Celebrity Suites? How Good Are The Perks?

[MrsNancyG]

I'm really quite sure that if you asked the butler to see to it that the tea was a bit stronger for you, he would have relayed your request and it would have been obliged

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I would expect it to be denied; I have yet to hear of a single person say they were granted this perk on M-Class (i.e. in terms of being able to choose which restaurant and which night). If you look at suite perks for M-Class suites on Celebrity's website it does not list this as a perk and if you look at suite perks for S-Class suites it lists the perk and clearly indicates in only applies to S-Class ships. Personally I would not feel comfortable asking for this perk if I was on an M-Class suite as to me it is one I am not entitled to and I would not try to take advantage of an apparent glitch on the website. Often those in suites will be invited to a complimentary dinner in a specialty restaurant on the first night on M-Class.

 

Well, as pointed out by several others, this perk is specifically listed on Celebrity's website and it does not say it is only for S class ships. I get that it is stated differently in another location--that's Celebrity's problem, not mine.

 

The copy posted on this thread is a direct quote from Celebrity's website. So I shall insist on receiving what has been advertised by Celebrity itself. That was part of our decision to book a Celebrity Suite on this cruise. And, yes, I will be bringing a copy of the page along.

[dkjretired]

Well, as pointed out by several others, this perk is specifically listed on Celebrity's website and it does not say it is only for S class ships. I get that it is stated differently in another location--that's Celebrity's problem, not mine.

 

The copy posted on this thread is a direct quote from Celebrity's website. So I shall insist on receiving what has been advertised by Celebrity itself. That was part of our decision to book a Celebrity Suite on this cruise. And, yes, I will be bringing a copy of the page along.

 

Linda:

 

I agree with you, the web page that was presented in Post #2 is just as valid as the one that I cited. They are just under different areas. I would however bring a copy..

[Gonzo70]

Hopefully it works out for you; please post and let us know what happens.

[Kellie Poodle]

 

Actually, did a little research, the quote from #2 is taken when you go to a specific S class ship. If you go to the suite benefits for Century, they do not list free Specialty dining as one of the benefits.

 

I am sailing on Century tomorrow. I called Celebrity and was told that the complimentary dinners are not available for Century suite guests. If I do get offered a specialty dinner, I'll post when I get back, but I doubt I will get it.

[CruisersTimesThree]

My first post on CC, but I have been a faithful reader for a number of years. Best place in my opinion to find out all about the cruises we want information about and a big thanks goes out to all the people who share here! It's a wonderful site and has been so beneficial in helping people make the most of their cruise experience.

I decided to take the plunge and post about the complimentary dinner in a speciality restaurant for suite guests since I have info on it.

We are booked on the Summit in June, my husband and I in a royal suite and my cousin and wife in a sky suite.

We also stumbled across the page that shows the dinner for all suite guests (not just the S-class) and when we called Celebrity to book our cruise I actually directed my cruise planner to the page for him to see it in writing. He spoke to his supervisor and we were told that because it was there on the site, they had to honor it and they have. I was given the 800 number to call for a reservation and it was taken without a problem for the four of us. I did not have to pay for it up front and then have it reimbursed back on my shipboard account as the agent thought I might have to.

We chose to have dinner in Qsine on the first night of our sailing (figured we'd be starving after that long day.) We had our choice of any night in any restaurant.

My suggestion....call Celebrity and tell them about what is on the site, most of the agents don't even know it states that and if you're lucky as we were, you should be able to get the night and restaurant you want...good luck!

 

Debbie :)

[Project_gal]

I would expect it to be denied; I have yet to hear of a single person say they were granted this perk on M-Class (i.e. in terms of being able to choose which restaurant and which night). If you look at suite perks for M-Class suites on Celebrity's website it does not list this as a perk and if you look at suite perks for S-Class suites it lists the perk and clearly indicates in only applies to S-Class ships. Personally I would not feel comfortable asking for this perk if I was on an M-Class suite as to me it is one I am not entitled to and I would not try to take advantage of an apparent glitch on the website. Often those in suites will be invited to a complimentary dinner in a specialty restaurant on the first night on M-Class.

 

Agreed! Why get yourself labelled as an "unreasonable and demanding" guest for something you know to be an error?

 

Sue

[Project_gal]

By the way, I have called Celebrity and booked my two nights in the specialty restuarants for the upcoming Eclipse cruise. When or where does it show on your reservation? The only thing showing are the other two evenings that we have booked and paid for?

 

It does not show on your reservation.

 

Sue

[dkjretired]

Agreed! Why get yourself labelled as an "unreasonable and demanding" guest for something you know to be an error?

 

Sue

 

Which web page is the error???

[mlkitt3]

There may be two different pages and wording on the web site but it is written in ther yearly cruise book 2012/2013 on page 59 under "world class accommodation - suite amenities include"

Does not say it is only for a certain class of ship.

We are booked in a Celebrity Suite on the Millenium for 15 days will be very annoyed if we do not get our complimentary dinners.(not the main reason we booked a suite)

I will be taking my page along to prove that I can ask for this entitlement.:(

[CruisersTimesThree]

Agreed! Why get yourself labelled as an "unreasonable and demanding" guest for something you know to be an error?

 

Sue

 

 

I certainly did not consider myself "unreasonable or demanding" when I politely asked the cruise planner about this perk when I saw it on the website.

Celebrity updated their website a couple of months ago, so for all those who are so adament that only S-class ships receive a complimentary dinner....how do you know for sure that they have'nt changed their policy and the IT people just havent gotten around to removing the old one from the site?

If it's there in writing, they should honor it to all suite guests.

Again, call Celebrity as almost everyone I talked to there had no idea about the wording on the website.

[Project_gal]

Which web page is the error???

 

The page implying that the two speciality meals are complimentary on all ships is new. The wording and practice in the past has been that, on M-class ships, you MAY be offered a complimentary speciality dining meal on the first night if there is no many bookings. This was introduced in 2009 but was not necessarily for all suites. Often it was Celebrity or Royal suites or not at all. Unlike other discretionary perks, it depended on bookings in the specilaity restaurants rather than the Hotel Director.

 

It MAY be that once all M-class ship have more than one speciality restaurnt, the intention is to change the rule BUT I would have thought that Celebrity would have included this in one of the Solsticisation press releases if that was to be the case.

 

So, to answer your question, we do not know what page shows the error but my assumption has tp be the new page which fails to diferentiate as that matches past experience of many posters including me.

 

Sue

[dkjretired]

The page implying that the two speciality meals are complimentary on all ships is new. The wording and practice in the past has been that, on M-class ships, you MAY be offered a complimentary speciality dining meal on the first night if there is no many bookings. This was introduced in 2009 but was not necessarily for all suites. Often it was Celebrity or Royal suites or not at all. Unlike other discretionary perks, it depended on bookings in the specilaity restaurants rather than the Hotel Director.

 

It MAY be that once all M-class ship have more than one speciality restaurnt, the intention is to change the rule BUT I would have thought that Celebrity would have included this in one of the Solsticisation press releases if that was to be the case.

 

So, to answer your question, we do not know what page shows the error but my assumption has tp be the new page which fails to diferentiate as that matches past experience of many posters including me.

 

Sue

 

I don't know if that page is new or we just never noticed it....I have been aware of the other page about the S class ships and that has been discussed numerous times on this board. If someone comes in on an M class ship and says your web site offers free dinners and shows them the page, I don't know how for good customer service they could refuse. I just wish someone in the know would find these discrepancies in the web site.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I am sailing on Century tomorrow. I called Celebrity and was told that the complimentary dinners are not available for Century suite guests. If I do get offered a specialty dinner, I'll post when I get back, but I doubt I will get it.

 

Janet, I'd take along a copy of the webpage that says that the complimentary dinners ARE available to suite guests and show them that.

 

Bon Voyage!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Which web page is the error???

 

Exactly.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I certainly did not consider myself "unreasonable or demanding" when I politely asked the cruise planner about this perk when I saw it on the website.

Celebrity updated their website a couple of months ago, so for all those who are so adament that only S-class ships receive a complimentary dinner....how do you know for sure that they have'nt changed their policy and the IT people just havent gotten around to removing the old one from the site?

If it's there in writing, they should honor it to all suite guests.

Again, call Celebrity as almost everyone I talked to there had no idea about the wording on the website.

 

Nor do I consider myself unreasonable or demanding when I ask for what is plainly stated on Celebrity's website as a suite perk.

[jenniebnyc]

We stayed in a sky suite on Eclipse in January. They were happy to have us in Blu for breakfast and dinner everyday with no problem. We gave up on the horrible food in MDR for dinner and the cattle herd at buffet for breakfast. If you want a civilized freshly made meal, I would make every effort to go to Blu. The breakfasts are healthy and delicioius...yogurt parfaits, egg white omlettes, fresh asparagus, etc. For dinner I really enjoyed the soups that are served tableside from a ceramic carafe. FOOD IS MADE TO ORDER, served hot! AND they don't serve mashed potatoes scooped onto your dish from an ice cream scooper! I cannot tell you how many times I asked the MD in MDR why they do this? It looks like cafeteria food when they do. Can't they pipe the mashed potatoes from a piping bag? I just don't get it. We will only dine in Blu when sailing with X with the occassional specialty restaurant...we like Qsine...it's fun...the food is OK. We also eat lunch at the aqua spa cafe each day. The lunches are lovely...fresh seared tuna,poached salmon, grilled chicken with petite veggies (I get a triple order of veggies bc you only get three tiny veggies if you don't). Also the organic breadsticks and salads in this cafe are wonderful too. No clue about those silly fruit soups though. The day they finally had a gazpacho people went nuts. Who needs 5 different kinds of fruit soup/compotes?

 

Another good tip if staying in a suite is to have the butler get your canapes from Cafe al Bacio. They are much better than the ones on the cart. We also ask for the "larger" shrimp cocktail, crudite (be specific with the veggies you want) with blue cheese dip.

 

Hope these tips help!

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

We stayed in a sky suite on Eclipse in January. They were happy to have us in Blu for breakfast and dinner everyday with no problem. We gave up on the horrible food in MDR for dinner and the cattle herd at buffet for breakfast. If you want a civilized freshly made meal, I would make every effort to go to Blu. The breakfasts are healthy and delicioius...yogurt parfaits, egg white omlettes, fresh asparagus, etc. For dinner I really enjoyed the soups that are served tableside from a ceramic carafe. FOOD IS MADE TO ORDER, served hot! AND they don't serve mashed potatoes scooped onto your dish from an ice cream scooper! I cannot tell you how many times I asked the MD in MDR why they do this? It looks like cafeteria food when they do. Can't they pipe the mashed potatoes from a piping bag? I just don't get it. We will only dine in Blu when sailing with X with the occassional specialty restaurant...we like Qsine...it's fun...the food is OK. We also eat lunch at the aqua spa cafe each day. The lunches are lovely...fresh seared tuna,poached salmon, grilled chicken with petite veggies (I get a triple order of veggies bc you only get three tiny veggies if you don't). Also the organic breadsticks and salads in this cafe are wonderful too. No clue about those silly fruit soups though. The day they finally had a gazpacho people went nuts. Who needs 5 different kinds of fruit soup/compotes?

 

Another good tip if staying in a suite is to have the butler get your canapes from Cafe al Bacio. They are much better than the ones on the cart. We also ask for the "larger" shrimp cocktail, crudite (be specific with the veggies you want) with blue cheese dip.

 

Hope these tips help!

 

Is it extra for Breakfast? Like dinner?

 

BTW, what do you guys normally tip the butler- for the tea/canapes and that?

[jenniebnyc]

To my knowledge we were not charged extra for anything. We checked our bill nightly on the tv and no Blu charges except for wine.

 

We were a party of two...my mom traveled with me and we thought Blu would be boring...how much conversation can two people have for a week, which is why we had a table for 8 in MDR, but to our surprise Blu put tables of 2 at a long banquette and we happily chatted with our neighbors at each meal. I think we were all happy for this opportunity. :)

[jenniebnyc]

As for tipping the butler. We tip the butler and housekeeper upfront $20 each and nicely tell them will will be happy to tip more at the end for their good service to us. This "gets them going".

[dkjretired]

Is it extra for Breakfast? Like dinner?

 

BTW, what do you guys normally tip the butler- for the tea/canapes and that?

 

Breakfast is no charge to suite passengers. As for tipping the butler, I usually just tip at the end with extra money if needed. . Other posters on this board and myself have spoken to various employees who state that many of those that get tipped consider tipping upfront an insult that they won't do their jobs otherwise.

[orchestrapal]

Breakfast is no charge to suite passengers. As for tipping the butler, I usually just tip at the end with extra money if needed. . Other posters on this board and myself have spoken to various employees who state that many of those that get tipped consider tipping upfront an insult that they won't do their jobs otherwise.

 

Your right. We have heard from several of our butlers that they consider tipping at the beginning of a cruise insulting and always think those that do it have never had butler service before. They also feel that way about lists given to them instead of a sit down conversation to discuss the wants and needs of the clients.

[jenniebnyc]

You have actually asked multiple butlers this question? Interesting. I will ask my next butler the same question prior to tipping.

 

As for writing a list, which I do not, I can see why some might do this if there is a long list or possibly a language barrier. I apologize if this comes off harshly, but in all of my times in a suite, I enjoy the little assistance we ask for during our cruise but really do not think "butler" in the formal sense of the word. I think more helper. Butlers know what to do without being asked and especially more than once. We ususally have to ask more than once and things definitely get lost in translation even when requesting basic things to us, that might be foreign to the butler.

[Project_gal]

Your right. We have heard from several of our butlers that they consider tipping at the beginning of a cruise insulting and always think those that do it have never had butler service before. They also feel that way about lists given to them instead of a sit down conversation to discuss the wants and needs of the clients.

 

I suppose that it depends on whether you are North American or British with a reputation for not tipping ...

 

Sue

[tomcruiser1234]

Keep in mind that the suite guarantee on Century are smaller then a Sky suite which is the lower cabin class on all other X ships. They are unique in that they are on the Aft over looking wake, nice but they are about 190 sqft. A little less privacy because the bar overlooks. Not saying for sure that you may not get another suite but for several cruises with parents these were the cabins generally given. Service is great as always but we had to pay in specialty rest. For both sets of parents. Know discount either. This was 18 months ago, who knows now.

 

 

Just curious because we just booked a "suite guarantee" on the Century. It says the butler can assist with packing and unpacking. what about meals? Can they serve you any time and do they do a full table set-up. What other great perks can I expect and/or request?? :confused: