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

[Mark_T]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Same here our 4 Sky Suite cruises post Covid, we had butlers that stocked our fridge with whatever we asked for, that included beer, premium bottled water, vitamin flavored water and lots of red and white wine. We were never charged for any and while this is not a posted suite amenity a good butler makes it happen; this I am sure will go away with the new teams.

If the new Team removes these little personal touches that were always outside the official amenities, and you lose the 'just passing in the corridor' moments as the Team are not 'your Butler', then how is this new Butler Team going to be anything different to room service?

[chemmo]

4 hours ago, Wookie01 said:

From my point of view all of this pro and anti 'the rumoured change' is irrelevant.
If you booked and paid for a promised level of service and inclusions then that should be honoured.
If Celebrity choose to remove butler service (or anything else currently offered) from a suite category then they should clearly announce a date at which the change will commence. Any cruise bookings after that date know what to expect and can book accordingly.
 

My wife and I are about to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary on the Edge this Christmas on a New Zealand cruise. This will be our first, and most likely only, suite experience as her health is such that this will most likely be our last cruise and/or extended trip.

We have had this 'once in a lifetime' celebration booked since November 2022 and it is very much a special event for us. Ridiculously expensive at almost $20K AUD, but worth it as a final indulgence to celebrate a life well lived.

 

If Celebrity are now going to screw around with the entitlements and inclusions AFTER we have booked it then I am just disgusted. 😞

Forgetting the shortcomings of Celebrity I simply want to wish you sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise…

 

The beautiful thing about knowing your cruising days are limited (I speak from experience) is that it does make you savour every last sight, sound, smell and taste…There is no taking for granted the excitement of boarding the ship, a sunrise or sunset…Your senses return to almost those of a child experiencing the world for the first time…

 

With or without butler I know you will have a wonderful time. Thoughts and prayers for your wife’s health to improve…

[wineoclock]

4 hours ago, Wookie01 said:

From my point of view all of this pro and anti 'the rumoured change' is irrelevant.
If you booked and paid for a promised level of service and inclusions then that should be honoured.
If Celebrity choose to remove butler service (or anything else currently offered) from a suite category then they should clearly announce a date at which the change will commence. Any cruise bookings after that date know what to expect and can book accordingly.
 

My wife and I are about to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary on the Edge this Christmas on a New Zealand cruise. This will be our first, and most likely only, suite experience as her health is such that this will most likely be our last cruise and/or extended trip.

We have had this 'once in a lifetime' celebration booked since November 2022 and it is very much a special event for us. Ridiculously expensive at almost $20K AUD, but worth it as a final indulgence to celebrate a life well lived.

 

If Celebrity are now going to screw around with the entitlements and inclusions AFTER we have booked it then I am just disgusted. 😞

Apologies I thought I’d replied to you. 
 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. I too suffer with ill health & know precious those good times can be ❤️

[chemmo]

5 hours ago, RichYak said:

So I embark this coming Sunday in a Sky Suite on Summit. I'm either going to be covered by a Retreat Team or a lame duck butler. I'm honestly not sure which to root for.

From your posts I guess you will go with the flow…

 

It wouldn’t surprise me if you boarded and everything was as it should be and when you ask about the changes the staff haven’t got a clue what you are talking about! I do wonder if the changes are going to be more focused on the E class ships where there are significantly more Sky Suites (just my thought, no evidence)…

 

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

[sixpackeddie]

Has Celebrity issued a official announcement to this change?

[terrydtx]

13 minutes ago, sixpackeddie said:

Has Celebrity issued a official announcement to this change?

From my conversation with X corporate and others who posted here, they do not intend to make any public formal announcements. 

[hcat]

8 hours ago, MMMCruiser said:

 

I'm not there yet.  Right now I'm at the point where I regret deciding to give Celebrity a try.  The alternative I was looking at is almost fully booked (and is booked up in the categories I'd be interested in).  We booked a room based on the services it said we would get and now it seems like they will just change those perks at will.  With a year to go before my cruise I am concerned there will be nothing left by then.  It's not the butlers so much as what the change represents.  I am not at all interested in trying out this cruise without Luminae and the Retreat areas.

hope you won't be disappointed.

 

On BEYOND, those were the two areas we found underwhelming .

 

Luminae was dark, tables were close together, and menu "meh." No bread basket on the tables,  bread lady often "mia" , amuse bouche..odd choices,   limp shrimp cocktail. We ate from the Classics more than the daily  menu   and  enjoyed our visit to BLU much more. 

 

The Retreat pool and lunch area were  crowded other than on port days.

(when we enjoyed it).  Lunch was a very  limited menu  and slow service. 

The bar was often overwhelmed. On sea days, the  "Regulars" hogged the tiny pool all day  There was sufficient shaded area. 

 

The large Retreat indoor space was nice with a small walk up bar and small buffet area , but the room  seemed underutilized...they .could have made a small  pvt gym area in half of it..

 

Our Butler and her asst were always asking if we needed anything.. after awhile it became annoying and we felt a lack of privacy. Butler was annoyed if we handled minor  things ourselves.  Guess we are low maintenance!

 

We did appreciate havibg a larger stateroom,  early embark ( no snacks served.)  and esp the priority disembarkation which they handled fairly well.

 

Glad we tried a suite  using up our cancelled cruises credits,  but would not need to book one again..esp with rising fares!  

[cruisefam38]

3 hours ago, Mark_T said:

you lose the 'just passing in the corridor' moments

I think this is a very good point.

[mac_tlc]

FWIW, I fired off my email to the executive office last night, it was much more pointed than the one I sent 4 weeks ago 🙄. 
 

While I focused on the butler changes, I did mention many of the other anti-guest changes that have occurred this year. 
 

Awaiting my Kool-Aid call. 
 

mac_tlc

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

FWIW, I fired off my email to the executive office last night, it was much more pointed than the one I sent 4 weeks ago 🙄. 
 

While I focused on the butler changes, I did mention many of the other anti-guest changes that have occurred this year. 
 

Awaiting my Kool-Aid call. 
 

mac_tlc

I got my Kool-Aid call on Sunday after my scathing email on Saturday.

[Joker54]

25 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

FWIW, I fired off my email to the executive office last night, it was much more pointed than the one I sent 4 weeks ago 🙄. 
 

While I focused on the butler changes, I did mention many of the other anti-guest changes that have occurred this year. 
 

Awaiting my Kool-Aid call. 
 

mac_tlc

I sent my email Sunday evening, it was quite long mentioning things like how we always take time from our holiday to fill out comment cards for those who are deserving and send letters to the presidents office for those who deserve much more than a comment card. We name individuals on the survey yet Celebrity has no plans to inform its loyal customers......

 

I doubt I will hear anything as I also told them not to insult me with a canned reply attempting to tell me how much more this will improve my experience.

 

Side note: when in an upper suite we have the opportunity to visit with the Hotel Director. When we do, we always bring up how we feel that corporate has done to the Zeniths is horrible and that it should be corrected. Which is how we feel. We never get a reasonable answer but will continue to bring it up. We will make Zenith in November ourselves and worry that the way things are going Zeniths will end up with as few perks and the Pinnacles do - which isnt much

Edited August 1, 2023 by Joker54

[Joker54]

Just a thought for those who get annoyed when their butler is always wanting to do something for their suite guests.

 

Really experienced butlers should understand not everyone wants the attention. I personally enjoy my morning walk to get a coffee. Anytime our butler sees me he reminds me he could do that for me and I just explain my morning habit.

 

I don't believe any of them are trying to be annoying, it is their job after all and they have typically 2 types of guests, those that are demanding and those that are not (and probably something in between). If it was my job and I had to spend time with those over demanding I would want to ensure I was doing enough for those that were not, also anytime your butler is spending some "relaxing time" visiting or assisting you, he or she is away from those who demand to much.

 

We have witnessed butlers being abused and have always told them, when they need a break, bring us a coffee in the morning and stay for a short visit and relax and in the afternoon bring anything that comes to mind, but again come visit and relax.

 

We enjoy visiting with our butler and learning about the country they are from. And sometimes they will share funny experiences which can be quite entertaining.

 

My belief is that most of us are who we are based on our life's experiences. So too are the butlers.

 

Cheers

 

[OysterD]

Interesting, we're now up to 30 pages of moaning about <5% of passengers going from having a named butler to a team of butlers. 

Meanwhile, over on Princess, the 70 page thread on massive changes which will affect most passengers negatively without spending more money, has just been locked lol. 

[bikerunner]

Been following and lurking on this thread for a while. Not a suite user as I don't need it overall for my travel style at this point in my life as I tend to be very active and always out and about and room is not super important besides not obstructed balcony/verandah.  The reasons other get them are all personal to each single person.  I am done with Celebrity after my next 2 maybe one cruises with them more because of the business/corporate decisions they are overall doing.  I have my Thanksgiving cruise, which I'm keeping but still thinking about options on my April TA on the Silhouette as I can move to Virgin and or a Royal ship if desired, my plans are very date specific as meeting friends in Italy after the cruise for a 2 week land adventure. 

 

The main thing is corporate is just not communicating this information to its customers and leaving to much hearsay overall.  I see the concept they are trying to do with the "team" approach but with no communication on how this will be achieved it is leaving way too much angst among many customers and once loyal passengers. I do agree this is for many who already booked not what you paid for.  I have talked to Celebrity a couple times since the fiasco of moving the Beyond to fulltime Caribbean next year on how it was handled.  Same BS/KoolAid each time.  With the continue changes and degrading of things that made Celebrity unique, not even going to start with the Vaping issue, I have already booked future cruises with Azamara and Oceana.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

8 hours ago, RichYak said:

So I embark this coming Sunday in a Sky Suite on Summit. I'm either going to be covered by a Retreat Team or a lame duck butler. I'm honestly not sure which to root for.

I can’t wait to hear how it goes!

 

8 hours ago, Wookie01 said:

If you booked and paid for a promised level of service and inclusions then that should be honoured.

 

This here is the problem. It’s not 30 pages of people whining about a drop in service, it’s the fact that when we booked we were told we would have a butler and now they are taking them away without compensation. 
 

8 hours ago, Wookie01 said:

If Celebrity choose to remove butler service (or anything else currently offered) from a suite category then they should clearly announce a date at which the change will commence. Any cruise bookings after that date know what to expect and can book accordingly.

 

 

Exactly!  
 

8 hours ago, Wookie01 said:

My wife and I are about to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary on the Edge this Christmas on a New Zealand cruise. This will be our first, and most likely only, suite experience as her health is such that this will most likely be our last cruise and/or extended trip.

We have had this 'once in a lifetime' celebration booked since November 2022 and it is very much a special event for us. Ridiculously expensive at almost $20K AUD, but worth it as a final indulgence to celebrate a life well lived.

 

If Celebrity are now going to screw around with the entitlements and inclusions AFTER we have booked it then I am just disgusted. 😞

I’m so sorry to hear about your wife’s declining health. I hope this trip is everything you both dream it will be!  Congratulations on your upcoming 50th anniversary!  That’s quite a milestone not too many marriages make anymore.  ❤️

[Suite Susie]

There are so many little things that our Butler has done for us on previous cruises. For example, our Butler has brought us coffee from Al Bacio every morning. I’m thinking this will be something that is no longer feasible unless the Retreat team is very large. I’m just not sure how this is going to work, without a significant drop in the overall Suite experience. Only time will tell. 

[CruisinShips]

21 minutes ago, OysterD said:

Interesting, we're now up to 30 pages of moaning about <5% of passengers going from having a named butler to a team of butlers. 

Meanwhile, over on Princess, the 70 page thread on massive changes which will affect most passengers negatively without spending more money, has just been locked lol. 

The internet is such a strange and interesting place.  The questions needs to be asked...why are you reading a thread you don't care about lol?

[NMTraveller]

12 minutes ago, CruisinShips said:

The internet is such a strange and interesting place.  The questions needs to be asked...why are you reading a thread you don't care about lol?

Cheerleaders defending the indefensible...

 

Perhaps they get a check from Celebrity?

Edited August 1, 2023 by NMTraveller

[NCteacherlovescruising]

17 minutes ago, Suite Susie said:

There are so many little things that our Butler has done for us on previous cruises. For example, our Butler has brought us coffee from Al Bacio every morning. I’m thinking this will be something that is no longer feasible unless the Retreat team is very large. I’m just not sure how this is going to work, without a significant drop in the overall Suite experience. Only time will tell. 

That and a pastry from there every morning were the main things we we were looking forward to our butler providing for us. We got a sunset sky suite and planned to enjoy them on our balcony. 

[prmssk]

I have to admit reading this thread has only reminded me of how much I missed out on.  We did the Retreat twice, once in a Sky Suite and once the Penthouse.  We struck out on butlers both times.  We didn't get to know either because neither were really around.  Neither offered anything extra and anything we wanted required multiple follow-ups.  So after both those experiences, I'm not sure how a team would do a worse job and they might do a better job.

 

Unfortunately, after our Galapagos suite this November (which isn't really the Retreat product), we likely won't be able to afford Retreat prices.

[paulh84]

12 minutes ago, CruisinShips said:

The internet is such a strange and interesting place.  The questions needs to be asked...why are you reading a thread you don't care about lol?

 

It is strange. I'm pretty sure many of the most vocal few that have posted extensively here already sworn off Celebrity in other posts or made it well known they have moved on to other options. After the great  buffet calamity of 2023 occurred I figured it would be crickets around here. Guess not! They always come back.

[prmssk]

Just now, paulh84 said:

 

It is strange. I'm pretty sure many of the most vocal few that have posted extensively here already sworn off Celebrity in other posts or made it well known they have moved on to other options. After the great  buffet calamity of 2023 occurred I figured it would be crickets around here. Guess not! They always come back.

I think plenty are hanging around out of curiosity regardless of whether they have anymore booked with Celebrity or not.   Also, a lot of the previous changes didn't affect those in the Retreat nearly as much.

[QuestionEverything]

19 minutes ago, Suite Susie said:

There are so many little things that our Butler has done for us on previous cruises. For example, our Butler has brought us coffee from Al Bacio every morning. I’m thinking this will be something that is no longer feasible unless the Retreat team is very large. I’m just not sure how this is going to work, without a significant drop in the overall Suite experience. Only time will tell. 

Thanks for your post. A butler is a very, very specific product offering which is unique to this grouping of cabins - it is something that C has marketed for many years. It is a differentiation feature.

So to eliminate this specific service and provide some watered down "service" is total bull. C obviously believes the customers who purchase suites are so addicted to the suite class they will put up with anything ....so hence why they are doing it. This is about saving C $ and 0 to do with the customer. 

Very arrogant of C but they think they will get away with it due to the many "obedient consumers" who seem to want to pay the higher and higher prices for the suites. 

[RichYak]

46 minutes ago, OysterD said:

Interesting, we're now up to 30 pages of moaning about <5% of passengers going from having a named butler to a team of butlers. 

Your math is meaningless. The fact is that over 80% of Retreat passengers are going from having a personal butler to a team.

[Mark_T]

17 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

It is strange. I'm pretty sure many of the most vocal few that have posted extensively here already sworn off Celebrity in other posts or made it well known they have moved on to other options. After the great  buffet calamity of 2023 occurred I figured it would be crickets around here. Guess not! They always come back.

Even if not booking new cruises with Celebrity many will still have existing future reservations not yet cancelled or not practical to cancel...

 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Mark_T