Butler Team Service in SS - Please Post Current Cruisers Comments on your Experience.

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, jelayne said:

That was a long time ago. Some of the coolers are self serve and there is no problem taking things out of the Retreat Lounge.

And now the Retreat Lounge concierges are telling current passengers to get water, sodas and beers to take back to our cabins for the mini Fridges. If Celebrity changed this, they would have another cookiegate situation. But I can see a change in policy when 130+ Sky Suites clean out the Retreat Lounge coolers and supplies on the E Class ships.

Edited September 9, 2023 by terrydtx

[Winemaker_1]

19 hours ago, kenb said:

Maybe they will start handing out trays so you can carrying your drinks! Of course there will be a service charge to hand it to you!

plus 20% gratuity...

[JaneStarr]

24 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I got a care package from my TA today. Last week I told her about the changes in SS and that we had to now go to the Retreat lounge to get bottled water and beers for our cabin. She sent us 2 Travelon theft proof backpacks and a tote bag, so now we can load up on drinks and not have to worry about theft on our way back to the cabin. LOL

Very thoughtful of her, but this also gave me a chuckle!

 

[PH2]

1 hour ago, JaneStarr said:

Be careful about assuming you will be able to stock up your SS fridge from the Retreat Lounge.

 

 

We are on Solstice in a SS right now. Asked for our fridge to be emptied and it hadn't happened by this morning so I emptied it myself. Last night in Michael's Club asked for 2 Coke Zeros and they gave them to us. We don't drink all that much but have several bottles of water and the Cokes in there. I also noticed that whatever the snack is that was supposedly among the stocked items was not in our suite when we checked in, so I'm expecting a charge for that and will be asking for it to be removed if that happens.

 

Otherwise, we're enjoying ourselves so far. But this is our first Celebrity cruise (second overall) and first in a suite, so I'm sure we're not taking as much advantage of our amenities as we could/should be. Used the Retreat "team" in Michael's to book our glass blowing classes. That's about it. 

[JaneStarr]

Just now, PH2 said:

 

We are on Solstice in a SS right now. Asked for our fridge to be emptied and it hadn't happened by this morning so I emptied it myself. Last night in Michael's Club asked for 2 Coke Zeros and they gave them to us. We don't drink all that much but have several bottles of water and the Cokes in there. I also noticed that whatever the snack is that was supposedly among the stocked items was not in our suite when we checked in, so I'm expecting a charge for that and will be asking for it to be removed if that happens.

 

Otherwise, we're enjoying ourselves so far. But this is our first Celebrity cruise (second overall) and first in a suite, so I'm sure we're not taking as much advantage of our amenities as we could/should be. Used the Retreat "team" in Michael's to book our glass blowing classes. That's about it. 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, JaneStarr said:

Very thoughtful of her, but this also gave me a chuckle!

 

I thought it was too, we are not about to pay $5.50 for a bottle of water in our cabin which up to now has always been free or included.  We pay $13k+ for a cruise and Celebrity now wants to nickel and dime us on everything.

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, PH2 said:

 

We are on Solstice in a SS right now. Asked for our fridge to be emptied and it hadn't happened by this morning so I emptied it myself. Last night in Michael's Club asked for 2 Coke Zeros and they gave them to us. We don't drink all that much but have several bottles of water and the Cokes in there. I also noticed that whatever the snack is that was supposedly among the stocked items was not in our suite when we checked in, so I'm expecting a charge for that and will be asking for it to be removed if that happens.

 

Otherwise, we're enjoying ourselves so far. But this is our first Celebrity cruise (second overall) and first in a suite, so I'm sure we're not taking as much advantage of our amenities as we could/should be. Used the Retreat "team" in Michael's to book our glass blowing classes. That's about it. 

Enjoy your cruise, we fly to Amsterdam on Monday to get on the Apex on Thursday. We are also in a SS. Have you used any room service yet? I was wondering how they handle that now that butlers do not do the delivery and set ups.

[PH2]

8 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Enjoy your cruise, we fly to Amsterdam on Monday to get on the Apex on Thursday. We are also in a SS. Have you used any room service yet? I was wondering how they handle that now that butlers do not do the delivery and set ups.

Have not but maybe tomorrow morning since we have an early excursion. I'll report back if we do. 

[Lena11033]

32 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I thought it was too, we are not about to pay $5.50 for a bottle of water in our cabin which up to now has always been free or included.  We pay $13k+ for a cruise and Celebrity now wants to nickel and dime us on everything.

 

The water is annoying especially with how much is being paid for a suite, MSC doesn't charge for the water or mini bar and the suites don't cost the same amount. On MSC they kept giving me at least two bottles of water a day.

I don't know who X is thinking is going to afford the pricing they have, I mean the regular rooms are about the same as others I've priced out but the suites are in line with luxury lines without the benefits.

[Cap_D]

Hyatt hotels restock bottles of water daily (and don't charge for members of their loyalty program, virtually everyone).

 

No reason why the room attendant (housekeeper) can't drop off a few bottles of water at same time as whatever else they may do during their supposed twice a day service.  Everyone in Retreat (except the move up people) have a premium drink package that covers the cost is the water bottles.  Of course, the less one has access to the bottles, the greater the revenue on the suite passengers.  

[Whinenowine]

1 hour ago, Winemaker_1 said:

plus 20% gratuity...

Yeah this 20% add on is getting old.  Just include it in the charge and show the all-in price.  On our Edge cruise to/from Barcelona last month we couldn't book Eden in advance (when all other restaurants were 10-20% discounted), so we booked it while on the ship at the 'full price' of $60/pp.  Well, for the four of us that that ended up being $320 because in addition to the 20% gratuity there was some sort of Spanish VAT.  So is it $60/pp or $80/pp......??

[terrydtx]

52 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

The water is annoying especially with how much is being paid for a suite, MSC doesn't charge for the water or mini bar and the suites don't cost the same amount. On MSC they kept giving me at least two bottles of water a day.

I don't know who X is thinking is going to afford the pricing they have, I mean the regular rooms are about the same as others I've priced out but the suites are in line with luxury lines without the benefits.

We have been comparing X to Oceania and we can cruise with O for less than Celebrity SS. That's the direction we are going for the future.

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

Hyatt hotels restock bottles of water daily (and don't charge for members of their loyalty program, virtually everyone).

 

No reason why the room attendant (housekeeper) can't drop off a few bottles of water at same time as whatever else they may do during their supposed twice a day service.  Everyone in Retreat (except the move up people) have a premium drink package that covers the cost is the water bottles.  Of course, the less one has access to the bottles, the greater the revenue on the suite passengers.  

We get 2 bottles a day at all Hilton properties with our Hilton Diamond loyalty level. We also get free upgrades, free breakfast and free Wi-Fi. On Celebrity with Elite we get a bag of free laundry

Edited September 9, 2023 by terrydtx

[Whinenowine]

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We have been comparing X to Oceania and we can cruise with O for less than Celebrity SS. That's the direction we are going for the future.

Yup, and as we've already discussed, even SilverSea and Regent are now the same or cheaper than many comparable X cruises.  And they do not nickel & dime over water or soft drinks.

 

It reminds me of part of our honeymoon on Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef many years ago...we paid an absolute fortune for this all-inclusive experiences (still the most expensive per diem thing we've ever done).  The price included all activities, food and booze....you name it....but it did NOT include soft drinks.  So despite paying four figures a day for this uber luxury resort, they wanted A$7 for a coke!  Talk about leaving a bad Taste in your mouth!  🙄

[Lena11033]

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We have been comparing X to Oceania and we can cruise with O for less than Celebrity SS. That's the direction we are going for the future.

 

That's what I mean though, who is going to pay for a Celebrity SS with less amenities when they can go elsewhere and get more. 

I just can't get what their marketing strategy is with this one/who they are trying to get. They are basically out pricing people.

[terrydtx]

21 minutes ago, Whinenowine said:

Yeah this 20% add on is getting old.  Just include it in the charge and show the all-in price.  On our Edge cruise to/from Barcelona last month we couldn't book Eden in advance (when all other restaurants were 10-20% discounted), so we booked it while on the ship at the 'full price' of $60/pp.  Well, for the four of us that that ended up being $320 because in addition to the 20% gratuity there was some sort of Spanish VAT.  So is it $60/pp or $80/pp......??

How did you like Eden?

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, Whinenowine said:

Yup, and as we've already discussed, even SilverSea and Regent are now the same or cheaper than many comparable X cruises.  And they do not nickel & dime over water or soft drinks.

 

It reminds me of part of our honeymoon on Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef many years ago...we paid an absolute fortune for this all-inclusive experiences (still the most expensive per diem thing we've ever done).  The price included all activities, food and booze....you name it....but it did NOT include soft drinks.  So despite paying four figures a day for this uber luxury resort, they wanted A$7 for a coke!  Talk about leaving a bad Taste in your mouth!  🙄

So if you wanted a rum and Coke did they charge for the coke? I would have ordered a rum and Coke and hold the rum, LOL

 

For our trip starting next week, we are staying in Amsterdam at the Banks Mansion All-inclusive boutique hotel. It includes a made to order breakfast, all items in the mini bar, water wine, beer and soda. We also have an afternoon appetizer and open bar included, not nickel and dimes here. They even advertise leave your wallet in your pocket while staying with us.

 

After our cruise we are staying for 5 nights in Santorini Greece at an All-inclusive all luxury suites hotel with breakfast, drinks and afternoon appetizers delivered to our suite by a "butler". Mini bar also included, both of these places put Celebrity to shame. Both hotels are about $400 per night, or $200pp.

[bnurick]

All they do is keep changing the offerings. I suspect Woodford Reserve is now a “Premium Selection” at the time we sail. These people are intellectually dishonest in how they advertise the selections at purchase and change once you’re boxed in. A La Carte for my remaining cruises not in The Retreat.

   

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, bnurick said:

All they do is keep changing the offerings. I suspect Woodford Reserve is now a “Premium Selection” at the time we sail. These people are intellectually dishonest in how they advertise the selections at purchase and change once you’re boxed in. A La Carte for my remaining cruises not in The Retreat.

   

Last June on the Equinox I was able to get Mccallan 12 year old with the Premium DP, I do not see it listed anymore as well.  Bait and switch is the new normal with Celebrity. I hope the Luminae Lounge will have the Maccallan. 

[billc23]

Yup, and as we've already discussed, even SilverSea and Regent are now the same or cheaper than many comparable X cruises.  And they do not nickel & dime over water or soft drinks.

 

In March of 2022 I put together a trip from Mumbai to Vancouver on Celebrity. It started on the Millennium for 12 days and then 5btb on the Solstice.  The first 2 legs from Mumbai to Hong Kong - 24 days - cost more than a Silversea cruise covering a similar itinerary lasting 32 days! Silversea includes many excursions in their price among other things that are considered special on Celebrity. The point is Celebrity was more expensive for the Retreat than Silversea was a year and a half ago. I only realized that when I looked for other options out of Mumbai in February 2024. I think that with the changes in the retreat many will open their eyes to other lines and enjoy them.

 

we are staying in Amsterdam at the Banks Mansion All-inclusive boutique hotel

 

That is a fun Hotel. The bar is self serve, sort of like being at a friends house making a drink. I am interested to hear of your experience next week. I still have 7 Celebrity cruises booked and I am getting close to canceling some of them.

 

 

[PH2]

16 minutes ago, bnurick said:

All they do is keep changing the offerings. I suspect Woodford Reserve is now a “Premium Selection” at the time we sail. These people are intellectually dishonest in how they advertise the selections at purchase and change once you’re boxed in. A La Carte for my remaining cruises not in The Retreat.

   

Interesting. I wonder if this applies right now on our cruise. I almost ordered a Woodford last night since it's my preferred Bourbon. But seeing as though I live about 10 minutes from the distillery, I'm not paying extra for the next week - I'll just wait until I get home. 

[bnurick]

2 minutes ago, PH2 said:

Interesting. I wonder if this applies right now on our cruise. I almost ordered a Woodford last night since it's my preferred Bourbon. But seeing as though I live about 10 minutes from the distillery, I'm not paying extra for the next week - I'll just wait until I get home. 

I live in Central Kentucky too and feel the same.  Headed to Tony’s tonight, going to order a Woodford now. Enjoy your cruise. 🙂

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, billc23 said:

 

 

we are staying in Amsterdam at the Banks Mansion All-inclusive boutique hotel

 

That is a fun Hotel. The bar is self serve, sort of like being at a friends house making a drink. I am interested to hear of your experience next week. I still have 7 Celebrity cruises booked and I am getting close to canceling some of them.

 

 

We found the Banks Mansion from recommendations on Cruise Critic and very much looking forward to being there on Tuesday.

[bnurick]

15 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Last June on the Equinox I was able to get Mccallan 12 year old with the Premium DP, I do not see it listed anymore as well.  Bait and switch is the new normal with Celebrity. I hope the Luminae Lounge will have the Maccallan. 

Looking forward to your upcoming cruise/review. When is Embarkation?

[terrydtx]

7 minutes ago, bnurick said:

Looking forward to your upcoming cruise/review. When is Embarkation?

Thursday the 14th