The retreat

[Covepointcruiser]

The “F” word was not in the set the Doors performed on Ed Sullivan.  However, “Higher” was, and this is what was not to be sung on that show.   Jim Morrison refused to change the lyrics for  “Light my Fire”.   It certainly was a much more innocent time on TV and the Doors never played on his show after that.

[Pinboy]

13 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

The “F” word was not in the set the Doors performed on Ed Sullivan.  However, “Higher” was, and this is what was not to be sung on that show.   Jim Morrison refused to change the lyrics for  “Light my Fire”.   It certainly was a much more innocent time on TV and the Doors never played on his show after that.

Neither did Jackie Mason after he gave Ed the “ finger “ when he “ tried “ to get him off stage.

[George C]

33 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Neither did Jackie Mason after he gave Ed the “ finger “ when he “ tried “ to get him off stage.

Ed Sullivan wanted Dylan on back in 1962 and CBS didn’t want the song which was about John Birch society, they told him just to pick another song Dylan refused and never played on that show.

We saw Jackie Mason on broadway a couple of times , last time a few years ago he was with his girlfriend who was about 60 years younger, did get a picture of him with my better half , he still is very funny.

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, Longboysfan said:

Take me along if you lovea me....

Take me along....

It would be hard to take along a Cowboys fan.  I'm from Philly after all.😁

[silkismom]

We are doing our first Sky Suite, usually in Aqua, for St Maarten in Aug. We saved so much money from having 5 cruises canceled last year that we decided it was time to start splurging a little. We have over 60 cruises, but usually plain veranda. We also decided to fly biz class. Both are vaccinated, but still prefer to "socially distance" and thought the Retreat would be better than usual crowds. Can hardly wait, I will be following closely, the cruises for June and July.

[talljules1]

We have done almost all of our Celebrity cruises in standard or concierge class balcony staterooms, but we did do a 2-night taster in an aft corner sky suite and loved it.  Our last cruise pre covid was with MSC in Yacht Club - which has some 'retreatiness' about it (it is NOT Celebrity though) and loved that.

 

When we return to cruising next year, we're making the move to aft corner sky suites. Why?  We love the extra space. I like being able to have a bath. Love luminae and Michaels Club (now the retreat lounge). Having some of the 'perks' - premium drinks, gratuities, OBC/Shore excursion spend - is great for us. We'd normally have a premium drinks package/upgrade to it, so that is one less thing to do. I'm not fussed about wi-fi - for me one of the benefits of a cruise is being able to lock my phone away and avoid my emails and unwind! We get priority embarkation anyway (Elite in CC) but having that after shore excursions will be nice.

 

So, it is the whole package that appeals to us. 

 

I suspect we'll stick at sky suite level, but if there was a minimal price differential between that and a higher level suite, we'd go for it!

[talljules1]

Ooops! Have just booked a Royal Suite on Silhouette for a July sailing this year (there were only Royal Suites left, and that's my excuse).  Using this cruise to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary (which is the last day).  Will be fun to see what it is like.  If I have read the website correctly, we get unlimited specialty dining, which will be great - expect to spend a lot of time in Sushi on 5, The Porch and Murano.

[George C]

1 hour ago, talljules1 said:

Ooops! Have just booked a Royal Suite on Silhouette for a July sailing this year (there were only Royal Suites left, and that's my excuse).  Using this cruise to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary (which is the last day).  Will be fun to see what it is like.  If I have read the website correctly, we get unlimited specialty dining, which will be great - expect to spend a lot of time in Sushi on 5, The Porch and Murano.

Our last cruise just before everything went crazy was in royal suite and our next cruise in exactly 5 weeks is also a royal suite , just loved it. Also liquor setup .

[talljules1]

2 hours ago, George C said:

Our last cruise just before everything went crazy was in royal suite and our next cruise in exactly 5 weeks is also a royal suite , just loved it. Also liquor setup .

Is there a list anywhere of what liquors you can choose from?

[Momma Rene]

On 4/11/2021 at 10:11 AM, KWW88 said:

totally covered

 

Are all the ships totally covered?  I was looking at the Millennium and it looks like the retreat deck is in the sun.  

[BridgeBabe]

On 4/11/2021 at 12:15 AM, chemmo said:

 

 

Not one thing it is the ‘package’ that makes booking a suite worthwhile for us.

 

The room...we love to have space to enjoy both inside and on the balcony.We usually book RS or PH and like the nicer bathrooms and having  room to comfortably dine in if we want to. Nice to have a bar set up and a butler who will provide any extras we want.

 

Higher service level. This starts, for us, pre cruise when we are contacted by the shoreside concierge. Before boarding we will have chosen pillows, booked our dining, sorted out room requests. When we get to our suite the fridge will already be stacked with our preferred beers and soda. This higher service level continues at check in with the ‘Special Delivery’ service. Taxi, luggage drop off, escorted through security and check in and on board can take less than 15 minutes...As we are sipping our first champagne in the retreat lounge the concierge will introduce themselves and remind us if there is anything we want simply to ask...Bar service will be perfect, we know when we walk in the next day we will be greeted by name and if we have asked for a specific brand of something to be stocked there we know if they have any on board it will be!

 

Dining is for us our main ‘evening entertainment’. We know in Luminae the service and ambiance will be excellent but generally we will cruise in the speciality restaurants. Tuscan on nights when we can watch the ship leave port as we sip on our first drink other restaurants visited and enjoyed. As ‘regulars’ in the speciality restaurants they will know and respond to our preferences. They will know we like a quiet spot, enjoy having our wines paired to courses...

 

On ships with the retreat deck there is the extra pleasure of more comfortable and spacious deck area...

 

When we were younger cruising to us was more sightseeing focused...Many of the things I have listed would have been less important. Now it is far more about the ship, we do spend time in our suite...Whilst priority check in and being escorted on board is nice it is valued even more if you are less mobile than you were!

 

I totally understand guests who see many of the perks as ‘fluff’ and unnecessary to enjoy a cruise but we enjoy it!

Exactly!  I could not have said it better myself...It is a whole package experience!

 

[Cdresser]

47 minutes ago, talljules1 said:

Is there a list anywhere of what liquors you can choose from?

When the shoreside concierge contacts you before the cruise to get your preferences, they will provide you with a list of alcohol choices. If you want something on that is not on the list you can ask and they will provide it if it is reasonable. I asked for Drambuie for my husband because he likes that as a nightcap.  It was not on the list but they had it waiting in the suite when we arrived. 

[George C]

54 minutes ago, talljules1 said:

Is there a list anywhere of what liquors you can choose from?

I believe I was contacted by concierge and got a list from him, if not butler or concierge can help you , on my list they didn’t have McAllen but they had that on the ship and I got that a full liter then picked a liter of vodka all top shelf stuff , because we had drink package we never opened the scotch and just took it home along with the vodka , they also refresh mini bar with whatever beer and soda you want daily. . 

[Cdresser]

Also in regard to the 2 bottles of alcohol for RS and up...I thought this was a bit unnecessary because we could get what we wanted anywhere in the ship and we don't drink much in the room. However, on our last cruise the ship ran out of Captain Morgan and never replenished the stock so the bottle in my suite was the only one aboard. I did not like the spiced rum they had as a substitute so I was really glad to have it on hand since capt and diet coke is my "go to" drink.

[Covepointcruiser]

Unfortunately on the “S” class ships a great bit of the outside deck is taken up with an ugly bathtub/hot tub.   It was totally unnecessary as there is a jetted tub in the full bathroom.

[talljules1]

14 hours ago, Cdresser said:

When the shoreside concierge contacts you before the cruise to get your preferences, they will provide you with a list of alcohol choices. If you want something on that is not on the list you can ask and they will provide it if it is reasonable. I asked for Drambuie for my husband because he likes that as a nightcap.  It was not on the list but they had it waiting in the suite when we arrived. 

That's good - I'm hoping for Jack Daniels Silver Barrel, and OH likes Hendricks. Not fussed about beer - we'll ask for ginger ale, slimline tonic and coke zero.

[Sam.Seattle]

5 hours ago, talljules1 said:

That's good - I'm hoping for Jack Daniels Silver Barrel, and OH likes Hendricks. Not fussed about beer - we'll ask for ginger ale, slimline tonic and coke zero.

Here is what we selected.  The Johnnie Walker was engraved with our names and date of cruise.

 

Cheers!

🥂

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Sam.Seattle

[judatt]

On 4/12/2021 at 12:23 PM, pennys mum said:

The first time we booked a suite we were on a Baltic cruise.

we came back from a 12 hour trip to Berlin on a train with approximately 600 passengers

we were standing in a huge line to board the ship when an officer came over and told us to follow )her.

the people behind us queried this and was told    "they are in a suite so there is another line"

On the ship in 5 minutes.

did I feel bad? My head did but my feet were grateful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similar experience on Oasis. We were disembarking and told to be in a certain lounge at 9 AM. They took us down a service elevator and our bags were in a separate room and we went through our private customs line. I looked through the curtain and saw the thousands of people in line to get their bags and go through customs and I was so grateful that it took us all of 10 minutes from leaving the lounge until we were in our taxi. 

[LGW59]

24 minutes ago, judatt said:

Similar experience on Oasis. We were disembarking and told to be in a certain lounge at 9 AM. They took us down a service elevator and our bags were in a separate room and we went through our private customs line. I looked through the curtain and saw the thousands of people in line to get their bags and go through customs and I was so grateful that it took us all of 10 minutes from leaving the lounge until we were in our taxi. 

That’s why it is called the suite life.

[Longboysfan]

On 4/24/2021 at 9:19 AM, TeeRick said:

It would be hard to take along a Cowboys fan.  I'm from Philly after all.😁

We don't hold you being a Philly fan against you.  🤭

[Deluuuc]

We'll be sailing with Celebrity for the first time next March and we decided to stay in The Retreat category. Do retreat guests need to pre-book specialty restaurants in order to guarantee seats, especially at the most popular restaurants. We want to dine at Eden on The Edge ship but not sure when we want to eat there during our sailing. 

[Jim_Iain]

6 minutes ago, Deluuuc said:

We'll be sailing with Celebrity for the first time next March and we decided to stay in The Retreat category. Do retreat guests need to pre-book specialty restaurants in order to guarantee seats, especially at the most popular restaurants. We want to dine at Eden on The Edge ship but not sure when we want to eat there during our sailing. 

 

Yes you need to either pre-book or book once aboard.     If travel in RS and above with free Specialty Dining you can call the Shoreside Concierge and make your request.  

[jbcallender]

I worked my rear off for 45 years and I want my wife to have a little something special.

[jbcallender]

On 6/26/2023 at 11:42 AM, Deluuuc said:

We'll be sailing with Celebrity for the first time next March and we decided to stay in The Retreat category. Do retreat guests need to pre-book specialty restaurants in order to guarantee seats, especially at the most popular restaurants. We want to dine at Eden on The Edge ship but not sure when we want to eat there during our sailing. 

Yes, you should book them as soon as possible.  The concierge may be able to get you in after boarding, but better to be safe and get your preferred times and nights.

[agape01]

Just curiously wondering

 

Had anyone tried calling for room service to be delivered to retreat lounge? 🤔😁

 

Or

 

Other than what is available in the lounge is allowed.

 

Reason for my asking is not to disturb my traveling companions just in case they are having a afternoon nap.