TeeRick

That actually is a huge change for Luminae. I cannot recall anybody ever posting about an extra charge there for lobster or anything else.

We are in the same boat (no pun intended!). After years of cruising Celebrity in all categories, but recently mostly suites, our last one was a CS on Equinox in January. No more suites booked on Celebrity. I never thought I would say this. But thanks Celebrity for opening my eyes (finally). We are waiting to see what they do to the product (additional downgrades) before we book a suite with them again. So we are booking Silversea and also considering the MSC YC suites after comments here seem to be positive. Perhaps a suite on a new ship on HAL - we will try Alaska.

Some people here are quite apprehensive now after the continued unannounced changes (most for the worse). There perhaps would be less angst if Celebrity would be transparent about the changes and communicate them in advance instead of having them leaked. They caused this angst in their customer base!

HaHa. That's fish sticks with ketchup.

Terry, I do look forward to your comments on the change. You said you have a plan to test it. If it were me (and its not) I would be very much trying to enjoy that great cruise on APEX and not be too focused on this change to the point that it disrupts my vacation experience. But again, a dedicated butler is not usually a thing that I use very much and it would not distract me from my cruise if I had to use a Team.

And I very much look forward to your report on this change as I value your opinion.

I did not see a lot of posts saying this will be better. Most people (like me) are saying they will wait and see based on their experience on board and hearing from a number of posters actually experiencing the change in a sky suite. Not one poster, one cruise. The poster was not even in a sky suite, but in an upper level suite and reported they could not order dinner for their balcony from a specialty restaurant. I am still negative about the lack of transparency and communication. But when (or if) I get a Sky suite on Celebrity again will depend on seeing a number of relevant posts from cruise critic members in sky suites. Right now they do not have any new Retreat business booked from me.

Same for me.

Again that is perhaps why you should have the choice of an assigned butler or the butler team concept. It seems many here might choose the team.

Here is a plastic trinket you can get online to commemorate your fine meal in the MDR. About the right size too. 🙂

Sort of like a mall food court? 😀 Maybe a step above that. But even in a food court there are usually no buzzers or waiting system.

Yes thank you. Sometimes it is just a glitch or mistake by a ship's crewmember, maybe not understanding the rules. Then it takes on a life of its own here on CC. Not a surprise as folks here have a heightened awareness and maybe expectation of takeaways. Celebrity's actions (and inactions -like lack of communication and transparency of changes) have caused this situation and angst amongst its loyal guests.

Yes excellent idea to ask the CC host.

Pretty much just like "they say".

Why too complicated? Seems pretty simple. Small number of suites overall. Most non-suite passengers have to choose between two individual MDR times or Anytime dining before every cruise and Celebrity handles choices like that. I still believe that many suite cruisers will choose the Butler Team anyway.

If this is true, why? Removing free coffee for a few E+ on just one day maybe starting at 11:30 AM boarding does not save any money of any significance. Truly a nickel and dime move to cause resentment among the higher tier cruisers. But apparently on the same day al Bacio offers free champagne?

If you are in a suite you will dine in Luminae the entire cruise. So Murano is an excellent choice for a special experience. Just a note- you can arrange off-menu or special dishes in Luminae by 24 hr advance notice.

It seems to me anyway that some sort of blended plan might work for suites. When you board (or before), you choose a Team Butler approach or an Individual Dedicated Butler approach (who has a number of suites as before). All suites must choose, not just Sky Suites. I think from reading the comments here, quite a few would choose the Team approach since they use the Butler service for mainly routine things. But if you want an individual because you use them a lot then that could be accommodated.

I thought the OP was saying just the opposite.

Terry now I kind of understand why you are peeved at this change. You actually use your butler a lot vs. my use of them. I think perhaps once in a 7 night cruise I might actually call my Butler. Not 1-2 times a day. I see my butler when he/she stops by on occasion, perhaps to check our mini-fridge. Or when they deliver our breakfast after leaving the card on the door. I actually have very little need for them in reality. We never have them meet us in the theatre on Chic night- and we don't like the reserved seat area. Anything related to guest services, reservations, etc. I will go to the Retreat Lounge and use the Concierge there. Our room steward takes care of us more than our butler including taking an occasional laundry bag. That is my case. Frankly I struggle finding what to do with the butler on most cruises. So most of my needs would be easily met by a dedicated on-demand Retreat Team approach when I really think about it. So I am willing to try it.

Where are you neighbor in the Philly burbs?

If you had a 3 night package, would you go to Murano all three nights?

Ok you are still saying 75-80% are not well behaved. So we disagree. No problem.

We have been in your situation with 8 of us on a family cruise on Constellation. We were in a CS suite and the others were balcony cabins. First, it was very hard for us to get everybody together for dinner in the MDR as our group had different tours, schedules, choices. Herding cats. Maybe your family will be different. But getting a larger table in the MDR was no problem once on board - they were very accommodating. We were also able to call the shoreside suite concierge to arrange Specialty dining for our group in advance. You can most certainly do this if you are in a PH suite. We were able to arrange for the 8 of us to have dinner in Luminae a couple of times. It was free for us but $30 pp for the non-suite guests. Much less expensive actually than a Specialty restaurant and the group loved it! But you need to arrange this with the Luminae Maître 'D once on board and probably for a less busy time after 8 PM. Your account will be charged - but if important you can settle with your group in other ways. You can also take all or some of them for breakfast ($10 pp) or lunch on sea days ($20 pp). Breakfast was mix and match with our group since our family had different sleep schedules. My best advice is to just enjoy the experience and not try to control the group too much.

Remember when it was only $20pp extra to dine at these including tip?