Sky suite question and Michaels club

[Shippy]

Folks who spend lots of time in the Casino.

Once saw a check in line at the port that indicated "Suites, Zenith, and Blue Chip.".

Asked about that and was told by Michael's Club Concierge that they receive special VIP treatment on desiginated cruises.

 

We just have a regular balcony next month but are Blue Chip members.

Hope ours is one of those special designated cruises.

[cruisestitch]

When did the area outside Michaels Club on Conniev become a cigar smoking area? Yikes!!!! Say it isn't so!!!

Edited April 12, 2015 by cruisestitch

[Olive1950]

When did the area outside Michaels Club on Conniev become a cigar smoking area? Yikes!!!! Say it isn't so!!!

 

Yes, it is SO. I was on the Nov 29th Connie cruise, and that is where smoking is now allowed.

 

It is no longer permitted on Deck 10, AFT, at the open-air bar.

 

At that time ther were only about 6 chairs and maybe 2 little tables; but there was a whole lotta WIND....

Edited April 13, 2015 by Olive1950

[cruisestitch]

Cigarettes yes, but are CIGARS allowed there? That's my question.

[Welland]

Cigarettes yes, but are CIGARS allowed there? That's my question.

 

 

Not to worry. CIGARS are not allowed in the area you were asking about.

[cruisestitch]

And yet, see post #24:confused::eek:

[Welland]

And yet, see post #24:confused::eek:

 

 

Yes...saw post #24. I agree it's mind boggling. Seems that everyone isn't aware of the rules. And, when I say that I mean the crew as well. You can be sure that if I was in that area and someone was smoking a cigar that I would contact a crew member and ask for the situation to be corrected. Otherwise known as "following the rules".

 

Celebrity does need to change their smoking policy rules to ensure that they are consistent from ship to ship.

[ghstudio]

Yes...saw post #24. I agree it's mind boggling. Seems that everyone isn't aware of the rules. And, when I say that I mean the crew as well. You can be sure that if I was in that area and someone was smoking a cigar that I would contact a crew member and ask for the situation to be corrected. Otherwise known as "following the rules".

 

Celebrity does need to change their smoking policy rules to ensure that they are consistent from ship to ship.

 

"smoking policy" consistency....surely you jest. Each ship seems to have their own (often unposted) "policy". Before you complain, you better make sure that you understand the "official policy" on your ship and sailing....because it also seems to change based on the cruise.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

Unless you are a Zenith member, you only have access to Michael's club if you are staying in Celebrity Suite and above.

 

Enjoy your cruise

 

With all due respect you are missing the point the OP was trying to make. There are at least 2 major UK TAs that are advertising on their websites that Sky Suites DO have access to Michaels. This is what the OP has observed and I can confirm is also on site of the TA I used for my booking. This information is clearly inaccurate but when OP spoke to TA the response was it is a Celebrity issue. Not an issue for me but there will be UK passengers boarding cruises who having booked these cabins being confused why they are denied access they "paid" for.

[uktog]

Indeed, these are the two agents who were misadvertising the included benefits on Azamara cruises last year which generated so much heat on that forum and on board. I also recall historically they had issues with their definition of the Celebrity beverage packages.

 

So I wonder, is it mischief in the agents or carelessness in the RCI family brief. And more importantly, nothing was done for months re the Azamara issue, will it be the same here? (The reason was that the adverts were booked to the publications and could not be changed :rolleyes:)

 

I do feel sorry for guests who are being misled, given how much advertising standards in the Uk would lead you to believe your ad is correct. Its also going to be disappointing on board for those affected and those who are using Michaels , sadly I suspect the ambience in Michaels the first few days will be punctuated by arguments.......

[Cruise a holic]

With all due respect you are missing the point the OP was trying to make. There are at least 2 major UK TAs that are advertising on their websites that Sky Suites DO have access to Michaels. This is what the OP has observed and I can confirm is also on site of the TA I used for my booking. This information is clearly inaccurate but when OP spoke to TA the response was it is a Celebrity issue. Not an issue for me but there will be UK passengers boarding cruises who having booked these cabins being confused why they are denied access they "paid" for.

If a TA was guilty of false advertising on behalf of Celebrity I would share this information with not only Celebrity, but any TA society in the country. Surely this behavior wether on purpose or not should not be tolerated. Perhaps legal action should also be considered.

[Olive1950]

There is an easy "fix" to the problem of unauthorized folks getting into MC; slap a keypad on the door. I know that it probably won't stop ALL intrusions; but it will stop MANY of 'em....

 

Royal Caribbean ships already have these keypads on the doors of their Concierge Lounges; and also on the doors of their Diamond Lounges.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2015 by Olive1950

[Welland]

"smoking policy" consistency....surely you jest. Each ship seems to have their own (often unposted) "policy". Before you complain, you better make sure that you understand the "official policy" on your ship and sailing....because it also seems to change based on the cruise.

 

 

That's why each time I board a Celebrity ship one of the first things I do is read their "official policy" in the planner and/or the "blue binder" that is on the desk where the smoking policy is duly noted.

 

I will continue to suggest on my post cruise surveys that smoking policies are consistent across the Celebrity fleet. Hopefully one day this will happen.

[Welland]

There is an easy "fix" to the problem of unauthorized folks getting into MC; slap a keypad on the door. I know that it probably won't stop ALL intrusions; but it will stop MANY of 'em....

 

Royal Caribbean ships already have these keypads on the doors of their Concierge Lounges; and also on the doors of their Diamond Lounges.

 

 

A keypad is the logical answer. However, since Michael's Club is a designated muster drill station it is not allowed to have this type of mechanism on the door. Until the ship can designate another muster station and have it approved by the underwriter of the ship, the keypad system will not be installed. This has been "reported" by several Hotel Directors across the fleet.

[Olive1950]

It makes no sense to me why RCI and Celebrity have chosen to deny access to those in the bottom-tiered suites.

 

Why call them suites if the benefits at all, save for the fact that there is a bathtub in the bathroom.

 

My suggestion is to find another Muster station and slap the keypads on. OR, make MC accessible to ALL suite-dwellers, regardless of category.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

If a TA was guilty of false advertising on behalf of Celebrity I would share this information with not only Celebrity, but any TA society in the country. Surely this behavior wether on purpose or not should not be tolerated. Perhaps legal action should also be considered.

 

Absolutely right, it is the responsibility of the TA and the laws in the UK about false advertising are pretty straight forward. The TAs involved are leaving themselves open to challenges which would if the cruiser booked with a credit card also leave the card issuer jointly and severally liable.

 

However aside from the legalities or otherwise, it does appear that some TAs play fast and loose with perks to make a quick sale knowing that the fall out in the short term will have to be dealt with by the cruise line.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

It makes no sense to me why RCI and Celebrity have chosen to deny access to those in the bottom-tiered suites.

 

Why call them suites if the benefits at all, save for the fact that there is a bathtub in the bathroom.

 

My suggestion is to find another Muster station and slap the keypads on. OR, make MC accessible to ALL suite-dwellers, regardless of category.

 

If there was no difference between suites, why book the Penthouse when you can get the same perks for the cheapest Sky Suite. :D

 

The differential between suites is not unique to Celebrity. To best of my knowledge, all the cruise lines do have different levels, just like hotels. Given on my own July 2015 sailing, the PH came in at twice the price of a S2, there has to be something to entice folks to spend on the PH and having a larger space is not going to be enough.

[Gordoncruickshank]

Indeed, these are the two agents who were misadvertising the included benefits on Azamara cruises last year which generated so much heat on that forum and on board. I also recall historically they had issues with their definition of the Celebrity beverage packages.

 

So I wonder, is it mischief in the agents or carelessness in the RCI family brief. And more importantly, nothing was done for months re the Azamara issue, will it be the same here? (The reason was that the adverts were booked to the publications and could not be changed :rolleyes:)

 

I do feel sorry for guests who are being misled, given how much advertising standards in the Uk would lead you to believe your ad is correct. Its also going to be disappointing on board for those affected and those who are using Michaels , sadly I suspect the ambience in Michaels the first few days will be punctuated by arguments.......

The Celebrity web site last month showed that Sky suites on the Reflection had access to Michael's Club. IT was only if you viewed the suite details in a certain way at the booking stage and it has been fixed now but if Celebrity can get it wrong, so can TAs.

Gordon

[Orator]

There is an easy "fix" to the problem of unauthorized folks getting into MC; slap a keypad on the door. I know that it probably won't stop ALL intrusions; but it will stop MANY of 'em....

 

Royal Caribbean ships already have these keypads on the doors of their Concierge Lounges; and also on the doors of their Diamond Lounges.

 

 

 

Here's the problem with that: Michael's Club is a designated Muster Station and regulations prohibit locking the door in any way at any time. They would néed to find another space to replace MC before it could be locked and that has not been easy to do.

[Project_gal]

The Celebrity web site last month showed that Sky suites on the Reflection had access to Michael's Club. IT was only if you viewed the suite details in a certain way at the booking stage and it has been fixed now but if Celebrity can get it wrong, so can TAs.

Gordon

 

They only knew to correct the error because I included the error in the feedback I gave them on the new website design.

[Man_Overboard]

Oh yes, Cigars are most certainly welcome on Connie!

[ghstudio]

Here's the problem with that: Michael's Club is a designated Muster Station and regulations prohibit locking the door in any way at any time. They would néed to find another space to replace MC before it could be locked and that has not been easy to do.

 

Easily solved....just assign only the suite guests who are allowed in Michael's club to muster there....if they forget the code, go down with the ship. Perhaps Celebrity can even have a suite guest lifeboat...with food from Luminae and canapes from Michaels and a concierge on board.

[Orator]

Easily solved....just assign only the suite guests who are allowed in Michael's club to muster there....if they forget the code, go down with the ship. Perhaps Celebrity can even have a suite guest lifeboat...with food from Luminae and canapes from Michaels and a concierge on board.

 

Believe it or not, that has been suggested. I like your lifeboat idea. Perhaps they could have priority disembarkation with a little,dirty red carpet right before you enter the lifeboat. Zeniths would need to have a different lifeboat snice food will be from Luminae and it is off limits to Zeniths.

[bobsfamily]

Cigarettes yes, but are CIGARS allowed there? That's my question.

My understanding as of the end of this past Feb. that now anywhere smoking is allowed.... SMOKING is allowed as long as it's legal stuff... regardless of what type it is.

 

No smoking at Sunset Bar... this was on the Connie.

[Project_gal]

Believe it or not, that has been suggested. I like your lifeboat idea. Perhaps they could have priority disembarkation with a little,dirty red carpet right before you enter the lifeboat. Zeniths would need to have a different lifeboat snice food will be from Luminae and it is off limits to Zeniths.

 

Surely they would make an exception in emergencies or, if that just goes too far, refuse to serve Zenith guests food. After all, we will need someone to row the high-end suite guests. You cannot expect us to row ourselves.:rolleyes: