Is Celebrity going to Eliminate Butlers on Sky and Celebrity Suites?

[CalTexCruiser]

13 minutes ago, cruisefam38 said:

 I can imagine those little robots rolling around with coffee perched on their little flat heads.

The doorbell rings, the passenger opens the door, the robot says, "Greetings Cabin 9017, here is your morning coffee, cream, no sugar.  Have a good day."

 

 

No need to imagine robots rolling around.  In many Asian buffet restaurants (both here in the US and in Asia) where customers are able to order specific items from their phones while sitting at the tables, these robots are already delivering food items.

 

It won't be long before robots are able to deliver room service on ships after you've placed orders from your app or called the room service chatbot.

 

The Retreat Team will include both humans and robots to make for a streamlined experience for Celebrity's valued customers.

[lesliehr]

Boarding Eclipse today in Vancouver.  Family bucket-list trip with 3 Sky Suites for 7 of us.  Husband retiring soon, so this is a one and done trip.  Really played up the butler amenity to our adult kids….a lot riding ( money and otherwise) on this trip.  Want it to be perfect.

[OysterD]

4 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

No need to imagine robots rolling around.  In many Asian buffet restaurants (both here in the US and in Asia) where customers are able to order specific items from their phones while sitting at the tables, these robots are already delivering food items.

 

It won't be long before robots are able to deliver room service on ships after you've placed orders from your app or called the room service chatbot.

 

The Retreat Team will include both humans and robots to make for a streamlined experience for Celebrity's valued customers.

 

They could do it right now if they wanted...here in the UK we have a smaller supermarket/corner shop chain who has introduced robots which can deliver shopping to your door. These (or smaller version) could easily be introduced on ships! 

 

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, lesliehr said:

Boarding Eclipse today in Vancouver.  Family bucket-list trip with 3 Sky Suites for 7 of us.  Husband retiring soon, so this is a one and done trip.  Really played up the butler amenity to our adult kids….a lot riding ( money and otherwise) on this trip.  Want it to be perfect.

It sounds like the changes will not go into effect until mid-August so you should be just fine.

[CalTexCruiser]

2 minutes ago, OysterD said:

 

LOL.  Welcome the new Retreat Team.  Please stay out of the way while they are buzzing down the hallways delivering to our valuable suite customers.

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by CalTexCruiser

[CalTexCruiser]

More photos of your new Retreat Team

[zitsky]

24 minutes ago, OysterD said:

But how I look at things, from an efficiency standpoint, a team should be able to provide a better service. 

 

I don't know how many suites shared the same butler, it's largely irrelevant but let's say there were 10 suites per butler. Butler A has suites 1-10 and Butler B is given suites 11-20. Passengers in Suites 1-5 are very demanding, 6-10 also make certain requests, but passengers in suites 11-20 never have any use for a butler. Having only butler A assigned to 1-10 means he is run ragged and passengers 1-10 receive slow or poor service whereas butler B is sat doing nothing. If you combine them into a team and share the load, but without a dedicated named butler to those suites, passengers 1-10 get what they request from either A or B. 

 

This sounds to me exactly like what Celebrity are proposing according to the post you were replying to, in other words what Celebrity have said they are doing. 

 

And if it is the case that that's what they're doing, it makes this whole premature outrage and 15 pages of moaning before any official announcements were made, completely redundant! 

It’s funny that you expect an official announcement.  I remember when I was that young.  I also believed in the tooth fairy.  😂

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, CalTexCruiser said:

More photos of your new Retreat Team

Please tell me those two trays are for me and that they’re not serving someone else at the same time?  I need my food warm.  😭😭😭

[The German Guys]

Of course, you can survive without a butler. But if you pay for an adventure where it was included then you can definitely expect the service to be provided. 

 

We are just now on the Beyond in a CS. I was shocked to learn from the butler that we are provided with water daily, but if we take a Coke, beer or another water from the minibar we would be charged!! With the included premium drink package we can have almost everything in every bar and restaurant. But a Coke from the minibar will be charged. This is unbelievable! 

 

Furthermore, on our sea day it was almost impossible to get two loungers. Finally, there were just two left. At noon!

 

We have just one more Celebrity Cruise on our list among of a total of 7 booked future cruises. We very much hope we still have access to Luminea for dinner without paying an upcharge being only in a RS at that time. After the recent changes, I can imagine everything…

 

Sorry Celebrity, you want to be different but not with us in that way…

[terrydtx]

I have seen posts hear from CC members who never book suites and have expressed little to no empathy about losing a butler service that was promised when we booked. I wonder how they felt back in January when Celebrity decided to charge for room service in non-suites, something they were promised when they booked? I remember the huge firestorm on CC over this decision.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

31 minutes ago, OysterD said:

But how I look at things, from an efficiency standpoint, a team should be able to provide a better service. 

 

 

And if it is the case that that's what they're doing, it makes this whole premature outrage and 15 pages of moaning before any official announcements were made, completely redundant! 

Possibly a team could be more efficient in your scenario. 

The premature outrage is because Celebrity no longer makes official announcements until well after the fact, if even then. 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

5 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I have seen posts hear from CC members who never book suites and have expressed little to no empathy about losing a butler service that was promised when we booked. I wonder how they felt back in January when Celebrity decided to charge for room service in non-suites, something they were promised when they booked? I remember the huge firestorm on CC over this decision.

So do I. We book suites but not SS. The fact that the butler issue will not impact us right now does not mean that I don't feel bad for people in a Sky Suite who was looking forward to that butler experience. I still remember Boris, the first butler we had in our first SS 11 years ago.

Edited July 30, 2023 by CHEZMARYLOU

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, The German Guys said:

Of course, you can survive without a butler. But if you pay for an adventure where it was included then you can definitely expect the service to be provided. 

 

We are just now on the Beyond in a CS. I was shocked to learn from the butler that we are provided with water daily, but if we take a Coke, beer or another water from the minibar we would be charged!! With the included premium drink package we can have almost everything in every bar and restaurant. But a Coke from the minibar will be charged. This is unbelievable! 

 

Furthermore, on our sea day it was almost impossible to get two loungers. Finally, there were just two left. At noon!

 

We have just one more Celebrity Cruise on our list among of a total of 7 booked future cruises. We very much hope we still have access to Luminea for dinner without paying an upcharge being only in a RS at that time. After the recent changes, I can imagine everything…

 

Sorry Celebrity, you want to be different but not with us in that way…

Have you asked your butler about the changes in butler service?

[cruisefam38]

10 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

More photos of your new Retreat Team

The robots you offer as examples are the very automatons I was referencing.  The photos are illustrative.

 

[C4HCG]

12 minutes ago, The German Guys said:

Of course, you can survive without a butler. But if you pay for an adventure where it was included then you can definitely expect the service to be provided. 

 

We are just now on the Beyond in a CS. I was shocked to learn from the butler that we are provided with water daily, but if we take a Coke, beer or another water from the minibar we would be charged!! With the included premium drink package we can have almost everything in every bar and restaurant. But a Coke from the minibar will be charged. This is unbelievable! 

 

Furthermore, on our sea day it was almost impossible to get two loungers. Finally, there were just two left. At noon!

 

We have just one more Celebrity Cruise on our list among of a total of 7 booked future cruises. We very much hope we still have access to Luminea for dinner without paying an upcharge being only in a RS at that time. After the recent changes, I can imagine everything…

 

Sorry Celebrity, you want to be different but not with us in that way…

But you can replace the drinks from any bar and be charged nothing.

Edited July 30, 2023 by C4HCG

[C4HCG]

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I have seen posts hear from CC members who never book suites and have expressed little to no empathy about losing a butler service that was promised when we booked. I wonder how they felt back in January when Celebrity decided to charge for room service in non-suites, something they were promised when they booked? I remember the huge firestorm on CC over this decision.

Fair point but taken on the chin and move on.

[zitsky]

I’m on a team of project managers.  Yes we share the workload.  But if we know a customer we often get their repeat business.  

[cruisefam38]

47 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

And when I ask the robot for a Gin and Tonic

I would hope that on a British Isle cruise, or for any cruise originating in and around the UK, G&Ts will be programmed in to the menu. 

Please, terrydtx, do bring silicon chips to tip your server

[cruisefam38]

20 minutes ago, The German Guys said:

We are just now on the Beyond in a CS

Wishing for you to have a most enjoyable cruise.

[Spif Barwunkel]

We are not suite dwellers when we cruise. We have always been quite satisfied with balcony/IV cabins. Obviously, I cannot relate to the dismay and uncertainty which is now being felt by Celebrity’s suite guests, but I can certainly understand their agitation. Another real-time unannounced alteration to the cruising familiarity, leaving those good folks to ponder the sudden lurch backward in providing the expected perks of the suite experience and expense.

 

Celebrity has once again decided to make changes without pre-notification to its paying customers. Perfectly legal, as we all know, and in their minds justified, another example of the disregard for many of the guests. This does not directly affect me, just as vaping in the casino does not since I neither vape nor gamble. It does, however, give me pause for concern. Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before my cruising expectations are directly permutated by X’s need to modify another area of its presentation and product. Dare I say, for the better? Time will tell.    

[cublet]

41 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

No need to imagine robots rolling around.  In many Asian buffet restaurants (both here in the US and in Asia) where customers are able to order specific items from their phones while sitting at the tables, these robots are already delivering food items.

 

It won't be long before robots are able to deliver room service on ships after you've placed orders from your app or called the room service chatbot.

 

The Retreat Team will include both humans and robots to make for a streamlined experience for Celebrity's valued customers.

Hello,

 

I know you lot look upon us in the motherland as the relatives that time forgot, but here is a picture of a waiter in one of my local Chinese restaurants. I tip in lubricating oil.

 

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[Sabbycat]

19 hours ago, Orator said:

They've eliminated loyalty benefits, added higher prices, reduced the quality of food and still people book. What do you think? 

We have our future sailings scheduled on Oceania and Azamara. We find both a better value. Our upcoming Oceania cruise in a Penthouse suite is $200 less per night even with the full alcohol pkg added. And Azamara is difficult to compare, but we really love their product. After that we are looking at Viking. My DH was particularly unimpressed with out last X experience in Retreat. He would be even less impressed without a butler. Although Host Andy on his FB pg has indicated there will be a pool of butlers for Sky Suites to share, rather than none at all.

[Sabbycat]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

Ok I’ll patiently wait by the phone for Celebrity to call me about this.  Will I be waiting long?

Apparently there is not plan to advise everyone booked in a sky suite.

[cruisefam38]

3 minutes ago, cublet said:

a waiter in one of my local Chinese restaurants

I see three levels of trays, and no retractable or articulating arms, the customer takes the food and places it on the table themselves, is that about right, cublet?

[Spurs Fans]

5 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

I know you lot look upon us in the motherland as the relatives that time forgot, but here is a picture of a waiter in one of my local Chinese restaurants. I tip in lubricating oil.

 

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

We stayed at the Residence Inn in Beverly Hills a few years back.  Called down for some extra towels and they were delivered by a robot.  Crazy times we live in.