What has been your 2023 experience in The Retreat?

[JDPCruisers]

Have been reading many posts on how much food quality, quantity and service have demised (in some cases significantly across the X fleet) and curious about Retreat booked guests experience this year? 

 

Have you experienced a decrease in food, service, suite, room attendant, Butler or anything else this year as Retreat guests and around the ship?

 

We have cruises Millie (2019), Apex (2022) and Infinity (2022) and are booked on Edge in April so would appreciate your experiences.

 

Thanks!

 

[mac_tlc]

We just got off the Beyond a couple weeks ago and our Retreat experience was the same as it was in 2022 on Edge and Apex. I had a paper copy of the Luminae menus from a couple years ago and compared them to the menus on Beyond. Virtually identical. Same number of choices, maybe one starter a bit different. 
 

Plenty of severs in Retreat Lounge. Butler and stateroom attendant service was no different than last year.

 

mac_tlc

[TeeRick]

3 minutes ago, JDPCruisers said:

Have been reading many posts on how much food quality, quantity and service have demised (in some cases significantly across the X fleet) and curious about Retreat booked guests experience this year? 

 

Have you experienced a decrease in food, service, suite, room attendant, Butler or anything else this year as Retreat guests and around the ship?

 

We have cruises Millie (2019), Apex (2022) and Infinity (2022) and are booked on Edge in April so would appreciate your experiences.

 

Thanks!

 

We sailed Equinox in January 2023 for 9 nights.  It has a partially revolutionized Retreat.  Not like E-Class ships with the full Retreat area.  We found the experience to be similar to what we experienced in the past- very good.  We were in a CS but it was showing its age a bit.  Luminae was excellent as usual.  Great food and service, and good selections.  We also could order from the MDR menu since it is S-Class.  That was fine too.  We did not use the Retreat sun deck at all.  Not many people up there when I checked it out.  We really did not use the Retreat Lounge very much- although it was upgraded and seemed quite nice.  But we did use the Retreat Concierge for Guest Services issues on maybe two occasions, and she was excellent.  With a premium drink package we prefer to use other bars on the ship - particularly World Class Bar.  Also we had an attentive butler but we hardly used him at all. 

[DCPIV]

We're about sail Retreat on Reflection, and we're staying in the very same room we stayed in right about a year prior.  I'll be happy to report back with a comparison.

[paulh84]

We are recently off Beyond and had a great experience. We don't use the butler often but he was visible at least once a day to check on things. The room was made up almost immediately as we left the cabin in the morning. The first night in Luminae was a little clunky but as they get to know you and your preferences after day one it was very nice. We had maybe two very minor issues that the Retreat Concierge took care of on the stop. These were not Retreat/Suite specific issues if that matters. We were offered a drink within moments of entering the lounge every time. Service on the Retreat Sundeck was also prompt and very friendly. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, nor would I hesitate to book outside The Retreat. Many of complaints posted daily are mostly irrelevant to me personally. My usual caveat is if I could find a comparable product that checks as many boxes on another cruiseline, I would book it but I haven't found that yet (and MSC YC is not it). 

[kokopelli-az]

We just got off the Reflection on Sunday.   We saw no difference in anything Retreat-wise.   Our room was always neatly made up, service in Michael's Club was excellent and Luminae was great.   Great service all around with no complaints.   

 

[DCPIV]

5 minutes ago, kokopelli-az said:

We just got off the Reflection on Sunday.   We saw no difference in anything Retreat-wise.   Our room was always neatly made up, service in Michael's Club was excellent and Luminae was great.   Great service all around with no complaints.   

 

 

I gotta ask: Is Cranston still in Michael's?

[Shiba_Lover]

We were on the summit a few weeks ago.  It was fantastic.  Actually better service than on Apex in 2022.  By better I mean more personalized, and the food seemed a bit better than in Apex.  I think this is due to the size of the ship and number of suites (passengers vs staff).

 

We don't ask for a lot of attention - but in the dining room on APex, I felt that we were seated with a different waiter each evening.  On Summit, we had the same table and waiter each evening and breakfast.  They knew I did not car for onions/chives and would leave them out if possible or tell me if it was not possible so I could choose something else (or if they were in big chunks and I could just pick around them) (don't judge - it's my one thing).  Little things like that.

 

The staff in the Retreat lounge on Summit made very good drinks - martinis perfectly chilled.  On Apex - we had to ask for ice cubes - drinks were never cold despite asking.

 

I think it is just the sheer number of passengers versus the number of staff on Apex vs Summit.

 

 

[39august]

Also on EQ in January and early Feb. for b2b. Absolutly fantastic service in Luminae and food same as usual. Very good. Great butler and cabin attendants. Love Laura, concierge  in the Retreat lounge. We've cruised with her before.  Great crew on the entire ship. Couldn't ask for a better cruise. 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Overall we saw no major difference pre and post covid.  The only think that changed was the push by the butler to have you go the Retreat lounge for afternoon snacks rather than delivering something to your suite.  This didn't bother us because it was less calories and we didn't gain any weight. Service in Luminae was rushed unless we went later but this was a fully booked New Year's cruise.

[Jim_Iain]

I really have not seemed much difference at all.    Having said that on Summit in October there were some crew shortages but they worked well around them  

 

Because of crew going home they got down to only having 2 butlers to handle all the suites on the ship.   They really worked their tails off and didn't see any drop in service.

 

We had one waiter in Luminae that they pulled from MDR.   He was only an Assistant waiter and was terrified and shaking the first night as he knew we were Zenith's.   He turned out to be one of the best waiter's we have ever had and we chat often.

 

First night we encouraged him to calm down and we would give him pointers.   By our third cruise we were playing with him and would swap the knife and fork and would chuckle with him when he realized.    We would learn a little Indonesian phrase each night and he was good about teaching us and correcting Google with small meanings.

[tfred]

We were on Apex in January ex FLL and it was perfect.  We also were on Apex in the Baltic last July.  Couldn't see any difference between the two cruises 

 

Ignore most of what you see in the cutback posts.  Most of that seems to be why they can't get prime rib every night or a lavish buffet in the OVC at night for a very limited amount of pax.  I really couldn't find anything when I was out and about the ship that was an issue 

[mitz18]

3 hours ago, JDPCruisers said:

Have been reading many posts on how much food quality, quantity and service have demised (in some cases significantly across the X fleet) and curious about Retreat booked guests experience this year? 

 

Have you experienced a decrease in food, service, suite, room attendant, Butler or anything else this year as Retreat guests and around the ship?

 

We have cruises Millie (2019), Apex (2022) and Infinity (2022) and are booked on Edge in April so would appreciate your experiences.

 

Thanks!

 

We were on the Beyond last Sept/Oct in the med - great ship and we the found the quality of the food to be fine, no complaints.  We ate one night in Le Voyage which was imho fantastic.  Will admit at times the service around the ship was a bit slow, but that was due more I think to staffing issues. The staff that was there were really trying hard.  (We just were on Silver Dawn in Jan and Silversea is also having some staffing issues.)  I don't think you need to worry - as long as you go in knowing & accepting there might (will) be some staffing issues, it'll be great.  

[peanut head]

We sailed on the Equinox in October and are currently on the 2nd leg of a B2B on the Silhouette in the Retreat. We have not noticed any changes/restrictions between the 2 ships, nor from when we sailed pre-Pandemic. We tend to be self-sufficient and have not had any need/want to complain. 
 

You will have a great time. 

[kokopelli-az]

3 hours ago, DCPIV said:

 

I gotta ask: Is Cranston still in Michael's?

Was he one of the concierges?   The concierges last week were Patricia and Rolando.   

[CHEZMARYLOU]

18 minutes ago, kokopelli-az said:

Was he one of the concierges?   The concierges last week were Patricia and Rolando.   

No, Cranston is a bar tender from Jamica.  He left for vacation right before we sailed on Reflection. 

[kokopelli-az]

12 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

No, Cranston is a bar tender from Jamica.  He left for vacation right before we sailed on Reflection. 

The only bartenders at Michael's when we were there were women.

[billc23]

Olympia is the bartender. Maria helps her out if it is needed. Cranston came back on Jan. 22nd but was assigned to the OVC. 

[billc23]

We are on our 5th retreat sailing in 2023 and no real difference compared to 2021 or our 2022 sailing. 

[Lillibet16]

We were on the Beyond and stayed in a suite in January. It was amazing! Top notch service in our room, Luminae and the pool area.

[Texed]

58 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

No, Cranston is a bar tender from Jamica.  He left for vacation right before we sailed on Reflection. 

Isn't Cranston a classic?  And, he will sing for you.  😂

[DogLover]

3 hours ago, billc23 said:

Olympia is the bartender. Maria helps her out if it is needed. Cranston came back on Jan. 22nd but was assigned to the OVC. 

Olympia is wonderful! She was the bartender on our March 2022 Reflection cruise - fun and very personable. 

[JDPCruisers]

Thanks for all the feedback on the experiences, so far. Very helpful to confirm what we've experienced in the past and what to expect in April (Edge) and Oct (Reflection)!

[Texed]

😊

 

JDP,

Which April Edge sailing are you on?  We are on April 7th sailing.  

[SusieAV8R]

8 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Overall we saw no major difference pre and post covid.  The only think that changed was the push by the butler to have you go the Retreat lounge for afternoon snacks rather than delivering something to your suite.  This didn't bother us because it was less calories and we didn't gain any weight. Service in Luminae was rushed unless we went later but this was a fully booked New Year's cruise.

We were on Summit Dec. 27-Jan. 9/2023. It was fully booked.  I advised the Butler when we boarded that I wanted afternoon snacks delivered to our suite.  (have insisted on this since pre-covid.). No problem.  We almost always eat at 8:00 p.m. (after the first theater show) and service at that time was great....and we got to really know our wait staff.  (It didn't hurt that we had the best Maitre D' we've had the pleasure to encounter in 25 cruises on X in suite class!)