Michael's Club vs The Retreat

[Gracie115]

18 hours ago, Oville said:

What ship were you on that changed Michael’s to Retreat.

Summit, Millennium, Equinox all have been changed to the Retreat, possibly more.... any that have been "revolutionized"

[Gracie115]

20 hours ago, MEcruzr said:

We were on the Equinox in October. Service was slow to nonexistent. One early evening we ordered drinks from a table. We ordered the same drinks every time we were there. Bartender was serving anyone who came up to the bar first. We ran out of time to get our drinks and got up to leave to go to dinner... bartender (regular, not a sub) said you don't want your drinks, was I too slow? Well... yes, you were.  I had ordered wine, my mom a vodka tonic. It was disappointing. With a drink package you can go anywhere... the RL is not our first choice anymore. Not when the service is so slow and the atmosphere so cold. The RL is NOT an improvement on the Equinox.

Maybe they designed it that way on purpose, maybe X felt they were giving away too much alcohol by actually having a warm, inviting lounge to socialize in....too bad...so glad we will still get a chance to experience Michael's on Reflection before it is revolutionized 

Edited December 8, 2019 by Gracie115

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I don’t think I want to sail on a ship where you have to flee to a “Retreat”....

[Caribbean Chris]

22 hours ago, MEcruzr said:

Michael's Club vs. Retreat Lounge. Same location, same space... different decor, different "feel". I prefer the old MC, to be honest. The RL feels... cold. And the service is not the same. One post said "they come to you"... well... if you're lucky they do. I find it very similar to airline club rooms. Go up to the bar if you want a drink. Get your own food. 

 

I'm depressed reading that. I liked the cozy atmosphere and we have had good experiences for the most part in "old" Michael's on Eclipse, Reflection, and Silhouette with concierge, a bartender aided by cocktail waitress every evening. special music some nights, Officers' suite party on the first Gala night, special event invitations from the concierge such as a sail-away on the bow heliport, etc.

 

Silhouette a few weeks ago had a good concierge - but the bartender seemed untrained and worked solo without a cocktail waitress/waiter except for the Officers' party. Even a standard drink (Cosmo) was incorrectly made one night. Two evenings in a row, I had to ask him for cocktail napkins after he brought the drinks - he returned to the bar to find some, versus the typical routine of napkins automatically placed when orders taken. We asked early on for a bowl of small snacks, which he found and brought once (but  never did again). Not sure what was going on, but it was a big contrast to the past bartenders in Michael's.

 

[hulamoon]

Yes I was told they are putting a bar in Apex Retreat. Yes retreat is a weird word for what it is, retreat is a good word for that place with water and floating lemons in front of spa on solstice class. I enjoyed it but it is not a place that they are bending over backwards to serve you or see how you like your cruise. They assume you like it and a few times throughout the day they will see if you want a drink.  I found it comfortable and pleasant. If you are a coffee drinker you will learn their high end machine and how to service it and keep it running. A fellow passenger will teach you. 

 

 Happy Camper 6143 is selling me on trying the yacht club. 🙂

[Mr&MrsBee]

Why not name it Lisa Lounge and everyone will be happy.

[grandgeezer]

3 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Celebrity should send its suite managers on a Yacht Club cruise on MSC.  They really know how to run a suite lounge.  Butlers falling all over themselves to serve you.  Food available all day.  180 degree window wall looking out on the ocean.  Comfortable chairs/couches one can actually sit in.  Afternoon tea is served to you, you are not expected to procure your own.  Lovely live music.  I can easily spend hours in there.  The Retreat Lounge is like a Motel 6 in comparison.  A dark, interior Motel 6.

We are a MSC Yacht Club lover. We did our first one on the Seaside in September and was completely blown away. We couldn’t believe  the price Celebrity was charging for their Sky Suite so we found a deal we could live with so we tried it, on the Equinox, this past August. After two weeks, we still couldn’t believe people would pay the going price. We did the same cruise we did last year on the Seaside, in October, and now it’s the Yacht Club, or stay home. Is it perfect? No, but it’s head and shoulders better than any of the other 42 cruises we’ve been on, and the best part, if you can find a deal, it’s worth it.

[bigbenboys]

3 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

You're kidding right? This is not really the library on the Edge? (obviously I have not sailed on Edge)

I'm not kidding. The cart is on deck 6 just you enter Eden on the left. We were on the Edge in March 2019. It was my understanding the cart was added after the ship was in service. They seem to be removing the Library on the other ships. If you look at Millennium deck 8 post revolutionized you will see 2 inside cabins instead of the library.

[RodPat]

On 12/7/2019 at 6:16 PM, bigbenboys said:

It is my understanding that Michael's Club name change happens during the revolution upgrade or downgrade. Depends how you view it. MC has a bar with bar stools. The Edge Retreat does not have a bar. They will come to you. I have heard talk of Celebrity adding a bar in the Retreat Lounge. Maybe it will be like the library that was added to the Edge. See photo. The Retreat is much larger on the Edge and  Luminae is twice as large. You lose that intimate feeling on the Edge.  They added new furniture, but seems like Celebrity forgot to put arms on a lot of the chairs. Arms on chairs must have cost to much.

I was told that there will be a bar on Apex in the retreat lounge.

 

Pat

[RodPat]

5 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Celebrity should send its suite managers on a Yacht Club cruise on MSC.  They really know how to run a suite lounge.  Butlers falling all over themselves to serve you.  Food available all day.  180 degree window wall looking out on the ocean.  Comfortable chairs/couches one can actually sit in.  Afternoon tea is served to you, you are not expected to procure your own.  Lovely live music.  I can easily spend hours in there.  The Retreat Lounge is like a Motel 6 in comparison.  A dark, interior Motel 6.

Linda, the retreat lounge on Edge has plenty of comfortable chairs and couches.  It also has a window wall across both sides of the ship.  It has also an outdoor seating area with plenty of shade if you prefer to sit outside.  Afternoon tea was served to you by the butlers.  Food was available all day.  You could go up and get it yourselves or the wait staff would bring what you like.  They had soft entertainment in there also.  It was quite nice as the singers were never too loud.  You really have to try the Edge, it was a wonderful experience.

 

Pat

[Gracie115]

9 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

I'm not kidding. The cart is on deck 6 just you enter Eden on the left. We were on the Edge in March 2019. It was my understanding the cart was added after the ship was in service. They seem to be removing the Library on the other ships. If you look at Millennium deck 8 post revolutionized you will see 2 inside cabins instead of the library.

 

Well either remove them or don't but this "library" is ridiculous...looks like a converted ice cream cart put out there so they could say "but we DO have a library"  . So do they move it around the ship?

[Gordoncruickshank]

14 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Celebrity should send its suite managers on a Yacht Club cruise on MSC.  They really know how to run a suite lounge.  Butlers falling all over themselves to serve you.  Food available all day.  180 degree window wall looking out on the ocean.  Comfortable chairs/couches one can actually sit in.  Afternoon tea is served to you, you are not expected to procure your own.  Lovely live music.  I can easily spend hours in there.  The Retreat Lounge is like a Motel 6 in comparison.  A dark, interior Motel 6.

We did afternoon teas on MSC once but decided that it wasn't worth the effort for the tiny things that were presented to us. The presentation was fine but the food was tiny!

 

We did like the evening entertainment, its variety and the fact that it actually covered the whole evening unlike anything in Michael's which is only on for those that want to dine at 6pm. Celebrity and the concierges forget that half their customer base does not want to be dressed for dinner at 5.30 and be in bed by 8.30.

Edited December 9, 2019 by Gordoncruickshank

[TeeRick]

16 hours ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

I don’t think I want to sail on a ship where you have to flee to a “Retreat”....

You don't flee to the Retreat Lounge.  You pay for it.  Alot.

[bigbenboys]

4 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

Well either remove them or don't but this "library" is ridiculous...looks like a converted ice cream cart put out there so they could say "but we DO have a library"  . So do they move it around the ship?

While I did not spend much time in Eden. It might be a good area for reading during the day. When they refit Edge maybe they will put in shelves for books. You think the library cart is ridiculous. Look at the photo of our breakfast table back in March 2019. Yes we were one of the lucky ones to get a table for breakfast in our SKY SUITE. 

Edited December 9, 2019 by bigbenboys

[Gracie115]

12 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

While I did not spend much time in Eden. It might be a good area for reading during the day. When they refit Edge maybe they will put in shelves for books. You think the library cart is ridiculous. Look at the photo of our breakfast table back in March 2019. Yes we were one of the lucky ones to get a table for breakfast in our SKY SUITE. 

 

oh....isn't that classy.....not 😨

[hulamoon]

On the crossing there was food available in the retreat but not all the time.

 

Celebrity put the book exchange on Edge  after people complained. There was no original plan for books or even a place to buy books. Nor was this in place last year. Celebrity felt libraries were no longer necessary. This exchange is a response to those of us who love libraries and book exchanges. It is sparse but the book exchanges get thin during a cruise on other ships too. It is at least something.

 

 

[hcat]

4 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

Well either remove them or don't but this "library" is ridiculous...looks like a converted ice cream cart put out there so they could say "but we DO have a library"  . So do they move it around the ship?

Obviously,  from one of the shops. Present one looked a bit different.

X should considered a  nicer  reading niche with bookshelves.  There are plenty of spots to do so

[C-Dragons]

18 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Celebrity should send its suite managers on a Yacht Club cruise on MSC.  They really know how to run a suite lounge.  Butlers falling all over themselves to serve you.  Food available all day.  180 degree window wall looking out on the ocean.  Comfortable chairs/couches one can actually sit in.  Afternoon tea is served to you, you are not expected to procure your own.  Lovely live music.  I can easily spend hours in there.  The Retreat Lounge is like a Motel 6 in comparison.  A dark, interior Motel 6.

IMO, X should bring Bogdan back from dry dock duty and put him in charge of training the Retreat Lounge

staff. He excels in this area. 😉

[C-Dragons]

13 hours ago, RodPat said:

Linda, the retreat lounge on Edge has plenty of comfortable chairs and couches.  It also has a window wall across both sides of the ship.  It has also an outdoor seating area with plenty of shade if you prefer to sit outside.  Afternoon tea was served to you by the butlers.  Food was available all day.  You could go up and get it yourselves or the wait staff would bring what you like.  They had soft entertainment in there also.  It was quite nice as the singers were never too loud.  You really have to try the Edge, it was a wonderful experience.

 

Pat

I agree.

But I also agree with others that the Retreat Concierges do make a difference in a guest's experience. On our second cruise on the Edge, the 3 concierges were very personable and we had a great time in the Retreat. The first time, the 3 Concierges seemed preoccupied most of the time with their laptops; it was such a letdown after our previous wonderful experiences in Michael's Club on Reflection.

[CAicruiser]

1 hour ago, bigbenboys said:

While I did not spend much time in Eden. It might be a good area for reading during the day. When they refit Edge maybe they will put in shelves for books. You think the library cart is ridiculous. Look at the photo of our breakfast table back in March 2019. Yes we were one of the lucky ones to get a table for breakfast in our SKY SUITE. 

Don't you think that make you feel like HOME ?

[Phxazzcruisers]

19 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

You're kidding right? This is not really the library on the Edge? (obviously I have not sailed on Edge)

Unfortunately they are not kidding.  That is the "library".  VERY disappointing

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

15 hours ago, RodPat said:

Linda, the retreat lounge on Edge has plenty of comfortable chairs and couches.  It also has a window wall across both sides of the ship.  It has also an outdoor seating area with plenty of shade if you prefer to sit outside.  Afternoon tea was served to you by the butlers.  Food was available all day.  You could go up and get it yourselves or the wait staff would bring what you like.  They had soft entertainment in there also.  It was quite nice as the singers were never too loud.  You really have to try the Edge, it was a wonderful experience.

 

Pat

 

Sorry, not at those prices.  I just sailed in a suite on Seaside which would be comparable to a sky suite on Edge, except that it has functional furniture.  And lots of closet space.  And a lounger and comfortable chairs on the balcony.  A beautiful new private island with an absolutely gorgeous Yacht Club clubhouse.  $280/night.  A comparable sky suite on the Edge for the same 7-night cruise would be $1,008/night.  For a solo.  I have no idea why LLP thinks her less than ideal suite experience justifies such prices.

[fstuff1]

4 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

I agree.

But I also agree with others that the Retreat Concierges do make a difference in a guest's experience. On our second cruise on the Edge, the 3 concierges were very personable and we had a great time in the Retreat. The first time, the 3 Concierges seemed preoccupied most of the time with their laptops; it was such a letdown after our previous wonderful experiences in Michael's Club on Reflection.

 

3 Concierges in the retreat??

I'm onboard the silhoutte which is only 100 pax smaller than the edge and there's only 1 Concierge (Lara) in Michael club.

she is wonderful though!!

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by fstuff1

[Oville]

54 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

3 Concierges in the retreat??

I'm onboard the silhoutte which is only 100 pax smaller than the edge and there's only 1 Concierge (Lara) in Michael club.

she is wonderful though!!

 

Edge has  significantly more suites, 176 vs 66.

 

 

[C-Dragons]

59 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

3 Concierges in the retreat??

I'm onboard the silhoutte which is only 100 pax smaller than the edge and there's only 1 Concierge (Lara) in Michael club.

she is wonderful though!!

 

Yes, Edge has 3. Reflection has 2.

Edited December 9, 2019 by C-Dragons