markeb

Such as? What are you looking for from the butler? I'm seriously curious. We've found it much simpler to schedule specialty dining with the Luminae maître d' and most other services with the Retreat concierge when we stopped by for a drink. The only thing I really noticed as a change was the butler/retreat host no longer delivers room service breakfast. Again, the minifridge has never been included in any of my SS cruises. In one, the butler made a point of replenishing the water and soda even though it wasn't officially included. The other two it was clear they were not included, going back to 2018. On our most recent SS cruise, a week ago, we had large bottles of Evian constantly replenished in the cabin. But on all three SS cruises the official policy was that the minibar was NOT included. This isn't a change.

I get all that. What's the butler worth to you? In dollars? Beyond the emotion? When the butler was fully in place, I'd guess we valued them at no more than $10 a day, for the cabin, not per person. We've had mixed results in our three SS cruises, with only one where the butler/retreat host really exceeded expectations. Again, if you were really planning to use them a lot (what does that mean to you?), then I kind of get it. But our Equinox cruise last week was not radically different than our previous Equinox cruises in a SS. I can't assign the service differences to the butler differences (other than room service breakfast, which was different, but the end result was the same). I viewed the butler change as less than ideal, but not a reason on its own that I wouldn't book the Retreat. The crazy stupid prices going forward are a different issue, but the value of the butler wouldn't even cross my threshold for that. We're all different. Hope you enjoy your cruise.

But it’s what they’ve repeatedly stated. So it appears to be the primary driver to them. It’s the difference between the alternatives. It seems very important.

I suspect in either case most of them end up in the trash, so does it really matter? One of the last occupants of our cabin on the Equinox actually stuffed their bag in the inch and a half space on top of the closet... We didn't get chocolates last week, though. Those were nice on our last cruise.

Exactly I probably enjoyed Michael's more than the current Retreat lounge on Equinox. Admittedly, a lot of that has to do with the passenger population and their interest in the lounge, which is beyond Celebrity's control. On our first suite class cruise on Equinox in 2018 Michael's was busy every night and you met people simply by finding a seat. The Retreat lounge on our last two Equinox cruises has largely felt empty and sterile. I don't dislike the decor like some, but the feel of an old school club in Michael's seemed to produce a better experience.

Was the butler the primary driver in your decision to go with the SS? If not, why should it be the primary driver in a decision to move to a different category? I'm reasonably confident you've done the math. What's the actual delta from a sky suite to Aqua once you calculate in the lost OBC, tips, and the cost of upgrading drinks and Wi-Fi (assuming you want to compare apples to oranges here)? Does the SS provide value to YOU (value, not cost, that's a judgement call) that exceeds that delta? We did this calculation for AQ vs SS for an Alaska cruise next year, before the changes in tips and OBC, and while the difference was certainly not zero, we've enjoyed the Retreat enough that it provided value to us. Maybe not anyone else, but to us.

That's what I was wondering and suspected. Had a geometry/trig professor years ago who loved what he called the "looks like theorem". Two lines, look the same length, angles look the same, etc. and must therefore be the same. Obviously not true. I find that disturbingly true with electricity on a ship. I "looks like" my outlet at home, it must be the same...

Thanks for the correction. I've gotten so in tune to this that I can get off track. Looks like I did. Is there any need for or harm in a traditional circuit breaker on ship's power? I'd get the details wrong, but as you say that should be a totally different mechanism than surge protection.

So are any of them complete Submariner knock offs? Which is what this one is. Complete to the cyclops and a fake oyster bracelet. With a Malaysian made Seiko licensed clone movement. I'm OK with Invicta when it's something that's their own and they charge what it's worth (less than $50, probably closer to $14.99). But not creating a watch to exactly replicate a Submariner. Even worse if someone gets robbed for their fake sub...

No. Do not get that. At all. Those are all buzzwords for Surge Protection. Which you don’t need and is a fire hazard. And 3 of the four USB ports are horribly underpowered USB A ports. For the rest of our sakes, that should be confiscated immediately.

The 12th deck only has Sky Suites and now Aqua Sky Suites (and something called "prime concierge class". Looking at the deck plan, they were probably Aqua Sky Suites. That didn't exist that I can remember the last time we were on Equinox. I'd have to look at the different perks, but maybe it's a perk of the Aqua Sky Suite? Which is kind of funny because I liked our location much better than those cabins...

Same as MLB and probably every other sports venue in the US. For MLB, it's all AB/INBEV so the "standard" beers (which are also badly overpriced) are Bud/Bud Light/Michelob/Michelob Ultra. Blue Moon is a premium beer. In some bizarre parallel universe. Don't get me started... Celebrity is no better or worse.

The better question is "Is it worth it to buy Invicta?" The answer is almost always "no"! It's just not a good watch brand, and there are much better watches out there. Seiko, Orient, Tissot, to name a few.

OK. They've always offered to get anything. I guess it's almost anything.

The Retreat can get anything onboard, at least up to the premium package. Biggest challenge is finding what’s onboard. I do think the specialty bars are better set up for many if not most cocktails. But neat whisky is perfect for the Retreat!

Pretty sure Macallan was on the premium package on Equinox. It was the Quest travel edition. Kind of forgettable... As a whisk(e)y drinker, the near constant price increases may also be pushing some of those into "premium". And not all "premium" spirits are $17; for cash purchase quite a few were well under the max price of the premium band Which makes sense. You've got Makers (about $35/bottle in Virginia), Glenlivet ($60), and at least last week Macallan ($85 locally, but not Quest). The ship is using a lot of travel editions and is a duty-free importer but that's a pretty broad price range for spirits in the same category. Jameson is about the same price as Maker's here, so they would be in the same band but probably priced closer to $11 than $17 (I don't remember and can't find a list in the app).

I think there's a lot of individual variation on the Sky Suite butler/Retreat Hosts. Ours last week was pretty visible, but mostly as a room attendant. He never really offered anything, and we really didn't ask. Last cruise, our butler really asked what we needed and made suggestions. Not knowing what you don't know is an issue. Down the hall from us, we noticed one of the butlers with trays of what looked like room service most afternoons. I suspect those were the canapes they used to deliver. We might or might not have eaten them, but we probably would have accepted if offered; they weren't offered and (our bad) we didn't ask.

It's possible, but we randomly spoke to Retreat guests last week on Equinox during what should have been a helipad sail away. I don't know if they were in higher suites, but the only comment I heard was how much they thought Celebrity had nailed the Retreat experience. If they're representative of the customer base and you're not, Celebrity is right and bookings won't decline. Time will tell. I suspect I'd be bored to tears on Regent.

I haven't cruised NCL, so can't compare, but the foyer is pretty horrible. There is space to dance, which is nice, but it's impossible to see the band from many if not most locations.

We really enjoyed Sushi on 5. I'm the sushi/sashimi eater. DW doesn't do raw fish. My biggest issue is they have the same portion control problems as the rest of the ship. I'd love a sampler. I think that's why sushi became popular for groups of friends who could share. They did have at least one nice Sake by the glass. I suspect the better offerings were the bottle selections, but my experience with Sake is pretty limited.

I don't know that the ship would make a lot of difference. It's a port intensive itinerary, almost like Europe. There were four sea days, so the ship could matter there. If you're booking Retreat, I suspect Edge class would be nice, but probably (much?) more expensive.

Random thoughts on the Retreat Experience on this cruise This was our third cruise in a Sky Suite, all on the Equinox. One was supposed to be the Edge in 2020, but we had some personal issues even before the shutdown, and Equinox in 2022 was a better itinerary and price. Each has been different, with 2018 being "BR" or Before Retreat. It's kind of strange, but we probably enjoyed our Retreat experience as much on this cruise, but used the Retreat unique venues less. That's counterintuitive, even writing it. Part of that was because this was a port heavy itinerary, and we did lunch at Sushi on 5 when we might have gone to the Retreat sundeck. We did go to the sundeck 2-3 times during our sea days, but we did that last cruise with fewer total days—just one of those weird things. The Retreat lounge on Equinox has always seemed underused. It's a great place to grab a couple of sodas or bottles of water on the go. The bar was fine, but it was never bustling, so the social aspect that was present in Michael's in 2018 wasn't there. I suspect that varies from cruise to cruise, and you can't generalize. Luminae was still a great venue and the staff was terrific. In the right mood, I could write a dissertation on the challenges of maintaining Luminae as both an upscale restaurant and a primary dining room. It's not an easy balance. I think they did it well, but it's far from perfect. "Worth it" is a value judgment. We paid for the Retreat. A significant upcharge, offset somewhat by the OBC that really doesn't exist today. We enjoyed the experience, so for us, it provided value. We will likely eventually explore the true premium/luxury lines, but Celebrity may still provide the value we want. I think there are itineraries where we'd explore other lines, probably HAL, again. I know the Edge class was designed for the Retreat experience, but I kind of enjoy the S-Class where you get that experience, but have plenty of other options. And we both enjoy listening to music, dancing on occasion, and meeting other people. I would have to do a lot of research on the premium/luxury lines to know if they offer that balance; a lot of posts here lead me to question that. We were invited to sail away on the helipad from Saint Kitts. Our departure was delayed for a medical issue, and we basically went to the helipad with a bunch of other people and never actually sailed away. Interestingly, we talked to several people and more than one just randomly offered how well they felt Celebrity was doing the Retreat experience. Random convenience sample, just like Cruise Critic, but a resoundingly different view than is commonly expressed here. If that's more representative of their customer base, then... We booked this cruise and an Alaska southbound next spring before rates went crazy. I don't expect those rates to drop dramatically if they continue selling cruises. We keep talking about planning a longish trip to Italy, for instance, and just finding a nice place to stay for 10-14 days in Tuscany and day-tripping. We'll see.

It was ala carte last week on Equinox.

A little about the ports. We chose this cruise largely because we'd only been to one of the ports, and DW had just retired after 34 years of teaching and we could finally travel during the shoulder season and on a longer (10-day) cruise. We had a significant ($1600) amount of OBC from booking the Retreat onboard during a promotion so we did ship's excursions. We tend to do things independently in the Caribbean, but we didn't know the ports, and the excursions worked well for us. Antigua: We did an excursion to Nelson's Dockyard. About an hour bus ride each way but a fascinating piece of history that we both enjoyed. I need to do some research on that history to understand how this little protected harbor in the Caribbean was discovered and became essentially a maintenance depot for the British fleet, including the time that Nelson was there. Barbados: We had a hard time picking an excursion. They sold out early. We had booked one beach day that was canceled two days out and we ended up on a different excursion to Carlisle Beach. It was a wonderful day. A little bit of rain (but we were in the water anyway), gentle surf, clear water, and mostly sunshine. We'd go back in a heartbeat! Saint Lucia: A "small group" tour. More or less. There were 2-3 20-passenger buses on the same route with 10-15 minutes between groups. We had lunch with one of the other groups. It was a long but generally enjoyable day. It rained, of course. The bus driver apparently fancied himself in NASCAR, and the island is nothing but one hairpin switchback after another. But we had a lot of fun and saw a lot of the island. Martinique: We picked an excursion that went to one of the old churches and the nearby botanical garden, then went to the Clement plantation and rum distillery. Saint Kitts: The only port we'd visited. We did a beach day, but this was last Saturday as the storms were working their way up the Caribbean and the Florida coast. Even the Caribbean side of the island was pretty brutal. We had fun, but it would have been much nicer on a calmer day. That's just luck of the draw.

I'll add a few truly random thoughts on entertainment! We're not production show people. This was our third cruise on Equinox, and we realized at some point that we didn't actually go into the theater other than meeting for excursions. There are a few reasons for that. First, we were eating mostly at 7-7:30, which is an awkward time for the shows. Second, we'd seen the production shows, and honestly don't care for either Topper or Elysium. I don't know that we've successfully made it through either of them. That's probably a thread unto itself, but I hate seeing the talent they have onboard wasted on this bizarre song and dance, with a for no particular reason interlude into an aerobatics performance. That may just be us. The singers and dancers are pretty good. I just wish they had some better material to work with. On the other hand, the musical performers around the ship on this cruise were outstanding. There were actually too many of them, and we only caught a couple of very good acts once or twice. I am now convinced the Grand Foyer on the S-Class is the worst-designed venue for live music maybe ever! The acoustics aren't great, the sound carries up rather than out, and the support pillars completely break up the sight lines if you want to see the band. Two acts stood out. The house "Party Band" (a new title for me) was a British quintet called The Waves. There was a keyboardist/vocalist who was clearly the bandleader (probably the band organizer, in all honesty), a drummer, a bassist (smallish female, kind of unusual), a very good lead guitarist who could shred a Strat pretty well, and a "frontwoman" vocalist with an impressive range. We found out they'd been on Equinox since July and this week's (11/21-29) cruise is their last. They did a little bit of everything, including the guitar solo from Hotel California (look up how that was recorded...) with one guitar and a couple of Adele covers (and some Eddie Van Halen). We started following them around the ship early on, and they were a blast. There was also a string duo, male acoustic guitar and female violin that were equally great. They just were mostly one set off our schedule, although we walked down to the Ensemble one evening and the violinist was about midway through doing Jimmy Page's "Stairway to Heaven" solo on a violin! They did a silent disco in the foyer one night with two channels of DJ and one channel of live music (The Waves). That was a lot of fun. They also had an 80's music trivia night that I somehow got drafted into leading one side of the room after the original volunteer was having serious problems. My decade, but the other gal was generally faster. I did successfully get "Dancing in the Dark" on the first note, or I would have to give away my five Bruce tickets for next year... The weirdest thing was a British rock performance with the ship's cast mostly trying to do Queen. Unfortunately, the male performers were almost baritones maybe barely into the tenor range. Sad mutilation of Freddie's work. Overall, we enjoyed the entertainment, but did not go to the theater. Can't help those of you who love the shows.