Specialty dining for Royal suites

[Georgia_Peaches]

19 minutes ago, bjahil47 said:

We are in RS in a few weeks. SC sent me an initial email in July stating they would be contacting me to set everything up.  I replied.  No answer.  I sent 3 follow-ups and no response.  I called, and they did everything.  I asked for an email confirming everything, none received.  After almost two weeks I did the chat.  The same person who took my call answered the chat.  I asked where my email was.  He said he would resend immediately which he did while I was in chat, all it has is our dining reservations on it.  I asked about everything else and he said that was done internally.  Like you, I will be bringing the email with dining reservations for butler to confirm.  I will also, write everything else requested on it for butler.  

This is a very frustrating scenario.  May I ask what ship?  The reason I ask is because the email from our SC posted in this thread somewhere on page 1 (I think), was from Reflection.  My mom and I sailed in a Signature suite at the end of July.  Not only did we receive the comprehensive email, we also received a PDF of every specialty restaurant menu and a confirmation email of everything that was booked for us.  Additionally, I followed up to change the size of one of the sets of PJ's and received an answer to that e-mail as well.  When we boarded, I confirmed with our Butler all of the details of my e-mail and everything was in place...down to the mixers I requested in the mini and the bottles of liquor for our bar.  It was flawless.  I can't say the same for the RS experience on Equinox the year before.  It was nothing terrible, but the attention to detail just wasn't the same.   

 

I completely agree with @chemmo in that this is about training and experience.  But I also have to conclude that some people are just more detailed oriented than others.

Edited September 28 by Georgia_Peaches

[bjahil47]

18 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

This is a very frustrating scenario.  May I ask what ship?  The reason I ask is because the email from our SC posted in this thread somewhere on page 1 (I think), was from Reflection.  My mom and I sailed in a Signature suite at the end of July.  Not only did we receive the comprehensive email, we also received a PDF of every specialty restaurant menu and a confirmation email of everything that was booked for us.  Additionally, I followed up to change the size of one of the sets of PJ's and received an answer to that e-mail as well.  When we boarded, I confirmed with our Butler all of the details of my e-mail and everything was in place...down to the mixers I requested in the mini and the bottles of liquor for our bar.  It was flawless.  I can't say the same for the RS experience on Equinox the year before.  It was nothing terrible, but the attention to detail just wasn't the same.   

 

I completely agree with @chemmo in that this is about training and experience.  But I also have to conclude that some people are just more detailed oriented than others.

We will be on Eclipse in a few weeks.  Other RS’s were on Equinox.  Last year on a B2B in RS on Equinox most of our dining reservations were not made and they said they were full for the times we requested a few months before!  
 

it is frustrating and makes it less than a stellar experience before you are even on board!  Next year we have booked RS on Reflection and if I get the same run around we are done with upper suites and possibly Celebrity.  It’s already stressing me out as I want a perfect vacation.  

[George C]

Royal suites and above also get a free bottle of champagne, I traded champagne for two bottles of decoy Cabernet. Also for your two bottles of liquor they will give you things not on list , I got a bottle of Hennessy cognac as one of our choices.

[20165]

14 hours ago, George C said:

Royal suites and above also get a free bottle of champagne, I traded champagne for two bottles of decoy Cabernet. Also for your two bottles of liquor they will give you things not on list , I got a bottle of Hennessy cognac as one of our choices.

Thanks and no mention of Champagne in the email we got and we are in a royal suite.  

I get what Celebrity is trying to do here, but if not done properly, its more of an annoyance/disappointment for your highest paying passengers.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 minutes ago, 20165 said:

Thanks and no mention of Champagne in the email we got and we are in a royal suite.  

Well I've been somewhat critical of the lack of consistency among SC for each of the ships, but in fairness, the champagne is a perk of suite class and not really part of the selection process for upper suites.  It's automatically set up on embarkation day but if you would like to trade it out you simply inform your butler and they will take care of it for you.  In my experience, it's never been a part of the SC pre-embarkation email.

[Jim_Iain]

Like others I received a call from Shoreside for my November Silhouette RS.     She took all my requests and sent back and e-mail confirming our requests.    A week later I sent her two more reservation requests and received back and acknowledgement within one day.  

 

 

[Oville]

On 9/28/2024 at 3:05 AM, abbydancer2003 said:

Last month, when we got a move up to an Edge Villa (and it's going to be so hard going back to the sky suites), we were never contacted.  It was our 2nd of two cruises with a few days in between, and the concierges reached out but nothing.  I ended up calling, and apparently we got the move up when somebody else cancelled, and thus someone they didn't know.  The person I talked to was very helpful and took care of everything they should have (we didn't book specialty with her, because I didn't know what nights I wanted.  When we got there, we found the shore excursion tickets for the previous occupants, and the butler mentioned one of their dinner reservations.

 

At least they weren't in the room.

Are Move Ups different from booking upper suites directly in that you don’t get all the perks? Thanks

Edited September 30 by Oville

[abbydancer2003]

2 hours ago, Oville said:

Are Move Ups different from booking upper suites directly in that you don’t get all the perks? Thanks

Yes.  Usually, they cost less (but worth checking before you bid, on nonsuites sometimes the bid is higher than just booking), sometimes a lot.

 

But, you keep the points of your original booking, and the perks of the original (for example, if you had the classic beverage package, you still would).  You do get the perks of the room, such as specialty dining and access to the suite areas.

 

[canderson]

2 hours ago, Oville said:

Are Move Ups different from booking upper suites directly in that you don’t get all the perks? Thanks

Same issue as any move up.  In the case of an upper suite, you get the perks that come with the cabin, which are many (e.g., free laundry, 2x 1L bottles of booze or 2x wine, etc).  What you won't get are any WiFi or drinks package options that you didn't already have before the MoveUp.  Of course, if you're moving up from a Sky Suite, there won't be any noticeable difference at all.

 

What you don't get are the CC points for the MoveUp cabin.  You get the CC points for whatever you originally booked.

 

 

[Oville]

Thanks for the clarification.

[RichYak]

13 hours ago, canderson said:

What you won't get are any WiFi or drinks package options that you didn't already have before the MoveUp

There is an upper suite WiFi room amenity, so you would get that.

[peanut head]

On 9/28/2024 at 2:25 PM, chemmo said:

It just shouldn’t be such hard work…I feel for you. I don’t think Celebrity realises that it sets a real ‘non luxury’ message before you have even boarded. However, as I said, don’t worry, once you are on board everything will be sorted…

 

 

Your response is spot-on!  The unresponsiveness does set a tone of abandonment.  Just b/c I get the 2 emails (which has been the norm for me) doesn't mean that my responses are always answered.  I will follow through with more emails and phone calls.  I do want all my t's crossed and i's dotted before I board.  That's just the way I roll.  I am more apt to do more pre-cruise so that the cruise itself is as seamless and enjoyable as possible.

 

As @chemmo noted, I find that with the high turnover rate and lack of experience by the on-shore concierge, I must do more.

[canderson]

22 minutes ago, RichYak said:

There is an upper suite WiFi room amenity, so you would get that.

Should be, but no, you do not.  If you check the Celebrity web page carefully https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/suite-class/royal-suite

you will note this little gem of a caveat **.  As I say, the move would only be transparent in this regard if you already had premium bev and WiFi (either purchased, or because you were coming from a lower suite that included it):

 

• Unlimited Premium Drink Package: Featuring award-winning portfolio of red, white, and bubbly wines representing vineyards from around the world**

 

and

 

• Premium Wi-Fi package**

 

and later in the page

 

**Not included with special fares or MoveUp upgrades from a non-suite stateroom

[RichYak]

18 minutes ago, canderson said:

Should be, but no, you do not.  If you check the Celebrity web page carefully https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/suite-class/royal-suite

you will note this little gem of a caveat **.  As I say, the move would only be transparent in this regard if you already had premium bev and WiFi (either purchased, or because you were coming from a lower suite that included it):

 

• Unlimited Premium Drink Package: Featuring award-winning portfolio of red, white, and bubbly wines representing vineyards from around the world**

 

and

 

• Premium Wi-Fi package**

 

and later in the page

 

**Not included with special fares or MoveUp upgrades from a non-suite stateroom

Thanks for all that info that I'm already aware of, but I'm not referring to the Premium Wi-Fi package. There's an upper suites wi-fi amenity that includes multiple logins per person. It comes with the room and I've never seen it mentioned on Celebrity's website, though I've used it personally.

[canderson]

40 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Thanks for all that info that I'm already aware of, but I'm not referring to the Premium Wi-Fi package. There's an upper suites wi-fi amenity that includes multiple logins per person. It comes with the room and I've never seen it mentioned on Celebrity's website, though I've used it personally.

Not sure where we jumped tracks from MoveUp.  You have exactly the WiFi access you had before an 'upper suite' MoveUp. 

 

So let me reconsider your question and you can tell me where we are.

 

If you have no WiFi package prior to the MoveUp, are you asking whether you'll get multiple logins to a non-existent package?  Guessing not. 

 

Are you asking whether someone who already had a Premium package (we're back to Premium again) is afforded additional logins per person to the account that was "brought along" to an upper suite from the prior booking?  Never tried that.  Given that no WiFi at all is automatically conferred, I'd be surprised if the multi-device feature would be included.

 

Again, I believe all suites have been getting 4 devices for a while now (early 2023?), so a MoveUp from a Sky Suite would (again) be transparent. 

Edited September 30 by canderson

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, canderson said:

Not sure where we jumped tracks from MoveUp.  You have exactly the WiFi access you had before an 'upper suite' MoveUp.

We haven't jumped tracks. I'm saying that your second sentence is untrue IME. If you don't have the Premium Wi-Fi package and move up to an upper suite, you still don't get the Premium Wi-Fi Package. I agree with that.

 

I'm saying it's moot because the upper suite came with its own Wi-Fi amenity (not a booking perk/purchased package). It had double the simultaneous devices that the Premium Wi-Fi Package came with. I've had this conversation on CC in the past and I was part of consensus agreement at that time that wifi access was a room amenity of upper suites. If this has changed, it has changed in the last year or so.

 

I'm at the point now where I simply don't care if you believe me or not as I'm only trying to help. Ultimately this is what I would do: If I moved up to an upper suite and had no wifi package, I would refrain from buying one as the upper suite might come with wifi access since I already know it did in the recent past. Obviously, I would reevaluate once I boarded.

[canderson]

15 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I've had this conversation on CC in the past and I was part of consensus agreement at that time that wifi access was a room amenity of upper suites. If this has changed, it has changed in the last year or so.

Got it.  Celebrity's web page must be in error.  Guess that wouldn't be anything new.

 

[George C]

17 hours ago, RichYak said:

We haven't jumped tracks. I'm saying that your second sentence is untrue IME. If you don't have the Premium Wi-Fi package and move up to an upper suite, you still don't get the Premium Wi-Fi Package. I agree with that.

 

I'm saying it's moot because the upper suite came with its own Wi-Fi amenity (not a booking perk/purchased package). It had double the simultaneous devices that the Premium Wi-Fi Package came with. I've had this conversation on CC in the past and I was part of consensus agreement at that time that wifi access was a room amenity of upper suites. If this has changed, it has changed in the last year or so.

 

I'm at the point now where I simply don't care if you believe me or not as I'm only trying to help. Ultimately this is what I would do: If I moved up to an upper suite and had no wifi package, I would refrain from buying one as the upper suite might come with wifi access since I already know it did in the recent past. Obviously, I would reevaluate once I boarded.

We do a annual music charter that is always on a M class ship , we get premium drink and WiFi included in our royal suite , I know smaller suites need to buy drink package, we also get the rest of the perks. Last one was in March next one is in March. 

[RichYak]

2 minutes ago, George C said:

We do a annual music charter that is always on a M class ship , we get premium drink and WiFi included in our royal suite , I know smaller suites need to buy drink package, we also get the rest of the perks. Last one was in March next one is in March. 

To be clear, are you saying that for these music charters, if one books a Sky Suite, they don't get the drinks/wifi perks like they would with a non-charter booking?

[George C]

12 minutes ago, RichYak said:

To be clear, are you saying that for these music charters, if one books a Sky Suite, they don't get the drinks/wifi perks like they would with a non-charter booking?

Correct , we have done 6 so far and first one we had a sky suite, we bought the WiFi since wife needs it for work occasionally. We used micheals to get our drinks and it was just a 5 day cruise ( now they are 7 days ) so we did a back to back so we had 4 bottles of wine for dinner . 

[RichYak]

4 minutes ago, George C said:

Correct , we have done 6 so far and first one we had a sky suite, we bought the WiFi since wife needs it for work occasionally. We used micheals to get our drinks and it was just a 5 day cruise ( now they are 7 days ) so we did a back to back so we had 4 bottles of wine for dinner . 

Thanks. In my earlier exchange with @canderson I was going to bring up premium drinks as also being an upper suite amenity, but I was less certain about that. 

[abbydancer2003]

22 hours ago, canderson said:

Not sure where we jumped tracks from MoveUp.  You have exactly the WiFi access you had before an 'upper suite' MoveUp. 

 

So let me reconsider your question and you can tell me where we are.

 

If you have no WiFi package prior to the MoveUp, are you asking whether you'll get multiple logins to a non-existent package?  Guessing not. 

 

Are you asking whether someone who already had a Premium package (we're back to Premium again) is afforded additional logins per person to the account that was "brought along" to an upper suite from the prior booking?  Never tried that.  Given that no WiFi at all is automatically conferred, I'd be surprised if the multi-device feature would be included.

 

Again, I believe all suites have been getting 4 devices for a while now (early 2023?), so a MoveUp from a Sky Suite would (again) be transparent. 

Last month we had a sky suite for a 7 day, followed a few days later by 11 day.  We were in our sky suite for the 7, but got a move up to an upper suite (Edge Villa) for the 11 day.  On the 7 day we had our one premium wifi device.  Not 4.  We did however, have 4 on the second.

So the 4 devices go with the room, not the booking perk.   This was a month ago.

[billc23]

FWIW, Music Charters, Bliss Cruises, and other charted sailings have different amenities and perks than a Celebrity sponsored cruise. 

[canderson]

4 minutes ago, billc23 said:

FWIW, Music Charters, Bliss Cruises, and other charted sailings have different amenities and perks than a Celebrity sponsored cruise. 

Yeah.  No premium WiFi in the 'playrooms' 😉