Happy Cruiser 6143

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.

Mine show up that way also, but I do get the double points after the cruise is over. Once, right after they started that program, I didn't. A quick call to the captains club remedied the issue and it's been fine since then. My guess is that Celebrity's crack IT system can't figure out how to put that in your sailing until after you've sailed. So don't worry about it, but do keep an eye out.

I used to get the e-mails. Then they mysteriously stopped. Now I just depend on the folks on this thread to post when new opportunities arise. Much easier dealing with folks on this thread than trying to talk to Celebrity!

Enjoy! If Lobo is still the maitre d' in Luminae, you're in for a treat.

I don't understand why people come here after their cruise and whine about their butler. There is a retreat manager for a reason. That person's job is to deal with these issues while you're on the ship. Celebrity can't fix what it doesn't know about. Also, the post above about lack of communication is very relevant.

All the butlers I've spoken with prefer the term butler. So that's the term I use. It has a widely accepted meaning. Personal retreat host is a mouthful of marketing blarney.

Well, so far, I've had good luck with buying iPads on board with OBC. Just purchased my second one on board the Summit in April. I did have them open the box, charge it up, and verify that it was working.

You need to contact the suite manager to rectify this issue. Instead of fussing on Cruise Critic, which will accomplish nothing.

My yardstick for a tip for an exceptional butler is $10/day.

Agree. Much better than the summer cruises when it mostly rains.