Who is Raju and why is he in our cabin?

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In a previous post, I hinted about Raju and promised to explain. Well, here’s the story.

“Good afternoon, Madam. My name is Raju and I’m your butler.”
I never expected to hear these words in my lifetime.

When Regent offers us a last minute upgrade on our cruise, we take it. With 19 days onboard, a larger cabin is well worth the extra money. Butler service comes with the added space.

“What are we going to do with a butler?” Alan asks in a low whisper as we walk down the hall towards our suite on embarkation day.

I reply in an equally quiet voice, “I have no idea.”

Raju, our butler who comes from India, graduated from Butler School and is professionally trained to anticipate our every need.

When he brings appetizers in the late afternoon, he asks, “How was your day?”
“Will you be having your appetizers on the balcony?”
“May I pour you a glass of wine, madam?”

On the first formal night, Alan panics, “I can’t find my dress shoes.”
“Here they are,” I say from the walk-in closet. Raju has shined the shoes and wrapped them in a dust-proof covering.

He must have taken mind-reading courses. Raju knows what we want better than we do.

When we wake up each morning, Alan simply calls Raju’s phone and says, “We’re ready for breakfast.” Our favorite morning foods are delivered.

Noticing that we drink lots of water, Raju places fresh water bottles on our nightstands each evening. About mid-way through the cruise, we return from lunch to find a plate of chocolate chip cookies sitting by the desk. The day before, I had brought a plate of cookies up from the ship's coffee corner. Now they appear on a regular basis.

On the evenings that Alan and I eat dinner in Compass Rose, if Raju is passing through, he looks for us. “How is your meal?” he asks. “What are your plans for the rest of the evening?”

One of Raju’s duties is to serve dinner in our cabin, if we choose. He keeps asking and we keep saying, “not tonight.” Out of all of our cruises, Alan and I have never eaten dinner in the cabin.

“We’re going to have to eat in one night, or we’ll hurt his feelings,” Alan says.

Raju smiles when I tell him, “Tonight we’re going to have dinner here.”

Alan and I return to the cabin after attending a before-dinner performance in the theater. When we enter the room, the lights are turned low and the table is set with a lovely centerpiece that Raju has created. He serves our dinner in courses presenting each plate with a flourish.

And, you’ve already read about Raju’s greatest achievement, getting the wine stains off Alan’s clothes the night that I spill red wine all over him at dinner.

While we will never book a cabin on a cruise ship just to have a butler, we enjoyed and appreciated all the things Raju did for us. Unfortunately, we didn’t take his picture. So in your mind’s eye, picture a polite, discrete, dignified, competent, pleasant professional who has a wonderful smile. That’s Raju.

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