Team Stag

I do tip a small amount at the beginning of the cruise normally $20 to the room attendant and $20 to the butler if we are in a suite. It is normally attached to a couple small request such as - if our yeti cups are in front of the ice bucket fill those with ice instead (last longer & I can not stand the aluminum can water so I dump it in my own cup) and some hangers. The butler I give 2 shirts to be pressed and asked either to confirm my speciality dining or inquire if they can move it (if I want an earlier time). Ultimately neither are critical requests that can't wait a day on the very busy boarding day; but enough that I am just not giving money. And I don't look at it as a bribe or trying to buy service, I look at it as an advance. We most likely end up tipping beyond our daily tips; so this is just part of it. Heck, I just gave $10 to a guy in the port to put 2 bags on a cage that gets rolled into the ship - so $20 for someone who is going to take care of my room for a week plus is a bargain. 😁 We always have some cash that is going to additional tips. Its figured into our travel budget. And like others, if the casino is friendly, we tend to leave higher tips to the crew. My vacations are my reset time & if someone goes over and beyond to make my trip / relax time better, then I show appreciation in that manor. Living in a large tourist area with lots of friends who work in the hospitality world, I understand what an impact a couple dollars make from time to time.

There is not an Elite Lounge on the E Class ships (or any Celebrity Ships). There is Elite Functions (like Breakfast) held in different venues around the ship.

Fleetwide - it's Murano. We love Raw on Five but that slots in as a lunch stop (multiple times during the cruise). We have not tried it for dinner. E Class - it's probably Eden. We have been there 3 times; 2 were excellent but most recent it had slipped and was disappointing. We did not care for the steakhouse or le petit chef on E Class. We were also underwhelmed with Le Voyage. Maybe it was a bad night (or our seating) but we were highly disappointed and in no rush to return. S Class - it's Murano then followed by Le Petit Chef based on the show (we like some menus; don't care for others). LPC works better on S Class due to the venue space vs where it is in E-Class ships. I will go with my other half to Tuscan but don't love it. We have never tried outside top deck restaurants that do bbq, flat breads etc. The idea of getting wind blown while eating is not appealing to us. But we did have lunch at the Lawn Club grill on the Reflection and the burger was fantastic.

I don't post a lot but enjoy reading the threads. I've slowly starting to feel sorry for Celebrity. It doesn't seem what they do - no one is going to be happy. I read through here and see comments like; "cash grab" or "nickel and dime". But I also remember for years there were posts of "I'd book Aqua if I wasn't required to get drinks, tips & wifi. I don't use that (or get it free / discount with CC Perks etc)". So we don't like Celebrity because they required us to buy their all inclusive packages. Now we don't like Celebrity because they are piece meal it together and giving those the options to pay for something they may want. I read the email. I wasn't initially impressed. But I'm not the target audience for this. I don't think anyone with Elite Status or above cares or those that book suites. But if someone likes the Concierge Benefits but finds a great Veranda room on the hump - this allows them to get the best of both worlds. We see programs like this come and go regularly. Makes me think of the "Drinks & Things" Package that use to include the in-room mini bar.

I agree. By it's name you would expect it to resemble the original Cafe el Bacio. But it is more simply put the bar for the OVC. They will make cappuccinos but also have the all the other paid drinks as well (Vitamin water, sodas, red bulls, beer, wine, etc.). It is available for walk up guests but it also is where the waitstaff who takes drink orders in the OVC goes for service.

I agree with you. Everyone here is patient, friendly and kind. What's really great is that approach is carried over by the passengers on the ship too. The "Virgin Vibe" is awesome (both on this board & on board). I do agree with @billco - it's just a matter of time though. As Virgin begins to tinker with their product (price, on board experience, menu, ports), that tends to be where people become way more opinionated. Nobody likes to lose the things that are important to them on a sailing.

This happened to us as well. We got on a cruise in 2012 and after that cruise we would be one CC Cruise away from Elite. While sailing they changed the program and when we got off the ship, we were 3 - 7 day cruises in CC away from Elite. On the ship, the host said there were some adjustments made for people in our case; but we never got them. So we stopped sailing with Celebrity. Until 2021 when they one of the first cruises lines to start sailing again. After that cruise, we realized we missed Celebrity and have returned to them for a least one cruise a year. Back then Bev Packages were still in their early days; so the Elite Happy Hour would have been a big savings for us. Now, we don't use many of the benefits. We like room service breakfast, the social gatherings tend to be really crowded, wifi and beverages (up to this point) have typically been included. My wife uses the laundry benefit simply because it's available.

Also my favorite channel on the tv. This was one other area of the Virgin cruise I didn't like. They didn't have the Routing Map for me to know where I was or how deep it was (Obviously I had an idea where I was). I only bring this up bc we discussed VV on a different thread.

Same here. We occasionally do a drive by but they have been so full recently; it wasn't worth the effort to stay.

Mistakes happen. No one is perfect. I'm sure we have all made our own mistakes from time to time. This was the one thing I didn't care for with my Virgin cruise. Always waking up and checking the portfolio. And then doing the accounting - did we really drink this much? How much was the bottle of wine w dinner? What's the charge? At least with Celebrity and a beverage package - it is much cleaner and easier to find the random mistake.

I agree with this post. Someone will post about food & then you can almost predict who is going to pile on bashing the food as well. What's funny is some of them have sworn they are done with Celebrity yet they continue to come back to this board to provide their service of complaining about food. While others, bash the food and then tell you about their future X cruises. 😂. I find it amusing. As someone who ventured out to a different cruise line, I quickly discovered that there is a lot more about the cruise experience than just food.

At this point, they could source everything from a private farm and have it the kitchens run by Gordan Ramsey, Chef Morimoto and Bobby Flay and people would still return claiming its the worse meals they have ever had. 😂😆 Once the pendulum has swung, the masses won't magically swing it back the other way.

While the Retreat Lounge on the Beyond no longer has the outside area like the Edge & Apex, the Retreat SunDeck is now 2 floors with many places with additional shade on it.

I find post like this extremely interesting. I do think numbers can point out trends but we also have to look closely at the source for the value of the information. First, message boards are far from new technology. Many of us on here are both long time cruisers and people passionate about cruising. While we may receive some new members, most have been coming to this site for quite a while (a 1st page scan of users show only one from 2022 and the rest were 2017 or earlier). But if someone new booked a Celebrity cruise, joined Cruise critic and then spent any time on the Celebrity boards; they would be convinced they were not going to have a good time. I don't think I'm out of line saying this page is highly critical of Celebrity's current product. Second, rarely do reviewers give non-emotional reviews. Typically there is something (good or bad) that triggered them to review. Anthony Bourdain (and many others) have often said - if you have a good experience, you tell 2 people; if you had a bad experience you tell 10. Well with the internet / social media - your audience can quickly become more than 2 and way more than 10. I've been on 5 Celebrity cruises the last 2.5 years & not once returned to fill out a trip report. When I look at data like this & have to say it is probably skewing the results some. Virgin Voyages wasn't around pre-pandemic and many people sailing with her are getting a first look at their offering / experience. There are concerning issues on the Celebrity board for example that is constantly getting attention - for example, "they are taking items off the menu / simplifying the menu " - well if you look at VV menus; they have already done that. But if you never were given many options on VV before; you don't notice when they are taken away. I will also point out, almost all the cruisers I spoke to on my VV cruise, who had previously cruised before, were coming over from Carnival. It has been a while since I've been on Carnival (so I'm not trying to bash them); but I would guess VV was a step up from Carnival. If you found a Carnival to be a great product that you return to, then you probably are going to find Virgin amazing. And that could influence the ratings. Finally - we don't live in a vacuum. Things are constantly changing. Cruising on Celebrity a year from now may be vastly different than today. Same can be said with any of the other lines. I get that Virgin is the darling new kid on the block but they have just gone out for additional capital, a new CEO and delayed the launch of ship canceling 5 months of voyages already sold. Their product also may look completely different in a year.

We do not book concierge for the advertised perks. We do book it based on room location if the price is comparable to booking just a veranda. We do like several of the perks though. We really enjoyed the lunch at the MDR on boarding day. It's a great way to start a cruise without having to go to the OVC with everyone else. It's quiet, relaxing and outstanding bar service. While on the M-Class ships the rooms are a little bigger; this is not the case on the S-Class.

I'm not sure I'm "recent" but here is my experience the last couple years. We typically take a spring & fall cruise & have done a mix of E-Class & S-Class ships. 21 - Edge / Reflection 22 - Equinox / Apex 23 - Beyond / Someone else's ship We were booked a suite, so mostly ate at Lumanie but also had one meal in the MDR plus the OVC for some meals. The Edge Lumanie was incredible. As was Apex & Beyond. For the Reflection & Equinox - the service was impeccable. The Reflection food was enjoyable but tasted like a chef cooking someone else's recipes. However, the MDR dishes on the Reflection were very enjoyable. The Equinox was a better in Lumanie but the MDR dishes were disappointing. (Yes - the E-class has their own Lumanie Kitchens vs a retro fit on the S-Class). Speciality dining was fantastic on the Edge, Reflection & Equinox; but underwhelming on the Apex. One thing we noticed though, Celebrity takes their A team to their new ships. Due to timing I guess, our Butler on the Reflection has just got notified he was going to be on the Beyond's Opening team. He was elated! One of our waiters on the Edge had gotten notice we was bring transferred to the Apex (also thrilled) and several of our Beyond waiters were hoping to be transferred to the Ascent (they had recently applied). All were really excited to be on the new ship opening teams. And it makes sense because the new ships are going to attract Celebrity Regulars but also the new people trying Celebrity; so they want to give them the best they can. I don't think the older ships are getting less necessarily but they may be newer employees / used for training up employees. I do think there is some rank based on newness of the ship. But keep in mind, one our Edge waiters (who opened the Edge) parlayed his good marks to become a head waiter on a M-Class Ship.

We put down a deposit on a cruise last week that included: Bev, wifi, Tips & OBC. Checked the price today of the same cruise that included Bev & Wifi (No OBC or Tips) was $300 less for the cabin. Factoring in the Tips & OBC, this cruise is $800 more expensive per cabin. We did not expect to see significant price drops today. And I don't think we will for a while due to demand. What I believe Celebrity is doing is trying to build some flexibility back into their pricing. Before it mostly AI. Now they can use things like Beverage package as a "perk". Or a charge item. And since they didn't really lower prices; they basically reset the bottom level.

So I watched the Zach video. I don't know Zach, I've never watched one of his videos so I don't know his style; but seems like a good dude. If we cruised together, I would probably enjoy chatting with him at the bar. My biggest takeaway from it - we (cruisers, patrons, guests, whatever) have a PERCEPTION problem. Especially when it comes to Sky Suites and understanding what they are and what's included. To me, the Sky Suite is the entry level suite with a slightly nicer room and access to the retreat / lumanie. Expecting a butler who is servicing 18 (or 12 or 20 or whatever the magic number of SS is) to provide the same level of service as someone in the Penthouse or Royal Suite (where they might be one butler per 2 or 4 rooms) is unrealistic. Similar to booking a Sky Suite vs a balcony; there are certain things you will get that you don't get with a balcony. There are things Royal Suites get things that SS don't. During the return to cruising, we saw a lot of things we really liked (low sailing numbers, reduced fares, etc) and policies that started that were allowed (or overlooked) but were not the rules. Then people go on youtube or cruise critic and assume they are going to get what every single person before them got. Let's look at some Zach's concerns: 1) The upper suites had butlers meet them in the boarding lounge - I have never had a butler meet me in the lounge in the boarding area while traveling in a Sky Suite. 2) I asked about pressing a shirt and was told to fill out the form & put it in the bag - I also inquire about pressing a shirt (every single cruise) and I fill out the form & put it in the bag. The pressing became free when I reached elite. But I still have to put it in the bag & fill out the form. 3) I asked about filling the mini-bar with drink of choice - The mini-bar is not included in SS. Even when we returned to sailing in July 2021 - we were told we needed the "drinks & things package" for the mini-bar. So we brought things back from the retreat lounge. When we sailed later that year in Nov, the Butler offered to stock it with our favorite items. Granted the ship was 22% full and we were one of 3 suites on the whole ship this butler had to look after. We saw it also on the 2 other cruises. But we also understood while this may have been our previous experience it was not the rule. ** - now they should have emptied his mini-bar for him ** 6) I never saw my butler - with only 2 SS on that entire floor, you would never see your butler. We have stayed in similar cabins and you quickly realize it's not the same as if you are staying on a hall with a line of SS. You call your butler, you leave notes or you tell your stateroom attendant. Most all of our request got sorted. 7) The room shows wear. This ship only includes Retreat Lounge, Lumanie, and my room for $8000 - That's a YOU problem Zach. While the Reflection was scheduled to be evolutionized; Covid messed that up. YOU need to do your research and see which ships have added the sun deck or been updated. The Reflection Retreat rooms prices in most cases reflect that it has not been updated in a bit. 😎I just didn't get the service I expected - Apparently Zach has watched a lot of youtube videos and came in with a list of expectations that just didn't get met. He seemed laser focused on it from the beginning. Final 2 items: first, the focus on the cost (multiple times he brings up the $8000 price tag) shows that he spent a lot more than he usually does and expected an exponentially better experience which he felt he didn't get. Spending more will not by default give you a better vacation. If you spend more than you are comfortable, then it is natural for you to put more pressure on Celebrity to "give" you that experience. The lesson is - spend what you are comfortable with. Second, (AND MORE IMPORTANTLY); if you have questions or concerns, don't wait until the day before you leave to voice them. At least give Celebrity (or fill in the name of whatever company) the chance to fix it. Simply coming home to blast them via Cruise Critic or YouTube seems like a waste of a vacation to me. He got off to a rough start and just seemed convinced that it was going to stay there. At some point, we need to control our own narrative. I don't expect the same Butler service in a Sky Suite as I do the Penthouse suite. I'm ok with the team approach as long as it gets done. I have not sailed with the team approach; so I may end up coming back and singing a different tune. But previously, one of my big gripes was the time it took to get Room Service. Twice we had to wait between 90 -120 mins bc our butler was "attending to other guests & duties". I didn't need my butler to bring me my room service. Anyone could have done it. But I guess to help support tips to the butler it makes sense but expedited customer service it does not. I think the one thing the Team Butler approach does, especially with the growing about amount of Sky Suites on each new ship, is it makes the experience consistent and repeatable. It allows them the flexibility to move resources to take care of all the needs. Especially if certain Butlers were going over the top (like filling the mini fridge w retreat lounge drinks) but other Butlers weren't - then people might complain. Or if I read it on CC so I feel like I deserve it. This is new. There will be kinks to work out. Not starting off stellar out of the gate is not surprising. Do a quick search for these posts "First time in a Sky Suite; what can I make my butler do?". People end up making list of 12 things they expect daily of their Butlers. People make it a sport to "see what my butler can do". While an Icon Suite or Penthouse Suite may have those list, I don't see where it makes sense for a Sky Suite guest who has a butler with 18 rooms to unload on with a list of demands that probably wouldn't have had prior to researching it on these boards or other social media.

I think if people are being truly objective; food quality has taken a massive hit everywhere in our life (at least in the US). High end steak houses are currently shell of their former self in quality and taste of their product. Even grocery stores are seeing varied quality. Inflation and supply chain shortages have completely upset the market. Throw in disease and weather challenges along with advances in things like cutting and packaging of meats; Food Service in general is not what it was 5 years ago. The cost is higher, the quality is less and an outstanding meal is more the exception than it is the norm.

When I saw the changes coming to SS Butler service approach, I immediately thought of S-Class ships and how would effect the SS on the corners. I found the Butler service on these rooms to already be a little different bc many times, you and the other corner are just two of 10 (or whatever number of suites the SS Butlers are assigned) on that floor. So you were regularly reaching out or leaving notes to contact your butler vs. when you are part of the line of suites, traditionally your Butler is available somewhere on the hallway and easy to just make a request as you are coming or going. I'm not surprised in the changes to SS and Butler service. I think their previous model was going to be unsustainable anyway.

I just had the same dilemma. Without knowing what post Oct 4 looks like, it's really hard to make an educated decision. I went ahead and put the deposit down on All-In. Maybe it was the right move; maybe it was the wrong move. Maybe I come out ahead; maybe I don't. Gambling is fun.

They did just go out to secure additional funding. As well as have one of their ships delayed indefinitely while canceling / adjusting their schedule a bunch. And just got a new CEO as well. Not saying they are as bad off as other cruise companies; but they are working through their own set of challenges as they get into a rhythm.

I like their edgy advertising. And strike while the iron is hot. We booked our fall cruise this year with Virgin. We haven't really had a bad Celebrity trip. But for us, the one thing Covid changed for us - we will always sail with a real balcony going forward. Which meant, the E-Class Oceanview room with glass that goes down but controlled by someone else is not an option. We did some Sky Suites while the prices were low; but now that demand is back it was time to look for something else. Just to see. And when we returned; we booked our next cruise with Celebrity. They do some stuff different for sure. They cover it in the ad. Let's start with the room. The red hammock is a nice touch. One night - I dozed off in it while listening to the music from the pool deck & looking at the starts. It was great. But the other chair is so uncomfortable that you aren't sitting in it long. Which means two people don't get the chance to enjoy the balcony together for any extended period of time. The room looks like it's decorated by Ikea. The bed is so low to the ground that you have to unzip your suitcases in half to get them to fit. Not a huge deal; except for being a little older & trying to get out of bed at 3:00 a.m. with a bad knee was always a fun experience. And for the record, they only clean the room. I did't think it would matter; but we really missed the turndown service. We didn't know how much we enjoyed it; until it wasn't there. And the lack of couch in a standard balcony room was also missed. There one chair - slightly more comfortable than the metal thing on the balcony but not comfortable enough to sit long term. I never thought I'd miss a couch; but apparently I sit on it more than I remember. The food. We love food. Our family celebrates life with food. We love all food and respect the effort and style of the different chefs who prepare it. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive for us to enjoy a product that those in the kitchen work so hard to make. So hearing about Celebrity taking a step back was always concerning to us. Hearing how great VV food is was a big reason we booked with them. The food is really good. The sourcing (quality) is better than standard Celebrity fare - if we are looking solely at base ingredients. The preparation was a more basic than Celebrity. It lacked flavors to make a meal outstanding. We complain on this board about Lobster. VV solved that issue by not serving any. We did order the seafood platter in Wake to compare to raw on 5. The quality of VV platter was not as good as what we have on Celebrity. Many on here would have fun reviewing their lobster tail 😄 . There was tons of fun food that we liked around the ship - Popcorn, soft pretzels, etc. The hamburger was definitely better than the grill (but not better than lumanie burger). And we complain on here about menu cuts; the VV menus are pretty simple as well - just a handful of dishes; so longer cruises the food will get repetitive. We have done the all included so regularly with Celebrity; items like no Tips, or wifi included was not a noticeable change for us. Leaving with a bar bill was. Everyone we talked to was having an incredible time. A common theme was "one of the best cruises I've ever been on". And most of those people were coming from Carnival. With a few from Norwegian. I did not meet anyone who cruised Celebrity regularly. Although we did see one of their beach bags on someone's shoulder. The night time entertainment was lively. I can honestly say we willingly stayed up later than we have on any other cruise & we danced (we don't often) more than any other cruise. It was a great product. We will return. But as someone who plays an Engineer in real life and is focused on Efficiency & Water Reduction (& Lean manufacturing & Six Sigma and whatever buzz word to increase production, eliminate waste and raise profits is) - there were noticeable things. For example, no table clothes. Even in their "fine dining / speciality restaurants". One less thing to change, one less thing to wash. No real uniforms for the staff. They basically wore polos. Again - no uniforms for them to clean and press. The crew ate with the passengers (no additional dining area). And bottled water was no where to be found. Anywhere. It was fill up your cup at the water station (although carafe of water in the room was nice). I encourage people to branch out and try something new. You may find something you like better than Celebrity. You also may realize that Celebrity isn't that bad. Cheers.

I also prefer Curacao over Aruba. We went in March of 2022 with Hans from Curious 2 Dive. It was excellent. Hans has been on the island a long time and was a wealth of knowledge. We did shore diving and the reefs were in good shape with lots of underwater life. Aruba - we were on a boat and did 2 wreck dives. They good; but nothing like what we saw at Curacao.

This was not my experience last week. At Extra Virgin, I watched 3 groups get turned away due to not having reservations. At the Wake, 2 groups were given the chance to sit on the side and wait to see if there were some that didn't show for their reservations. They did not get sat while we waited on our window to open. And we had an early reservation at the Test Kitchen, where we saw 2 groups get turned away and given no further options. We didn't stay up to midnight to book reservations and were left with very few choices preboard. We bought the Splash of Romance to get early boarding and was able to get the reservations time we wanted (But it did cost an extra $200).