CruisinShips

Were you on the early October Eclipse sailing? We were on that one (San Pedro, Santa Barbara, SF, Catalina, Ensenada, San Diego). Enjoyed that itinerary very much. As I recall, there was an impact to the amount of time in SF, which was OK with us as we have been there several times.

I was on the Eclipse last October on a coastal California itinerary. The wifi in our cabin was pretty horrible, and I switched to my ATT cell service whenever we were docked (at a US port). No international charges doing that either.

Interesting. I have always had AT&T and have never been charged for usage while in Miami or Fort Lauderdale aboard the ship on over a dozen cruises I have been on. Including my most recent one in February (Port Everglades). I wonder how ATT would know you're even on a ship while docked....

Yes, I misspoke. My point was the second level, starboard entrance (where we met with the butlers on chic nights) always seemed to have available seating closer to showtime than the first level areas. At least that was our experience on the Apex.

True, but we never had a problem in that (second level) section on any night....

We never had a problem getting a seat when sitting in the reserved Retreat seating area.

Nice review. Thanks

Following this. Booked in a CS in October and can't wait. Thanks for the review!

It seems Celebrity has listened to criticisms, and their food, service and attention to detail has improved over the past couple of months. The nicest part of all is we are no longer hearing the anger from butler-deprived Sky Suite guests...and there was a lot of it. We have absolutely loved our last two cruises (Eclipse and Apex) and can't wait for our next one. All they need to do now is lower the Retreat prices!

Nice review, thanks. Very similar to our (Retreat) experience on the Apex in February.

That's been my experience as well. It's almost like the shoreside interaction is just for show. But as you said, the butler typically easily and quickly handles the requests following your initial meet and greet.

I believe the earlier you check in (closer to the date check-in opens for your cruise), the earlier your assigned boarding time should be. Unless you are in the Retreat (you can show up when you wish).

Excellent review....well written and presented. We sailed on the Scarlet Lady last year and had many of the same positive comments as you about the food in particular. Agree the ship is confusing. The main thing to discuss IMO is the overall vibe. While they do seem to want to gear towards a 20-40 year old crowd, on our cruise we felt we, in our early 60s, were in the middle of the ages we saw. That being said, one needs to have a pretty open/progressive attitude on their ships and you can't be someone who is easily offended by a little edgy humor and people being comfortable with their sexual orientations. Otherwise, you may feel a little uncomfortable. We enjoyed ourselves, and enjoyed the staff, but that's where Virgin stands apart IMO.

Not really, lol, it's just that I am used to starting cruises with a positive account balance rather than a negative one...so I guess it's just that. Same reason I like drink and wifi packages and I tend to pre-book specialty restaurants and excursions for the most part.

Thanks. I actually booked while on board, and then handed it off to my travel agent, and I don't recall either asking me if I wanted to include it. Sounds like I can just call my TA.

We booked our first cruise post "gratuities included". Will there be a place to pre-pay them on the cruise planner...I don't see one now (11 mos out)?

We upload our own, but the laughter from the check-in person takes a while to subside before they can retake ours. 😉

I think the exception to that rule is possibly taking a chance on a move-up bid on the upper suites...there really are no bad locations with regard to those IMO.

I think the OP's issue was worthy of being taken seriously despite his poor use of a word and his injected speculation of the cause. Those two items didn't negate the point of his post IMO. People seem to look for reasons to blame posters here or otherwise invalidate their complaints. In this case, I would be upset if that happened to me as well.

Again, it's not about what they have the right todo. It's about what they should do so as to promote ongoing good will and customer satisfaction (and retention).

Dear lord. Can you not even fathom the emotional aspect of this? Customers aren't robots...they are actual people with human feelings. What one can do doesn't always align with what one SHOULD do, and in the uber-competitive hospitality industry, it's essential to understand this.

We were on the Apex recently in a CS on deck 11 and there was creaking in our cabin a couple of nights. But the reason for the creaking is none of your damn business! 😉

Most of our cruise was pretty windy, but for whatever reason, wind was not a factor when we dined there. I don't know if we just got lucky, or if the design blocked out the wind where we were sitting (frankly, I don't remember).

I assume you have read the reports of the butler service being (or coming) back to Sky Suites? That is happening.

Well in all honesty, I much prefer port Everglades to Port of Miami. The extra 22 minutes to get to Miami is kind of a drag. 😜