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Apprehension + Water in Sky Suite


English Tim
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On our last cruise on Seabourn Encore we were having a fabulous time, when I became ill, culminating in us leaving the ship early and returning home via a Corsican clinic. I had my gall bladder removed in the UK and had to cancel our next cruise, fortunately fully insured.

 

Next week we join Celebrity Reflection and have got a great deal on a Sky Suite, will Premium drinks, gratuities, Wi-fi and obc, but worry about something going wrong again and on a minor point, whether or not drinks in minibar (soft drinks) are included.

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On our last cruise on Seabourn Encore we were having a fabulous time, when I became ill, culminating in us leaving the ship early and returning home via a Corsican clinic. I had my gall bladder removed in the UK and had to cancel our next cruise, fortunately fully insured.

 

Next week we join Celebrity Reflection and have got a great deal on a Sky Suite, will Premium drinks, gratuities, Wi-fi and obc, but worry about something going wrong again and on a minor point, whether or not drinks in minibar (soft drinks) are included.

 

So sorry to hear of your last experience and sure hope that this one is better! With a Sky Suite,although the minibar drinks aren't included, I've had no problem with my butler emptying it and keeping it filled with my favorites ( Pellegrino and diet tonic) as long as they're covered by my drinks plan. You'll be cautioned on here that there's no guarantee that a butler will do that for someone in a "lowly" sky suite, but this year I've had no issue while in SS's on Reflection, Equinox or Summit. Enjoy your trip! I was on Reflection in May and the crew was fantastic. The MC concierges were both especially cordial and helpful. One day i mentioned that i was a little surprised that my favorite Cafe Al Bacio dessert, the salted honey tart, was not available on Reflection because I thought that menus were pretty uniform across the fleet ( a barista said that they hadn't had it in a couple of years.) The next evening a giant "fullsize" version was waiting for me in the suite. :-)

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So sorry to hear of your last experience and sure hope that this one is better! With a Sky Suite,although the minibar drinks aren't included, I've had no problem with my butler emptying it and keeping it filled with my favorites ( Pellegrino and diet tonic) as long as they're covered by my drinks plan. You'll be cautioned on here that there's no guarantee that a butler will do that for someone in a "lowly" sky suite, but this year I've had no issue while in SS's on Reflection, Equinox or Summit. Enjoy your trip! I was on Reflection in May and the crew was fantastic. The MC concierges were both especially cordial and helpful. One day i mentioned that i was a little surprised that my favorite Cafe Al Bacio dessert, the salted honey tart, was not available on Reflection because I thought that menus were pretty uniform across the fleet ( a barista said that they hadn't had it in a couple of years.) The next evening a giant "fullsize" version was waiting for me in the suite. :-)

 

Thanks for the kind comments.

 

This will be an unusual experience as we have got used to smaller ships, so we’ll have to see if having a suite on a larger ship suits us. Of course the price must be right.

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I've had no problem with my butler emptying it and keeping it filled with my favorites ( Pellegrino and diet tonic) as long as they're covered by my drinks plan. You'll be cautioned on here that there's no guarantee that a butler will do that for someone in a "lowly" sky suite, but this year I've had no issue while in SS's on Reflection, Equinox or Summit.

 

We have had the mini bar emptied in a variety of category cabins.

 

No issue what-so-ever in Suite or non-Suites - stateroom attendant and/or Butler always happy to oblige :)

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We have had the mini bar emptied in a variety of category cabins.

 

No issue what-so-ever in Suite or non-Suites - stateroom attendant and/or Butler always happy to oblige :)

Indeed. The part that is Butler oriented is the re-filling it with one's choice of beverages. There are other threads when, generally after someone mentions that their butler kept their fridge re-stocked in a Sky Suite, a helpful voice chimes in with a caution that sky suite denizens ought not expect that level of service. In attempting to avoid one such helper I found another.

Edited by cmhdoogalsatsea
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We were aboard the Reflection two weeks ago in a Sky Suite. Our butler (Gordon, the best we have ever had) had no problem emptying our fridge although there were only three items in it to begin with. From then on he kept us supplied with the three items we requested.

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Indeed. The part that is Butler oriented is the re-filling it with one's choice of beverages. There are other threads when, generally after someone mentions that their butler kept their fridge re-stocked in a Sky Suite, a helpful voice chimes in with a caution that sky suite denizens ought not expect that level of service. In attempting to avoid one such helper I found another.

 

Ah! I see your point :) we only had a couple of Butlers who offered to stock our fridge (as part of our beverage plan) and I took that as “outside” the standard service (never expected). Our last cruise, we were in an Aqua Class cabin and our stateroom attendant provided 2 bottles of water in our fridge every morning, as he felt it was better for brewing water in our tea kettle, rather than the bathroom tap. Very thoughtful as well!

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Ah! I see your point :) we only had a couple of Butlers who offered to stock our fridge (as part of our beverage plan) and I took that as “outside” the standard service (never expected). Our last cruise, we were in an Aqua Class cabin and our stateroom attendant provided 2 bottles of water in our fridge every morning, as he felt it was better for brewing water in our tea kettle, rather than the bathroom tap. Very thoughtful as well!

That's really nice service from the attendant. Last month I was on a B2B moving from SS to AQ. My SS butler did an amazing job "prepping" my AQ cabin attendant. She knew from day 1 to bring a dozen shrimp instead of the usual afternoon canapes but told me that she couldn't re-stock the fridge (without my having asked.) But the OP was asking about SS so i (we) digress...

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We have stayed in a SS and will be in one tomorrow. We ask the mini bar be emptied. My husband asks for Diet Coke to be in there and I ask for a pitcher of iced tea in afternoon. Never an issue. That’s about all we ask butler to do besides afternoon snacks

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Ah! I see your point :) we only had a couple of Butlers who offered to stock our fridge (as part of our beverage plan) and I took that as “outside” the standard service (never expected). Our last cruise, we were in an Aqua Class cabin and our stateroom attendant provided 2 bottles of water in our fridge every morning, as he felt it was better for brewing water in our tea kettle, rather than the bathroom tap. Very thoughtful as well!

 

Bottles of water daily or whenever had been a perk of AQ since it’s inception. That has now been eliminated.

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Lots of attention here to your 'water' issue. So let me address the 'apprehension' part of the title. The Suite Life on Celebrity is fantastic, even in a Sky Suite. You have access to Michael's Club, which offers free drinks, evening canapés, and sometimes light entertainment. Also – and most important IMHO – your dining is in Luminae. Your invoice may give a dining time, but Luminae is true anytime dining – just show up when you are ready to eat and you will be welcomed. The food is very good, and the service is very personalized [they quickly learned my quirky way of making cappucchino] . If nothing on the Luminae menu appeals, you can also order anything from the regular MDR menu. And with advance notice you can even order things not on any menu [our waiter suggested that we order filet mignon for the next night]. With the Premium Beverage plan your Luminae sommelier will be able to offer you a nice selection of wine pairings. In both of these aspects, I think you'll find Celebrity close to Seabourn – please come back and let us know!

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If they made the beverages in the minibar free, there’s no control. You could share them at will, give them to minors, etc.

 

Re-read what you wrote and you will see that beverages being free (or not) has nothing to do with the consequences you listed. You can share them as you see fit now... at will or with minors, etc. <SMH>

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Lots of attention here to your 'water' issue. So let me address the 'apprehension' part of the title. The Suite Life on Celebrity is fantastic, even in a Sky Suite. You have access to Michael's Club, which offers free drinks, evening canapés, and sometimes light entertainment. Also – and most important IMHO – your dining is in Luminae. Your invoice may give a dining time, but Luminae is true anytime dining – just show up when you are ready to eat and you will be welcomed. The food is very good, and the service is very personalized [they quickly learned my quirky way of making cappucchino] . If nothing on the Luminae menu appeals, you can also order anything from the regular MDR menu. And with advance notice you can even order things not on any menu [our waiter suggested that we order filet mignon for the next night]. With the Premium Beverage plan your Luminae sommelier will be able to offer you a nice selection of wine pairings. In both of these aspects, I think you'll find Celebrity close to Seabourn – please come back and let us know!

I think the OP's apprehension was health related and question was specifically beverage/mini-fridge related. But i am curious about the similarities you find between the two lines.I'm not dissing Celeb ( and haven't yet tried Seabourn), but beyond being sea-going vessels, the products... and passenger capacities...would seem to be quite different. This sounds jerky but I really am curious because I'm scheduled to try "jumping ship" to SeaDream in a few months, but have had some second thoughts that it might be too small and had thought about Seabourn as an intermediate step.

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Thanks for the kind comments.

 

This will be an unusual experience as we have got used to smaller ships, so we’ll have to see if having a suite on a larger ship suits us. Of course the price must be right.

 

I hope your trip goes well, and would be grateful if you posted your thoughts afterwards. While on the Reflection in May, and feeling a bit "over" the crowds, I had a chance to tour the SeaDream 1 in Cartagena and decided to book a TA on it, but have gotten worried that 100 pax might be too small.

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I hope your trip goes well, and would be grateful if you posted your thoughts afterwards. While on the Reflection in May, and feeling a bit "over" the crowds, I had a chance to tour the SeaDream 1 in Cartagena and decided to book a TA on it, but have gotten worried that 100 pax might be too small.

 

I'd be very interested in finding out your experiences of Sea Dream, a line we've thought about but not tried.

 

We love Seabourn, as it feels like a small club.

 

The one area Seabourn fails for me is entertainment, which is very random, some good, some not so. I hope Celebrity will offer much more varied entertainment, as presumably budget is higher.

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Tim, I’ll be interested to see how you compare a Sky Suite on Celebrity with the smaller ships like Seabourn and Azamara. For now I’ll leave Celebrity alone. I’ve had too many service issues of late which haven’t been sorted out on the ship or it’s been pointless trying. I won’t say never, but certainly for now. I hope you have a great cruise and that you and Rosy are well.

 

Phil

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Ah! I see your point :) we only had a couple of Butlers who offered to stock our fridge (as part of our beverage plan) and I took that as “outside” the standard service (never expected). Our last cruise, we were in an Aqua Class cabin and our stateroom attendant provided 2 bottles of water in our fridge every morning, as he felt it was better for brewing water in our tea kettle, rather than the bathroom tap. Very thoughtful as well!

 

Tea Kettle? I thought they were not allowed?

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There's diet tonic on the ships? This is excellent news, I never thought to ask!

 

So sorry to hear of your last experience and sure hope that this one is better! With a Sky Suite,although the minibar drinks aren't included, I've had no problem with my butler emptying it and keeping it filled with my favorites ( Pellegrino and diet tonic) as long as they're covered by my drinks plan. You'll be cautioned on here that there's no guarantee that a butler will do that for someone in a "lowly" sky suite, but this year I've had no issue while in SS's on Reflection, Equinox or Summit. Enjoy your trip! I was on Reflection in May and the crew was fantastic. The MC concierges were both especially cordial and helpful. One day i mentioned that i was a little surprised that my favorite Cafe Al Bacio dessert, the salted honey tart, was not available on Reflection because I thought that menus were pretty uniform across the fleet ( a barista said that they hadn't had it in a couple of years.) The next evening a giant "fullsize" version was waiting for me in the suite. :-)
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