Joker54

Still wish you a wonderful cruise and that you enjoy transiting the old locks. The new locks are interesting, not as interesting as the old locks in my opinion

I didn’t suffer anything, I cancelled the excursion. The DW and the couple we were traveling with wanted to see the locks inbound and outbound. The bus rides and times I mentioned had nothing to do with ship transit time. My entire point was that X should have noted the bus travel times. Yes some of it was implied but it was vague at best. It is a very simple process to have different descriptions of an excursion and link the descriptions to the appropriate ship/itinerary. You may have noticed that the excursion is listed as Cologne Panama which would be appropriate for your situation, for those on the Beyond it would be better to list it as Gatun Lake, Panama or Panama Canal as that is where the excursion begins. I hope you enjoy your tour excursion/cruise. cheers

We were on Beyond for 29 Jan cruise to the Panama Canal. We booked Destination Highlight: Aerial Tram Through Panama's Tropical Rainforest Colon, Panama as an excursion and were quite surprised at what we felt were important details on this excursion missing from X’s web page. This excursion includes a 90 minute bus ride from the pier to the excursion site and another 2 hours on a bus from that location back to the ship in Panama. Had the description mentioned 3.5 hours on a bus we would never have booked it. There was a letter included with tickets that provided the additional detail along with 2 other letters. Anyone taking this tour will depart the Beyond shortly after passing through the locks and after entering Gatun Lake and would miss transiting the locks on the way back to the Atlantic. Other cruisers mentioned long unanticipated bus rides on excursions from the canal also. Seems to be a pattern of missing details. On prior cruises the web had more detail about bus rides that were part of a given excursion. cheers

We were on the 11 day cruise on Beyond 29 Jan, our cruise was the follow-on to yours.I agree that the cabin level has a huge impact on the service one receives in the Retreat. Even in an upper suite there still are annoyances that seem ridiculous. We sailed in the Iconic, spent a ton of money for the cruise. Our Butler and Suite Attendant were both amazing. Our previous cruise was in a Sky Suite with no Butler and a very overworked but dedicated room attendant. The service difference between the 2 classes of suites makes us feel like when in a Sky Suite you are really in steerage. The few times we were at the Retreat pool deck seemed all the umbrellas were furled. We couldn't understand why they weren't open as the winds were light and it was very hot. X does some pretty dumb things even to folks in an upper suite. All upper suites are entitled to 2 bottles of liqueur. We opted for Blanco Tequila and Macallan Quest Scotch. Regardless of the venue, Retreat Lounge/pool deck, Martini bar or World Class bar if I ordered Macallan Quest it had the $2.00 plus gratuity upcharge. Seriously, I get a free bottle in the suite but pay for it elsewhere. I refused the upcharge, went back to the suite and got my scotch and went back to where ever the DW and our friends were at. I needed to walk more anyway. The Blanco Tequila ran out halfway through the cruise. We asked about purchasing a second bottle to keep in the suite and were quoted $270.00 for that bottle. I went down to the ships store and that same bottle was for sale for $49.99 but you couldn't get it until the last day of the cruise. So we would pay an extra $221.00 for the privilege of serving ourselves rather than having a crew member pour one. AND there was no upcharge for the Tequila. Our Butler kept the Tequila flowing one glass at a time when we were in the suite but he shouldn't have had too. The meals in the specialty restaurants were improved over recent cruises. The DW and I were both given fairly raw Sirloins our last night of the cruise. We were disappointed but didn't complain as after 11 days of dining in specialty restaurants we were tired of eating. We dined in Luminae 3 times, lunch on embarkation day, breakfast on the last day and had desert (chocolate bomb) one evening after dining in a specialty restaurant. The service was slow but the staff friendly. The acoustics are horrible just like on the Edge and Apex, We are on Solstice for 41 day b2b2b next month, first leg in Sky Suite, others in a Celebrity Suite. As of this week we are Zenith so will see if that makes a difference in the service level. Before anyone jumps on here asking why we are still sailing X, those cruises were booked over a year ago and the itinerary includes many bucket list ports of call. After that we have 2 cruises on the books, a TA that we booked before the butler changes and our Zenith "free cruise". We usually cruise 4 to 6 times a year. Looking closely at Seabourn for our future business. Cheers

Signature suites are also all inclusive and have the same benefits/perks as RS, PH etc. Signature suites are only on Reflection - free mini bar and unlimited free specialty dining

DW and I were on the Beyond in an upper class suite end of Jan and while in the retreat lounge I ordered a shot of Macallan scotch and was told it would be 2 bucks plus 20% gratuity. They did offer me scotch from other distilleries that were included in the premium beverage package The Retreat Lounge does have “Elevated” drinks. Cheers

We were in the Iconic on Beyond 29 Jan 24 cruise and had to ask for our tote bags twice. When they finally came there basic without the usual zipper pouch. our butler and suite attendant were both awesome so we chalked this issue up to a corp decision. cheers

We received it 2 days ago I don't see a need to submit a question as they probably wouldnt address it or it would come with kool aid loaded with sugar:) Cheers

We have seen un-hosted veterans gatherings at 10am during at sea days. Recently on the Beyond there was only one get together and it was at 5pm on the second at sea day and was hosted by someone from theater productions if I recall correctly. So seems to vary by ship/captain - if you dont see it on the plan of the day during an at sea day you can certainly request one. They are generally very accommodating on such requests

We were in the PH on the Apex and invited friends to join us on the cruise - so 2 couples in the PH. The PH main salon and master bedroom/bath are really amazing other than the pocket doors opening and closing as the ship rolls even a little, so be prepared. The second bedroom is very small with one small closet and no drawers. There is a hanging closet in the main salon just outside of the entrance to the "guest" bedroom. Our friends basically lived out of their suitcases for the cruise. Somewhat funny - the door to the shower in the guest bedroom hits the rain shower head so you cant get the door open all the way - this isn't a big deal but one would think at over a billion dollars to build an E class ship those things wouldn't happen. The Jacuzzi tub in the master suite is more like an indoor jetted plunge pool. Probably the best inside tub in the fleet outside of the tub in the master suite of an Iconic Cheer

Just off the Beyond, DW and I dined 3 times in Le Voyage and enjoyed our dining experience. We went off the regular menu. The menu is static, looking back 3 times on an 11 night cruise was 1 too many given the same menu, at least for us. Others might enjoy 4 nights to try all items on the menu. The service was outstanding as one would expect from a Michelin Star restaurant. Cheers

Just off the Beyond, the first sommelier we interacted with was in le voyage, she started right in recommending wine’s without asking about our interests and I had just opened the wine list. we are picky about wines and at least like to read the wine list before they start in….. exact same thing happened in Eden later in the cruise.

Was this the 29 Jan Panama Canal Cruise? We were on that cruise. We were not in the retreat lounge often but when we were there we didn't see anyone complaining. The couple we were cruise with did over hear a room attendant being mistreated - there were also some rumors about bad behavior of some guests but we didn't personally witness any of that. We had an issue with an excursion where the description on the web site didn't mention the 2.5 hour bus ride. There was a note in with our tickets that I didn't read until the day before and we canceled outside of the cancellation window which was fine and definitely my fault. The Retreat Concierge were great in that they were able to organize a refund to our credit card and to use our onboard credit to cover that excursion. We did want to discuss the web description with the manager of Excursions, not to necessarily complain but to hopefully have a better description added to reflect what to expect. We met him in the Retreat Lounge and I asked him if we could meet somewhere private as no one needed to listen to that conversation. Unfortunately you have to meet folks when they are available and at the location they suggest. An outsider witnessing this might think something evil about to happen when in reality it was something minor and we thanked him for taking the time to meet about it and he agreed that the web site needed to have a better description. Also followed up with a thank you card to him. Separately I doubt we were ever in seas greater than 4 feet and a ship that size in small seas will move, but not much. More noticeable to those who have no sea time and not noticeable to those of us who have extensive sea time. I have to turn away anytime I hear someone talking about how they cant take any more of the motion.........as I find it funny - although sea sickness is never funny. Cheers

We are on the Solstice this March and the shoreside concierge sent pricing to us this week, showing $54.99 + grat for Murano and La Petite; and $49.99 + grat for Tuscan. email didn’t specify if this is pre-cruise or onboard pricing. Maybe those empty tables are having an impact. Cheers

Curious who is in the pool for Suite Services? Butlers, room attendants, concierges??? or if any of those folks are covered instead by the housekeeping pool. And before anyone asks why - knowing what they receive makes it easier to determine how much more to give for service deserving of an additional tip

The other thing we didn’t like about the PH on the Edge is the closet area is a very large open space, open being the issue. We prefer a door to a walk in closet. Not easy to get dressed and let your significant other sleep in the way it’s setup. this is what happens when the room designers don’t cruise or have nautical design experience

You can add the insurance by calling them as long as you have not paid in full.

Was it really a butler or was it the room attendant with a retreat host name tag? Either way it is encouraging that they are getting better service.

The cdc web site has pages discussing vaccines for various countries. It sure if those are just recommendations or mandatory but a good place to start

Thank you. That would be better than no water. However all suite guests get the premium drink package so to it makes no sense to not have an included premium beverage in the Retreat.

We are in the Iconic on Beyond in 2 weeks. If it’s the same there I might drop by the lounge when the retreat hosts are working, call our butler and have a vitamin water and bottle of Evian delivered to us in the club….. Terry any decent Scotch in the Retreat? Where do you have to go to get water for your SS if you can’t get it in the Retreat News Flash Celebrity Cruises to install luxury water fountains in the suite guest only Retreat Lounge……… cheers

Beach cigar on Ft Lauderdale Beach is the one we stop at as it’s only a couple of miles from the port 17 S Ft Lauderdale Beach blvd #200. They don’t have a web site that I am aware of but google maps has some photos. hope I didn’t break any rules posting their address…….. cheers

If X had a real IT department that had clue about IT this would happen, but since they are clueless there is no hope here. Maybe it’s done this way on purpose to squeeze just a little more revenue from elites/zeniths….

So your thoughts are that penthouses and royal suites are not worthy of dedicated butler service? not sure what marketing info you have been reading but in the 7 years I’ve been sailing in suites on celebrity I never felt the there would be ‘Buttlers” to do everything for me……

Guess you issued the first sentence of my reply offering some ides, no worries that ship has sailed happy not to offer help where it isn’t needed