We got a similar upsell and we were thrilled with it. We were on our balcony a lot. I don't regret that upsell at all, but it was also a special occasion for us and we were celebrating.