Not to pile on, but it’s bad…

[Georgia_Peaches]

Here's a few of my experiences being a suite guest in mostly non-suite areas (keep in mind I have not been on any Celebrity ship with a dedicated retreat area other than Michael's Club.  And I won't either.)

 

1.  Entered Michael's Club to get a pre-dinner drink.  No bartender to be found...for a good while.  Finally left to get a drink at World Class Bar.

 

2.  Decided to eat in the MDR one night and we were seated immediately and I dare say, gushed over because we (RS guests) chose the MDR over another dining venue.

 

3.  Tried to scope out a reserved for suite guest area in the Solarium...none to be found.  And chair-side drink service did not exist.  So much for my suite card.

 

4.  Never asked for or was offered special seating in the theater...but we like to sit in the back in case we need a quick escape.

 

5.  World Class bar tender was an a$$ and couldn't have cared less what cabin category we were in.  He treated DH better than me so there's that.  Of note, he was an a$$ to everyone it seemed.

 

6.  Watch boutique:  very nice, attentive sales associate.  As I don't wear my sea pass card around my neck, they didn't know my cabin category.

 

7.  Sushi on 5 and Murano:  Given the "best table" every time.

 

8.  Tuscan Grille:  Good food...slow service.

 

9.  Luminae:  very attentive service, even comped a bottle of wine for no known reason

 

10.  Casino:  worst luck ever.  Guess they didn't know I was in a Royal Suite 🤣.

 

My point is, it was a mixed bag for us.  Sometimes we got "special" service and other times we didn't.

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Still waiting to hear about how you could spend 90% of your time in non-suite areas when in a suite. 

Not trying to get in the middle, but we very easily spent the majority of our time in non suite areas when on Silhouette.  Aside from the time we spent sleeping in our cabin and the few stops we made in Michael's club, we were outside of suite areas.  We only ate in Luminae three times:  embarkation day lunch, debarkation day breakfast, and one other night for dinner.  I'm not sure how I would quantify my time into a percentage but I feel like we were in mostly non-suite areas the vast majority of our waking hours.

[randomcruise]

Interesting discussion about Suite perks.  My wife was on the Edge this fall in an ocean view cabin and had the "pleasure" of an entitled Retreat passenger push ahead of her and several others waiting politely in line to place a drink order while letting her and the rest of plebs know that it was his right as a Retreat guest to move ahead of other in line at the pool bar.    Glad that experience is far from the norm.  

[NMTraveller]

44 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

 I'm not sure how I would quantify my time into a percentage but I feel like we were in mostly non-suite areas the vast majority of our waking hours.

Probably 40-60%.  Sleeping in suites and non-suites is also part of the experience and time on the ship.

Edited February 15, 2023 by NMTraveller

[cruisin from florida]

Maybe suite vs. Non-suite could be its own topic? This thread has definitely drifted.😁

[Jmoondance]

57 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

  Oh look at me.  I am in a suite and the service at blah blah was excellent. 

 

Thanks for the good chuckle !😄

[weregoingcruising]

13 hours ago, ILgirl said:

I’m not sure this is the case.  On my Millenium cruise last week I had the best cabin steward I have ever had in 15 Celebrity cruises.  He was very experienced.  He told me that when he leaves the Millenium his next post will be on the Summit as he prefers M class ships and always requests to work on them.

My info came from two different officers I know from previous cruises.  I was on the Constellation 01/23/23 cruise when I asked  if it was fully staffed and pass count. The same answer from both was 1846 paying 20 non revenue and fully staffed and 40% of staff on 1st contract.

[Georgia_Peaches]

28 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Probably 40-60%.  Sleeping in suites and non-suites is also part of the experience and time on the ship.

I guess it's the hair-splitting that's off putting as it's assumed that @TeeRick was obviously referring to their waking hours.

[Cruise a holic]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Not trying to get in the middle, but we very easily spent the majority of our time in non suite areas when on Silhouette.  Aside from the time we spent sleeping in our cabin and the few stops we made in Michael's club, we were outside of suite areas.  We only ate in Luminae three times:  embarkation day lunch, debarkation day breakfast, and one other night for dinner.  I'm not sure how I would quantify my time into a percentage but I feel like we were in mostly non-suite areas the vast majority of our waking hours.

With th exception of Michaels club/aka the retreat and Luminae- really no other "suite area"  The e-class ships do have a really nice deck with water options.  That makes a great difference for a suite experience. We also being in a suite spent most of our time in non-suite areas on M and S class ships.  E class another level.

[cwayne]

1 hour ago, cruisin from florida said:

Maybe suite vs. Non-suite could be its own topic? This thread has definitely drifted.😁

Drifted???!!  😵 More like it flew off the rails!!

[cwayne]

57 minutes ago, weregoingcruising said:

My info came from two different officers I know from previous cruises.  I was on the Constellation 01/23/23 cruise when I asked  if it was fully staffed and pass count. The same answer from both was 1846 paying 20 non revenue and fully staffed and 40% of staff on 1st contract.

We were on the 1-23-23 Constellation as well!  

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Tried to scope out a reserved for suite guest area in the Solarium...none to be found.

 

I've never seen that listed as a perk for suites on X.

 

1 hour ago, randomcruise said:

My wife was on the Edge this fall in an ocean view cabin and had the "pleasure" of an entitled Retreat passenger push ahead of her and several others waiting politely in line to place a drink order while letting her and the rest of plebs know that it was his right as a Retreat guest to move ahead of other in line at the pool bar.

 

Sounds like someone who is used to the club level on MSC.

[Georgia_Peaches]

15 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

With th exception of Michaels club/aka the retreat and Luminae- really no other "suite area"  

YES!  Exactly why one might conclude that they spend 90% of their waking time in non-suite areas.  I'm hesitant to try the E class ships but maybe we will cave in at some point.  The Retreat sun deck, while beautiful in the pictures, does not appeal to me because I prefer the solarium.  OTOH, NCL's Haven and MSC's YC both have very nice suite enclaves and it's safe to say that while on those ships, I would easily spend 90% of both waking and sleeping time in them.

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 minutes ago, cwayne said:

Drifted???!!  😵 More like it flew off the rails!!

No doubt...I guess one could "pile on" about the decline of both suite and non-suite experiences...maybe that's how this started?

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

I've never seen that listed as a perk for suites on X.

On my first Celebrity cruise back in 2014 I actually saw a section of about 6 loungers behind a roped area with a sign that said "Reserved for Suite Guests."  This was on Constellation.  As we were in Aqua, we didn't qualify.  Haven't seen it since.

[Algebralovr]

We disembarked from Constellation Feb 13. I had a sky suite, our friends had concierge class.  Michael’s club and Luminae are the only Retreat areas.  
 

We mainly went to Michael’s Club for the officers receptions, to smile and shake hands.  Hubby went there a few times to get scones, since they didn’t have them in the Oceanview Cafe as previously.  
 

I had a delightful cruise.  The fact that the ship had 1900 guests on board (over 80% occupancy) was not super evident.  The fact that 40-45% of the crew was on their first contract WAS evident, but instead of complaining to each other, we provided feedback to management as we noticed things.  By the end of the cruise, we saw some positive changes in behavior among the crew. 
 

We have 5 more cruises booked in the next 2 years on Celebrity. Two in sky suites and 3 in CC or Verandas.  We look forward to all of them. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Algebralovr

[cwayne]

1 minute ago, Algebralovr said:

We disembarked from Constellation Feb 13. I had a sky suite, our friends had concierge class.  Michael’s club and Luminae are the only Retreat areas.  
 

We mainly went to Luminae for the officers receptions, to smile and shake hands.  Hubby went there a few times to get scones, since they didn’t have them in the Oceanview Cafe as previously.  
 

I had a delightful cruise.  The fact that the ship had 1900 guests on board (over 80% occupancy) was not super evident.  The fact that 40-45% of the crew was on their first contract WAS evident, but instead of complaining to each other, we provided feedback to management as we noticed things.  By the end of the cruise, we saw some positive changes in behavior among the crew. 
 

We have 5 more cruises booked in the next 2 years on Celebrity. Two in sky suites and 3 in CC or Verandas.  We look forward to all of them. 

We disembarked on the 3rd and due to the fog disembarked late. It was like getting another half a sea day and we all laughed because our menu in the dining room at lunch (since we were still onboard) said "Welcome Aboard Lunch".  We had a wonderful cruise as well and took home great memories of shared laughs and "new found" friends and crew.  We are at an age where we really do not sweat the small things anymore and are just happy that we can cruise.   We purchased 2 FCCs onboard and once home booked a b2b on the Equinox for next year. I'm returning that 3 lbs that I accidentally took home with me! 

[rmalbers]

17 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

She’s part of the top, she isn’t a dictator, there’s the X board she answers to and the X board answers to the parent company of RCG.  Anyways, on YouTube check out guga foods, he has a second channel of sous vide everything; he mostly does recipe/cooking experiments on steaks and has done many on the buck steak, Kobe and everything in between

Wait a minute, I'm fairly sure X doesn't have a board of directors, X is just a subsidiary.  The board of directories is at the RCG level. 

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I guess it's the hair-splitting that's off putting as it's assumed that @TeeRick was obviously referring to their waking hours.

Thanks Georgia.  I was very obviously reviewing my personal experience on a cruise Jan 2023 in the non-suite, non-dining areas of Equinox that I encountered.  I said nothing about my cabin or amount of time spent there.  It was about the service and staff in public areas accessible to all.  I even listed them.  If we cruise in a suite,  a significant amount of our waking time on a cruise is spent in the public areas on the ship.  That's it.  Not sure why this has become so controversial.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

42 minutes ago, rmalbers said:

Wait a minute, I'm fairly sure X doesn't have a board of directors, X is just a subsidiary.  The board of directories is at the RCG level. 

 

Very possible, I could stand corrected so thank you for pointing that out.  Yet my point remains that LLP has to answer to higher-ups, apparently RCG's board 

[JDPCruisers]

Everyone is different, but just in our experience having been on Infinity last October and Apex last April we have had no issues to cause us any real concerns. Ships were in great condition, service was very good as well as the food. Though, we can say that Raw on 5 was our least favorite mostly due to the slow service (but loved the oysters on the half-shell offered) which we did not experience in other venues, including the Laminae and the main dining rooms (dined in 2 of the 4). And, have actually the pasta bar and pizza in the OVC (can' say the same for Sorrentos for pizza on RC (just got off Allure).

 

We've had no issues with chairs in Solarium, though chair service can be very slow but that does not bother us as much as I don't mind visiting with the bartenders (I'm on old bar fly I guess!) and bringing drinks back.

 

Having booked Retreat suites, we enjoy the lounge (Millie and Apex) and Michael's Club (Infinity), especially the Retreat deck/pool/bar on Apex, and spend various amounts of time there but we are "roamers" and like to walk the ships. 

 

We are booked on Edge in ~7 weeks and, hopefully, will have the same very good experience. I'll report back for those that may be interested. 

 

[cruisin from florida]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

No doubt...I guess one could "pile on" about the decline of both suite and non-suite experiences...maybe that's how this started?

Well, it started because of a difference in perception about food and service levels between suite and non-suite reviewers. Which led to this. I think the biggest difference is that some of the biggest decline has been reported in the MDR. Suite folks are reporting that things are good at Luminae and specialty restaurants. Folks who don't make those choices with their vacation dollars are seeing declines in the MDR  and OV. Which really impacts the overall cruise experience.

[Keys Kathy]

1 hour ago, JDPCruisers said:

Everyone is different, but just in our experience having been on Infinity last October and Apex last April we have had no issues to cause us any real concerns. Ships were in great condition, service was very good as well as the food. Though, we can say that Raw on 5 was our least favorite mostly due to the slow service (but loved the oysters on the half-shell offered) which we did not experience in other venues, including the Laminae and the main dining rooms (dined in 2 of the 4). And, have actually the pasta bar and pizza in the OVC (can' say the same for Sorrentos for pizza on RC (just got off Allure).

 

We've had no issues with chairs in Solarium, though chair service can be very slow but that does not bother us as much as I don't mind visiting with the bartenders (I'm on old bar fly I guess!) and bringing drinks back.

 

Having booked Retreat suites, we enjoy the lounge (Millie and Apex) and Michael's Club (Infinity), especially the Retreat deck/pool/bar on Apex, and spend various amounts of time there but we are "roamers" and like to walk the ships. 

 

We are booked on Edge in ~7 weeks and, hopefully, will have the same very good experience. I'll report back for those that may be interested. 

 

The issue is not suites vs non-suites. It is 2022 experience vs 2023 experience. If you haven't been on X since the beginning of this year, you can't understand the severe changes that have been made. 

 

No ice buckets, no q-tips, having to ask for a bar of soap, watered-down shampoo and conditioner, severe cut-backs in the OV at dinner, and drastic changes in the MDR menu and quality. 

 

We had great experiences including Dec 17, 2022, not so in 2023.

[BPCW]

Forgot to add a funny (but odd) oversight coming off of Millennium this past Saturday.

 

 

First line on the white of the page “Disembarkation: Fort Lauderdale on Friday, February 11, 2023”

 

#1 - the ship disembarked in San Juan, PR…

#2 - we disembarked on Saturday (Friday, Feb 11 doesn’t exist)…

 

I’m not sure how Celebrity didn’t catch either mistake before sending it to 2,100 passengers. 

Meaningless mistake but it’s this lack of attention to detail that X was sooooo good at was made over and over and over for us last week. 

[Cruisegoer]

On 2/12/2023 at 1:18 AM, goofysmom99 said:

I'm taking two Summit cruises beginning next week where I hope to see for myself how things are.  I've pretty well committed to my November TA, but the cruises I've already booked for next year plus a few I was planning to book onboard will be hanging in the balance.  I love X but expect a certain value from them, especially at higher fares.  We shall see.

I was on Summit in July 202 and felt it was the test subject of the cutbacks (after having last sailed Celebrity in Feb 2022).  I'd like to hear your opinion but I think the passenger's frequency of cruising also plays a role in the opinion made.