Upper Suite Benefits

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We are on Reflection for New Year's. The shore side concierge is Edwin, just talked to him yesterday.

[SusieAV8R]

On 11/30/2022 at 1:25 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Just book it when you get on board.  Either your butler or the suite concierge can easily handle it for you.

 

Don't know why they are shuffling the shoreside concierges around.  I had an excellent one for my last two Summit cruises.  Now she is handling different ships.

 

It appears that X may be moving experienced/competent Shoreside Concierges to the E-class from M-class to resolve pax issues/complaints on E-class.  

[behtyas]

On 8/25/2022 at 9:48 AM, renji said:

Just to clarify and we received a move up to an Edge Villa on Beyond, that Le Voyage is not included in the dining package

 

Bit of a late reply, but maybe that was due to Move Up?

 

Was jsut on Dec 4-11 Beyond sailing booked directly in EV and Ley Voyage (à la carte) was included, however the wine pairing/tasting menus were not.

 

Another anecdotal bit from both Edge PH and Beyond EV is the additional entree charge mentioned in the menu for Fine Cut is also covered which is great if you want a bit of surf & turf.

[Spurschick]

On 11/29/2022 at 8:05 PM, BDL said:

Exactly!  We recently did an MSC Yacht Club and it was wonderful.  We booked this RS due to having some future cruise credit that was expiring at the end of the year.  Edwin didn't know which night would be the first chic night or which of the three La Petit menus were which nights.  They should have this information if they also say we should book specialty dining in advance to ensure time availability.

 

Last time we did a RS we didn't really take advantage of the unlimited specialty dining.  We decided we wanted to do more of that this time.  

Agree. We did Star class on Royal and never again. We just book Sky class now. But Royal is frustrating that they only have Suite class perks on Oasis, Quantum and Icon class ships and have not extended suite benefits across the fleet ( like how hard is it to include drinks and wifi) 

 

So we started to sail YC and it is day and night above Royal - they are seriously setting a high bar. Our butler was awesome and what we like is if you want to get off the ship there is a butler constantly on standby to get you off. When you get back there is a YC only gangway back on. Concierge 24/7 no problem.

Sure there are things that go wrong but they really make an effort to get it right. To the point I now have 3 YC sailings booked for next year.

 

But I really wanted my DH to try X to compare to Royal and I am praying it goes well. We have a deal that as soon as we make Pinnacle on Royal I can then book whatever lines I want lol!!!

Edited December 16, 2022 by Spurschick

[Spurschick]

1 hour ago, behtyas said:

 

Bit of a late reply, but maybe that was due to Move Up?

 

Was jsut on Dec 4-11 Beyond sailing booked directly in EV and Ley Voyage (à la carte) was included, however the wine pairing/tasting menus were not.

 

Another anecdotal bit from both Edge PH and Beyond EV is the additional entree charge mentioned in the menu for Fine Cut is also covered which is great if you want a bit of surf & turf.

When Ginelys reached out to me I booked Le Voyage.

 

Without even telling me it was not included she charged our obc. My TA managed to resolve and got it included for us but we were informed it is not (even a la carte) included as standard in unlimited dining.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Spurschick

[behtyas]

11 hours ago, Spurschick said:

When Ginelys reached out to me I booked Le Voyage.

 

Without even telling me it was not included she charged our obc. My TA managed to resolve and got it included for us but we were informed it is not (even a la carte) included as standard in unlimited dining.

 

Glad it's such a consistent experience for everyone, including with Gineyls (not)! Which suite were you in?

 

In an email from her on Nov 19, she said: "Also, Le Voyage is complimentary to all our Premium suite guest. However, Le Voyage tasting, Chef's table and Dinner on the Edge are not." She submitted the requests for the dining times to the ship, we never had a charge for Le Voyage, nor saw anything in our planner until Day 1 as usual.

 

Incoming rant...

 

I've noticed the dining experience is very washy unless the waiter knows the suite numbers (not expecting them to of course!). It's a polarizing experience in the specialty restaurants going off cabin number vs. if they look up cabin on computer first. Very quickly goes from no names and asking about premium drink package, etc. to last names and no mention of bills at all 😂 We don't worry about it other than when we get a surprise bill (such as Raw on 5 on Edge that was quickly resolved), but even then it's very easy to take care of. The experience overall (non-suite/suite/upper-suite) has always been much better in my opinion when the host confirms everything up front and informs the waiter, avoids a lot of the questions and overall feels more smooth.

 

Once onboard at Le Voyage, our waiter explained the costs for both tasting and a la carte, however towards the end of the dinner he came back and mentioned that because of upper suite it was complimentary, and if we wanted any additional entrees before moving to desert. To his credit, his professionalism and attitude (funny, personable, etc.) never changed one bit before or after he apparently checked cabin, which was fantastic.. I'm there to enjoy and have fun, and it's much easier to do when they're just being themselves!

 

 

 

 

[LGW59]

On 8/23/2022 at 4:24 PM, oh2cruise said:

Aware of the listed included benefits of Royal, Penthouse... etc suites.  Wondering if there are other perks that are unwritten, but available ie: thermal spa access, lunch with officers, etc...

Thanks!!!!!

On a recent EDGE TA, they had a few different events in the Retreat Lounge with the officers, a cocktail party and a lunch something or other.  I never went to either, not my thing, but my butler was doing everything to try and get me to go.  

[Spurschick]

7 hours ago, behtyas said:

 

Glad it's such a consistent experience for everyone, including with Gineyls (not)! Which suite were you in?

 

In an email from her on Nov 19, she said: "Also, Le Voyage is complimentary to all our Premium suite guest. However, Le Voyage tasting, Chef's table and Dinner on the Edge are not." She submitted the requests for the dining times to the ship, we never had a charge for Le Voyage, nor saw anything in our planner until Day 1 as usual.

 

Incoming rant...

 

I've noticed the dining experience is very washy unless the waiter knows the suite numbers (not expecting them to of course!). It's a polarizing experience in the specialty restaurants going off cabin number vs. if they look up cabin on computer first. Very quickly goes from no names and asking about premium drink package, etc. to last names and no mention of bills at all 😂 We don't worry about it other than when we get a surprise bill (such as Raw on 5 on Edge that was quickly resolved), but even then it's very easy to take care of. The experience overall (non-suite/suite/upper-suite) has always been much better in my opinion when the host confirms everything up front and informs the waiter, avoids a lot of the questions and overall feels more smooth.

 

Once onboard at Le Voyage, our waiter explained the costs for both tasting and a la carte, however towards the end of the dinner he came back and mentioned that because of upper suite it was complimentary, and if we wanted any additional entrees before moving to desert. To his credit, his professionalism and attitude (funny, personable, etc.) never changed one bit before or after he apparently checked cabin, which was fantastic.. I'm there to enjoy and have fun, and it's much easier to do when they're just being themselves!

 

 

 

 

We are in Penthouse Suite

[Spurschick]

7 hours ago, LGW59 said:

On a recent EDGE TA, they had a few different events in the Retreat Lounge with the officers, a cocktail party and a lunch something or other.  I never went to either, not my thing, but my butler was doing everything to try and get me to go.  

Forgot to add her email was in September advising that it was not included we sail January

 

I managed to get resolved through my TA maybe they revised this since I booked it.

[Spurschick]

Further update, Terrikka advised me that after my original booking which was made when Le Voyage was not included, the policy changed and it is now indeed included.

[Cruzin64647]

Just off of a recent trip on Apex in a villa and had a fantastic time!! I just find it a little silly that at the current price of upper suites you have to pay an additional 5 dollars for speciality cocktails at Eden and a few other places. 

[Cruise a holic]

On 12/1/2022 at 9:12 AM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

We are on Reflection for New Year's. The shore side concierge is Edwin, just talked to him yesterday.

We have previously had Zoey, she was great. Our last butler wasn't.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

5 hours ago, Spurschick said:

Further update, Terrikka advised me that after my original booking which was made when Le Voyage was not included, the policy changed and it is now indeed included.

Thanks for this information.  We are not on Beyond until 2024 and I booked Le Voyage using OBC. Now I can cancel it.

[Spurschick]

6 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Thanks for this information.  We are not on Beyond until 2024 and I booked Le Voyage using OBC. Now I can cancel it.

If you contact your retreat host they can cancel it and do refund and rebook for same time for you.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

10 minutes ago, Spurschick said:

If you contact your retreat host they can cancel it and do refund and rebook for same time for you.

Thanks, we have 15 months until our sailing.  I just booked it to take advantage of the discount not knowing that they changed the policy.

[George C]

On 12/16/2022 at 6:24 PM, Spurschick said:

We are in Penthouse Suite

We did penthouse on edge last year they treated us like royalty, amazing suite.

[SusieAV8R]

6 hours ago, George C said:

We did penthouse on edge last year they treated us like royalty, amazing suite.

 

6 hours ago, George C said:

We did penthouse on edge last year they treated us like royalty, amazing suite.

 

6 hours ago, George C said:

We did penthouse on edge last year they treated us like royalty, amazing suite.

But was the ship at capacity?  I am finding that PS experiences change as the ship is closer to capacity.

[renji]

On 12/15/2022 at 11:16 PM, behtyas said:

 

Bit of a late reply, but maybe that was due to Move Up?

 

Was jsut on Dec 4-11 Beyond sailing booked directly in EV and Ley Voyage (à la carte) was included, however the wine pairing/tasting menus were not.

 

Another anecdotal bit from both Edge PH and Beyond EV is the additional entree charge mentioned in the menu for Fine Cut is also covered which is great if you want a bit of surf & turf.

yes it was included, they gave us the wrong info before we boarded!

[George C]

3 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

 

 

But was the ship at capacity?  I am finding that PS experiences change as the ship is closer to capacity.

Ship was a little over 50 percent full , but suites were sold out , this was just the second voyage of the edge after Covid and we were the first ship to sail to St Thomas after Covid. Huge suite it was just for the two of us , only thing I didn’t care for was balcony since it had no real sun . 

[chemmo]

4 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

 

 

But was the ship at capacity?  I am finding that PS experiences change as the ship is closer to capacity.

The PH (and RS) experience does vary. In our experience more to do with staffing than how full the ship is. If you have an outstanding rather than a ‘good’ butler and a proactive concierge  rather than a  concierge that is nice but only responds to requests then the experience is enriched.

 

Rather than you making requests for x, y or z the concierge will offer/arrange  a few extra options you may enjoy and the butler will suggest some alternative dining options or leave you little treats you haven’t asked for…Every day your expectations will be exceeded. 
 

Hard  to explain how ‘little things’ can make a cruise better but once you have experienced exceptional service you recognise it…

[SusieAV8R]

19 hours ago, chemmo said:

The PH (and RS) experience does vary. In our experience more to do with staffing than how full the ship is. If you have an outstanding rather than a ‘good’ butler and a proactive concierge  rather than a  concierge that is nice but only responds to requests then the experience is enriched.

 

Rather than you making requests for x, y or z the concierge will offer/arrange  a few extra options you may enjoy and the butler will suggest some alternative dining options or leave you little treats you haven’t asked for…Every day your expectations will be exceeded. 
 

Hard  to explain how ‘little things’ can make a cruise better but once you have experienced exceptional service you recognise it…

DH & I experienced a simply outstanding crew/staff,  including the Maitre'D in Luminae on our November 2020 cruise and the exact opposite on our cruise this past August. Both in a PH.  It did prompt me to write an email to corporate. (Yes, felt much better after hitting the 'send' button 🙂. )

[canderson]

Given that more here would likely know than on any other CC threads ...

 

Has anyone seen butler Anu anywhere since he left Constellation at the end of his contract in early 2022?

 

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, canderson said:

Has anyone seen butler Anu anywhere since he left Constellation at the end of his contract in early 2022?

 

Sebastian is finishing his contract on Equinox shortly but I've not heard of Anu since Constellation.

Edited December 28, 2022 by wrk2cruise

[sofietucker]

We've only ever stayed in Sky suites on Celebrity, but our experiences have varied wildly in terms of amenities and service. Prior to covid, it was more of a true suite experience: afternoon tea in our suite, daily morning coffee, evening hors d'oeuvres,  white-glove in-suite meals, luxurious bath products, flowers, fruit, invitations and meals with officers, etc. Great party we hosted...

 

First ship out in 2021 (Edge), we had brand-new-to-cruising (!) staff and many butler/housekeeping snafus; despite less than 30% of capacity, they had packed the suites, so endless waits for Luminae, Retreat seating, etc.--but the rest of the ship was empty. So we ate in Blu a lot, enjoyed empty main pool... 

 

On the Connie a couple of weeks ago, it was a pendulum. We were sandwiched between a Royal and a Penthouse, so butler was always around--good--but other than the (ahem) interesting room design (six large porcelain parrots glued to shelves!), it seemed to be regarded as basically a larger verandah... The amenities weren't "extra nice," basic minibar, we had to ask for everything: robes, etc. They would NOT give us more than a single bath towel each. When we requested more, they brought them--but then when we left the room, they removed the previously hung, unused ones! Bizarre. We began bringing in pool towels for the balcony and to mop up the rivers that ran from the leaking shower across the room to the drain in front of the vanity...

Room service also varied: fantastic--and hot!--when butler brought it. Otherwise if he was on break, they forgot side dishes, cold, etc. (in other words, like 90% of all room service, both shoreside and on ships, lol). Sommelier didn't want to serve us wines outside our premium package, to the extent that many bottles on the menu were "unavailable"--except when we inquired elsewhere. It was like he was afraid to tell us of the surcharge. 

YET: We were deluged with all sorts of invitations. Special tours, dinner with officers, sailaways, I think at least 4 receptions. Attentive shoreside concierge. Michael's Club concierges were excellent and responsive. Escorted off the ship, etc. Persian Garden pass. We were sent plates of fancy desserts for no reason...

Oh well, we've still booked another cruise on the Connie, lol. Just remember to follow the good advice above and present your list of expectations/requests.

[prmssk]

27 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

On the Connie a couple of weeks ago, it was a pendulum. We were sandwiched between a Royal and a Penthouse, so butler was always around--good--but other than the (ahem) interesting room design (six large porcelain parrots glued to shelves!), it seemed to be regarded as basically a larger verandah... The amenities weren't "extra nice," basic minibar, we had to ask for everything: robes, etc. They would NOT give us more than a single bath towel each. When we requested more, they brought them--but then when we left the room, they removed the previously hung, unused ones! Bizarre. We began bringing in pool towels for the balcony and to mop up the rivers that ran from the leaking shower across the room to the drain in front of the vanity...

Room service also varied: fantastic--and hot!--when butler brought it. Otherwise if he was on break, they forgot side dishes, cold, etc. (in other words, like 90% of all room service, both shoreside and on ships, lol). Sommelier didn't want to serve us wines outside our premium package, to the extent that many bottles on the menu were "unavailable"--except when we inquired elsewhere. It was like he was afraid to tell us of the surcharge. 

YET: We were deluged with all sorts of invitations. Special tours, dinner with officers, sailaways, I think at least 4 receptions. Attentive shoreside concierge. Michael's Club concierges were excellent and responsive. Escorted off the ship, etc. Persian Garden pass. We were sent plates of fancy desserts for no reason...

Oh well, we've still booked another cruise on the Connie, lol. Just remember to follow the good advice above and present your list of expectations/requests.

Just curious, were you port side or starboard side?