Question about Butler for Celebrity Cruise Pro's

[Project_gal]

Ok, We always tip a bit extra (on top of the pre-paid tips) for our room steward and certainly would for a Butler. It is not worked out as a daily rate, just an amount we think is appropriate for the length of the cruise.:D

 

We always find the easiest way to calculate what is an appropriate additional tip [at least for those of us are not totally familiar with the north American tipping culture] is to understand the amount of the prepaid gratuities are allocated to each person and then ask what multiple of that sum is merited as an additional tip. For us, it is much easier than trying to think of how many US$ per day extra.

[MicCanberra]

We always find the easiest way to calculate what is an appropriate additional tip [at least for those of us are not totally familiar with the north American tipping culture] is to understand the amount of the prepaid gratuities are allocated to each person and then ask what multiple of that sum is merited as an additional tip. For us, it is much easier than trying to think of how many US$ per day extra.

 

I have been to the US quite a few times now (and also on ships that are more or less US style) but it still can be very difficult to work out as there are differing tipping customs depending on the service, the industry and even the state, etc.(Taxi vs Waiter vs Porter etc.).:confused:

I know it is what I am used to but it is so much easier her in Oz or even England. :D

[need2bespoiled]

I have been to the US quite a few times now (and also on ships that are more or less US style) but it still can be very difficult to work out as there are differing tipping customs depending on the service, the industry and even the state, etc.(Taxi vs Waiter vs Porter etc.).:confused:

I know it is what I am used to but it is so much easier her in Oz or even England. :D

 

Believe me, there is no common tipping custom for butlers here in the U.S.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[johhnnyt]

We always find the easiest way to calculate what is an appropriate additional tip [at least for those of us are not totally familiar with the north American tipping culture] is to understand the amount of the prepaid gratuities are allocated to each person and then ask what multiple of that sum is merited as an additional tip. For us, it is much easier than trying to think of how many US$ per day extra.

 

That makes sense

I'm pretty minimalistic on services with butler (nightly canapes, specialty reservations, and one small dinner party is all I've ever requested), I always try and keep the tipping simple, $100/7 day cruise or less, $200 if more than 7 days

[cynbar]

How about the concierge? What would be a reasonable tip for making a couple of specialty restaurant reservations, explaining how Michael's works, greeting us pleasantly but really nothing on top of that? Or, does the butler make our reservations for us?

Edited October 24, 2014 by cynbar

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

How about the concierge? What would be a reasonable tip for making a couple of specialty restaurant reservations, explaining how Michael's works, greeting us pleasantly but really nothing on top of that? Or, does the butler make our reservations for us?

 

Your butler can make specialty restaurant reservations for you.

 

The Michael's Lounge concierge's job is to greet you pleasantly and explain how Michael's works. I certainly would not tip extra for that minimal service.

Edited October 24, 2014 by Happy Cruiser 6143

[SeasTheDay12]

Your butler can make specialty restaurant reservations for you.

 

The Michael's Lounge concierge's job is to greet you pleasantly and explain how Michael's works. I certainly would not tip extra for that minimal service.

 

Maybe that depends on the ship and the Michael's Concierge....

On the April REF TA this year, I had a fantastic MC...she scheduled special events and presentations, shore ex with slides in Micheals, onboard booking rep in Micheal's to assist with future res while relaxing and personal assistance, re-confirmed my flights home, arranged special music for cocktail hours, was available by phone almost 24/7 to resolve any issue or help with any plans - like a dinner party in suite, cocktails or friends for a afternoon tea, fixed error in billing onboard, and more that I didn't attend as I had other plans! I had invitations in my cabin all the time~:p

Yes, this wonderful lady Rachelle was promoted already but other ships have also done more than just sit at the desk and explain hours....

 

Like other posts in this thread, there are definitely superior crew efforts in butlers, waiters and concierge staff, as well as all over the ship. And "those people" deserve a good tips for their effort and care, as well as mention to senior officers for their exceptional service.

 

And if one is good or average, I'm sure how a request is made makes a huge difference. While I don't know what their salary is in ANY dept. I do know it is less than you would expect and in a service position - gratuities if deserved - are really appreciated;)

Makes our good cruise even BETTER!

Deb

[MicCanberra]

Believe me, there is no common tipping custom for butlers here in the U.S.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Cheers, I am not the only one confused by it then.:D

[MicCanberra]

Maybe that depends on the ship and the Michael's Concierge....

On the April REF TA this year, I had a fantastic MC...she scheduled special events and presentations, shore ex with slides in Micheals, onboard booking rep in Micheal's to assist with future res while relaxing and personal assistance, re-confirmed my flights home, arranged special music for cocktail hours, was available by phone almost 24/7 to resolve any issue or help with any plans - like a dinner party in suite, cocktails or friends for a afternoon tea, fixed error in billing onboard, and more that I didn't attend as I had other plans! I had invitations in my cabin all the time~:p

Yes, this wonderful lady Rachelle was promoted already but other ships have also done more than just sit at the desk and explain hours....

 

Like other posts in this thread, there are definitely superior crew efforts in butlers, waiters and concierge staff, as well as all over the ship. And "those people" deserve a good tips for their effort and care, as well as mention to senior officers for their exceptional service.

 

And if one is good or average, I'm sure how a request is made makes a huge difference. While I don't know what their salary is in ANY dept. I do know it is less than you would expect and in a service position - gratuities if deserved - are really appreciated;)

Makes our good cruise even BETTER!

Deb

 

I always tip extra (to the prepaid tips) to any individual staff member that has provided me or my wife with service and friendliness above and beyond what their duties expect. So a a staff member that always greets, serves and brings drinks without asking as I am finishing the last drink, is top of my list. :D

[JEDIKNIGHT]

I've always thought your posts were great, but this one doesn't add up :D

 

Seriously, why I responded was to say "thank you"! This is great advice. We have had 4 good butlers, one of which we've had twice and one of which we can't even remember his name and 1 AMAZING Butler, who will probably spoil all other butler experiences, and one that was pretty much a dud (thankfully, it was a short sailing). We have a long sailing coming up, that we really hope will be almost as good as our amazing butler on our last long sailing. If not, we now have a good strategy to help him (or her) step up her game.

 

Thanks and happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Hi Jenna - thank you for pointing out my writing incompetence :) The HR department has written me up. Let me do a count to get it right this time:

 

Mercury - Ram - Awesome

 

Mercury - Roger - better than ok.

 

Summit - Riccki - Awesome

 

Summit - jose (I think) - better than ok.

 

Hope your upcoming cruise has a nice Butler. Totally makes it a stellar vacation doesn't it? Before we had kids, we used to solely do premium lines like Regent.

 

When you have a 'great' butler on X like Ram or Rikki - I must say, the overall experience is better than Regent.

[JEDIKNIGHT]

Our Butler Requests that were *flawless* with 2 out of 4 Butlers in Celebrity Penthouses:

 

*Shrimp Cocktails, and 2 covered fruit plates in fridge every night.

*Bottled water and club soda stocked as needed.

*Salt, Mayo, and Ketchup stocked up

*Yogurts and milks in fridge. (For baby)

*Room Service breakfasts most days.

 

Also, Ram and Rikki were *awesome* with Room Service Dinner that we'd utilize 2 out of 7 nights. They'd deliver the food course by course and food would be hot and perfect.

 

Ancillary things would be help with dinner reservation, help with shore excursions which Ram and Rikki eagerly did.

 

Without exaggerating: Having Ram or Rikki as a Butler on Mercury and Summit - will be the closest I'll ever come to knowing what it feels like being President, and living in the White House. Honestly - that's how I felt each time.

 

If I could request either as a Butler - I'd pay a premium for it and honestly, I'd go on cruise "x" instead of "y" just because one of them would be the Butler. Roger and Jose were good - but frankly, not qualified to hold Ram and Rikki's coat.

[need2bespoiled]

Hi Jenna - thank you for pointing out my writing incompetence :) The HR department has written me up. Let me do a count to get it right this time:

 

Mercury - Ram - Awesome

 

Mercury - Roger - better than ok.

 

Summit - Riccki - Awesome

 

Summit - jose (I think) - better than ok.

 

Hope your upcoming cruise has a nice Butler. Totally makes it a stellar vacation doesn't it? Before we had kids, we used to solely do premium lines like Regent.

 

When you have a 'great' butler on X like Ram or Rikki - I must say, the overall experience is better than Regent.

 

I hope the write up isn't permanently in your file! My boss seems to write me up all the time, but that is the peril of self-employment. :D

 

Again, I agree completely (I was going to use "totally" but I am too old to be a "valley girl") regarding a stellar butler making the vacation that much more special. I don't say no to reasonable requests from clients, and hope the butler doesn't either. It's more challenging once you've had a great butler and know what is possible.

 

I actually consider whether we, as in cruise critic, should have a butler who's who, but at the same time, I think it is a bit unfair to publicly call out names of any crew members who don't live up. The list would need to be kept to just who is on-board or servicing what cabins, but it is challenging to police anything posted here and I'd prefer not to make more work. There are ways to deal with service deficiencies with the chain of command so posting specific names here in public is not helpful

 

Our fingers are crossed for us to be assigned an amazing butler and to click well with the concierge, 4 weeks is a long time to be disappointed in the service from your butler or steward!

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[need2bespoiled]

Our Butler Requests that were *flawless* with 2 out of 4 Butlers in Celebrity Penthouses:

 

*Shrimp Cocktails, and 2 covered fruit plates in fridge every night.

*Bottled water and club soda stocked as needed.

*Salt, Mayo, and Ketchup stocked up

*Yogurts and milks in fridge. (For baby)

*Room Service breakfasts most days.

 

Also, Ram and Rikki were *awesome* with Room Service Dinner that we'd utilize 2 out of 7 nights. They'd deliver the food course by course and food would be hot and perfect.

 

Ancillary things would be help with dinner reservation, help with shore excursions which Ram and Rikki eagerly did.

 

Without exaggerating: Having Ram or Rikki as a Butler on Mercury and Summit - will be the closest I'll ever come to knowing what it feels like being President, and living in the White House. Honestly - that's how I felt each time.

 

If I could request either as a Butler - I'd pay a premium for it and honestly, I'd go on cruise "x" instead of "y" just because one of them would be the Butler. Roger and Jose were good - but frankly, not qualified to hold Ram and Rikki's coat.

 

We've also had Jose on Summit and also have some similar requests. I don't think your requests are unreasonable at all.

 

Each night we ask for shrimp to alternate with a nice cheese and cracker plate regardless of what other goodies come. The best butler we've had was Gwen on Constellation, not only did we have what we asked for, the plates were always beautifully presented with a greater variety of sides. Not the same pre-prepared thing each night. He was from an F&B background and simply was amazing.

 

We've also had Alex (x2, Reflection and Equinox), Elvis, and one butler on Eclipse that was OK, but we can't remember his name, but I think it started with an M.

 

I'm not sure if Ram or Rikki are around, but I an hope!

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Project_gal]

I actually consider whether we, as in cruise critic, should have a butler who's who, but at the same time, I think it is a bit unfair to publicly call out names of any crew members who don't live up. The list would need to be kept to just who is on-board or servicing what cabins, but it is challenging to police anything posted here and I'd prefer not to make more work. There are ways to deal with service deficiencies with the chain of command so posting specific names here in public is not helpful

Jenna

 

I am not so certain that is a good idea. There are people, like you and Jediknight, who make a reasoned judgement but, I fear, there are others who always have a "bad" butler and I question on which side the issues sit. Having seen how some guests believe that they should interact with crew, it is easy to understand how they would never have a good experience.

[need2bespoiled]

I am not so certain that is a good idea. There are people, like you and Jediknight, who make a reasoned judgement but, I fear, there are others who always have a "bad" butler and I question on which side the issues sit. Having seen how some guests believe that they should interact with crew, it is easy to understand how they would never have a good experience.

 

 

Agreed, ashame, but agree.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

Jenna

[pinkgrandma0806]

Our first Celebrity cruise was in concierge class and we found there were no advantages. Many of the things promised were not delivered without prompting and it set a bad tone for the cruise. Then we chose a Royal Suite. We had an ok butler with a name I wasn't able to pronounce correctly even by the end of the cruise. He was helpful when prompted, but only did exactly what we asked for. Two weeks ago we sailed in a Royal Suite again with a butler named Emir. He was exceptional. When we arrived our mini fridge was stocked with everything we requested. In addition, he had left large bottles of water, extra sodas, extra tonic water, etc. as backup. As he got to know us, the service got better and better. The first day he came in after we arrived to introduce himself and let us know when he would bring tea. We were hosting a cabin crawl the first day at sea and asked about having snacks and drinks in our room. He brought us a catering menu which would have been quite expensive. We told him we really didn't want to spend that much money to treat 20 or 25 people we were meeting for the first time. His response was that he "would take care of it and surprise us". We arrived at our suite at the end of the cabin crawl and he had prepared two large platters of shrimp, two large platters of cheese and crackers, two fresh fruit platters, had 3 bottles of champagne on ice, and 24 bottles of beer chilling. We were floored. Each day he brought a platter with shrimp, one with cheese and crackers and one with fresh fruit. In addition, he had his cart of "goodies" to offer which could be little sandwiches, cookies, or other sweets. By day 3, he knew that I like to have wine in the evening. Although we had the premium drink package, we could not have a bottle of wine stocked in the room every evening without paying extra. SO....Emir started putting 4 glasses of white wine in the cooler every afternoon so I could have it in the evening without going back and forth to the bars. He was such a young man, very sweet and had a huge grin for us every time we saw him. The service in Luminae was also outstanding. After the second day, we were greeted by name by the staff. The head waiter and sommelier were a lot of fun and joked around with us whenever we were there. Any time we wanted something that was not on the daily menu, they seemed happy to get it for us.(For example, a plain caesar salad with lunch, a bagel for breakfast, or a different type of steak). And they were very quick to note our preferences. For example, I like iced coffee at breakfast. After the first request, they brought it every time. We had prepaid gratuities, but at the end of 10 days we tipped extra as follows:

Butler-$350

Room steward-$100

Head waiter-$200

Sommelier-$80

All other servers in Luminae-$40 each

Hostess-$20

Concierge-$40

 

I think the addition of Luminae and the opportunity to dine at any of the specialty restaurants at no extra charge is a huge plus. I had one sandwich that just wasn't good, but when compared to eating at the Oceanview Cafe or the main dining room, it was no contest. It was so nice to have the smaller area. Even though the tables were for two and four, we were able to meet a lot of other couples and talk to them almost daily. The only downside is that if you are sailing with others who are not staying in suites, they are not able to join you in Luminae. Of course, you could choose food from their menu and have it served in the suite. We met a couple staying in a Penthouse Suite and I believe they brought along the attitude that because they were staying in the most elite level, they were entitled. They did not communicate clearly with their butler and it resulted in unreasonable expectations and disappointment. Unfortunately, that set the tone for the entire cruise. I think as long as you communicate your desires for service clearly, and say "thank you" a lot, you will have exceptional service like we did. It is a good idea to be specific with your wishes, but I feel a 3 page long list is a little excessive. It's a cruise, not Buckingham Palace.We have already booked a royal suite for an Alaska cruise in June 2016 and a British Isles cruise for August 2017.