Dolebludger

FWIW, we really liked our cruises on in 2018 and 2019 in CS and RS. But, for the future, it seems that things we liked then may no be there now, and the fares now are astronomical and not competitive. I wish this were not true.

To me, a significant problem with what X is doing with the drink package is classification of some rather ordinary wines and spirits as extra cost items. I mention Regent, as it is a lux line, and I believe the Retreat was also designed and marketed as a lux experience. On Regent, almost all beverages are included. The only ones at extra cost are a very few extremely expensive wines and spirits. Certainly nothing that Costco sells is at extra charge on Regent. I have no problem with the system on Regent. But what X is doing is diluting the value of the drink package to the point that it is no longer part of the lux experience.

This reminds me of the $2 (plus 20%) cookie fiasco. And I hope it meets the same fate. It seems that Celebrity is trying to squeeze every last nickel out of the passengers. Management should be ashamed.

Well ,yes. Residential furnishings can be much more fragile than commercial furnishings and still get by. But in a commercial setting, furnishings need to be much more sturdy in all respects. I’m just not seeing that in the Retreat on the Summit.

Welk back before 9/11 all cruise lines (except Carnival) allowed guests to carry on any beverages they wanted. And on RCCL, you could buy spirits cheap in the onboard liquor store for consumption in one’s room. Then, shortly thereafter, changes happened. Suddenly, cruisers on RCCL were prohibited from bringing any beverages onboard. Luggage was X rayed and any drinks were held until cruise end. On board liquor stores wouldn’t allow purchases to be taken to the rooms, but were kept until disembarkation . Then the stores disappeared. Soon. All mass market lines followed RCCL. And so we quit cruising on mass market lines. we confined ourselves to AI lux lines. This means we don’t cruise as often, but come home happier.. I have always believed that the cruise lines used 9/11 as an excuse to X ray and search luggage —not for bombs and guns — but to stop “bring on” beverages from depriving them from revenue from their over—priced on board beverages. Just my opinion. But we haven’t cruised in a line or category that wasn’t AI onboard since early 2002.

Yes, this March we are booked in a concierge suite in the eastern Caribbean on the Regent Splendor. After seeing the furniture and trim in the SS in this thread, I used google to see pics of our future suite. It looked nothing like the SS suite, furniture and trim. It looks contemporary, but classy. I know that cruising in the Caribbean is a bit overdone, but we haven’t cruised there for 14 years. And we are old, and airlines aren’t reliable. The longer the flight, the more connections, the greater the chance of being stranded. So we are going back to the Caribbean. The furniture deficiencies in the SS wouldn’t keep us from booking a cruise in one. But other things do.

Well, regardless of what I might use the desk for (if anything), I don’t think the desk and chair look right. The chair looks like those plastic patio chairs that grocery stores sell for $20 or so. The desk (and other furniture) looks like that synthetic wood stuff sold at Walmart. And, that sofa. I don’t know how it works, but it looks like that cheap stuff that has no frame and is only foam rubber. It doesn’t look like what should be in a suite.

Actually, no, the comment is not too harsh. There is a large, open question about how much wiggle room should be allowed in a mandatory contract fine print drafted by any seller when what’s delivered is not quite what was originally purchased. This language in the fine print of the “cruise contract” is supposed to protect cruise lines when they have to change itineraries because of weather and wars. Totally fair. But cruise lines’ interpretation of this has gone way beyond this. And it isn’t just Celebrity. My favorite line now (Regent) is currently involved in a problem of major port cancellations in the west coast of Mexico on its newest ship (the Grandeur). The reason for this is that this ship was designed to hook up to the ports electrical service instead of using its engines to generate electricity in ports. An environmental thing. The cancelled ports (according to Regent’s admission in emails to booked guests) was that the cancelled ports did not have electrical hook up capability. This mess doesn’t affect our Regent booking, so we will go. But if Regent’s handling of this doesn’t satisfy me, it will be goodbye to them too!

I know my posts on this subject are lux lines vs the Retreat. In categories below the Retreat, it looks like to me that Celebrity still offers a good deal, compared with its mass market competition. Actually, the Retreat (and the Yacht Club and the Haven) were set up to offer those who would ordinarily take a lux line 98% of the lux experience for a much lower fare. And we believe that the Retreat did a very good job of establishing itself I that market, pre-pandemic. Now, Celebrity has raised Retreat fares so much that they are higher than our preferred lux line (Regent), while cutting back on too many lux perks to list in this post. I am not angry with Celebrity due to this, because I can just book a lux line with a lower fare than currently on the Retreat. Instead, I feel sorry for Celebrity. It had built up a loyal following for its Retreat product. Now it is sure to loose that following.

Well, the loss of a butler would perhaps wouldn’t be such a big deal if it hadn’t been accompanied by other cuts (tips no longer included, for example), and significant fare increases.

Is this the same in Luminae and Blu?

Is it just me, or do the furnishings in the Sky Suite look a little “Motel 6ish”? I couldn’t tell much about the Yacht Club inside, because it was small with not much in it.

I think the point here is that if a cruise line uses obscure language in their “passage contract” (which is in such small print that I cannot read it) to deprive customers of an advertised benefit when they paid for it, it is time for another cruise line. Cruise lines (and airlines, hotels, resorts, and all travel providers) get away with murder because if obscure and unreadable contract provisions. Thus should not be!

Well, we are RSSC regulars. We cruised it when it had the Paul Gauguin and the Diamond, and last June on the Explorer. Much in between. In about 2018 and 2019 we had two cruises in the X Retreat, and they were really good, and at less cost than Regent for a larger suite. We checked things out lately, and find that the Retreat is more costly than cruising Regent. And find that the Retreat benefits have been cut. So no way on Celebrity! Back to Regent exclusively for us. They have the best price on what we require.

Well, I just think this is a sign of Celebrity trying to go back to its roots as a mass market cruise line. Trying to nickel and dime the guests is a hallmark of mass market lines. Remember who Celebrity’s parent company is — RCCL — the worst nickel and dimer of all !

Yes sixpackeddie, on Regent, the room steward or the room service crew will bring you whatever you want. We just care that this is what happens. We don’t care if anybody has the title of “butler” or not. And on a real lux line, it does happen. It seems that in a line that is not a real lux line, it doesn’t,— even if the price is higher than on a real luxline.

Yes, my wife calls that onion ring sauce shown above as “comeback sauce”.it is catsup+mayo+spices. She does it better than any 5 star restaurant I’ve ever been to.

Yes, Regent has had included shore excursions for several years.some are good and some are not. But we are booked on a Regent 7 night this March, and we also have a $1K room credit. And on Regent, the best place to spend that is on “premium” shore excursions, which cost extra. And on Regent, there aren’t any “infomercials” about shore shopping. It is a true “lux line”. And now, it can be booked for less than an X SS! I liked Celebrity when it was a lower cost alternative to Regent. It isn’t that anymore.

Sorry, my last Silversea cruise was in 2009, and I don’t think we had a “butler”with that title. But all service was great, as it is on Regent.

I’d just like to give my personal opinion about when butlers are and are not needed for a premium cruise experience. If a ship has an adequate number and quality of room stewards and room service personnel, butlers aren’t really needed. Examples of lines I have experienced that that provide excellent service without butlers in all but the highest suite levels include Silversea and Regent. Those who cruise these lines pretty much agree that butlers are rather redundant, and are not a reason to book a top suite. But on those lines, the stewards perform all the functions of butlers in the Retreat, and are adequate in numbers to do so, and still make up suites, because they have fewer suites to service. They don’t have to become involved with room service functions, because room service is staffed to provide prompt and accurate service. So, on these lines, there is a premium/lux experience without butlers. In contrast, it has been my observation that on Celebrity, room stewards are given only the duties of hotel maids, and have too many rooms assigned to do more. Similarly, room service is not staffed to the numbers required to provide premium service. Thus, when Celebrity sought to offer a lux product in its suite class (Retreat) it added the butlers, and priced the Retreat less than the lux lines I mentioned above. And it provided a very good product for a time. Now, with elimination of butlers in SS and other cuts, along with huge price increases, it is no longer competitive in the lux market. Again, just my opinion.

You know, that furniture doesn’t look very comfortable. Is it?

I am a member of the Elks Lodge. At our local lodge, cell phone use is not allowed in the bar room. If a member gets a cell phone call while visiting this bar, the rule is that he/she goes to another area to talk on the phone. And all obey the rule, or are reminded of it. It works out well for all. And it would work on cruise ships.

Actually, price considered, the Retreat is not a competitor of the YC. The Retreat has become a competitor of Silversea and Regent, price wise, and is losing badly IMHO.