Extraordinary things a butler does

[15yearsandwaiting]

What are some things your butler did to make the cruise extra memorable and fun.

[drvmywifecrzy]

Set up a romantic dinner in our cabin

[Alynna715]

Our Butler made paper airplanes for the kids. 

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

We had a course-by-course dinner in our suite for our group of 7.  Table cloth laid with full place settings, just like you would see in the dining room.  Just lovely.

And, I might add, that in our suite on NCL, the butler brings in and serves by course.  When we were in a suite on RCCL, the entire meal was brought in and left.  No table cloth, no serving.  I could have brought it from the buffet myself.

[Two Wheels Only]

21 minutes ago, Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin said:

And, I might add, that in our suite on NCL, the butler brings in and serves by course.  When we were in a suite on RCCL, the entire meal was brought in and left.  No table cloth, no serving.  I could have brought it from the buffet myself.

 

It can happen both ways on NCL. Some butlers will drop everything at once. Some will leave the courses in the pantry down the hall and deliver each course one at a time.

 

It's probably best to specify how you want the meal served. Not every butler is the same.

[dexddd]

For us, it has been drop everything at once which is fine.  

 

I'm one of the first to say they seemed overworked and too many rooms so I personally would not tie them up to do course by course.

[FLcruisergrl]

Had a huge spread of snacks waiting for us when we got back from an excursion. Also, not our specific butler, but a butler escorted us through a huge crowd (several hundred) trying to get back on the ship at the end of a port day, skipping the whole line, up the gangway and deposited us right in front of the screening station.

[valleyvillage]

One butler, upon learning that I didn't like the pretend champagne, brought me a bottle of the real stuff. The people in the DOS didn't want it! 

Another saw me trying to wheel my mother across a crazy intersection in Puerto Vallarta and he came running over to help. He was in his civvies and I didn't even realize who it was until he greeted us. 

[BirdTravels]

On busy port days, a breakfast spread served on a white tablecloth in the morning and a spread of snacks to greet us in the afternoon (and bowls of M&Ms, gummy bears, and bar mix). 
 

 

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by BirdTravels

[GA Dave]

First day on the Getaway, we had asked for a supply of M&M’s and cashews in our cabin.  The butler said no problem on the M&M’s. but they did not have any cashews.  He  said he would see what he could do.  I figured there was no way that would happen.

When we reached our first port, he went into town and got us a huge supply of whole cashews.  Filled a salad bowl sized serving dish and brought them to our cabin.  Definitely above and beyond.

[david_sobe]

8 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

First day on the Getaway, we had asked for a supply of M&M’s and cashews in our cabin.  The butler said no problem on the M&M’s. but they did not have any cashews.  He  said he would see what he could do.  I figured there was no way that would happen.

When we reached our first port, he went into town and got us a huge supply of whole cashews.  Filled a salad bowl sized serving dish and brought them to our cabin.  Definitely above and beyond.

yep that's pretty much above and beyond

[pcakes122]

So many things it's hard to list, but just thinking of my latest cruise in March, we told the butler that we love popcorn when chatting about what type of snacks we like. All my previous butlers have managed at one point or another to find popcorn on the ship to bring to us, but sometimes it's only been available when the kitchen is making large batches (for public movie nights.)

 

This cruise we had two HUGE bowls of HOT popcorn EVERY night!  The second day I asked our butler how he managed this and he told us that a lot of his guests love popcorn but they don't always have it in the kitchen, so he personally purchases microwave popcorn and keeps it in his cabin for his guests!

 

He was just the best in so many ways!

 

 

[nhtravels]

We had 2 butlers that we felt really treated our family extra special.  On our Escape cruise DH and I were in the H3, while the rest of our family had 3 balcony cabins.  Our family always came and hung out in the suite.  Our DIL was pregnant and didn't want to get off the ship (Zika virus concern at the time), so our Butler (Hippo) gave her his pager info and he would let her in the Haven and into our suite when we were in ports.  He brought her lunch and checked on her during the day.  

 

And on the Sky we were again the only ones of our group in a suite.  My 69 year old mother was recovering from a triple by-pass, 6 weeks prior, and our Butler would check in on her (she was 2 cabins down from our suite) and helped make her first cruise more comfortable.  He even pushed her wheelchair up to dinner one night!

 

I was so impressed that these 2 went out of their way for our  "non-suite" family!

[Niffernay]

On 5/16/2020 at 6:09 PM, BirdTravels said:

On busy port days, a breakfast spread served on a white tablecloth in the morning and a spread of snacks to greet us in the afternoon (and bowls of M&Ms, gummy bears, and bar mix). 
 

Did you order breakfast in the morning or the night before? 

 

[don't-use-real-name]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2020 at 12:03 PM, dexddd said:

For us, it has been drop everything at once which is fine.  

 

I'm one of the first to say they seemed overworked and too many rooms so I personally would not tie them up to do course by course.

An example of a possible overworked Butler - on the JEWEL DAWN class ships - -1- one butler services all ten (10) 

of the 2BR suites on deck 11 forward - 5 are port side the other 5 starboard.

Best in making in-suite dining arrangements to co-ordinate with the butler as to what and when he can do the

best for you and his other guest clients - keeping the system working like a well oiled salad machine.

Consider that your meal may come from 1 or more decks above or below your cabin and a half a ship away.

The service cart is not hoisted by hand up and down stairs but uses hidden crew elevators - it is amazing how

the food arrives hot and ready to eat unless you have instructed the butler to serve it some other way !

Bon apetite !

[jsn55]

We've never had a butler on a cruise ship, our first will be September on the GEM.  I understand all the food stuff.  What's the difference between ordering goodies from Room Service vs the Butler?  I've read about "unpacking" no thanks, "drawing a bath" no thanks.  Other than food & drink, what else should we expect?

[seaman11]

5 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

We've never had a butler on a cruise ship, our first will be September on the GEM.  I understand all the food stuff.  What's the difference between ordering goodies from Room Service vs the Butler?  I've read about "unpacking" no thanks, "drawing a bath" no thanks.  Other than food & drink, what else should we expect?

i have had a butler at some casinos, and to be honest its nothing a room steward wouldnt do if asked. 

[Capitan Obvious]

Two thoughts come to mind on this topic.

 

#1 - Why "extraordinary" things done by the butler? Given that they are just one of many, why not talk about extraordinary things done by any and all crew members? I can't see a reason to limit this to butlers.

 

#2 - It the topic meant to be a clever way to get around just saying: "I have no real idea of what a butler does, and I want to ensure that I get every nickel and dime back in service, please tell me what a butler does so that I can make sure I ask for and get every possible service whether I need it or not"

[jsn55]

1 hour ago, Capitan Obvious said:

Two thoughts come to mind on this topic.

 

#1 - Why "extraordinary" things done by the butler? Given that they are just one of many, why not talk about extraordinary things done by any and all crew members? I can't see a reason to limit this to butlers.

 

#2 - It the topic meant to be a clever way to get around just saying: "I have no real idea of what a butler does, and I want to ensure that I get every nickel and dime back in service, please tell me what a butler does so that I can make sure I ask for and get every possible service whether I need it or not"

Thanks so much for your thoughts.  Extremely helpful.  Sorry you've never had a butler.

[jsn55]

1 hour ago, seaman11 said:

i have had a butler at some casinos, and to be honest its nothing a room steward wouldnt do if asked. 

You've pointed out the reason for my question in the first place, Seaman.   I don't remember ever wanting something on a cruise that I didn't just ask the steward for, or order from room service.  Dinner on your balcony sounds nice, goodies delivered at cocktail time as well.  So I'm curious about what others' experiences have been.  Thanks for this.

[arlodog]

We have been blessed to sail in Haven rooms on most of our cruises on NCL. We have become quite spoiled by the experience.  We are pretty low maintenance people and really just tell them to skip most of the afternoon snacks and just bring us a platter of cheese and crackers that we can enjoy with a glass of wine before dinner.  We do like a bowl of M&M's though... We like the Haven for the relaxed atmosphere and level of service from all the staff not just the Butler.  

 

We did have a DOS when we had our grand daughter with us who was 3 at the time.  Each evening our Butler would bring her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or spaghetti and we would feed her in the room and drop her off at the kids area so we could then go and enjoy dinner and a show.  Then my husband would pick her up and take her to the haven restaurant for a scoop of ice cream before bed. It wasn't just the butler who spoiled her that cruise.  All the Haven staff took great care of her and waited for her every morning and evening to come through the lounge area.  She gave out lots of hugs to the crew that sailing when they talked about missing their own kids/family.  She usually came down the hall singing and skipping--the crew loved her!   

 

[jsn55]

What a lovely story!  The age of 3 is magical for sure.

[arlodog]

On 5/28/2020 at 9:52 AM, jsn55 said:

What a lovely story!  The age of 3 is magical for sure.

Yes it is.  If for some reason she wasn't singing in the halls we were always asked what was wrong and if she was ok.  It really was fun to watch the staff interact with her!  Great memories for us. 

[don't-use-real-name]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2020 at 9:52 AM, jsn55 said:

What a lovely story!  The age of 3 is magical for sure.

Reminiscent of something out of the set with Shirley Temple on the "Good Ship Lollipop" !