Celebrity is Listening

[RichYak]

On 10/17/2023 at 8:58 AM, Older Sister said:

I cruised on the Equinox last month in a Sunset Sky Suite and NEVER saw or heard from anyone on the Butler “team.”   Our room attendant did a good job of maintaining our room, the same as has been done on other cruises in lower level rooms.

Celebrity created the additional name of "Retreat Host" (only for when they're physically in a Sky Suite) for the room attendant and they claim that they are part of the "butler team" even though they actually work for Housekeeping--not the Retreat. Since they're "part of the butler team", Celebrity can tell you with a straight face that you still had butler service even though it was just the same room attendant that services inside cabins. See how that works?

 

[DaKahuna]

 I know many of your recall when the Butlers were renamed "Retreat Host" in 2021 before they were renamed back to Butler's.  These were still butlers in the sense of the services they provided vs the stateroom attendant who performed a different role altogether.   Renaming the stateroom attendant and giving them some additional duties does not a Retreat Host make. 

 

Will be interesting to see what the situation is with Butler service is by the time we sail next May. 

 

[RichYak]

5 hours ago, zitsky said:

This is a jerk move but has anyone in a Celebrity Sky Suite thought about just calling the head butler for everything?  Each and every time, until they get the point?  If you paid for a benefit, you should get it.

 

What is the head butler called these days?

I'd be curious how a simple standing request for various snacks and a couple glasses of wine to be delivered to one's suite daily at 3pm would be handled. If it's "call room service", then The Retreat experience for Sky Suites is truly dead IMO.

[C 2 C]

17 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

We do sail insides. The onboard entertainment on X is much better. HAL had a dance group multiple nights and one night played part of the BBC Earth show with some live musicians playing along. HAL did have a really funny comic though on our sailing.
 

We sailed on Zaandam in May and Zuiderdam in September because we love the itinerary out of Quebec/Montreal.  We don't have the gluten problem and we found the food to be superior to that offered by Celebrity.  The theatre entertainment is pitiful on HAL but frequent cruisers don't bother with the shows produced by Celebrity.  The choice between HAL and X is difficult because we like both products and itinerary and $$ will influence our choice.  Our recent experience with Zuiderdam will get us back to Celebrity because, unless you like the Rolling Stones, there was no place to dance for those who still like to clutch their partner.

[DaKahuna]

23 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I'd be curious how a simple standing request for various snacks and a couple glasses of wine to be delivered to one's suite daily at 3pm would be handled. If it's "call room service", then The Retreat experience for Sky Suites is truly dead IMO.

 

Rich,   I asked a similar question and someone responded that you had to call room service each day your wanted various snacks.  Also from my understanding, even with the premium drink package, you pay for any wine separately when ordered through room service although the food is free in a suite.  This may be old information but it is what I recall reading somewhere on the vast book of knowledge that is CC. 

[librarylady19]

7 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

We sailed on Zaandam in May and Zuiderdam in September because we love the itinerary out of Quebec/Montreal.  We don't have the gluten problem and we found the food to be superior to that offered by Celebrity.  The theatre entertainment is pitiful on HAL but frequent cruisers don't bother with the shows produced by Celebrity.  The choice between HAL and X is difficult because we like both products and itinerary and $$ will influence our choice.  Our recent experience with Zuiderdam will get us back to Celebrity because, unless you like the Rolling Stones, there was no place to dance for those who still like to clutch their partner.

Agree about HAL entertainment (and we don't really dance). On Rotterdam the rock band was fantastic but we weren't fans of the BB Kings band and the piano duo was painfully bad. Same sax player 2 nights (on a 7 day cruise) and dance troupe other nights. One thing that stood out was the CD's presentations that were fantastic - she spoke about nordic spirit of innovation and history of HAL (missed that one but friends raved about it). Ship had far less ocean-facing area and was cramped compared to Apex imo.  We are sailing HAL again for the Baltics next May, because the itinerary is fantastic and the Have it All plus promo was a great deal. 

Edited October 18, 2023 by librarylady19

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Rich,   I asked a similar question and someone responded that you had to call room service each day your wanted various snacks.  Also from my understanding, even with the premium drink package, you pay for any wine separately when ordered through room service although the food is free in a suite.  This may be old information but it is what I recall reading somewhere on the vast book of knowledge that is CC. 

Not totally joking….  I guess I’ll just call the Hotel Director when I need a bubble bath.

[cgolf1]

2 hours ago, C 2 C said:

We sailed on Zaandam in May and Zuiderdam in September because we love the itinerary out of Quebec/Montreal.  We don't have the gluten problem and we found the food to be superior to that offered by Celebrity.  The theatre entertainment is pitiful on HAL but frequent cruisers don't bother with the shows produced by Celebrity.  The choice between HAL and X is difficult because we like both products and itinerary and $$ will influence our choice.  Our recent experience with Zuiderdam will get us back to Celebrity because, unless you like the Rolling Stones, there was no place to dance for those who still like to clutch their partner.

That was the same itinerary we did and it was amazing. We had a hotel close to the port and we walked to the port, and got some really nice photos. So different than sailing out of a US port. 
 

The MDR food on HAL was very good as was the prime rib. For me equal to X in flavor. The difference was HAL never ended up having escargot, they replaced it with something else the one night and my wife seemed to prefer the food we had on the Edge vs HAL. It’s hard with food because we all have different tastes. 

Edited October 18, 2023 by cgolf1

[MMMCruiser]

10 hours ago, ISABELLA said:

Trully, we didn't use our butler as much as some people do, but a few things we wanted, it was provided every day without reminder. We also liked to have Nespresso machine in our suite. 

 

I never expected to ask for a lot of things, but it's the point of it all to me.  I booked at a set price that included certain amenities and now they have taken some away.  Chances are they take more away by the time we actually cruise.  My husband wants to cancel.  

 

I looked into upgrading to a CS, but it's really not what I want.  I want the bed facing the balcony (going on a scenic cruise).  I don't need 2 rooms.  And I wanted to be in the middle of the ship because I don't do well at the front, so I very carefully chose the category I chose.  

 

It sounds like you had a good cruise at least - that is really good.  

[Cap_D]

30 minutes ago, MMMCruiser said:

I never expected to ask for a lot of things, but it's the point of it all to me.  I booked at a set price that included certain amenities and now they have taken some away.  Chances are they take more away by the time we actually cruise.  My husband wants to cancel.  

 

I looked into upgrading to a CS, but it's really not what I want.  I want the bed facing the balcony (going on a scenic cruise).  I don't need 2 rooms.  And I wanted to be in the middle of the ship because I don't do well at the front, so I very carefully chose the category I chose.  

 

It sounds like you had a good cruise at least - that is really good.  

We had a CS on Apex and found after the first day it wasn't worth it. 

 

We wanted the amenities, but the space ended up not being helpful.  With an Edge Class CS the two rooms have the same issue as the IV, in that the rooms aren't really separated enough due to light and noise penetration issues.  So, someone can't be in the main room with the balcony curtains open, working, lights on, or TV without light going into the bedroom.  And, the sofa actually ends up being fairly far from the TV, so that there's a lot of empty space.  We have three in our family, including a younger child.  So, theoretically the CS is perfect for us, as we don't need two complete state rooms yet. But it doesn't work.  It also wouldn't work well if it was just two adults due to the light issue.  

 

Its a unique room among cruise lines, and we are disappointed it doesn't accomplish the basics.

Edited October 19, 2023 by Cap_D

[ISABELLA]

On 10/18/2023 at 12:48 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

Are you saying it was not there?  We've always had it and have never used it because we've always been able to get a kettle to make hot water for tea and my Japanese instant coffee.

 

No, it was there. Just we found it was useful to have it in the room for tea or coffee, where Celebrity do not provide anything like that.

[NutsAboutGolf]

20 minutes ago, ISABELLA said:

No, it was there. Just we found it was useful to have it in the room for tea or coffee, where Celebrity do not provide anything like that.

 

For free you can call room service in the morning and get coffee, I know other drinks also but not sure if tea is one of them

[ISABELLA]

2 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

For free you can call room service in the morning and get coffee, I know other drinks also but not sure if tea is one of them

We had our morning coffee delivered. And was promptly at 7:30. Like I said, our lady butler was excellent. We didn't ask for afternoon snacks, but we enjoyed fresh fruit and cheese every day. 

[coaster]

I give Celebrity corporate credit. Sent them emails a couple of times in the past and they responded via email and phone calls. Celebrity's sister line Royal Caribbean is terrible in responding from recent experience. I give credit where it is do.

[roboref]

Give me a guarantee cabin rate without a non-cancellable deposit. I don't care if it is refundable, but at least allow me to move it to another booking. RCCL/Celebrity are both doing this, my reaction is to just wait until within 60 days and book!