DannyS

On Eclipse the signage and menus still say Cellar Masters, but the experience is Craft Social.

The menu, small plates, and TVs from Craft Social are there - but Cellar Master dark wood walls remain, minus the Wine Dispensing machines which have been replaced by the Craft Social TVs and programming.

This ended after the pandemic. The "Captain's Table" in the Main Dining Room was more a Royal thing than a Celebrity thing once Aqua Class started eating in Blu and Suites started eating in Luminae.

Instead, it was hosted in a specialty restaurant. It could be the Captain, the Hotel Director, the Staff Captain, or other senior officers. Generally, it was in Tuscan or Silk Harvest. The food and wine would flow freely - generally they'd serve salads and appetizers family style. You'd see most, if not all of the items on those parts of the menu. At Silk Harvest, you'd get pretty much everything family style. At Tuscan, you'd pick an entree in addition to all the appetizers and sides. 

More than once, dinner also included an invitation to a tour - usually the bridge or the engine control room. So, the group who dined together would gather again a few days later for their tour. Got to meet some very interesting people - and hear some good stories. 

On my recent Eclipse cruise, Murano and Tuscan each opened for lunch one time. Those were included in the Royal Suite dining. 

The "special meals" that aren't are things like the Indian meal (which I haven't seen on a ship in a while) or the Daniel Boloud Chef's Table meal. 

Celebrity is really moving away from multi-generational cruises. That's Royal's territory. That the Edge class puts the kids club in a windowless area somewhere on the lower decks, and the teen club is literally "The Basement" next to the boarding doors on deck 2. When a ship is revolutionized, the basketball court is removed and replaced with a suite sun deck.

They want to be adults only - even if they don't make it a policy like Virgin.

On my recent cruise out of Cape Liberty, you wouldn't have known that at all. 

That could be part of the reason. They'd rather leave the family cruises to Royal, and focus on the longer cruises that are more adult oriented. Summers out of NY, the locals will take whatever ship they can find - even if there's nothing for kids. And, when you put kids on a ship with nothing for kids, it hurts everyone's experience.

2 hours ago, mark46 said:

Which restaurants are available to Royal Suite members at no extra charge?

 

Can reservations be made before boarding?  Do I need to use the Concierge?

All of them are included - except for special events like the Daniel Boloud Dinner event that includes the cookbook. (though I have gotten that at no charge) A la carte is included as all you can eat. (So get yourself a seafood tower at Raw on 5 on the Edge class, and unlimited gelato on the S class and M class ships)

Advance reservations are made through the shoreside concierge. Just call 1-877-RETREAT to make them, or to get your welcome email if you haven't gotten one. The reservations are handled through the ship's dining coordinator, so they won't show up in the app until you board - but they will ensure you eat where you want when you want pre-cruise.

On 6/26/2024 at 2:34 PM, nps001 said:

Believe it or not, many crew do NOT want to be assigned to a new ship as it is a lot of work to set up the ship from the shipyard phase to being guest ready.   It's true that many get asked that have had previous experience opening a new ship.    And it is an honor, but many that have already done it pass on the opportunity.   

 

For officers, I know many chose geographic locations versus the actual ship as they prefer to be nearer to family.

This is definitely the case now - as there are fewer experienced people in the industry, and there's more people moving from one company to another.

There was a time when new ships were staffed with all experienced people and they'd work together to get things organized and running, then train their replacements when their contracts are up.

These days, in many areas, there's one or two very experienced people on the start up team and a number of colleagues who are new to the team or promoted into a job on the new ship. So, the experienced person has to both get things up and running and train their coworkers. It's a LOT of work, and quite challenging - and way more than it used to be.

One thing to remember about the Sunset Veranda Suites on the E class is that Luminae is all the way forward. So, you'll have quite the hike ahead of you when you want to go between your cabin and Luminae.

The balcony is amazing, but if you're a person who on a port day likes to wake up, get breakfast in Luminae, go back to your cabin, grab your belongings, and head ashore - you won't love all the walking you have to do.

Same thing goes if you like to shower, go to dinner, stop back at your cabin, and then head to a show in the theater. It is a LOT of time spent walking the entire length of the ship.

On the other classes of ship, where Luminae is aft, the Sunset Verandas are AMAZING and suprisingly convenient. But on the E-Class, there's a lot more travel time baked into everything that you do.

There's always an "honor" in taking out a new ship, but it depends on what the Captain wants, and where they want to sail. Kate has talked about the fact that she's limited in what itineraries she can take because of Bug. There are countries that would require Bug to be quarantined if the ship docked - so she sticks with the Caribbean and Europe to avoid those places. 

1-877-RETREAT.

When you call that number, the automated system asks what type of suite you're in, and routes the call appropriately. If you're sailing in a higher suite, and haven't gotten your welcome email - they can request it for you. They'll also be able to tell you who your assigned pre-cruise concierge - you can reach out to that person by phone or email.

Royal is working on their replacement for the Radiance (and Vision) class. It wouldn't surprise me if there is carryover to Celebrity as well. Radiance Class and M class are VERY similar. If you look closely at S-Class, you'll see the similarities to Royal's Quantum Class. E-Class was where Virtual Balconies and the new bow design were implemented first - before appearing on the Icon class. So, if one is working on something, there will likely be carry-over to the others.

And the place where Celebrity's fleet is getting older is the smaller ships that can do longer cruises to smaller ports.

This happens on lots of itineraries. San Juan and St. Thomas are less than 80 miles apart, as are Curacao and Aruba - but a ship leaves one port at 4 or 5PM and arrives at the next one at 9 or 10 AM the next morning. 

Generally, the ship will head into international waters, so that they can open the shops and casino, then find a nice quiet spot to drift until the middle of the night when they head to the next port. 

For the sea day, they'll just do that a little longer.

The way to make sure you get the water and extension cord every time is to email special_needs@celebrity.com - they will add a note to your reservation.

When they've done that, you'll see it noted on the "Special Services" line of your reservation document.

You can reach the Retreat Pre-Cruise Concierge by calling 1-877-RETREAT. They're amazing, and in regular contact with the ships. 

On 6/8/2024 at 10:41 AM, patchit said:

I was curious about the choice of 2 bottles of liquor, also.  Is there a list they provide?  Or can you tell them what you would like?

I'm in a RS in a few weeks, here's the list of alcohols the Shoreside concierge provided to choose from (to stock the mini bar and to choose the 2 bottles of liquor with a note that "in case the liquor is not your preferred option we can substitute with a bottle of wine, we carry a variety of Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc")

Premium Beer List:

Pale Lager:

Budweiser
Bud Light
Corona Extra
Heineken
Moretti
Red Stripe
Grolsch
Stella Artois

Lager:

Amstel Light
Coors Light
Miller Lite
Estrella Damm Daura (gluten free)

Amber Lager:

Dos Equis
Golden Pale Ale:
Boddington’s
La Fin Du Monde - tripel-style

Pale Ale:

Sierra Nevada
Leffe Blonde - Belgian
Brown Ale:
Newcastle

IPA: (Indian Pale Ale)

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Lagunitas
Wheat Beer:
Franziskaner
Blue Moon

Dry Stout:

Guinness
Ciders:
Strongbow- dry cider
Alcohol-Free:
O’Doul’s


Premium Spirits List:

Bourdon:

Bullet
Four Roses 80 Proof
Jim Beam
Maker's Mark
Woodford Reserve
Woodford Double Oaked

Cognac:

Hennessy VS
Remy Martin VSOP

Gin:

Beefeater
Bombay Sapphire
Gordon's
Gunpowder
Hendrick's
Plymouth
Prairie
Tanqueray

Liqueur:

Aperol
Bailey's Irish Cream
Campari
Chambord
Cointreau
Disaronno Amaretto
Disaronno Velvet
Drambuie
Kahlua
Licor 43
Sambuca Romana
Southern Comfort
Tia Maria

Rum:

Bacardi Silver
Bacardi 8 Anos
Brugal Anejo
Bumbu Rum
Captain Morgan
Diplomatico Rum Reserva
Malibu
Rum Pyrat XO
Ron Zacapa 23

Scotch:

Chivas Regal 12
Dewars White Label
Famous Grouse
Glenlivet
Johnnie Walker Black
Johnnie Walker Double Black
Johnnie Walker Red
Monkey Shoulder
Glenmorangie Original Whiskey - 10 year

Tequila:

Don Julio Blanco
Don Julio Reposado
Ghost Tequila
Patron Reposado
Patron Silver
Teremana Blanco
Teremana Reposado

Vodka:

Absolut
Belvedere
Chopin
Christiana
Cîroc
Grey Goose
Ketel One
Ketel One Botanical
Tito's
Smirnoff
Wheatly

Rye:

Rittenhouse
Woodford Rye
Whistle Pig 6 YR Piggyback

Whiskey:

Canadian Club
Crown Royal
Jack Daniel's Black
Jack Daniel's Gentleman
Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey
Jameson
Seagram's VO

First. I'll be on the Ascent Maiden in an Aqua Sky Suite, and looking forward to it!

As for services in The Retreat and Sky Suites - the "problem" really is naming. Celebrity gives all of their suites fancy sounding names. But, if you look at what Royal does, you'll see something that explains all of this. On Royal, a cabin the size of 1.5 cabins is called a "Junior Suite." On Celebrity, it's a "Sky Suite." It should come as no surprise that a "Junior" suite gets "Junior" amenities. On Royal, Junior Suites only get to use the suite restaurant for dinner. The larger ones get all their meals there. Once you're paying for a suite the size of two "regular" cabins you get twice as much "stuff." (On Celebrity, a Celebrity Suite" is the size of two cabins, a Royal Suite is the size of 3, and a Penthouse is the size of 4.)

For longer than other lines, Celebrity gave their "Junior" suites the full suite experience. But they eventually became a victim of their own success. Whenever Celebrity has added a "premium" category, it has been a hit. Remember, the M class ships didn't have Aqua Class. That was such a big success that they carved up the main dining rooms, and added Blue as they "Solsticized" the M-Class.

That was such a big success that en Celebrity had unhappy suite guests on their hands. They were eating in the MDR with the Peasants while AQ got their own restaurant. They tried to accommodate suites in Blu, but it was a mess (especially on Reflection, where they added AQ cabins, but didn't expand Blu.) So, they carved up the dining rooms again and created Luminae for suites (largely because Suite guests wanted to eat at Blu!), it was a huge success. So they went a step further, and made Michael's a dedicated space for Suite guests. Also a huge success. People would pay extra for the suite perks.

So, when Edge came along, they went a step further - and added a suite pool deck into the mix. And added a LOT more suites. An even bigger success, so when Beyond (and Ascent) were built, they added even more suites. I did 2 Suite cruises in a short period of time, one on Infinity and another on Beyond. The difference in the size of Luminae is astonishing. On Infinity it is an intimate space. On Beyond, it is the size of one of the main dining rooms - but with a lot more windows.

They used to be able to offer service to all of the suites, because the same people serving the top suites could serve all the suites. But, now its a different story. Suites aren't exclusive, at all. The top ones are, but Sky Suites... are not. There are a LOT of them, which changes the whole economic model of suites, or at least the "Junior" suites. (Or, in the case of the Aqua Sky Suite I'll be in starting Sunday, the Junior Suites... with Cheese)

It is all about maximizing revenue, both with current inventory and in the future. The best way to understand how the system works is to look at how Plusgrade sells their technology to cruise lines: Cruise | Plusgrade

"Our solution analyzes available inventory and your pool of pledged upgrades to recommend the optimal selection of passengers to upgrade."

"Incentivize guests to try a higher cabin at a price they are willing to pay, and then get double the benefit when they rebook at full fare."

Carpeting in cabins can be replaced without drydock. Years ago, I was on a Royal ship that was having cabin carpeting replaced. One day we had a note in our cabin advising us that our carpet would be replaced, and to move as much off of the floors as possible.

The next day all of the cabins in our corridor had the carpeting replaced. A team would go into the cabin, move all of the furniture to the balcony, pull up the old carpet, glue down a new (pre-cut) carpet, put everything back to where it had been, and then move on to the next cabin. Took less than 30 minutes per cabin.

It was amazing to see.done, and I'd imagine replacing soft goods like furniture could be done the same way. The biggest challenge would be storage space for the old and new furniture. 

It all depends on how you value time and amenities. On the Edge Class, the Sunset cabins don't have as spacious of balconies and cabins as some of the other classes. They're nice, and larger. But you don't see the much bigger suites and balconies you see on the other classes. It's an incremental improvement, but not a destination like on other ships.

This would actually be a tougher question if you were looking to downgrade from an Edge Class Sunset Sky Suite to Edge Class Aqua Class. The Sunset Verandas are far from almost everything. This is offset on the M Class by the aft elevators that drop you in the middle of Oceanview or outside the dining rooms. They're super far from everything if you're in an Edge Class Sunset Sky Suite, because Luminae, the Retreat, and the Retreat Sun Deck are all the way forward. 

The biggest question actually comes down to how you value the thermal suite. If you're going to use it a lot, it's worth it. They're great spaces on the Edge class, pricier to get into, and all the way forward. If that's an amenity you love, you're not going to love paying for it and hiking to it in your sunset cabin. If you don't care about it, then you're down to the food difference in Blu - but that can be offset with specialty dining, as others have pointed out. More dining packages have been put in cruise planner recently, so you can make an apples to apples comparison there.

They are out. And if you look closely you will see that Equinox is headed to South America and Apex is headed to Port Canaveral. 

On 11/17/2023 at 8:40 PM, sixpackeddie said:

So all the pictures are complimentary and you receive the downloads to save the pictures? Are the pictures unlimited? Not that I want to take lots of pictures of ourselves …

 

You do not get any prints, they don't print anything without it being paid for. But downloads of all of your photos will be complimentary. You can download all photos that are taken of you when you get home.

If you want prints, you'll need to have the downloads printed.

On 11/18/2023 at 11:20 AM, Illsticktocrusing said:

I will ask my question here instead starting a new thread.  I am approaching amethyst but I noticed that my BCC status is not listed on my xpass for my cruise next week (my husbands is), should I fix this before boarding or is this something I can handle onboard.

They cannot do anything on the ship but email shoreside.

Points don't get credited for status until after a cruise either. I started a cruise close to going up a level, and asked if I'd get those perks on the cruise when I achieved the level. The host (who was awesome) explained that she can't do anything with status or accounts except email Miami. 

I'll be on the maiden voyage! And looking forward to it. Dec 3rd isn't her first revenue cruise but it is the first cruise after her naming ceremony.

I went through my emails, and found a Captains Club email from June with the subject "The Countdown to Celebrity Ascent is on." In that email is the headline "BE THE FIRST TO SAIL CELEBRITY ASCENT" promoting the two November short cruises and the December 3rd as the "Maiden Voyage." So the fact that the "maiden voyage" isn't her first cruise with paying passengers isn't a last minute change. It's been out there for about six months, at least.

I'm sure if you want to go down a rabbit hole, you'll find a nuanced difference between an "Inaugural Voyage" and a "Maiden Voyage." 

Me, I just enjoy the fact that others made sure that everything was ready for me on the maiden voyage. 

The free digital photo package is fun. You have to go to the photographers to get it, but you simply show your seapass with your level, and they add it to your account.

At the end of the cruise, you'll get an email with details on how to download any picture taken of you by the ship photographers. 

On the M class ships, the MDR, Blu and Luminae Galleys are all in the same space. On S Class, MDR and Luminae are in the same space with Blu just upstairs. That makes it easy to order off any of the menus in Luminae. 
 

On the Edge class, it’s much harder as they’re on opposite ends of the ship and a dozen decks apart. If you insist, they’ll send someone to get you a meal from the other places, but they don’t want to because it’s a long trip - and the quality suffers. The food will be cold by the time it gets to you. 
 

Your best bet in Luminae is to get to know the restaurant manager and look at all of the menus in the app in advance. If you tell them what you want from the other restaurant the day before, they will have the ingredients on hand and prepare it for you in the Luminae Galley. But they need 24 hour notice to make it happen. 
 

(If you don’t want to use the app, the host stand always has the next day Luminae menu, and they’ll be happy to prepare something for you that you will like… if tell them the night before. 

The easiest place to get the answer to this is from the company that provides the service to Celebrity (and pretty much every other cruise line):

Cruise | Plusgrade

[quote]Our solution analyzes available inventory and your pool of pledged upgrades to recommend the optimal selection of passengers to upgrade.[/quote]

There's even a quote from Celebrity:

[quote]

"We were running a very manual upgrade process. The biggest differentiator, when introducing MoveUp [the upgrade platform], is we realized that guests are willing to pay way more than we would ever have asked for. So, higher bids, huge guest excitement, and strong ability to reach our guests directly and through our trade community. In just 3 months, the revenue is 10x what we would have done in our previous program."

-Melissa Beckwith, Director, Revenue Management, Celebrity Cruises[/quote]