RETREAT Frustrations

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

We have not sailed with Celebrity in more than a decade. We decided to try Celebrity again and have a sailing booked for September 2022.
We decided to really splurge and reserved a Royal Suite. I was told that there is a special phone number to reach out to the Retreat for information and my dining reservations. Specialty restaurants are included for Royal Suite guests. I have phoned that telephone number…877-RETREAT everyday this week. 

Guess what… after holding  each time for hours, I wind up with a Celebrity reservations person. They apparently do not know what I am asking about. Last person told me to book Specialty dining online. She said it is not included. 
I have reached my limit with this. Totally frustrated. 
Any suggestions???

sheila. 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Celebrity phone reps are basically clueless.  Don't waste your time.  A couple of weeks prior to your cruise, a shoreside concierge will reach out to you.  You can deal with these issues at that time.  Or you can book your specialty restaurants on board.  I've never had a problem with that on board when in a royal suite or penthouse.  Yes, specialty restaurants are included for royal suite guests.  

[jelayne]

Follow Happy Cruiser 6143 advice.  You will be contacted by a Shoreside Concierge roughly 2 weeks before your sailing and they will handle specialty dining and otger requests you may have.  Don’t worry about the dining reservations they keep some reservations open for guests with included specialty dining so you can also have your Retreat Host (  Butler) make the arrangements for you.

[wrk2cruise]

I was looking for another contact email at Celebrity on the Elliott Management site and saw this new position listed.  To me this would be the high level manager responsible for the Retreat experience.  I would send her an email documenting the experience you were expecting is not being provided.

 

Secondary Contact
Ashley Whitaker
Retreat Manager
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132
mwhitaker@celebrity.com

[Arizona Wildcat]

As said Celebrity will reach out to you.  About 80% of phone reps are new and thus pretty useless.  They are also bombarded by thousands of silly calls that could be answered by wandering through the website just a little bit.

[Marriedonacruise]

You have to hit option 3 after dialing that number, and then option 2 for everything above a sky suite.  Expect to wait about an hour to reach anyone, and they will only take a message to have your concierge call you, as the odds of your actual concierge answering are very low.  Being in a RS, you don't want to book online since the specialty dining is included.  There have been lots of changes with the shoreside concierges.  I've had 3 different ones in the last month and haven't even cruised yet.  If by chance you are on the Solstice or Beyond, I do have the email addresses for both of those concierges and could post them if needed.  Once you get hold of them, I've found email is the best way to communicate so everything is documented.  Note it does often take them 24-48 hours to respond since some things take time to arrange directly with the ship.

[dcbiker97]

Agree with Happycruiser and Jelayne. I'd wait until much close to your cruise. They should reach out to you 2ish weeks before you cruise. They will always have availability for those levels of suites so don't worry about not getting reservations.  To try to contact this this early will just frustrate you, as you've seen. Shoreside is not the best right now (although have they ever been amazing?).

Edited July 16, 2022 by dcbiker97

[George C]

You should get a call before your cruise, I normally wait until I board to make reservations, we like eating in the suite restaurant Luminae first night and lunch. They will ask you what your liquor preference is for your two free liters of liquor. 

[Snit13]

27 minutes ago, dcbiker97 said:

Agree with Happycruiser and Jelayne. I'd wait until much close to your cruise. They should reach out to you 2ish weeks before you cruise. They will always have availability for those levels of suites so don't worry about not getting reservations.  To try to contact this this early will just frustrate you, as you've seen. Shoreside is not the best right now (although have they ever been amazing?).

Been followint posts of Happycruiser for years and have never seen any incorrect infromation posted.  Also Jelayne is an excellent source of information.  I was on Constellation in April in a Sky Suite and the service was awesome.  Everything I asked for or needed was taken care of immediately and yes I was contacted about 2 weeks prior to sailing.  As was suggested, "relax"  all we will be wonderful especially if you have a Royal Suite.  I have sailed in a Celebrity Suite and Butler service was above and beyond.  Enjoy your cruise.  I am on Apex September 1 in an AQUA and have found the service there outstanding too.

[samplecd02]

41 minutes ago, Snit13 said:

Been followint posts of Happycruiser for years and have never seen any incorrect infromation posted.  Also Jelayne is an excellent source of information.  I was on Constellation in April in a Sky Suite and the service was awesome.  Everything I asked for or needed was taken care of immediately and yes I was contacted about 2 weeks prior to sailing.  As was suggested, "relax"  all we will be wonderful especially if you have a Royal Suite.  I have sailed in a Celebrity Suite and Butler service was above and beyond.  Enjoy your cruise.  I am on Apex September 1 in an AQUA and have found the service there outstanding too.

Hey Im on the same cruise! I am in a Edge Villa and waiting until 2 wks before if not on the ship to make my reservations.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Marriedonacruise said:

You have to hit option 3 after dialing that number, and then option 2 for everything above a sky suite.  Expect to wait about an hour to reach anyone, and they will only take a message to have your concierge call you, as the odds of your actual concierge answering are very low.  Being in a RS, you don't want to book online since the specialty dining is included.  There have been lots of changes with the shoreside concierges.  I've had 3 different ones in the last month and haven't even cruised yet.  If by chance you are on the Solstice or Beyond, I do have the email addresses for both of those concierges and could post them if needed.  Once you get hold of them, I've found email is the best way to communicate so everything is documented.  Note it does often take them 24-48 hours to respond since some things take time to arrange directly with the ship.

Even that doesn't work.    I've tried numerous times and if the Retreat Representatives are not available you are transferred to the General Sales Line - 

 

Unfortunately for many of us Zenith's the same thing occurs to the Zenith private line.   No one answer and you get put to the end of the line on the General Sales Line.

 

I do have a number of contact from over the years and usually do as above and e-mail.

 

By the way.   Requests can be made for dining but unfortunately a miss again on Celebrity's point.   The reservation system for Specialty isn't open until 24 hours prior to the cruise.   The Retreat Rep puts you on a list and sends it to the Retreat Host on the ship and works to accommodate.    They don't necessarily hold back reservations and my request have been denied in the past until I personally had a word with the Maitr' d who suddenly was able to get me in.

 

If you want a specific reservation date and time I find it safest to book it and pay for it and then have them credit it back to you on the cruise.   Not the way it should work.

[chemmo]

We always email our requests to the shoreside concierge believing written information is less likely to get lost than verbal. We then take a copy of our requests (including dining) so that if the information has not gone through at least the butler has a list ready.

 

Our requests on recent cruises have always been forwarded. We were quite surprised that last time when the shoreside concierge contacted us they did seem to have some prior information (usual spirit choice) so perhaps they keep some general records too…

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 hour ago, Snit13 said:

Been followint posts of Happycruiser for years and have never seen any incorrect infromation posted.  Also Jelayne is an excellent source of information.  I was on Constellation in April in a Sky Suite and the service was awesome.  Everything I asked for or needed was taken care of immediately and yes I was contacted about 2 weeks prior to sailing.  As was suggested, "relax"  all we will be wonderful especially if you have a Royal Suite.  I have sailed in a Celebrity Suite and Butler service was above and beyond.  Enjoy your cruise.  I am on Apex September 1 in an AQUA and have found the service there outstanding too.

 

Thanks for the kind words.  I do try to only post accurate info as many seem to rush in with guesses or inaccurate assumptions.  I've learned lots from other posters over the years and believe in paying it forward.  And, yes, Jelayne is also a good source of information.

 

So, relax and wait for the shoreside concierge to contact you.  You will have a wonderful cruise in your royal suite!

Edited July 16, 2022 by Happy Cruiser 6143

[Host Anne]

Sadly, Celebrity simply doesn't haven sufficient staff to handle the number of calls they get these days. It's no different than contacting any of the airlines higher level loyalty lines.  They are routinely re-directed to general reservations these days.

 

I am positive you'll be able to get whatever specialty restaurant dining you'd like, even if you wait until you board.  They do hold reservations for those in suites so you won't have any issues.

 

By the way, know that the Retreat on Equinox and the Retreat on the Edge-class ships are significantly different (I think you are sailing on Equinox).  While still a lovely experience, the Retreat on the two classes of ships are not alike.  

 

Have a great cruise!

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Wow… how can I thank each one of you? You have restored my faith in sailing with Celebrity.
We have planned our dining reservations so each night is covered. I did read that we should plan for lunch ( lobster roll) and Dinner the first night in Luminae. We really want to sample all that Celebrity Equinox offers. 
So…..I will wait and be patient.

However, I did send my note to the gal mentioned in one of your responses.
Please keep sending me all the information I should know. 
Really looking forward to sailing again!

sheila

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

If, for some ungodly reason, you run into any snags on your specialty dining reservations, know that the maitre d' in Luminae is in touch with all the restaurants and can basically work wonders.  But I predict you will have a fabulous cruise.  What ship are you sailing on?

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Equinox..

 

[Host Anne]

The upside of all of this is that you can be assured that you will be well taken care of when you board Equinox.  While there can be lots of disconnects and phone agents not always being able to assist (many of them are in training as they are new), the onboard experience has always been terrific for us.  We sail Equinox in two weeks.  I'm certain we will have a great experience!

 

 

[George C]

51 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

If, for some ungodly reason, you run into any snags on your specialty dining reservations, know that the maitre d' in Luminae is in touch with all the restaurants and can basically work wonders.  But I predict you will have a fabulous cruise.  What ship are you sailing on?

The maitre d’ in Luminae actually stopped by the steak restaurant to make sure we were ok. ( we were in the penthouse)

[TrulyBlonde]

You are in the RS and will be well taken care of. You should be able to dine in any venue you choose and your butler will make certain of that. Do not fret. Once on board, everything will fall into place 🙂

[RichYak]

3 hours ago, Snit13 said:

Been followint posts of Happycruiser for years and have never seen any incorrect infromation posted.  Also Jelayne is an excellent source of information.

I would second this. Always factual responses based on personal experience.

[Rmoosh]

We were in a Royal on the Solstice in May and received an email about 1-2 months prior to sailing asking about drink preferences and offering to make dinner reservations. Most of our requests were accepted but communication via email was slow and I had to call several times. One night we wanted Murano at 6/6:30 but we offered 8:30 instead. This would be too late for my husband to eat. I found out that after calling they can contact the ship to see if they could accommodate us at 6 - a few days later I got confirmation that we had reservations at 6 like we wanted. Also I’ve heard that every ship has a different shore host.

[bjahil47]

We were in a RS on Equinox in April.  Shoreside Concierge contacted us about 10 days before the cruise.  We already had booked Murano one night and they credited the cost to us.  When we were on board the second day we asked our Retreat Host to get us reservations in Murano and Tuscan.  He came back stating that they could not accommodate us at the time we wanted and had to go later.  
 

We ate most lunches at Sushi on 5 which is excellent!  We never needed a reservation.  
 

Do not forget you also get free gelato!  We also received monogrammed Pajamas.  
 

Enjoy!  

[Jim_Iain]

27 minutes ago, bjahil47 said:

We were in a RS on Equinox in April.  Shoreside Concierge contacted us about 10 days before the cruise.  We already had booked Murano one night and they credited the cost to us.  When we were on board the second day we asked our Retreat Host to get us reservations in Murano and Tuscan.  He came back stating that they could not accommodate us at the time we wanted and had to go later.  
 

We ate most lunches at Sushi on 5 which is excellent!  We never needed a reservation.  
 

Do not forget you also get free gelato!  We also received monogrammed Pajamas.  
 

Enjoy!  

 

I had the same thing happen on Silhouette being told they could not accommodate us at all on the night we requested even though we gave the Retreat Concierge the request.  I would have to blame it on the Concierge because he forgot to book it when I first requested.  The other concierge and I went and talked to the Maitr' D and he was able to accommodate.   She was unlike her partner a Super Star of a Concierge.   I'm still in contact with her.

 

Murano was only half filled which made me wonder why all the drama.    I later understood they were having a Chef's Table Dinner and were pulling seating so they could properly handle the extra demands of the dinner.

[chemmo]

Having chatted with F and B managers over the years as well as numerous M’Ds they do appreciate suite guests pre booking the speciality restaurants, especially if you want to dine at peak times. We have found this to be particularly true in Murano on S class where often the last two nights of a cruise they can genuinely be fully booked. 
 

We tend to pre book all the nights we ‘think’ we want then once on board if we want/need to make changes we do…Usually on a 10 night cruise we may juggle a time to fit in with a special event and have swapped venues if dining with others or another reason. We find if they know we are coming and are ‘regulars’ they will ensure they put us on a table in an area we like and occasionally offer to make us a special meal.