Sky Suites WILL be entitled to new dedicated dining

[Bababooey Land]

my purpose of this thread is to INFORM.

 

Not to start a new friendly conversation about the new Suite experience. :)

 

I found this on Celebrity's website:

 

http://CelebrityCruises

February 24, 2014

Sky Suites will be entitled to dedicated dining. We have yet to announce where onboard that will be located. Here is a little more information on what the offering will be:

 

Private dining – A dedicated private restaurant reserved exclusively for all Suite Class guests will be available morning, noon and night. Each meal will feature unique menus that offer sumptuous dishes not available anywhere else onboard. Guests can truly immerse themselves in the local culture with specially crafted menus inspired by the local destination, and enjoy the world’s best ingredients. Memorable and inspiring dishes will be served, from locally caught seafood, to the freshest pasta. The Suite Class chef can provide a tailor-made experience to suite guests and prepare a dish to their liking, and the Cellar Master – Celebrity’s head sommelier – will select from more than 450 wines to provide the perfect pairing.

[hcat]

Sounds nice! Also seems BLU will remain intact for AQ customers (Yay!)

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

Interesting information. Just noticed this comment on Celebrity's website . Here's the correct link : http://catalyst.celebritycruises.com/announcing-new-suite-class-experience-and-celebration-of-the-century/ . That I recall, the initial press release did not directly mention Sky Suites, which caused a great deal of comments on this forum.

 

Here's what was posted by Celebrity :

 

Sky Suites will be entitled to dedicated dining. We have yet to announce where onboard that will be located. Here is a little more information on what the offering will be:

 

Private dining – A dedicated private restaurant reserved exclusively for all Suite Class guests will be available morning, noon and night. Each meal will feature unique menus that offer sumptuous dishes not available anywhere else onboard. Guests can truly immerse themselves in the local culture with specially crafted menus inspired by the local destination, and enjoy the world’s best ingredients. Memorable and inspiring dishes will be served, from locally caught seafood, to the freshest pasta. The Suite Class chef can provide a tailor-made experience to suite guests and prepare a dish to their liking, and the Cellar Master – Celebrity’s head sommelier – will select from more than 450 wines to provide the perfect pairing.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Host Andy

[dmk]

“Suite Class” benefits include priority check-in and embarkation, complimentary premium beverages, unlimited internet access, daily high-end afternoon tea service, as well as a 24-hour personal butler to help manage your trip from the second you arrive.

 

Do "premium beverages" refer to same thing as when you buy a premium alcohol package which includes high end alcohol drinks? If so, perhaps a suite is something to reconsider price wise.

[Bababooey Land]

“Suite Class” benefits include priority check-in and embarkation, complimentary premium beverages, unlimited internet access, daily high-end afternoon tea service, as well as a 24-hour personal butler to help manage your trip from the second you arrive.

 

Do "premium beverages" refer to same thing as when you buy a premium alcohol package which includes high end alcohol drinks? If so, perhaps a suite is something to reconsider price wise.

 

I believe that is the package you will be receiving. but just to recap, the complimentary premium beverages will only be given to certain suites.

 

"Premium 'all in' benefits - Premium beverages, dining across all specialty restaurants, unlimited internet access and a private bar with water, sodas and beers will all be complimentary for guests staying in Royal, Penthouse and Reflection suites."

[Redtravel]

those complimentary items are never free. You should expect higher fares for suites. Azamara has gone that route. When they first started, you paid extra for most things. cruise fares were a bit higher than Celebrity. A few years later, they started to include wines, soft drinks, bottled water,laundry and gratuities. Prices doubled. Now they include local shuttles, some excursions, and liquor. As expected, fares are way up. My next Azamara cruise is triple what I paid in 2009.

[Bababooey Land]

I agree that these are not free As over time celebrity hopes suite demand will rise meaning they can raise pricing.

 

To be fair though. 2009 we were in a global recession. So pricing today is up significantly on most if not all ships. Excluding any "freebies or included" goodies.

 

I just booked a 2015 Alaska cruise in a rs. And pricing was flat vs similar cruise this year. So there doesn't seem to be price inflation yet. Only time will tell.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I agree that these are not free As over time celebrity hopes suite demand will rise meaning they can raise pricing.

 

To be fair though. 2009 we were in a global recession. So pricing today is up significantly on most if not all ships. Excluding any "freebies or included" goodies.

 

I just booked a 2015 Alaska cruise in a rs. And pricing was flat vs similar cruise this year. So there doesn't seem to be price inflation yet. Only time will tell.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

I compared a 7 day south bound cruise on Millennium for July and 2015 prices are $600 per person for a royal suite over the initial 2014 prices. Celebrity Suite prices are up $550 and the CS don't get the beverage and unlimited specialty restaurant dining perks.

 

Mary Lou

[Gracie115]

I'm not at all surprised that Sky Suites would be included. There are far too few RS, CS & PH to have a dedicated dining room for that few people. By including SS they will hopefully alleviate the overcrowding that is apparently happening in Blu, since so many suite guests try to eat there....

[miched]

Looking at the prices that people pay for those suites they do deserve more perks. I couldn't or would not want to pay that much for a cruise. Even taking a regular balcony and adding in for the extra cost of the premium packages and extra dining I couldn't justify the price difference.

 

I wonder how long before they convert the Solarium pool to suite guests only?

 

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅🍸🍻

[Gonzo70]

 

I wonder how long before they convert the Solarium pool to suite guests only?

 

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅🍸🍻

 

I do not think they would do that with existing ships in their fleet, but when they finally roll out a new class of ships I think there is a good chance they will have a special pool area for suites like NCL has.

[Project_gal]

“Suite Class” benefits include priority check-in and embarkation, complimentary premium beverages, unlimited internet access, daily high-end afternoon tea service, as well as a 24-hour personal butler to help manage your trip from the second you arrive.

 

Do "premium beverages" refer to same thing as when you buy a premium alcohol package which includes high end alcohol drinks? If so, perhaps a suite is something to reconsider price wise.

 

Has no one else noticed that the benefits in the receent announcements no longer mention the [spirits] bar set up for Royal and Penthouse Suites? I cannot work out if it is the usual Celebrity lack of consistency of it this perk has been dropped.

[miched]

I do not think they would do that with existing ships in their fleet, but when they finally roll out a new class of ships I think there is a good chance they will have a special pool area for suites like NCL has.

 

It wouldn't be that much of a problem. All they would have to do is install card readers at the doors as the area is basically sealed off. They already have a bar and food serving area. It may cause a little inconvenience for access to the main pool from the forward set of stairs but I am sure that they could find a solution for that.

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅🍸🍻

[dkjretired]

I do not think they would do that with existing ships in their fleet, but when they finally roll out a new class of ships I think there is a good chance they will have a special pool area for suites like NCL has.

 

I agree, Solarium is too popular and is really the only adult area on the ship. On the S class ships its too big for the number of suites that would be involved. If they did close it off to suites I would seriously consider whether I would ever sail on Celebrity again.

[Bababooey Land]

Has no one else noticed that the benefits in the receent announcements no longer mention the [spirits] bar set up for Royal and Penthouse Suites? I cannot work out if it is the usual Celebrity lack of consistency of it this perk has been dropped.

 

The bar set up WILL continue for Royal and Penthouse.

[cruisegirl1]

I believe that these who pay for suites deserved more perks than the average passenger.

 

However, this dining thing is really an issue for us. One of the beauties of sailing with family and friends is everyone can get the accommodations per their budget and then we can all meet for dinner. Now – it appears we will no longer be able to dine together unless we can get “select “ dining and then worry that there will be “space available” for the AQ and suite guests – That is – if in fact the suite guests can even use the general sections of the dining room. Yes we can dine in a specialty restaurant together, but that gets old ( and expensive) over a two week cruise.

 

Having all the family ( or group of friends) all book a AQ or suite is out of the question for some. And , some like the space and perks the suite and never consider anything lower. Cruising has worked perfectly – the best of both worlds.

 

Sitting together at a show or at the pool was never a concern as there are few activities, except dinner, that an entire family ( or group of friends) want to do together. We all have to eat and generally agree on traditional late seating. It was so easy!

 

M

[Project_gal]

The bar set up WILL continue for Royal and Penthouse.

 

Thanks!

 

How did you confirm this, please? The website is still excluding it: http://www.celebritycruises.com/genericHtmlTemplate.do?pagename=celebrity_suite_class#&panel1-3&panel2-1&panel3-2&panel4-2&panel5-1&panel6-1

[lawrencedavis007]

we are sailing on the summitt in nov 2014 in a sky suite. does anyone have a list of the ships being retro fitted with a time table ?

[Bababooey Land]

we are sailing on the summitt in nov 2014 in a sky suite. does anyone have a list of the ships being retro fitted with a time table ?

 

it has not be announced yet.

[JEDIKNIGHT]

When will this begin? And is it an all ships? Sounds very nice

[H2OH!]

I compared a 7 day south bound cruise on Millennium for July and 2015 prices are $600 per person for a royal suite over the initial 2014 prices. Celebrity Suite prices are up $550 and the CS don't get the beverage and unlimited specialty restaurant dining perks.

 

Mary Lou

 

CS should receive the drink package, that is for sure!

[ShadowzBtlr]

This is from the press release. I don't think that a ship-by-ship schedule for availability has been announced. Also, I wonder if the term --"Celebrity's state-of-the-art ships" -- may apply only to S-class ships.

"Celebrity Cruises' new 'Suite Class' experience:

This will be fully introduced on Celebrity's state-of-the-art ships during April 2015. With exclusive new benefits including a suites-only restaurant, VIP lounge, complimentary premium beverages, plus more, the newly launched Suite Class is designed to create the ultimate luxurious experience."

[beentothere]

my purpose of this thread is to INFORM.

 

Not to start a new friendly conversation about the new Suite experience. :)

 

I found this on Celebrity's website:

 

http://CelebrityCruises

February 24, 2014

Sky Suites will be entitled to dedicated dining. We have yet to announce where onboard that will be located. Here is a little more information on what the offering will be:

 

Private dining – A dedicated private restaurant reserved exclusively for all Suite Class guests will be available morning, noon and night. Each meal will feature unique menus that offer sumptuous dishes not available anywhere else onboard. Guests can truly immerse themselves in the local culture with specially crafted menus inspired by the local destination, and enjoy the world’s best ingredients. Memorable and inspiring dishes will be served, from locally caught seafood, to the freshest pasta. The Suite Class chef can provide a tailor-made experience to suite guests and prepare a dish to their liking, and the Cellar Master – Celebrity’s head sommelier – will select from more than 450 wines to provide the perfect pairing.

 

And a fresh Caesar salad would not be out of the question? After all, don't they

wash the chicken's hands?

[Project_gal]

Also, I wonder if the term --"Celebrity's state-of-the-art ships" -- may apply only to S-class ships.

 

 

 

No, it applies to M-Class ships as well.

[waterbug123]

I believe that these who pay for suites deserved more perks than the average passenger.

 

However, this dining thing is really an issue for us. One of the beauties of sailing with family and friends is everyone can get the accommodations per their budget and then we can all meet for dinner. Now – it appears we will no longer be able to dine together unless we can get “select “ dining and then worry that there will be “space available” for the AQ and suite guests

 

Before you get all up in arms, I would be very surprised if you were told, "no, you HAVE to eat in Blu or the suite dining room every night, you are not allowed in the MDR with your friends/family."