Butler Etiquette Question

[chill6x6]

chill6x6, when in April, 2014 is your Epic cruise?

 

The week BEFORE yours! :(

 

I just booked two days ago!

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

ABSOLUTELY agree!

 

Was in a suite last month aboard the Star. MANY things will be offered and done without you asking. I think the only thing we actually ASKED for was a couple of DVDs. Yet we had chocolate dipped strawberries, canopies, cheese plates, notices, announcements, etc, etc without so much as as word. I had MUCH rather them do something because they WANT to rather than me asking unless it IS something I actually need.

 

If you find a particular afternoon treat that you like, let your butler know.

 

They have about a half dozen types that they prepare everyday and they rotate them every day among the suites they are responsible for. If you let the butler know your preference, they will deliver it every day until you request that they change it up.

 

My wife and I preferred the raw veggies and the pretzel sticks on our last cruise and once our butler heard about it, that is what was delivered each afternoon.

[puli]

Is the list of these afternoon treats available ahead of time so you can tell the pre-concierge . Or if they don't know until the actual sailing, can you ask to see it on cruise day one ?

Edited May 19, 2013 by puli

[MrsNancyG]

The week BEFORE yours! :(

 

I just booked two days ago!

 

Very cool! We've got a 2 bedroom at the very front of the ship with the solarium balcony. Have a GREAT time! ...although our roll call is ROCKIN! LOL

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

Is the list of these afternoon treats available ahead of time so you can tell the pre-concierge . Or if they don't know until the actual sailing, can you ask to see it on cruise day one ?

 

Ask your butler!

[puli]

Ask your butler!

 

Thanks, will do!

[MrsNancyG]

Hi there, just an FYI, I received a complimentary bottle of Merlot on the Epic just last month, and I don't drink reds. They give me headaches. I took it myself to the barkeep, courteously asked for and got an exchange, without a hitch. I must be misunderstanding the story you're telling about Mr. Up the Food Chain dude. What a donkey! Oh, and I wasn't in the Haven, either, and still got my Chardonnay...

 

This is one of the better threads in CC, for folks who will be in the Haven the first time (like me and my friends this coming September 2013 [Pearl RT Seattle Alaska]) and are not polished in the Butler-Concierge-Steward-Pool Boy Department. We're all well-seasoned travelers, just not B-C-S-PB Dept types.

 

We used to smile at and look every employee in the eye that we met in our travels, ask them their names and where they're from, tip them immediately, just because, look for opportunities to fork over more dollars to these hard-working good souls, ask questions with kindness, be happy and grateful to see them when we made requests, and tip them when we said farewell.

 

But now, we're all scared!!! So we're all scrambling to be more classier and stylisher than we have been in our lives up till now. One of us is taking lessons on looking down her nose. Doug is practicing saying, "Hey!" real loud and such. Me and my BFF? We rehearsed singing, "You Missed That Spot," until we found out it's not really a song. Whatever. We're getting the Haven hang of things. Sure we are.

 

:D

 

 

LOL Happy! I myself fear coming off boorish and completely classless. But I'm willin to give it a try if you are! hehehe come to think of it, I'm willin even if you didn't! :D

[chill6x6]

If you find a particular afternoon treat that you like, let your butler know.

 

They have about a half dozen types that they prepare everyday and they rotate them every day among the suites they are responsible for. If you let the butler know your preference, they will deliver it every day until you request that they change it up.

 

My wife and I preferred the raw veggies and the pretzel sticks on our last cruise and once our butler heard about it, that is what was delivered each afternoon.

 

That's good to know! It WAS kinda fun not knowing what to expect with the rotation! Boy...do I miss being on a cruise!

[chill6x6]

Very cool! We've got a 2 bedroom at the very front of the ship with the solarium balcony. Have a GREAT time! ...although our roll call is ROCKIN! LOL

 

Sounds GREAT! I booked another aft-facing suite! I went back and forth between it and the Spa Suite....MAINLY because of its more centralized location on such a huge ship. But the aft VEIW won out and I really don't know if we would even take advantage of the spa access..

 

Have fun on your "Epic" adventure!

[Love my butler]

Thanks! room steward for ice...butler for iced tea!

 

If you have a good butler, and most of them are great, you can ask the butler for just about anything. If they cannot handle it they will make the request to the person who can. If getting ice is handled by the room steward, a good butler won't tell you to ask the steward, he will tell the steward and you will get your ice. Good butlers don't pass the buck unless they don't have any other choice.

[DMLyons]

I was asking if popcorn was available on the ship. If its not available, I wondered if the butler could pop a bag (that i bring onboard myself) in a microwave?

 

I've seen people say the butler brought them popcorn when they wanted to watch movies, so I'll veer to...usually available onboard and will be available if you ask him for it.

 

DML

[sunshine nana]

I'm glad to hear the DVD delivery is back. We were in an aft suite on the Gem in 2010 and the butler told us there was a charge for the DVD's . Glad that has changed back. Thanks

[Alaskanb]

Now for a boorish question -- what is an acceptable tip for a butler etc?

[NLH Arizona]

Now for a boorish question -- what is an acceptable tip for a butler etc?

You will get a whole bunch of answers, with totally different figures. When I asked on another thread, people told me as little as $35 for a week up to $500 for a week. I read all the posts (even though I certainly thought some were pretty stupid) and came up with an amount that I feel comfortable. The figure I came up with is base figure and then I will add to it if other things are done above and beyond and deduct from it if services are not rendered as promised. Based on what the butler does, I came up with $10 a day to start and I'm sure some will think it is way to low and some will think it is too high, but it is what I feel is adequate.

 

Please keep in mind that tipping is very personal. But please remember that every tip is graciously welcomed by the butler or any other crew member. If you give your butler $5 a day or $10 a day or $100 a day, they will be very appreciative.

[Alaskanb]

You will get a whole bunch of answers, with totally different figures. When I asked on another thread, people told me as little as $35 for a week up to $500 for a week. I read all the posts (even though I certainly thought some were pretty stupid) and came up with an amount that I feel comfortable. The figure I came up with is base figure and then I will add to it if other things are done above and beyond and deduct from it if services are not rendered as promised. Based on what the butler does, I came up with $10 a day to start and I'm sure some will think it is way to low and some will think it is too high, but it is what I feel is adequate.

 

Please keep in mind that tipping is very personal. But please remember that every tip is graciously welcomed by the butler or any other crew member. If you give your butler $5 a day or $10 a day or $100 a day, they will be very appreciative.

Thanks. We are pretty new to cruising and are considering NCL Pride of America Hawaii trip in late 2014. An aft suite would be wonderful!

Edited May 19, 2013 by Alaskanb

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

Now for a boorish question -- what is an acceptable tip for a butler etc?

 

You should use the search function for this and you will locate many many many related threads. This is a FAQ.

[Alaskanb]

You should use the search function for this and you will locate many many many related threads. This is a FAQ.

 

Tipping has already been mentioned in this thread --just not quantified!

[NLH Arizona]

Thanks. We are pretty new to cruising and are considering NCL Pride of America Hawaii trip in late 2014. An aft suite would be wonderful!

I'm in my first suite this November (an aft suite on the Jewell), can't wait and that is why I did a lot of research, hopefully it helps.

[grtwithntr]

 

We had Made (Mahday) as our butler on the Star in Apr 2013 and he was absolutely outstanding! The guy went above and beyond anything we ever asked. As did David the concierge and Benjamin the room steward. Although my wife never asked him to draw a bath for her I'm sure that if she had asked he would have posted a watch to inform him of when we returned the ship and headed to to our room and also made sure that she had her favorite drink waiting on the vanity as well. In our experience, these guys/ladies will do everything they can do to make you feel like you are royalty for the time you are on the ship and under their care.

 

Remember that your Butler and Concierge are not included in the daily tips pool and rely on individual gratuities from the suite guests so the more you use of their time you may think about at the end of the cruise when it's time to leave the envelope of "thank you".

 

To any NCL Brass reading this I want to express our sincere thanks to Made on the Star for a great week. He was absolutely fantastic.

[grtwithntr]

 

To tag on with this I'd say that anytime there's something that you'd normally stand in line for (like excursion, show, restaurant reservations, casino cards, or billing inquiries etc.) your butler or concierge will gladly do for you. Remember they don't actually have to stand in that line. What would take you 30 minutes will probably take them a 30 second phone call.

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

Tipping has already been mentioned in this thread --just not quantified!

 

It has been quantified in many many many posts in many many threads.

 

If you are looking for THE tip amount, that is impossible to recommend.

 

It will depend on the services rendered, the quality of the butler, your tipping propensity, etc. The only real answer is "It varies".

 

Tip whatever feels right to your and you probably will be just fine.

[esp13]

As others have said, the butler will do just about anything you ask him to do. On my first cruise with butler service, it took me about 3 days to actually ask for anything. But then we had breakfast delivered a couple of days, he brought me some margaritas, soda, and a bottle of wine for my mom. Overall, we found the butler to be a wonderful perk.

 

I can't imagine asking him to pack or unpack, simply because I can't imagine anybody else doing that for me. Same with drawing a bath. I'm NOT saying those are inappropriate requests, just that they are not something I would ever think of.

[nanagirl]

??????

Exactly.....:rolleyes:

[grtwithntr]

On the tipping question....

 

The Butler (Made) had both 3 Bedroom Villas and also 2 other Suites on Deck 10 to take care of. I found this out by asking him. By doing the math I figured he was responsible for about 16 people. He was outstanding and helped make our week in the Villa very enjoyable. From what I could tell he worked about 16 hours a day for all 7 days we were on the ship. My wife and I tipped him $100 ea. I have no idea what our suite mates tipped him but my wife and I felt good with that. If all 16 people he was taking care of tipped in that amount he'd have made $1600 for the week + whatever his salary is, which I'd guess is not much. If I was a wealthier man, I'd have left more.

 

The Concierge was responsible for all of the 40+ Suites on the ship. While he was also great he wasn't nearly as much involved on our own day to day enjoyment of our cruise. We tipped him $30 ea.

 

The Room Stewerd (Benjamin) was included in the daily tip pool and from what I understand got 50% of the $17 ea. of the daily charge added directly to your shipboard account. We tipped him an additional $20 ea because he was fantastic and went above and beyond anything we could have ever asked.

 

Also left a $20 tip to a waitress at the Blue Lagoon/Moderno (Toluca Adams) that was another above and beyond server that we encountered on our cruise.

[MrsNancyG]

They had a blast when Jason came to set up breakfast on our forward balcony while we were in port in Nassau.

 

Are you referring to the enclosed balcony rooms at the very front of the ship? If so, I wondered if there was enough room for a small table for breakfasting and dining en suite. So if anyone knows...