cruise*enthusiast Posted December 30, 2023 #1 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Does HAL have cabin categories that include butler service? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir PMP Posted December 30, 2023 #2 Share Posted December 30, 2023 No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted December 30, 2023 #3 Share Posted December 30, 2023 1 minute ago, cruise*enthusiast said: Does HAL have cabin categories that include butler service? No, no butlers. Between room service, cabin stewards, etc a lot is covered IMO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourWorldWithBill Posted December 30, 2023 #4 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Although you don't get a butler, if you're in a Neptune suite you get a lot of extra attention if needed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlaMariner Posted December 30, 2023 #5 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Her Majesty wants to know if they still assign you a Lady's Maid? She needs help unpacking and getting dressed for dressy night. (this post is not serious) 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciencewonk Posted December 30, 2023 #6 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Neptune Suites come with access to the Neptune Lounge Concierge. I've always found him/her to be extremely helpful for any and all problems and needs. If you ask, the concierge will give you her card with her mobile number. I'm not fully sure what the difference would be between a butler and the concierge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunther1 Posted December 30, 2023 #7 Share Posted December 30, 2023 42 minutes ago, sciencewonk said: Neptune Suites come with access to the Neptune Lounge Concierge. I've always found him/her to be extremely helpful for any and all problems and needs. If you ask, the concierge will give you her card with her mobile number. I'm not fully sure what the difference would be between a butler and the concierge. IMHO, it’s kinda like Corvette drivers 😏. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtnesterz Posted December 30, 2023 #8 Share Posted December 30, 2023 2 hours ago, cruise*enthusiast said: Does HAL have cabin categories that include butler service? The only butler service I am aware of is on Silversea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted December 30, 2023 #9 Share Posted December 30, 2023 3 minutes ago, mtnesterz said: The only butler service I am aware of is on Silversea. Oceania also has them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cbr663 Posted December 30, 2023 #10 Share Posted December 30, 2023 1 hour ago, sciencewonk said: Neptune Suites come with access to the Neptune Lounge Concierge. I've always found him/her to be extremely helpful for any and all problems and needs. If you ask, the concierge will give you her card with her mobile number. I'm not fully sure what the difference would be between a butler and the concierge. A butler will provide much more hands on, personal and proactive service versus the NL Concierge which I have found to provide more reactive than proactive service. Butlers will unpack your suit case and put away your clothes. They will instinctually know which clothes need pressing and take care of it. So, for instance, on HAL you will need to stuff the bag and complete the laundry form whereas your Butler will take care of that for you. Your butler will ask you if you'd like to have your shoes shined whereas with HAL you have to request to have it done. They will serve you meals in your cabin rather than having room service simply bring it in, drop it and run. A butler will run a bath and prepare your cabin for a surprise celebration. They will discuss your personal wants and needs and make sure that you are fully aware of all the amenities that are available to you and what your choices are regarding these amenities. Butlers will also do many of the same things as HAL's conceriege, such as book reservations and excursions and take care of logistics, but a Butler does it more one on one with the butler coming to you versus your going to the concierge in the lounge. These are just a few examples of the differences. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REOVA Posted December 31, 2023 #11 Share Posted December 31, 2023 51 minutes ago, mtnesterz said: The only butler service I am aware of is on Silversea. MSC Yacht Club has the best value for butler service (and suite amenities). The HAL ships are not as large as some of the other lines with Butlers (MSC, NCL, Celebrity) which is the best part of HAL but you won't find that same service on HAL. The concierge in Neptune are very helpful but again not the same experience of other suite experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlsSalt Posted December 31, 2023 #12 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Silversea Muse - 14 day Alaska - Vancouver RT - $10,400* -balcony HAL Noodrem - 14 day Alaska -Vancouver RT - $2,500 - balcony *Helps pay for the butler. As well as more upscale food, programs and decor. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted December 31, 2023 #13 Share Posted December 31, 2023 3 hours ago, FlaMariner said: Her Majesty wants to know if they still assign you a Lady's Maid? She needs help unpacking and getting dressed for dressy night. (this post is not serious) I would like a ladies maid😉🤷♀️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted December 31, 2023 #14 Share Posted December 31, 2023 47 minutes ago, OlsSalt said: Silversea Muse - 14 day Alaska - Vancouver RT - $10,400* -balcony HAL Noodrem - 14 day Alaska -Vancouver RT - $2,500 - balcony *Helps pay for the butler. As well as more upscale food, programs and decor. Yes, but if you get a 0-25% single supplement and add all the 'extras' that are included in a Silversea cruise to a basic HAL booking, the price difference is minimal or nonexistent. P.S. I had a butler on the Silver Cloud and came to the conclusion they are room stewards with a fancy title (but I'm 'low maintenance'). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted December 31, 2023 #15 Share Posted December 31, 2023 4 hours ago, FlaMariner said: Her Majesty wants to know if they still assign you a Lady's Maid? She needs help unpacking and getting dressed for dressy night. (this post is not serious) Don’t laugh-we did our first (and only) cruise in a suite on Celebrity a few years back and it came with a butler. We told him we did not want him (in a nice way). He would have unpacked our suitcases etc. He ended up being great & left us alone other than always greeting us when we came back on the ship (I swear he had a camera somewhere!) asking if we needed anything. It was actually funny but no thank you. He did explain all that came with being in a suite which is a lot more than HAL offers on the Neptune suites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted December 31, 2023 #16 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Yikes- I’d be so uncomfortable with a butler. No thanks. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruise*enthusiast Posted December 31, 2023 Author #17 Share Posted December 31, 2023 3 hours ago, cbr663 said: A butler will provide much more hands on, personal and proactive service versus the NL Concierge which I have found to provide more reactive than proactive service. Butlers will unpack your suit case and put away your clothes. They will instinctually know which clothes need pressing and take care of it. So, for instance, on HAL you will need to stuff the bag and complete the laundry form whereas your Butler will take care of that for you. Your butler will ask you if you'd like to have your shoes shined whereas with HAL you have to request to have it done. They will serve you meals in your cabin rather than having room service simply bring it in, drop it and run. A butler will run a bath and prepare your cabin for a surprise celebration. They will discuss your personal wants and needs and make sure that you are fully aware of all the amenities that are available to you and what your choices are regarding these amenities. Butlers will also do many of the same things as HAL's conceriege, such as book reservations and excursions and take care of logistics, but a Butler does it more one on one with the butler coming to you versus your going to the concierge in the lounge. These are just a few examples of the differences. What ship has those butlers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted December 31, 2023 #18 Share Posted December 31, 2023 1 hour ago, cruise*enthusiast said: What ship has those butlers? Crystal Cruises (Symphony and Serenity) has butlers in every cabin category now. ~Nancy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAcruising Posted December 31, 2023 #19 Share Posted December 31, 2023 3 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said: Yikes- I’d be so uncomfortable with a butler. No thanks. Hmm. While I agree, I'm betting Mrs. IA would make good use of him. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted December 31, 2023 #20 Share Posted December 31, 2023 13 hours ago, cbr663 said: A butler will provide much more hands on, personal and proactive service versus the NL Concierge which I have found to provide more reactive than proactive service. Butlers will unpack your suit case and put away your clothes. They will instinctually know which clothes need pressing and take care of it. So, for instance, on HAL you will need to stuff the bag and complete the laundry form whereas your Butler will take care of that for you. Your butler will ask you if you'd like to have your shoes shined whereas with HAL you have to request to have it done. They will serve you meals in your cabin rather than having room service simply bring it in, drop it and run. A butler will run a bath and prepare your cabin for a surprise celebration. They will discuss your personal wants and needs and make sure that you are fully aware of all the amenities that are available to you and what your choices are regarding these amenities. Butlers will also do many of the same things as HAL's conceriege, such as book reservations and excursions and take care of logistics, but a Butler does it more one on one with the butler coming to you versus your going to the concierge in the lounge. These are just a few examples of the differences. I had a butler on our Oceania cruise and to say I was unimpressed is an understatement. There was no offer to unpack our clothes (who needs that though?) let alone “instinctively know what needs pressing”. The room steward for our Neptune Suite was far better at that - offering to have my DD DH’s suits pressed for each Gala night. No offer to shine shoes and I don’t see a big deal to put them in the wicker basket and on the bed. He did serve meals but basically brought in the tray and put it on the table just like room service would. Obviously we didn’t have a good one or we were not worthy of his services. In any case, if I were to choose between a butler or a good room steward & concierge - I would opt for the latter. YMMV of course. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir PMP Posted December 31, 2023 #21 Share Posted December 31, 2023 I had a butler once: 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExArkie Posted December 31, 2023 #22 Share Posted December 31, 2023 There is a Cruise Critic article on which ships have butlers (short version: lots of them). https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/which-cruise-ships-have-butlers They seem to have omitted Seabourn from their list. Maybe some others, too, but that was the one that I noticed immediately because we have been on Seabourn. I have never found butlers to be a selling point. Very little of what they do are things that I cannot do easily myself or ask the concierge/customer service to do. This year, we were in a suite on NCL and the butler mostly seemed to want to ingratiate himself to us (being overly friendly, for one thing) in order to garner a larger tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taters Posted January 1 #23 Share Posted January 1 No one needs to unpack and put my underwear away for me. No one! I don't even let my husband unpack for me because when he was sweet enough to do it for me that one time I couldn't find anything. Thanks, but no thanks!🤣 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AroundWithMAPTravels Posted January 1 #24 Share Posted January 1 I guess all of us who don’t want butlers unpacking for us should NOT hire a yacht as seen on Below Deck either, since it is apparently “expected “ there. I am a DIY gal happy new year to all may 2024 be peaceful and comforting! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAcruising Posted January 1 #25 Share Posted January 1 Yeah, no one is touching Mrs. IA's underwear. Cooties or something.... 😄 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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