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

[Sigyn]

Can I have a refund for my future deposits since I will not be getting the same service of a dedicated butler I paid for?

If you booked a refundable/flexible deposit, you can always change or upgrade your booking. If you booked non-refundable, rest assured all services and products will be provided, as expected by each guest. The Retreat team will continue to exceed expectations with an unforgettable experience.

 

A very long-winded and avoiding the question way to say "NO" - they should run for political office. 

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, cruisinsusin said:

I specifically asked that question in my email to the executive office and was assured that the amenities that come with booking the Sky Suites would remain unchanged.

For now, but the Celebrity management can make changes at any time. A month ago they could have said they were leaving the dedicated butler for Sky Suites unchanged.

[TeeRick]

19 hours ago, VMI72 said:

Yes, I got the same from our Celebrity Rep. He apologized and said that he had just gotten the above today by email from management. It was a longer email than above with some other stuff included. Here is what I got:

 

Beginning August 14, 2023 Celebrity Cruises will transition from a dedicated butler concept to a Retreat Butler and Team approach. This is for all Sky Suites categories, including the Aqua Sky Suites and the Horizon Suites. This will allow for a more efficient approach, providing the same products and personalized services.

Retreat Team in affected suites consists of a Retreat Butler and team , Retreat Hosts , Retreat concierges , Retreat Manager.

Retreat Butler ownership of:

• In-Suite Dining: with Dedicated Retreat Room Service Attendants
• Mini Bar: with Private Bar Team
• Reservations/bookings/special events: with Retreat Butler / Retreat Concierge/Manager
• Suite orientation/ice/laundry/packing & unpacking: with The Retreat Host

 

• Why are we removing dedicated Butlers from Sky Suites?

We are not removing your butler; we are providing our Sky Suite guests a dedicated team elevating the Retreat experience! Rest assured that every aspect of your service that you received before from your Butler will be available to you with our dedicated team.

• Why are Sky Suites being treated like a lower class of suite?

To enhance The Retreat experience, Sky Suites will have a Dedicated Retreat Team with combined strengths who aim to deliver the same level of service that Sky Suites have always had. The teams combined efforts we allow us to service Sky Suite requests even faster than before. The Dedicated Retreat Team will do everything to ensure our guests never have to lift a finger on vacation.

• Can I have a refund for my future deposits since I will not be getting the same service of a dedicated butler I paid for?

If you booked a refundable/flexible deposit, you can always change or upgrade your booking. If you booked non-refundable, rest assured all services and products will be provided, as expected by each guest. The Retreat team will continue to exceed expectations with an unforgettable experience.

• Will Celebrity Suites and above still have a dedicated Butler?

Yes, Celebrity Suites and the above will continue to have access to a dedicated Butler along with all the Retreat amenities. If guests are currently booked in a Sky Suite, we can assist in looking for upgrades to a Celebrity Suite and above all if guests insist on a dedicated butler instead.

• I would rather have 1 dedicated person rather than a Team of people for a more personalized service and connection.

The Retreat Concierge will personally be in touch with our guests for an introduction and make sure our guests have everything needed on their sailing. They will also have a button on speed dial from the phone in their Sky Suite. Our team members are dedicated to you and ensuring you have a wonderful vacation.

 

Ok thanks for posting this.  An official communication from Celebrity on the change, with Q&A.  

 

This entire situation could and should have been handled by first sending this out to guests booked in Sky Suites and to TA's.  And then posted on the Celebrity web site.  The biggest issue to me has been lack of communication and lack of transparency.  So why not just presume that a change of this magnitude will be controversial and send this out up front, instead of having the story leaked here and there which causes negative speculation and ill feelings in the customer base?  If I had a Sky Suite booked (and I do not right now), I would be more likely to give the Team approach the benefit of the doubt and decide after my cruise if I'm OK with it or not.  But the way it has been handled is like "trying to sneak one by us" in the mind of many.  Just not good business sense at all.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

49 minutes ago, Sigyn said:

Don't even get my husband started on the IT incompetence. He's an IT project manager, former programmer, and on our cruise last month we ran into all sort of glitches with info not in the system or not having been transferred over to our account, etc., due to a crappy IT department. He explained this, and the fix, to the concierge and she just smiled. But didn't seem to care. 

What would you want the Concierge to do , reprogram the system ? 
she probably heard the complaint 20 x that day already that their IT system is crap 🤣

 

 

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What would you want the Concierge to do , reprogram the system ? 
she probably heard the complaint 20 x that day already that their IT system is crap 🤣

 

 

I wonder if there is some way an employee can communicate with another department about a customer complaint?  Maybe she was out of typewriter ribbon?

[clojacks]

Is it at all possible that they honestly and truly believed that this might actually end up being an improvement AND a cost savings both at the same time? Is it possible that they have observed that while some butlers are constantly attending to someone who wants help finding a sock, and others don't get a request to do anything for hours? There are a handful of you who's pessimism and negativity must be draining...to have that skeptical of an attitude about something that just might work. And, it just might not, but are you all geniuses in human capital utilization? Big deal, so you've sailed in suites and now you think you could be the Hotel Director on board. I'm going to suggest that as negatively as you view Celebrity (which, BTW, boggles my mind that you hang out here to just bash and bash and bash for 40 pages) that just maybe they do have experts who have researched and collected data that supports what they are trying. I doubt they used a dart board for for the "change of the week " as some appear to view this.

[paulh84]

1 hour ago, Sigyn said:

Don't even get my husband started on the IT incompetence. He's an IT project manager, former programmer, and on our cruise last month we ran into all sort of glitches with info not in the system or not having been transferred over to our account, etc., due to a crappy IT department. He explained this, and the fix, to the concierge and she just smiled. But didn't seem to care. 

 

🤣

 

As an IT genius he should have known mansplaining (for lack of better term) "IT incompetence" to a concierge was the wrong person. Did he provide his debriefing to the bartenders too? 

[NMTraveller]

11 minutes ago, clojacks said:

Is it at all possible that they honestly and truly believed that this might actually end up being an improvement AND a cost savings both at the same time? 

No.

 

Improvement for who?  The cruiser or the cruise line.  All changes they have done recently have been an improvement for the cruise line.

Edited August 4, 2023 by NMTraveller

[clojacks]

3 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

No.

 

Improvement for who?  The cruiser or the cruise line.  All changes they have done recently have been an improvement for the cruise line.

"There are a handful of you who's pessimism and negativity must be draining...to have that skeptical of an attitude about something that just might work"...

[kirtihk]

4 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

No.

 

Improvement for who?  The cruiser or the cruise line.  All changes they have done recently have been an improvement for the cruise line.

Typically, when the word "improvement" is used in relation to public such as in Celebrity advertisements, it's intended to be for a customer purpose.  The reality, however, (as we know) is a different story.

[NMTraveller]

1 minute ago, clojacks said:

"There are a handful of you who's pessimism and negativity must be draining...to have that skeptical of an attitude about something that just might work"...

When they decrease the number of butlers and you lose the connection with your personal butler why drink the koolaid.  When this has never worked in the past why believe it will work now?

[george_sf]

1 minute ago, clojacks said:

"There are a handful of you who's pessimism and negativity must be draining...to have that skeptical of an attitude about something that just might work"...

 

I get it. But, for me, I enjoy the personalized service. Especially on a cruise lasting 12+ days where we book at the moment. Sure, It could work out fine. But this isn't the experience we paid for nor is the change transparent. 

 

 

[clojacks]

20 minutes ago, clojacks said:

Is it at all possible that they honestly and truly believed that this might actually end up being an improvement AND a cost savings both at the same time? Is it possible that they have observed that while some butlers are constantly attending to someone who wants help finding a sock, and others don't get a request to do anything for hours? There are a handful of you who's pessimism and negativity must be draining...to have that skeptical of an attitude about something that just might work. And, it just might not, but are you all geniuses in human capital utilization? Big deal, so you've sailed in suites and now you think you could be the Hotel Director on board. I'm going to suggest that as negatively as you view Celebrity (which, BTW, boggles my mind that you hang out here to just bash and bash and bash for 40 pages) that just maybe they do have experts who have researched and collected data that supports what they are trying. I doubt they used a dart board for for the "change of the week " as some appear to view this.

Full transparency, we sailed Celebrity exclusively for about 10 years...from about 2012 to just this past February, when we decided to give NCL a try after 10 or so years away. Part of the reason to try someone else was because of our experiences with dining on our last 2 Celebrity cruises, one of which ended the same day we boarded NCL. Due to our NCL experience, which was fantastic food wise, we have also now booked a Princess cruise for 3 weeks from now. Rather than go on and on and on about the decline in food experiences on Celebrity, we decided to give some of the lines we sailed with in the past a new try. My point is, you can walk away without beating a dead horse until there is nothing left of it.

[paulh84]

5 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

When they decrease the number of butlers and you lose the connection with your personal butler why drink the koolaid.  When this has never worked in the past why believe it will work now?

 

They have tried this in the past? When? 

 

Someone else mentioned it, but we also stayed at LeBlanc in Cancun (wildly overpriced for what it is - just like some Celebrity suites) and they use the same team butler service where you call or text a butler, but 'your' butler obviously doesn't work 24/hrs a day. It worked quite well. This is at a resort that typically runs $1,200+ a night for a fairly standard room. In Cancun. 

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Sigyn said:

Here's what we know. There is a butler team replacing individual butlers. Yet they are laying off butlers, so there will be fewer of them. Therefore, service will be negatively impacted. You can't do the same with less. 

There are some duties that Butlers perform that  IMO really don’t  require a skilled butler.  Refilling the mini bars, picking up and delivering laundry, delivering breakfast, snacks seem to be things that are going to be done by the Private Bar team, the Retreat Room Service Team and the Retreat Hosts.  

We normally are not around when the mini bar is restocked or laundry picked up and delivered and have found room service staff to be perfectly capable of delivering food.

The things that we do want a Butler or Concierge for are making or changing reservations, fixing problems with our account, arranging transfers, arranging small in suite gatherings, handling small emergencies and cutting through the red tape.  

If the team tasks are handled correctly and the requests requiring more coordination and skill are taken care of properly by the  Butler team or Concierge then we will be happy. 

[chemmo]

11 minutes ago, jelayne said:

There are some duties that Butlers perform that  IMO really don’t  require a skilled butler.  Refilling the mini bars, picking up and delivering laundry, delivering breakfast, snacks seem to be things that are going to be done by the Private Bar team, the Retreat Room Service Team and the Retreat Hosts.  

We normally are not around when the mini bar is restocked or laundry picked up and delivered and have found room service staff to be perfectly capable of delivering food.

The things that we do want a Butler or Concierge for are making or changing reservations, fixing problems with our account, arranging transfers, arranging small in suite gatherings, handling small emergencies and cutting through the red tape.  

If the team tasks are handled correctly and the requests requiring more coordination and skill are taken care of properly by the  Butler team or Concierge then we will be happy. 

I guess the next real episode in this saga will follow in a couple of weeks when we see how it does work out…

 

I genuinely hope for all of you travelling in Sky Suites as the changes happen do find that your Retreat experience is as good as before if not better. Perhaps for some it could be significantly better…Those, for example, who have never asked for their minibars to be restocked…It could be a nice bonus perk…

 

My glass is always half full…hopefully the butler team will keep it topped up!

 

 

[cw2go]

17 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

They have tried this in the past? When? 

 

Someone else mentioned it, but we also stayed at LeBlanc in Cancun (wildly overpriced for what it is - just like some Celebrity suites) and they use the same team butler service where you call or text a butler, but 'your' butler obviously doesn't work 24/hrs a day. It worked quite well. This is at a resort that typically runs $1,200+ a night for a fairly standard room. In Cancun. 

 

That was my post, happy to see you had the same experience.

 

To the cost point, 100% agree! I actually preferred Secrets Maroma to Le Blanc but that is for another thread. 😊

 

Patty  

 

[djh]

14 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

I believe on M class there were 6 butlers.

On our Summit cruise in 2022 there were three butlers onboard. They were definitely having staffing issues. We were in the PH and we felt so sorry for our butler. He had 18 suites to take care of and I’ve never seen a butler so stressed. We are pretty low key but even the smallest requests were forgotten. We eventually just stopped asking him for things. Still had a great time!

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, clojacks said:

Is it at all possible that they honestly and truly believed that this might actually end up being an improvement AND a cost savings both at the same time?

IMO, no, because they would have made this change for all Retreat staterooms, not just Sky Suites. It's cost cutting with positive spin. How much of a negative impact this has on those in Sky Suites remains to be seen. If it's negligible, then good on Celebrity.

[paulh84]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

There are some duties that Butlers perform that  IMO really don’t  require a skilled butler.  Refilling the mini bars, picking up and delivering laundry, delivering breakfast, snacks seem to be things that are going to be done by the Private Bar team, the Retreat Room Service Team and the Retreat Hosts.  

We normally are not around when the mini bar is restocked or laundry picked up and delivered and have found room service staff to be perfectly capable of delivering food.

The things that we do want a Butler or Concierge for are making or changing reservations, fixing problems with our account, arranging transfers, arranging small in suite gatherings, handling small emergencies and cutting through the red tape.  

If the team tasks are handled correctly and the requests requiring more coordination and skill are taken care of properly by the  Butler team or Concierge then we will be happy. 

 

Don't come in here posting rational responses! I'm willing to continue to hold our next Sky Suite reservations and give it a try. We've had similar service before (see below) and have no objections. The one thing I would ask is to clarify who does what. We've had a cruise where my husband never met the butler once in 7 days. Since they do aim to please, even if you ask the incorrect person for help they typically do it. It would be nice to have clarification on the difference between who does what. It's already a little muddy with Butler, Host, Concierge and Manager titles. The few times we've had a problem with an account or something that Guest Services would handle in a non-suite, it seems more efficient to talk to the Concierge about it since the Butler ends up being the middle man. 

 

56 minutes ago, cw2go said:

 

That was my post, happy to see you had the same experience.

 

To the cost point, 100% agree! I actually preferred Secrets Maroma to Le Blanc but that is for another thread. 😊

 

Patty  

 

 

I just went back to their site to look again. They call it E-Concierge. Not sure I remember that name during our stay. I actually picked this resort because it seemed to be most on par with a Celebrity product on land. You're actually texting a Concierge who relays your message to a butler. My Spanish is embarrassing and their English isn't always strong so the text really cut down on miscommunications IMO. Our few standing daily requests were met, regardless of who came to our room. Hopefully Celebrity brings this capability to their ships. I have a few hangups about booking this resort again but the team butler service is not on that list. 

[zitsky]

4 hours ago, clojacks said:

Is it at all possible that they honestly and truly believed that this might actually end up being an improvement AND a cost savings both at the same time? Is it possible that they have observed that while some butlers are constantly attending to someone who wants help finding a sock, and others don't get a request to do anything for hours? There are a handful of you who's pessimism and negativity must be draining...to have that skeptical of an attitude about something that just might work. And, it just might not, but are you all geniuses in human capital utilization? Big deal, so you've sailed in suites and now you think you could be the Hotel Director on board. I'm going to suggest that as negatively as you view Celebrity (which, BTW, boggles my mind that you hang out here to just bash and bash and bash for 40 pages) that just maybe they do have experts who have researched and collected data that supports what they are trying. I doubt they used a dart board for for the "change of the week " as some appear to view this.

So you’re tired of complaining about complaining?  Well then, why don’t you just stop?

 

Are you an expert on running a cruise ship?

[zitsky]

4 hours ago, paulh84 said:

 

🤣

 

As an IT genius he should have known mansplaining (for lack of better term) "IT incompetence" to a concierge was the wrong person. Did he provide his debriefing to the bartenders too? 

Do you assume being a woman that she couldn’t possibly understand?  Rather insulting.

 

When I was the only male secretary in the city of Chicago you might assume I was dumb but I was going to school at the time.  Lots of smart people outside of IT.

[mayleeman]

6 hours ago, clojacks said:

"There are a handful of you who's pessimism and negativity must be draining...to have that skeptical of an attitude about something that just might work"...

Why don't you list how Celebrity's experts have improved things, showing their careful attention to passenger convenience and comfort? I mean, it's not as if they overbook thousands of pax and have to cancel them with no compensation or explana -- ooops, forget that example. And we know they would never advertise huge sales that are discounted from prices that were simultaneously raised -- uh, forget that one. At least Celebrity's famous quality foods ... darn.

 

Well at least they keep some of their uniqueness intact, like free room service  -- oh, shoot, never mind. Do you suppose charging for room service with a drastically reduced menu reflects that extensive research you are extolling? And maybe your idea of perfect management is to decide customers happy with decades of smoke'free interiors enjoy vaping being sprung on them once they board.

 

I should be more open-minded on that last one...no doubt Celebrity has secret information that their passengers would enjoy vaping if they could just be more exposed to it. With an enhanced casino experience, too!

 

Face it...Celebrity is making these changes with their only concern being how many or how drastic they can get away with before bookings drop. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by mayleeman

[jagoffee]

22 hours ago, shirazcruiser said:

How many dedicated butlers do you think there previously was on a S class ship that has 34 SS's?  One time in an aft SS1, I thought our butler told us he serviced all of the aft SS cabins...which there are 20 and seems like a lot of rooms. When this butler hadn't seen us in days, he came to our cabin because he was concerned that something was wrong.  We explained that we just hadn't needed anything.  I was wondering if some butlers were busier with their assigned cabins who requested more while other butlers had less active cabins so they are trying to balance the workload without specifically saying this?

IMO and experience you are correct about the previous unbalanced workload.  Some cruisers are very high Maintenance and others do not need much attention.  Same situation with the room service staff in all category of cabins.  

[CruisinBanka]

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

Why don't you list how Celebrity's experts have improved things, showing their careful attention to passenger convenience and comfort? I mean, it's not as if they overbook thousands of pax and have to cancel them with no compensation or explana -- ooops, forget that example. And we know they would never advertise huge sales that are discounted from prices that were simultaneously raised -- uh, forget that one. At least Celebrity's famous quality foods ... darn.

 

Well at least they keep some of their uniqueness intact, like free room service  -- oh, shoot, never mind. Do you suppose charging for room service with a drastically reduced menu reflects that extensive research you are extolling? And maybe your idea of perfect management is to decide customers happy with decades of smoke'free interiors enjoy vaping being sprung on them once they board.

 

I should be more open-minded on that last one...no doubt Celebrity has secret information that their passengers would enjoy vaping if they could just be more exposed to it. With an enhanced casino experience, too!

 

Face it...Celebrity is making these changes with their only concern being how many or how drastic they can get away with before bookings drop. 

Well said with a witty twist! Lol