TeeRick

Terry- that is very telling of the situation. You have been a big supporter of The Retreat over the past few years. If anything The Retreat product for Suites has been working, even with the much-elevated prices- it is usually sold out. This new concept seems to be an unwise (bonehead) move by Celebrity changing something that is working for them. There is minimal cost savings - they actually pay Butler's very little since they share the daily tips and most people give them an additional tip at the end of the cruise. Will you now give an extra tip to some generic Retreat Team membership?

1-800-NOBUTLER is the new phone number.

It seems that a Retreat Team concept might be beneficial to some in that a number of Sky Suite guests rarely use their Butler service according to posts here. The team could provide more service to those that do??? We shall see. And if you use a member of the Retreat Team quite a bit can you possibly request them? Again, we shall see. And does it seem that a CS and above will still have butlers? Or will they be a personalized member of the Retreat Team just for them? A lot of questions. I can live with it personally, but I actually don't have any suites booked on Celebrity right now due to the high prices. If I had a suite booked right now I would be irate at Celebrity for not communicating this change. But it follows the recent trend.

On some ships either no access or reduced access (just dinner service with a reservation).

A few points. You have done a great job twisting the issue and getting everybody going here, now including me. Bravo. The key issue for me (and others I think) is having already paid for an advertised service (not a servant) and removing it without any communication. On future cruises, knowing this in advance, people can make a choice of how valuable this service is to them and decide what to do. And who said they will lose their jobs? They apparently will just be reassigned into a Retreat Team with different titles.

Yes, they can walk away and book another cruise line. But what about the people that have already booked suites and paid deposits or even made final payments? This is a major benefit that they expected and paid for.

I've mentioned this over the years here. We always bring an empty spray bottle and a fabric softener dryer sheet like Downy. In the cabin we just fill with water and add the sheet. Instant wrinkle release. Try it!

Yes it is a vacation choice and a personal spending option. Your money, your choice. But there are a few posts here on occasion that want to call it a class distinction. I love it when they refer to themselves as Steerage sometimes, on a luxury/modern cruise ship no less! This is a discussion on these boards that will go on forever. But I do agree that on E-Class design, the front of the ship view should have had an area open to every passenger. If that is very important, folks should use their own vacation choice and money and sail S- or M-Class or another line. Just like if you truly want a traditional balcony cabin. Lots of ships and cruise lines out there!

Yes love it. But i hear that the WBC no longer offers Zacapa rum. They switched this year due to some issue with their agreement.

Why do you even need a drink menu? Just ask for what you want. If it is a bit unusual then be prepared to tell them what goes in it.

Yeah Celebrity will come up with its own line of vape oils. Kind of like Celebrity Vineyards. Maybe they will even leave a cartridge of Celebrity Vape Juice in your suite on check-in day. Or order them on the website in advance of your cruise.🤪

Maybe Celebrity should change its name to Twitter instead.

inflatable foot stool for the balcony

LOL. I think they are listening to a highly paid culture consultant or firm. Kind of like making decisions on recommendations from people like Kelly Hoppen who never cruised before. I worked for years in very large corporations. Consultants are hired to deflect the blame if decisions go wrong. This vaping thing "smells" like a consultant initiative. Even with the term "test" being used, typical of consultant speak.

I didn't think that allowing tobacco smoking in the casino was ever the end game. Many more people of the younger demographic they are trying to attract (not us older cruisers) actually enjoy vaping. Not smoking. The celebrity "test" makes more sense in seeing what their competition allows for vaping. Not saying I agree with it.

I agree with others that a call to the Captain's Club is the way to start. Definitely understand why you want to fix this error. But in reality there is very little gained in going from E to E+ unfortunately. Even the Cafe al Bacio benefit is not important if you even have a Classic drink package.

Thanks for posting this.

Yes that is what we got in our CS earlier this year.

In general I have only seen two Retreat concierges on the E-Class ships. We only had one on Equinox earlier this year - but she occasionally had an assistant in the lounge.

That was my experience too on Equinox this past January. We were in a CS. Maybe the suites have better signal?

Some advice if you don't mind. If you use Mr. Google you will find a number of small, fairly inexpensive medication coolers (plug-in) for travel. Very common issue. I would not trust the Celebrity mini-fridges in the cabins for this. Too important.

I not sure this is anything more than a speculation.

That is also true for Celebrity and RCCL status match. RCCL Diamond, Diamond+ and Pinnacle are matched to Celebrity Elite level only. Celebrity E, E+ and Z matched to Diamond level only.

Interesting question. For me personally, I would see exactly how much vaping is allowed in the casino and where. And how much it changes the atmosphere. A few vaping people in the casino probably would not sway me against cruising with Celebrity but we shall see. I don't use the casino more than a few times every cruise. I did cruise a lot with RCCL in the past with actual cigarette smoking allowed in the casino. I put up with it - not saying I liked it. I grew up in a period where most of the population smoked. But I never did. But if you are absolutely non-tolerant of vaping for whatever good reason, then avoid the casino or cruise another line I guess.

Yes agree. They are not really true sales. You can usually get the best price as soon as the cruise gets announced. Or by booking onboard sometimes for the better OBC offer as an example. After that, these sales are just marketing campaigns with confusing pricing, usually not less expensive than previous campaigns.