NOW I have a problem with the new Suite policies

[chemmo]

3 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

Ahh thank you. I know I’m my own worst enemy. I use a walking stick and have done for 20+ years so it’s probably pretty obvious when you see me. At least as I’m approaching 60 years old people aren’t so surprised as they were when I was in my 30’s :)) 

For many years my husband and I did book suites partly to assist with his growing health issues and my varying mobility issues…Being able to pick things up and take them to your room is a ‘perk’ of being healthy and mobile…many Celebrity cruisers (including us two) are not…

 

The choice of a suite for many cruisers has been part driven by the desire to remain as independent as possible. A butler doing simple things like bringing a plate of fruit is something that those of us who would loose half the grapes before we got to the lift is something many of us haven’t taken for granted!

 

I guess we will just have to be more vocal now and simply explain that trying to tote produce will result in some tottering guests! I do try to see the comedy of increasing disability rather than get cross with it! If there are things next cruise I can’t manage but are no longer on a suite service job list I will find an appropriate person to ask (F&B manager) perhaps?

[wineoclock]

And that in essence is why we book suites at times. Our cruise in June next year I’ve changed from a CS to a SV. Too much ££ and not a lot in return at the moment. We will do speciality dining. With the change of cabin I had extra so booked a concierge cabin on Regent. 

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, wineoclock said:

And that in essence is why we book suites at times. Our cruise in June next year I’ve changed from a CS to a SV. Too much ££ and not a lot in return at the moment. We will do speciality dining. With the change of cabin I had extra so booked a concierge cabin on Regent. 

Enjoy, please make sure you let us know about your Regent experience….We had two different pairs of friends cruise Regent last year and two totally different sets of feedback. We would value yours…

 

At this time of year we would normally be enjoying a crash out cruise but with cruise prices as they are…I simply couldn’t justify booking a cruise when all we wanted a crash out so we are enjoying a break in Turkey at a fraction of the cost of a cruise…A sign of the times…Our cruising days aren’t over we are simply becoming more selective….

 

 

[wineoclock]

We’ve just got back from Cyprus but were staying in our house. Gorgeous weather so imagine Turkey is similar. 

[chemmo]

2 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

We’ve just got back from Cyprus but were staying in our house. Gorgeous weather so imagine Turkey is similar. 

Hope you enjoyed! We certainly are enjoying our break. Our weather is gorgeous too! I must confess I am enjoying the simple things like not thinking what to cook for dinner and simply walking around a large buffet with a big plate….

[Dolebludger]

I’m not wineoclock, but we were on the Regent Explorer this past June in Alaska.  And we had cruised Regent many times before. Onboard, it was the best cruise of them all. However, we did not use the line’s hotel and transfers. Those who did said they were bad. And regardless of where you get your air, there are going to be foul-ups these days. But these things are beyond Regent’s control. And before we booked that one, we priced Celebrity SS and CS and found Regent concierge to be less expensive. We didn’t have a “butler” as such, but the room steward pool was very well staffed, room service was very prompt, and we had included use of the mini-fridge and in-suite spirits. The was no sign of understaffing, as has been reported on this thread. And we also had included laundry service, shore excursions, tips, and WiFi. We did not have priority embarkation/disembarkation, but with fewer than 750 guests onboard, it was not needed. IMHO, there is no reason to book Celebrity SS or CS suites instead of Regent. Four years ago, these Celebrity Retreat suites offered a great imitation of a lux cruise experience t a lesser cost. Now, Celebrity has reduced these lux inclusions an has raised price higher than a true lux line like Regent. 

[DaKahuna]

7 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We were in a SS last month on the Apex and the afternoon snacks had to ordered by us from room service. The Retreat butlers in the lounge would not do it on a standing basis. We ordered a cheese plate and shrimp cocktails a couple of times and it took 45 minutes to get them delivered, this was nothing like having a butler do it in the past. All room service orders had to be ordered directly from room service, when we called the butler "team" we were directed to room service for our orders.

 

 How many pages was your post-cruise survey comments?  

 Did they still use those QR codes in the daily planner to solicit comments on how the cruise was going?  On our last sailing they had those and I did a page an a half of comments to the Hotel Director, mostly about how disappointed I was in the configuration of the Sky Suite post Revolution.  

 

[abbydancer2003]

9 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 How many pages was your post-cruise survey comments?  

 Did they still use those QR codes in the daily planner to solicit comments on how the cruise was going?  On our last sailing they had those and I did a page an a half of comments to the Hotel Director, mostly about how disappointed I was in the configuration of the Sky Suite post Revolution.  

 

Did they respond?  On Princess last month they had a paper form and I wrote about the poor service we received in a pay restaurant.  Two days later they got back to me, offered a repeat, but instead we got them to remove the charge.

[DaKahuna]

4 minutes ago, abbydancer said:

Did they respond?  On Princess last month they had a paper form and I wrote about the poor service we received in a pay restaurant.  Two days later they got back to me, offered a repeat, but instead we got them to remove the charge.

 

 The hotel director did not but the Retreat Concierge's thanked me for my comments and said they had received a copy of my input and they had heard many of the same things from other guest and was glad to see someone put it in writing.  They actually gave me a little something as well for commenting. 

 

 I also used that feedback format to complement by name a number of the crew and officers and had many of them thank me for my kind words.  Apparently it the applicable parts were read during the crew briefing in the area where they worked. 

 

 

 

[Dolebludger]

On another post on the Celebrity forum, there is a report that X has moved all its customer service off shore. With that, we are unlikely to get a response beyond what is in the script of somebody thousands of miles away, who as no ability to address specific problems. If this report is accurate, this is another reduction in benefits by Celebrity, that harms all cruisers — not only those in the Retreat. 

[wineoclock]

And tbh I think while the ships are sailing full nothing will change for the better. 
 

Thank you @Dolebludger for posting your Regent experience. We May like it, we may not but X has pushed us into trying elsewhere.
 

We will be trying Oceania and MSC YC at some point in 2025/6. Dh isn’t a great fan of cruising so we do a few on the trot then have a break for a few years til l I can persuade him again 😁

[Veinless]

Please return here to let us know how you liked it. I’m just back from my first Princess cruise and am looking to try Oceania next!

[wineoclock]

How did you find Princess?

[terrydtx]

14 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 How many pages was your post-cruise survey comments?  

 Did they still use those QR codes in the daily planner to solicit comments on how the cruise was going?  On our last sailing they had those and I did a page an a half of comments to the Hotel Director, mostly about how disappointed I was in the configuration of the Sky Suite post Revolution.  

 

We have not received any post cruise surveys from Celebrity, I do not think they want to hear my comments. We got off the Apex on September 26th.

 

I did use the QR code on the cruise once and got no response, so i quit using them.

[Whinenowine]

7 hours ago, wineoclock said:

And tbh I think while the ships are sailing full nothing will change for the better. 

Yep, absolutely agree.  If X can cut costs while raising prices and still have fully booked ships they won't give a damn about our feedback  (regardless of whatever lip service they give to 'hearing from their most loyal customers').  And sad as I am for what that means for ME, I don't begrudge them for doing so--it's their wont and they'll reap the rewards/penalties down the road.   But if we get a hard landing next year and bookings suffer...then they'll walk back some of this. 

[Whinenowine]

16 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

I’m not wineoclock, but we were on the Regent Explorer this past June in Alaska.  And we had cruised Regent many times before. Onboard, it was the best cruise of them all. However, we did not use the line’s hotel and transfers. Those who did said they were bad. IMHO, there is no reason to book Celebrity SS or CS suites instead of Regent. Four years ago, these Celebrity Retreat suites offered a great imitation of a lux cruise experience t a lesser cost. Now, Celebrity has reduced these lux inclusions an has raised price higher than a true lux line like Regent. 

I fully agree. In fact @wineoclock and I were discussing this on another thread--both having recently booked Regent cruises at prices SUBSTANTIALLY better than Celebrity.  There was no internal debate about Regent vs Celebrity, easy peasy.  The only debate I had was whether to book an F2 vs D suite, given I've heard a number of recent complaints about Regent's Miami hotels (and I have tons of Marriott points).  At the end of the day I threw caution to the wind and booked the D, mostly because of the bigger balcony. High class problem!

[terrydtx]

18 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

MHO, there is no reason to book Celebrity SS or CS suites instead of Regent. Four years ago, these Celebrity Retreat suites offered a great imitation of a lux cruise experience t a lesser cost. Now, Celebrity has reduced these lux inclusions an has raised price higher than a true lux line like Regent. 

If we hadn't booked our 2 January Edge cruises in a SS at more than $2500pp less than today's cost, we would be cancelling them both. Both cruises were booked at less than $4900pp with $800 OBC and prepaid gratuities. Today the 12-night NZ cruise SS is $7390pp and the 10-night Great Barrier Reef SS is $6852 plus both now have no OBC or prepaid gratuities. I hope this ridiculous pricing and new policies will eventually bite the Celebrity bean counters in their butts. Then and only then would we consider cruising with them again.

[Suite Susie]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

If we hadn't booked our 2 January Edge cruises in a SS at more than $2500pp less than today's cost, we would be cancelling them both. Both cruises were booked at less than $4900pp with $800 OBC and prepaid gratuities. Today the 12-night NZ cruise SS is $7390pp and the 10-night Great Barrier Reef SS is $6852 plus both now have no OBC or prepaid gratuities. I hope this ridiculous pricing and new policies will eventually bite the Celebrity bean counters in their butts. Then and only then would we consider cruising with them again.

Totally agree. Just off Edge in a Sky Suite. The Celebrity suite product is now not worth the considerable extra cost over other similar lines. We have booked two Princess cruises for next year and are looking at Regent, Silversea, Seabourn etc for 2025.  

[islabahia]

We are moving on and canceling our December ‘24 Reflection cruise (losing $200 deposit) and have booked Oceania in an A1.  10 day cruise with an $800 Shore excursion credit) $400 OBC, access to Concierge Lounge and reservations for 4 specialty restaurants (the restaurants are no charge).  All in, we are paying less for our Oceania cruise (2 days longer).  X no longer provides a product that we are interested in.  I won’t miss a dedicated butler…we are perfectly capable of getting our own snacks, etc.

[Veinless]

4 hours ago, wineoclock said:

How did you find Princess?

 

For context, my most recent cruises were Celebrity in June and August 2022, in a Suite and Aquaclass respectively, and Carnival in January in a regular balcony.

 

The Princess cruise last week was in a regular balcony.

 

I found the Princess MDR food variety and quality about on par with Carnival & Celebrity MDR and Celebrity Blu. Definitely a step below Celebrity Luminae as expected.

 

Princess MDR dishes were cooked and served as requested, consistently. No surprises really. Having no real butter/spread service was a bit of a let down as I'm spoiled by Celebrity's offerings there. It was just boring margarine day in and day out. About half way through the cruise they stopped serving the margarine in any nice fashion, and instead just provided chunks in bowl. The first few days the margarine was nicely shaped like rosebuds, etc.

 

MDR service was decent and cheerful. Not open at all, however, to getting beverages from outside the MDR. As an example, I knew the other bars had various Alaskan beers, but the MDR waiter denied they had anything available and refused to serve anything* but what was specifically on the menu. *He did make an exception for Guinness which was not on the menu but available until the last night at which point it had run out (but Princess charged us anyway).

 

Princess buffet just destroys Celebrity's. Hands down a ton more variety and quality as good or better. Less chaotic than Carnival's buffet. Fewer people loudly "suctioning their sinuses clean" than Carnival, but still some. Had to leave the buffet a few times when someone sat down nearby just being ignorant (BLOW YOUR NOSE, I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO YOU TRYING TO SWALLOW YOUR SNOT).

 

The Princess cafe does not compare to Cafe al Bacio on Celebrity; same function, but people just are not cheerful and do not really seem to be baristas; coffee expertise just isn't there.

 

No soft serve ice cream, no gelato, and only two flavours of hard ice cream on our Princess cruise. I mean, it was a bit chilly out but I'm always a sucker for a vanilla soft serve.

 

Princess pricing was cheaper than Carnival, for whatever reason. Good value, but objectively not great overall. The crew just seemed unhappy compared to what feel like genuine smiles on Celebrity. Still had fun, and will give them a second chance.

 

[abbydancer2003]

10 minutes ago, Veinless said:

 

 

 

Princess buffet just destroys Celebrity's. Hands down a ton more variety and quality as good or better. Less chaotic than Carnival's buffet. Fewer people loudly "suctioning their sinuses clean" than Carnival, but still some. Had to leave the buffet a few times when someone sat down nearby just being ignorant (BLOW YOUR NOSE, I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO YOU TRYING TO SWALLOW YOUR SNOT).

 

 

 

Which Princess ship were you on?  If you were on one of the newer Royal class ships, I would tend to agree.  On the older ships the buffet is much smaller than Celebrity, with far less variety, and a lot of the same food day after day.

[Veinless]

Majestic - pretty lacking in pizza but some great Asian options!

[wineoclock]

Thank you @Veinless. We had looked at swapping our June cruise to Princess but had a family clash so had to stick with Celebrity. I swapped in the end to an SV from a CS as I couldn’t justify almost £20,000 for a CS. That’s mad money.
 

Now I’m open to trying out other lines I sort of excited doing research! 

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, Veinless said:

Majestic - pretty lacking in pizza but some great Asian options!

Yes, that class of ship has very nice buffets.  

 

And since the Majestic was originally built for the Asian market, it does have some stuff not on any other ship.

Edited October 6, 2023 by abbydancer

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We cancelled our March 2024 cruise in a RS on Beyond.

 

We have a December 2024 cruise in the PH on Beyond that we still want to take and we booked it at a very good price with the included gratuities and OBC.

 

I have an open passage that we booked on our September cruise that I will probably let expire or cancel for several reasons.  One is because our CVP was laid off and I am p#%#@ off. She provided excellent service for 10 years and always gave me a heads up the day before new itineraries were released because we would discuss what we wanted to book next and booking higher level suites you have to move quickly.

 

After next December if we continue to cruise it will be on another line like Oceania or Regent.