Can you book a suite without having butler service

[sjbdtz]

Just to let you know, I have never actually written for that particular programme.

 

I still blame you for the fact that I can't get A Day In The Life out of my head....

and that's NOT a personal attack. It's a blame. :p

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[bbryan5]

Maybe a little but no more strange than a 50 something year old woman getting off a ship being escorted to a limo wearing a t-shirt, panties and tennis shoes. (With her husband and teenage niece and two of her friends following far far behind so as not to be seen with her.) And I did donate the khakis to goodwill when we got home.

 

I get what you're saying, but I still say its strange that she gave you clothing that another cruiser owned. How about the poor guy who won't get his pants or bathing suit back? I have lost (and found) a few items on cruises, and if I found out my items were given away, I'd be extremely upset, as I'm sure you would be too.

[toyotaford]

I get what you're saying, but I still say its strange that she gave you clothing that another cruiser owned. How about the poor guy who won't get his pants or bathing suit back? I have lost (and found) a few items on cruises, and if I found out my items were given away, I'd be extremely upset, as I'm sure you would be too.

This was late on the morning of disembarkation so I am assuming everything that was going to be claimed had been. I don't even know if it was lost during the cruise we were on. Anyway, it sure made my morning go a lot better. And we have left I don't know how many phone chargers on cruise ships and hotel rooms and I always hope someone gets some use out of them. I guess just a different way of looking at things.

[All-ready2cruise]

This was late on the morning of disembarkation so I am assuming everything that was going to be claimed had been. I don't even know if it was lost during the cruise we were on. Anyway, it sure made my morning go a lot better. And we have left I don't know how many phone chargers on cruise ships and hotel rooms and I always hope someone gets some use out of them. I guess just a different way of looking at things.

 

It's a cute story and I mentioned it to my DH and he laughed and said he'd be thrilled knowing someone had gotten use out his old khakis (not that he's ever forgotten his pants... ) :p

 

Did just want to mention, although I'm sure most pax here know already, if you do forget to bring your charger (phone or tablet), ask at the courtesy desk b/c they will often have 1 that you can borrow. :D

[toyotaford]

It's a cute story and I mentioned it to my DH and he laughed and said he'd be thrilled knowing someone had gotten use out his old khakis (not that he's ever forgotten his pants... ) :p

 

Did just want to mention, although I'm sure most pax here know already, if you do forget to bring your charger (phone or tablet), ask at the courtesy desk b/c they will often have 1 that you can borrow. :D

It's probably one of the chargers I left!:)

[triptolemus]

I get what you're saying, but I still say its strange that she gave you clothing that another cruiser owned. How about the poor guy who won't get his pants or bathing suit back? I have lost (and found) a few items on cruises, and if I found out my items were given away, I'd be extremely upset, as I'm sure you would be too.

 

If you have lost track of your pants and they wound up at lost and found, it was likely caused by you having had an outrageously fantastic time. This is not something to get extremely upset about.

 

It is simply a matter of perspective...

[LrgPizza]

It is exactly the reasons that you give as to why we could never have a butler looking after us. We would never dream of asking anybody to do anything for us as we have not been brought up that way. You say the shower was not draining and you called the butler to fix it. Wow!!

In Blackburn which is up North, very few houses have showers and in fact many, (including ours) do not have a bath or an inside toilet. We do however since last year have running water (cold) which is good. There is only the Master of the village who lives in the big house on the top of the big hill, that has hot water. We are basically his servants as he controls the brethren and we always doff our flat caps to him when he comes down the hill.

A concierge ??? We certainly do not have any of that breed in darkest Lancashire:)

You are certainly not alone here. We will never book a suite on an NCL ship as long as it includes the butler service and concierge service, and especially the Haven. I simply would not pay for things that I would not use. I will not ever eat snacks in my room, I do not want breakfast in my room. I would be embarrassed to be escorted anywhere. I understand that lots of people love these things, but it's just not for me or how I was raised.

 

My inlaws also feel the same way. They love NCL, but they love suites more, so they sail RCCI now simply so they can get giant suites without having to even think about the butler.

 

I think it would be better if NCL offered both types of suites.

[SissasMomE]

You are certainly not alone here. We will never book a suite on an NCL ship as long as it includes the butler service and concierge service, and especially the Haven. I simply would not pay for things that I would not use. I will not ever eat snacks in my room, I do not want breakfast in my room. I would be embarrassed to be escorted anywhere. I understand that lots of people love these things, but it's just not for me or how I was raised.

 

My inlaws also feel the same way. They love NCL, but they love suites more, so they sail RCCI now simply so they can get giant suites without having to even think about the butler.

 

I think it would be better if NCL offered both types of suites.

 

The suites on RCCL are HUGE and gorgeous ... and the balconies ... HUGE!!

[TrinaLC]

You are certainly not alone here. We will never book a suite on an NCL ship as long as it includes the butler service and concierge service, and especially the Haven. I simply would not pay for things that I would not use. I will not ever eat snacks in my room, I do not want breakfast in my room. I would be embarrassed to be escorted anywhere. I understand that lots of people love these things, but it's just not for me or how I was raised.

 

My inlaws also feel the same way. They love NCL, but they love suites more, so they sail RCCI now simply so they can get giant suites without having to even think about the butler.

 

I think it would be better if NCL offered both types of suites.

 

 

For the opposite reason I will seldom book a site on Carnival. A larger space doesn't add the same value for me as NCL suite perks.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

For the opposite reason I will seldom book a site on Carnival. A larger space doesn't add the same value for me as NCL suite perks.

 

I agree, that is why I am gradually booking all my cruises with NCL Suites rather than HAL. NCL just offers so much more. Plus I love my Lavazza Coffee in the morning. I admit we do not use the Butler much at all, he brings the treats in the afternoon and he refills my coffee supplies but that is about it. Now the Concierge, I do not normally have them escort us but I do have them arrange dining for us. We Normally travel with at least 2 to 3 cabins of friends that do not do the suites so it is nice to have them make our dining arrangements. We have never had to wait to be seated when dining in the Main Dining Room and service all over just seems to be better. To me that is worth the Suite and tipping my Concierge for doing this.

[Duff Man]

You are certainly not alone here. We will never book a suite on an NCL ship as long as it includes the butler service and concierge service, and especially the Haven. I simply would not pay for things that I would not use. I will not ever eat snacks in my room, I do not want breakfast in my room. I would be embarrassed to be escorted anywhere. I understand that lots of people love these things, but it's just not for me or how I was raised.

 

My inlaws also feel the same way. They love NCL, but they love suites more, so they sail RCCI now simply so they can get giant suites without having to even think about the butler.

 

I think it would be better if NCL offered both types of suites.

 

Nobody forces you to use butler or concierge, so I am not sure why both "types" are necessary. Just don't use them.

 

I find this discussion very intriguing, how people think differently. I am not sure how being raised has any relevance. I was raised in blue collar family and certainly not with such amenities. But I am purchasing a trip and services are offered and I will make use of them. If you eat in a restaurant, or fly in a plane, someone serves you. If you take a taxi, or you are ushered to your seat at a show or ball game or in church, you are being escorted. I guess I don't see the difference. ;)

[spoiledbyvilla]

Everything you said is true! :)

I have been fortunate to have a suite 3 times in my cruising history (for special celebratory occassions with my family)....and those times were very special, thanks to our butler and concierge.

 

For example:

The butler provided my DW and me with an intimate dinner celebrating our anniversary in our suite and helped organize a few cocktail parties with all the "fixins."

The concierge provided "VIP Service" making it easy to book restaurant reservations (and change them) that fit into our evening activities for what ever time we requested.

He even came over to us during dinner to check on us to make sure we were enjoying our cruise experience. It just makes the cruising experience that much more enjoyable.

I wish I could always cruise in a suite!! :D

These two individuals make the cruising experience "very special!" :)

 

Don

 

Hi Don,

 

I asked this somewhere else but the messages are really old so I didn't get an answer. What is an approximate cost of booking a party in your suite? Do you arrange it before the cruise or can you just wing it. Soft drinks and some liquor are provided as part of the price so can we use that for a party or would we need to put that away and use other stuff for a party? Is there some kind of menu you can look at to decide what you want to serve at a party?

 

Thanks, Barbara

[spoiledbyvilla]

Well that is certainly your right and it's not necessary that anyone else understand that. You just tell them you will not require their services during the cruise and respectfully ask them to stand down. I'm sure they won't mind one less cabin to tend to. Do consider all the peripheral services you'd be giving up...like the ones other posters have already covered. I liked having my coffee/tea options refilled everyday and coming back to a bottle of chilled champagne. You, of course, don't have to eat in the cabin if you don't want to. We ate breakfast on sea days when we just wanted to lounge around a bit without seeing the crowds so early and on disembarkation day which made things much easier and less hectic. I liked coming back to strawberries, cookies, M&M's, chocolates, etc. wish I was there right now. lol...But, again to each their own. Don't stress about it too much. They won't force themselves on you.

 

On our last cruise we had a butler and he was the one who brought us ice. I think the cabin steward does it in other cabins. Not having the butler might cause a problem if you want ice... which we always do.

 

About that champagne... was it provided or did you order it? I've not been able to find out much about champagne, just wine and hard liquor. Do you know if you can bring champagne on board? My youngest daughter adores the stuff and she'll be cruising with us. If we can buy or get a decent brand on the ship that's fine, but if not she'd really like to bring it on board with her.

 

Barbara

[Ewoodspark]

 

I find this discussion very intriguing, how people think differently. I am not sure how being raised has any relevance. If you eat in a restaurant, or fly in a plane, someone serves you. If you take a taxi, or you are ushered to your seat at a show or ball game or in church, you are being escorted. I guess I don't see the difference. ;)

 

The way you have brought up is very relevant as to whether you want a butler looking after you. If you lived in the days of Downton Abbey and owned a mansion, then a butler would be common-place. I cannot see how going to a show or a football match is relevant. I find my own seat and certainly do not require anybody helping me. On a plane, nobody serves me. It is just alien to me to have a butler looking after me and mollycoddling me when I can do things for myself.

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Even at McDonalds people do things for you, at walmart people do things for you. Like the other poster said being on an airplane a flight attendant brings your drinks, pillow or blanket do you say no leave me alone? I think it would be rude to tell someone to stop doing what they are paid to do but that's me.

[Magickpyggie]

Ok, tried not to become involved but what the heck. Puts on tin hat and raises head above parapet. We have cruised seven times, six with Butler and Concierge, and on each occasion I have met some very interesting people and learnt a lot about their culture and families. I have been invited to lunch in Jakarta and dinner in Cape Town, and I have laughed and even cried with them. These people are my friends and I look forward to meeting some old friends and some new when we cruise on the Jewel next week.

 

There are great benefits from being in a Suite, for us it's the view and the space, so maybe I understand why people book them, but I think it is insulting to deny people the right to do their job and fulfil their obligations. It's all about PCA (Positive Cruise Attitude).

 

Rant over, removes helmet and ducks back down....

 

John

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Ewoodspark]

Even at McDonalds people do things for you, at walmart people do things for you. Like the other poster said being on an airplane a flight attendant brings your drinks, pillow or blanket do you say no leave me alone? I think it would be rude to tell someone to stop doing what they are paid to do but that's me.

 

Without trying to offend you, you are going off topic. I have never been to McDonalds in my life, I have never heard of a walmart, why would I want a pillow or a blanket on an aeroplane?. A steward/ess as for as I am concerned is for safety reasons and to try to sell duty free which I do not purchase.You say it would be rude to ask a butler to stop doing what they are paid for. That is the point I am trying to get over. I do not want anybody to fuss over me and bring me things. I can do that myself. To have a suite without a butler would be ideal, simply for the additional space. As many posters have said, it can be achieved by simply sticking a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door. I have all the answers that I now require thankyou

[sjbdtz]

I do not want anybody to fuss over me and bring me things. I can do that myself.

 

 

Actually, you'll find that the galley is off-limits to passengers.

 

 

 

.

[Ewoodspark]

Actually, you'll find that the galley is off-limits to passengers.

 

 

 

.

Thankyou for your contribution, but it is not really useful to the topic in question. When I travel on a plane, I have never availed myself to require any service from a steward/ess. I take my own food and drink, so I am aware that the galley is off-limits to passengers but this is not the point in question. I do feel that you trying to cause an argument for no reason and not really interested in the actual topic for any discussion.

[esp13]

The way you have brought up is very relevant as to whether you want a butler looking after you. If you lived in the days of Downton Abbey and owned a mansion, then a butler would be common-place. I cannot see how going to a show or a football match is relevant. I find my own seat and certainly do not require anybody helping me. On a plane, nobody serves me. It is just alien to me to have a butler looking after me and mollycoddling me when I can do things for myself.

 

Actually, it's not relevant at all. I wasn't raised in Downton Abbey nor did my family own a mansion of any sort. In fact, my mother and I were quite poor when I was growing up. A butler was anything but commonplace and remains anything but commonplace in my daily life.

 

I've only cruised in a suite once, but I can't say I had a butler looking after me or mollycoddling me. When requested, the butler brought breakfast, just as room service did when I was in a non-suite. He also brought a few drinks during the week, just as room service did when I was in a non-suite. I never thought of it as someone looking after me or taking care of me. I looked at it as someone providing a service for which I had paid.

 

Obviously, the idea really bothers you and that's fine. Enjoy your cruise without any contact with the butler or concierge. But don't assume that those of us that use a service for which we paid were raised with servants and money. Because I can assure you that is not the case.

[lindacat]

A few years ago my family and I were sailing on the Dawn. There were 9 of us in total. We were sailing a few weeks before my parents 50th anniversary and my father was not in good health. My brother and I upgraded them to an owners suite a week before the cruise. We did this mostly because we knew that they would spend more time in the suite and we wanted the extra room. We did not realize that butler and concierge service came with the suite.

 

The Butler took excellent care of my parents without being intrusive. He brought them snacks and beverages to enjoy on the balcony. Other than being escorted onto the ship, my parents never used the concierge. There were 7 other people they were cruising with, so they did not want to eat apart from the group, we never ate at specialty restaurants, and we really did not require anything.

 

I do think that the concierge was worried that he did not do enough for my parents, so the night before we disembarked he came to explain that they had priority disembarkation. My parents politely refused as they wanted/needed to disembark with the rest of us. He then offered the same priority disembarkation to our whole group.

 

While we did not ask for this service it certainly made the morning much easier on my parents. My father passed away shortly after and this cruise is still one of my moms favorite memories.

 

So I think you can use the suite and use as few of the "extra services" as you wish. But even not expecting them they certainly made the cruise for us.

[Hikini]

A few years ago my family and I were sailing on the Dawn. There were 9 of us in total. We were sailing a few weeks before my parents 50th anniversary and my father was not in good health. My brother and I upgraded them to an owners suite a week before the cruise. We did this mostly because we knew that they would spend more time in the suite and we wanted the extra room. We did not realize that butler and concierge service came with the suite.

 

The Butler took excellent care of my parents without being intrusive. He brought them snacks and beverages to enjoy on the balcony. Other than being escorted onto the ship, my parents never used the concierge. There were 7 other people they were cruising with, so they did not want to eat apart from the group, we never ate at specialty restaurants, and we really did not require anything.

 

I do think that the concierge was worried that he did not do enough for my parents, so the night before we disembarked he came to explain that they had priority disembarkation. My parents politely refused as they wanted/needed to disembark with the rest of us. He then offered the same priority disembarkation to our whole group.

 

While we did not ask for this service it certainly made the morning much easier on my parents. My father passed away shortly after and this cruise is still one of my moms favorite memories.

 

So I think you can use the suite and use as few of the "extra services" as you wish. But even not expecting them they certainly made the cruise for us.

 

Lindacat, your post brought tears to my eyes, as I can so relate. My Dad is 88 and we just came off the Jewel 6 days ago, where my parents, my DH and I had a suite. This is the not the first time we've had a suite - I think it might be the 6th time. But this was my parents last cruise (this was their 10th cruise), as it's just gotten more and more difficult with my Dad's mobility issues. We loved having the TLC that the butler, concierge and other staff gave, even though they did not know the particulars about this being their last cruise.

 

I was not brought up in a mansion, nor did we live an upper class lifestyle. My Dad was a farmer. But having these extra niceties on a cruise for a few days is fun and made things extra special for us but mostly for my parents.

 

My condolences for your the loss of your Father, but so happy the cruise was such a special time for him and for your Mother to look back on. I can relate and will cherish our memories as well.

[lindacat]

Lindacat, your post brought tears to my eyes, as I can so relate. My Dad is 88 and we just came off the Jewel 6 days ago, where my parents, my DH and I had a suite. This is the not the first time we've had a suite - I think it might be the 6th time. But this was my parents last cruise (this was their 10th cruise), as it's just gotten more and more difficult with my Dad's mobility issues. We loved having the TLC that the butler, concierge and other staff gave, even though they did not know the particulars about this being their last cruise.

 

I was not brought up in a mansion, nor did we live an upper class lifestyle. My Dad was a farmer. But having these extra niceties on a cruise for a few days is fun and made things extra special for us but mostly for my parents.

 

My condolences for your the loss of your Father, but so happy the cruise was such a special time for him and for your Mother to look back on. I can relate and will cherish our memories as well.

 

Thank you for your condolences.

 

I am glad that you will also have your memories to cherish.

[Duff Man]

The way you have brought up is very relevant as to whether you want a butler looking after you. If you lived in the days of Downton Abbey and owned a mansion, then a butler would be common-place. I cannot see how going to a show or a football match is relevant. I find my own seat and certainly do not require anybody helping me. On a plane, nobody serves me. It is just alien to me to have a butler looking after me and mollycoddling me when I can do things for myself.

 

Ahh, I see you where you are coming from if you are thinking Downtown Abbey ( can't wait for the next season!). The butler and concierge are nothing like the "downstairs" help. LOL!

 

My father worked in a factory, and I even worked in a factory one summer as I worked my way through school (I also mowed lawns, bussed tables, bagged groceries and cleaned a butcher shop among other things). We certainly didn't have Mr Carson, Bates, or even a footman! :D

[Silver Sweethearts]

It is exactly the reasons that you give as to why we could never have a butler looking after us. We would never dream of asking anybody to do anything for us as we have not been brought up that way. You say the shower was not draining and you called the butler to fix it. Wow!!

In Blackburn which is up North, very few houses have showers and in fact many, (including ours) do not have a bath or an inside toilet. We do however since last year have running water (cold) which is good. There is only the Master of the village who lives in the big house on the top of the big hill, that has hot water. We are basically his servants as he controls the brethren and we always doff our flat caps to him when he comes down the hill.

A concierge ??? We certainly do not have any of that breed in darkest Lancashire:)

 

So cruising in a suite is a luxury that should be afforded before an indoor bathroom? Guess we are too practical, as we would have thought it the other way around.