Cap_D

Hyatt Centric on Las Olas has been terrific on multiple occasions. Clean, newer, good service at restaurant, walkable area for anything you may need.

Same experience on Apex re no live music at pool in March 2023. We were parked next to an older Celebrity ship at one port that did have live music on the pool deck. The two ships didn't need to coordinate since Apex didn't have anything being amplified, as I recall. In 2022 on Edge there was a dj at main pool on occasion.

Bravo VV for bringing attention to Celebrity's identity and service crisis. Very similar to when Virgin America flew in the U.S., and to Virgin Group's image overall. For those that want it, it will likely never be better as they build the brand and spend to grow. But, I don't see VV and Celebrity going for most of the same market. VV is oriented to capture the adult fun with better than average food market in the Caribbean, and perhaps elsewhere, only. For couples that desire that type of boutiquey vibe, Celebrity won't be able to compete with the possible exception of the Retreat (yet everything is still more laid back than VV) on Edge Class ships or those wanting more of a Westin vibe on the older ships. VVs included food seems to win, and given the options, it doesn't seem close. Respectfully, the Caribbean and Mexican ports are all very interchangeable, and to the extent there's a favored beach club it's still not as nice as a beach at any resort of comparable cost (of an exterior cabin) or ship run island. So, I don't think the ports options matter at least for the first cruise, and then only if there's a strong desire to explore and see a different similar port. Yet, for couples plus families, wanting a more relaxed experience, less music, more traditional food (regardless of the descriptions), and a bigger spread among fellow passengers than that's Celebrity. There may be a few kids, ages from 20s to 100, maybe some music (more likely Sweet Caroline and not the latest Taylor Swift or electronica), and more conventional entertainment, and so on. VV seems to win though for younger couples or anyone wanting modern plus interesting food (and no excessive meat loaf or oddly cut steak) for a shorter cruise.

FYI. A card with phone numbers and names has been the practice in Retreat for years. On Edge class ships the in suite phones are next to the bed or toilet, and corded. In my view, it would be preferable and more user friendly to have a cordless phone that works around the ship, and ability to have services provided wherever one may be, along with in-app messaging and voicemail retrieval. (Having to rely on voicemail and note cards for asynchronous communication is not convenient). That said, the recent cutbacks generally and specifically for sky suites do not appear to be aimed at making the services or food and beverage more accessible than they had been pre cutbacks. Otherwise they would have kept or increased butler to room ratio, enhanced communication, instituted quality controls and coordination among departments, and aimed to pre-anticipate needs. Also, for reference (for future cruisers), customer photos with names are circulated among crew, and at least previously, certain key swipe notices had been sent to the phones of assigned butlers so they could appear when customers may need their services or promote engagement. They may also have had access to reservations, and whether you were signed in a certain venues like Luminae for dinner. These were all good things that then would help add to the potential services offered or any troubleshooting needed if feedback or an issue arose, which may also involve other Retreat team members. Not sure if anything has impacted any of that, but it was happening and an important part of the behind the scenes and sometimes front and center.

@Cruise a holic can you please share your experiences with Coastal Kitchen vs Luminae food. I'm familiar with the menus, but there is very little that I've read that makes mention as to whether one is an adequate substitute to the other, especially if ones reference point is Retreat (in my case Spring 2022 and 2023).

Sorry, but one can find menus and reviews for most restaurants, and for chains of a certain size ingredients, calorie counts, allergens, and more. For Celebrity it's a crap shoot, and in contrast RC at least put out some explanations about their new menus on their own and through influencers. Celebrity has done none of the above. We're all reliant on making booking and payment decisions based on snap shots of menus from someones phone or manipulating an app that everyone acknowledges is wonky and often wrong, plus reviews from fellow cruise critics that have graciously paid and taken the time to share their cruise. And, most have said the food isn't as good as it used to be, the options are less, and worse. So, that may be an important caution to someone thinking of planning a vacation on Celebrity. If time and money is unlimited info may not matter, but the OP and anyone else sharing first hand reports are critical given the absence of anything else or, at best, past reputation.

Considering many are paying thousands in advance for a lot of unknowns, the first hand experiences are critical. It's not like Celebrity does a good job of providing accurate and full information about the food options and quality on their ships. Virtually every restaurant in the US does a better job. Cornelius Gallagher should come out of hiding and explain the menus and food quality. https://www.celebritycruises.com/mx/things-to-do-onboard/the-crew/crew-cornelius-gallagher

Ditto. Anyone reading these reviews when considering Celebrity Retreat would be turned off. The annoyances are abundant, and the wow moments are in short supply.

My 10 cents: Demand what you were told you would receive. They can afford it, defrauded you, and presumably enjoy some form of reputation among box stores. You may even be a so called member and have floated them operating capital. So, easy answer as here they made a grievous error and you should demand full satisfaction, and continue to share your experience, which will help others and being attention to a company that should have its act together. It's not for you to troubleshoot or compromise, as they have it within their power to make you whole. Adding a package is not like messing up a room or a date. It is solveable by the TA. And, you should get their commission, if any, for your trouble. No reason from them to profit from their mistake.

If that happens, and you miss the lunch then put that back on the company. It's an abusive practice to charge for something that actually is not available. They also should extend the hours to a reasonable time, but that is the lameness with the price and bullet points listed.

Just adding in case it helps a future reader: At FLL if being dropped off insist that your driver take you all the way to the furthest end of the terminal, the traffic cop or driver may encourage them to do otherwise, and be sure to tell the porter you're in the Retreat/Suites (use both words). Then, once out of the vehicle, tell your porter, everyone in a blue shirt that approaches that you're in Retreat. Repeat until it's clear whomever it is is directing you in the direction of the path to the Retreat check in. At some point doing that process you'll be pointed to the left hand side of the entrance and then proceed to have credentials checked, and be pointed to the Retreat elevator (not escalator). Again, you may be discouraged from being dropped so far down the stretch of sidewalk, etc. Don't give in, don't follow anyone except to the doors on the left side. It's not that anyone doesn't want you to get to the right place, and the folks are great, but in the moment they want to keep things moving and for most rooms it's not the Retreat. Porters have tags and staples if needed, though the tag template with color coding can't hurt. (We think the Porters are rock stars, and tip generously). Once in the portside Retreat lounge, check-in occurs with mobile blue shirts using iPads. So, you can lounge if it looks like there is a back up. Just make sure you don't end up lounging too long. The parties and drinks (if not cutback) are carted down from the ship.

Just FYI. But I think if you go through a self-service portal on certain third party websites, you can find multiple price points for the same room with different combinations of inclusions. It would not surprise me if you could find the AQ rate already, although it would not be able to exclude Blu or the spa access. How much should access to the heated indoor lounger and the sauna be?

Thank you very much.

Would welcome any info on where Apex will be in April 2025.... On collateral and the Celebrity website it doesn't come up. Is this the drydock we've been mentioning in other threads or something else? Ascent is doing the 7 day Caribbean schedules (that all the new ships have done), Beyond is doing the Panama canal and longer sailing routes (Edge did them this year), and Edge will be on Australia. Thanks in advance.

I saw a Zach video from early September that commented on the lack of butlers, which was probably the same one you are referring to. The video was only about the first day and was very matter of fact.

If you're thinking of Celebrity, ask why? If it has to do with reputation on food quality, and anything of that sort... please read up. If you find anything positive let us know. If it's service related, isn't that what you expect anyways?

Hyatt hotels restock bottles of water daily (and don't charge for members of their loyalty program, virtually everyone). No reason why the room attendant (housekeeper) can't drop off a few bottles of water at same time as whatever else they may do during their supposed twice a day service. Everyone in Retreat (except the move up people) have a premium drink package that covers the cost is the water bottles. Of course, the less one has access to the bottles, the greater the revenue on the suite passengers.

Fully agree the discrepancies are numerous, the training is misaligned, and the the wow moments (that seem like exceptions) related to basics like a bottle of water are inconsistent. In my view the Evian seems unique to the room setups and minbar (maybe Luminae and lounge, too), while the aluminum/carton water is tied to the drink package. In my view, the drink package items, especially prepackaged non-alcoholic, shouldn't be an extra charge or big deal, although they seem to be. Then there's also the statements about not having to lift a finger, etc. that reasonably should mean someone will bring what you ask for if it's available and if there's an explicit disclosed charge (not contradicted by statements pre-cruise) then there's a charge. Celebrity also conflates access, assistance (like a butler), and physical products, and costs throughout its marketing. Consumers have a right to get what they were marketed. Bottom line: Celebrity continues to promise a lot in its marketing, and passengers should keep asking. Some of the communications from Celebrity even have statements about rest assured nothing has changed in what's provided (I take those as about products like room service, snacks etc., not necessarily how or from whom it's ordered or delivered). The company and staff won't be proactive, and crew don't even know what's included, may be lazy, and at this point could be ready to quit. Obstacles are plenty, but inclusive at this level and given management's orientation requires persistence. And, Celebrity has setup the crew to fail. Housekeeper are now tasked with butler like engagement with guests, lounge staff are now overworked, food quality has tanked, and so on. A terrific experience will require the equivalent of jujitsu (h/t to OP of a thread on a Med cruise used this term a few days ago).

The above screenshot is a mock booking for Edge on December 9, 2023, 2ppl, fare of 16k, w/ $800 obc

Did you order and were charged for anything not part of the continental breakfast? Btw, for anyone not keeping track, there are many places where it's said that a Sky Suite comes with room service, and places where the room service breakfast with a special menu is promoted. "When you’re on vacation, a long morning slumber with an indulgent breakfast in bed is always in the cards. Continental breakfast room service is complimentary on a cruise with Celebrity for all passengers. Guests of The Retreat receive complimentary room service for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Tuck into eggs, pancakes, and fresh fruit, or enjoy a cozy movie night with a burger and fries from the comfort of your cabin. There’s a mix of hot and cold all-day items, plus plenty of kids’ options to choose from." Source: https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/what-is-included-on-a-cruise (visited Sept. 8, 2023, 7:46 pm CT).

I don't disagree if they were interested in improving their product from a consumer experience standpoint. But, I wouldn't put it past them to rip out something to replace it with more rooms or a revenue producing experience. I'm not saying they should or will. But, the likelihood of bona fide improvements to the consumer experience for all or a large groups of passengers is low considering the last several months of cutbacks everywhere else when it comes to consumer experience. And, depsite being a young ship, Apex needed some TLC regardless of its what it's called, the vendor, location of the TLC, number of jobs, etc. And, I would be delighted to hear that while the ship was undergoing mandatory stuff that necessitated canceling sailings due to final scheduling, it would also be getting an upgraded sunset bar like Ascent/Beyond, some shading and wind screening, fixing the wind tunnel on the left side of the ship by the garden, a drain and non slip floor before the elevators adjacent to the solarium, or at least some fresh cushions.

The cynic in me thinks that they will be removing features on Apex during that next dry dock that resulted in cancelations. They don't need a third party to do this, but hopefully they replace the cushions at the sunset bar and on the magic carpet if the present ones remain tattered and worn down. But, is Apex the one that needs help? The older ships are need of renovations or should be discounted like hotels are that are at end of life or about to be debadged.

Perhaps. But, the hotel director is in management over the Retreat experience, and should hear the feedback, as should the captain. Their brand is sinking through internal sabotage, etc. They ask for feedback, mingle, and walk around all smiles and Retreat passengers should be nicely voicing their legit concerns instead of holding them back. Plus give them the benefit of a chance to provide (tailored) exceptional service or at least convey to hq that they are being put in a difficult position, paying passengers are dissatisfied, etc. And, what exactly are a "dedicated team of attendants, hosts, concierges, and butlers" for? That or a variant is a line item in all Retreat marketing. The burden can't be on the paying passenger to self edit requests for hospitality and service. And, there are plenty of ways a team should be able to figure out how to wow customers and respond to reasonable requests that involve movement or communication about the ship to accomplish. And, a disclosure or a disclaimer, including one that may be argued to create ambiguity, doesn't erase a false or misleading claim. In any event, the statement was made on their website, no one made it up, and they promote a team to do something regardless of titles. CEL_Selling_Guide_2023 (1) (1).pdf

.... for onboard customer feedback and use it. For an organization that is so motivated by surveys, the onboard form gives the crew, including management, ban opportunity to address concerns before there's nothing that can be done.

PS - Terry, it's your vacation, and your choice. But, having gotten to know you some, I'd say go for "it." And, get the chit chat done with the manager, and hotel director during embarkation after the muster station visit. They will smile, clap at Sweet Caroline, etc, so better to make it known that they offered and you accepted the Retreat experience. That gives them every chance to exceed the lowered expectation that are not secrets at this point. And, keep a record, post to Celebrity's daily Instagram feed, etc. Either Celebrity has figured out how to serve or the entire Retreat at this point is BS layered on top of BS, and a balcony. And find that QR code And, tilapia is on sale this week at my local grocery store. I immediately thought of Celebrity.