no bar? Really!

[39august]

Various  posts seem to indicate there is no bar in the revolutionized M class Retreats.  How about Edge Retreat? No bar is crazy!

[cruisestitch]

Edge didn’t have a bar in December.  You were supposed to flag down a passing waiter if you wanted to drink. But if there was no waiter nearby there was also no way to summon one.

 

I thought it was crazy.

[riredsox]

I asked the officers when they came into the retreat lounge on the Edge.  They said the Apex was the same way but they might rethink that on the next build.  We never had a problem getting a drink but we like to sit at the bar sometimes.   I am booked in a suite on the Reflection pre dry dock so I get to have the old Michael’s Club and am looking forward to it.

[Covepointcruiser]

When we were on the Reflection we found it very difficult to get a drink in Michaels Club.

The bar tender was so busy with those seated at the bar those at tables couldn’t get a drink.    There was one overworked attendant and he could not keep up.   Before the bar, we would just walk up and order our drinks, can’t do that with the crowd at the bar.

[Wine-O]

Oh, the trials and tribulations of those who book suites.  

[Alsmez]

The Retreat Lounge on Summit does sort of have a bar, although not in the most traditional sense of the word. The Lounge is divided into two areas: one large seating area with low sofas and tables, and then a smaller back area with cold cases of drinks, a coffee machine, and a small "prep" bar for the bartender's use. You can walk up to this bar and order a drink if the attendant happens to be back there, but there is no traditional bar seating. You definitely lose the camaraderie of sitting around a bar with others, and the attendant is frequently away from the bar, out in the seating/lounge area to attend to customers who want table service. Our attendant, Alexandra, was fantastic about covering both sides of the room to make sure people had what they needed, but I don't know if that is the case with every attendant, and I am certain the waits were long at busy times since there was usually just one person working. 

 

Anyway, the Retreat Lounge worked very well for our needs because we typically just stopped in there during the day to grab a quick water, soda, beer or glass of wine, all of which could be obtained very quickly and efficiently. We avoided it during the busy pre-dinner hours, then stopped in after dinner for a nightcap and chat with Alexandra and whoever else happened to be there. However, people who want a traditional bar experience are likely to be very disappointed with this lounge. The Retreat Sundeck was similar - lots of loungers and seating areas and servers coming around to take your order, but no actual bar around which you could gather.

[chemmo]

I wonder what Equinox will be like?

[jelayne]

Sounds like they left the small “bar” that is the M Class MC.  Never was a bar you could sit at.

t

[bermadu22]

2 hours ago, Alsmez said:

However, people who want a traditional bar experience are likely to be very disappointed with this lounge. The Retreat Sundeck was similar - lots of loungers and seating areas and servers coming around to take your order, but no actual bar around which you could gather.

I find this ironic since the "new" Celebrity design was intended to get people out of their stateroom and "mingling" around the ship. Or so I've read. 

BTW we liked the old style Michael's club, but we've only experienced Celebrity once, on the Summit in Spring of 2017. We will be going back to the Summit to see what the Revolution has changed. My recollection of Michaels is that it was pretty empty most of the time, unless it was pre-dinner, or there was a function being held.

Edited May 27, 2019 by bermadu22
add a thought

[Alsmez]

3 minutes ago, bermadu22 said:

I find this ironic since the "new" Celebrity design was intended to get people out of their stateroom and "mingling" around the ship. Or so I've read. 

 

I agree, it was kind of a strange effect. People did sometimes sit in the lounge, but the furniture was uncomfortable and arranged in a way that didn't encourage mingling - lots of two-seaters and four-seaters, no larger-group type zones. Groups of four would come in, sit facing each other and just talk to each other (exactly as you would expect) - and since no one ever HAD to go to the bar to get a drink, random "waiting at the bar" interactions (that can lead to fun conversations and real mingling!) were eliminated. Clearly whoever decided on this model has never actually mingled at a bar or they would have known this would happen.

[Floater4life]

First world problems

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, Floater4life said:

First world problems

Agree,we have never had a problem meeting others whether in MC, the Martini bar, the Ensemble or Rendiezvous bar.

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, jelayne said:

Agree,we have never had a problem meeting others whether in MC, the Martini bar, the Ensemble or Rendiezvous bar.

 

Likewise, however, I do think a bar can be a nice meeting/chatting point especially for guests entering Michael’s (or any other bar) on their own. Solo travelers, the husband enjoying a quiet drink whilst his better half gets ready for the evening, anyone expecting to meet up with someone who hasn’t arrived yet.

 

I have no issue for myself with not having a bar (too small for those tall stools!) but I can see how others may enjoy....

[C-Dragons]

15 hours ago, riredsox said:

I asked the officers when they came into the retreat lounge on the Edge.  They said the Apex was the same way but they might rethink that on the next build.  We never had a problem getting a drink but we like to sit at the bar sometimes.   I am booked in a suite on the Reflection pre dry dock so I get to have the old Michael’s Club and am looking forward to it.

Plans to add a bar to the Retreat Lounge on Apex have already been confirmed.

[39august]

So, there is a bar in which to make drinks and a bartender and/or server to bring drinks to the customers. But no traditional bar at which you can sit and chat.  

[TeeRick]

Glad to hear that Apex will have a bar for those that want to sit at one.  We never had an issue on Edge getting a drink from a waiter in the Retreat Lounge in January.  Or there is a bar with chairs one set of stairs up at the Retreat Pool area too.  On M-Class the bar in Michael's Club was always very small with only a couple of chairs so most people ordered their drinks from the servers anyway.  It seems that has not really changed.

[NCHPcruiser]

We have not sailed on the Edge or an Edge-ified ship but several of our friends have sailed on both.  None like the new Retreat setup at all!  In the past we all have enjoyed getting to know the bartender and learning something about his family and homeland as well as talking with other guest.  They report the new setup is not conducive to meeting other guest although I'm sure it does happen, just not as easily or as often.  

[C-Dragons]

27 minutes ago, NCHPcruiser said:

We have not sailed on the Edge or an Edge-ified ship but several of our friends have sailed on both.  None like the new Retreat setup at all!  In the past we all have enjoyed getting to know the bartender and learning something about his family and homeland as well as talking with other guest.  They report the new setup is not conducive to meeting other guest although I'm sure it does happen, just not as easily or as often.  

We've sailed on the Edge twice and very much like the Retreat. We had absolutely no problems getting to know the servers on a personal basis, as they were happy to stop and chat with us every day. And it's very easy to meet other guests and make new friends in the Retreat. The seating is open and quite conducive to having conversations with others especially when those seated close by can oftentimes over hear your conversation. We met a lot of very nice people that way.

[cruisestitch]

Here’s what I missed. The ability to say, while the bartender is making the drink, could you put a little more soda in that for me please? Or, Another olive would be nice.  Or, What can you make that’s cool and refreshing and not too sweet that doesn’t involve coconut milk?

All the chitchat that is possible when there is a bartender, that isn’t possible when it’s a roving waiter carrying a tray full of drinks to other people.  It may not mean much to couples, but to a solo, those sorts of interactions are important.

[Alsmez]

4 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Here’s what I missed. The ability to say, while the bartender is making the drink, could you put a little more soda in that for me please? Or, Another olive would be nice.  Or, What can you make that’s cool and refreshing and not too sweet that doesn’t involve coconut milk?

 

Very good point. Also, on Summit there is no display of bottles behind the bartender, so you really don't know what they have available unless you ask (and who wants to make someone recite an entire list of 10 whiskey and 20 vodka options?). There is also no menu listing what was available (that I saw, anyway). Alexandra was more than happy to get anything you wanted even if she didn't have it on hand, but that meant a longer wait because she would have to run to Rendezvous to fetch it. It was also pretty obvious after a few visits that the bar was not stocked well enough to make anything but the simplest of mixed drinks and basic cocktails. We are basically beer/wine and Scotch/bourbon drinkers so that didn't really matter to us, but I'm sure there were those who either couldn't get what they wanted without a long wait or were discouraged from asking because there was no visible display of alcohols, liqueurs, mixers, garnishes, etc.

[TribeHokie]

22 hours ago, Wine-O said:

Oh, the trials and tribulations of those who book suites.  

Thank you for your valuable input 

[TribeHokie]

Definitely bummed to hear the full bar is no longer there. That being said, the last time I was on Silhouette the bartender in Michael's was quite slow anyway due to the fact that (according to him) he had to keep sending for missing items from the outside bars. 

 

We will see how this goes on Summit for my July sailing. Considering I hate the new look of the Lounge anyway if the service is no good I will just find somewhere else to hang. R.I.P. Michael's Club.

[ozark74]

On 5/26/2019 at 3:12 PM, 39august said:

Various  posts seem to indicate there is no bar in the revolutionized M class Retreats.  How about Edge Retreat? No bar is crazy!

The Retreat on the Edge did not have a walk up bar but they did have waiters taking drink orders. The Retreat bar one level up at the Retreat pool had a full bar. Vince was our bartender, very good bloody marys.

[WestLakeGirl]

Not everyone who can go to the Retreat can also go to the Retreat pool level

[vtcruising]

My favorite MC is on the Reflection. We love the U-shaped bar, with many comfortable seats - it was a lively place in the evening on our cruises. As cruisestitch said, you felt you could ask questions and try different things. It was where I found my favorite cocktail - the bartender had me describe what I liked and then he made a type of margarita that I had never had before and still drink to this day. One night my DH had an upset stomach after a big dinner and wasn't going to have a drink, but jokingly asked the bartender what would be good for his upset stomach. He made him a gin and tonic with bitters, saying the tonic and bitters should help. Within minutes my DH felt much better and now loves gin and tonic after dinner.  🙂 We had many great conversations with other guests at that bar and each of us would go alone sometimes before we met up and felt very comfortable on our own.

 

The Eclipse MC has a nice bar, though it is not the large U-shaped bar as on the Reflection. The bar area was very lively in the evening, with many comfortable seats/tables near the bar. The bartender would signal us from the bar when she noticed our drinks getting low or sometimes would just bring us another round. She knew what everyone drank and like Cheers, would get the drinks going as soon as we walked in. The MC bar helped make that a fun and memorable 14 night cruise.

 

M Class has/had the bar, but it wasn't used as much for sitting since there were only a couple of stools, but one could go to the bar and chat with the bartenders. We didn't enjoy the M Class MC experience as much as M Class - it was a nice mellow place to chill during the morning/afternoon, but just didn't have the fun atmosphere in the evening that the 2 S Class MC's that we have enjoyed (may have been our cruises).

 

The Edge Retreat Lounge was lovely and comfortable and the drink service was good, but we were disappointed  that there was no bar and the servers disappeared behind a door that was behind a food station. They said the absence of the bar was so there wouldn't be a barrier between the guest and the bartender - they wanted the servers to mingle with the guests instead. What we felt was more of a barrier between us, since the servers would disappear. When either of us went there alone, we ended up sitting by ourselves because of way the seating arrangements were designed and the lack of a bar. We just stopped going there alone.  The Retreat Pool Bar is nice, but it was too windy to go up there for a pre-dinner drink much of the time and it was a pool-type atmosphere, not a nice lounge-type ambiance that we preferred in the evening.  Supposedly they have listened to complaints and the Apex will have a bar in the Retreat Lounge.

 

I'm glad that the Reflection isn't scheduled for reno until 2023. Hopefully they will change their minds if they are planning to get rid of that bar, now that they have had feedback about how the bars in the Retreat on other ships are missed. MC/Retreat Lounges are at the top of our list about what makes the suites worth the extra cost.

 

Reflection MC Bar:

Edited May 28, 2019 by vtcruising