jelayne

An attempt at humor.

It was better service than with the Retreat Team Concept. Then the Retreat Concierges were swamped with folks wanting to make/change dinner reservations, cancel excursions, get help with internet, etc. The butlers are now handling these things for many of the guests. So a big improvement there. I’m not sure whether the reactive approach is due to the number or suites each Butler has or a reduction in their freedom to act. Things like not offering a cheese plate or snacks when we had 3 other couples in for drinks, no offer to stock beer in mini bar, or no surprise bottle of wine, or no unexpected snack, cookies or other treats periodically appearing in the suite.

The door to the Retreat Lounge ( and Sun Deck) require you to tap you Sea Pass card to open. Now if someone is passing by the door or exiting as you arrive you may be able to enter without you card.

The other person was clear their bid was $1100 pp. If the objective is to maximize total revenue then taking the $1100 pp upgrade got more total revenue. $6900 +$2200. If the objective is to get new revenue, which some feel it is, then our bid of $1800 pp- $3600 would have done that. Doubt we will ever know how MU actually works.

Seems to be the case. We were told by multiple butlers and the Concierge that they were now fully staffed. The Butlers were hesitant to say how many suites they had but when I said I read it was over 20, they were surprised that I knew and were a bit more forthcoming with the numbers.

We are just off the an Edge from a B2B in 2 different SS, so 2 different butlers. . They are fully staffed with Butlers but rather than the 12 +/- suites they had previously they now each have closer to 22/23. We saw each butler on day 1 and placed a standing order for juice, which was delivered on time all but one day. We asked that the mini bar be emptied and that the soda we wanted stocked. It was emptied by the cabin attendant, not sure if the Butler or attendant stocked it with the soda but it but it wasn’t restocked once on each leg. The cabin attendant picked up and delivered laundry where previously the Butler handled laundry. We only saw our Butler in the hall on 1 occasion on the first leg, never on the 2nd leg. Occasionally we would see them in the Lounge. Each did stop by about every 4th evening to check if everything is okay or if we needed anything. We were cruising with friends on the first leg had 6 in for a glass of wine pre dinner 1 evening. The Butler supplied the glasses but unlike in the past no offer of snacks or cheese plate from the Butler. Previously on sailings where passports had to be collected and picked up the Butler picked them up and returned them. That wasn’t the case this time. When we asked for something we got it. I would describe Butler service as reactive not proactive or looking for opportunities to enhance the experience as they did in the past.

The corkage fee only applies to bottles brought on board if you do not have the Classic or Premium beverage package. Any bottles you buy from the ship do not have a corkage fee.

We tip extra to our cabin attendant, dining wait staff, butler and sommlier if they have provided service we consider more than the standard. For the sommlier that could be recommending wines to pair with our food, for the cabin attendant getting us ice daily or handling mutlitple laundry packages, or regularly seeing me coming down the hall with hands full and rushing to open the cabin door. The wait staff may make good recommendations on what to order or what to avoid at dinner, remembering you want a glass of just ice every evening and bring it without you asking every time. We tip the bartenders at the bars we frequent regularly if they have provided good service and remembered our favorite drinks. We give these tips at the end of the cruise, generally I put the $ in an envelope with a Thank You note. We tip the bartenders at the bars we frequent regularly if they have provided good service, remembered our favorite drinks, etc. generally we give these tips at the end as well. The only folks we tip before the end are the restroom attendants, if we stop at the same restroom say on the way to dinner we will give the attendant a couple of $ every few days.

We have a number friends who gamble frequently and with a fair amount played on cruises. Most times cruises are casino comped. They do specialty restaurants, get massages, mani/pedi and buy wines by the bottle but no ship excursions. The cruise line loves them because they are spending in the high profit areas.

Pre pandemic they did offer wine packages of 3, 5, 7 bottles. I have not seen them offer since cruising restarted.

Just off the Edge, the cabanas face the walkway they have large planters with shrubs placed at the end of them to provide privacy from those walking past. They do provide privacy but restrict the view to the water. Across the walkway from the cabanas is an open area with large chairs and a good view to the ocean. Most days the cabanas were vacant but the large chairs were in use, seems they are available to anyone and further block the view. After seeing the cabanas again with the planters and chairs, I would say the cabanas are not a good option to view Alaska.

Even when the bar menus appear they only list a few of the drinks available from the bars, generally they list just the specialty drinks from that bar. They don’t list things like gin & tonic, Bloody Mary, margarita, pina colada, etc yet you can most of these and more at every bar. The key to the Classic vs Premium package is the brand of alcohol use to make the drink. if the drink can be made with the brands of liquor on the Classic package it is covered by that package. Here is a recent list of liquors on the packages

Every cruise we have booked and the ones we just completed have had some decent discounts on the Premium package (25-30%) and some flash sales it has been heavily (35-45%) discounted. Wines are limited if you stick to the printed wine list. If you have a knowledgeable sommelier they can recommend some wines that aren’t on the list. Just got off 27 nights and only had wine with a upcharge 2 nights.

$17 unless you want one made with a vodka or gin above the premium package. On the premium package you have: Vodkas- grey goose, Ketel 1, Belvedere, Critic, Chopin & Tito’s. Gins - Tangueray 10, Hendricks, Bombay Sapphire, Gunpowder or Plymouth.

Did you log into his account? The same happen on a previous cruise. When I logged into DHs account his was there.