JaneStarr

On 4/23/2024 at 2:37 PM, ZapRowsdower said:

It seems like they know that what they delivered is not what they advertised. Perhaps it was first-day issues that will get resolved in the future. I had been looking at this activity as well as the mixology class for my sea day on Reflection in July. Looking forward to see what Kteacher has to say about that class in her thread.

My husband and I used extra OBC  precruise to book the Mixology class for $29.99pp + 20% gratuity. We very much enjoyed it. Class was held at World Class Bar aboard Eclipse at about 3pm on a sea day and lasted about 90 minutes.  See photo/menu showing the 3 cocktail recipes we made and enjoyed.

As I recall, there were about 8 of us sitting at the bar. Bartender was engaging and entertaining.

Since the lowest price cocktail at that bar was $17, we felt it to be a good value.

Jane

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The OP is on the Freedom.  The cabins all have the bed by the balcony

Is it the same on Liberty?

20 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Can you post what you actually received? What you're saying directly contradicts what people are currently seeing onboard and what everyone up to the Celebrity President has publicly stated.

 

The minifridge has NEVER been included as a matter of policy. It's frequently been restocked by butlers as a form of customer service. But that is NOT a change.

 

Retreat Butler and team has been on the web page for months. Did it change to reflect the return of butlers and change back? 

 

Celebrity is far from perfect and doing a great job of shooting themselves in the foot, but I'm sorry, your post makes no sense. The info on the web page that you're showing is the "official" current state as they bring back butler servie.

 

There is no there here!

Not the OP, but the information is in sub-links through the “More Reasons to stay in the Retreat” section of today’s Captain’s Club email.

First link is:https://click.na.celebritycruises.com/?qs=00a817ab5a394becb2746c283946e0d68202520daed02eceaf0e09bb1459bad2219b53398bf2bf281385a10052cc016603468b09bea7ef04a318f3f8397d0edc

Which takes you to  “TAKE YOUR SAILING TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH THE RETREAT” LEARN MORE link:

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/suite-class?icid=xplrsh_wrnssn_thr_hm_other_162

From there, you have to click on “all suites” and drill down into the pages for each suite category (and expand the listing along the way) to see what they list as included with each category. 

I’m not convinced any of this is up-to-date regarding the Team vs Dedicated Butler reinstatement because the stated effective date isn’t until June.

I also agree with you that the mini fridge stocking has not been an official perk for suites below RS in the past. It’s just something nice that proactive butlers have done for us these past several years — since we always have a premium beverage package.

The sad thing about all this is that Celebrity created this atmosphere of distrust by throwing so many cutbacks up to see what would stick.

Jane

1 hour ago, katenmax2 said:

Celebrity emailed out another change to Retreat Class today in the Captain's Club Newsletter. 

 

Changes are Effective Immediately.

 

Celebrity suites and below will no longer receive any complimentary beverages in their mini-fridge.

 

All class of Sky Suites (Including Sunset and Horizon) will NOT have a dedicated butler.  Only a Butler and Retreat "TEAM".  This appears to be a reversal of their previous notices that a dedicated butler will be returned to all classes of SS.  Appears yet another rebranding of their unsuccessful Retreat Team concept. I called the onshore Retreat Concierge to verify the newsletter information.  She stated no more dedicated butlers and complimentary mini-fridge stocking for less than Royal Suites/Signature Suites on all ships.  More amenities will be added for upper class suites and only the Iconic, Penthouse and Edge Villas will have the dedicated (more likely than not shared) butlers.  SAD!

 

I am giving up on booking anything below a Royal Suite on Celebrity.  I'll travel Aqua Class for my shorter/Caribbean trips and Royal or Signature (Reflection only) class on European/Asia/South Pacific ones.  Most likely means 1 Suite booked every other year due to costs.

 

I've posted .jpgs of the announcement for Sky Suites Below and included Celebrity Suite for comparison.

 

Shame on you Celebrity!

{{{{Snip}}}}

 

I really think this has to be a mistake where somebody linked to old info. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was another proofreading fail.

Can’t imagine Celebrity management would be crazy enough to reverse direction on this failed experiment so quickly.  Will be watching closely to see how this plays out.

Jane

On 3/18/2024 at 2:17 PM, marieps said:

DW and I each use the passport photos taken at AAA in 2021.  There's never an issue.  Perhaps we are outliers.  We used them on Connie, Reflection, EQ and Silhouette.

My very recent AAA passport photo got rejected. 🤷‍♀️ That’s the last time I’ll bother uploading a photo.

Dedicated butlers were returned to Eclipse Sky Suites effective with the March 2nd, 2024 sailing. No idea if they are fully staffed. Our friend’s SS butler had been demoted to a room steward and was moved back into the butler position on March 2nd

11 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

What would happen in this scenario when you change the sail date, change to NRD, and change your stateroom to the  Retreat on the new sailing ?  Are you required now to pay the deposit difference since retreat deposits are now higher?

Yes; that is my understanding of how it’s supposed to work. 

5 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

It had to have been under the old Open Passages program which ended in late 2018 to early 2019? I can't find the exact date. Celebrity used to have a document comparing the two programs when they switched to Book Now/Book Later but I can't find it either. The current Book Later certificates since at least 19 always have an expiration date. 4th bullet down under the guest info box. 

I found in my files that the open “Cruise Later” Passages program ended way longer ago than we thought.  I had an old one to use for many years after that, so I saved the attached document with the rules from 2014

Celebrity Cruises Onboard Future Cruises Pre 6 July 2015.pdf

19 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Great post😃 I have a cruise on Eclipse in an aft corner sky suite coming up in the end of May😃

I am pretty low maintenance but glad to know this information.

They were in 1666. Butler’s name was Nick, I believe. They are also low maintenance but did host a cocktail party as we cruised through the Strait of Magellan. The butler did a great job! 

We were in CS 1618 and had a really amazing butler named Katarina from Montenegro. She was really proactive at finding ways to help us. We were traveling with a total of 16 people in 9 cabins. Only 4 of us were in suites. She helped us coordinate getting off the ship together to meet our private tour guide and transfer. We also had her help in hosting the group during our sail-away from Ushuaia and past the glaciers.Our stateroom attendant, Nyoman, was also incredible. Everything was always kept clean (even the paint chips that kept falling onto our balcony), yet we rarely saw him. He did his job well and was not underfoot.

As far as most of the rest of the staff, they all seemed to be trying hard but they didn’t seem to be experienced. CD, Manuel, was excellent. Didn’t ever see the Captain out and about. Officers weren’t very visible on this 12 night cruise.

We had a great time traveling with friends — old and new — and with our cruise agent.

Jane

1 minute ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

It had to have been under the old Open Passages program which ended in late 2018 to early 2019? I can't find the exact date. Celebrity used to have a document comparing the two programs when they switched to Book Now/Book Later but I can't find it either. The current Book Later certificates since at least 19 always have an expiration date. 4th bullet down under the guest info box. 

Yes; that is correct

On 3/14/2024 at 1:09 PM, miched said:

We recently did a MSC in Yacht Club, and the Retreat on Celebrity.   We booked 2 cruises on MSC and none on Celebrity.  We have 2 more already booked on Celebrity but when done we may not book anymore.    

 

On Celebrity we did not see any butlers.   The room attendant took their place.    In the past the butler would see you walking down the hall and would open your door.  See you carrying a drink and would carry it for you and insist on doing that.   We would normally ask for coffee in the morning to be delivered to the cabin.  It seemed to be more of a hassle and the one time we asked for it we felt as if we were annoying them.   MSC provided the service that Celebrity use to.  
 

Celebrity needs to up their game instead making more cuts with higher prices.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

As of our March 2nd, 2024 Eclipse Sailing, dedicated butlers were returned to sky suites. Our friend in a corner aft Sky Suite had an amazing butler who had just been returned to that position. He had previously been demoted to a cabin attendant when they tried the failed renamed cabin steward/Retreat approach.

2 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

I can't say I have ever seen a Book Later form that didn't have book by stipulations. The time allowed often fluctuated but I've never seen one that is truly open ended. You would have to see if a Celebrity or a TA can apply to it towards a booking to know for sure. 

I’ve definitely had some older ones w/o an expiration date. They did limit how long you had to book in order to get the extra OBC, though

2 hours ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi Jane,

 

Thanks for tagging me on this thread. The link to the page you referenced is:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/initial-trip-deposit-date/

 

What caused the cruise or travel credits to be issued is important. If someone received cruise or travel credits instead of a cash refund, my plans will insure their value. If they are bonus or courtesy credits, they aren't insurable.

 

Steve Dasseos

Hi Steve,

Thanks so much for chiming in!

In this case, we were discussing Celebrity’s “Cruise Later” cruise certificates purchased onboard for an unspecified future cruise.They cost $100 pp and offer bonus onboard credit if assigned to a specific ship and sailing within 6 months of purchase. 

Celebrity just changed the rules on these last month. The $100 deposits are now forfeited if you don’t apply them to a specific sailing within 1 year. (Previously, they were fully refundable.)

My question pertains to the first bullet point under The Exceptions to “What Is Your Initial Trip Deposit Date?” at the link you provided.

Does the fact that these new “Cruise Later” certificates are nonrefundable impact what those mentioned insurers  (IMG, TravelSafe, Travelex Select and Travel Insured) will consider as the initial deposit date for being able to waive pre-existing conditions?

What I’m trying to determine is if we would be able to lock in pre-existing conditions coverage when assigning one of these certificates a few months after putting down the deposit.

(I do realize that CSA would currently be an option since it uses final payment date, but I’d  prefer other options)

Hope this is clear enough. I’m having trouble explaining.

Jane

PS I’m attempting to add screenshot of the current flyer in case it helps.

1 hour ago, paulh84 said:

 

Am I missing something here? The purchase date on the Book Later certificate has always been used as the booking date once you selected a cruise regardless if the deposit was refundable or nonrefundable. That seems like a separate unrelated issue on the insurability. 

 

 

 

Actually, Steve Dasseos of Trip Insurance store has some policies where the future cruise certificate (Cruise Later) purchase date doesn’t count as “booking date” for insurance purposes. It counts as when you have a confirmed reservation with specific travel dates.

I went to reread what Steve @iamtrustworthy has about this on his TripInsuranceStore website. The paragraph doesn’t specify that the FCC has to be refundable, but I vaguely recall a conversation with him about that criteria. Perhaps Steve will see this and chime in.

It would be good to clarify if Celebrity’s change to making the “Cruise Later” future certificates nonrefundable impacts our options for covering pre-existing conditions.

Below is an excerpt on this subject from his website. Not sure if I’m allowed to include a link.

—————————————————————————————————————-

The Exceptions to “What Is Your Initial Trip Deposit Date?”

• If you are / were on a cruise and you paid a deposit for a future cruise without setting travel dates, IMG, TravelSafe, Travelex Select and Travel Insured will not consider that date your Initial Trip Deposit Date. Your Initial Trip Deposit Date will be the date you have a confirmed reservation with specific travel dates.
• CSA uses the Final Payment Date as the deadline to qualify for coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.
• Travel Guard counts the earliest date when any monies are paid as the Initial Trip Deposit Date regardless of whether there are set travel dates.

_______________________________________________________________________

Jane

18 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks...  First they remove the larger OBC and Gratuities and now they make them non-refundable.    No Thanks..    Has anyone ever heard the expression?   SHOOT YOUR SELF IN THE FOOT. 

 

Just another reason for my defection from Celebrity after 23 years.

More like shooting themselves in the head! We have only one booking left with Celebrity. It was made almost 2 years ago, so it includes gratuities and lots of OBC. 

Giving them a chance to show me if the value is still there. This could be our final Celebrity cruise, at least until the tides change.

We are Elite + and typically spring for a CS or RS. We are entering our prime traveling years.

IN ADDITION:

The Cruise Later non refundable deposit is a deal-breaker for us because I am unable to privately insure to Cover preexisting conditions since the the future cruise certificate date becomes your official booking date.  

4 hours ago, paulh84 said:

 

The deposit on the Book Later certificate is now nonrefundable if you let it expire. 

 

{{{{{Snip}}}

It seems that this could’ve changed back to fully refundable very very recently. The flyer attached to my Eclipse March 2, 2024 cruise documents shows it as refundable.

”If I do not pick a ship and sailing date within 1 year of booking, my deposit will be refunded.”

Please see attached.

Of course it’s always possible that Celebrity messed up and attached an incorrect Book Now/Book Later flyer to my eDocs. I just noticed that the copyright date at the bottom of the very fine print shows 2020. Ugh.
Jane

45 minutes ago, BoopTennis said:

Someone must have an opinion on the new embarkation process at Buenos Aires!???

It sounds absolutely horrendous based on post #1 on this thread!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2983083-eclipse-6-january-boarding-in-buenos-aires/#comment-66697669

2 hours ago, asnaleah said:

 

{{{Snip}}}

On some other threads, I have read about Retreat passengers having difficulty getting waters and other soft drinks delivered to the suite by the Butler. This has not been our experience. As soon as we made our preferences known, our Butler has taken good care to be sure we are fully stocked. Also, he traded in the champagne for wine with no problem...

This is because the changes to butler (vs renamed stateroom attendent/Retreat Host & team) service only apply to Sky Suite level, including Aqua Ski suites.

Thus far, the dedicated butler service is still provided to those in CS and above.

10 hours ago, asnaleah said:

I have yet to see a wine list but suspect it is close to useless anyway. No Oregon Pinot Noir available at Luminae last night. I will try to find a list at a bar, although I don’t want to aggravate myself.

 

However, for the first time in our 15 year cruising history, the items I requested from the shoreside concierge were actually transmitted to the ship, and our Butler checked them off with me!! Woo Hoo!

Thanks for doing this! We will be in a CS for the 2 March 24 sailing (Buenos Aires to Valparaiso)
How long before the cruise were you contacted by the shoreside concierge? Was it by email or phone.
Enjoy your cruise!

On 8/9/2023 at 6:35 AM, Tazzybear14 said:

What ever happened to Graham Seymour!?  Loved Loved that guy!

Just found him on Viking Orion last night!  He retired from Royal after 15+ years. That was before Covid. He then agreed to a temporary gig bringing Viking back from the Covid global suspension. 

He’s decided to continue on because small ship sailing reminded him or what he loved about the CD job. (Just paraphrasing what he told me last night. I may have some of the details wrong.)

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

When her retirement was announced, she said that it was time or something like that.  Her retirement occurred when the new Celebrity president was installed.  I guess it wasn't really time for her to retire after all.

I assume this has to do with her noncompete clause. The Azamara announcement said she will start after her non-compete ends in May.

33 minutes ago, Marylebone37 said:

It took longer than it should have, but goodbye Carol. Even with all the angst you’ve caused so many, I still wish you well and safe travels ahead. 

Wow!  Glad they finally made a drastic move. Maybe I’ll feel comfortable booking Azamara again 

On 10/15/2023 at 12:14 PM, Goldconnection said:

Great! Which cruise line are you sailing?

Do you have the correct info for Viking? First port (from 11/7/23 sailing) is Jakarta.
Thanks in advance!

2 hours ago, WorldJoy24 said:

Thanks, Phil.  I will check with Activities person when on board.  Yes, I was thinking early AM when others are not using the pool.   Probably just on sea days.   Am also curious to see if there is any interest in line- dancing or zumba exercising.   Gotta keep in shape with all that delicious food!

When we were aboard Onward in August, they offered a short water aerobics class on a sea day.

Jane

2 hours ago, gerelmx said:

today the promo includes extra $200 savings, saved $100 in my Silhouette TA

Did you have gratuities included or AI? Did you lose anything by doing that?