What It’s Like to Have a Butler on a Cruise –
And What You Should Ask For
So you have splashed out on your next cruise and decided to live the high life in a suite. The suite comes with a butler and you find yourself asking yourself, what the hell do we do with a butler?
WHAT CRUISE SHIP BUTLERS CAN DO FOR YOU
Most cruise lines that have suites on their ships offer a butler service along with it ( Silversea
offer a butler for every suite, as do Scenic
) and the butler will offer you a completely different and special service than what you would receive from your cabin steward, as they physically wouldn’t have time to act as your butler.
Cruise ship butlers offer personalised and attentive service to enhance your cruise experience. While the specific duties may vary between cruise lines and levels of accommodation, here is our round-up of some common services cruise ship butlers may provide.
HERE ARE THE TOP 10 THINGS YOUR CRUISE BUTLER CAN DO:
Unpacking & Packing
Your cruise ship butler can pack and unpack your suitcase for you so you have more time to relax and explore your beautiful cruise ship. Sometines they will greet you upon arrival, assist with check-in procedures, and escort you to your stateroom. They can also help with luggage handling during embarkation and disembarkation.
Making Reservations
You butler on your cruise ship acn make your reservations for you. So if you would like to dine in a speciality restaurant, book a shore excursion or arrange a spa treatment but find that you really haven’t got the time to nip down there to book it, call your butler, he will do for you in a flash.
In-suite dining
The cruise butler can deliver hors d’oeuvres and course-by-course meals to your stateroom or suite if you are having one of those days where you really do not feel like leaving your cabin. And it’s not just full meals, your cruise ship butler can bring you snacks and beverages in the privacy of your stateroom or suite. They can take your order, set up dining arrangements, and ensure a personalised dining experience.
Laundry and Dry Cleaning
Some cruise butlers offer complimentary or discounted laundry and pressing services to keep your clothes fresh and wrinkle-free during your cruise. They can facilitate your laundry, dry cleaning and pressing service needs ready for when you need them. No more creases allowed in that nice new shirt you have brought!
Running a Bath
Did you know your cruise butler can run you a bath? Yes that’s right, your butler can prepare a perfect bubble bath for you to completely relax in, complete with rose petals and soft lighting. Don’t worry he won’t stay to wash your back though!
In-Suite Cocktail Party
Have you made new friends onboard and want to throw an end of cruise party? Why not get your butler to organise an in-suite cocktail or dinner party? He will do a good job, we promise, and could even mix cocktails and serve drinks, or deocrate the suite if its a special occassion like a birthday or anniversary.
Celebrations on board
Celebrating a special occasion? Let your butler know and he can arrange for cake and/or flowers etc to be delivered to your suite – or they may even arrnage a suprise party for you.
Cash for shore visits
If you run out of cash, your butler will be more than happy to organise some more traveller’s cheques from reception for you. He will even register your credit card.
The little details
Scuffed your shoe? Fear not your butler will shine them to perfection for you. Dirty eye glasses or sunglasses? Not to worry – your butler will polish these for you! They will also tidy your charging cables!
Give expert advice
Your butler will have experience of the ship and the staff onboard, so will be able to give you expert advice, such as the quietest times to visit the spa or gym, the ships best bartenders or top places to see the best views of the shows. They can also give advice about onshore experiences and insider information. Your butler can answer your questions, anything at all you are not sure about or want to ask, your butler will answer them for you.
WHAT CRUISE LINES & RIVER LINES HAVE BUTLERS?
Many of the luxury, small-ship cruise lines feature butlers, some in all suites, and now some of the resort-style ships offers butlers in their higher grades of accommodation like Celebrity Cruises, or in their ship-in-a-ship concepts like MSC’s Yacht Club.
Of course, there are many more things a cruise ship butler can do for you and if you don’t want them to do anything for you, just say. Tell your butler at the beginning of your cruise what your preferences are and they will ensure they go out of their way to make your cruise perfect. It’s important to note that the level of service provided by cruise ship butlers may vary depending on the cruise line, ship, and the type of accommodation you have booked.
