Suite Class Service on Edge Class

[actuarian]

Most of my previous cruises have been in Sky Suites on older Millennium Class Ships.  Those ships all have a total of 50 suites (all types) which represents 4.5% of the total rooms on the ship.  However, my next cruise will be on the Edge, also in a Sky Suite.  I noticed that on the Edge, there are 176 suites (again counting all types) and that represents 12% of the total rooms on the ship.  My question for anyone who has been on suites in multiple classes of ships is, is the crew able to give the same quality of service to the 12% of the cruisers in suites in Edge class that they give to the 4.5% of cruisers in Millennium class?  It seems like a huge difference between 4.5% and 12%.

[ETHTrader]

49 minutes ago, actuarian said:

  My question for anyone who has been on suites in multiple classes of ships is, is the crew able to give the same quality of service to the 12% of the cruisers in suites in Edge class that they give to the 4.5% of cruisers in Millennium class?  

 

Service was outstanding, regardless of the ship, for Suite guests

[jelayne]

The M & S class ships have about 52 suites and the Retreat lounge has 1 Concierge.   E Class has 176 suites and the Retreat Lounge has 3 Concierges and a larger staff. The ratio of Personal Retreat Hosts (Butlers) is the same.   
Having sailed in M/S class suites and E Class suites the service is excellent in both but the experience in the E Class is far better.  E Class was built for the Retreat and without the pool, a dining area and bar it isn’t the same.

[Missymo]

Was on the Edge in September. Stayed in the Sky Suite Can honestly say, the service of the Retreat Hosts can't be any better.   I think they knew what I wanted, before I wanted it.  It was wonderful.  I am going back in February, in the same suite, with (hopefully) the same hosts. 

[TeeRick]

11 hours ago, actuarian said:

Most of my previous cruises have been in Sky Suites on older Millennium Class Ships.  Those ships all have a total of 50 suites (all types) which represents 4.5% of the total rooms on the ship.  However, my next cruise will be on the Edge, also in a Sky Suite.  I noticed that on the Edge, there are 176 suites (again counting all types) and that represents 12% of the total rooms on the ship.  My question for anyone who has been on suites in multiple classes of ships is, is the crew able to give the same quality of service to the 12% of the cruisers in suites in Edge class that they give to the 4.5% of cruisers in Millennium class?  It seems like a huge difference between 4.5% and 12%.

Easy answer yes.  Also more crew dedicated to suites on E-Class ships to go along with more suites.  And by design, co-location of many suites in the part of the ship that has The Retreat and Luminae.

[DCPIV]

13 hours ago, jelayne said:

The M & S class ships have about 52 suites and the Retreat lounge has 1 Concierge.

 

My recent Summit sailings have had 2 Retreat Concierges on board. There's a live thread that mentioned that was down to 1 momentarily with another to arrive soon. 

[Phxazzcruisers]

Service in suites on M, S and E Class ships is exemplary !!  We couldnt ask for any better treatment

[terrydtx]

Retreat service is awesome on all class of ships, but Edge class ships have a Retreat lounge and Deck that was designed for the Retreat. The  Edge class Retreat deck has a small suites only pool and a dedicated bar with food offerings. All of the Non Revolutionized M and S class ships do not have the same Retreat facilities as Edge class and Revolutionized M & S ships. On the Equinox in August we had 2 concierge hosts always in the Retreat Lounge at any one time. 

 

We have 3 cruises booked in Sky suites on the Apex and Edge in 2023 and 2024.

[lv2cruisgrl]

16 hours ago, actuarian said:

Most of my previous cruises have been in Sky Suites on older Millennium Class Ships.  Those ships all have a total of 50 suites (all types) which represents 4.5% of the total rooms on the ship.  However, my next cruise will be on the Edge, also in a Sky Suite.  I noticed that on the Edge, there are 176 suites (again counting all types) and that represents 12% of the total rooms on the ship.  My question for anyone who has been on suites in multiple classes of ships is, is the crew able to give the same quality of service to the 12% of the cruisers in suites in Edge class that they give to the 4.5% of cruisers in Millennium class?  It seems like a huge difference between 4.5% and 12%.

Just got off Edge last month, In a sky suite and service all around the ship was excellent. Only had 900 on board so maybe that's why. Suites we're mostly booked but not all.

Edited November 6, 2021 by lovrccl

[tanzania2015]

We are on the Apex in a Edge Villa as I write this and were in a Royal Suite on the Millennium in  September and a Royal Suite on the Reflection in March 2020. The suites were almost at 100 percent capacity on the ships due to the moveup program. As far as service goes in the Retreat Lounge and Luminae, I rate the Apex a 7 and the Reflection and the Millennium both a 9 because of the number of suites. The ratio of staff to suite guests is better on the M and S class ships. There are 3 concierge staff on the Apex and two on the Reflection (S class) and one on the Millennium (M class) but the Apex has so many more suites that you wait quite a while to speek to the Retreat Concierge.  The service is acceptable on the Apex but more personal on the S and M class ships. The Luminae on the Apex is like a large restaurant where the Luminae on Reflection and the Millennium is more intimate. 

[NCHPcruiser]

We have stayed in suites on all ship classes.  Our Edge experience (Feb. 2020) in The Retreat was wonderful, every bit as good or better than on any other ship.  We miss the actual bar in the old Michael’s Club but otherwise loved The Retreat and the service we received.  

[DCPIV]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

All of the Non Revolutionized M and S class ships do not have the same Retreat facilities as Edge class and Revolutionized M & S ships.

 

Revolutionized M class ships may have those facilities, but I can tell you that the Retreat Sundeck is not a particularly pleasant place there. There's no pool or other water features, and there's very little shade. 

 

I'm not overly thrilled with the lounge, either. It is a nice area with lovely folks, but it leaves a little to be desired. The only window is in the somewhat utilitarian bar area and only visible in there, and the furniture leaves a lot to be desired with regard to comfort and functionality.

 

That said, I very much enjoy the Retreat and recommend it to anyone willing to pay for it. 

[Jim_Iain]

To be honest having traveled in all Classes I've found you get better service on E-Class.    Recently on an M-Class (maybe it was just Millennium I was really disappointed in the service we had.   This may have been due to the management and that the ship sailed with Suites at 100% capacity.

[TeeRick]

16 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

To be honest having traveled in all Classes I've found you get better service on E-Class.    Recently on an M-Class (maybe it was just Millennium I was really disappointed in the service we had.   This may have been due to the management and that the ship sailed with Suites at 100% capacity.

Is it possible that this happens in general because the more recently launched ships have the hand-picked crews?

[swjumbo]

17 hours ago, DCPIV said:

 

Revolutionized M class ships may have those facilities, but I can tell you that the Retreat Sundeck is not a particularly pleasant place there. There's no pool or other water features, and there's very little shade. 

 

I'm not overly thrilled with the lounge, either. It is a nice area with lovely folks, but it leaves a little to be desired. The only window is in the somewhat utilitarian bar area and only visible in there, and the furniture leaves a lot to be desired with regard to comfort and functionality.

 

That said, I very much enjoy the Retreat and recommend it to anyone willing to pay for it. 

Strange that there are no windows in the Retreat lounge on Silhouette.

 

[terrydtx]

15 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

Strange that there are no windows in the Retreat lounge on Silhouette.

 

It is not strange, in the S Class ships the Retreat Lounges were not designed to be part of the Retreat concept at the time they were built, because the Retreat didn't exist. They are located on the interior of  deck 5 with no outside windows. If they had an outside window the only view would be the life boats. In the New Edge class the retreat lounge in on deck 15 forward with windows and wonderful ocean view.

[TeeRick]

59 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

Strange that there are no windows in the Retreat lounge on Silhouette.

 

I am pretty sure there are windows in Michael's Club/ The Retreat on S-Class ships - but just behind the heavy drapes always drawn closed.  On M-Class no actual windows but a glass door up near the bar going out to deck 4.

 

Here is a picture from Silhouette.

 

[DCPIV]

17 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

On M-Class no actual windows but a glass door up near the bar going out to deck 4.

 

There's a floor-to-ceiling window next to the glass door (the door is actually frosted, if I recall).

[terrydtx]

45 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I am pretty sure there are windows in Michael's Club/ The Retreat on S-Class ships - but just behind the heavy drapes always drawn closed.  On M-Class no actual windows but a glass door up near the bar going out to deck 4.

 

Here is a picture from Silhouette.

 

On the Equinox there are windows but they are frosted and opaque allowing only some light through so not really a window. I may have miss stated above but those windows, if not frosted, would only have a life boat view and be of no use. I also think there is a walkable deck out side the windows so they are treated to allow more privacy.

Edited November 7, 2021 by terrydtx

[bigbenboys]

I think of it this way. The M and S class ships had Michael's Club. MC had a small lounge/bar feel. The Retreat on the E class to me is a airport lounge or hotel executive floor lounge. E class lounge last that intimate feeling that I had on the M or S class. 

[DCPIV]

2 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

The Retreat on the E class to me is a airport lounge or hotel executive floor lounge.

 

That's a rather excellent comparison. Better drinks and snacks in the Retreat Lounge, though. 😉

[Denny01]

2 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

I think of it this way. The M and S class ships had Michael's Club. MC had a small lounge/bar feel. The Retreat on the E class to me is a airport lounge or hotel executive floor lounge. E class lounge last that intimate feeling that I had on the M or S class. 

I hope it’s a step better than an airport club lounge. The Delta ones are nice but close to full most the time, a buffet, and a bar w one bartender w no waitstaff in the lounge areas  taking orders. 
 

on the Edge in Oct ‘22 for a TA so first time trying Retreat w so much seatime. 
 

den

[terrydtx]

41 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

I hope it’s a step better than an airport club lounge. The Delta ones are nice but close to full most the time, a buffet, and a bar w one bartender w no waitstaff in the lounge areas  taking orders. 
 

on the Edge in Oct ‘22 for a TA so first time trying Retreat w so much seatime. 
 

den

The Retreat Lounges are way better than any airport lounge I have ever been in.  The service is extraordinary, IMHO.

[DCPIV]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

The Retreat Lounges are way better than any airport lounge I have ever been in.  The service is extraordinary, IMHO.

 

It is. It truly is. The service is phenomenal. The people are wonderful. 

 

The decor and furniture? Not so much. 

[isdoo]

16 hours ago, TeeRick said:

I am pretty sure there are windows in Michael's Club/ The Retreat on S-Class ships - but just behind the heavy drapes always drawn closed.  On M-Class no actual windows but a glass door up near the bar going out to deck 4.

 

Here is a picture from Silhouette.

 

No idea where that is taken, but it is not the retreat lounge on the Silhouette.

There isn't any windows in the retreat lounge on the Silhouette.