Eliminating Butlers - Spoke to Celebrity. Here is conversation.

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, Susanb10567 said:

Wow that’s a huge decrease…obviously just another cost cutting measure…we booked a sky suite for my husband’s big birthday for Jan 2024 when it was just released…probably close to two years out by the times we sail…a little disappointed with how they are handling it…we have only sailed sky suites and have used butlers in different amounts..but we did an anniversary cruise on the Edge last September and our butler was wonderful in providing us surprises as well as my birthday cruise this past February..

 

I don’t like how you booked a suite being sold certain benefits and they just took them away without even notifying guests…that is terrible customer service..

 

The January cruise is our last in a sky suite…the prices have become outrageous…we have booked some Aqua going forward..I’ll see if we like it..

We have only sailed in Celebrity Retreat Suites since 2019, 5 cruises, and the product kept us from looking at other more premium and luxury lines. We have our September Apex and January Edge B2B cruises booked in Sky Suites, and unless some things change drastically, they will be our last. When prices are equal or less for premium and luxury lines why should we continue to sail in a lesser line? I will not sail in a non Suite on Celebrity when I can get a better deal on other mainstream cruise lines.

[chemmo]

11 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

 

 

4 to do the work of 16 previous butlers hardly sounds like a team and contradicts what Celebrity is telling us. I was told by Celebrity we would have a team of 8 to 10 butlers working all the Sky Suites on E Class ships. We board the Apex a month from today and I am not expecting the same level of service we had on previous Retreat cruises.

I guess it depends to some degree on how much work the remaining butlers do and how much is delegated to other teams. For example, mini bar refills may be done by a member of the bar team, in suite dining by members of the room service team…Since room service is now a payable option for other than suites I have wondered how many of that team were jobless…Probably cheaper for Celebrity to just have a few members of staff as butlers but delegate some of their roles to others on probably a lesser salary…

 

It will be interesting to see if other ships report similar reductions….

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

Ah the good old 'lean method' less people more work. If 16 people struggled managing all the suites I can hardly see how 4 are going to.

 

I suffered through this "lean method" with our previous financial planning company went from one dedicated person handling our account to a "Team". They used almost the same language as Celebrity about how a team would better take care of our accounts and how it would be an approvement. After a couple of months of zero service and returned phone calls, I jumped ship to my current company. 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

@sixpackeddieI wonder if the reduction from 12 to 3 includes 3 for upper level suites, or will one of the 3 be the Retreat Butler.

[sixpackeddie]

7 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

@sixpackeddieI wonder if the reduction from 12 to 3 includes 3 for upper level suites, or will one of the 3 be the Retreat Butler.

The reduction is strictly on Sky Suites and Aqua Sky Suites. The celebrity and suites above are not affected. Let’s see how this goes….

[OysterD]

48 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

 

 

4 to do the work of 16 previous butlers hardly sounds like a team and contradicts what Celebrity is telling us. I was told by Celebrity we would have a team of 8 to 10 butlers working all the Sky Suites on E Class ships. We board the Apex a month from today and I am not expecting the same level of service we had on previous Retreat cruises.

4 to do the work of 16 is not what was said. The quote was there will be 4 butlers remaining (presumably for upper suite cabins) and the SS are served by a team (who won't be referred to as butlers as has previously been stated multiple times). 

 

It's like Chinese whispers. Someone is told something on a ship by a butler, relays that message either in part or fully, but isn't clear exactly what is meant. Someone reads that message and (presumably because of inherent bias due to all 5000 posts hes made on the subject being complaints) takes the pessimistic view, jumps to a conclusion that there will only be 4 people in total doing the work 16 used to, and then everyone just keeps reiterating that, even though nobody has a clue!

 

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, OysterD said:

4 to do the work of 16 is not what was said. The quote was there will be 4 butlers remaining (presumably for upper suite cabins) and the SS are served by a team (who won't be referred to as butlers as has previously been stated multiple times). 

Got news for you, Celebrity still refers to the change as a team of "Butlers" in all communications to many like me. This has been stated multiple times on many social media sites. The term Butler is still being used by Celebrity even if in a team. 

[Jim_Iain]

43 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

@sixpackeddieI wonder if the reduction from 12 to 3 includes 3 for upper level suites, or will one of the 3 be the Retreat Butler.

While I don't know more than anyone else, but believe possibly the 3 butlers are for the CS and above and the others will be reclassified as Retreat Team.  

 

Having said that.   Was on Summit last year and due to staffing issues they only had 2 butlers to handle all the suites.   The butlers were not very visible as they were handling all the floors but didn't notice any drop in service.

[zitsky]

34 minutes ago, sixpackeddie said:

The reduction is strictly on Sky Suites and Aqua Sky Suites. The celebrity and suites above are not affected. Let’s see how this goes….

SS are the gateway to other suites.  Give me good service and I’ll keep sailing maybe in a bigger suite next time.

[NutsAboutGolf]

The next logical step is for them to quietly eliminate offered services

[terrydtx]

16 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

While I don't know more than anyone else, but believe possibly the 3 butlers are for the CS and above and the others will be reclassified as Retreat Team.  

 

Having said that.   Was on Summit last year and due to staffing issues they only had 2 butlers to handle all the suites.   The butlers were not very visible as they were handling all the floors but didn't notice any drop in service.

Jim, in the email communications I received from Celebrity Executive offices they are referring the new change to as the "Retreat Butler Team." It is very confusing as to whether they are Butlers or in reality, glorified room service attendants. The email I received last month from one of our previous butlers that we have stayed in contact with explained that the new teams on his ship were from a pool of the newest hired butlers with the least experience. The more experienced butlers like him, were retained for the higher suites.

Edited August 14, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

The next logical step is for them to quietly eliminate offered services

I will not be surprised if we see more changes by the time we take our two Edge cruises in January in the Retreat.

[terrydtx]

Here is another wrinkle in the butler, no butler debate.  A person in our Roll Call, on the social media site we can't mention, posted that she won a move up bid from Aqua to a Sky Suite and in her communication on the move up bid was told she would not have the team of Butlers or personal concierges as a perk. The communication mentioned only passengers who originally booked sky suites will have the team of butlers. No confirmation if this is the case, only posting what she posted. She is not happy as having a butler was one of the primary reasons she made the bid.

[Lena11033]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Here is another wrinkle in the butler, no butler debate.  A person in our Roll Call, on the social media site we can't mention, posted that she won a move up bid from Aqua to a Sky Suite and in her communication on the move up bid was told she would not have the team of Butlers or personal concierges as a perk. The communication mentioned only passengers who originally booked sky suites will have the team of butlers. No confirmation if this is the case, only posting what she posted. She is not happy as having a butler was one of the primary reasons she made the bid.

 

So if it is right then basically the only things they would get is Luminae and the retreat deck? 

I have a while until my next cruise so won't be getting a move up offer for a while, I guess I should appreciate I have a Celebrity suite as it's probably now the only time I'll have a suite 🤣

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Here is another wrinkle in the butler, no butler debate.  A person in our Roll Call, on the social media site we can't mention, posted that she won a move up bid from Aqua to a Sky Suite and in her communication on the move up bid was told she would not have the team of Butlers or personal concierges as a perk. The communication mentioned only passengers who originally booked sky suites will have the team of butlers. No confirmation if this is the case, only posting what she posted. She is not happy as having a butler was one of the primary reasons she made the bid.

 

Did she post an actual screenshot or just said it?  Don't need to personally see it but a screenshot holds a lot more weight than just a claim

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 minute ago, Lena11033 said:

 

So if it is right then basically the only things they would get is Luminae and the retreat deck? 

I have a while until my next cruise so won't be getting a move up offer for a while, I guess I should appreciate I have a Celebrity suite as it's probably now the only time I'll have a suite 🤣

 

Maybe those are on the chopping block as well

[Lena11033]

2 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Maybe those are on the chopping block as well

Honestly I agree with you there, I think they will slowly change it to match the junior suites on Royal but they are pricing people out of being about to afford anything.

I was watching a YouTube video of even complaints about the charges Royal was making they were triple of what they were a few years ago.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I see them downgrading the beverage package and OBC for Sky Suites. I don't see them eliminating Luminae as this would overwhelm the MDR and Luminae would have very few diners. Not sure what I think about eliminating Retreat access.

[LMHSRN]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

 

 

4 to do the work of 16 previous butlers hardly sounds like a team and contradicts what Celebrity is telling us. I was told by Celebrity we would have a team of 8 to 10 butlers working all the Sky Suites on E Class ships. We board the Apex a month from today and I am not expecting the same level of service we had on previous Retreat cruises.

Looks like you will be kissing your two times daily service from a Butler to maybe a team?

This change is probably because so many cabins utilized the Butlers so much others didn't get a chance at the same service.  Know what I mean?  I'm just sayin!

[jelayne]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We have only sailed in Celebrity Retreat Suites since 2019, 5 cruises, and the product kept us from looking at other more premium and luxury lines. We have our September Apex and January Edge B2B cruises booked in Sky Suites, and unless some things change drastically, they will be our last. When prices are equal or less for premium and luxury lines why should we continue to sail in a lesser line? I will not sail in a non Suite on Celebrity when I can get a better deal on other mainstream cruise lines.

Oceania if I recall from earlier posts.

[bnurick]

Wonder what happens if you MoveUp from a SS to a RS?

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Did she post an actual screenshot or just said it?  Don't need to personally see it but a screenshot holds a lot more weight than just a claim

I have asked if this person would share with a screenshot, I will let you know if she does.

[weregoingcruising]

On 8/12/2023 at 8:48 AM, terrydtx said:

It doesn't seem to stop you as well!!!! 

If the shoe fits then wear it.

[weregoingcruising]

Sounds like the suite life is turning sour.

[hcat]

On 8/13/2023 at 9:55 AM, TeeRick said:

It seems to me anyway that some sort of blended plan might work for suites.  When you board (or before), you choose a Team Butler approach or an Individual Dedicated Butler approach (who has a number of suites as before).  All suites must choose, not just Sky Suites.  I think from reading the comments here, quite a few would choose the Team approach since they use the Butler service for mainly routine things.  But if you want an individual because you use them a lot then that could be accommodated.

too complicated for X to handle.. if Team approach  is the way..then lower level suites will get the Team.