How many suites per butler

[zelker]

We'll be moving from a verandah cabin to a RS on our B2B this fall. I've read that they (whomever they is) will move everything for us. Since the stateroom attendants will be scrambling to turn staterooms, should we expect the butler will handle that for us while we're off the ship? We're planning to re-board as soon as the ship is cleared so we're hoping that they'll have moved us during the time we're off. Thanks for any insight ... or other helpful hints/tips about switching cabins in general. Barb

 

PS - Hey!! This was my 5,000th post on CC!! :D

Edited May 21, 2016 by zelker

[Project_gal]

We'll be moving from a verandah cabin to a RS on our B2B this fall. I've read that they (whomever they is) will move everything for us. Since the stateroom attendants will be scrambling to turn staterooms, should we expect the butler will handle that for us while we're off the ship? We're planning to re-board as soon as the ship is cleared so we're hoping that they'll have moved us during the time we're off. Thanks for any insight ... or other helpful hints/tips about switching cabins in general. Barb

 

PS - Hey!! This was my 5,000th post on CC!! :D

 

Just speak to your butler-to-be towards the end of our first leg and I am sure he will take care of it all for you. We moved from on PH to the other on our only B2B. The butler was a little upset that I had done some of the work by putting everything in each drawer in a cheap plastic refuse sack so that they were easy to move. He was happy to do it all - including moving across to the other PH himself.

 

It is a little more complicated for you because things in drawers cannot be moved like for like so, if the butler moved everything for you, you may not find it!

 

We also arranged to access the new safe as soon as the previous occupants had vacated the suite and transferred all our valuables over before we had to vacate the ship [at the end of a westbound TA].

 

PS Congratulations on your 5000th post.

[zelker]

Just speak to your butler-to-be towards the end of our first leg and I am sure he will take care of it all for you. We moved from on PH to the other on our only B2B. The butler was a little upset that I had done some of the work by putting everything in each drawer in a cheap plastic refuse sack so that they were easy to move. He was happy to do it all - including moving across to the other PH himself.

 

It is a little more complicated for you because things in drawers cannot be moved like for like so, if the butler moved everything for you, you may not find it!

 

We also arranged to access the new safe as soon as the previous occupants had vacated the suite and transferred all our valuables over before we had to vacate the ship [at the end of a westbound TA].

 

PS Congratulations on your 5000th post.

 

We'll also be on a westbound TA on the second leg.

 

What to do with the valuables and meds was definitely one of the things I was wondering about as I didn't really want to schlep it off the ship and back on again. Your idea about arranging to move it into the safe as soon as the suite has been vacated is the perfect solution so thanks for that suggestion. And I'll definitely find out who our butler-to-be is a day or so before we switch and ask him what he will take care of and what we should pack and also will let him know that we plan to re-board as soon as they will let us rather than being off in Barcelona for the day so that hopefully he'll be able to tag our suite as one of the ones to have turned first.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

We'll be moving from a verandah cabin to a RS on our B2B this fall. I've read that they (whomever they is) will move everything for us. Since the stateroom attendants will be scrambling to turn staterooms, should we expect the butler will handle that for us while we're off the ship? We're planning to re-board as soon as the ship is cleared so we're hoping that they'll have moved us during the time we're off. Thanks for any insight ... or other helpful hints/tips about switching cabins in general. Barb

 

 

Talk to your current cabin attendant who will sort it with the butler of the suite you're moving to.

 

Try to have as much as possible hung up. On wire hangers (stateroom attendant can provide as many as you need). Things in drawers will need to be packed in a suitcase. Basically, they accomplish the move as soon as the cabin you're moving to is cleaned.

 

[excitedofharpenden]

We'll be moving from a verandah cabin to a RS on our B2B this fall. I've read that they (whomever they is) will move everything for us. Since the stateroom attendants will be scrambling to turn staterooms, should we expect the butler will handle that for us while we're off the ship? We're planning to re-board as soon as the ship is cleared so we're hoping that they'll have moved us during the time we're off. Thanks for any insight ... or other helpful hints/tips about switching cabins in general. Barb

 

PS - Hey!! This was my 5,000th post on CC!! :D

 

If they know you are a b2b guest then the room will be turned around quicker too, which helps. You won't need to wait until the usual 1pm call.

 

Phil

[TeaBag]

Talk to your current cabin attendant who will sort it with the butler of the suite you're moving to.

 

Try to have as much as possible hung up. On wire hangers (stateroom attendant can provide as many as you need).

 

Good advice. We got enough wire hangers to transfer all our clothes before the move. The wooden hangers in our room were attached to permanent rings on the dowel, so could not be removed to hang on the trolley they use for the transfer. had we left them as they were, it would have been quite a job for the stewards. Our move was efficiently and quickly done.

[zelker]

Wire hangers noted. What about slacks, capris, skirts, etc. though? Did you just fold them over on the wire hangers?

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Wire hangers noted. What about slacks, capris, skirts, etc. though? Did you just fold them over on the wire hangers?

 

Yup. Beats packing them. I usually have some extra clips with me that can be used to clip them to the hangers. There never seem to be enough skirt/pants hangers in the cabins.

 

[BonnieVA]

We have found butlers seeming very worried about bad reviews or complaints

 

The reviews are extremely important. Unless they receive the very top scores across the board from all guests, they are potentially subjected to a "talk" with their supervisor. They get lots of pressure from superiors.

[emileg]

Thanks to excitedofharpenden, Project_gal, and chemmo for your replies to my question regarding the roles of butlers. Appreciate your posts.

[whatevergoes]

Is $300 the appropriate tip for the Butler if you are staying in a RS? We have one coming up on the Summit to Bermuda

[Project_gal]

... we plan to re-board as soon as they will let us rather than being off in Barcelona for the day so that hopefully he'll be able to tag our suite as one of the ones to have turned first.

 

You are likely to find it much easier on an eastbound TA than our westbound. The authorities in Europe probably will not require you to be off the ship for any length of time. When the ships return to the USA after a season in Europe [or elsewhere] there are all sorts of inspections and, for some, passengers are not allowed to be on board.

[Teenybk]

Is $300 the appropriate tip for the Butler if you are staying in a RS? We have one coming up on the Summit to Bermuda

 

 

We'll be on a Royal Suite soon for our first cruise. Although gratuities are included, we were planning to give additional gratuity if we had special requests and at the end of the cruise, but is an additional $300 customary? We're usually good tippers, but it sounds high considering gratuities are paid. Would appreciate feedback on the average additional gratuities given.

[Adidas4fun]

We'll be on a Royal Suite soon for our first cruise. Although gratuities are included, we were planning to give additional gratuity if we had special requests and at the end of the cruise, but is an additional $300 customary? We're usually good tippers, but it sounds high considering gratuities are paid. Would appreciate feedback on the average additional gratuities given.

 

Had two weeks in the RS on century. Tipped considrably less than that.

 

Next cruise on Solstice just in a sky suite but same butler! In that eight day cruise he gave us three extra bottles of champagne with our canapes. So did that mean we overshot the mark last time?

[Clairelly]

That was going to be my question! We tipped, on top of the pre-paid tips, our RS butler £100 and the MC concierge £100 - now I feel really tight! Although we never really used the butler, tended to ring for things ourselves and my Hubbie likes to be up early and grab us teas himself whilst the ship is quiet.

[hvbaskey]

Oh boy! We tipped after a sail-away party (group effort that was a surprise for the Butler) and then we tipped small (like some of you and unlike many of you) at the end of our cruise for the Butler, only.

 

We made most of our dinner reservations via on shore Concierge services (although the Butler tweaked some of them), barely touched the drinks in the fridge (so they were not restocked), did our own packing/unpacking, and cleaned up after ourselves (glasses/dishes back to pantry area, if many were used). We did use the Butler services for breakfast each morning (which we would have done regardless of what type of suite we had) and also for lattes delivered to us in the afternoon in lieu of tea (as advertised).

 

Feeling cheapish at the moment (compared to many of you), but at the very least the Butler did receive extra $ on top of the pre-paid gratuities.

 

At the time we felt our tipping was fair and uhmmmm now, maybe not so much! - well, you live and you learn. We tipped on the basis of good service and as horrible as this may sound (please don't throw the tomatoes), felt that the price that we paid for our Suite (PH in this case), we paid for services Celebrity advertised that go with it. When you pay thousands more for a suite, we felt standard advertised services were part of the experience. And again, to reiterate, we did tip ($) at the beginning and the end of the cruise - but not $$$$ as others have done.

 

Heather

[Project_gal]

This is a very personal subject and depends so much on the length of cruise and the service you have received. I can only give the advice I always do.

 

As Brits we find it hard to understand what is expected of us from a US-style tipping culture so what we do is look at the gratuities we have already paid for each individual who has looked after us. [it is fairly normal to prepay gratuities in the UK.] This has been in the region of US$100 for the butler for our recent cruises. [Not sure if this is what it is working out at from those who pay in US dollars?] Then we ask ourselves: is the service we received worth an extra 2x, 2.5x, 3x, 3.5x, etc this original amount. So in my butler example, we would tip an extra US$200, US$250, US$300, US$350, etc.

 

What really bothers me is the number of US residents who ask this sort of question. How are we Brits and our Australian cousins meant to understand what to do.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I think so many US residents ask this because having a butler is so out of the norm. It's easy to tip in a bar or restaurant, or when getting your hair done or a manicure, etc. because it is a %age of the bill. All you need to do is determine if the service was standard or better and decide on the %age you want to tip.

 

This is something you can't do on a cruise ship, and a lot of times what the staff does for you is something advertised as part of their job. The only odd thing I can remember asking our butler was if he had access to glue because the rosette on my sandal came off. He did and fixed it for me.

 

We've had tippers remorse both ways, either feeling like we over tipped or under tipped and I don't think it will change.

[Project_gal]

I think so many US residents ask this because having a butler is so out of the norm. It's easy to tip in a bar or restaurant, or when getting your hair done or a manicure, etc. because it is a %age of the bill. All you need to do is determine if the service was standard or better and decide on the %age you want to tip.

 

This is something you can't do on a cruise ship, and a lot of times what the staff does for you is something advertised as part of their job. The only odd thing I can remember asking our butler was if he had access to glue because the rosette on my sandal came off. He did and fixed it for me.

 

We've had tippers remorse both ways, either feeling like we over tipped or under tipped and I don't think it will change.

 

But surely it is the same for your wait staff on board? You are not paying a bill in the MDR and I do not see so many questions being asked about that.

 

When you tip a percentage of a bill at the hairdresser, haven't they just done what is advertised as part of their job?

 

And, by the way, despite what you see in Downton Abbey very, very few Brits have butlers :D

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Yes, but as you said, the US has a tipping culture that is based on a %age of the bill. Don't know why the question of tipping the wait staff doesn't come up very often.

 

Some hair dressers just rush through the process, others will take time cutting my go where it wants wavy hair so there is a difference in service levels.

 

Oh, and I never thought all that many Brits had butlers. :)

[BonnieVA]

They service about 12 each. I think they only service 1-2 royal suites (plus their other suites for a total of 10-12 suites) at a time; I don't think they service more than 2 royals at a time.

 

I stand corrected. My friend is servicing 4 Royal Suites plus 8 others, for a total of 12 cabins. Once he rotates to another section (no more RS) he'll be servicing 13 suites.

[bEwAbG]

$300 sounds excessive to me, too. I sometimes wonder if some of these tipping suggestions are by "plants" to guilt everyone into over-tipping! :D

 

I only tip additional if I feel like I've received service above and beyond the advertised service. After all, gratuities are already added for each day onboard, and suite guests are paying an additional amount specifically for the butler. It baffles me that people think they need to add hundreds of dollars on top of that. I think the most I've ever tipped was a MDR team who got $50 (for the head) and $40 (for the assistant) on a 5-night cruise because they were truly exceptional and made our week very special.

 

I tipped the butler on my last trip exactly $0 over the daily allotment because I rarely saw him and the one time I asked him a question, he suggested I call Guest Services myself.

[writerjoe]

$300 sounds excessive to me, too. I sometimes wonder if some of these tipping suggestions are by "plants" to guilt everyone into over-tipping! :D

 

I only tip additional if I feel like I've received service above and beyond the advertised service. After all, gratuities are already added for each day onboard, and suite guests are paying an additional amount specifically for the butler. It baffles me that people think they need to add hundreds of dollars on top of that. I think the most I've ever tipped was a MDR team who got $50 (for the head) and $40 (for the assistant) on a 5-night cruise because they were truly exceptional and made our week very special.

 

I tipped the butler on my last trip exactly $0 over the daily allotment because I rarely saw him and the one time I asked him a question, he suggested I call Guest Services myself.

 

Well, I'm not a plant. And I actually started this thread on a slightly different subject. That being said, I tend to be one of those people who goes through life over-tipping a bit... probably because I've never had to work too hard in my life.

 

As for a $300 tip to the butler in a Royal Suite, it really depends on the level of service. If the butler adds immensely to the enjoyment of a cruise on which i already spent 10k, what's a few hundred dollars.

[guy999]

my tipping was based on some stuff i read on here. i figured giving him a 100 for the first day and then like 50 the next day would get me better service....

 

i just think my guy was overworked.. in retrospect, i probably wouldn't not tip that well again.

 

I think the tip on the first day is a good idea, but then lemme see what you do after that.

[jagoffee]

my tipping was based on some stuff i read on here. i figured giving him a 100 for the first day and then like 50 the next day would get me better service....

 

i just think my guy was overworked.. in retrospect, i probably wouldn't not tip that well again.

 

I think the tip on the first day is a good idea, but then lemme see what you do after that.

 

I would cruise on a different cruise line if I ever suspected that I needed to tip $100 to insure that I could get service that exceeded my expectations. Certainly not required for those kind of results on any of my cruises.

 

Are you really serious?