Consierge Service

[DBI0530]

Just wondering how others have found the consierge service to be helpful. We just upgraded to a mini-suite.

[travelrevealed]

Unfortunately I do not have an answer for you, but do have the same question. Also, what sort of things can you request from the concierge?

 

NCL-Star Hawaii 2002

NCL-Crown S. America 12/04

[kparam]

We cruised the Star in Hawaii December 2003 and had a Romance Suite (AD). It included butler and concierge service. The concierge was good in that you could call him to make dinner reservations - he let us do the whole week at one time (and make changes). He will make shore excursion plans for you. About 3 or 4 times during the week we had goodie plates delivered to our room - small appetizers and cookies at night. If you have any other special needs you can call him. One thing though, most of the time he didn't answer on the first call, but when I left a detailed message, he called back with a response.

 

Karen & Mike

[SailorsMate]

I've heard on "Freestyle" the concierge can make reservations for the "speciality" restaurants, get priority tender passes, etc.. I booked a suite which includes "concierge" service- I doubt if I will use it..

[DBI0530]

Thanks for the info. We have some "special needs" that it sounds like will be easier to have the consierge help out with rather than the general guest services desk.

 

Of course, after having the special attention we will probably be spoiled, and not want to go without it on the next trip!

[zachnlucy]

Don't the mini suites come with a butler also? We just paid for an upgrade to an AF, and I read that it included concierge and butler service. What the heck does a butler do that would be different from a room steward?

 

Cindy

 

Sun to Alaska!

 

02/03 ~~ Holiday

07/03 ~~ Conquest

[karfest]

We had an AE, which had a concierge. We used him for priority tendering in each port.(which was great) He also made dinner reservations each night, and was available to set up shore excursions if needed. Even if you think you won't use the service,give him (or her) a call to introduce yourself. They are more than willing to help.

 

Karen

up next!

Dawn Princess April 30'04

Acapulco to Los Angeles

[DCT61]

No butler service with minisuites (cat AG/AF), only catagories AE and higher. Minisuites do get the use of a concierge.

 

INFINITY: 6/6/04

[Jeanne S]

On the Dawn, the concierge does not cater to mini suite passengers, only those are suites. You must contact the concierge first, or else be prepared to not hear from this office your entire trip. We were in a Cat AF last year.

 

Yes they can book specialty restaurants and for those that are non-paying, such as Salsa, more than a day in advance. They do not book reservations in the main dining rooms. We had to insist as it has stated in the brochure last year that if one wanted to dine at a table for the duration or another night, one only has to ask.

 

The Concerige can also run interference with the Excursion or Spa desk for you and can assist you with any customer service problems. There are quite a few mini suites on the Dawn and only 2 staff in this office, so they main concern is the suite passengers. During the shows, you will see prime seats reserved for the Suites (and Garden Villa’s).

 

I would visit the Concerige office at the start of your cruise to make your presence known, then when you have a request, they may be able to place a name with a face. ON the Dawn the office in back of the Purser’s desk, Portside.

[DBI0530]

Thanks for all of the great info. We will certainly go and introduce ourselves as you recommend.

[2Cruise4Ever]

My DH and I had a mini-suite for our honeymoon on Norway in '02 and thus had the services of the concierge. Let me tell you she was very, very busy. BUT, she was absolutely delightful. Some tips: first, contact your concierge within minutes of getting to your cabin. She/He will have a better time remembering the first faces she/he meets. Go to his/her office in person and introduce yourself with almost a syrup type attitude. Pleases and thank you's will get you very far. The Norway at the time was the longest cruise ship around so we couldn't dock anywhere. We tendered in at every port. Karen, our concierge was very diligent about getting us priority tender tickets. That was the biggest perk. She also stopped by frequently to see how we were doing. And, yes, we did have little treats delivered now and then.

 

Difference between concierge and butler: concierge will take care of everything off the ship (also specialty restaurant reservations). And, the butler will take care of EVERYTHING else: breakfast in the cabin, he/she will draw a bath for you, fetch you coffee in the morning, drinks in the evening. They also have specialty butler menus of food that is not available to other lower-category passengers.

 

Happy sailing!

[nycglitter]

Definatley make contact with the concierge. We cruised in an AF mini suite last year and were never contacted by the concierge. This May I am definately going to stop by and say hello.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[mandotsan]

Did not know that they had different classes of passage. Thought that went down with the Titanic..please let me know if they do..I sure would not want to Cruise on THAT ship I would be bumping into people all day, the ones who have thiere noses stuck up so high they can't see where they are going!

[Jett456]

If you pay a higher amount of money to stay in a premium cabin then you get the amenities that come with it. Its not like there are separate dining rooms or anything. You all get to see the same shows and eat the same food. Its just that if you choose first class accomodations you get a bit more attention.

[shoreguy]

Did not know that they had different classes of passage. Thought that went down with the Titanic..please let me know if they do..I sure would not want to Cruise on THAT ship I would be bumping into people all day, the ones who have thiere noses stuck up so high they can't see where they are going!

 

You're booked on THAT ship. Every cruise ship offers added services for those the book the top suites. I don't think you will be able to tell them from the other passengers. They don't put a big red S on their forehead.

 

You might be surpised those walking around full of themselves with noses in the air may be booked into the cheapest cabin on the ship :eek:

[Cruise_More_Often]

Did not know that they had different classes of passage. Thought that went down with the Titanic..please let me know if they do..I sure would not want to Cruise on THAT ship I would be bumping into people all day, the ones who have thiere noses stuck up so high they can't see where they are going!

You are kidding, aren't you?

[Starbuck1]

Mandotsan -

 

It's no different than a couple in Vegas booking a suite and receiving comps and tickets to shows, reservations at booked restaurants. It's called VIP treatment. Just like hotels, those who pay alot for their cruise accomodation get more perks. BTW, they also tip their butler and concierge well for their help.

 

When you meet the really nice, fun young couple sitting with you at dinner and they invite you to their owner's suite, you'll be embarrassed to have posted about class distinctions.

 

Respectfully,

 

:cool: Starbuck

 

NCL Sun - May 05 - Owner's Suite

[mrtractor]

....on cruises and wear it on my forehead. That's so when I'm walking around on deck with my nose stuck waaaaaay up in the air, my butler can recognize me and guide my to the private "suite passenger only" dining area. There I won't be bothered by all the common rabble that frequent the lower class dining rooms. :rolleyes:

 

With all that in mind, let me offer this short primer on "Working With the Concierge" that was part of my Dawn review a couple years ago. One of our fellow passengers, known on the boards as "BAMAX2" expressed displeasure with the same concierge that I thought was great. So consider that context and enjoy your suite. I hope this helps.

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Working With The Concierge- Sarah Rio was our concierge this trip and she did a superb job. I heard one other passenger from Alabama who will remain nameless (but his screen name on Cruise Critics is BAMA X 2) say that she was difficult to deal with. My experience was quite to the contrary. Let my just offer a few tips to our friend from Birmingham that may help in future dealings with people with an understanding of politesse.

 

1) Never demand anything. Ask nice.

 

2) Always use a soothing and polite tone of voice

 

3) Always express your appreciation for their service both monetarily and with a thank-you

 

4) Mention the name of the last concierge you had and what a great job they did

 

5) Understand what they can and can’t do for you and don’t ask them to break the rules. They are happy to bend them a little, like getting tender passes for your friends or getting you priority disembarkation even if you don’t have an early flight, but don’t ask them to pull the ship over so you can take a picture.

 

6) Never use phrases like, “What the h – e double toothpicks is the problem, BIATCH!?” This leads to a great deal of misunderstanding and may affect the manner in which you are treated.

 

 

Here are some of the things a concierge can do for you:

 

1) Priority Tender Tickets – This only came in handy at the private island on the eastern route, but on the western, it might be more important. On the Sun, the concierge actually met us and escorted us onto the very first tender before anyone else was allowed to board it. On the Dawn, you simply got a white card saying “VIP Tender Pass” and it allowed you to get on any available tender.

 

2) Dinner reservations – If your cabin category starts with the letter A, you are allowed to make a reservation at any of the alternative, reservation only restaurants at any time, so long as they are available. In lower categories, you may only call the day before. This is extremely helpful with the Teppanyaki Grill in Bamboo or Le Bistro as these can get filled up especially later on in the week.

 

3) Arrange for transportation – They can arrange for a rental car, or as in our case bus transfers to the airport. We just called and she sent two transfer tickets up to our room and put it on our onboard account. They can even arrange for a rental car in port.

 

4) Private parties. She can arrange for a private party in your suite if you wish and if its big enough. She can arrange for hors d’ oeuvres, a special menu, bar set ups and even servers in white gloves if you’d like. These will incur special charges, so ask before you arrange a party. It cost us around $100 plus gratuity to have a party in our suite with hot and cold food and two bottles of Champagne. Not that bad when you consider it.

 

5) Suites usually include a bottle of wine or Champagne. If you didn’t get one, ask when you get in. They may send one right up!

 

6) Shore Excursion Tickets – If you haven’t already made plans and want to use the ship’s excursions, no need to stand in line. Just call and tell them what you want and the tickets are delivered to your stateroom.

 

 

We really enjoyed having Sarah take care of all of the things we asked her for and we give her the highest marks. A little "Dale Carnegie" goes a long way, doesn’t it BAMA?

 

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If you'd like to know about the duties of the butler, I could tell you a little about that, too.....

 

MrTractor<--------wants to know who all those ill mannered people are and why they are on my cruiseship...........

[gregandamy]

You might be surpised those walking around full of themselves with noses in the air may be booked into the cheapest cabin on the ship :eek:

 

I hear that! Too true.

[Starbuck1]

TractorDude...

 

Thank you for Concierge-101! We'd be much obliged if you would cover Butler-101 when time permits!

 

Am off to see Dr. Rhynoplasty for a quote...

 

:cool: Starbuck

[mandotsan]

Difference between concierge and butler: concierge will take care of everything off the ship (also specialty restaurant reservations). And, the butler will take care of EVERYTHING else: breakfast in the cabin, he/she will draw a bath for you, fetch you coffee in the morning, drinks in the evening. They also have specialty butler menus of food that is not available to other lower-category passengers.

Hit a sore spot huh? Would not have gotten the response I did if it was not true. Sure can tell who they are by the response....When people on here start talking about Butlers and having them "draw a bath" , "fetch" (like in what a dog does), "lower-category" (as in lower glass) lets face it...call a spade a spade...snobs.:mad: That all I am going to say about this...

[shoreguy]

Hit a sore spot huh? Sure can tell who they are by the response....When people on here start talking about Butlers and having them "draw thiere bathes" lets face it...snobs.:mad: That all I am going to say about this...

 

Now I am confused for sure :confused: Did you want to upgrade so you could have a butler "draw your bath" :)

 

Thanks shoreguy for the info..I have gone to the NCL WEB site and have found that with three weeks to go they have quite a few Cabins W/Balconies and 6 suites available.....was hoping they would be available at the pier at a huge discount..oh well can't blame me for asking...LOL:o

[mandotsan]

Now I am confused for sure :confused: Did you want to upgrade so you could have a butler "draw your bath" :)

 

Sorry shoreguy....what I had ask for was about upgrading not the extra services.

We would not use any of the extra services..we like to do things for ourselves. It would have been nice to have a larger cabin thats all..no big deal..but make what you want out of it.:mad:

[shoreguy]

Now I am confused for sure :confused: Did you want to upgrade so you could have a butler "draw your bath" :)

 

Sorry shoreguy....what I had ask for was about upgrading not the extra services.

We would not use any of the extra services..we like to do things for ourselves. It would have been nice to have a larger cabin thats all..no big deal..but make what you want out of it.:mad:

 

 

Lighten up have some fun you are going on a cruise very soon :)

[Jeanne S]

Actually the Dawn Concierge will perform many on board services. I just got off the Dawn last week, was in an AF and Concierge Ruth was wonderful to my family and I, giving us priority tender tickets, VIP disembarkation tickets (were the first off the ship and before clearance was announced).

 

Each evening Ruth sent a plate of goodies to each of our three cabins. Smoked Salmon, Cheese platters, Truffles, Bon Bons, Crudités. I have followed Mr. Tractor’s advice when he first posted these two years ago and go on about 5 cruises a year. We are always treated well. A personal note goes a long way as do some kind and thoughtful words.

 

Mr. T – I actually once dated a Dale Carnegie instructor. Mr. Tractor and Shore Guy know of what they speak and give exceppent advice.

 

Jeanne

 

Oh, Shore Guy – Hotel Director, Claus sends his “warmest regards” to you.