We have only had butler service once, on our BTB on the PG. Our butler was a doll and did everything he could for us and was as sweet and competent as they come, but Doug and I really felt that the service level was so top notch that,other than large parties, we had no need for the services of a butler.

On the Voyager, we met several couples, two of the couples were "older" newlyweds who wanted to do it right for their honeymoon and booked a suite with a butler. They were less than pleased with the butler service. They reported butlers did little more than deliver appetizers pre-dinner for them. They had no need for party services, and were told to book all tours at the tour desk like everyone else. In fact, they are all writing letters to Mark Conroy to state their disappointment. They never even got a cake or champagne even though they mentioned to the butler it was their honeymoon. Each of these couples had different butlers. Have any of you heard of lackluster service in this area? Is this just an instance of two poor butlers who should be reported or an overall issue with the butler service in general in a ship where service is so excellent?

Andi - Thanks for posting. This is a good topic for discussion.

We haven't chosen a butler as part of our RSSC trips (saving $$ to pay for more cruises). We have gotten to know a number of folks on trips who have opted for the butlers. A few are thrilled with the extra attention. On one recent cruise I learned that room service breakfast is brought by the butler each day rather than a different waiter from the room service staff. One other couple loved setting up dinner parties and had the butler help them with reservations at Signatures and Latitudes and arrange for tables. Most of the comments have been neutral - ie, the appetizers are a nice touch but they can't figure out what else to ask the butlers to do. For some, they could just as easily call room service for the appetizers and get exactly what they want. Some have been pretty negative - ie, the butlers are asked to handle certain things (don't know exactly what's on that list) and because they are helping other passengers in their assigned areas, service is actually slower for the passengers than if they called directly and were served by the regular staff.

Just my two cents. Cheers, Anne

As with so many things, expectation levels are the key variable. While competence is bound to vary among any group of service providers, the range of customer expectations is much wider. We have had butlers on every RSSC cruise we have taken since they have been introduced. Our expectations have been low, we saw them more as a marketing device than an added service. We didn't choose to have a butler - they just came with the suite. Anyone who expects that the butler is stationed outside their door to satisfy every whim will surely be disappointed. At best, they are intended to add a more pesonal level of service - sometimes this irritates people - "every time we call for something, we get the butler"

We have always found the butler willing to help with reservations, tours, and always punctual with breakfast (we expect that)! We do not expect him to help with in-suite gatherings - he has other people to attend to.

Have we been irritated? Yes. We were in the furthest forward suite on the ship and were continually reminded by that butler what a long walk it was from the galley!

But the little surprises count too. When one butler noticed that I was using a different sweetener than those available on the ship, he brought a box from the galley for our use without being asked. Another noticed, from our food orders that I was a low-carb type - he made sure that I was supplied with mixed nuts at snack time. That exceeded my expectation level!

We had a butler last December, when we splurged and booked the Voyager Suite; while he was a nice guy, I wasn't overwhelmed with a desire to rush out and make sure I had another butler suite. He mentioned that he hadn't been a butler long, and he was rushed off his feet by a bunch of in suite parties that week (he didn't complain, but one night our dinner was brought by the head butler because ours had three parties to take care of). The afternoon snacks were nothing to get excited about (should we have ordered something specific? He never invited us to), and since we loved going for tea we could have done without those extra snacks.

When we had dinner in our suite, we didn't see the need for course-by-course service, and that probably frustrated him, but it also lightened his load.

The butler service we received on the Radisson, Voyager was a big disappointment. The year before we had a butler on the Orient Line. That butler visited us every evening. Came in and sat down with us with a notepad. Wanted to know could be done for the following day. Made our dinner reservations, got us off the ship early so we didn't have to wait in line with numbers, etc. Offered to unpack and pack for us. On Radisson, he did NOTHING more than the cabin steward. Refused to make dinner reservations for us; said it wasn't his job. Said he couldn't arrange for us to get off the ship early. Took 3 days to bring my husband the brand of scotch he wanted and then took 2 bottles of wine from our bar to "exchange". I felt he was absolutely no aswt at all.

That is "ASSET"

We had a butler on the Voyager this summer and can't say there was a lot of benefit. Nice guy, did everything we asked, but we just didn't have much to ask for. Didn't pick the room because of the butler.

I had a butler on Voyager and was underwhelmed, as several others have said. He certainly didn't go out of his way to do anything, unless you asked. For people who have never used one before, and don't know the realm of duties they can accomplish (as I was on this trip), I got the impression his attitude would have been "If you're too stupid to know what to ask, then I'm not going to enlighten you." Unfortunately for him, I'd been reading this and other boards and knew what to ask - I had a list prepared for our first meeting, and I could see his facial expression turn to dismay. They're generally (and within reason) not supposed to say "No" to any request, and he didn't, but I saw no enjoyment in his face about his job - nothing outrageous was requested - a cocktail party (for which I had to make an appointment with him, to arrange :ohmy: ), some laundry (that was late being returned and I had to page him - he sounded miffed that I'd bothered him but it was within his duty hours), a couple reservations... other than that, I never saw him. - oh, well.... <img border="0" alt="[sleep]" title="" src="graemlins/sleep.gif" />

From the posts on the thread, a Butler sounds like an expense we can do without.

I'm now having second thoughs about our booking for TNT - but still hoping our waitlist for Navigator Suite will clear - it's the suite not the butler that we'd like to have.

Thank you to all of you for sharing your experiences - perhaps someone at RSSC will be reading this and do something to improve their Butler service and image.

Ah the BUTLER.

Interestingly I have some people who "insist" on a butler and have had them on every RSSC voyage. I think it is a status thing. I think that the Butler is really an extra to the suite just like another amenitity might be. Pay the money for the suite and as Margo says above if there is a butler too then that is just part of the suite.

They handle a lot of suites. I think your expectations need to be set very low, it is really just having the same person deliver your breakfast and your little goodies each night. They cannot go outside of the normal guidelines of the ship for liquor, early debarkation or anything of that nature. Usually they will try to secure dinner reservations for you but I dont think they have any extra pull here they just call and see if there is space. I am surprised a butler said no to that and this I would put on my comment card. I would still do it personally and not wait for the Butler.

Yes they bring the tray of little goodies in the evening, they bring you your breakfast and in most cases they will make the reservations at the restaurants for you. If you have people in the suite they will also set up an area for food and ensure you have all the set ups etc that you need. They will not stay and act as bartender as they have too many suites to handle although they may pop in from time to time. This is the one service that you cannot really get unless you have a butler. They just go a step further. Room service will bring food but a butler will set up the table with lots of table cloths, make it look pretty.

I have had butlers on quite a few occassions. Only twice did I really see any great value. Once was on a Baltics trip on the Voyager. We had a butler named RAJ and also on the Diamond a Butler/Head Waiter named Daniel. These two were special.

Raj it turned out was the Head of all the Butlers. He knew service. Seemed to anticipate things before we could think of them. This was one of the trips we lost clothes and he helped by getting us all kinds of things and then the laundry. He was spot on all the time. The last day he knocked on the door and said "I am an expert at packing, why dont you go out and when you come back everything will be packed". I felt like I had stepped back into the times when "ladies" never packed but had their "staff" do it. Well I said NO somehow I cant have someone packing all my dirty clothes. Another butler somewhere offered that too.

Daniel, well he is just a class act. Handsome, courteous just a joy to be around. He has been on the Diamond for years. I think he is from Portugal. It wasnt that Daniel did all that much for us it was just that you enjoyed him so much. He would stay and visit because WE kept him and gave us insight into things in the ports. We had a few people in and the set ups were fantastic and he did hang around more and helped.

Sometimes the butler has been an irritant, wanting to stay and talk. The last one I was really busy on my lap top working and he would not leave. He desparately wanted to do something and kept asking, is there anything I can do, do you want any laundry done, do you want any reservations, are you hungry, can I straighten up your closet. I just wanted him to go away.

So if you luck into a Daniel or a Raj you may really enjoy having a butler. I have had some people come back and say the Butler was great. In most cases though it is just another person handling your suite who can do just a few things the regular steward cant do. (a) set up for parties and (b) get dinner reservations and spa appointments - pending availability. I still think you are better off doing your own spa and dinner appointments.

Although butler service is included in our upcoming PG cruise (cat. B), it had no influence at all on our room choice, and I don't suspect that we'll be burdening the butler with requests. It just seems to me that most of the things the butler does are things that we can just as easily do oursevles, and that I don't mind doing. We had private concierge service included with our suite on a previous Disney cruise, and although it was a nice touch, it wasn't really necessary.

Cheers,
Ken