Tipping Haven Butler

[cruise*enthusiast]

On 7/24/2022 at 10:41 AM, mearsfansinboise said:

We read everything that @Sthrngary put together and did all his recommendations, and we had a splendid Haven experience when we sailed the Bliss in March.  We gave him our letter on the first day, and I think it had $50-$60 in it, and then we tipped him more at the end - I think we did $300 for him and $200 for our steward.  Our butler did everything we asked and went above and beyond - (i.e. my daughter likes white rice and he had a bowl of hot white rice and a bottle of soy sauce on the snack table every afternoon) - and the rest of the snacks and requests, he took good care of us.  This was our first time in the Haven and I have never felt so pampered in my life.

There were some nights when our butler was off and we ordered food, we tipped that butler a few bucks. One time a little more when he brought us cans of cold soda that he had extra of and went and found something that I had wanted from a particular restaurant.

Thanks!  That was very helpful. I’m seeing that many people tip the butler in advance, such as @Sthrngarymentioned. Then again, I’ve also seen reviews where they said tipping in advance is degrading or insulting. I don’t see that. If I was a butler, I would greatly appreciate the advance!  I think I’m going to stick to my plans with the letter and tip. 

[cruise*enthusiast]

On 7/24/2022 at 4:13 PM, Candy Apple 12 said:

My butler letter stated, “Enclosed you will find an initial token of our appreciation. We are sure that you that you will exceed our expectations, and we will show our further appreciation at the end of this cruise.”

 

Thanks for the idea of an alternate letter. I never thought about the butler not showing up on the first day!
 

I love the way you worded the tip reference in your letter. I was contemplating what I would say in the letter, and I am pirating your quote to be included!

 

In re to the chance of the butler not showing up the first day, who would I address this with?  Do I just ask the concierge to ask the butler to stop by?  Also, what time should I expect him to arrive on the first day before contacting someone?

 

TIA!

[DrSea]

9 hours ago, Trimone said:

I totally agree, if someone handed me a note not in my native language with requests I would probably drop it in the bin on the way out.

I can’t understand why someone would want to eat in their room, with a exclusive dining room next door…remember hijacking the butler possibly does someone else out of simple service, they are not exclusive…

When traveling with a large group of friends of family, I like hosting get togethers in my Haven room. So it's fun to have some food and snacks in my room. It makes it feel special. 

[Dcoy]

44 minutes ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

That’s roughly what I was thinking. Does concierge or the room steward get any of the pre-paid gratuities or service charges?

The room steward does but the concierge does not. 

[acl12345]

We are avid Haven fans and have always had rooms in the Haven proper.  This years cruise we will be trying the Haven aft balcony because of the huge balcony.  I expect we will have less service from the butler due to the distance from Haven.  Does anyone have any experience with this? TIA

[cruise*enthusiast]

5 minutes ago, Dcoy said:

The room steward does but the concierge does not. 

Thanks!!

[Shellbelle28]

9 minutes ago, acl12345 said:

We are avid Haven fans and have always had rooms in the Haven proper.  This years cruise we will be trying the Haven aft balcony because of the huge balcony.  I expect we will have less service from the butler due to the distance from Haven.  Does anyone have any experience with this? TIA

We were on the Bliss in an aft large balcony suite. We saw the butler most days, though we didn't do any all day activities off the ship, so your schedule may impact that. However, when I called or left notes with requests they were quickly fulfilled. He brought treats (more than just the routine ones) and set up our room for a gathering we had and brought a lovely spread of goodies that was far above and beyond what we'd asked for. 

PS- the balcony is ah-mazing! 

[cruise*enthusiast]

22 minutes ago, Shellbelle28 said:

We were on the Bliss in an aft large balcony suite. We saw the butler most days, though we didn't do any all day activities off the ship, so your schedule may impact that. However, when I called or left notes with requests they were quickly fulfilled. He brought treats (more than just the routine ones) and set up our room for a gathering we had and brought a lovely spread of goodies that was far above and beyond what we'd asked for. 

PS- the balcony is ah-mazing! 

Soooo jealous!! We looked at the different cabins and decided on that type. Unfortunately, by the time I heard back from our casino host, the category had sold out. So we ended up with a Haven Spa Balcony Suite. Looks nice, with the jacuzzi tub facing the window, overlooking the sea and access to the Thermospa. But, I would definitely have preferred the aft. We had one on our last cruise and it was incredible!  Hope you had a great time!!

 

[cruise*enthusiast]

Thanks for all the input from everyone. I’m sorry if my question ignited a wildfire. I never anticipated it being such a sensitive topic!

 

[pcakes122]

11 hours ago, Trimone said:

remember hijacking the butler possibly does someone else out of simple service, they are not exclusive…

I encourage people to 1000% use their butlers for every service they want and expect their vacation (that they paid for) to be. It's NCL's responsibility to hire and pay for adequate resources to deliver full services to everyone from whom they have collected Haven fares (promising personalized butler service.)

 

Settling for less than what you have paid for doesn't help the butlers. It helps NCL's bottom line and even if you are a shareholder you are not breaking even by doing that.

 

Also, butlers WANT you to utilize their services. They want the opportunity to earn $$ by responding to your requests.  Here is a screenshot of a message I received from my Haven butler after I got home from my May cruise (and, by the way if you search my post history, you will see that I'm probably one of the highest maintenance passengers the Haven has seen lol)

[DrSea]

1 hour ago, Shellbelle28 said:

We were on the Bliss in an aft large balcony suite. We saw the butler most days, though we didn't do any all day activities off the ship, so your schedule may impact that. However, when I called or left notes with requests they were quickly fulfilled. He brought treats (more than just the routine ones) and set up our room for a gathering we had and brought a lovely spread of goodies that was far above and beyond what we'd asked for. 

PS- the balcony is ah-mazing! 

This imho is the best thing about staying in the Haven, and it's why I book the Haven.

[cabincop]

14 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

To be truthful, If I were your butler, I would have zero clue what to do with this. 

 

If people have requests, clearly, concisely list those requests in bullets on a note pad. 

1) Please leave bowls of Peanut M&Ms, Gummy Bears, Bar Mix daily

2) Please empty refrigerator and leave a pitcher of ice water and ice tea daily

3) Tomorrow, Thursday, please deliver PB&J sandwiches with chips with the afternoon snacks

 

If you a clear and direct, you will get what you want. If your butler needs to interpret 2 pages of fine print, 90% of which is informational versus a request, you will be disappointed and end up shorting the tip to your poor butler because they did not understand what you wanted. 

I’ve been in the Haven for over 14 years. I won’t give my butler a letter. I’ve always been very happy with my butlers. I was just curious. And now I’m not

[Trimone]

4 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

I encourage people to 1000% use their butlers for every service they want and expect their vacation (that they paid for) to be. It's NCL's responsibility to hire and pay for adequate resources to deliver full services to everyone from whom they have collected Haven fares (promising personalized butler service.)

 

Settling for less than what you have paid for doesn't help the butlers. It helps NCL's bottom line and even if you are a shareholder you are not breaking even by doing that.

 

Also, butlers WANT you to utilize their services. They want the opportunity to earn $$ by responding to your requests.  Here is a screenshot of a message I received from my Haven butler after I got home from my May cruise (and, by the way if you search my post history, you will see that I'm probably one of the highest maintenance passengers the Haven has seen lol)

I don’t think it’s very wise to give your number out, especially when they mention income? Very trusting 

[pcakes122]

4 hours ago, Trimone said:

I don’t think it’s very wise to give your number out, especially when they mention income? Very trusting 

My number? I'm not following?

[acl12345]

10 hours ago, Shellbelle28 said:

We were on the Bliss in an aft large balcony suite. We saw the butler most days, though we didn't do any all day activities off the ship, so your schedule may impact that. However, when I called or left notes with requests they were quickly fulfilled. He brought treats (more than just the routine ones) and set up our room for a gathering we had and brought a lovely spread of goodies that was far above and beyond what we'd asked for. 

PS- the balcony is ah-mazing! 

Thank you. This helps a lot. Love having a butler but figured they would have trouble 

getting there with all they do.

[graphicguy]

59 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

My number? I'm not following?

Probably phone number for texts.

 

Not an NCL cruise, but certainly relatable.

 

A little over a year ago, I finally jumped back into cruising with Celebrity on their then new EDGE.  IIRC, price for an S1 Sky Suite was somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500-$2,800 all in, and they offered crazy amounts of OBC and perks.  To me, no brainer.  It was a 7 day Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

For those who don’t know, the Retreat is much like the Haven.  It has an exclusive bar area, and a very nice relaxing area to hang out.  Plus, there’s a very nice exclusive  bar, lounge, pool area for Retreat guests.

 

The Retreat has 3 concierges, just like the Haven.  But, the person utilized the most is the Personal REtreat Host/Concierge (PCH).  This person does a combo of what the Haven concierges and butlers do, combined.  And, they’re very, very good at it.

 

Had such a wonderful time on that cruise, I booked another while on board.  Only this time, it was an Eastern itinerary, but same ship, same S1 Retreat category, only 3 weeks later.

 

As I like to do, I did a live posting here at CC.  One of the posters here asked that I give a message to one of the bar wait staff on board.  Apparently (and not so sure correctly) the guest thought they had some sort of close “relationship” with this particular waiter/bartender.  Well, after tracking down the waitperson, I delivered the message from the guest.  To say the wait person had no clue who I was talking about and the message delivered may have been delivered in Latin was somewhat of a funny exchange.

 

In addition, the concierges in the Retreat were also the same on the subsequent sailing.  Understand, I was in the Retreat proper, every day.  I tipped the PCH and the Retreat Concierges generously, as they were very good at taking care of me.  But, aside from remembering my face, my personal preferences were foreign to them as they would be to any person just boarding the ship for the first time.  

 

Relating this back to NCL, anyone who has sailed in the Haven on some of NCL’s newest ships knows the top concierge with NCL….ADrian.  He is outstanding.  I’ve sailed when he was the concierge 3 times, in a relatively short period of time.  Each time, while he may have remembered my face, I was forgotten As soon as I disembarked and went home, as it should be, given the amount of guests they have to serve each and every week.

 

While we want to believe we are the special standout guests for the crew in either the Haven or Retreat, once we’re gone, there’s a new slew of guests that are their “favorites” that they are paid to make feel special.

 

That’s not a bad thing.  It’s just the nature of their jobs.  We aren’t their friends, no more than I’m friends with anyone on Delta airlines for being a 3X Million Miler.  They know how much business I’ve done with them.  But, the most I’ll get is an extra bag of pretzels if I request them.

[LGW59]

3 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Probably phone number for texts.

 

Not an NCL cruise, but certainly relatable.

 

A little over a year ago, I finally jumped back into cruising with Celebrity on their then new EDGE.  IIRC, price for an S1 Sky Suite was somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500-$2,800 all in, and they offered crazy amounts of OBC and perks.  To me, no brainer.  It was a 7 day Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

For those who don’t know, the Retreat is much like the Haven.  It has an exclusive bar area, and a very nice relaxing area to hang out.  Plus, there’s a very nice exclusive  bar, lounge, pool area for Retreat guests.

 

The Retreat has 3 concierges, just like the Haven.  But, the person utilized the most is the Personal REtreat Host/Concierge (PCH).  This person does a combo of what the Haven concierges and butlers do, combined.  And, they’re very, very good at it.

 

Had such a wonderful time on that cruise, I booked another while on board.  Only this time, it was an Eastern itinerary, but same ship, same S1 Retreat category, only 3 weeks later.

 

As I like to do, I did a live posting here at CC.  One of the posters here asked that I give a message to one of the bar wait staff on board.  Apparently (and not so sure correctly) the guest thought they had some sort of close “relationship” with this particular waiter/bartender.  Well, after tracking down the waitperson, I delivered the message from the guest.  To say the wait person had no clue who I was talking about and the message delivered may have been delivered in Latin was somewhat of a funny exchange.

 

In addition, the concierges in the Retreat were also the same on the subsequent sailing.  Understand, I was in the Retreat proper, every day.  I tipped the PCH and the Retreat Concierges generously, as they were very good at taking care of me.  But, aside from remembering my face, my personal preferences were foreign to them as they would be to any person just boarding the ship for the first time.  

 

Relating this back to NCL, anyone who has sailed in the Haven on some of NCL’s newest ships knows the top concierge with NCL….ADrian.  He is outstanding.  I’ve sailed when he was the concierge 3 times, in a relatively short period of time.  Each time, while he may have remembered my face, I was forgotten As soon as I disembarked and went home, as it should be, given the amount of guests they have to serve each and every week.

 

While we want to believe we are the special standout guests for the crew in either the Haven or Retreat, once we’re gone, there’s a new slew of guests that are their “favorites” that they are paid to make feel special.

 

That’s not a bad thing.  It’s just the nature of their jobs.  We aren’t their friends, no more than I’m friends with anyone on Delta airlines for being a 3X Million Miler.  They know how much business I’ve done with them.  But, the most I’ll get is an extra bag of pretzels if I request them.

I remember your live posting when you did that cruise!  I’ll be on EDGE in October for a 14 day TA, so looking forward to it!

[graphicguy]

33 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

I remember your live posting when you did that cruise!  I’ll be on EDGE in October for a 14 day TA, so looking forward to it!

That will be a really great cruise.  The ship is beautiful.  I'm "jelly"!

[queenschick9b]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

That’s not a bad thing.  It’s just the nature of their jobs.  We aren’t their friends, no more than I’m friends with anyone on Delta airlines for being a 3X Million Miler.  They know how much business I’ve done with them.  But, the most I’ll get is an extra bag of pretzels if I request them.

I once had the leader of the solo group remember me on another cruise, but I am also curious if  like every other company in the world NCL has some type of CRM that is like  Person X, sailed x times on these ships, the staff was ABC and then when you end up on the same ship again it pings and lets the CD staff know.  (if not, NCL probably should)

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by queenschick9b

[graphicguy]

5 minutes ago, queenschick9b said:

I once had the leader of the solo group remember me on another cruise, but I am also curious if  like every other company in the world NCL has some type of CRM that is like  Person X, sailed x times on these ships, the staff was ABC and then when you end up on the same ship again it pings and lets the CD staff know.  (if not, NCL probably should)

 

I would think they had some sort of CRM.  I think the CRUISE NEXT dept does.  Never got the impression anyone else on board does, though.  They seem to protect whatever it is they have on their screens, however.

 

Aside from the concierges on the EDGE cruises, no one has remembered me, even though I sailed with them on a given cruise line several times.  The only reason the concierges on the EDGE remembered me is because I had sailed with them 2X in less than a month.  They didn't remember my name until I told them, though.

 

Give crew credit, they're adept at making guests feel like they are into a personal relationship with you while on board.  But, they do that week in and week out, for everyone they interface with.

[LGW59]

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Probably phone number for texts.

 

Not an NCL cruise, but certainly relatable.

 

A little over a year ago, I finally jumped back into cruising with Celebrity on their then new EDGE.  IIRC, price for an S1 Sky Suite was somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500-$2,800 all in, and they offered crazy amounts of OBC and perks.  To me, no brainer.  It was a 7 day Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

For those who don’t know, the Retreat is much like the Haven.  It has an exclusive bar area, and a very nice relaxing area to hang out.  Plus, there’s a very nice exclusive  bar, lounge, pool area for Retreat guests.

 

The Retreat has 3 concierges, just like the Haven.  But, the person utilized the most is the Personal REtreat Host/Concierge (PCH).  This person does a combo of what the Haven concierges and butlers do, combined.  And, they’re very, very good at it.

 

Had such a wonderful time on that cruise, I booked another while on board.  Only this time, it was an Eastern itinerary, but same ship, same S1 Retreat category, only 3 weeks later.

 

As I like to do, I did a live posting here at CC.  One of the posters here asked that I give a message to one of the bar wait staff on board.  Apparently (and not so sure correctly) the guest thought they had some sort of close “relationship” with this particular waiter/bartender.  Well, after tracking down the waitperson, I delivered the message from the guest.  To say the wait person had no clue who I was talking about and the message delivered may have been delivered in Latin was somewhat of a funny exchange.

 

In addition, the concierges in the Retreat were also the same on the subsequent sailing.  Understand, I was in the Retreat proper, every day.  I tipped the PCH and the Retreat Concierges generously, as they were very good at taking care of me.  But, aside from remembering my face, my personal preferences were foreign to them as they would be to any person just boarding the ship for the first time.  

 

Relating this back to NCL, anyone who has sailed in the Haven on some of NCL’s newest ships knows the top concierge with NCL….ADrian.  He is outstanding.  I’ve sailed when he was the concierge 3 times, in a relatively short period of time.  Each time, while he may have remembered my face, I was forgotten As soon as I disembarked and went home, as it should be, given the amount of guests they have to serve each and every week.

 

While we want to believe we are the special standout guests for the crew in either the Haven or Retreat, once we’re gone, there’s a new slew of guests that are their “favorites” that they are paid to make feel special.

 

That’s not a bad thing.  It’s just the nature of their jobs.  We aren’t their friends, no more than I’m friends with anyone on Delta airlines for being a 3X Million Miler.  They know how much business I’ve done with them.  But, the most I’ll get is an extra bag of pretzels if I request them.

Too funny.  I am astounded by some of what is posted and responses to, of some of the folks that post their live (not you Graphic) from reviews.  It's bad enough (to me, it's my opinion) that they post a picture of EVERY morsel of food and drink that they consume, no joke, every single thing, posing and preening in front of the mirror to show their wardrobe of choice for each part of the day  But then the kicker to me, "oh please can you stop by the x bar, if x is working please tell him that John/Jane from Osh Kosh said hello and we are looking forward to seeing them on our cruise in 2023".  The list goes on from the servers, the stewards, butlers and even, if I send you some $$ can you buy x at the next port and give it to my favorite crew member.  The "stuff" they ask them to buy, OY.

Edited July 28, 2022 by LGW59

[graphicguy]

52 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Too funny.  I am astounded by some of what is posted and responses to, of some of the folks that post their live (not you Graphic) from reviews.  It's bad enough (to me, it's my opinion) that they post a picture of EVERY morsel of food and drink that they consume, no joke, every single thing, posing and preening in front of the mirror to show their wardrobe of choice for each part of the day  But then the kicker to me, "oh please can you stop by the x bar, if x is working please tell him that John/Jane from Osh Kosh said hello and we are looking forward to seeing them on our cruise in 2023".  The list goes on from the servers, the stewards, butlers and even, if I send you some $$ can you buy x at the next port and give it to my favorite crew member.  The "stuff" they ask them to buy, OY.

Have seen that before.  Have been asked to forward messages and gifts (paid for out of my own pocket, no less) to crew.

 

One instance, the crew member obviously gave the wrong phone number and email to a guest who requested both.  I suppose the crew didn’t want to decline the guest’s personal info request, so just gave them incorrect info.

 

Bottom line, it’s the crew’s job to make you feel special.  If they’re good at it (and most are), you’ll tip them well.  But, past that, they’re not likely to invite you to have dinner with them.  HAve seen some guests become a bit belligerent if the crew rejects their requests.  

 

Appreciate the job the crew does for you.  Don’t make it weird by going any further than offering them a nice tip.

[JGmf]

15 hours ago, acl12345 said:

We are avid Haven fans and have always had rooms in the Haven proper.  This years cruise we will be trying the Haven aft balcony because of the huge balcony.  I expect we will have less service from the butler due to the distance from Haven.  Does anyone have any experience with this? TIA

 

Having stayed in the Haven aft many times before, yes, you will have less service, but you will still get service.  The location more than compensates for that.  Plus, it's nice to get away from the same people 24/7 in the Haven proper.

 

[acl12345]

11 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Having stayed in the Haven aft many times before, yes, you will have less service, but you will still get service.  The location more than compensates for that.  Plus, it's nice to get away from the same people 24/7 in the Haven proper.

 

Thank you.  Thought that might be the case.  Don't use much but like early am coffee,

fruit and pastry.

[RocketMan275]

4 hours ago, graphicguy said:

 

 

As I like to do, I did a live posting here at CC.  One of the posters here asked that I give a message to one of the bar wait staff on board.  Apparently (and not so sure correctly) the guest thought they had some sort of close “relationship” with this particular waiter/bartender.  Well, after tracking down the waitperson, I delivered the message from the guest.  To say the wait person had no clue who I was talking about and the message delivered may have been delivered in Latin was somewhat of a funny exchange.

 

I've seen many posts there on CC about how some always preferred traditional dinning, same table, same time, same waitstaff because they thought they established a personal relationship with the waitstaff.  I do remember one poster who recounted how they thought they had a personal relationship with a particular bartender only to encounter him as they left the ship and how he had forgot their name before they even left the ship.