Happy Cruiser 6143

It doesn't happen. There is a small area reserved for suites on chic nights. About ten minutes prior to the start of the show, the ropes are removed and the area is opened to all.

Yes, I just tacked on another cruise to the repo I'm doing on the Summit in the fall and no extra OBC was offered for a suite.

I agree. Most of the times I've been in the Retreat Lounge, you could shoot a cannon off and not hit anyone. Only time I've seen much interest is the night the officers show up. Besides, how many Zeniths are on any given cruise? I'll wager not many. Doesn't seem a good idea to piss off your most loyal cruisers, but what do I know?

The butler provided several bottles of champagne.

That's the message I was sending. No charge if you organize it with your butler. I had a sailaway party for 25 in the PH.

I don't recommend asking the shoreside concierge for food for a sailaway party. I simply asked her to alert our butler that I would be holding one. She sent me a catering menu with a $550 setup charge! And more charges for the food. This was not my first rodeo and I knew that the butler would take care of this for no charge. So, if you're planning to do this, just connect with your butler ASAP after you board. If he/she is not hanging around, have the Retreat concierge contact him/her.

I haven't found one yet with the single supplement waived. I've seen discounted SSs, but not a complete waiver.

Me too! The PJs are meh. Love the robes. I would have had two by now if it hadn't been for the shutdown. Oh well.

My experiences in Tuscan prior to my April 25 cruise on the Summit had been meh. But the cost was included with my suite and my friends wanted to go so gave it another try. Happy to report that the food and the service on Summit were both excellent!

It may surprise you to know that some people can be happy and enjoy a cruise and still not care for some of the features on a ship. I too have spent time in that suite both pre and post change and, in my opinion, many of the changes were not an improvement. I think I have a right to my opinion as you do to yours. My opinion in no way invalidates your enjoyment of the suite. It's just my opinion. It didn't keep me from enjoying the suite. There are many things to like about it. You found the seats on the verandah comfortable. To me, they were rather hard and uncomfortable. Just two different impressions. And I preferred the individual chairs in the previous version of the living room. Just a personal preference--I believe we all have them. Life would be pretty boring if we all liked the same stuff.

Agree. Or give us the premium package.

I'm loving your sense of humor! Next time, just make an appointment at Walgreen's and do the drive-through test. Took less than a minute to make the ap on my old-fashioned desktop (complete with a keyboard on which I can type like a demon thanks to the requirement to take typing in my HS, which I thought was insane at the time--what did I know?), drove right up to the window at the appointed time, and had my results in less than an hour. Unfortunately, no solution to the stress of wondering if one will test positive at the last minute despite absolutely no symptoms and thus the cruise one has been so eagerly anticipating is toast. I decided not to put anything in the suitcase until I had a negative test result in hand.

I put all the silly HoppenCrap stuff in those useless floor cabinets. I mean, really--vases that can't hold water? Yup, I sure needed those.

Lucky you to have scored the PH! Having been in there on the spring repo on the Summit (with only 350 other fellow pax), I'm very interested in your chair ratings. Watching that silly round one in the living room go round and round all by itself when the ship was moving was certainly amusing. And my personal award for the most uncomfortable chair in the entire universe goes to the one at the desk in the MBR. It will be interesting to hear your take. Will also be interested to hear who your butler is. Alex, probably one of the world's greatest, got shifted to different floors on the second leg of the B2B. Apparently they move the butlers around from time to time. Enjoy!

Yes, solo cruisers get stuck paying for twice the AI stuff. It sucks. Celebrity could fix this but apparently they don't care to. I don't mind paying twice the gratuities but I definitely mind paying for two drink packages and two internet packages!

That's how I felt on the Summit this spring when we went from 350 pax on the first cruise to 1600 on the second one! I walked into Bacio the first morning of the second cruise and asked my favorite server where did all these people come from?!

The mismatch between outlets and appliances on Celebrity ships is nuts. I was in the PH on Summit which has been Hoppenized. For some ungodly reason, she took out the lovely dressing table area outside the master bath where one could sit to dry one's hair and installed yet more closets! There are already more than enough closets in the PH! Anyhow, now the only place to dry one's hair is at the desk in the MBR. Except that the hairdryer plug doesn't match the outlet available. Obviously a cheap fix would be to purchase a hairdryer with the sort of plug which exists there. But that seems to be beyond the great minds at Celebrity.

Try the Celebrity website.

FYI, it's now 2 bottles/person.

Your butler should have been doing all that. When he/she doesn't, you should let the suite manager know. If Celebrity doesn't know about a problem, they can't fix it and the next occupant of that cabin gets stuck with that butler who is not willing to do the job. Talking about it after the cruise on Cruise Critic is not a solution to the problem.

Hard question. Two of my favorite ships. I love the Summit mostly because of its size and its fabulous crew. Not a fan of the Hoppenized cabins. But if you're sailing in the penthouse, there probably is no better cabin at sea. The dearth of specialty restaurants is somewhat of an issue. I love the Equinox because it hasn't been Hoppenized! Last time I sailed her my cabin was wonderful and so was the crew. Good luck with your decision!

The only thing I can add to this excellent advice is that great butlers and maitre d's are very good at what they do and recognizing you is part of their job. Again, communication. Whenever we would plan to dine in a specialty restaurant, we would let the maitre d' know so he/she wouldn't expect us that evening. Also, please recognize that they have a lot of suites to attend to. I once asked our fabulous butler on the Summit for something minor (can't remember what) and he replied that he couldn't at that moment as he was the only butler on duty covering for all the other butlers. Not a problem. If you work with them, they will work with you.

In a sky suite, it will all depend on your butler. Some restock the mini bar, some don't. Talk about it with your butler. I've never asked my butler to bring drinks, but some do. If this is important to you, have a conversation with your butler. Dinner on your balcony is definitely doable--please give the butler some advance notice on that. I've always just ordered from room service, I doubt you could get food from Luminae in a sky suite. Again, ask your butler if that is possible. Communication is key.

I agree. I used to enjoy that afternoon visit with my butler. Plus, that's generally a time when one is relaxing and getting ready for the evening, so not dressed to visit the lounge. Oh well, what do we know? We're just the stupid customers.

Right. I've been Elite+ forever and I don't get the PUP e-mails. I did for a while and then they wandered off into the ether. Doesn't stop them from sending me zillions of marketing e-mails though.