Butler Team Service in SS - Please Post Current Cruisers Comments on your Experience.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Yes. They will now be charged to your onboard account daily even if you book with AI after 10/4. Still has nothing to do with removal of butlers from sky suites. It doesn't really have anything to do with AQ cabins either except that AI will no longer be mandatory. And anyone who booked any cabin class with AI prior to 10/4 grats are still included.

I'm just curious how much more someone in a sky suite, when compared to someone in an Aqua cabin, is going to have to pay for their daily gratuities when basically both categories now just get a steward, since room service can be ordered and subsequently delivered to any one on the ship.

 

The reason I'm curious about the difference between the Aqua and Sky Suite charges is that both were "hidden" when the All Include charge was mandated on both category bookings prior to Oct 4.

[DaKahuna]

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

The reason I'm curious about the difference between the Aqua and Sky Suite charges is that both were "hidden" when the All Include charge was mandated on both category bookings prior to Oct 4.

 

 Were they really hidden?  I thought Celebrity gave the price for daily gratuities at $23.00 for Suites? 

[RichYak]

21 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I'm just curious how much more someone in a sky suite, when compared to someone in an Aqua cabin, is going to have to pay for their daily gratuities when basically both categories now just get a steward, since room service can be ordered and subsequently delivered to any one on the ship.

 

The reason I'm curious about the difference between the Aqua and Sky Suite charges is that both were "hidden" when the All Include charge was mandated on both category bookings prior to Oct 4.

It's not at all hidden.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/gratuity-program

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

Thanks.  Leaning toward Zach’s assessment that SS is just a larger cabin with access to a lounge and Luminae and we aren’t fans of Luminae.

For us the Luminae is the number 1 reason to stay in a SS. I have never liked the MDR and their not so good menus. Retreat Lounge is number 2 reason.

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

Thanks.  Leaning toward Zach’s assessment that SS is just a larger cabin with access to a lounge and Luminae and we aren’t fans of Luminae.

And on E Class ships a real open traditional balcony.

[bnurick]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We got home yesterday after spending a week post cruise in Santorini. 

 

When we boarded the Apex on the 14th I asked the Retreat hosts in the Retreat lounge about what we could expect by not having a dedicated butler in our Sky Suite. I mentioned the premium bottled waters and was told the only free water in our cabin would be the standard can or plastic bottled water and our room attendant would leave as many as we needed each day. We opted for the plastic bottled water and had a least 6 in our cabin every day all supplied by our room attendant. I was told we would no longer be able to have a butler deliver drinks from the bars to our cabin. These were two things we all knew about before we boarded anyway.  I was also told we could access any of the premium waters, and beers from the lounge anytime we wanted to take back to our cabins. I then requested that everything not free in our cabin be removed, which was done by the time we returned from lunch the first day. Any other things we needed would be taken care of by the Butler team in the Retreat lounge. The few times I called the retreat butlers my call was always answered on the first call. 

 

Room service was done by standard room service crew members and was on time, hot and correct every morning. The delivery people offered to set up out table for breakfast as was done in the past by our butlers. Most other ex butler duties were done by our very good room attendant. 

 

Overall the Sky Suites did meet our expectations and we were satisfied but still not 100% happy about the changes. Will we continue to book the Retreat with Celebrity?  With the other changes like no longer including gratuities and any OBC along with the huge increases in pricing for SS, I seriously doubt we ill book any more future cruises with them after our two cruises in January already booked.

 

As a side note to Cookiegate I thought I would post this picture of the still free cookie jars at Cafe Al Bacio. 

 

Thanks Terry.  Was looking forward to your review and how to navigate our future cruises.  Hope you had a great trip.  BN

[Whinenowine]

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

And on E Class ships a real open traditional balcony.

@terrydtx, welcome back!  Yes I agree that on E-class ships there is a much larger difference, specifically around the sundeck and very large lounge (OEM, not revolutionized).  Also the 50% larger cabin, bigger balcony and bigger (and maybe nicer) bathroom are also very nice. 

[Ken the cruiser]

54 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Were they really hidden?  I thought Celebrity gave the price for daily gratuities at $23.00 for Suites? 

 

45 minutes ago, RichYak said:

It's not at all hidden.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/gratuity-program

Good to know. It will be interesting to see if any changes are made in the “not so secret” daily suite gratuity charges, especially since CS and higher categories get a real butler and lowly sky suite folks get a steward.

[Whinenowine]

37 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Good to know. It will be interesting to see if any changes are made in the “not so secret” daily suite gratuity charges, especially since CS and higher categories get a real butler and lowly sky suite folks get a steward.

Actually on the Edge a month ago my very friendly and competent steward introduced himself as our Retreat Host.  "A rose by any other name....." 

 

🤣

[RichYak]

56 minutes ago, Whinenowine said:

Actually on the Edge a month ago my very friendly and competent steward introduced himself as our Retreat Host.  "A rose by any other name....." 

 

🤣

He was clearly delivering snake oil.

[chrisn-au]

6 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Overall the Sky Suites did meet our expectations and we were satisfied but still not 100% happy about the changes

Terry , nice positive and fair (from my perspective comment) we are on the apex now and I would say the same . We will still consider the retreat as s as option however it will now be one of many 

 

glad you had a good trip 

[ncgolferette]

Terry - how was the food in Luminae?  Any of the specialty restaurants?

[jelayne]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

For us the Luminae is the number 1 reason to stay in a SS. I have never liked the MDR and their not so good menus. Retreat Lounge is number 2 reason.

I can’t eat fish or any sea food so Luminae options are limited and now with the kids filet gone, it is worse.  On E class, where our next 5 booking are, ordering from the MDR isn’t an option.  Number 1 reason for me was the Sun Deck and 2 was the butler, Lounge #3.    

[phoenix_dream]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Good to know. It will be interesting to see if any changes are made in the “not so secret” daily suite gratuity charges, especially since CS and higher categories get a real butler and lowly sky suite folks get a steward.

That's an interesting thought. I do not want to short change the room stewards, aka Retreat Hosts, but if we are not getting the same level of service as higher level suites, why would we still be asked to pay the same amount of gratuities?

[Guera53]

13 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

That's an interesting thought. I do not want to short change the room stewards, aka Retreat Hosts, but if we are not getting the same level of service as higher level suites, why would we still be asked to pay the same amount of gratuities?

Oooo….so Aqua Sky Suites get a cabin steward for future bookings. Is there now a charge for all day room service? I can’t keep up 

[jelayne]

36 minutes ago, Guera53 said:

Oooo….so Aqua Sky Suites get a cabin steward for future bookings. Is there now a charge for all day room service? I can’t keep up 

Currently no charge for Room Service for Suites

[Whinenowine]

14 hours ago, jelayne said:

I can’t eat fish or any sea food so Luminae options are limited and now with the kids filet gone, it is worse.  On E class, where our next 5 booking are, ordering from the MDR isn’t an option.  Number 1 reason for me was the Sun Deck and 2 was the butler, Lounge #3.    

@jelayne we've got various food restrictions in our family (and an overall love of meat...mmmmm).  In Luminae on the Edge, every night we ate there (5 out of 7 nights) there was at least one red meat and one chicken option, as well as a vegetarian option. Additionally our servers continuously offered items not on the menu.  Hoping it won't be an issue for you either.

[TeeRick]

22 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We were able to ask for afternoon snacks including cheese and shrimp which were delivered by room service crew. Nothing was left unless we ordered them first. We called the retreat butler team number first time and were told to place order direct with room service in the future and it took 30-45 minutes for delivery every time.

 

No standing orders for morning coffee or juice unless you filled out the RS card the each night before.

 

No surprises left in cabin, but we did get the pillow chocolates every night from our room attendant.

 

On thing I forgot to add, one afternoon the 4 in our two SS's of us wanted a glass of white wine from the Retreat lounge to have with our cheese plate, and John the bartender gave us the whole bottle to take back to our cabin without asking.

Terry,

Thanks!  We have been waiting to hear about your cruise in a SS after the changes.  It seems that it was easy enough to cope with them.

[micruiser2002]

1 hour ago, Whinenowine said:

@jelayne we've got various food restrictions in our family (and an overall love of meat...mmmmm).  In Luminae on the Edge, every night we ate there (5 out of 7 nights) there was at least one red meat and one chicken option, as well as a vegetarian option. Additionally our servers continuously offered items not on the menu.  Hoping it won't be an issue for you either.

When did you sail?  There have been menu changes starting in mid August.

[Whinenowine]

10 minutes ago, micruiser2002 said:

When did you sail?  There have been menu changes starting in mid August.

Post-changes.  8/26 closed loop to/from Barcelona. In fact despite being in two Sky Suites, our Luminae service was as good as it was when we were in a CS on the Edge last year. I did have my first 'poor' Luminae Burger, but other than that we ate plentifully and well throughout.  Being the indecisive people we are, several times (at least 3 times) we couldn't decide between 2 dishes--and each time our servers brought us extra entrees at Luminae and at Eden. 

[jelayne]

3 hours ago, Whinenowine said:

@jelayne we've got various food restrictions in our family (and an overall love of meat...mmmmm).  In Luminae on the Edge, every night we ate there (5 out of 7 nights) there was at least one red meat and one chicken option, as well as a vegetarian option. Additionally our servers continuously offered items not on the menu.  Hoping it won't be an issue for you either.

I have done 5 sailing on E class in the Retreat and struggled with the menu every time.  
I have told the staff on every sailing I can’t each fish/seafood, yet they consistently bring an amuse bouche with ingredients I can’t eat.  

We have not been offered items not on the menu but did ask for a special meal for DHs birthday once,  which they did.  
Next up is a 26 nights and we will eat many evenings in the MDR, specialty restaurants or the buffet.  
It is what it is but Luminae is not a reason for us to book a suite on a E class ship.

[chemmo]

9 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I have done 5 sailing on E class in the Retreat and struggled with the menu every time.  
I have told the staff on every sailing I can’t each fish/seafood, yet they consistently bring an amuse bouche with ingredients I can’t eat.  

We have not been offered items not on the menu but did ask for a special meal for DHs birthday once,  which they did.  
Next up is a 26 nights and we will eat many evenings in the MDR, specialty restaurants or the buffet.  
It is what it is but Luminae is not a reason for us to book a suite on a E class ship.

Every time I read your comments on Luminae I appreciate what you are saying. We have always found the menu limited too.  Chicken by any other name is still chicken and we eat plenty of it at home! I have tried some of the fish/seafood dishes and found them disappointing…There are some dishes I do like in Luminae but I never feel spoilt for choice as I do, for example, in Murano…

 

 

 

[RichYak]

34 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I have told the staff on every sailing I can’t each fish/seafood, yet they consistently bring an amuse bouche with ingredients I can’t eat.  

This reminds me of a sailing a few years ago. First night in Luminae the waiter asks the typical "any food allergies?" question. We have none, but my wife replies that she'll eat anything but beets. She hates beets. The waiter had a bit of a panicked look, nodded nervously, and walked away. We thought that was an odd reaction until the amuse bouche was served--a small beet salad for me and some mixed berries for my wife. 😂

[Jeremiah1212]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

This reminds me of a sailing a few years ago. First night in Luminae the waiter asks the typical "any food allergies?" question. We have none, but my wife replies that she'll eat anything but beets. She hates beets. The waiter had a bit of a panicked look, nodded nervously, and walked away. We thought that was an odd reaction until the amuse bouche was served--a small beet salad for me and some mixed berries for my wife. 😂

 

The beet salad they serve on a small spoon? It's shocking me to that something so tiny can so incredibly disgusting. It takes like a mouthful of dirt. 

 

Generally we've never had a bad Luminae experience but depending on who your waiter/team is can have a marked difference. We've had that same waiter by coincidence on two cruises several months apart who on day 1 of the second cruise told me I would not be eating chicken most meals (since I also am not a fish or seafood eater - with some small exceptions). 

[Suite Susie]

On 10/2/2023 at 2:07 PM, LMHSRN said:

This add is correct.  HOWEVER what it means is that you have a machine in the room, not that they will deliver it.

We did not have a coffee machine in the room on Edge last week. 

Edited October 3, 2023 by Suite Susie
Addition