Silkroad

43 minutes ago, crusinthrough said:

The Equinox has become the test ship.  Experiments are born and die on the ship.  TBH I'm weary on booking the Equinox for this reason.  Who knows the other experiments that are in the works.  I think the other test ship is the Silhouette.  Why does Celebrity hate these ships?  

I believe the other “vaping in the Casino” test ship was Solstice, not Silhouette. For that test, it appeared that they wanted test ships departing from both an east coat port and a west coast port.

5 minutes ago, kittyraptors said:

I was being a little facetious with my use of “nervous”. Just seems like no one has anything positive to say about Celebrity anyone. But Bo1953 is right - time to stop reading and start getting in vacation mode. I’ll have a great time either way! Heck, a hurricane could hit and I’ll still be thankful to not be at work 😂😂😂

Plenty of us still have positive things to say about Celebrity. We just returned from a wonderful 21 nights aboard Apex (Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland). Equinox is a fun ship. We had a great time on her last year. I can’t say I’m thrilled about every recent decision or experiment, but we’ve still got four cruises booked. We’re betting we’ll have a great time on all of them, regardless of a few annoying changes. Bon voyage! Have a frosty one for me🍹😜

1 hour ago, DingoMom said:

The Sky Suite ‘ transition’ has been seamless to me. Our Retreat Host is our room attendant and also does what we ‘used’ to have a butler do. Ice, removing used glassware / dishes, and laundry come immediately to mind. We don’t get canapés and we don’t have any ‘standing requests’ for certain services. Our wonderful Host takes care of seven cabins.

(As an aside, we emptied out the mini-fridge of water, wine, and some soft drinks when we boarded and stored the contents in the large cubbie next to the fridge.)

 

I asked about the structure that is being implemented. Each Host also has a Head Butler that backs them up and ensures that Sky Suite guests are taken care of. When I inquired of the Concierge, I was told that yes, you can request certain items from either the Host, your Head Butler, or the Concierge.

First, I’m so glad you’ve recovered in time to enjoy the end of your cruise! Second, thank you so much for clarifying how things work after the transition. Based on your experience, those of us who have future Sky Suites booked shouldn’t anticipate any substantive differences in services (excepting the newly stated mini bar charges). I hope you enjoyed your cocktail. Cheers! 🍹

3 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Slightly OT but how was your trip?

 

mac_tlc

Wonderful! We had a splendid time. We enjoyed enchanting scenery, interesting architecture, fabulous street art and a beautiful ship. The staff and crew were excellent, as always. Yes, we experienced a few glitches on the journey, but no more than one would expect on a four-week trip.

50 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Looks like I'll have to order a couple beers, either in the Lounge or at a bar, and bring them back. Yeesh. 

That’s exactly what we did. On our b2b ending 8/21, our mini fridges (we had to move on turnover day) were stocked with random sodas & beers. The beers were not those DH prefers, so we went to bars together to obtain his “Premium” beers for our mini fridge. Because we book SS only half the time, we’re used to hunting down “Premium” beers and waters when necessary. On the plus side, we do burn a few more calories while hunting😂

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

The June Equinox cruise was also the first cruise that we did not get the nightly towel animals, I was told by our butler this had been discontinued because it took much time away from the over worked and understaffed room attendants. The ship was 100% full and some days we didn't get our cabin made up until after lunch.

Interesting. We’ve found towel animals (swans) only once, on the night we celebrated a special anniversary in Murano. We returned to our cabin (not suite) to find beautiful swans and rose petals arranged on the bed. I thought Celebrity didn’t usually do towel animals.

14 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I have never seen that bar menu on any of our past SS cruises, and we have always received unlimited Evian bottled water without even asking and at no charge. If this is the case now, we will still have our min bar emptied and bring back bottled water and beer from the Retreat Lounge. My DW and I normally drink 2-3 bottles of Evain a day and no way I will pay for them now. 

As I said, these flyers were staged for placement in Sky Suites the day we disembarked, meaning those who embarked on 8/21 would have found them prominently placed in their Sky Suites. Going forward, what happens in practice is unclear, but X is clearly stating that beverages supplied to Sky Suites are not covered in beverage packages. Perhaps those who are currently onboard will share their experiences.

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I had every butler since Covid tell me that our Premium drinks package included the wine, beer and bottled water in our mini fridge along with bringing drinks from the bars to our cabin.

We have had most butlers (since late 2019) offer to stock our mini fridge/counter with beer and bottled water. We have never been offered more than the “welcome” bottle of wine, and we’ve certainly not been offered cocktails from bars en suite. It wouldn’t occur to us to ask for these things. I drink a lot of water, so I have greatly appreciated our butlers’ efforts to keep our suites well supplied with large bottles of Premium water.
 

Though we’ve been quite happy having my waters and DH’s beers supplied for us, I’ve never thought these were standard items for Sky Suites. I’m afraid the halcyon mini fridge days are over. I had a chance to take a quick pic of two flyers that were staged to be placed in Sky Suites the day we disembarked (8/21). 
 

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I believe your cruise was the last one on the Apex before the changes went into effect on this past Monday.

You are correct. The change was effective on the cruise after ours, for those embarking on 8/21. I do want to add that because only half our cruises have been in suites, we have far less experience with Sky Suite benefits than many on this forum. Though we don’t request much from our Butlers, our experiences have been mixed. I will say that our Edge class Butlers have been first rate. I shall miss the small, but impactful, ways they have made our cruise experiences better. I do hope that all the vanishing Butlers have a soft landing going forward.

On 8/22/2023 at 9:52 PM, terrydtx said:

We will be on the Apex in 3 weeks and will find out for ourselves what this new Team will do and will not do compared to our past butler experiences. 

Terry, I hope you’ll post your thoughts about your experiences on this forum. We’re just off a b2b on Apex. We were in a Sky Suite for the Norway leg, but moved to an Aqua Sky Suite for the Iceland leg. We had different Butlers and Stateroom Attendants for the two suites. Others have already posted details - and speculation- about what exactly will be provided to Sky Suite passengers in future.
 

While aboard, I had several conversations with the Retreat Hosts and our Butlers. FWIW, both our Butlers were moving to Guest Relations immediately after our b2b. I heard that others were moving to other positions or going home. I heard nothing to suggest that there would be additions to the Retreat Host team, but I was assured that Sky Suite guests would be “well taken care of” by a Retreat “team”. All a bit vague, but my sense was that the Retreat team, Butlers and Stateroom Attendants were learning details about changes (and trying to prepare for them) while still trying to provide excellent service to those of us onboard. 

6 hours ago, swigso said:

Hi  

the changes to the butler services are only for sky suites at the moment. I think there are no changes to the service for Celebrity suites and higher categories.

 

Correct. The changes affect only Sky Suites, which include Sky Suite, Aqua Sky Suite, Sunset Sky Suite and Magic Carpet Sky Suite categories. 

7 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Just to be clear about your post.  Are you suggesting there will be no Retreat TEAM for Sky Suites?  Otherwise it’s just a confirmation of the existing conversation of butlers being renamed not eliminated.

 

Thanks.

I’m suggesting nothing. I’m STATING that nothing has been confirmed TO ME about how the SS butler functions will be handled, or not. Keep in mind that I’m on holiday. I’ve neither time nor inclination to read numerous pages of digressions on this thread. I’m merely reporting what I’ve learned on board, as I said I would do.

Update from Apex. We’re on board now. According to our butler, Sky Suites will no longer have butlers. This change will be effective on Apex as of 21 August 2023. Our butler is amongst those being sent home. What remains unclear is how the Retreat concierge team will handle their increased workload. 

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

It sounds like the changes will not go into effect until mid-August so you should be just fine.

I’m not the person you were replying to, but this may happen during the second leg of our b2b to celebrate our retirement. Yes, we splashed out on Sky Suites for both legs, so we may have an interesting Retreat experience. Pretty frustrating to read about this after we’ve paid for the trip. We board tomorrow, so I’ll post if I learn anything substantive.

7 hours ago, basenji56 said:

It comes down to the price point too.  In my experience, Viking Ocean is at least twice as expensive as Celebrity for a roughly equivalent veranda.  Maybe even more than that.  But it also includes some things that are not included on Celebrity since beer/wine at meals is included and you also get one included excursion in each port.  Internet is also included as is sparkling water and specialty coffees all day long.

Would you say the included beer/wine is very good or only adequate? Is still water also included? I’ve not seen anyone raving about the quality of the included excursions. Did you find them compelling?

I have nothing to add to the excellent information provided by previous posters, but I want to wish your husband a very successful procedure and a swift recovery🌻

1 hour ago, Selion said:

Thought I'd tack on this thread instead of creating a new one.  Do all Concierge staterooms on Edge-class ships have infinite balcony instead of the traditional balcony?

Yes.

On 7/22/2023 at 9:11 AM, phoenix_dream said:

I'm more surprised at the comment about the bed size.  IMHO none of the 'king sized' beds on Celebrity are as big as my standard king sized bed at home.  Is it just me?  Am I imagining it?  I will say, though, that I find the beds very, very comfortable so not complaining, just surprised.

I have found US Queen sized beds in M and S class cabins/Sky Suites, and US King sized beds in Edge class cabins/Sky Suites. 

10 hours ago, Dreamer68 said:

Thanks a million for taking the time to share your thoughts! Yep, the OV cabin all the way forward. That's what I'm thinking to book. There are only 6-8 and only one is left for the cruise my group is looking at but uncertain about. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Some day, we might splurge a n a Sunset Verenda and who knows, a Suite. 🙏

 

Wishing you much oomph with the packing, uneventful flights or trip to your outbound port and a terrific cruise plus a safe return. 🤗

Thanks! Flying into Schiphol, we need all the positive energy we can get! We booked our SVs and SS very early for lower fares (and we booked onboard for a bit more OBC). We are considering an OV for very hot or very cold itineraries. I’m attaching three photos of a Deluxe Ocean View cabin (cabin #9100) I toured on Edge. The occupants said they loved their cabin.

On 7/20/2023 at 9:10 PM, Dreamer68 said:

Ooh, the Apex twice in one year! How lucky!! What were your favourite memories onboard? I am fascinated with how diverse yet alike people are. ❤️

I’m finally taking a break from my cruise packing to both catch up on your review and answer your question. Having previously sailed twice on Edge, I found Apex both comfortably familiar yet unique. The uniqueness is largely due the original art throughout the ships. I was fascinated with the art on Edge, and was fortunate to have 15 days to explore it on her first TA. We were on a 14 night b2b on Apex, so we had plenty of time to roam the ship to experience the art collection. On both Edge and Apex, I love the organic elements in the design of the public areas including Eden, the atrium, the Rooftop Garden and the pool area. To me, it evokes Gaudi meets Whoville in a whimsical mixture of nature and imagination. 
 

We enjoyed the four MDRs, and we had a wonderful meal at the Eden restaurant. Like you, we didn’t really get to know the wait staff in the MDRs because we dined in all four. We had most of our breakfasts at the Captain’s Club coffee hour (hosted at Le Grand Bistro). The staff made breakfast a delightful experience. Full disclosure - we may have had a wee second breakfast of crisp bacon & fruit (me) and bacon & waffles (DH) in the OVC on occasion😜 Café al Bacio is one of our regular haunts. DH is more fond of desserts than I am, but I can’t resist the little coconut macaroons at Café al Bacio. 

Some of our favorite memories on Apex were of time spent with friends on the first leg of our b2b, and the congenial new people (including staff & crew) we connected with during both cruises. We found ourselves at the Eden bar for happy hour most evenings, partly because the staff was so much fun. 
 

I have seen some discussion about cabin types in earlier posts. We have always booked verandas or Sky Suites. We had a Sunset Veranda for our b2b on Apex, and we loved it. We’ll be in Sky Suites for our upcoming b2b. It will be interesting to compare our experiences in the two cabin types. We were in an Infinite Veranda on our TA on Edge. It had pros and cons, but overall we enjoyed it well enough to book one again (in fact we have one booked for next year). We have toured one of the OV cabins located all the way forward, and we thought it was lovely. Is this the cabin you were considering?

Well, I’d better get back to reducing the massive pile of cruise clothes on our bed so we can go to sleep🤣 

28 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

More cruise ships use Amsterdam as a embarkation and debarkation port than ones only doing a one-day port stop.

That has been my impression also.

6 hours ago, commodoredave said:

The cruise industry has brought some of this on itself by building ever-bigger mega-ships with too many passengers on them, and sailing too many of them into the same ports on the same days and weeks.

Some ports brought this on themselves by building new, larger cruise ports to attract cruise lines. The “cruise industry” does not sail “too many” ships into ports without receiving permission from the respective port authorities. The ports offer a service for which they expect to be paid. It is up to them to limit the number of ships/passengers per day if that is their wish.

4 hours ago, kdr69 said:

Amsterdam will no longer allow cruise ships to dock in the center of the city.  I think it was just last week i saw a review where they had docked in the center of the city and now its no longer allowed.  Interesting comment from the Mayor.  

 

"Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has previously spoken out about the benefit of cruise ship passengers visiting the city, saying the travelers stay for only a few hours, “eat meals at international brands and had little time to visit museums.”

Interesting comment. It’s possible for Europeans to fly in the morning of embarkation, but I doubt that anyone traveling from North America to Amsterdam spends fewer than several nights in the city before embarkation. They’re all spending money on hotels, dining and sightseeing (including museums). The mayor’s comment may be more justified for cruise passengers merely making a port call, but even those passengers tend to go to a museum or restaurant. 

5 minutes ago, abbydancer said:

Only 1418 for me, once this posts.  Think they'll do 1418 more quizzes before December?

 

Aaaaaaand @abbydancer surges into the lead!! She’s leaving the pack behind!

38 minutes ago, JLMcruise said:

Only 2234 points to make the Zenith Level. Almost there! 🤣🤣🤣.

Only 2198 to go. The race is on🤣