LXA350

The food in Blu over the years has gone down in quality and also the more healthy approach has disapeared, I assume lot's of complaints by american cruisers that didn't accept the healthy elements.

Anyhow on E class ships I don't see the added value as the dinning concept there makes the MDR experience much better. Whereas on M and S Clas ships with the one main dinning room I would always book Aqua Class.

For what you get on the Retreat the prices are not justified. As some of you said, you can cruise on a real luxury cruise line and get better for the same or less.

It starts with the little details in the Suite, the products in the bathroom are not anymore from a high end company such as LeLabo, Hermes or Bvlgari. For the slippers, at least on a recent cruise these were also cheap and not like before from Frette for instance. At least in the Royal Suite and above a Dyson Hair dryer would be a stanard amenity to excpect.

Luminae, is in my view a complete failiure, except for the design especially on the E ships which is beautiful the food concept is terrible. They try to make it high end but then to meet the North American taste, a concept that just doesn't work. Also, Luminae should offer much more freshly sourced high end products starting from the selection of fruits and vegetables. I understand that especially on certain itinararies it is logistically not possilbe to load provisions for the whole ship on ports of call, but for the Retreat / Luminae which basically is a Luxury Cruisliner within a large ship the concept should be focused on freshness and exclusivity + offer a variety that meets the North American, European and Asian travellers just like in every Exclusive Hotel or Luxury cruise Ship. Therefore I would excpect to be served freshly caught fish, the freshest local vegetables and fruits to be sourced at each port of call and not the same medium to poor quality product available on the whole ship. One more example is the Smoked Salmon at breakfast, a joke of what for poor quality it is.

Covercharge up to USD 50 including all service charges are ok, but anything more is not worth it. Le Voyage is already completely redicioulous, it soon costs as much as going to a top michelin restaurant on land. Daniel Bouloud is maybe a very good chef but one of the top Michelin chef's he is not.

It depends on the staff and the maitre'd, some are not willing at all to go any extra mile others will try to make things happen especially if it's less complicated things like getting items from MDR.

For this port condider a shore excursion, then you also don't need to wait for tenders. As mentioned in a previous post, the chance you will actually make it to Port Stanley is 50/50. From the 4 Cruises Eclipse did this year they made it also only twice.

It would have been also time to modernize the rooms to the design of the newer Oasis Class ships including new bathrooms. Somehow RCL likes to forget this during amplifications

As long as people are willing to pay for a inferior product such a premium nothing will change.

If they want to run it properly the Retreat has to be treated as a ship within a ship experience from all angles. This includes also the food offering when it comes to freshness, by loading fresh products at every port offering the freshes fruits, veggies and fish where premium products can be received meeting hygiene standards.

The Spa is another thing, absolutely overpriced and the quality you get is so poor. For the prices they charge you would expect quality you would find at Six Senses, Banyan Tree etc.

In case you want to fo to Capri I would organize it yourself, just buy the Ferry tickets in advance and especially for the return ensure to be back in Naples at least 90 minutes before all on board time. A day could look like this (assuming departure from Naples is at 18:30 or later):

Depart Naples at 08:35 (09:25 arrival Capri)*

Depart Capri at 15:25 (16:15 arrival Naples)*

Buy the tickets online before, there are several companies operating the ferry such as SNAV and NLG, depending on the schedule you choose you need to book one way tickets on the website of the respective companies. (Best to book it directly with the ferry operator, not any 3rd parties). totaost rount rrip should be approx EUR 50 per person.

For instance the above would be both ways with NLG. Also, unless it changed, you will only eceive a confirmation online, but the actual tickets need to be printed out for you at the port. Just go to the counter of the ferry operator. They will then print the tickets also forthe return leg.

1. After arrival take a bus to Anacapri and walk around there, optional take the chair lift up to Monte Solaro, for great views (EUR 14 round trip per person)

2. Take a bus to Capri Town, walk around the town, have some lunch etc

3. When it's time to catch your ferry, take the funicular down to the port (since there can be queues, be at the funicular station 45 mins before the ferry departure.

The cost for the bus / funicular is EUR 2.40 per person per ride. Best is to buy the tickets upon arrival in the morning at the ticket office. For the funicular it's a different ticket, therefore you need to specify. You would need 2x Bus tickets + 1 Funicular ticket per person.

In summary RCL offers a shore excursion covering the above at more than double the price absolutely not worth it. Here you can schedule the day per your liking on your own.

This seems to be correct, in order to reduce congestion they finally started to operate shore excursions by using round trip Athinios port. Looks like this excursion as well, however it points out that due to weather conditions you might be droped off in Fira at the cable car instead.

55 minutes ago, tfred said:

CEO isnt writing any of this - probably not even reading the questions. More than likely some PR person who has never sailed on a ship, or if they have it is in a standard room.  

 

Ordering from a different restaurant at a resort is unheard of - I dont see why people think that is ok on a ship (which is just a floating resort) 

It better not be the CEO, but then agan why make this whole fuss if its not her anyhow. Then better this Q&A thing should not have been implemented in the first place.

It's not about ordering from a different Restaurant, it's wanting an item that is not on the menu in that Restaurant. If you can't get what you are looking for in Luminae then the othe option is receiving it from a other Restaurant. When paying such prices also in luxury resorts you can request for customized options. Since this often is not possible in Luminae the next best option is to ask for a item available in a other venue.

From some of her responses it just shows that she has no clue of the actaul onboard experence and seems not to care from this superficial approach.

13 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 

 See Laura's response -- post #3 

Here is a partial quote from her response:

 

"Whenever you find yourself craving something on one of our MDR menus, but want to stay in the comfort of Luminae, we can have the food prepared and brought to you directly in Luminae. If you’re on an Edge Series ship this includes anything from Tuscan, Cosmopolitan, Cyprus, or Normandie."

 

 

I guess this was a great exapmple of a CEO not enough experienced with the onboard experience. You can't just order something from the MDR or Blu, if at all you can pre order the night before or in morning that you want speciic items served that day from these venues. Even then it is to the discretion of the maitre D / venue manager if they want to go the extra mile in organizing this. Same applies to preparing specail meals such as a Indian Curry etc. even if it would be available at another venue.

When it comes to White Wine, why can't you have a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc in the Premium Package

It is very annoying to get to hear every cruise the begging of cruise members to get a 10 rating. Overall, everyone of us can always do better and generally no rating should be given above 9 with some exceptions of course. Nothing in life is perfect, so if it i close to perfect "9" I would consider this a excellent rating.

As a compromise it would be great if X would offer shore excursions on it's own bicycles and E-Bikes organized by it's own staff. Various cruise lines such as "Mein Schiff (partially belongs to the RCI) offers that alteady.

Speciality Restaurant pricing is reaching new highs and absolutely do not justify the price when looking at the overall cruise fare paid. EDEN is really cool but still more than USD 60 (including gratuities) per person it's really not worth it.

Bottom line, comparing to other luxury cruise lines or the most exclusive resorts world wide the Retreat is to expensive for what it is, especially when looking at the pricing of RS and above. If they charge those prices they need to deliver much more in therms of quality and they don't.

Not sure if this was changed in the meanwhile, but you don't even receive anymore the Frete slipers, or better soap from Le Labo etc, only the same Bigelow products you get in every other cabin as well.

I don't think this would make any sense. If you are staying in a Suite and you paid for it (no upgrades etc), depending on the category where perks also vary you should benefit of the greatest perks on board.

The perks you are getting based on your status taking into consideration a majority are not staying in Suites is supposed to give a reward for being loyal to the X brand.

The highest rewards / perks should go to the paying suite customers therefore no additional goodies for a Elite etc because staying in Suites as he benefits already from the best perks on board. It works the same with airlines btw; if you fly First Class as a Top Tier customer you don't receive any additional perks as to somone that has a lower Tier status or no status at all.

3 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I do not want Mediterranean and Asian on the same plate.  😂
 

My Chinese husband is always going on and on about how HIS ancestors invented pasta.  As if.  🙄

of course not, that's why their pasta dishes should remain more simplified with a fresh tomato, Caio Pepe or Pesto sauce using the freshest ingredients. One of the secrets of great italian dishes, the fresh ingredients 🙂

On 7/18/2024 at 3:40 PM, Laura Hodges Bethge said:

I can definitively say no, we are not chasing a younger demographic. We are working every day to elevate our experience for YOU. That experience is focused on elevated hospitality, premium food and drink options, beautiful new destinations, and unique experiences. The core Celebrity guest will always be our north star. 
 

The future for Celebrity Cruises is to deliver experiences to our guests that they didn’t know they needed, and once experienced, cannot live without. 
 

I truly love all our classes of ships. They each have a distinct feel and vibe. That said, each guest I encounter and have the pleasure of connecting with has a different view on it--which is great! As we think through the next class of ships, we will ensure we embody the traditional things you all love, while also evolving some concepts, and revolutionizing the premium space with new things as well.
 

Our job is to bring to life products and experiences you will LOVE! That is always the goal.
 

I have to disagree with you when you are refering to *premium food and drink options". As long as there i no focus on fresness and ensuring a wide selection of fresh fruits and vegetables are available throughout the cruise by loading constantly fresh items especially for Blu and Luminae I can't agree. Also, when it comes to drinks, the coctails often are made out of sirups etc. Looking at the best bars and restaurants how for instance Lichi Martinis are made, what you find on board is a disgrace. This drink is even not a big challenge as it requires caned litchies an it's juice, whereas you don't even offer this, only some sirup. Your brand has a lot of potential when it comes to improve the quality of the food and drinks. It's actually a shame, as the hard product you got, the Edge Class is just so beautiful and all it's venues, but you must get th soft products right as well. As you should know best yourself, top hospitality is not only about the overall experience it's also about the details and this is often mssing.

On 7/22/2024 at 5:45 PM, Laura Hodges Bethge said:

Thank you for continuing to choose to sail with us. We are continuously working on our menu variety whether that is rotating the menu items based on guest feedback or giving our chefs onboard the creative freedom to experiment and make the dishes we offer their own. Whenever you find yourself craving something on one of our MDR menus, but want to stay in the comfort of Luminae, we can have the food prepared and brought to you directly in Luminae. If you’re on an Edge Series ship this includes anything from Tuscan, Cosmopolitan, Cyprus, or Normandie. We will take this feedback back to the team too. We appreciate the feedback and are constantly looking for ways to elevate the experience on board for our guests. 

Sorry to say, but somehow the food concept of Luminae has failed completely. You try to create a so called gourmet experience but then experiement with the wrong combination of ingredients. This starts already from the basics, the homemade pasta you offer is excllent, but then i gets ruined with strange americanised sauce combinations. Luminea should be a venue combining Mediteranean, Asian fusion with a hint of haute cuisine of excellent quality. The way this is being interpreted is just a failure obviously you can't combine all these flavors at once, hence more organized themed menus would be needed per night with focus each night on a different theme combination. When it comes to certain dishes, like pasta more basic is better. Yes, as not everyone likes fusion, asian etc cuisine, have at least 2 classic starters and mains on the menu per day including Filet Mignion every night.

On 7/18/2024 at 11:40 PM, lv2cruisgrl said:

I agree your crew is amazing, now can we get the food back to amazing also!

The quality of the food really has to improve including the quality an quantity available of fresh fruit and vegetables also in Luminae and Blu. On cruises of 7 nights or more with stops at ports with proper facilities it is unheard of that no fresh items are being loaded. X is trying to use the word "luxury" but this also refers to delivering "quality". Esxpecially when it comes to details there is quite a bit lacking behind, even more so when it comes to Suites which really puts you in the levels to compete with the boutique luxury cruise lines.

The idea of these excusive items is not to change them, for this you have the daily changing menus. As long as these favorites remain popular no need to make any adjustments I guess. That some items are not special and could be replaced with something better, this yes. Items offered in Tuscan are nothing special for instance. Dessert in Normandie could be more special and much better also. Such as Profiterole with real melted chocolate. Or a Napoleon made out of real Vanilla and not fake colouring, something you get much to often on board.

With extending the status match to all tiers throughout the Royal Caribbean Group it is clear that they want to provide it's customers flexibility of the different kind of cruise markets within their own group.

Yes Royal Caribbean is currently focusing on the family "resort" style vacation and and at young adults that want to have a few days / week of a great time partyng. This type of clientele is very important and the offering still has potential for growth.

However a family vacation for instance does not only go on a resort / beach holiday, they also want to explore something differnet, such as Alaska including a land tour. A ship is needed to replace Radiance currently doing the one way cruises from Vancuver to Seward and back. Same goes with exploring more exotic destinations involving culture and unique experiences. All of this you also want to experience as a family and for this a class of ship should be created.

It's a great thing that there is now the full status match across the group but still not everyone has the budget to cruise on Silversea or likes this type of cruise ships. Hence, there still has to be a other option to explore the world. Yes there is also X but also here it's more adults and less so meets the full multi generation criteria.

I think they wanted to add it originally during her refurbishment before the pandemic but didn't add that venue at the end for some reason.