What does the butler do ?

[TahoeTraveler]

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

Oh, dear, now we're quoting psychoanalysts!! :eek:

 

It sounds as if 2old4this isn't really expanding any wishes, but just expressing expectations based upon Regent's own advertising claims...which have been greatly overstated, at least based on my own experiences. The butler concept is a great one...but seems to be lacking when actually implemented by Regent. I'm really hoping the butler on our next Regent cruise will prove me wrong...but I certainly won't be betting on it.

[OrpingtonT]

It sounds as if 2old4this isn't really expanding any wishes, but just expressing expectations based upon Regent's own advertising claims...which have been greatly overstated, at least based on my own experiences. The butler concept is a great one...but seems to be lacking when actually implemented by Regent. I'm really hoping the butler on our next Regent cruise will prove me wrong...but I certainly won't be betting on it.

 

 

I don't think that is entirely fair. The butler is there to do whatever you ask within reason. That most of us cannot think of things for him to do is hardly Regent's fault. When on board we are generally pampered and looked after in most areas anyway.

[TahoeTraveler]

I don't think that is entirely fair. The butler is there to do whatever you ask within reason. That most of us cannot think of things for him to do is hardly Regent's fault. When on board we are generally pampered and looked after in most areas anyway.

I would agree with you except that on our last cruise we specifically told our butler what we wanted (sparkling water, beer, etc refilled in our fridge), and yet absolutely NOTHING was ever delivered. We ended up going to the bars to restock our own fridge. If asking for those things was not "within reason" then I am completely wrong. But based on Regent's advertising, I thought that was part of the butler's duties (and, quite frankly, should have been regardless of any advertising claims). Perhaps I am somehow expecting too much of the butlers...but why have them if they aren't actually going to provide some sort of personalized service??

[amandamcmullan]

we just returned home from a mariner cruise in the black sea. our butler not only filled our fridge with the requested soft drinks every day without us ever asking, he kept a shelf filled with rose and white wines and baileys liqueur that we had mentioned liking when we first met him. early morning coffees were delivered at exactly the time requested and laundry bags disappeared while we were out and reappeared hung up in the wardrobe. hard to expect or receive much more than this. a

[OrpingtonT]

I would agree with you except that on our last cruise we specifically told our butler what we wanted (sparkling water, beer, etc refilled in our fridge), and yet absolutely NOTHING was ever delivered. We ended up going to the bars to restock our own fridge. If asking for those things was not "within reason" then I am completely wrong. But based on Regent's advertising, I thought that was part of the butler's duties (and, quite frankly, should have been regardless of any advertising claims). Perhaps I am somehow expecting too much of the butlers...but why have them if they aren't actually going to provide some sort of personalized service??

 

I certainly don't think you are expecting too much of your butler. Those are the very jobs he should do even without asking. There is a head of butler posts and if your butler persistently did not do those things, you should speak to that person or the hotel manager. That would help raise the standards.

[JACKHAWK]

We have had suites with & without butlers - everyday on every cruise they were restocked without us saying a word.

[TahoeTraveler]

We are trying a butler suite again on our next cruise, and are hoping we have the same experiences that Amanda and Jack had. If not, and our butler ends up not doing even the basics, we will certainly take our concerns up the chain. We didn't do that on our last cruise because, quite honestly, it was our first butler experience on Regent and we really didn't know what to expect (and didn't want to be complainers). Thanks everyone for the comments...now we're a bit more in the know as to what a butler should do.

[Belltown]

...and laundry bags disappeared while we were out and reappeared hung up in the wardrobe.

 

Amanda,

 

I have a question about the laundering that the butler handled for you...did he/she actually do your laundry (ie, instead of you doing it yourself in the laundry room) or is this a laundry service that you pay extra for? Thank you!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Amanda,

 

I have a question about the laundering that the butler handled for you...did he/she actually do your laundry (ie, instead of you doing it yourself in the laundry room) or is this a laundry service that you pay extra for? Thank you!

 

It's a laundry service that you pay for. He just picks it up and delivers it.

[Belltown]

It's a laundry service that you pay for. He just picks it up and delivers it.

 

WTW, I assumed that was the case and appreciate the confirmation.

[Responder]

It's a laundry service that you pay for. He just picks it up and delivers it.

 

 

On all our cruises, the room steward did that as well..

[2old4this]

I don't think that is entirely fair. The butler is there to do whatever you ask within reason. That most of us cannot think of things for him to do is hardly Regent's fault. When on board we are generally pampered and looked after in most areas anyway.

 

OrpingtonT - I have experienced a Regent advertised butler service one time and I will have one again on my next Regent cruise in April. I shall have my little list which I have described for all of you on this thread. You can see that I have thought of things for him to do and I ask you now if you find anything on my list that you feel I am asking for too much? I would appreciate your comments and I most whole-heartedly seek any additions to the list you might add. Seriously, the butler service, albeit, divided among a number of cabins, is something that Regent crows a lot about - and it charges for in the overall fee. Jack Morris

[Travelcat2]

OrpingtonT - I have experienced a Regent advertised butler service one time and I will have one again on my next Regent cruise in April. I shall have my little list which I have described for all of you on this thread. You can see that I have thought of things for him to do and I ask you now if you find anything on my list that you feel I am asking for too much? I would appreciate your comments and I most whole-heartedly seek any additions to the list you might add. Seriously, the butler service, albeit, divided among a number of cabins, is something that Regent crows a lot about - and it charges for in the overall fee. Jack Morris

 

Expecting your butler to take care of reservations off of the ship is too much to ask IMO. To my knowledge, they cannot use the ship's telephone to make inquiries/reservations at each port. Sometimes people come on board from various ports to hand out maps and other information to guests. They would be in the area of Destination Services (or, I could be mistaken. . . . I know for sure that this is done on Silversea). The butler works long hours and hopes for a couple hours off in the afternoon to go on shore and contact their loved ones. Most people do not try to give them so much to do that they are not able to have any time to themselves.

[2old4this]

Expecting your butler to take care of reservations off of the ship is too much to ask IMO. To my knowledge, they cannot use the ship's telephone to make inquiries/reservations at each port. Sometimes people come on board from various ports to hand out maps and other information to guests. They would be in the area of Destination Services (or, I could be mistaken. . . . I know for sure that this is done on Silversea). The butler works long hours and hopes for a couple hours off in the afternoon to go on shore and contact their loved ones. Most people do not try to give them so much to do that they are not able to have any time to themselves.

 

Travelcat2 - Good answer and thanks. I don't think many of us ask much at all of the butlers, do you? Most of us have never had the luxury of one and don't have a clue as to what they are to do. Perhaps you have seen my list I posted earlier on this thread. Other than shore excursion support you cited, anything there that you feel is unreasonable? Jack Morris

[TheSeaAroundUs]

Jack, just understand that they have many cabins to look after and timeliness may depend on how much workload they have at that time.

 

On Mariner, RIO->FLL this March, three nights before disembarking I ordered soup, a main plate, and dessert for my suite. (I was eating alone.) Over an hour after ringing room service, I phoned the butler and said "obviously something has gone wrong with my order. I'll be happy to order a pizza or something from room service." He said no, nothing was wrong (it was half an hour after CR's stated closing hour at this time), but that the kitchen had been very busy and he was busy assembling my order right then.

 

Twenty minutes later, when it arrived, my main plate had obviously been sitting under a warming lamp for AT LEAST half an hour. The sauce that the meat was served "over" had a thick skin on top and long drying lines from the edges to the center where it had largely dried on the plate. The mushy peas had a dried, oxidized layer on the outside. (I can post a photograph if anyone is interested.) I ate it and did not say a word to anybody, until now. (I was traveling with family in a Master Suite.)

 

The butlers have something like 9, 10, 11 cabins to deal with. Obviously folks were partying heartily in their suites and demanding heavily of their butlers that close to the end of the cruise. I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to have been able to simply have ROOM SERVICE deliver this meal, for crying out loud!!!! Insisting that butlers must deliver all room service CERTAINLY impacted that meal. Perhaps I should send this message to Mark in an email, including the photograph.

 

I will not ask for a room service meal ever again without FIRST phoning the butler and asking for an assessment of his workload at the time.

[TahoeTraveler]

Expecting your butler to take care of reservations off of the ship is too much to ask IMO. To my knowledge, they cannot use the ship's telephone to make inquiries/reservations at each port.

Unfortunately, Regent advertises that that is exactly what the butler should do. Their website clearly states as one of the butler's duties, "If making changes in your shore plans, a Butler can arrange for a private car or lunch reservations at your favorite restaurant." I agree this is asking too much of a butler...but Regent should certainly not be advertising this if it is too much to ask. I got the "deer in the headlights" look from my butler on the last cruise when I mentioned this, so obviously Regent's claims have not made it down the chain to the people it affects the most...the butlers themselves.

[2old4this]

Jack, just understand that they have many cabins to look after and timeliness may depend on how much workload they have at that time.

 

On Mariner, RIO->FLL this March, three nights before disembarking I ordered soup, a main plate, and dessert for my suite. (I was eating alone.) Over an hour after ringing room service, I phoned the butler and said "obviously something has gone wrong with my order. I'll be happy to order a pizza or something from room service." He said no, nothing was wrong (it was half an hour after CR's stated closing hour at this time), but that the kitchen had been very busy and he was busy assembling my order right then.

 

Twenty minutes later, when it arrived, my main plate had obviously been sitting under a warming lamp for AT LEAST half an hour. The sauce that the meat was served "over" had a thick skin on top and long drying lines from the edges to the center where it had largely dried on the plate. The mushy peas had a dried, oxidized layer on the outside. (I can post a photograph if anyone is interested.) I ate it and did not say a word to anybody, until now. (I was traveling with family in a Master Suite.)

 

The butlers have something like 9, 10, 11 cabins to deal with. Obviously folks were partying heartily in their suites and demanding heavily of their butlers that close to the end of the cruise. I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to have been able to simply have ROOM SERVICE deliver this meal, for crying out loud!!!! Insisting that butlers must deliver all room service CERTAINLY impacted that meal. Perhaps I should send this message to Mark in an email, including the photograph.

 

I will not ask for a room service meal ever again without FIRST phoning the butler and asking for an assessment of his workload at the time.

 

TheSeaAroundUs - Thanks for the description of your meal. You really had a complaint. And while in a Master Suite, as well. The butlers apparently don't play favorites and that's good news. But, had you been told early on that he would be delayed with your request, your story might have had a different ending. It appears to me that a simple warning to you would have explained away the delay and doing that would have marked him more a real 'butler' than merely a waiter running an errand.

 

Mark should read of such things because your dinner complaint and the observations of others such as Tahoetraveler when added together tend to bring down the reputation of not only the butler concept but the cruise line, too. They need to be 'fixed' for the good of the cruise line and for the travelers who occupy our cabins behind us.

 

In truth, I think most of us are willing to let our complaints fall by the wayside rather than bring them to the attention of those in charge. We are vacationing and don't want to be the one person that points to issues that a butler may be having. My guess is we would rather overlook shortcomings of staff and pretend it really in none of our business. Jack Morris

[2old4this]

we just returned home from a mariner cruise in the black sea. our butler not only filled our fridge with the requested soft drinks every day without us ever asking, he kept a shelf filled with rose and white wines and baileys liqueur that we had mentioned liking when we first met him. early morning coffees were delivered at exactly the time requested and laundry bags disappeared while we were out and reappeared hung up in the wardrobe. hard to expect or receive much more than this. a

 

Good for you amandamcmullan, you were most fortunate. What was your butler's name again? We should all seek him out. Jack Morris

[TheSeaAroundUs]

...a simple warning to you would have explained away the delay and doing that would have marked him more a real 'butler' than merely a waiter running an errand.

To add detail, Jack -- I did not ask to involve the butler. I phoned room service, and I specified that I did not want it served course-by-course, just bring me the soup, main plate, and dessert all in one go. Room service said "I'll tell your butler...." (not the first time I'd heard that, and it seems unreasonable for the butler if you just want some food!) The food looks as if it was ready in short order and sat for a hot hour, now that I review the photo ... it was probably gorgeous when it was fresh....

 

edit; p.s. I didn't say anything because I'm certain that it wasn't the butler's fault, and he might get the heat for it. He was otherwise terrific. I'm convinced that they are told not to mention their other duties so as not to sully the illusion of exclusivity ... though next time, armed with my past experience, I bet I can get a good estimate out of him!

[OrpingtonT]

OrpingtonT - I have experienced a Regent advertised butler service one time and I will have one again on my next Regent cruise in April. I shall have my little list which I have described for all of you on this thread. You can see that I have thought of things for him to do and I ask you now if you find anything on my list that you feel I am asking for too much? I would appreciate your comments and I most whole-heartedly seek any additions to the list you might add. Seriously, the butler service, albeit, divided among a number of cabins, is something that Regent crows a lot about - and it charges for in the overall fee. Jack Morris

 

Though not an expert on butler service, I think your list is about right. I certainly never thought of many things for a butler to do during the two cruises I sailed in a Penthouse suite. I fact the afternoon service of bits and pieces (cheese plate, prawns and so on) was a bit of an embarrassment as we usually left them alone. That is, until we twigged that we should tell him not to bother. We asked for coffee at 7 am each morning but even this stopped us having a lie in when we felt we wanted one! I'd rather have room service bring it when we rang down when ready for coffee. This will be especially important on our TA cruise in November. Travelling westwards means an hour time change most nights.

 

On the couple of occasions we have had dinner in our suite, everything went well, and frankly we felt quite spoilt being waited on solicitously by an imposing young man in tails.

 

I think you are right, Jack, when you said earlier that being on vacation, most of us don't want the hassle of complaining unless the problem is really serious.

 

I will not ask for a room service meal ever again without FIRST phoning the butler and asking for an assessment of his workload at the time.

 

That's an idea I shall follow in future.

 

I haven't changed my thoughts, though that I wouldn't pay for a butler, but I do like the bigger suites which he comes with.

[Linda VH]

Reading this thread with interest as we are planning our first Regent cruise on Navigator. We have had butler service twice - once on Celebrity that was pretty good and once on Crystal that was exemplary.

[OrpingtonT]

Reading this thread with interest as we are planning our first Regent cruise on Navigator. We have had butler service twice - once on Celebrity that was pretty good and once on Crystal that was exemplary.

 

What did he do for you that was pretty good on Celebrity and exemplary on Crystal?

[amandamcmullan]

Amanda,

 

I have a question about the laundering that the butler handled for you...did he/she actually do your laundry (ie, instead of you doing it yourself in the laundry room) or is this a laundry service that you pay extra for? Thank you!

 

Hi, we paid extra for the laundry to be done but there were a couple of things we really liked about the service. first we asked him to check each morning if the laundry bag was hanging near the door when the service room sign was on our door. that way we didn't need to call specially. the second thing was the clean laundry returned by magic on hangers in the wardrobe the evening.

 

the prices were very reasonable, and frankly, I do enough laundry at home without doing it on a luxury cruise. hope you have a great cruise. a

[RachelG]

Hi, we paid extra for the laundry to be done but there were a couple of things we really liked about the service. first we asked him to check each morning if the laundry bag was hanging near the door when the service room sign was on our door. that way we didn't need to call specially. the second thing was the clean laundry returned by magic on hangers in the wardrobe the evening.

 

the prices were very reasonable, and frankly, I do enough laundry at home without doing it on a luxury cruise. hope you have a great cruise. a

 

The room stewardess will do this for you if you don't have a butler.

[Responder]

The room stewardess will do this for you if you don't have a butler.

 

You've said it before and so have I. This even has an advantage.

 

We don't have to wait for the butler to deliver any in-room food...the kitchen does it and has always been quick for us on all 3 ships.

 

In addition, as soon as we describe what we want in terms of beverages, wine, pillows, etc., it appears without an issue.

 

Personally, I prefer to make my calls directly for things I need and that has always worked for us...ie: reservations, Spa.....