Can Celebrity “Retreat” on Retreat Changes

[Older Sister]

Cruised on the Eclipse last month in a Sunset Sky Suite, and I have to agree with everything that Zach said (well, we loved Luminae).  Celebrity’s downgraded butler service for Sky Suites is a disaster and not worth the extra money (except for Luminae).  
 

After we got home, I booked a cruise with Regent Seven Seas.  I’m pretty confident that Celebrity has lost my business.  

[PompeySailor]

1 hour ago, Older Sister said:

Cruised on the Eclipse last month in a Sunset Sky Suite, and I have to agree with everything that Zach said (well, we loved Luminae).  Celebrity’s downgraded butler service for Sky Suites is a disaster and not worth the extra money (except for Luminae).  
 

After we got home, I booked a cruise with Regent Seven Seas.  I’m pretty confident that Celebrity has lost my business.  

We will see out our X Panama cruise on Beyond in a Sky Suite  then it’s. Regent and Viking for us. 
maybe try Seabourn and Azamara
We have 11 nights on Regent Grandeur  cheaper than X Beyond in a SS and we will have a butler 😎

[islabahia]

We decided to move on to a Concierge Veranda on Oceania which for a 10 day cruise is costing less than an 8 day Sky Suite on Reflection.  Specialty restaurants are free which is another bonus.  Can’t wait to experience Marina next year and the new Allura in 2025.  

[bnurick]

Zach’s video and pre-cruise due diligence in asking shoreside for reassurances has changed my view of the webinar. Laura needs to address this review directly to customers.

[RMac713]

I am cruising on the first two "preview" cruises on Ascent in Retreat.  Honestly, the best part of our retreat sailing on Beyond in April was the pool area and that is what I'm focusing on.  I wonder what Zach would think if he had access to that kind of retreat deck.

 

[Whinenowine]

We were on the Edge last month in a couple of Sky Suites--booked pretty last minute but still before X changed the butler 'rules'.  As I've stated elsewhere on CC we had a great cruise and the service was fantastic, especially from Dewa and William in Luminae. Food was excellent (except oddly I had the first 'meh' Luminae burger ever, while on the Sundeck. Go figure).  

 

The 3 Retreat Concierges worked their tails off just to keep their heads above water--which I fully ascribe to the change in the X SS butler policy.  It's not long-term sustainable, so if this change persists either the staff break (despite going above and beyond) or guests ratchet down their expectations...or both. I still like X and will still cruise them when the price is right, but my eyes are now wide open.

[PompeySailor]

3 minutes ago, RMac713 said:

I am cruising on the first two "preview" cruises on Ascent in Retreat.  Honestly, the best part of our retreat sailing on Beyond in April was the pool area and that is what I'm focusing on.  I wonder what Zach would think if he had access to that kind of retreat deck.

 

I think it’s more about the lack of service and not the real estate that is available 

 

Whether it is Edge S or M class, Sky Suite NEW service is a looking like it is failing it’s Retreat guests paying BIG $$$ 

[baytraller]

We will be in a Sunset Sky Suite on Celebrity Solstice starting 19 October 2023.

Both small and in our 70's and 80's and drink lots of water and some soda for a 15 day cruise maybe 100 bottle and cans. The distance from the lift to our suite is quiet considerable.

 

After watching the Retreat video maybe Michael's Club could be renamed the Celebrity Bottle Mart .

A revenue option for Celebrity could be renting drink trolleys to make it easier to take bottle and cans to our suite.

 

Will now be taking our wine coolers with us. Is this now the way Celebrity treats elderly guests who pay thousands for a suite.

 

Still unclear why room service not able to deliver complimentary  drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by baytraller

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, Older Sister said:

Cruised on the Eclipse last month in a Sunset Sky Suite, and I have to agree with everything that Zach said (well, we loved Luminae).  Celebrity’s downgraded butler service for Sky Suites is a disaster and not worth the extra money (except for Luminae).  
 

After we got home, I booked a cruise with Regent Seven Seas.  I’m pretty confident that Celebrity has lost my business.  

Hope you told Celebrity your experience and why you are moving on. 

[goofysmom99]

You could book something lesser than a sky suite and dine in specialty restaurants the entire cruise.  Luminae certainly isn't worth the $6500 difference between a my $2100 (solo) concierge cabin (great location) and $8600 sky suite on one of my S-class cruises next year.  Thirteen nights in a specialty sets me me back just under $500 including tip; so about $1k for a couple.  I mean, you really have to like Luminae for that amount of money.

[Boston lab girl]

Just watched the Zach’s video. It was very sad. I am taking apex in less than 32 days. I booked over a year ago. I was so looking forward to it. My DH and I still talk about the magical evening we had eating dinner served by our butler on our balcony as we were leaving a port as the sun was setting. ( Rear cabin on the century, only did it that one time) I am like Zach and really don’t need much attention I just want breakfast on my balcony. Is that too much to ask?

 I have another trip booked to Japan. If this is as bad as he is saying I think I will just cancel. I guess I will decide when I get home.

It’s too bad I was planning on booking a trans pacific to Hawaii in the retreat while on this trip but now will have to consider other options. 
 

[Bejay219]

I received a call from Shoreside Concierge (either for the Ascent or Zenith concierge) to ask what we needed for our B2B on the Ascent maiden voyage. I said I was not happy with the lack of Butler and the change to Retreat Host Team.  She said that "everyone" she has heard from LOVES the new team approach. I told her that's not what I am hearing, but we will wait and judge for ourselves. But combine that with no tips and OBC, we get way less for the high cost of the Sky Suite. For many years we did Celebrity Suites, but  this last year we switched to Sky Suites and are paying what we  used to pay for a Celebrity Suite. 

[wineoclock]

7 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

You could book something lesser than a sky suite and dine in specialty restaurants the entire cruise.  Luminae certainly isn't worth the $6500 difference between a my $2100 (solo) concierge cabin (great location) and $8600 sky suite on one of my S-class cruises next year.  Thirteen nights in a specialty sets me me back just under $500 including tip; so about $1k for a couple.  I mean, you really have to like Luminae for that amount of money.

On E class the only option for a real balcony is an SV (hen’s teeth) or a suite. 

[wineoclock]

9 hours ago, Older Sister said:

Cruised on the Eclipse last month in a Sunset Sky Suite, and I have to agree with everything that Zach said (well, we loved Luminae).  Celebrity’s downgraded butler service for Sky Suites is a disaster and not worth the extra money (except for Luminae).  
 

After we got home, I booked a cruise with Regent Seven Seas.  I’m pretty confident that Celebrity has lost my business.  

We’ve also booked a Regent cruise for next year. Went for a concierge suite so no butler. Looking forward to trying it. 

[excitedofharpenden]

Nothing makes me more cross than being fobbed off with "nothing has changed" when it obviously has. It's also known as lying. Celebrity need to take a big note of this report.  Sad to see it. 

 

Phil 

[Cruise a holic]

13 hours ago, Susanb10567 said:

I watched that video as well…very disappointing…we are on the Beyond in January in a sky suite for my husband’s big birthday…

The beyond is a wonderful ship.  The retreat lounge, luminae and sun deck are fabulous.  We do not need a butler and prefer using the lounge for snacks etc.  IMO AQ isn't worth additional at all-- would much prefer a sky suite-  no comparison at all-  AQ is s gimmick- with a substandard restaurant and perks we never used.

 

We have had butlers on celebrity and stayed in a variety of suites, including royal suites.  Some butlers were great and helpful- others did very little- and were never available.  These folks aren't paid a huge salary and probably depend on tips, so celebrity is truly being interested in their own profits and not the quality of the cruise for its customers-  time to maybe move on to another cruise line.

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Cruise a holic

[hcat]

we differ.. enjoyed BLU on Beyond..Luminae  was a struggle..other than the everyday Salmon.  Bread was doled out and sometimes not " ready".  The Sky Suite was a nice size..but we found the bath/ shower combo awkward. Did not use indoor RETREAT very much and found outdoor area crowded...but was very nice on  port day. Our Butler was OVERLY PRESENT!

 

We are going back to AQ Class on Ascent..We will manage with the IV cabin and hopefully enjoy BLU as always, and the Thermal suite .

 

Diff strokes for diff folks..and AQ costs less ...Only thing we will def miss  is the early boarding and disembark perks for suites but not worth a huge fare for that.

[dateacher]

I think one of the issues for Zach's cruise was that it was the Reflection and not one of the new ships that is better suited for Retreat.  I feel like the older ships are adding Retreat to give another level but the ships don't lend themselves to it (for example, the bathrooms are so much nicer on the E class ships)

We were on the Beyond in January and felt the Retreat was special and worth every extra $$.  We had a butler but never used him.  It never occurred to me to have someone unpack or pack for me.  We loved the separate pool, the Retreat Lounge and the service we received.  The Embarkation lounge for Retreat travelers was also terrific. We used the Retreat Lounge staff for all of our needs and they were happy to accommodate.

 

We are going on the Ascent in January so it will be an opportunity to see if the changes are really significant or if some people just have higher expectations than I do. 

[Baggy178]

14 hours ago, PompeySailor said:

This highlights the issues of the retreat changes

Zac is never biased and an X fan, but the retreat and cutbacks were shocking and the head butler and managers interactions were priceless 

 

Hopefully X execs get to watch this one on a Monday morning, “how’s that pissing off our customers going”

 

A very honest review about Retreat and Sky Suite and cutbacks 

 

 

 

Let me get this one straight.

This fellow paid eight grand, his butler was in fact the bloke who cleans his room 

and he was overjoyed to get a free bottle of water every day ? 

This I gotta tell the boys in Riff Raff Class™ for the lolz.

 

 

 

[wrk2cruise]

It appears that another side effect of not having the dedicated butler is the fact that the Retreat Concierge staff is being overloaded.   I've seen multiple reviews which said they are not accessible due to the number of people with requests.

 

I thought I heard in the original discussions that there would be 2 shared butlers stationed out of the Retreat to handle requests.  I haven't heard any reports that this is happening.  Maybe those are the in reality the "head butlers".   Is it possible the head butler is just not getting contacted as it is easier for the passenger to just address requests with the Concierge?

[cruisefam38]

28 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

Is it possible the head butler is just not getting contacted as it is easier for the passenger to just address requests with the Concierge?

Which is to say that when a guest has a request, the guest will ask the readily available staff for assistance, instead of seeking out the behind-the-scenes staff.  The Retreat Concierge is a face-to-face encounter that makes a positive impression on the passenger.

Which puts a different light on the claim that a team of fewer individuals scurrying around the ship trying to fulfill requests can or will replicate that the same level services that the group of specifically assigned butlers interacting daily with their guests can provide.

Who could have foreseen that outcome?

Edited October 2, 2023 by cruisefam38

[paulh84]

To be honest Zach's experience was more or less the same butler experience we had on Reflection in April 2022. The butler was mostly absent, my husband never met him once and nothing above and beyond was provided or offered. We relied on the concierge in Michael's for most requests which were handled very promptly. Our more recent experience on Beyond was defnitiely improved over the Reflection.

[islabahia]

We decided to move on to Oceania Concierge Suite…less $$ for 10 days with specialty restaurants included.  Our Suite on Marina does not provide us with butler service but we’re good with that.  We can pop down to the Concierge Lounge if we want.  Sadly we are done with X but time to move forward.  Sky Suite no longer provides a product that we want to invest $$$ in.

Edited October 2, 2023 by islabahia

[rM3panno]

While I don’t like the bait and switch approach that this comes off as for some who booked when “dedicated butler service” is advertised, I do feel like there has always been a chasm between the service level in sky suites vs any other suite. That reality should really be a surprise since from the very beginning of the retreat concept, sky suites have had different access. Although it was ultimately changed that effect has lingered with the sky suites. We have sailed in inside, concierge, aqua, sky suites, celebrity suites, signature suites, and Royal suites. Without fail, the service has been a notch above when staying in a Celebrity suite or higher. My personal opinion is that X wants Sky Suites to be the equivalent of junior suites on RCL. They should either embrace it and make it a tiered suite class or step up the service to make it equal the other suites. 

[PompeySailor]

5 minutes ago, rM3panno said:

While I don’t like the bait and switch approach that this comes off as for some who booked when “dedicated butler service” is advertised, I do feel like there has always been a chasm between the service level in sky suites vs any other suite. That reality should really be a surprise since from the very beginning of the retreat concept, sky suites have had different access. Although it was ultimately changed that effect has lingered with the sky suites. We have sailed in inside, concierge, aqua, sky suites, celebrity suites, signature suites, and Royal suites. Without fail, the service has been a notch above when staying in a Celebrity suite or higher. My personal opinion is that X wants Sky Suites to be the equivalent of junior suites on RCL. They should either embrace it and make it a tiered suite class or step up the service to make it equal the other suites. 

I agree with a lot of this 

JS on Royal is just a bigger room and double points nothing more these days 

No suite lounge or special dining venue 

(except an occasional CK evening meal) if not busy

 

Star Class on Royal same as Icon, Penthouse and Royal Suites respectively 

Having done both X is leaps and bounds better than RC because of the Retreat and personal Butler (better than Genie IMO)

 

If you are correct, It’s a butler or Genie for 3 or 4 categories ONlY and that is going to cost you $15k for a week for 2 in any of those categories

 

Sky suites will be exactly like SEA class on Royal