Upper Suite Benefits

[behtyas]

On 11/23/2022 at 9:05 AM, 4-2-N-8 said:

Are all shoreside concierge staff equally effective, efficient, and reliability service oriented? Is it one person assigned per ship or is it multiple people handling multiple ships? TY.

 

At least for the Beyond, two are assigned. It could be because Terrikka and Ginelys had/have vacations this month, but I can't say for sure.

[Gracie115]

5 hours ago, Spurschick said:

 

yes unlimited dining included. CK we tried for one breakfast and never went back to say it was slow is an understatement and it wasn’t even busy. The main difference with CK is you have to book dinner unlike Luminae where you can just turn up. 

 

 

We were on Harmony last year too in a Sky Loft suite and never had to make reservations at CK for dinner and never had long waits for breakfast.  

 

Each cruise is different and as the months go by crew changes as does service/quality.   We were very happy with CK, no it's not Luminae, but it's light years ahead of MDR on Royal.  

 

 

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

11 hours ago, behtyas said:

 

Very interesting, and MUCH different experience than we had on Harmony traveling as a couple in the RLS and with our Genie. Sure, he was looking after the other guests but if we ever needed something, it was done. There were a few cases where we could see he was spending a lot more time with his other guests so we didn't have as much of a "personal" connection, but the level of service he provided us completely masked that "bias" in his attention.

 

For example, I sent him a message asking if we could possibly get lunch at Izumi. He said it was closed for the sushi making class, but would check. 10 minutes later he asks if we can be there ASAP (was towards the end of lunch time), so we headed down. Personally met by him and the Izumi manager who put us at a table and he (the Izumi manager) acted as our waiter.

 

Another day, my wife wanted to see about doing the skating, he again was able to get us in even though they were having a private session.

 

I would echo what a lot of others have said about RCL's Genies, sometimes you get "lucky" and have a fantastic one that will do absolutely anything and everything in their power (including asking for favors) to fulfill your requests.

 

We actually had a much different experience with our Butler on the Edge in a PH. While he was great, there were some hiccups, confusion, and a few other issues along the way.

 

At the end of the day, I think the experience for either RCL's Genies/Star Class or Celebrity Butlers comes down to their service, and your working with them. If either of those parts are lackluster, you end up with an entirely different experience than someone else!

 

All that said, we chose to go back to Celebrity because comparing the experience between RCL in an RLS and Celebrity in a PH on the Edge, it was just a MUCH nicer experience with Celebrity all around - ignoring the Genie/Butlers.

 

Just my two cents!

Good detail, and as you point out, "working with them" (and I agree) is always important with service staff. 

[BDL]

14 hours ago, behtyas said:

 

At least for the Beyond, two are assigned. It could be because Terrikka and Ginelys had/have vacations this month, but I can't say for sure.

Do you know if Terrikka is on vacation this week?  We have her for our Reflection cruise in a RS.  I sent an email last Sunday with some questions and haven't heard back.  Since we have another week before our cruise (Dec 4th) I figured I'd wait until Monday or Tuesday to call and talk with someone else.  So far she's been lovely to work with. 

[Cruising89143]

10 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

We were on Harmony last year too in a Sky Loft suite and never had to make reservations at CK for dinner and never had long waits for breakfast.  

 

Each cruise is different and as the months go by crew changes as does service/quality.   We were very happy with CK, no it's not Luminae, but it's light years ahead of MDR on Royal.  

 

 

We were on the Symphony a few weeks ago and reservations was required for dinner each evening. Now that ships are sailing full and with the addition of JS and Pinnacle having access to CK, reservations are a must. Ship was sold out with over 6000 guests on board. We found the food good and as stated a nice step up over the MDR. Lunch wasn’t bad either and anything to be able to skip the dreaded WJ. 

[Gracie115]

Just now, cruisingator2 said:

We were on the Symphony a few weeks ago and reservations was required for dinner each evening. Now that ships are sailing full and with the addition of JS and Pinnacle having access to CK, reservations are a must. Ship was sold out with over 6000 guests on board. We found the food good and as stated a nice step up over the MDR. Lunch wasn’t bad either and anything to be able to skip the dreaded WJ. 

 

When we were on Harmony the suites were all full, but the rest of the ship was near empty.  JS were allowed then too for dinner only and had to make reservations.  We did tell the hostess the first night we wanted to dine between 6 & 6:30 each evening so perhaps they took that as a reservation.  We always went to the lounge side and had a drink before dinner and just walked over to the dining when ready.  We liked CK on the Harmony, but liked it a lot more on the Anthem.  It was a larger venue and not combined with the suite lounge as it is on Harmony. 

[SusieAV8R]

On 11/24/2022 at 9:34 AM, 4-2-N-8 said:

And that I understand. 

 

I'm trying out Celebrity in the coming months and I have no baseline from before. Hopefully, it's filled with good memories.

 

Not at all looking to anger anyone. Heck, the world just got through a pandemic.

 

It ain't (and I do mean "ain't") the old way for so much in life.

 

Just a different, and perhaps less stressful alternative view, even if I am paying full price for specific cabins with what I think have decent balconies, the so-called EVs.

 

Also, truth be told, I do not have an emotional support goose. Those things are way too noisy.

 

However, I do have a support cobra. The concentration it takes me to avoid being bitten allows for little time to think (or worry) about much else. I traded being an emotional wreck for insomnia, and I know that thing is around here somewhere!

 

Is there a bar on the boat, and preferably nearby? I just want a good bourbon drink. And a sunset. Maybe two. 😅

LLL.....laughing like a loon!  (00p!  Didn't.t mean to insult loons.)

[behtyas]

7 hours ago, BDL said:

Do you know if Terrikka is on vacation this week?  We have her for our Reflection cruise in a RS.  I sent an email last Sunday with some questions and haven't heard back.  Since we have another week before our cruise (Dec 4th) I figured I'd wait until Monday or Tuesday to call and talk with someone else.  So far she's been lovely to work with. 

 

She was on vacation until the 22rd. I'm sure she's likely working through all of her emails, so hopefully you'll hear from her soon!

[Cruising89143]

On 11/25/2022 at 1:18 PM, BDL said:

Do you know if Terrikka is on vacation this week?  We have her for our Reflection cruise in a RS.  I sent an email last Sunday with some questions and haven't heard back.  Since we have another week before our cruise (Dec 4th) I figured I'd wait until Monday or Tuesday to call and talk with someone else.  So far she's been lovely to work with. 

Terrikka emailed us last Tuesday 11/22 about our upcoming trip. She took over from Zora who initially reached out to us. So far she seems to be handling things well. 

[BDL]

1 minute ago, cruisingator2 said:

Terrikka emailed us last Tuesday 11/22 about our upcoming trip. She took over from Zora who initially reached out to us. So far she seems to be handling things well. 

I sent her an email on the 20th with some questions. I followed up with another email today because we had to cancel our daughter in our cabin.  (She's got a sick pup at home and can't put her in boarding).  Some of my questions in the earlier email were regarding gluten free options for my daughter.  No need for those answers now.

If I don't hear back from her tomorrow I'll call her on Wednesday.  Nothing critical but we did want to schedule dining.  She must be very busy.  No worries

[BDL]

Since I hadn't had a response from Terrikka since the 20th I decided to call her.  She had no idea who I am (my emails were sent to her) and says my concierge is now Edwin. She says he will call me back shortly.   

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

52 minutes ago, BDL said:

Since I hadn't had a response from Terrikka since the 20th I decided to call her.  She had no idea who I am (my emails were sent to her) and says my concierge is now Edwin. She says he will call me back shortly.   

 

Good luck 

 

Tom

[jelayne]

On 11/25/2022 at 3:18 PM, BDL said:

Do you know if Terrikka is on vacation this week?  We have her for our Reflection cruise in a RS.  I sent an email last Sunday with some questions and haven't heard back.  Since we have another week before our cruise (Dec 4th) I figured I'd wait until Monday or Tuesday to call and talk with someone else.  So far she's been lovely to work with. 

We are on the Solstice on 12/3 and originally were contacted by Zora. Then last Tuesday we got a email from Terrika saying that she was stepping in for Zora and had handled our requests.  So it’s possible that Terrika was/is covering both the Reflection & Solstice for a time.

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

We are on the Solstice on 12/3 and originally were contacted by Zora. Then last Tuesday we got a email from Terrika saying that she was stepping in for Zora and had handled our requests.  So it’s possible that Terrika was/is covering both the Reflection & Solstice for a time.

This is starting to sound like a "Who's on First" situation. 

[Spurschick]

I had an email from Ginelys the other day saying she was going on vacation and to contact Terrika. I emailed Terrika Friday and had a response Saturday morning.

[SusieAV8R]

1 hour ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

This is starting to sound like a "Who's on First" situation. 

And since this thread deals with RS & PH Pax, X should get this situation under control.  These folks can take their money elsewhere. 🙂

[prmssk]

4 hours ago, BDL said:

Since I hadn't had a response from Terrikka since the 20th I decided to call her.  She had no idea who I am (my emails were sent to her) and says my concierge is now Edwin. She says he will call me back shortly.   

Edwin is who I dealt with for my Constellation cruise early this month although someone else on this thread who I believe cruised shortly after me on the Constellation mentioned dealing with a female concierge.

 

If they are shuffling concierges like this it's no wonder they aren't always the most responsive.

[BDL]

23 minutes ago, SusieAV8R said:

And since this thread deals with RS & PH Pax, X should get this situation under control.  These folks can take their money elsewhere. 🙂

Exactly!  We recently did an MSC Yacht Club and it was wonderful.  We booked this RS due to having some future cruise credit that was expiring at the end of the year.  Edwin didn't know which night would be the first chic night or which of the three La Petit menus were which nights.  They should have this information if they also say we should book specialty dining in advance to ensure time availability.

 

Last time we did a RS we didn't really take advantage of the unlimited specialty dining.  We decided we wanted to do more of that this time.  

[Cruising89143]

54 minutes ago, BDL said:

Exactly!  We recently did an MSC Yacht Club and it was wonderful.  We booked this RS due to having some future cruise credit that was expiring at the end of the year.  Edwin didn't know which night would be the first chic night or which of the three La Petit menus were which nights.  They should have this information if they also say we should book specialty dining in advance to ensure time availability.

 

Last time we did a RS we didn't really take advantage of the unlimited specialty dining.  We decided we wanted to do more of that this time.  

Check the app and pull up LePetit Chef. We found that the menus changed and the one that we liked was much later in the cruise. 

[canderson]

2 hours ago, BDL said:

... or which of the three La Petit menus were which nights...

To be fair, we've experienced this consistently through our 2021/22 cruises.  Best thing is to consult with the onboard Retreat concierge who will have the schedule for the current cruise and can book the reservations for you.

[prmssk]

8 hours ago, canderson said:

To be fair, we've experienced this consistently through our 2021/22 cruises.  Best thing is to consult with the onboard Retreat concierge who will have the schedule for the current cruise and can book the reservations for you.

I realize my experience doesn’t appear to be the norm, but after my last experience of there being limited availability to switch a reservation onboard, I’m not sure I would recommend waiting to book.

[jagoffee]

5 hours ago, prmssk said:

I realize my experience doesn’t appear to be the norm, but after my last experience of there being limited availability to switch a reservation onboard, I’m not sure I would recommend waiting to book.

Are you saying you were having trouble changing a reservation for LePetit Chef?  On a recent 10 day Silhouette cruise they had three different versions.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

17 hours ago, BDL said:

Exactly!  We recently did an MSC Yacht Club and it was wonderful.  We booked this RS due to having some future cruise credit that was expiring at the end of the year.  Edwin didn't know which night would be the first chic night or which of the three La Petit menus were which nights.  They should have this information if they also say we should book specialty dining in advance to ensure time availability.

 

Last time we did a RS we didn't really take advantage of the unlimited specialty dining.  We decided we wanted to do more of that this time.  

 

Just book it when you get on board.  Either your butler or the suite concierge can easily handle it for you.

 

Don't know why they are shuffling the shoreside concierges around.  I had an excellent one for my last two Summit cruises.  Now she is handling different ships.

 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

5 hours ago, prmssk said:

I realize my experience doesn’t appear to be the norm, but after my last experience of there being limited availability to switch a reservation onboard, I’m not sure I would recommend waiting to book.

 

I had no problem booking specialty restaurants on board on my last two Summit cruises.

[prmssk]

17 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Are you saying you were having trouble changing a reservation for LePetit Chef?  On a recent 10 day Silhouette cruise they had three different versions.

 

12 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I had no problem booking specialty restaurants on board on my last two Summit cruises.

 

In our case, it was a Tuscan Grill reservation we wanted to change on the Constellation.  Even though we were trying to make the change with one of the Retreat Concierges immediately upon boarding, there was very limited availability and it didn't seem to matter that we were in the penthouse.  We ultimately ended up eating much later than we wanted.

 

Like I said, based on others reports, I don't think this is normal for those sailing in upper suites.  My point is that if it happened to us, it could happen to others so if there are reservations you really want, I recommend making them pre-cruise.