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

[wineoclock]

@clojacks I don’t do FB, the red place or Elon’s new place. I post here & another site unrelated to cruise ships. So I’ve no idea about elsewhere & wouldn’t know where to start so I’m grateful to the posters here otherwise I wouldn’t have a clue.
edit (Apologies if I’ve inadvertently mentioned sites I’m not allowed to)
 

@cw2go that’s a useful list thank you. I will compose an email tomorrow to concierge & to my celebrity travel agent. I will also send to HO once I’ve scrolled back! 

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by wineoclock

[goofysmom99]

I no longer sail in suites (previously either SS or CS; RS and above too $$),  Now I choose veranda cabins.  Nevertheless, I'm unhappy about the Team Butler plan. It goes along with the angst I've felt this year from Oceanview dinner cut backs, MDR cutbacks, prime rib/talapia brouhaha, room service fee, and vaping.  I doubt I've ever written as many "concerned" emails in my entre life as I have to Celebrity management since January.  In the words of the immortal Roseanne Roseannadanna:  "It's always something." 

[Robert de Beaumont]

13 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Well said, Patty.  I remember the outcry when all those cuts were made and like you, they didn't impact me much.  But a diminished product hurts all of us regardless of who is most immediately impacted.

 

You bring up a refreshed list of changes since January and, in my opinion, none are for the better.  It was only a matter of time before changes were directed toward the  suite life and I guess that time is now here.  

 

Food cuts, buffet offerings, room service charges, vaping in the casino, butler changes...all in a matter of half a year!  We need to keep the list at the forefront...sadly, Celebrity is not the cruise line I fell in love with just a few years ago.

I agree. It pains me to see them harm the brand, while charging more.  This latest move must surely increase the guest to crew ratio.  It might be time to look to Silversea, Regent or Seabourn. 

[wineoclock]

4 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

I usually stay out of these threads due to the lack of unverified fluff that gets thrown as fact, but what I do know...

 

There is a TA call (that has been scheduled for a few weeks) the on August 15th.  

 

On the technology front, in early 2022 there was a suite program in beta testing for all suite categories that allowed you to text your Personal Retreat Host (as it was named at the time). There hasn't been any mention of it in a while. I do hope they would incorporate something along those lines into your access to this new team.

If you are party to the call, would you be able to share the result here please,  if you are allowed to? Thank you 

[C 2 C]

Frankly my dear I just don't give ....

 

 In my opinion, nothing "they" do to any suite passenger will compare to the ostracism of Zeniths from Michael's Club and the Retreat that loyal passengers had enjoyed as a benefit for sailing repeatedly for decades.  No one cares unless they personally feels the knife cut.  It's a business determined to maximize the results for stockholders.  Until the masses start abandoning ship, the people in charge are doing what they have been hired to do.  Suck it up buttercups. 😂

[zitsky]

6 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

Frankly my dear I just don't give ....

 

 In my opinion, nothing "they" do to any suite passenger will compare to the ostracism of Zeniths from Michael's Club and the Retreat that loyal passengers had enjoyed as a benefit for sailing repeatedly for decades.  No one cares unless they personally feels the knife cut.  It's a business determined to maximize the results for stockholders.  Until the masses start abandoning ship, the people in charge are doing what they have been hired to do.  Suck it up buttercups. 😂

Did you suck it up?

[Joker54]

55 minutes ago, clojacks said:

. I might suggest all of you disrespected Suite passengers start a private group on the other social media site instead of trying to foster sympathy from the 90% of us who will possibly never get to sail in suites.

Interesting observations.

 

I checked the topic subject and have read most of the posts and have yet to find an entry asking for sympathy from anyone or any group.

 

if you don’t think you will ever sail in a suite why are you reading this thread?

[Robert de Beaumont]

12 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

Frankly my dear I just don't give ....

 

 In my opinion, nothing "they" do to any suite passenger will compare to the ostracism of Zeniths from Michael's Club and the Retreat that loyal passengers had enjoyed as a benefit for sailing repeatedly for decades.  No one cares unless they personally feels the knife cut.  It's a business determined to maximize the results for stockholders.  Until the masses start abandoning ship, the people in charge are doing what they have been hired to do.  Suck it up buttercups. 😂

Snark aside, you’re correct, naturally.  Voting with one’s feet is the most effective response. Well, this buttercup’s boots are made for walking. 

[C 2 C]

21 minutes ago, Robert de Beaumont said:

Snark aside, you’re correct, naturally.  Voting with one’s feet is the most effective response. Well, this buttercup’s boots are made for walking. 

Despite being on the outside looking in, we're still sailing faithfully.  The quality of the food, service in MDR  (Luminae and Blu are not in our budget) and the entertainment are more important.  However I'm speculating whether the Retreat Team butlers will still give priority seating to Zs in the theatre among the buttercups.  I hope a few thorns won't upset them much.

[clojacks]

16 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Do you cruise?  Do you realize there are people who can’t afford it?

 

Do you own a home or drive a car?  Do you realize there are people who can’t afford those?

 

Do you apologize to people who have less than you?

 

I didn’t “get” to travel in a suite.  I worked many long hours until I could afford it.

 

Interesting how I specifically said "most don't come across as elite", yet it appears that some in here sure felt the target was on their back?

[clojacks]

19 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Do you cruise?  Do you realize there are people who can’t afford it?

 

Do you own a home or drive a car?  Do you realize there are people who can’t afford those?

 

Do you apologize to people who have less than you?

 

I didn’t “get” to travel in a suite.  I worked many long hours until I could afford it.

 

Being able to humbly afford it is one thing...making sure people know you can afford it something entirely different.

[shirazcruiser]

After telling DH the prices of our upcoming cruises and X cutbacks, he said maybe we should go back to land vacations.  With almost 50 cruises, I'm not ready to go back to packing/unpacking/airports while visiting several countries....unpacking once is one of the luxuries of sailing.  When talking to DH about our B2B European sailings on the Apex next fall in only an Aqua SS, 1 of which is a 13 day itinerary costs....drum roll ... $19K.  DH said let's go the Galapagos instead if we're spending that much so I booked a 16 day Flora sailing.  

 

We're on B2B sailings on the Reflection this Sept/Oct so I'll report back how the "butler team" works out.

Edited July 31, 2023 by shirazcruiser

[NutsAboutGolf]

Entitlement comes in many forms, passengers can be the nicest people but then if their request is denied, they "snap" and act rudely.  Same goes for those who can't handle their alcohol or are known as "angry drunks".  Location plays a surprisingly large part, we all know that Canadians and those from the mid-west of the US tend to be the most friendly people.  However, the worst entitlement offenders that I see time and time again are from gamblers.  Of course there are exception to all these yet my overall point is that there is far more to the entitlement dynamic than stateroom type

[weregoingcruising]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Entitlement comes in many forms, passengers can be the nicest people but then if their request is denied, they "snap" and act rudely.  Same goes for those who can't handle their alcohol or are known as "angry drunks".  Location plays a surprisingly large part, we all know that Canadians and those from the mid-west of the US tend to be the most friendly people.  However, the worst entitlement offenders that I see time and time again are from gamblers.  Of course there are exception to all these yet my overall point is that there is far more to the entitlement dynamic than stateroom type

What do we all know about people from the west coast of the US?

Edited July 31, 2023 by weregoingcruising
spelling correction

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, C 2 C said:

Frankly my dear I just don't give ....

 

 In my opinion, nothing "they" do to any suite passenger will compare to the ostracism of Zeniths from Michael's Club and the Retreat that loyal passengers had enjoyed as a benefit for sailing repeatedly for decades.  No one cares unless they personally feels the knife cut.  It's a business determined to maximize the results for stockholders.  Until the masses start abandoning ship, the people in charge are doing what they have been hired to do.  Suck it up buttercups. 😂

But you see, I think the exclusion of zeniths is just a deep a cut as all the others...you sound angry at suite passengers as if they had something to do with it.  Maybe they did?  IDK.  My view is that most all cuts are negative regardless of who they immediately impact.  I'm sorry about the Zenith exclusion from Michael's...that's crappy...but try directing your anger at the appropriate entity.

[zitsky]

6 minutes ago, weregoingcruising said:

What do we all know about people from the west coast of the US?

I lived all over including California.  I went back and swear to god, everyone was in their own bubble and you couldn’t get a hello out of them.

 

(That’s a stereotype and those are bad.)

Edited July 31, 2023 by zitsky

[phoenix_dream]

20 hours ago, zitsky said:

I do not understand why someone books a Sky Suite then says they don’t use the butler.  Why are you throwing your money away?  Just get a verandah cabin and eat in the buffet.

You seriously don't understand?  I suspect you're just being sarcastic but I'll reply anyway.  Here's why I do it.  I love the bigger cabin.  I love the bigger balcony as I spend a lot of time relaxing on mine.  I love hanging out in the Retreat lounge when the other lounges are real busy or when I just feel like relaxing there.  I love being able to board whenever I want.  On E class I love the bar on the Retreat deck.  I love having a Retreat deck.  I love the service and on M and S class the ambiance of Luminae (the menu not so much admittedly).  I love being able to take my reservation requests or problems to the host/hostess in the Retreat lounge rather than standing in line at Customer Relations for long periods of time.  Is the Butler a nice perk?  Yes, although I don't use him or her a lot.  But I am peeved at them for what they are doing to the butler service as it is not what I paid for on my upcoming Sky Suite sailings.

[CruisinBanka]

11 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

You seriously don't understand?  I suspect you're just being sarcastic but I'll reply anyway.  Here's why I do it.  I love the bigger cabin.  I love the bigger balcony as I spend a lot of time relaxing on mine.  I love hanging out in the Retreat lounge when the other lounges are real busy or when I just feel like relaxing there.  I love being able to board whenever I want.  On E class I love the bar on the Retreat deck.  I love having a Retreat deck.  I love the service and on M and S class the ambiance of Luminae (the menu not so much admittedly).  I love being able to take my reservation requests or problems to the host/hostess in the Retreat lounge rather than standing in line at Customer Relations for long periods of time.  Is the Butler a nice perk?  Yes, although I don't use him or her a lot.  But I am peeved at them for what they are doing to the butler service as it is not what I paid for on my upcoming Sky Suite sailings.

Well said!  My feelings as well. 

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, clojacks said:

Phoenix Dream...I'm only quoting you out of convenience, not necessarily because I think my reply is directed at you...it was just a good place to post it...

 

I agree that most suite passengers don't come across as elite, but in retrospect, when was the last time you saw a post from Inside or OV passengers complaining that their cabin steward was late bringing them their new daily towel, or that they didn't think they should have to ride the elevator up 12 floors to get to the buffet. The label of "elite" is probably better than the one that may come across as more accurate when we read thread after thread that goes something like this..."I'm a SS and CS Elite+ passenger and I can't believe that I had to walk up 1 flight to get MY COFFEE this morning because the Retreat team said it would be 10 minutes"...and the label that comes across a little more to mind is bordering on "entitled". I might suggest all of you disrespected Suite passengers start a private group on the other social media site instead of trying to foster sympathy from the 90% of us who will possibly never get to sail in suites.

I know you are not directing this at me personally, but I do have some thoughts on your post.  I've spent many, many sailings in everything from inside cabins to ocean view to balcony to sometimes suites when I can afford them.  And my take is this - it is not necessarily that those upset are going to miss the butler service.  When I sail in a suite I like it for sure, but honestly don't use them much.  But it is the principle here - people are paying a lot of money for certain benefits, all of which were advertised at the time of purchase and at least as of this writing are still on the website.   And now that benefit is eliminated - no notice, no communication, no price reduction, no option to cancel without penalty (for those who do care if they have an individual butler).  I think that says something about the company and how it is operating that is very concerning for ALL passengers, not just suite guests.  You might also remember that there was tons of discussion on this site when the buffet went downhill.  And tons of discussion when charges were being tested for MDR ordering of filet mignon and lobster.  Are people using MDR also supposed to be posting only on other social media so we don't assume they are looking for sympathy?  Or maybe are we then to have separate threads only for people to whom a specific change applies?  If you don't sail in suites, no one is forcing you to join a thread discussing changes to suites.  Just like I was not forced to join a thread regarding the MDR menu even though I rarely lately sail in anything lower than Aqua Class.  And to wrap up, this is not about fostering sympathy.  I don't know why you would say that.  It is about how a business is treating its customers, at all levels.

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

Did you suck it up?

It doesn't sound like they did. The wounds are still open....

 

mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

13 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I know you are not directing this at me personally, but I do have some thoughts on your post.  I've spent many, many sailings in everything from inside cabins to ocean view to balcony to sometimes suites when I can afford them.  And my take is this - it is not necessarily that those upset are going to miss the butler service.  When I sail in a suite I like it for sure, but honestly don't use them much.  But it is the principle here - people are paying a lot of money for certain benefits, all of which were advertised at the time of purchase and at least as of this writing are still on the website.   And now that benefit is eliminated - no notice, no communication, no price reduction, no option to cancel without penalty (for those who do care if they have an individual butler).  I think that says something about the company and how it is operating that is very concerning for ALL passengers, not just suite guests.  You might also remember that there was tons of discussion on this site when the buffet went downhill.  And tons of discussion when charges were being tested for MDR ordering of filet mignon and lobster.  Are people using MDR also supposed to be posting only on other social media so we don't assume they are looking for sympathy?  Or maybe are we then to have separate threads only for people to whom a specific change applies?  If you don't sail in suites, no one is forcing you to join a thread discussing changes to suites.  Just like I was not forced to join a thread regarding the MDR menu even though I rarely lately sail in anything lower than Aqua Class.  And to wrap up, this is not about fostering sympathy.  I don't know why you would say that.  It is about how a business is treating its customers, at all levels.

Well said, especially the highlighted sentence. If the change doesn't impact someone, why do they feel obligated to post a snarky comment attacking those impacted and that adds nothing to the conversation? 

 

mac_tlc

[SusieAV8R]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

The fact that it is fleetwide tells me it is more of a cost savings over providing a better service, which is the Celebrity Kool-Aid spin. Also I have read posts that some of the current Butlers are being let go or not having their contracts renewed. This was a question I asked on the phone yesterday and the answer was some personnel assets were being redistributed for better efficiency, that is corporate speak ease for they are being let go.

I read the tea leaves the same way you do, terrydtx!

[zitsky]

34 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

You seriously don't understand?  I suspect you're just being sarcastic but I'll reply anyway.  Here's why I do it.  I love the bigger cabin.  I love the bigger balcony as I spend a lot of time relaxing on mine.  I love hanging out in the Retreat lounge when the other lounges are real busy or when I just feel like relaxing there.  I love being able to board whenever I want.  On E class I love the bar on the Retreat deck.  I love having a Retreat deck.  I love the service and on M and S class the ambiance of Luminae (the menu not so much admittedly).  I love being able to take my reservation requests or problems to the host/hostess in the Retreat lounge rather than standing in line at Customer Relations for long periods of time.  Is the Butler a nice perk?  Yes, although I don't use him or her a lot.  But I am peeved at them for what they are doing to the butler service as it is not what I paid for on my upcoming Sky Suite sailings.

You and I are not too far apart.  But for me, if I didn’t want the services included I would go back to Aqua class.

 

 

[SusieAV8R]

10 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 We are booked in an Aqua Sky Suite on Millennium for May of next year so there is plenty of time for us to watch and see how this new service concept turns out. It is going to be interesting as the Aqua Sky Suites are adjacent to the Penthouse Suites and normally would have the same butler.  Hopefully there will be a number of reviews, and plenty of time for Celebrity to made adjustments or revert, between now and our sailing. 

 

 We have always appreciated the personalized and individualize services of our Butlers.  We did not feel that we were hoarding his time versus others and normally made very few request of our Butler.  I am hoping that we will not find ourselves having to repeat our preferences a number of times, e.g. shrimp cocktail, cheese, meat, & crackers instead of the sweets in the afternoon; morning coffee with Bailey's; mini-fridge stocked with Vitamin Zero waters, etc.. 

 

 As many others have pointed out, we are very displeased at the way Celebrity is implementing this new / revised service.  The lack of any communication informing currently booked customers that they will not be receiving the service that was advertised when they booked their cruise does not sit well with us at all. 

 

 

 

I don't see advertised that stocking an Aqua Sky suite mini-fridge is included.  Is this a perk of the Aqua Sky Suite or did you purchase a special package?

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, weregoingcruising said:

What do we all know about people from the west coast of the US?

 

Tell everyone on here as we get called MANY things...lol...However, keep in mind there is a drastic difference between someone from San Diego and someone from Seattle...Additionally, in CA specially, there are a lot of transplants