Royal Suite vs Celebrity Suite Question

[Cruise a holic]

7 hours ago, misterkevin said:

We requested foam and down pillows and a mattress topper which made the bed very comfortable. We also had the refrigerator cleared and filled with Pelligrino and Evian. Our butler Rikki kept it stocked throughout the cruise with these.

 

On a separate note, we met a few people (6) on the cruise by day two for whom we wanted to have a small preprandial party in the room on day six arranged through our butler. He said he could probably swing a couple of bottles of champagne and a cheese plate with crackers at no extra charge. By day six, the group grew to 16. I talked to the excellent Retreat Concierge Alexandra that morning and she made a few calls and had two additional bottles of Celebrity Vintages champagne comped with an additional charcuterie plate. While I was prepared to pay for these, they weren't charged. I was shocked and delighted.

We are in a Royal suite and might also want to host a party for the people I know we will meet-  will ask our butler to bring an assortment of cheese and other snacks.  Of course some alcohol! 

[misterkevin]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We are in a Royal suite and might also want to host a party for the people I know we will meet-  will ask our butler to bring an assortment of cheese and other snacks.  Of course some alcohol! 

We met another family in a Royal Suite, and they hosted a party in their room with wine,  champagne, cheese, and crackers. The dining table and extra room made it easy. In the Celebrity Suite, the butler used the large coffee table to set up the party.

Edited August 9, 2019 by misterkevin

[George C]

3 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We are in a Royal suite and might also want to host a party for the people I know we will meet-  will ask our butler to bring an assortment of cheese and other snacks.  Of course some alcohol! 

I know several other people have expressed interest in seeing our royal suite , so most likely will do the same. 

[chemmo]

1 minute ago, George C said:

I know several other people have expressed interest in seeing our royal suite , so most likely will do the same. 

 

The butlers seem to enjoy doing these events. We hosted one leaving Sydney, furnishings rearranged, nice selection of snacks, champagne chilled and the butler kept popping back to check we were ok...As our guests were leaving we started siding plates etc and were shooed onto the balcony by the butler with a cognac to relax before dinner.

 

I really missed him next time I entertained at home....

[K12Guy]

29 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

I really missed him next time I entertained at home....

Maybe sneak him home in your luggage next time? I'm sure customs won't wonder about the kicking and screaming coming from the oversize bag. 😎

[chemmo]

41 minutes ago, K12Guy said:

Maybe sneak him home in your luggage next time? I'm sure customs won't wonder about the kicking and screaming coming from the oversize bag. 😎

 

In our experience all butlers are at least good but when you do get an exceptional one who really does anticipate your wants and needs it does take your cruise to a different level.  An exceptional butler, on a daily basis, surprises you with one more little treat or thoughtful act...it is hard to leave them behind...

 

We have once or twice had the treat of boarding a ship to find out we have a great butler we have had before....one remembered (after a year gap) that we enjoyed having a tea tray and kettle in our room and had already set it up before we boarded. I don’t understand how they remember these things...

Edited August 9, 2019 by chemmo

[CK57]

The ship you are on and level of service you receive are not directly linked.  We have been in CS and RS and enjoyed the level of service on the CS over the RS due to ship and management.  Eclipse was awful, Luminare service and food below par.  Solstice CS was fantastic trip for 18 days from Hawaii to Australia.  On a longer cruise which is port intensive that goes to multiple countries which require passports to be validated having a butler to take care of this was nice.  The RS has a dining table for 6 and if you like to eat in your room, a very nice upgrade from CS.  The bathroom in CS has two doors and is small.  RS bath is huge and very nice.  Large balcony on RS with the tub is nice, but based on your route, time of year, may not be that big a deal.  Service throughout the ship does not improve having a RS.  I think if anything it goes down once they know your room.  A great room on poorly managed ship does not make the trip.  Great service with nice room will make you a happy camper.  There are no assurances respective to the service you will receive or fail to receive.  If you can afford to spurge on the RS the space, layout is superior to CS.  You pay for the extras in your ticket price for the dining, drink package, internet etc. within the RS booking.  We had a better boarding experience in Hawaii with the CS than in Miami with the RS hands down.  They did not offer anything special in Miami.  If your trip has tender ports there are some advantages with either of these suites to getting off the ship via going down to Michael's for an escort as well.   We found eating in Blu on Eclipse was much better than Luminare.  Service, managment and food was superior in Blu to Luminare.  Soltice was a better run ship and we found great service throughout.  It may be different tomorrow, but that's part of the experience of cruising.  Take the good, and relish the moment.

[Cruise a holic]

1 hour ago, CK57 said:

The ship you are on and level of service you receive are not directly linked.  We have been in CS and RS and enjoyed the level of service on the CS over the RS due to ship and management.  Eclipse was awful, Luminare service and food below par.  Solstice CS was fantastic trip for 18 days from Hawaii to Australia.  On a longer cruise which is port intensive that goes to multiple countries which require passports to be validated having a butler to take care of this was nice.  The RS has a dining table for 6 and if you like to eat in your room, a very nice upgrade from CS.  The bathroom in CS has two doors and is small.  RS bath is huge and very nice.  Large balcony on RS with the tub is nice, but based on your route, time of year, may not be that big a deal.  Service throughout the ship does not improve having a RS.  I think if anything it goes down once they know your room.  A great room on poorly managed ship does not make the trip.  Great service with nice room will make you a happy camper.  There are no assurances respective to the service you will receive or fail to receive.  If you can afford to spurge on the RS the space, layout is superior to CS.  You pay for the extras in your ticket price for the dining, drink package, internet etc. within the RS booking.  We had a better boarding experience in Hawaii with the CS than in Miami with the RS hands down.  They did not offer anything special in Miami.  If your trip has tender ports there are some advantages with either of these suites to getting off the ship via going down to Michael's for an escort as well.   We found eating in Blu on Eclipse was much better than Luminare.  Service, managment and food was superior in Blu to Luminare.  Soltice was a better run ship and we found great service throughout.  It may be different tomorrow, but that's part of the experience of cruising.  Take the good, and relish the moment.

A major plus royal vs celebrity suite is the 1/2 bath. You get unlimited specialty restaurant dining. Your butler will be restocked daily your  beverages , non alcoholic,  but beer will be provided in your fridge if you desire.  Unlimited laundry and dry cleaning.  We had stayed in aqua multiple times. Never enjoyed the food in blu.  I agree food in luminae isn’t great, but the restaurant is physically so much more inviting then crowded  blu .  Blu has tables lined up offering no privacy  with mediocre food.  But it isn’t the mdr.  Also location of most aq cabins not ideal.

we have also been in celebrity suites multiple times and enjoyed them. Much nicer and more spacious on the M class ships. the S class while bathrooms have two entrances it is small.  However Michaels club is excellent so Sky suites are also very good and comfortable 

 

we sail in a variety of suites and cabins depending on our budget at the time.  We would rather stay in a well located balcony cabin and dine in specialty restaurants most nights. 

You cannot compare a Royal suite with the other two. Of course the penthouses are the ultimate!  On my bucket list 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Cruise a holic

[plucasana]

1 hour ago, CK57 said:

Service throughout the ship does not improve having a RS.  I think if anything it goes down once they know your room. 

 

??? could you elaborate on that ??? why would service be less good for guests in an RS?

[Cruise a holic]

Nonsense 

[Marine7]

1 hour ago, CK57 said:

The ship you are on and level of service you receive are not directly linked.  We have been in CS and RS and enjoyed the level of service on the CS over the RS due to ship and management.  Eclipse was awful, Luminare service and food below par.  Solstice CS was fantastic trip for 18 days from Hawaii to Australia.  On a longer cruise which is port intensive that goes to multiple countries which require passports to be validated having a butler to take care of this was nice.  The RS has a dining table for 6 and if you like to eat in your room, a very nice upgrade from CS.  The bathroom in CS has two doors and is small.  RS bath is huge and very nice.  Large balcony on RS with the tub is nice, but based on your route, time of year, may not be that big a deal.  Service throughout the ship does not improve having a RS.  I think if anything it goes down once they know your room.  A great room on poorly managed ship does not make the trip.  Great service with nice room will make you a happy camper.  There are no assurances respective to the service you will receive or fail to receive.  If you can afford to spurge on the RS the space, layout is superior to CS.  You pay for the extras in your ticket price for the dining, drink package, internet etc. within the RS booking.  We had a better boarding experience in Hawaii with the CS than in Miami with the RS hands down.  They did not offer anything special in Miami.  If your trip has tender ports there are some advantages with either of these suites to getting off the ship via going down to Michael's for an escort as well.   We found eating in Blu on Eclipse was much better than Luminare.  Service, managment and food was superior in Blu to Luminare.  Soltice was a better run ship and we found great service throughout.  It may be different tomorrow, but that's part of the experience of cruising.  Take the good, and relish the moment.

Okay....thank you for your post.

Not what I was expecting but appreciate your thoughts.

[Olive1950]

On 8/7/2019 at 2:18 PM, cruising diva said:

My husband and I also had Edwin and he was always “out for the day “and did not return phone calls, send emails or try to contact us. We were very disappointed with him.

Maybe Celebrity should talk to him.

 

Yes, Celebrity should talk to him, but YOU need to address this issue on your post-cruise comment form.

 

I've dealt with most of the shoreside concierges, and they are indeed a disappointing bunch.  Even their supervisor, Ashley, is just plain AWFUL.

 

My SSC in October, Zoe, had the audacity to send me paper luggage tags with handwritten cabin information.  I'm in a RS, for goodness sake!!!!

 

I swear, I don't think these folks have any clue about how to treat those who spend so much.  I just tell them to pretend they have contacted me; I'll do the rest, when the cruise is over....

[Olive1950]

5 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

In our experience all butlers are at least good but when you do get an exceptional one who really does anticipate your wants and needs it does take your cruise to a different level.  An exceptional butler, on a daily basis, surprises you with one more little treat or thoughtful act...it is hard to leave them behind...

 

We have once or twice had the treat of boarding a ship to find out we have a great butler we have had before....one remembered (after a year gap) that we enjoyed having a tea tray and kettle in our room and had already set it up before we boarded. I don’t understand how they remember these things...

 

AMEN to that....

 

The butler I had on Silhouette this past November, was way beyond exceptional.  I was sailing solo in one of the penthouses, and he made it his business to ensure that the moment I stepped out of my cabin, it was cleaned.  If I was having a party, he would begin the setup the night before.  He and the Suites Manager, along with the Michael's Club concierge, bent over backwards, something I neither demanded nor expected.  A couple who attended several of my parties was in a RS on the other side of the ship.  They commented that they saw more of my butler than they saw of theirs.  Go figure....

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We've been in a Royal Suite on a number of different cruises and have never found fault with the shore side concierge, including a few mentioned here.  We've never had Edwin so cannot comment on him.

Edited August 9, 2019 by CHEZMARYLOU