Royal Suite/Penthouse - Help with Shoreside Requests

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

Then why have butlers?

Concierges won't bring you meals to your stateroom or other personal services.

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

Concierges won't bring you meals to your stateroom or other personal services.

It won’t be good if the rumors are true.  I’m just getting used to having one.

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

It won’t be good if the rumors are true.  I’m just getting used to having one.

It's quite clear to me that the rumors are true. It's been said many times on this board that the best butlers are proactive, not reactive. This will no longer be a possibility in Sky Suites.

[zitsky]

If it’s true that butlers are gone from Sky Suites, are there other companies that still offer something similar in that category?

 

I would be surprised if they made this change and you couldn’t cancel your booking.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

If it’s true that butlers are gone from Sky Suites, are there other companies that still offer something similar in that category?

 

I would be surprised if they made this change and you couldn’t cancel your booking.

Be prepared to be surprised unless you have a refundable deposit and it is not past final payment date.

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Be prepared to be surprised unless you have a refundable deposit and it is not past final payment date.

I don’t know if it’s possible but I may try to move down to Aqua class if we can find a quiet cabin for our Jan 2025 sailing.

[jagoffee]

14 hours ago, zitsky said:

I don’t know if it’s possible but I may try to move down to Aqua class if we can find a quiet cabin for our Jan 2025 sailing.

Have you ever cruised in a Celebrity suite with a Butler?

 

[George C]

No butler means one less person I will tip 😁😁

[zitsky]

8 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Have you ever cruised in a Celebrity suite with a Butler?

 

Yes.  6 weeks ago.  Sky Suite.

Edited July 31, 2023 by zitsky

[jagoffee]

On 7/30/2023 at 7:17 AM, zitsky said:

I don’t know if it’s possible but I may try to move down to Aqua class if we can find a quiet cabin for our Jan 2025 sailing.

 

11 hours ago, zitsky said:

Yes.  6 weeks ago.  Sky Suite.

Your experience was different than mine related to a Butler.  I do not consider the Butler feature high on my list of suite benefits.  I am sure the shared resource will more than meet my needs.  I always find it a little confusing as to the responsibilities between the cabin steward, butler, and retreat staff.

 

When I sail in a suite on Princess, the cabin steward more than meets my needs.

 

i would never give up a suite due to the lack of a butler. They are not 100% dedicated to anyone.

 

Happy sailing.

[Stu UK]

We sail in a PH on Ascent next month. Do the in suite spirits / wine get replaced if consumed?  Also wondering when entertaining guests in PH suite (all who will be Retreat guests with premium drinks package) will butler provide extra wine etc?

[chemmo]

57 minutes ago, Stu UK said:

We sail in a PH on Ascent next month. Do the in suite spirits / wine get replaced if consumed?  Also wondering when entertaining guests in PH suite (all who will be Retreat guests with premium drinks package) will butler provide extra wine etc?

We have never emptied a bottle but were offered an additional bottle by the concierge on a TP. On one occasion when cruising as a three the butler noticed that we were returning to the suite with glasses and realised the three of us enjoyed different late night tipples and provided an extra spirit. This has never happened on future cruises but they have arranged a ‘large measure’ of the spirit we didn’t have to be left covered in our suite each evening as we return…

 

Historically you get cold platters and fruit juices etc free and pay for hot platters and alcoholic beverages regardless of who your guests are. When I say ‘historically’ I simply mean from personal experience over the years when we have entertained in these suites.
 

When we were hosting a small sail away party from Sydney we took on board two bottles of fizz plus we had the one in our stateroom and our butler put them all on ice. As there were only 10 of us that was enough. The cold plates included, shrimp, cheese and cold starter selection…Loads and good quality. We had asked the shore side concierge and they told us the ‘historical’ information as above. Champagne was going to be $$$. Hence we took our own on board!

 

When we held a more impromptu get together (not planned pre cruise) on a different cruise we asked our butler if it was possible to turn our white rum into a cocktail which he happily did, ample for the 12 people we had invited and tasty, snacks similar. No cost to us on either occasion other than decent tips to our butler. We didn’t ask for the white rum to be replaced and it wasn’t. 

 

When we cruised on Summit (PH) our PH neighbours invited us to their room for a much larger get together than we have ever held he told us that he had paid for hot starters and the flowing fizz. I obviously didn’t ask him how much…

 

I strongly suggest you ask the shore side concierge what the situation is before boarding. Then you can simply relax about it if they say ‘free’, bite the bullet if it is going to be expensive or look for simple solutions. Obviously if you are cruising with friends/family you could simply ask everyone to bring their welcome aboard fizz. If you are arranging something through your roll call you could ask everyone to bring a bottle on board with them. Alternatively do as we did and choose a bottle of spirit you can turn into a fruit punch…

 

It would be useful if you could report back on what the shoreside concierge says…

Edited September 5 by chemmo

[dcbiker97]

6 hours ago, Stu UK said:

We sail in a PH on Ascent next month. Do the in suite spirits / wine get replaced if consumed?  Also wondering when entertaining guests in PH suite (all who will be Retreat guests with premium drinks package) will butler provide extra wine etc?

Our experience has been somewhat different than @chemmo but I chalk that up to different ships and butlers, not “official policy.”  When we’ve thrown parties in a RS or PH cold appetizers were complimentary and the butler brought in wine and prosecco at no charge to us.  We didn’t ask for spirits, as  I assumed there’d be a charge. But we’ve always gotten free wine. It’s best to ask the butler what they can do since it seems to be ship dependent. 

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, dcbiker97 said:

Our experience has been somewhat different than @chemmo but I chalk that up to different ships and butlers, not “official policy.”  When we’ve thrown parties in a RS or PH cold appetizers were complimentary and the butler brought in wine and prosecco at no charge to us.  We didn’t ask for spirits, as  I assumed there’d be a charge. But we’ve always gotten free wine. It’s best to ask the butler what they can do since it seems to be ship dependent. 

Agree. So many things seem ship dependent. As I say, only once were we offered a third bottle of spirits out of numerous cruises and we were then in a RS not a PH  although we must have had nearly a bottle brought to our room in covered glasses!

 

On our sailing from Sydney we had to go via the shoreside concierge as our little party was a reunion/sail away and I would never board at 11.30am and ask the butler to arrange a party last minute.

 

I guess size of party is a factor too. 4 bottles of wine for a party of 8/10 no big deal but if your party was 15 guests+…

 

Then if, as in the case of Stu UK, all your guests are Retreat and have a drinks package could be a deciding factor. Logic would say that there is no difference between giving this group drinks in the PH vs Retreat Lounge but logic doesn’t always apply. I do know of one family group of ten, all in Retreat where they were definitely charged for sparkling wine and mixed hot and cold platters.

 

I guess if it isn’t first night you are better waiting to board then discussing with your butler what you can have…

 

It will be interesting to read the experiences of others. 

 

I think a final point is regarding asking…We have never requested extra spirits, wine or fizz…We have always assumed there would be a charge.

[canderson]

11 hours ago, Stu UK said:

We sail in a PH on Ascent next month. Do the in suite spirits / wine get replaced if consumed? 

Maybe yes, maybe no.  A couple of years ago, we pre-arranged with the shoreside concierge to swap out the ~gallon (would have been 4x 1L bottles!) of spirits on a B2B for a couple of bottles of a nice Barolo, and unexpectedly, it kept being replenished.  Don't know if that was at the direction of the Hotel Director or whether it was a pro-active butler with a lot of leeway to make our voyage more pleasant.  (We didn't ask!)

[Stu UK]

Thanks folks. Sounds like a discussion onboard is best way to go. 

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, Stu UK said:

Thanks folks. Sounds like a discussion onboard is best way to go. 

Let us know how you get on…

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/4/2024 at 9:51 PM, Stu UK said:

We sail in a PH on Ascent next month. Do the in suite spirits / wine get replaced if consumed?  Also wondering when entertaining guests in PH suite (all who will be Retreat guests with premium drinks package) will butler provide extra wine etc?

Generally no.  

 

I would have to say that since I don't drink - Iain has never gone through 2 Liter Bottles even on a 2 week cruise.

 

 

[jelayne]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Generally no.  

 

I would have to say that since I don't drink - Iain has never gone through 2 Liter Bottles even on a 2 week cruise.

 

 

We do drink but, but still didn’t get through 1 in 15 nights.  We can sit at home, with a drink and look at each other.  Onboard we spend time out and around the ship.

[bjahil47]

Last year in a RS we asked Shoreside Concierge about a get together.  I never mentioned drinks, just some shrimp and cheese for about 10 people.  They wanted to charge me per person.  I said no thanks.  The feedback I received from other cruisers was do not ask shoreside concierge, ask your butler when aboard.

[Jim_Iain]

40 minutes ago, bjahil47 said:

Last year in a RS we asked Shoreside Concierge about a get together.  I never mentioned drinks, just some shrimp and cheese for about 10 people.  They wanted to charge me per person.  I said no thanks.  The feedback I received from other cruisers was do not ask shoreside concierge, ask your butler when aboard.

 

Would have to agree.   I've had numerous get together in RS and PS's with anywhere from 4 guests up to a whopping 30 guest CC party I once held.   I have never been charged and the Butlers did a fantastic spread.   Some have even comped a couple bottles of wine.     Obviously he earned a very nice tip.

 

For the large party he setup and stayed around to greet guests, answer the door, served drinks and the best part that when we came back from dinner the room was returned to it's original condition. 

[Jim_Iain]

This is a spread they did for Iain's Birthday in a RS  for 4 of us.  FYI - We hadn't requested anything.   Just a good Butler who was intuitive.

 

Unfortunately it was almost all waste as we were going to Eden for Dinner and just nibbled a little. 

 

 

Edited September 7 by Jim_Iain

[canderson]

Something new in the email this year - a full list of the beers that can be requested is embedded in the email itself, and it's a much larger than the list that used to be included in the Beverage.pdf file that was attached to the email that included the booze, soft drinks, mixers, etc.  Not sure when this changed as we haven't sailed with Celebrity since Fall 2022.

 

Old List:

 

Bud Light
Budweiser
Coors Lite
Miller Lite
Heineken Light
Heineken
Corona
Blue Moon
Red Stripe
Sam Adams
Dos Equis
Peroni
Guinness Stout
Newcastle Ale
Stella Artois
Sierra Nevada
Magners
Strongbow Hard Cider
O’Doul’s (alcohol-free)

 

 

New List:

 

Alcoholic Beers

•        Budweiser

•        Bud Light

•        Coors Light

•        Corona

•        Heineken

•        Miller Lite

•        Michelob Ultra

•        Kirin

•        Kirin Light

•        Moretti

•        Franziskaner

•        Newcastle Brown Ale

•        Strongbow Cider

•        Anchor Steam

•        Blue Moon

•        Blue Moon Haze

•        Dogfish Head 90 minute

•        Guinness

•        Kronenbourg 1664

•        La Fin du Monde

•        Leffe Blonde Rogue

•        Dead Guy Ale

•        Lagunitas Ale

•        Paulaner Salvator

•        Terrapin Luau

•        Ommegang Abbey Ale

•        Sapporo

•        Sierra Nevada

•        Grolsch

•        Peroni

•        Stella Artois

•        Ketel One Spritz

•        Topo Chico Seltzer

Non-alcoholic Beers

•        Heineken 0.0 bottle