Status of "requested $5.00 gratuity" for suite passengers dining in Blu

[TommyD3]

If you read the fine print the free specialty restaurant visits are only on Solstice class ship. I found this out on the Summit this year in a sky suite.:mad:

 

Here is the fine print:

 

"One complimentary dinner for all guests in suite (cruise of 6 or 7 nights) and two complimentary dinners for all guests in suite (cruise of 8 nights or more) in a specialty restaurant. Available on Solstice® Class and Millennium® Class ships only. Also available with Penthouse Suite and Royal Suite on Celebrity Century®."

 

I don't have a problem with suites being a space available basis. My problem is with suites being required to pay double gratuities (MDR & Blu) when dining in Blu. One does not have to pay extra gratuities to dine in the buffet or use room service. Why in Blu? The Solstice came out in 2008 - 5 years ago - you would think they would have solved the problem of allocating gratuities after 5 years:confused:

[cle-guy]

Does anyone actually have a copy of the printed $5 cash register receipt or whatever notice one gets requesting the $5?

 

Curious to know positively, if the $5 is a GRATUITY or COVER CHARGE.

 

I think they should just call it a cover charge and be done with it, like all the other specialties, but still mite to AQ guaranteed, and Suites as available, charging the cover only to Suites of course.

 

Streamline the operations by closing these little loopholes and nuances to dining outside the MDR.

 

And honestly, ANYONE in any suite and not in Aqua who argues over having to pay the $5 either way (even if you prepaid gratuities) needs to find another line to cruise on. It's just so tacky and inappropriate. If one has issue with it, then don't go there, stay in MDR. Expect to pay the $5 - and if you want to be happy if they forget, then so be it if you get lucky.

[need2bespoiled]

We certainly didn't argue, the entire thing just seems weird the way it's handled. I could probably find the receipt if I had to, but it definitely says gratuity and not cover charge.

 

We only saw the card the server was given once, when it was left in the check holder with the receipt. The receipt is a standard printed receipt like you'd get at any restaurant or bar and just says "Service Charge" 2 x $5.00 = $10.00.

 

Happy Sailing!

Jenna

[sunflower46]

Unfortunately there were a few times where my friends and I (in Aqua Class) waited longer than usual for a table in Blu. We found out later that the suite guests were being seated when they arrived. Yes, I'm sure there were a few empty seats, but when there are just a few left, they should remain empty so those of us in AQ don't have to wait. I see no problem seating a suite guest if Blu is wide open. One time we waited 45 minutes.

 

Monica

 

I agree with you totally. We had the same experience. We truly waited for 45 minutes as well before being seated.

[Jane2357]

I've never eaten in Blu - and really think it might not be for me - both the atmosphere or the food but how can I know till I try it? Dh and I started out cruising in a standard balcony cabin, moved up to CC and have our first S1, Celebrity Suite, and then back to a CC booked. I'm hoping to try dinner in Blu this Feb. when in the S1, and who knows maybe we will be converted to Aqua people. Being charged $10.00 for the two of us is fine - although this fee should be the same policy from ship to ship. I'm hopping to stop by Blu and talk to them about which night on the cruise might be the least busy for them to fit us in. :) I certainly don't want us dining there to cause any inconvenience for Aqua passengers. I hear that they serve soft shelled crab on 1 evening - I'd LOVE to dine in Blu on that night! :D

Edited December 25, 2013 by Jane2357

[jackdiamond]

Jane, our experience has been sloft shell crabs and lobster on the second formal night.

[cle-guy]

We only saw the card the server was given once, when it was left in the check holder with the receipt. The receipt is a standard printed receipt like you'd get at any restaurant or bar and just says "Service Charge" 2 x $5.00 = $10.00.

 

Happy Sailing!

Jenna

 

Thanks for the info!... Now I wonder does the receipts normally show GRATUITY or SERVICE CHARGE when the line is preprinted to tip a bartender when you then handwrite in a tip amount.

[hcat]

for those not assigned regularly to BLU perhaps they might view the suggested extra gratuity the same as for any other specialty restaurant (Muranos, Tuscan, Silk harvest, Lawn Club grill, Bistro on Five, Porch, Q-sine), where we always tip extra, esp. beyond the service charge for good or great service!

 

gratuties for AQ guests seem to include amounts going to BLU staff but I believe the suite gratuities do not get directed to staff there...not sure tho'.

 

Seating for suite guests in BLU is listed as "when available"--after the first night though it is not usually totally full at various times...Lately, we take the offer for Aq guests to dine in Muranos (2 for 1) on the first night --this offer alleviates some of the first night BLU crowding . Since we prefer to dine fairly early on other nights, it is easy to get a table...

Edited December 25, 2013 by hcat

[grandpaiscruising]

I am booked in S2 suite on my next 3 Celebrity cruises. I am paying 59% more than those in a A2 cabin and resent having to pay an extra $5.00 gratuity if I dine in Blu. Those in a PH suite pay over 4 times as much as those in a A2 and most of them do not get charged. I am working on a letter to Celebrity as I feel if we are going to have a class system for AquaClass guests and every one else, perhaps we should expand it and allow suite passengers to dine in one of the other specialty restaurants depending on their category. Put those in the PH and RS suite in the best restaurant and the rest of the suite guests in another specialty restaurant.

If they did this it would end this discussion and I would have no problem with the gratuity.

 

:(Royal Princess, 10/18/14 Canada/NE, HAL 56 days, RCCL 104 points, NCL 28 days, Princess 214 days, Royal 14 days, Cunard 49 days, Celebrity 570 points

[Jade13]

I had an interesting experience regarding this subject on my Infinity cruise in September. I had originally booked in AQ but upgraded to a Sky Suite due to the fact that I require an accessible cabin and the powers that be at Celebrity did not have the forethought to retrofit any of the AQ cabins during the solsticization. By the way, on a previous cruise I was told by reservations, that Celebrity has a policy on the books whereby, if you require a handicapped accessible cabin and there is not one available in the category in which you are booked, they will upgrade you to the next higher category at no additional cost. Well when I booked my September 2013 cruise roundtrip from Harwich England, I made the reservationist aware of this (she had never heard of the policy). In checking with her supervisor, she found out that this policy only applies to sailing which begin and end at a U.S. port. This being the case, I was forced to upgrade to a Sky Suite (albeit at a very modest up charge). However, prior to upgrading I had already prepaid my gratuities. When I made it clear to reservations that I intended to eat in Blu for breakfast and dinner, they advised me that this should not present a problem and just to speak to the Maitre D' at Blu on embarkation. I did so and advised them of my situation. While we were given a gratuity slip a the end of each dinner, the amount of the 5.00 per person per day gratuity was reversed on our final statement.

 

Did you request that it be reversed?

[Jade13]

I am booked in S2 suite on my next 3 Celebrity cruises. I am paying 59% more than those in a A2 cabin and resent having to pay an extra $5.00 gratuity if I dine in Blu. Those in a PH suite pay over 4 times as much as those in a A2 and most of them do not get charged. I am working on a letter to Celebrity as I feel if we are going to have a class system for AquaClass guests and every one else, perhaps we should expand it and allow suite passengers to dine in one of the other specialty restaurants depending on their category. Put those in the PH and RS suite in the best restaurant and the rest of the suite guests in another specialty restaurant.

If they did this it would end this discussion and I would have no problem with the gratuity.

 

:(Royal Princess, 10/18/14 Canada/NE, HAL 56 days, RCCL 104 points, NCL 28 days, Princess 214 days, Royal 14 days, Cunard 49 days, Celebrity 570 points

 

BLU is the restaurant for AQU guests. They charge a fee to eliminate Suite guests from going there every night as there is not enough room in this small dining room.

 

I am sure there are passengers in BLU who resent Suite passengers dining there at all based on reports of 45 minute waits for AQU passengers to be seated because of Suite passengers in line before them who are being seated.

Edited December 25, 2013 by Jade13

[jagoffee]

I am booked in S2 suite on my next 3 Celebrity cruises. I am paying 59% more than those in a A2 cabin and resent having to pay an extra $5.00 gratuity if I dine in Blu. Those in a PH suite pay over 4 times as much as those in a A2 and most of them do not get charged. I am working on a letter to Celebrity as I feel if we are going to have a class system for AquaClass guests and every one else, perhaps we should expand it and allow suite passengers to dine in one of the other specialty restaurants depending on their category. Put those in the PH and RS suite in the best restaurant and the rest of the suite guests in another specialty restaurant.

If they did this it would end this discussion and I would have no problem with the gratuity.

 

:(Royal Princess, 10/18/14 Canada/NE, HAL 56 days, RCCL 104 points, NCL 28 days, Princess 214 days, Royal 14 days, Cunard 49 days, Celebrity 570 points

 

As I am sure you know Suite passengers already dine in a speciality restaurant free once or twice depending on the length of the cruise included as part of the suite benefits.

The Blu is not a speciality restaurant, but a special dining for those booked in AQ. It is one of several benefits that are included with the AQ which justifies the premium price for that category. There are several items that are included in this category that our not included in the suite benefits. IMO it certainly is not a class system just like it is not a class system when you cruise in a suite. You just get a different list of benefits.

[happy 2 b cruising]

BLU is the restaurant for AQU guests. They charge a fee to eliminate Suite guests from going there every night as there is not enough room in this small dining room.

 

I am sure there are passengers in BLU who resent Suite passengers dining there at all based on reports of 45 minute waits for AQU passengers to be seated because of Suite passengers in line before them who are being seated.

 

We always book Aqua to eat in Blu. People that are so fortunate to be able to afford a suite should count their blessings and stop complaining about the additional $5.00 charge, no one is forcing them to eat in Blu.

[BEAV]

BLU is the restaurant for AQU guests. They charge a fee to eliminate Suite guests from going there every night as there is not enough room in this small dining room.

 

 

Do you know for fact the reason Celebrity has charged $5 to suite passengers to dine in Blu is to deter them from dining there nightly? It was my understanding the $5 charge was to ensure a gratuity for staff in Blu. ???

 

IMO charging $5 to deter someone from dining there nightly carries no guarantee of their intent. If you have a segment of the ship's population wiling to pay $29 a day for unlimited specialty dining, then you shouldn't bank on the idea that charging $5 to dine in Blu is going to deter some suite passengers from dining there nightly.

[cle-guy]

I am booked in S2 suite on my next 3 Celebrity cruises. I am paying 59% more than those in a A2 cabin and resent having to pay an extra $5.00 gratuity if I dine in Blu. Those in a PH suite pay over 4 times as much as those in a A2 and most of them do not get charged. I am working on a letter to Celebrity as I feel if we are going to have a class system for AquaClass guests and every one else, perhaps we should expand it and allow suite passengers to dine in one of the other specialty restaurants depending on their category. Put those in the PH and RS suite in the best restaurant and the rest of the suite guests in another specialty restaurant.

If they did this it would end this discussion and I would have no problem with the gratuity.

 

 

 

The 59% premium also includes a lot more cabin space doesn't it? Doesn't it also include a butler not part of AQ? Doesn't it also include a bathtub not in AQ? What it doesn't include is guaranteed complimentary access to BLU.

 

It's a shame you were raised to feel such levels of entitlement just because you paid a certain amount of money. I'm thankful I wasn't raised that way.

 

I've sailed in the PH 2 times and RS once, and never blinked at being asked to pay the $5 fee when asked, as it is listed in the benefits as an an available service, and it's known there is an applicable $5 fee. Whether it's a cover charge gratuity, service charge or whatever, is meaningless. I'm happy to be invited in if there is space and follow the rule to pay the fee. I'm also happy to walk away if they are too busy to accommodate me. As I have posted before I think they should call it a copper charge like other restaurants, even up it to $25 or something for suite guests I think would be appropriate.

 

Traveling in a suite, guaranteed BLU dining at no cost is not one of the benefits, that is clearly started in Celebrity's informational pages.

 

If you want complimentary access to BLU, save the 59% premium and just book a cabin that includes it. Not sure what's so hard about that.

[cruisegirl1]

Last cruise we were in an AQ cabin and more than once waited in line behind suite guests. In most if not all cases, there was no preferential seating shown to AQ passengers. Seating was first come-first served, regardless if one was an AQ or suite passenger. It was all space available, to both AQ and suite.

M

[ghstudio]

Last cruise we were in an AQ cabin and more than once waited in line behind suite guests. In most if not all cases, there was no preferential seating shown to AQ passengers. Seating was first come-first served, regardless if one was an AQ or suite passenger. It was all space available, to both AQ and suite.

M

 

which ship?

[robtulipe]

which ship?

Likely Equinox as that appears to be the last X ship cruisegirl1 was on which was last April.

Edited December 26, 2013 by robtulipe

[uktog]

I am booked in S2 suite on my next 3 Celebrity cruises. I am paying 59% more than those in a A2 cabin and resent having to pay an extra $5.00 gratuity if I dine in Blu. Those in a PH suite pay over 4 times as much as those in a A2 and most of them do not get charged. I am working on a letter to Celebrity as I feel if we are going to have a class system for AquaClass guests and every one else, perhaps we should expand it and allow suite passengers to dine in one of the other specialty restaurants depending on their category. Put those in the PH and RS suite in the best restaurant and the rest of the suite guests in another specialty restaurant.

If they did this it would end this discussion and I would have no problem with the gratuity.

 

:(Royal Princess, 10/18/14 Canada/NE, HAL 56 days, RCCL 104 points, NCL 28 days, Princess 214 days, Royal 14 days, Cunard 49 days, Celebrity 570 points

 

I have some sympathy with your posts and get the point you are making 100%. We always had suites, but on one cruise even with a Royal we could not even get in Blu never mind the $10 for 2 charge. Added to that our near neighbours had two bottles of water delivered foc each day and we would have had to pay for the equivalent.

 

At that point we decided a butler ( who on X we have found to be of very variable standard and not someone we really need), some extra square footage (but typically we could find larger balconies and much nicer more accessible showers in cheaper rooms) and the same captains club credits (yes, I know that as changed now) did not justify the significant price differential, especially when we added into the mix some very mediocre main dining experiences. We swapped to Aqua

 

Would we go back to suites, certainly not so X lost revenue from us.

 

Good luck raising the issue with HO, I only got a response restating the rules when I sent the previous CEO that feedback. I look forward to hearing the response you get

Edited December 26, 2013 by uktog

[Tony UK]

Oh er....

Didnt mean to cause so many people angst it being Christmas and all!

 

It was our first time in a suite as it was our Ruby wedding and we were travelling with our adult disabled daughter. We cant travel aqua usually as the rooms are for couples and we travel as a 3 so it was our big chance to try Blu.We didnt know about the $5 - it wasnt the amount, it just seemed to us that we were paying twice as we had already tipped.We were confused and no-one clearly explained the matter to us.

 

When we enquired on the first night about eating in Blu we were told before 6-30 or after 8-30 and not for the first 2 nights. The times were not very convenient for our daughter but on the 3rd night we rolled up following instructions and had to wait till 9-00 for a table. We tried again and met a similar experience.Quite honestly the more limited food rannge and fussy service didnt warrant the hassle we were put to.

 

In constrast the main dining room was excellent in every respect.

 

The suite was a one-off experiece for us - we'll be more than happy to return to our verandah stateroom!

[Bently57]

There does seem to be a lot of angst on this subject!

 

My personal opinion: I think they should just leave out the benefit of the option of dining in Blu for dinner for Suite passengers. It's too complicated because, depending on the ship, they all do it differently and there is no consistency. It could go one of 3 ways:

1. no charge for suite passengers for dinner

2. $5 per person for suite passengers for dinner

3. $5 per person for suite passengers for dinner but available only at 6:30 and after 8:30.

 

Me, I'm in a Sky Suite1 on my next cruise and I have never tried Blu. Since it is supposedly an option for us, we will try it out with no expectations, and see what happens. We certainly don't want to tick off AQ passengers or the Maitre D with anything as trivial as where we eat for the night. I deal with enough discontented people in my everyday job as a retail manager. I go on vacation to get away from that stuff. We chose the suite for space and for being on the corner of the aft; that was our main motive. I have not been on Celebrity since 2003, and my partner has never been on a Celebrity ship. I think he'll love it (with or without Blu). ;)

Edited December 26, 2013 by Bently57

[Chunky2219]

I'm getting the feeling that the problem is specific to Silhouette.

Nope, we were two weeks on Solstice in March and were asked fro $5 at each evening visit (Royal Suite). But I don't see it as a problem and we were never denied a table even with a number of AQ passengers waiting behind us.

 

 

.

[jagoffee]

If you are cruising on the Reflection you can select an Aqua Class Suite and get it all.

 

By the way I was in a Suite on the Reflection in November (TA) and I was not charged the $5. We had select dining and we were told on the first night in Blu that we should dine before 6:30 PM or after 9PM. We dined mostly in Blu and followed the request most of the time the exception being when we dined with other people that were in AC. I figured our portion of the service charge was allocated to where we ate, but we did leave extra at the end of the cruise. We found that checking both the MDR and Blu menus and then deciding where to eat was a great benefit of staying in a Suite.

[Jade13]

I have some sympathy with your posts and get the point you are making 100%. We always had suites, but on one cruise even with a Royal we could not even get in Blu never mind the $10 for 2 charge. Added to that our near neighbours had two bottles of water delivered foc each day and we would have had to pay for the equivalent.

 

At that point we decided a butler ( who on X we have found to be of very variable standard and not someone we really need), some extra square footage (but typically we could find larger balconies and much nicer more accessible showers in cheaper rooms) and the same captains club credits (yes, I know that as changed now) did not justify the significant price differential, especially when we added into the mix some very mediocre main dining experiences. We swapped to Aqua

 

Would we go back to suites, certainly not so X lost revenue from us.

 

Good luck raising the issue with HO, I only got a response restating the rules when I sent the previous CEO that feedback. I look forward to hearing the response you get

 

Hi UKtog, Interesting that you book Suites on Azamara but not on Celebrity, and the reason. I was always surprised and thought Celebrity should have made the small dining venue, BLU, for Suite guests like they do on other ships, but of course that is not what they did. It works for us because we are out of the cabin so much anyway and never even use our Verandas (even when in the owners suite on Azamara).

 

We stayed in a Suite on Millennium before the renovation but never will now because we want to dine in BLU. Whether or not we can get in or not, we don't want the hassle and happy it is the assigned dining room for AQU guests.

[Jade13]

If you are cruising on the Reflection you can select an Aqua Class Suite and get it all.

 

By the way I was in a Suite on the Reflection in November (TA) and I was not charged the $5. We had select dining and we were told on the first night in Blu that we should dine before 6:30 PM or after 9PM. We dined mostly in Blu and followed the request most of the time the exception being when we dined with other people that were in AC. I figured our portion of the service charge was allocated to where we ate, but we did leave extra at the end of the cruise. We found that checking both the MDR and Blu menus and then deciding where to eat was a great benefit of staying in a Suite.

 

That is interesting because than the AQU Suite passengers will question why they are paying more for their Suites if all Suite guests can dine in BLU without the additional fee.