Eliminating Butlers - Spoke to Celebrity. Here is conversation.

[richczarnecki]

On 1/20/2024 at 9:50 AM, zitsky said:

I’m curious if they have a pre boarding embarkation line for the Retreat.  I didn’t see one recently.  Just for excursions.

It's a whole separate checkin setup including a lounge, snacks, drinks. We were there at 1030 and the lounge had almost all the seats taken so arrive early!

Edited January 21 by richczarnecki

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, thebutlerdidit said:

You could do a lot of this research by using Google and watching video tours of the various cabin categories. It’s a lot to ask of someone on the Celebrity board to answer all of your queries. If you’re truly interested in Regent put some effort in. You could start reading the Regent posts here on CC and ask your question there, too. Just some suggestions to get you started.

If someone comes to the Celebrity forum and says ABC is cheaper and better, I don’t think it’s a burden to ask a simple question.  I asked one question maybe two, not twenty.  
 

What I asked for is for people to be specific so we can compare prices.

Edited January 21 by zitsky

[zitsky]

12 minutes ago, richczarnecki said:

It's a whole separate checkin setup including a lounge, snacks, drinks. We were there at 1030 and the lounge had almost all the seats taken so arrive early!

That was my experience in Civitavecchia but we were in Aqua in Valparaiso so I didn’t see.

[thebutlerdidit]

Just now, zitsky said:

If someone comes to the Celebrity forum and says ABC is cheaper and better,I don’t think it’s a burden to ask a simple question.  I asked one question maybe two, not twenty.  
 

What I asked for is for people to be specific so we can compare prices.

Again, you’re asking people to do the grunt work. You could start a new thread asking for more details. If Travel Agents are involved they won’t be able to mention those details on this board. 

[zitsky]

17 minutes ago, billc23 said:

cruisedeckplans website has all the info you need and I suspect you already know the answer. I define a suite as a set of rooms so to me many cabins called suites are not what I would expect - including a Sky Suite and the above mentioned veranda suite. Some cruise lines call a room a suite and have a heavy curtain for separation - a little poetic freedom...

????

 

If I already knew the answer, why would I ask the question?

 

I’ve been in a Celebrity “Sky Suite” once and have never been on Regent.

 

Yes I do my own research but it seems natural to ask people who have cruised with them about the product.  If the standard answer in the Regent forum is look at the deck plan, well that’s helpful too.

[zitsky]

19 minutes ago, thebutlerdidit said:

Again, you’re asking people to do the grunt work. You could start a new thread asking for more details. If Travel Agents are involved they won’t be able to mention those details on this board. 

Gosh.  I asked one or two simple questions.  

Edited January 21 by zitsky

[Dolebludger]

It is difficult to answer, as “suites” on Regent, like those on X, differ by ship. For example, on the Regent Mariner, you have to go all the way to a penthouse suite to get the size of most SS. But on the Regent Splendor, you only need upgrade a little to equal a SS in size. And for our E. Caribbean cruise on the Splendor, we upgraded a bit more than that and still came in at less cost than a fairly comparable X  cruise in a SS. I say “fairly” because Regent includes excursions, use of mini-fridge and wine and spirits in suite, no cost room service, tips, WiFi, and more included wine and spirits, air — and laundry.  The price differential will obviously depend on itinerary and timing. Regent probably won’t always be at less cost. But with the additional inclusions, we would actually pay a bit more for Regent than Retreat, and we’ve been on both. 

[NMTraveller]

I just received one of the Oceania full print magazines.  I have to say that the pricing did not seem that much more than X.  I will have to dive into the details but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

I will have to do the math,  but I suspect when I add on all of the Celebrity extras,  Celebrity will end up being more.

Edited January 21 by NMTraveller

[C4HCG]

Just now, NMTraveller said:

I just received one of the Oceania full print magazines.  I have to say that the pricing did not seem that much more than X.  I will have to dive into the details but I was pleasantly surprised.

A marketing magazine offered good prices, never.

[NMTraveller]

4 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

A marketing magazine offered good prices, never.

The magazine was actually rather impressive.  Full color photos of the destinations.  Something that you could put on your coffee table.

 

I don't think that I have seen that from X.  I have just seen the much shorter versions.  Maybe the TAs get a better version?

Edited January 21 by NMTraveller

[C4HCG]

5 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

The magazine was actually rather impressive.  Full color photos of the destinations.  Something that you could put on your coffee table.

 

I don't think that I have seen that from X.  I have just seen the much shorter versions.  Maybe the TAs get a better version?

Not like you to promote other lines NMT. We don’t have a coffee table.  You keep me entertained though 👍. 

[Pinboy]

5 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

The magazine was actually rather impressive.  Full color photos of the destinations.  Something that you could put on your coffee table.

" Rather impressive --Full color photos "

LOL---It would look nice right beside your Playboy magazines .

[HopefulCruiser123]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

Gosh.  I asked one or two simple questions.  

Personally, I appreciate Zitsky`s questions and the resulting answers.  I have never visited the Regent board before.  I probably will now as a result of this discussion (Virgin and Oceania too).

[Dolebludger]

54 minutes ago, HopefulCruiser123 said:

Personally, I appreciate Zitsky`s questions and the resulting answers.  I have never visited the Regent board before.  I probably will now as a result of this discussion (Virgin and Oceania too).

Yes, it is like people I know who think Mercedes automobiles are “too expensive” but change their mind after a visit to their Ford dealer! 

[billc23]

22 hours ago, C4HCG said:

I am surprised that anyone ever spends good money on anything without checking what else is available. We’ve only sailed 5 times, each Celebrity, but we do check whether there are other cruises at the same time in the same location that we should consider. Never has been but as I say, surprised people have blindly cruised Celebrity for years, but commend you for your loyalty. And to contradict myself, we love Celebrity and despite looking, can see no other line that would tempt us away. But we do look.

I alway look at alternatives (4 different cruise lines since the restart post Covid) and in the past would usually choose Celebrity. Loyal but not exclusive. Now Celebrity is not first on my list anymore.

[billc23]

5 hours ago, zitsky said:

????

 

If I already knew the answer, why would I ask the question?

 

I’ve been in a Celebrity “Sky Suite” once and have never been on Regent.

 

Yes I do my own research but it seems natural to ask people who have cruised with them about the product.  If the standard answer in the Regent forum is look at the deck plan, well that’s helpful too.

I'm sorry. I thought that as someone who posts so much you would know about the website I listed and would have done some research. In addition, my understanding of a suite (as I posted) is different than the cruise ships and I'm probably mistaken. 

[C-Dragons]

4 hours ago, Pinboy said:

" Rather impressive --Full color photos "

LOL---It would look nice right beside your Playboy magazines .

I will probably regret this, but I have to ask… How would you know NMTTraveler had Playboy magazines ? 😳

[Dolebludger]

IMHO, all cruise lines misuse the word “suite”. All of them call accommodations by this name, even though they really are just one room. Even the 950 sq. ft. room we had in NCL Haven for a music cruise shouldn’t have been called a “suite”. It was just one huge room.  

[zitsky]

35 minutes ago, billc23 said:

I'm sorry. I thought that as someone who posts so much you would know about the website I listed and would have done some research. In addition, my understanding of a suite (as I posted) is different than the cruise ships and I'm probably mistaken. 

I know about that website and have used it in the past.  I post on this board.  I am not a frequent cruiser and I certainly know little about the cruise companies mentioned.

 

Have I looked at websites and checked prices?  Yes.  Do I think it’s useful to ask a current customer what they think about it?  Yes.

 

Do I like being told to “just go and do your own homework”?  No.  But I suspect you already knew that.

 

I know where the search box is and sometimes it actually works.  If my first interaction with a cruise line customer is “use the search box dummy”, that tells me a lot.

[Pinboy]

1 minute ago, C-Dragons said:

I will probably regret this, but I have to ask… How would you know NMTTraveler had Playboy magazines ? 😳

LOL--- No regrets necessary--- Don't know NMTraveller --- Never met anyone on CC ( be fun to though )---

Now about Playboy magazine-----

NMTraveller said;

"Something that you could put on your coffee table"----- (assuming we have a coffee table). 

"Rather impressive --Full color photos "---- It was the first magazine that came to mind that was

 impressive and had full color photos. Holy cow, that's Marketing 411 ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MMMCruiser]

7 hours ago, OceanCruise said:

Given what Celebrity has been doing lately, maybe they are giving the Sky Suite room attendants new nametags that say Butler to replace the ones labeled Retreat Host🤪

Can't say that this thought didn't cross my mind...  I really want to believe they are going to do the right thing.

[Shiba_Lover]

7 hours ago, richczarnecki said:

It's a whole separate checkin setup including a lounge, snacks, drinks. We were there at 1030 and the lounge had almost all the seats taken so arrive early!

The availability and amenities of check-in /lounge/snacks/drinks for Retreat varies based on the embarkation port.  There will be a separate line for sure, and some form of drinks. You don't necessarily have to arrive early.  If you arrive at say 10:30 and all seats were taken - it is probably because many people arrived early, or they were a bit delayed in boarding people (maybe even a very small lounge or seating area).   You will select a boarding time, but as Retreat - you can board whenever.  So likely, most people just went ahead early.  If you wait a bit, you can probably go later and not have all the seats taken.  We've done that had no issue with seats.  When we had an 11AM boarding time (earliest time), there were no free seats when we got there at 10:50.  Another time, we had an 11:30 boarding and we arrived at 11:45 - lots of empty seats (but also a way bigger lounge).   We finished our boarding checks very quickly but just told them we wanted to finish enjoying our cappuccinos before boarding - it was no issue.  Once we finished, they walked us on board.  

[Dolebludger]

Yes, the matter of Retreat amenities at the embarkation port is determined by the port’s available facilities, not the cruise line. Some ports are badly in need of improvement and some are fairly good. But I haven’t encountered one that was adequate for the large ships these days.

[zitsky]

13 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

Yes, the matter of Retreat amenities at the embarkation port is determined by the port’s available facilities, not the cruise line. Some ports are badly in need of improvement and some are fairly good. But I haven’t encountered one that was adequate for the large ships these days.

Does one just search this forum for specific ports and/or post in the roll call?  To find out what to expect at a specific port?

[Whinenowine]

4 hours ago, zitsky said:

I know about that website and have used it in the past.  I post on this board.  I am not a frequent cruiser and I certainly know little about the cruise companies mentioned.

 

Have I looked at websites and checked prices?  Yes.  Do I think it’s useful to ask a current customer what they think about it?  Yes.

 

Do I like being told to “just go and do your own homework”?  No.  But I suspect you already knew that.

 

I know where the search box is and sometimes it actually works.  If my first interaction with a cruise line customer is “use the search box dummy”, that tells me a lot.

@zitsky, per your prior question I posted this about 10days ago on a similar thread (discussing moving to SilverSea/Regent from X).  Easy to find this itinerary on the Regent site given there aren't many 7day cruises.  I booked back in November using the Black Friday sale.

 

"Fed up with X's price increases (and service/benefits cuts) I booked a 7day Caribbean cruise in a Concierge Suite (Category D) on the Regent Grandeur for later this year. The cabin is more than 10% larger than a Sky Suite, but with a balcony almost 2x the size of a Sky Suite balcony. As with your SS cruise, my Grandeur cruise includes a pre-cruise stay at a 5-star Miami hotel, all drinks, all specialty restaurants, all tips/gratuities, all taxes, an excursion in each port and concierge (but not butler) service. It also includes $1,000 in OBC--I guess for spa services or reserve wine/liquor, given all else is already paid for.

 

Stripping out the airfare benefit to compare apples to apples, the Regent cruise is under $600pp/pd for their newest, nicest ship.  For comparison purposes I looked at all of X's Caribbean itineraries for that same week and the cheapest SS I saw was $640pp/pd--for just the cruise/food/booze.  That price didn't include taxes, tips, specialty dining, excursions, the pre-cruise hotel, etc.  To me that's just an economic no brainer.  Odd to say it, but Celebrity has priced me up to Regent."