EQUINOX SKY SUITE ?

[Cruisegirl6]

I would like your advice for those who had a sky suite on the Equinox/Solstice class whether it is worth getting a suite on this ship?

 

I heard there is no bar in the retreat, but am I correct to say there are servers that will get us drinks?

What exactly does a butler do for you?  I really don't want or need anybody to unpack for me.

Are we able to get breakfast at 10am or later in our stateroom?  Does anybody have the menu?

How is Luminae, like to hear your thoughts about anything you can talk about regarding Luminae on this class of ship.

Are we able to order off the MDR (we like Caesar salad) in Luminae?

I was told that if I booked a sky suite it would include the classic drink package and premium one device wi-fi, why would they not just give us the premium drink package, did I not hear the representative correctly?  (My other half is sapphire and we are both elite)

 

Thank you.

[markeb]

We've stayed in a Sky Suite three  times on Equinox. Really enjoyed it all three times. "Worth it" is a hard call with current pricing. But we're probably taking a pause on cruises to do other things when we return from Alaska.

 

There's some terminology here to understand. The S-class has no "Retreat" in the manner of the E-class. There are suites around the ship. There is Luminae on Deck 3. There's a Retreat Sundeck on Deck 16 forward. And there's a Retreat Lounge on Deck 5.

 

There is a full bar in the Retreat Lounge, staffed most of the day. There is no bar on the Retreat Sundeck on the Equinox. There are servers who will get drinks and also food during food hours. Food probably varies but it's about 3 hours overlapping noon.

 

The butler is your interface with the Retreat. They have done different things for different people in the past and there were a number of months where they were removed from the Sky Suites. If you want snacks in the afternoon, they're usually the ones to arrange them. They were and may again be the ones to bring your coffee and breakfast to the room. If there's something you need, ask them. But they're not personal servants.

 

Can't answer on 10:00 breakfast. Never did that. I don't have a breakfast menu, but it was a pretty standard room service menu. 

 

Luminae is either wonderful, too adventuresome, or not adventurous enough. It's a smaller menu. For me it's too heavy on beef dishes; for others there's not enough beef. A lot of dishes are French inspired, so expect sauces. Luminae on Equinox may be the perfect size. There are fewer suites on Equinox than Reflection, for instance. The flow is reasonably good and the seating is pretty good (IMHO). Yes, you can generally order off the MDR menu on Equinox. Caesar salad is a good example.

 

Is this a cash booking? Not casino (you mentioned Blue Chip status)? The standard Retreat Package is premium drink package and premium one device Wi-Fi each for two guests. Not sure where the Classic Package is coming from. You may have misunderstood. All bets are off on casino bookings... 

[Cruisegirl6]

5 hours ago, markeb said:

We've stayed in a Sky Suite three  times on Equinox. Really enjoyed it all three times. "Worth it" is a hard call with current pricing. But we're probably taking a pause on cruises to do other things when we return from Alaska.

 

There's some terminology here to understand. The S-class has no "Retreat" in the manner of the E-class. There are suites around the ship. There is Luminae on Deck 3. There's a Retreat Sundeck on Deck 16 forward. And there's a Retreat Lounge on Deck 5.

 

There is a full bar in the Retreat Lounge, staffed most of the day. There is no bar on the Retreat Sundeck on the Equinox. There are servers who will get drinks and also food during food hours. Food probably varies but it's about 3 hours overlapping noon.

 

The butler is your interface with the Retreat. They have done different things for different people in the past and there were a number of months where they were removed from the Sky Suites. If you want snacks in the afternoon, they're usually the ones to arrange them. They were and may again be the ones to bring your coffee and breakfast to the room. If there's something you need, ask them. But they're not personal servants.

 

Can't answer on 10:00 breakfast. Never did that. I don't have a breakfast menu, but it was a pretty standard room service menu. 

 

Luminae is either wonderful, too adventuresome, or not adventurous enough. It's a smaller menu. For me it's too heavy on beef dishes; for others there's not enough beef. A lot of dishes are French inspired, so expect sauces. Luminae on Equinox may be the perfect size. There are fewer suites on Equinox than Reflection, for instance. The flow is reasonably good and the seating is pretty good (IMHO). Yes, you can generally order off the MDR menu on Equinox. Caesar salad is a good example.

 

Is this a cash booking? Not casino (you mentioned Blue Chip status)? The standard Retreat Package is premium drink package and premium one device Wi-Fi each for two guests. Not sure where the Classic Package is coming from. You may have misunderstood. All bets are off on casino bookings... 

Thank you for explaining all of that.  It is a blue chip offer, I am able to get sky suite or aqua class.  I do not want to be "served", I need to move around and its just not my style having people do things for me, even getting my breakfast.  lol. 

 

I am trying to decide so I won't waste a suite that somebody else could enjoy but you mention Luminae is good, so it may be worth it for that.  It's possible this casino deal does not include the perks as if booking a regular suite stateroom and he is getting classic due to being sapphire, which makes sense.

[George C]

Luminae is definitely a big upgrade over mdr ot blu , not open for lunch on port days but as said you can have lunch in outdoor retreat, very small menu. Love the lobster roll served on embarkation lunch , service in Luminae or suite lounge is normally great , also concierge can help with any issues. There is normally breakfast stuff in suite lounge if you wake up to late for breakfast in Luminae.

[markeb]

The butler/retreat host will largely do as much or as little as you'd like. If you would normally order room service breakfast, it's the butler who'll deliver it. If you don't have a drink package, you can still get drinks in the Retreat Lounge, and you can generally raid the refrigerator for soda and bottled water. There are snacks out much of the day, and the Retreat concierge (I think that's the title) can handle most guest services issues. That's all part of being in the Retreat. The cabins are generally bigger. Aqua gets you access to Persian Gardens if you want to use that part of the spa. Aqua also gets you Blu. Luminae is open for lunch on embarkation day, which is wonderful. A nice, sit down lunch instead of trying to find a place with 3000 of your new, closest friends in the OVC...

 

You're on vacation. Slow down and let them "serve" you! 😃

[Cruisegirl6]

3 hours ago, markeb said:

The butler/retreat host will largely do as much or as little as you'd like. If you would normally order room service breakfast, it's the butler who'll deliver it. If you don't have a drink package, you can still get drinks in the Retreat Lounge, and you can generally raid the refrigerator for soda and bottled water. There are snacks out much of the day, and the Retreat concierge (I think that's the title) can handle most guest services issues. That's all part of being in the Retreat. The cabins are generally bigger. Aqua gets you access to Persian Gardens if you want to use that part of the spa. Aqua also gets you Blu. Luminae is open for lunch on embarkation day, which is wonderful. A nice, sit down lunch instead of trying to find a place with 3000 of your new, closest friends in the OVC...

 

You're on vacation. Slow down and let them "serve" you! 😃

Humm, I may have to think what you said here, to slow down, sounds like great advice to me.  Thank you.

[edgee]

Problem with Sky Suite cabins on S class ships is that they are all ether under the noisy Oceanview Cafe or for slightly higher charge you can book Sunset Sky Suites at the rear of the ship. There you are subject to soot on the balcony and some vibration issues. Just open up and look at the S class cabin spreadsheet at the top of this forum and you will see many happy satisfied guests and some not so satisfied. Because the noise and soot/vibration issues are a deal breaker for us, our choice of suites on S class ships like Equinox starts at the Celebrity Suite level which for a 9 day Med cruise we are considering has about a $2100 per person higher charge than lower suites which we consider problematic.