chemmo

I feel safe travelling knowing the Emperor is ensuring my safe passage…

Totally understand what you are saying…it just concerns me that some guests boarding soon about to celebrate their anniversary will have seen the above posted pictures including the rose petals and swans and get nothing…Not even a slice of cake…

Hi Emperor! Your wish is granted.

Isn’t it funny how everyone seems to have a different experience? We have experienced serenades in Murano and MDR and heard others serenaded in Tuscan. The MDR was definitely more enthusiastic and in tone!

I do think this is an area Celebrity needs to get more consistent with…If people read on CC about getting cakes, name read out, wine in the room or any other treat they board with a degree of expectation which quickly changes to disappointment when they have an empty table in their room and no serenade after dinner. Our son’s GF is cruising with us next cruise and has a birthday during the cruise. I will be reminding the butler and the M’D of the restaurant we dine in that evening. Certainly not leaving it to the chance of them noticing a tick on our reservation!

No, not for me either…To be honest I think most suite guests would not want their bath filling nor do they want butlers packing or unpacking either. I think the service would grind to a halt if everyone ‘demanded’ everything listed. Each to his/her own priorities I guess! I must say, in our experience, butlers do seem to enjoy setting up special events like sail away parties. We make a point if we want something ‘above’ normal service like a cocktail party or a special in suite meal to give the butler at least 24 hours notice. I think they find last minute requests harder as they then end up juggling other tasks, with warning they can liaise with other staff. I guess it all comes down to reasonableness….

Fairly sure the free ironing comes with upper suites and Elite level Captains Club too…Perhaps, regular Sky Suite guests can confirm.

Free laundry, including pressing is a great perk of upper suites. There is also some free laundry and pressing for guests Elite and above.

We tend to live with the motto “Don’t leave until tomorrow what you could enjoy today, you never know what tomorrow will bring…”. There are so many small practical things you can do to iron out possible ‘niggles’ on board possibly due to staffing issues. For example, treat yourselves to lunch in Sushi on a sea day to avoid the busy buffet. Dine early or late to avoid the busiest times (applies to all restaurants). Look at some speciality dining too. There is also the option of the buffet or room service some evenings this may be appreciated by your parents if they have had a busy day. I would suggest you consider the cost of upgrading to the Retreat. It does mean you can board at your leisure, enjoy Luminae and the suite lounge and even avoid queuing to get off too. Remember Luminae is open every breakfast and sea day lunchtimes too so it could offer a nice relaxing start to the day. However, I would add that this is something I would recommend all the party do or none of the party do as otherwise it gets complicated for dining etc. Re covid…Next year things may be the same, things may be better, who knows? We board Silhouette later this year. We plan on wearing masks when moving between venues and in the lifts. We will avoid busy areas and keep as much distance from others as we reasonably can. We did this last September and didn’t find it a big deal, at least we felt we were doing all we could to maintain our well-being and that of others. We do feel that there is a fine balance between caution and getting on with living life to the full…Only your parents can decide on their comfort level. I do know a few couples (no where near your parents age) who have decided this year not to cruise because of difficulties re flights, testing, possible sub par service….No right and wrong answers. If your parents continue to feel uncomfortable given the present circumstances cruising, perhaps you could arrange a local family weekend break away with them shortly before or after your cruise? It would give them something to look forward to still and, perhaps, make you more relaxed about enjoying your cruise without them…Just a thought. Sincere best wishes…

Generally if you let the M’D of a restaurant know you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary they will arrange a slice of cake and a couple of waiters will serenade you. Lots of guests with celebrations on board so remind them on the night! Sounds a bit twee but very nice! You can order celebration packages. Definitely champagne, cake and I think floral displays are another option. Check details for cost. If you want a decent champagne on your birthday without paying a high price you can bring it on board at part of your wine allowance. Either your room attendant or butler (if in a suite) will put it on ice for you. Agree…celebrations can be very hit and miss…You definitely need to inform staff on boarding, even when you have let the shoreside concierge know. Our experiences in higher suites have ranged from the slice of cake in the restaurant, another cruise a delivery of flowers and then an embarrassment of full cakes for our son (one arranged by our butler, one sent from the Retreat staff, one provided on the night in Murano). Definitely too much of a good thing! Room decorations have also ranged from nil to over the top… If you would like to arrange a special celebration I would suggest you do something yourself like booking a speciality restaurant or arranging a special excursion then if staff on board do anything for you then it is a bonus.

A very balanced approach giving you enough nights in Luminae to experience a range of their offerings and pick up on the general service level and ambiance…Also (I don’t know if this is part of your reasoning too) it is nice not to dine in the same venue every night, you will get a real flavour of the full ship’s dining options. Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise…

I think there is a big difference between you ordering a cheese plate and the butler offering to bring you a port to go with it and a suite guest boarding thinking it is ‘normal practice’ to phone the butler and expect drinks to be delivered at any time. Totally agree $ are earned and appreciated by butler’s going above and beyond but equally on a forum like this I do think we have a responsibility to make it clear that the general rule is that butlers do not usually offer in suite alcoholic beverage service.

In our experience it is not part of the butler’s role to bring alcoholic drinks to your room even in a top suite… I am not saying that if you have ordered room service they may not offer to bring wine etc but even when we cruise in the PH we would not phone the butler to bring alcoholic beverages. If we want a drink mid afternoon (not stocked in our room) we will go and get it. If we want a late night drink on the balcony we will bring it back with us. Retreat Hosts/Butlers try hard to offer a personalised service but they are a shared service. Their role is described clearly and most of us respect their role and use their service but do not abuse it… The big concern is if lots of guests board expecting drink service in suites the butlers are placed under pressure. If they refuse to bring drinks they are worried about bad reviews or responses like ‘our last butler always…’. However, if they provide the service the time comes out of that shared pool of time the butler has to divide between all guests.

Which ship are you cruising on? Even in normal times stock can vary between ships, at present I think this is more so. If you name the ship someone recently off or presently on board may be able to advise…

Might be worth simply phoning again and if the answer is still no with another operator ask to speak to a supervisor….Explain that ‘In your previous experiences…’. At worst you will waste an hour on the phone. Please feed back, I am sure many of us could benefit from your experience.

All Retreat rooms. There does seem to be a lot of questions at present about the “big” suites. I think following covid and cruise cancellations along with the ‘move up’ programme there have been lots of cruisers trying these rooms for the first time.

Firstly so sorry your vacation plans ended so badly. I am sure lots of people will come on to relate their cancellation experiences. Hopefully they may be able to offer some advice.

The biggest difference you will find between RC and Celebrity re entertainment is that many people are far more laid back about it. No booking seats, reasonably good seats are usually still available even if you arrive as the show is about to start. If you are a big show lover then you will find there is less variety on Celebrity, no ice or water extravaganzas or Broadway shows. However, there is always something on somewhere to go to. Totally agree with We much prefer these music events than a show. I think they are a real strength of Celebrity. It is worthwhile keeping a copy of the ‘Today’ sheet in your pocket to check before/after dinner which venue to head for. Just a reminder that Celebrity does not have announcements all day saying what is on or about to start so even if you don’t carry the ‘Today’ with you at least glance at it before going to breakfast and dinner. We are D+ on RC which we loved when our son was young. However, we now prefer the more relaxed and stylish feel of Celebrity. Much better food in our experience on Celebrity too from the buffet to the speciality restaurants. Hope you have a fantastic time.

We have also received the list posted by DCPIV and then requested items not on it (cognac) and never had an issue. We have never requested a drink not available within the premium package. Champagne always waiting on ice… I am fairly sure on our pre covid cruise in a RS on Equinox (September 2019) we did not have a coffee maker but definitely had one in the PH on Silhouette last September. Wherever we are in the world we always request a kettle and tea tray, we add this to our shore side concierge email and have never had an issue. Hopefully someone presently on Reflection can confirm re the coffee maker.

We have rarely had an issue when we have headed straight to a restaurant to pre book on boarding. I think on one occasion we couldn’t get our exact preferred time in Murano. I know lots of people love the flexibility of deciding on the day/evening. Nothing wrong with that but if you have pre booked and then change your mind you can always speak to the M’D and arrange a change, the best of both worlds. We are back on board October, can’t wait!

We love the coffee too…some days we probably get better value from our drinks package on coffee than alcohol. I have some mobility issues but still find it no big deal to catch an elevator up and down… At least if you bring her wine there will be no whining!

I am sure she appreciates it! Earns you points in the ‘best husband’ awards….Bringing her an afternoon Martini adds more points…

No mechanical coffee maker in Sky or Celebrity Suite but a human one! Just ring your butler.

Not wishing to call you lazy but it is easy enough to throw on a T and a pair of shorts, nip to Cafe el Bacio and then return with a wonderful brew to enjoy on the balcony…That little walk there and back will also help with your weight management! If it is such a big deal for you, I suggest you book a higher category of room on Celebrity or choose a different cruise line that does offer in suite coffee machines. We tend to cruise in higher suites and do have an adequate coffee maker and a butler we can ring. However, often one of us will frequently just quickly dress and get our regular Bacio brew..’Much abrew about nothing!’

He will bring you any speciality coffee you like. However, health and hygiene rules may prevent him putting your ice tray in a freezer for you, especially in these covid conscious days (risk of contamination). However, the butler will full up your ice bucket as often as you want. I suggest you request twice daily filling and see how you get on. If you run out or it is melting when you return from an excursion just telephone. You and I must be total opposites….I spend every cruise saying ‘just one ice cube please’ and still frequently get a drowned drink!