NOW I have a problem with the new Suite policies

[bnurick]

RCL has a debt problem. The Suite Class is the latest to start paying for it. Non-Suite Class has been hit repeatedly before this.

 

X raised deposit amounts to make money off our money. There will be little to no compensation for not delivering on what was disclosed at purchase. Cruise cancelled, here is $250 in OBC while you book the same cabin on a new itinerary at $1,500 more and losing your previous higher OBC. X is not treating these situations like a plane flight where you can be moved to another option at the same locked in price.

 

Our 2024 SS booking was $11,490 or $1,149 a day. For that kind of money, you need more than a standard room to justify, it is the areas, drink, food and service.

 

I am more and more convinced to never book anything "All Included" every again versus a-la-carte as X will bait and switch to address their debt problem.

 

My TA Silhouette cruise in a Concierge Cabin with no drink package and a lot of specialty dining was the best experience I have had in a while. I paid for everything as I went and spent much less.

 

PSA for Non-Suite Class: Do not buy any packages. Buyer beware.

[neverlaysup]

3 hours ago, sixpackeddie said:

Also if you want a 2nd lobster in Lumaine and in a Sky Suite it’s now a room charge.

Are you saying that the menu for Luminae states that Sky Suite guests will pay for a second lobster but all other suites are free??

[sixpackeddie]

57 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I believe the Reflection also has 77 Sky suites including the Aft facing SS. So that now means the team of 2 butlers will have a lot of work

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

If there is an option to order Luminae breakfast from room service is the menu in the app?

Nope, only room service menu. We are currently dining at the Lawn Club Grill (love it) and the staff were mentioning no room service from specialty restaurants to upper level suites as there are no more butlers to do the work. They did give a option to pick up and bring back ourselves.

[bnurick]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I believe the Reflection also has 77 Sky suites including the Aft facing SS. So that now means the team of 2 butlers will have a lot of work to do.

 

Where is that 🤡 now who was saying it was all about too many SS requests and the butlers needed more time to rest.  It is really X making them work even more to pay for their debt problem...

[CalTexCruiser]

14 minutes ago, bnurick said:

 

Our 2024 SS booking was $11,490 or $1,149 a day. For that kind of money, you need more than a standard room to justify, it is the areas, drink, food and service.

 

I

 

Oof.  that's a bit steep for a Celebrity Sky Suite.

 

We have an upcoming Seabourn cruise for $ 800 a day (for two people).  No such thing as AI because everything is automatically included, including specialty dining.

[Tony UK]

5 hours ago, sixpackeddie said:

We are currently on the Reflection in an upper level suite. We have sailed in upper suites before and know what has been included and what’s not.

We just pushed off Olympia Greece, tired from the sun and was hoping to order dinner from Lawn Club Grill and enjoy on our balcony. Spoke to butler and this is no longer allowed for any suites. Only room service from Lumaine is available. 
Asked about other changes an also learnt Sky suites will not be stocked with alcohol. If you order alcohol to your Sky Suite or Aqua Sky Suite you will be charged per the room service menu.

There are currently only 3 butlers on our ship that take care of Celebrity Suites and above. All the Sky suites are being taken care of by 2 Butlers from Michael’s Club. 
I confirmed that prior to this cruise there were 9 butlers in total, and have trimmed to 5, so they cut 4 total from the Solstice Class ships.

We will be considering different options going forward as we typically cruise in Sky suites 80% of the time. With these changes considering the costs of a Sky Suite we will look elsewhere.
 

What kind of suite are you in? Did you speak to the Retreat manager to confirm the changes? Very interested...we sailed Reflection in June in an upper suite and although we didnt dine in suite we had fantastic service throughout.

[jbcallender]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

On the Equinox in June there were no lobsters available any night in Luminae.

On Millie, Luminae had a butter poached lobster on the menu one night later in the cruise.  On the night formerly known as "lobster night" which was also the first "chic" night, I had Luminae add a lobster from the MDR to the filet and paid a $13.99 upcharge.  Those were the only lobster opportunities I saw....

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by jbcallender

[sixpackeddie]

57 minutes ago, neverlaysup said:

Are you saying that the menu for Luminae states that Sky Suite guests will pay for a second lobster but all other suites are free??

Not sure how they will manage the 2nd lobster cut back? I was told today that yes sky suite guests have to pay for a 2nd lobster tail.  Apparently there is an internal email of some sort with all of the changes…. Also heard in the future there will be no retreat manager. 
I can not guarantee all the reports are 100% accurate but have heard this directly from higher level staff aboard this ship. 
When I asked how celebrity determined what butlers remained it was based on seniority. I was also told that the butlers that were no longer required we moved to different departments such as customer service. They apparently were not moved to the operational staff as they fall under customer service….

Edited August 16, 2023 by sixpackeddie
Spelling mistake

[sixpackeddie]

6 minutes ago, Tony UK said:

What kind of suite are you in? Did you speak to the Retreat manager to confirm the changes? Very interested...we sailed Reflection in June in an upper suite and although we didnt dine in suite we had fantastic service throughout.

We are in reflection suite, having a great time, love the location, balcony. Food and staff are amazing have not really noticed any change other then a but  disappointed we could not order from specialty restaurant to our suite. It’s really not a huge deal but was able to order on our past cruises when in upper suite. Again staff here is phenomenal, food and service is great. It would be great to hear feedback from clients that are in sky suites to see how these changes have affected their experience.

[FiremedicMike151]

Interestingly - I just did some mock bookings for next August and the butler is still listed as a perk for the sky suite

 

[CalTexCruiser]

2 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

@CalTexCruiserThere are 27 Celebrity Suites and above on Reflection.  Don't forget about the ones on deck 14.

 

Yeah forgot about those odd-ball Signature Suites

 

1 butler to 9 suites still pretty good

 

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I believe the Reflection also has 77 Sky suites including the Aft facing SS. So that now means the team of 2 butlers will have a lot of work to do.

 

Yikes.  If one enjoys being on hold when calling shoreside customer service, that experience will be extended to SS passengers trying to reach their butlers.

[zitsky]

55 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

Oof.  that's a bit steep for a Celebrity Sky Suite.

 

We have an upcoming Seabourn cruise for $ 800 a day (for two people).  No such thing as AI because everything is automatically included, including specialty dining.

I’m not familiar with Seabourn.  Can you explain how a Celebrity suite compares to a Seabourn suite?

[Cap_D]

16 minutes ago, sixpackeddie said:

Also heard in the future there will be no retreat manager. 
I can not guarantee all the reports are 100% accurate but have heard this directly from higher level staff aboard this ship. 

Umm, who is responsible for the overall guest satisfaction with the Retreat experience? My own experience is the Retreat Manager was pivotal to making sure everything went smoothly or was troubleshooted depending on perspective. 

[goofysmom99]

When cruising restarted in 2021, I had amazing butler service for 8 cruises (4 CS & 4 SS)....of course there were only 200-500 pax aboard and 1000+ crew.  Then I stayed on for a 9th - a short, full, Thanksgiving cruise.  Butler service took a nosedive.  I had the same one I'd had for the 8 previous cruises; he was slammed and kept apologizing to me when breakfast was late and continuing to apologize whenever he saw me in the hallway.  I asked him if he couldn't just let room service handle it for him; "no" not allowed (I'm hoping room service will be how it's handled now, anyway).  BTW, other than daily breakfast service, I can think of only one other butler-specific request I made in 50 nights.  But that was then.  I have a hunch that severely cutting back butlers on fully-booked 7-night (or shorter) cruises probably isn't going to be such a great change for anyone, pax or crew.  But, at the moment, I have no dog in this fight so I'll pop some popcorn and watch how it plays out in real time.  

[bnurick]

👏 to @sixpackeddie for providing everyone real-time updates onboard! Much appreciated!

Edited August 16, 2023 by bnurick

[deliver42]

If anyone here remembers Robert Hall clothes, and their jingle, here's a new Celebrity version with no music. As the prices go up up up, the service goes down, down, down.

[Mark_T]

3 hours ago, FiremedicMike151 said:

MSC cruises only appear cheaper because they offer inside cabins in the yacht club - once you book a balcony they become obscenely expensive as well.

Not our experience, we recently booked a YC balcony for a cruise from Miami down to Panama in Feb '24, and the price came in only a little above the price for Aqua on an equivalent Celebrity cruise.

 

3 hours ago, George C said:

MSc yacht club offered some mini liquors that they replenish for free. 

They have stopped doing that, you get a bottle of spirits (or wine, your choice) these days, even on a short 4 day cruise.

 

The Butlers will bring any alcoholic beverages you want though so most end up taking the bottle home...

Edited August 16, 2023 by Mark_T

[C4HCG]

2 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

If anyone here remembers Robert Hall clothes, and their jingle, here's a new Celebrity version with no music. As the prices go up up up, the service goes down, down, down.

Name me a company that couldn’t be applied to? We are paying more money for less in every single aspect of our lives, why are people surprised Celebrity are the same? Things we now find to be no longer value for money we stopped buying apart from essentials which we will continue to complain about the price of. Cruising isn’t an essential for us, but at the moment we are happy with the price of the Celebrity product. We sail 2nd September, maybe that will change, time will tell.

[bnurick]

1 minute ago, C4HCG said:

Name me a company that couldn’t be applied to? We are paying more money for less in every single aspect of our lives, why are people surprised Celebrity are the same? Things we now find to be no longer value for money we stopped buying apart from essentials which we will continue to complain about the price of. Cruising isn’t an essential for us, but at the moment we are happy with the price of the Celebrity product. We sail 2nd September, maybe that will change, time will tell.

I agree, but we locked in our price for a known outcome. Since the outcome is changing without the ability of taking a make whole (refund) it is unfair. If a refund was offered, these conversions would be to cancel or not to cancel.

[George C]

14 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

Not our experience, we recently booked a YC balcony for a cruise from Miami down to Panama in Feb '24, and the price came in only a little above the price for Aqua on an equivalent Celebrity cruise.

 

They have stopped doing that, you get a bottle of spirits (or wine, your choice) these days, even on a short 4 day cruise.

 

The Butlers will bring any alcoholic beverages you want though so most end up taking the bottle home...

We do a royal suite on Celebrity music charter and we always bring home at least one full liter and sometimes two. Definitely would like to do MSc yacht club again. 

[Joker54]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

the Suites above Celebrity Suites have been able in the past to order RS from Luminae and some of the specialty restaurants for dinner in their cabins. My sister and BIL did this in an Edge Villa last year. Not sure if they could get Luminae breakfasts.

We were in an Edge Villa this mast March on the Apex and in the Penthouse on the Equinox last Nov. The breakfast menu for both of those suites was much different from the breakfast menu's we had recently in junior suites. I have no idea what restaurant the food came from, but in the EV or PH you could get steak & eggs etc at no charge. When we were in a SS the breakfast menu was from Luminae and had about half the items as the menu in the EV or PH

[Joker54]

Thought I would toss out a few additional items not related to the main topic but reflect recent price increases and customer service changes. Apologies to the Mods if this inst appropriate

 

We were booked on the Equinox for an Antarctic cruise in Jan 2025, that cruise is being canceled due to the home port changing for the Equinox. The "Express" notification had the usual corporate koolaide about not wanting to impact our vacation. The email said that all deposits would be refunded within 30 days and if you rebooked another cruise you would get an extra 200 obc for a non suite and 400 obc for a suite.

 

What they didn't tell us is that they are about to mass cancel those bookings and while you get your deposit refunded if you book after its canceled you have to pay the now current deposit. Our cruise was a future cruise with a 200 deposit. So if we dont rebook before it gets canceled we would be on the hook for a 900 nonrefundable deposit and the "booked on board" perks will drop off and not be reinstated.

 

As for price increases - we are in the Iconic on the Beyond Jan 24, there is only 1 room left on that cruise and its a Penthouse - which if you booked it today you would pay more for that PH than we paid for the Iconic............ Its a popular cruise so the price might be justified but just seems a bit high for a PH with zip for a balcony...

 

Cheers

 

[terrydtx]

19 minutes ago, Joker54 said:

Thought I would toss out a few additional items not related to the main topic but reflect recent price increases and customer service changes. Apologies to the Mods if this inst appropriate

 

We were booked on the Equinox for an Antarctic cruise in Jan 2025, that cruise is being canceled due to the home port changing for the Equinox. The "Express" notification had the usual corporate koolaide about not wanting to impact our vacation. The email said that all deposits would be refunded within 30 days and if you rebooked another cruise you would get an extra 200 obc for a non suite and 400 obc for a suite.

 

What they didn't tell us is that they are about to mass cancel those bookings and while you get your deposit refunded if you book after its canceled you have to pay the now current deposit. Our cruise was a future cruise with a 200 deposit. So if we dont rebook before it gets canceled we would be on the hook for a 900 nonrefundable deposit and the "booked on board" perks will drop off and not be reinstated.

 

 

Cheers

 

Don't you love the Celebrity spin on how they are making things better while they cancel the cruises of thousands of customers this week? That is called Royalization.

[bnurick]

59 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Don't you love the Celebrity spin on how they are making things better while they cancel the cruises of thousands of customers this week? That is called Royalization.

First, you raise prices all you can. Second, you cut food quality all you can. Third, you cut services all you can. Fourth, you cancel cruises you are going to lose money on because you didn’t hedge for inflation and have a debt problem. The fourth only comes when you have reached the desperation stage.

 

I would have no problem with the above if I was offered the option to cancel with a return of my deposit(s).

Edited August 16, 2023 by bnurick

[CalTexCruiser]

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

I’m not familiar with Seabourn.  Can you explain how a Celebrity suite compares to a Seabourn suite?

 

I was comparing the Sky Suite to Seabourn's Veranda Suite (lowest level suite) which we are booked in.  Similar square footage.  The Celebrity Suite would be comparable to Seabourn's Penthouse Suite.

 

There are no non-suite cabins on Seabourn.