Retreat: Drink Package Drinks (in your suite)

[terrydtx]

15 hours ago, Beachlover1989 said:

We sailed in a Sky Suite in November and our butler offered to stock the fridge with whatever we wanted.  And one night I filled out the room service card and asked for a mimosa - not only did he bring a carafe of fresh squeezed orange juice, but also a bottle of champagne!

This was our experience on the Reflection in August. Our Butler was awesome and continually offered to bring drinks to our Sky Suite during the afternoons.  Early on he stopped us in the hallway bringing drinks from a bar to our cabin and said next time to call him and he would bring them to us. 

 

The day of embarkation our mini fridge was empty, and our butler asked how we wanted it stocked.  We told him premium water and red and white wine. He kept us well stocked with Evian bottled water and 1/2 bottles of red and white wine all at no extra charge. He also left us several packaged snacks with the mini fridge every day. The butler said the mini bar was included with our suite's premium drink package.

Edited December 28, 2022 by terrydtx

[Julma]

The service you receive changes ship to ship, butler to butler and by class of room.  I do think the most important factor is the butler themselves.  We've had very good and not so good butlers.  

You should ask and receive what has been promised as amenities.  There is no reason for you, on vacation, to worry about how hard the butler is working.  That's up to Celebrity to figure out.  These rooms are FAR more expensive than regular cabins for a reason.  Having said that it does seem like drinks delivered to the suite is a a gray zone.  "enjoy in your suite" is different than delivered to your suite (if splitting hairs).

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, Julma said:

The service you receive changes ship to ship, butler to butler and by class of room.  I do think the most important factor is the butler themselves.  We've had very good and not so good butlers.  

You should ask and receive what has been promised as amenities.  There is no reason for you, on vacation, to worry about how hard the butler is working.  That's up to Celebrity to figure out.  These rooms are FAR more expensive than regular cabins for a reason.  Having said that it does seem like drinks delivered to the suite is a a gray zone.  "enjoy in your suite" is different than delivered to your suite (if splitting hairs).

We have been in Sky Suites on three different ships post Covid and the drinks in our suite experience I described above has been consistent on all three ships and cruises. I do not see any gray area about this. 

[prmssk]

1 minute ago, terrydtx said:

We have been in Sky Suites on three different ships post Covid and the drinks in our suite experience I described above has been consistent on all three ships and cruises. I do not see any gray area about this. 

I have been on two cruises since the restart including one of those being in an upper suite and butlers on both cruises were not offering or willing to deliver drinks to the stateroom (beyond the specialty coffees clearly advertised.  The mini-bar also was not included on either cruise for lower suites (we had someone traveling in a sky suite with us when we were in the upper suite).  In one case, the butler reluctantly agreed to put a few waters in the fridge for us no charge.  In the other, the butler flat out refused to stock anything in the sky suite saying the mini-bar was not included for that type of suite.

 

Inclusion of the mini-bar and drinks delivered to your stateroom (beyond specialty coffees) are absolutely gray area in my opinion (no where does it clearly include these amenities) and the experiences people have had with both of these seems to vary greatly so I really think these things are very dependent on the butler you get.  I think you were lucky that you had such great butlers who went above and beyond on your three cruises.

[Julma]

Just now, terrydtx said:

We have been in Sky Suites on three different ships post Covid and the drinks in our suite experience I described above has been consistent on all three ships and cruises. I do not see any gray area about this. 

We did 6 weeks on the Apex in a Sky Suite and never asked because we didn't think it was included.  On the Summit in March, we were with friends who asked and received drinks to their Sky Suite, so we asked and our butler said she was not allowed to do that.  Summit in April in Celebrity Suite,  we were told yes, but it was not something he was supposed to do.  Summit in October in Penthouse, there was nothing we requested that couldn't be handled.  We are actually not high maintenance, because we enjoy the ship and are usually out and about (although the PH on the Summit is hard to leave).  

[sanger727]

23 minutes ago, Julma said:

  Having said that it does seem like drinks delivered to the suite is a a gray zone.  "enjoy in your suite" is different than delivered to your suite (if splitting hairs).

 

That's true. But if that is what they meant, it's extremely misleading to even include it. It would be much simpler to say, "whether at dinner, relaxing by the pool, or out exploring". The fact that they include "in your suite" strongly implies that you can get the drink "while in your suite". 

[terrydtx]

10 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

The fact that they include "in your suite" strongly implies that you can get the drink "while in your suite". 

I agree and that has been our experience the past two years in SS. If any butler is refusing to do this, then they may need retraining. If my butler refused to do this for us, I would hesitate to leave any extra gratuities for him or her.

Edited December 28, 2022 by terrydtx

[vji6697]

We were on Equinox in Nov in a aft sky suite.  Our Butler was not the best to be honest, but once he spotted me bringing a few unopen bottles of beer for the room, he then proceeded to keep it stocked up.  I can tell when he had done so as I would see $0 charges against craft social, he also kept the fridge and room stocked up with ice/water/diet coke etc.  (either he or our room attendant who was fabulous).  

 

So I think its all down to the butler in these situations and how far they are willing to bend things

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I agree and that has been our experience the past two years in SS. If any butler is refusing to do this, then they may need retraining. If my butler refused to do this for us, I would hesitate to leave any extra gratuities for him or her.

Once you have made up your mind about what is true, you sure stay firm.  No possibility that someone in a SS is not entitled to room service alcoholic drinks on demand?  Just a matter of poor training if it does not match your view?

 

There is no doubt that some butlers will stock and delivery alcoholic drinks to those staying in a Sky Suite.  IMO it is a real stretch to consider all those Butler that do not provide this service as not being trained properly.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

6 hours ago, terrydtx said:

This was our experience on the Reflection in August. Our Butler was awesome and continually offered to bring drinks to our Sky Suite during the afternoons.  Early on he stopped us in the hallway bringing drinks from a bar to our cabin and said next time to call him and he would bring them to us. 

 

The day of embarkation our mini fridge was empty, and our butler asked how we wanted it stocked.  We told him premium water and red and white wine. He kept us well stocked with Evian bottled water and 1/2 bottles of red and white wine all at no extra charge. He also left us several packaged snacks with the mini fridge every day. The butler said the mini bar was included with our suite's premium drink package.

 

 

4 hours ago, prmssk said:

I have been on two cruises since the restart including one of those being in an upper suite and butlers on both cruises were not offering or willing to deliver drinks to the stateroom (beyond the specialty coffees clearly advertised.  The mini-bar also was not included on either cruise for lower suites (we had someone traveling in a sky suite with us when we were in the upper suite).  In one case, the butler reluctantly agreed to put a few waters in the fridge for us no charge.  In the other, the butler flat out refused to stock anything in the sky suite saying the mini-bar was not included for that type of suite.

 

Inclusion of the mini-bar and drinks delivered to your stateroom (beyond specialty coffees) are absolutely gray area in my opinion (no where does it clearly include these amenities) and the experiences people have had with both of these seems to vary greatly so I really think these things are very dependent on the butler you get.  I think you were lucky that you had such great butlers who went above and beyond on your three cruises.

 

3 hours ago, vji6697 said:

We were on Equinox in Nov in a aft sky suite.  Our Butler was not the best to be honest, but once he spotted me bringing a few unopen bottles of beer for the room, he then proceeded to keep it stocked up.  I can tell when he had done so as I would see $0 charges against craft social, he also kept the fridge and room stocked up with ice/water/diet coke etc.  (either he or our room attendant who was fabulous).  

 

So I think its all down to the butler in these situations and how far they are willing to bend things

 

We have booked our first suite, a sunset sky suite.  With this conflicting information, I won't expect our mini fridge to be included, but it should be, and will be nice if that's the case.  

[destar]

21 hours ago, Beachlover1989 said:

We sailed in a Sky Suite in November and our butler offered to stock the fridge with whatever we wanted.  And one night I filled out the room service card and asked for a mimosa - not only did he bring a carafe of fresh squeezed orange juice, but also a bottle of champagne!

Can you send your butler to my cabin for my cruise on February, thanks.

[mailmama]

9 hours ago, Mark_K said:

That doesn’t actually say that drinks will be delivered to your suite, just that you may enjoy them there.

This is exactly how I read it......the description is of the beverage package and where to indulge it. Not how it was obtained. We had a CS suite and just went to lounge/bar and picked up drinks before going to pool or our balcony. We were out and about anyway!

[chisoxfan]

Just book on Princess.... a bit tongue in cheek but the Princess Medallion app allows any and all drinks to be delivered to your room without charge if you have drink package. This really was a wonderful benefit we enjoyed in an aft balcony on Enchanted Princess. Have to give them kudos for this.

We have Sky Suite booked on Ascent in 24 and I did not anticipate drink service but post did pique my interest. We did not intend or expect to bother our 'butler' to fetch drinks. 

[George C]

We had sky suite on beyond a month ago , butler stocked fridge and also asked our preference for beer , soda etc , no charge , all we wanted was water and she kept refilling the water. Bottle of sparkling wine is standard if upper suites you get real champagne, we are in summit in royal suite in a couple of months then we get a choice of two liters of top shelf liquor of our choice.

[jelayne]

When cruising restarted ships were sailing at low capacity, in some cases more crew than passengers.   The butlers we had were going above and beyond to make everyone happy.  We had to tell one to stop leaving us bottles of wine and another not to leave treats and snacks 3 times a day. 
 

As more ships went back into service the available crew got spread among more ships.  A lot of the ships are understaffed now and if the butlers are expected to deliver drinks to their 14+ suites I don’t think they have sufficient staff.  
 

[George C]

49 minutes ago, jelayne said:

When cruising restarted ships were sailing at low capacity, in some cases more crew than passengers.   The butlers we had were going above and beyond to make everyone happy.  We had to tell one to stop leaving us bottles of wine and another not to leave treats and snacks 3 times a day. 
 

As more ships went back into service the available crew got spread among more ships.  A lot of the ships are understaffed now and if the butlers are expected to deliver drinks to their 14+ suites I don’t think they have sufficient staff.  
 

Agree but in most cases even if ship was only 50 percent, suites were sold out , we were on the second voyage of edge after Covid delay, outside retreat was packed every day . 

[jelayne]

2 minutes ago, George C said:

Agree but in most cases even if ship was only 50 percent, suites were sold out , we were on the second voyage of edge after Covid delay, outside retreat was packed every day . 

Of our 6 cruises suites were full on 4, however some portion was booked with Cruise Only and Blue Chip with no drink package  and Move Up.  We learned this by talking to other Guests in the Retreat Lounge where they could get drinks without a package.

[George C]

We had a sky suite on a music charter with no drink package, we were fine getting drinks from then micheals , we go to dinner with a large glass of wine , bartender gave us a bottle of wine also for dinner.

[jelayne]

5 minutes ago, George C said:

We had a sky suite on a music charter with no drink package, we were fine getting drinks from then micheals , we go to dinner with a large glass of wine , bartender gave us a bottle of wine also for dinner.

Just as those who were in Suites with no drink package did on our recent cruises.

[terrydtx]

5 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

We have Sky Suite booked on Ascent in 24 and I did not anticipate drink service but post did pique my interest. We did not intend or expect to bother our 'butler' to fetch drinks. 

Why not, that is part of the service they will extend to you. Our butler on the Reflection in August brought drinks to our Sky Suite whenever we asked with no complaints and the suites were sold out on our cruise. 

[markeb]

I only have an "n" of 1 here...

 

On our Equinox cruise in August, our butler restocked water constantly, Diet Coke when needed, and offered, unprompted, to bring wine with our afternoon cheese snacks. Didn't ask for more than that. DW doesn't do cocktails, and I'd prefer to have one at the bar anyway, but she did bring a Pinot Noir (Kendall-Jackson Reserve, I think) pretty much every afternoon for the cruise. It was a nice service that I really wasn't expecting. Kind of surprised by the different experiences here!

[terrydtx]

13 minutes ago, markeb said:

I only have an "n" of 1 here...

 

On our Equinox cruise in August, our butler restocked water constantly, Diet Coke when needed, and offered, unprompted, to bring wine with our afternoon cheese snacks. Didn't ask for more than that. DW doesn't do cocktails, and I'd prefer to have one at the bar anyway, but she did bring a Pinot Noir (Kendall-Jackson Reserve, I think) pretty much every afternoon for the cruise. It was a nice service that I really wasn't expecting. Kind of surprised by the different experiences here!

That was the same experience we had in our Sky Suites on the Equinox 2021 and Reflection this year. The KJ Reserve Pinot was very nice as was the KJ Chardonay they also brought for no charge without asking..

[themutis]

I noticed on the Suite Room Service menu that there are drinks listed with prices and then other drinks like "mimosa" with no price.

 

If you have the drink package, do you have pay for room service drinks?  

[RichYak]

16 minutes ago, themutis said:

I noticed on the Suite Room Service menu that there are drinks listed with prices and then other drinks like "mimosa" with no price.

 

If you have the drink package, do you have pay for room service drinks?  

Discuss it with your butler. There's no one single correct answer to your question.