Retreat suite levels

[canderson]

1 hour ago, bjahil47 said:

Correct.  I was just stating that to the poster who stated her daughter was in SS and not contacted yet by shoreside concierge.  Although I did just get an email asking me my preferences for our upcoming cruise in a SS.  

Indeed.  We've noted a few instances in these threads, though not many, of SS pax being contacted pre-cruise by shoreside.

[canderson]

10 hours ago, chemmo said:

I think several of those invitations may still be quite restricted at present. The bridge tours and invites to dine with the Captain or another officer don’t seem to have recently been reported...

 

I do suggest that you make sure that the concierge knows you are travelling as a party...

Yes, we noted this in November when in a RS on Constellation.  We'd done these things already, several times on Constellation, so likely would have passed on some invites, and assumed it was a 'COVID thing' during the restart.  

 

However, officers aren't hunkering down now, and the bridge is open to Behind the Scenes tours again.

 

This will be our daughter's 3rd, and SIL's first cruise, so hoping we can make it extra special for them while they're still easily impressible 😄

[danceswithphones]

1 hour ago, flviking said:

Is there a suites lounge area at Celebrity's second berth at Port Everglades?

Nothing special there when we boarded at the secondary terminal in 2014. I believe it was designated T29. We've also boarded at T4 in 2016. Both were PH on the Constellation. Both times we were escorted directly to Michael's. Never even sat down in the terminal. Photo is from the master bath looking south from T29. Looking forward to Retreat boarding at T25 in November. 

 

[danceswithphones]

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

there is absolutely no cover in the balcony

There is slightly more cover on the Beyond due to the addition of Deck 17. We decided for the EV over the PH because of the overhang. PH balcony looked small and dark. Plunge pool sealed the deal! 

[flviking]

34 minutes ago, danceswithphones said:

Nothing special there when we boarded at the secondary terminal in 2014. I believe it was designated T29. We've also boarded at T4 in 2016. Both were PH on the Constellation. Both times we were escorted directly to Michael's. Never even sat down in the terminal. Photo is from the master bath looking south from T29. Looking forward to Retreat boarding at T25 in November. 

 

We did the Retreat boarding at 25. We drive to the port ourselves. Missed the suites luggage drop off as the sign was obscured by a law enforcement vehicle parked in front of it. Other than that it was a nice change. 

[danceswithphones]

15 minutes ago, flviking said:

Other than that it was a nice change. 

We last sailed from Port Everglades from T2 (Owner's Suite/Sky Princess). They had an area designated for Platinum/Elite. Seems that darned near everyone on that sailing was one or the other. Nothing special for suite guests. Crowded and hot in the waiting area. Won't do that again. Missed having a butler. 

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

2 hours ago, LMHSRN said:

I believe emails count as a contact....You were asked your preferences.

My preference is to steer the ship. Short of that, a good bottle of Scotch will do nicely. 

[jagoffee]

7 hours ago, danceswithphones said:

There is slightly more cover on the Beyond due to the addition of Deck 17. We decided for the EV over the PH because of the overhang. PH balcony looked small and dark. Plunge pool sealed the deal! 

That is good.  My experience was on the Apex.  

Edited September 16, 2022 by jagoffee

[SusieAV8R]

19 hours ago, morfred said:

And you won't. This is primarily for RS and PH.

I concur, from our experience.  Once, while booked in CS, shoreside concierge contacted us but he admitted that was due to him looking at our history of cruising in RS.

[SusieAV8R]

10 hours ago, flviking said:

Is there a suites lounge area at Celebrity's second berth at Port Everglades? We are in Royal Suite on Reflection but Beyond is also in port so they likely get Terminal 25.  Any experience on the embarkation process when we are in the tier 2 berth?

 

9 hours ago, LMHSRN said:

I believe emails count as a contact....You were asked your preferences.

 

10 hours ago, flviking said:

Is there a suites lounge area at Celebrity's second berth at Port Everglades? We are in Royal Suite on Reflection but Beyond is also in port so they likely get Terminal 25.  Any experience on the embarkation process when we are in the tier 2 berth?

Based on our post-Covid experience, RS & PH guests were taken directly onboard (and to your suite if you wanted) when you arrived at the terminal, after check-in.

[LGW59]

28 minutes ago, SusieAV8R said:

I concur, from our experience.  Once, while booked in CS, shoreside concierge contacted us but he admitted that was due to him looking at our history of cruising in RS.

Does this also apply to Edge Villa on EClass?

[SusieAV8R]

Just now, LGW59 said:

Does this also apply to Edge Villa on EClass?

Should have been specific.  Experience, post covid, is M-class.

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, SusieAV8R said:

Should have been specific.  Experience, post covid, is M-class.

Oh no worries at all, thank you.  Hope you had a lovely cruise, so looking forward to mine next month on EDGE.

[flviking]

1 minute ago, SusieAV8R said:

Should have been specific.  Experience, post covid, is M-class.

We were left on our own to board and find our room on Edge RS boarding from the suites lounge. First world problem to be sure. 

[SusieAV8R]

4 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Oh no worries at all, thank you.  Hope you had a lovely cruise, so looking forward to mine next month on EDGE.

Post covid, we have cruise PH.  Am not complaining about being spoiled.  Can you post your boarding experience on the Edge when you return?  In the meantime, have a fabulous cruise!!

[SusieAV8R]

9 minutes ago, flviking said:

We were left on our own to board and find our room on Edge RS boarding from the suites lounge. First world problem to be sure. 

It is great to learn about the different experiences with different ship classes through guests sharing their experiences on CC.  thank you all so much!  🙂

[LGW59]

21 minutes ago, SusieAV8R said:

Post covid, we have cruise PH.  Am not complaining about being spoiled.  Can you post your boarding experience on the Edge when you return?  In the meantime, have a fabulous cruise!!

Sure will

[flviking]

Lest it seem like I complained I’m really thrilled my career choices let us discuss RS vs Ss and escorted vs not escorted. I pinch myself having these choices and discussions.

[danceswithphones]

56 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Does this also apply to Edge Villa on EClass?

Yes. EV falls between RS and PH. Same Captain's Club points as a PH (18 per day).

[George C]

I loved how I was treated on all my celebrity suite cruises, our upcoming sky suite will be a little smaller than our previous two suites in penthouse and royal suites, i on occasion had better butlers in sky than higher suites. 

[LGW59]

42 minutes ago, danceswithphones said:

Yes. EV falls between RS and PH. Same Captain's Club points as a PH (18 per day).

Thank you.  I certainly don’t cruise enough for points to really matter, but you never know!  I’ll be in EV, first time at that level, previous was a SS, so very excited for the entire experience.

[wineoclock]

5 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

I concur, from our experience.  Once, while booked in CS, shoreside concierge contacted us but he admitted that was due to him looking at our history of cruising in RS.

We may find the same as we have been PH previously. I will report back if we do. 

[chemmo]

4 hours ago, George C said:

I loved how I was treated on all my celebrity suite cruises, our upcoming sky suite will be a little smaller than our previous two suites in penthouse and royal suites, i on occasion had better butlers in sky than higher suites. 

Yes, I think the personality and experience of the individual staff member makes a difference too.

 

I also think how you act to your butler makes a difference also.  We always try to remember it is a shared butler service and if we want something a bit special arranged we always try to give 24 hours warning. We also always ask if something is possible rather than expect….Much as we now enjoy having a butler do some fetching and carrying for us as our mobility is less good than it was we always try not to ask for anything we can easily do ourselves. For example, if we fancy a final drink on our balcony we don’t have in our suite we will bring it back ourselves rather than unnecessarily disturb the butler.
 

Once or twice we have come across suite guests who quite simply are over demanding….A couple of examples…

 

A RS guest complaining to the concierge that breakfast was served 5 minutes late!

 

We heard a neighbouring RS guest yelling at a butler in the hallway that he expected the butler to get him a full breakfast despite the fact breakfast service had ended.

 

A PH guest complaining to the concierge that he expected the butler to be in his room within five minutes of phoning. When the concierge explained that the short delay was during peak breakfast service and that the butler had apologised for his delay the response was “If I am paying Penthouse prices I expect my needs to come first”.

 

It is sad that one or two people can put stress and pressure on staff with a hard job. Also sad that over demanding guests can impact on the service of fellow suite guests.

[wineoclock]

That’s outrageous. However when we were in Connie PH there was a large family group PH & 2 RS & we ended up sharing our butler with them. We didn’t complain but it did affect how our butler was. 

[danceswithphones]

11 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Thank you.  I certainly don’t cruise enough for points to really matter, but you never know!  I’ll be in EV, first time at that level, previous was a SS, so very excited for the entire experience.

You never can tell. I will Elite after my sailing in November. 4th cruise with X.