NOW I have a problem with the new Suite policies

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, emmas gran said:

A thought about the Butlers and Retreat team, I have 40 nights on Edge and travelling solo in a Sky suite the gratuity for this will be $50 per day so $2000 for the cruise, who will be getting this??

 I would assume it will be divided between the ‘team’. It does seem a lot of $$$ for a single guest even with that length of voyage…

 

If you did get fantastic service I am sure you wouldn’t mind…You were content to pay it for a personalised service but will the ‘new’ system work for you? Will the team service level be worth the gratuities? Not even taking into account the % add on for butler service in a suite vs other price of another room…

 

I must confess that one of the reasons for booking a suite with a butler for us over the years has been support with some mobility issues. It has been nice knowing we can avoid queues, knowing we can have things delivered to our room, knowing our room will be stocked with items we want. Not just drinks but sliced lemons, a real fruit plate…Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t used the butler intensively to fetch, bring and carry but we have always known we can ask or ring him.

 

I am sure that we are not the only suite guests who have booked rooms with butlers to help in this way…

 

 

[hcat]

Sky Suite grats for Team Butlers  vs indiv Butler service should be  reduced..lesser level of service.

 

Are suite grats mandatory or suggested?  

 

We gave extra grats for our Sky Suite on Beyond even though our Butler was in overdrive..tried too hard to please!

 

But for a Team we would not tip extra..the Team is not an indiv Butler unless Team divides up cabins?

[TeeRick]

5 hours ago, emmas gran said:

A thought about the Butlers and Retreat team, I have 40 nights on Edge and travelling solo in a Sky suite the gratuity for this will be $50 per day so $2000 for the cruise, who will be getting this??

This was brought up on another of the Butler threads (the one on gratuities).  The automated tips paid in Sky Suites has not changed.  These tips are portioned out to various staff, including butlers.   But butlers have been reduced from 10+ to 2.  So who gets the portion previously paid to the eliminated butlers?  Does it all go to the 2 remaining (doubt it)?  Extra to Sky suite cabin stewards or Luminae staff?  Should the daily tip amount for Sky Suites now be reduced a bit?

[Silkroad]

On 8/22/2023 at 9:52 PM, terrydtx said:

We will be on the Apex in 3 weeks and will find out for ourselves what this new Team will do and will not do compared to our past butler experiences. 

Terry, I hope you’ll post your thoughts about your experiences on this forum. We’re just off a b2b on Apex. We were in a Sky Suite for the Norway leg, but moved to an Aqua Sky Suite for the Iceland leg. We had different Butlers and Stateroom Attendants for the two suites. Others have already posted details - and speculation- about what exactly will be provided to Sky Suite passengers in future.
 

While aboard, I had several conversations with the Retreat Hosts and our Butlers. FWIW, both our Butlers were moving to Guest Relations immediately after our b2b. I heard that others were moving to other positions or going home. I heard nothing to suggest that there would be additions to the Retreat Host team, but I was assured that Sky Suite guests would be “well taken care of” by a Retreat “team”. All a bit vague, but my sense was that the Retreat team, Butlers and Stateroom Attendants were learning details about changes (and trying to prepare for them) while still trying to provide excellent service to those of us onboard. 

[DaKahuna]

I have been mulling this around the in the back of my mind and just reached the point where I need to express my thoughts on this situation. 

 

We have sailed in Sky Suites numerous times and have never experienced a 'dedicated butler.'  The butler we have had has always been shared with other suites.  Yes, it was predominately the same individual every time but there were those rare occasions when he was busy with other guest that another butler would service our request.

 

With regard to gratuities, we have, with one exception on Edge, always received over and beyond service from butler's on celebrity and thus have always found it worth of additional gratuities at the end of the cruise.  Should we not receive over and beyond service from the new butler team, then we will not do additional gratuities at the end of the cruise.  I see no reason to reduce to be concerned about the distribution of pre-paid gratuities that were included in the cost of my suite. 

 

We do not sail until May of next year so I am sure there will be sufficient feedback between now and then to see how this all plays out. 

 

[OceanCruise]

Although tips will go to the "Retreat team" according to the website, it seems to me that it will now be awkward not to tip the random team member who delivers our room service breakfast or coffee/snacks in the afternoon even though this service is a perk of the Sky Suite.  We would always tip our dedicated butler and room steward extra at the end of the cruise but will the random room service delivery people expect an additional tip each time we get something delivered?

[terrydtx]

25 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Terry, I hope you’ll post your thoughts about your experiences on this forum. We’re just off a b2b on Apex. We were in a Sky Suite for the Norway leg, but moved to an Aqua Sky Suite for the Iceland leg. We had different Butlers and Stateroom Attendants for the two suites. Others have already posted details - and speculation- about what exactly will be provided to Sky Suite passengers in future.
 

While aboard, I had several conversations with the Retreat Hosts and our Butlers. FWIW, both our Butlers were moving to Guest Relations immediately after our b2b. I heard that others were moving to other positions or going home. I heard nothing to suggest that there would be additions to the Retreat Host team, but I was assured that Sky Suite guests would be “well taken care of” by a Retreat “team”. All a bit vague, but my sense was that the Retreat team, Butlers and Stateroom Attendants were learning details about changes (and trying to prepare for them) while still trying to provide excellent service to those of us onboard. 

Oh I will be very vocal on CC and the other social media site if we do not get the same level of service as in the past. I believe your cruise was the last one on the Apex before the changes went into effect on this past Monday.  I have seen posts this week on another social media site, that on the E class ships that already made the change, the 130 Sky Suites on them are now being served by only 5 total butlers, not much of a team, IMO.

Edited August 24, 2023 by terrydtx

[bnurick]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Oh I will be very vocal on CC and the other social media site if we do not get the same level of service as in the past. I believe your cruise was the last one on the Apex before the changes went into effect on this past Monday.  I have seen posts this week on another social media site, that on the E class ships that already made the change, the 130 Sky Suites on them are now being served by only 5 total butlers, not much of a team, IMO.

 

This was a pure money savings play with a 'no change' spin.

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Oh I will be very vocal on CC and the other social media site if we do not get the same level of service as in the past. I believe your cruise was the last one on the Apex before the changes went into effect on this past Monday.  I have seen posts this week on another social media site, that on the E class ships that already made the change, the 130 Sky Suites on them are now being served by only 5 total butlers, not much of a team, IMO.

Terry, the ‘level of service’ you have described you have received in the past in a Sky Suite has by my interpretation, exceeded by a long way the listed Sky Suite butler service. I know I, along with many other regular upper suite guests, have commented more than once that you have frequently had perks that we have not expected or asked for and if offered would be considered a ‘treat’ not a right…

 

We have, even when staying in the PH, not regularly expected drinks or bottles of wine delivered to our suite. If our butler has arranged things like this for us then we have said thank you but not necessarily expected it the next cruise because it isn’t in the list of PH perks…More often than not if we wanted a drink not in our bar set up we would simply go and get it.

 

I care very much about the reduction in butler service to Sky Suites. I do think to remove a ‘perk’ people have paid for is wrong. I sincerely hope that Celebrity will make every effort to ensure all Sky Suite guests receive a great service. However, if some Sky Suite guests are expecting service above that offered to higher suites it definitely won’t work…

 

As I have said in the past, good luck to you for having received such above and beyond service on multiple occasions but I don’t think your past experience particularly reflects the expectation or experience of most suite cruisers…This is in no way a personal ‘go’ at you…I hope you know the nature of my posts too well to think that. I do just think you have been very lucky in your past experiences.

Edited August 24, 2023 by chemmo

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Terry, the ‘level of service’ you have described you have received in the past in a Sky Suite has by my interpretation exceeded by a long way the listed Sky Suite butler service. I know I, along with many other regular upper suite guests, have commented more than once that you have frequently had perks that we have not expected or asked for and if offered would be considered a ‘treat’ not a right…

 

We have, even when staying in the PH, not regularly expected drinks or bottles of wine delivered to our suite. If our butler has arranged things like this for us then we have said thank you but not necessarily expected it the next cruise because it isn’t in the list of PH perks…More often than not if we wanted a drink not in our bar set up we would simply go and get it.

 

I care very much about the reduction in butler service to Sky Suites. I do think to remove a ‘perk’ people have paid for is wrong. I sincerely hope that Celebrity will make every effort to ensure all Sky Suite guests receive a great service. However, if some Sky Suite guests are expecting service above that offered to higher suites it definitely won’t work…

 

As I have said in the past, good luck to you for having received such above and beyond service on multiple occasions but I don’t think your past experience particularly reflects the expectation or experience of most suite cruisers…

Chemo, you and I have had this discussion on several threads and on all of our past 4 Sky Suites cruises we had the service from all of our butlers that I have described. Many others on CC and other social media sites have also posted they received the same service we described. I had every butler since Covid tell me that our Premium drinks package included the wine, beer and bottled water in our mini fridge along with bringing drinks from the bars to our cabin. When I am told this by a representative of Celebrity, the butler, it has to be part of the Celebrity policy. If we get anything less next month, it will be deemed to be a reduction in services by our new butler team. From what has been posted so far this is the case on current cruises. 

Edited August 24, 2023 by terrydtx

[Veinless]

Agree with Terry here. I don't care what it said on paper, in practice the mini fridges were always kept full without batting an eye.

[sixpackeddie]

4 minutes ago, Veinless said:

Agree with Terry here. I don't care what it said on paper, in practice the mini fridges were always kept full without batting an eye.

Yes correct that was our experience as well. Our mini fridge was always stocked with beer and iced tea. I did confirm that this will no longer happen for sky suite guests as there is no longer a dedicated butler to stock the fridge.

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, Veinless said:

Agree with Terry here. I don't care what it said on paper, in practice the mini fridges were always kept full without batting an eye.

On our Equinox cruise 2 months ago, our butler also supplied us with flavored vitamin water for our 12 year old granddaughter who was in the suite with us. She does not like any soda other than Dr Pepper which was not available on the ship, so our butler, unasked, supplied the Vitamin water.

 

Also on the cruise our GD who is also extremely lactose intolerant ordered lactose free milk our first morning with her cereal on room service. Our butler called us before the delivery that he could not find any lactose free milk anywhere on the ship. Turned out later it was not loaded on the ship in FLL. He then called back to say he found coconut milk at one of the bars and brought that every morning thereafter for her.  We had problems finding deserts that our GD could eat without milk, cream or butter. Our butler got with the Luminae chef and came up with a chocolate mousse made with coconut milk and had it delivered to our cabin for the GD every afternoon. Now, will I get this kind of service from a butler team? I really doubt this. 

Edited August 24, 2023 by terrydtx

[Silkroad]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I believe your cruise was the last one on the Apex before the changes went into effect on this past Monday.

You are correct. The change was effective on the cruise after ours, for those embarking on 8/21. I do want to add that because only half our cruises have been in suites, we have far less experience with Sky Suite benefits than many on this forum. Though we don’t request much from our Butlers, our experiences have been mixed. I will say that our Edge class Butlers have been first rate. I shall miss the small, but impactful, ways they have made our cruise experiences better. I do hope that all the vanishing Butlers have a soft landing going forward.

[jelayne]

3 hours ago, hcat said:

Sky Suite grats for Team Butlers  vs indiv Butler service should be  reduced..lesser level of service.

 

Are suite grats mandatory or suggested?  

 

We gave extra grats for our Sky Suite on Beyond even though our Butler was in overdrive..tried too hard to please!

 

But for a Team we would not tip extra..the Team is not an indiv Butler unless Team divides up cabins?

They are included in the price of a suite. 

[chemmo]

56 minutes ago, Veinless said:

Agree with Terry here. I don't care what it said on paper, in practice the mini fridges were always kept full without batting an eye.

It was more the ‘whole picture’ I was referring to. I am aware that most of the time SS fridges were filled up, that is great…no issue with that. I don’t have an issue with any of the perks that Terry has enjoyed. However, if every Sky Suite guests expects their butler to bring drinks from the bar it puts pressure on the service…As I said, even when in a higher suite, I wouldn’t expect this as  common practice…Nice when offered but it isn’t a listed perk…Can you imagine if everyone at 4pm rang their butler for their martini to be brought to their room? 
 

The point I was simply trying to make was it is hard to know now what SS butler service was before the change…Some SS guests reporting above and beyond service whilst others reported their butler was more or less invisible…Perhaps some of the invisible butlers were so because they were tending to the needs of those expecting more…

 

Just an observation not a judgement…

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by chemmo

[Pinboy]

20 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Now, will I get this kind of service from a butler team? I really doubt this. 

IMO--- Totally agree !!

As mentioned several times, we don't stay in a suite because we are non-drinkers and would not require the services offered by a Butler or team of.

Folks that stay in a suite ( and it appears that there are many on CC ) are absolutely correct in that they are, forget the term " entitled " , insert the term " required " to receive the services and benefits attached to their reservation ( booking ).

Celebrity's Management must have given some very serious thought ( cost vs satisfaction ) before instituting a Butler team rather than a dedicated Butler to service X number of suites.

Based on what I'm reading, Celebrity is taking much too big a risk in upsetting and/or losing many longtime loyal suite customers.

 

 

 

[JDPCruisers]

41 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

On our Equinox cruise 2 months ago, our butler also supplied us with flavored vitamin water for our 12 year old granddaughter who was in the suite with us. She does not like any soda other than Dr Pepper which was not available on the ship, so our butler, unasked, supplied the Vitamin water.

 

Also on the cruise our GD who is also extremely lactose intolerant ordered lactose free milk our first morning with her cereal on room service. Our butler called us before the delivery that he could not find any lactose free milk anywhere on the ship. Turned out later it was not loaded on the ship in FLL. He then called back to say he found coconut milk at one of the bars and brought that every morning thereafter for her.  We had problems finding deserts that our GD could eat without milk, cream or butter. Our butler got with the Luminae chef and came up with a chocolate mousse made with coconut milk and had it delivered to our cabin for the GD every afternoon. Now, will I get this kind of service from a butler team? I really doubt this. 

This is level of service and care we previously experienced with our dedicated butler in Sky suites. I, too, doubt that the butler team could deliver that level of service no matter how much they may want to. I feel for them with these changes, must be a big adjustment to what they have been trained, and for some we have spoken with, desire to do as their profession. From our experiences, all respect to them.

[terrydtx]

48 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Also on the cruise our GD who is also extremely lactose intolerant ordered lactose free milk our first morning with her cereal on room service. Our butler called us before the delivery that he could not find any lactose free milk anywhere on the ship. Turned out later it was not loaded on the ship in FLL. He then called back to say he found coconut milk at one of the bars and brought that every morning thereafter for her.  We had problems finding deserts that our GD could eat without milk, cream or butter. Our butler got with the Luminae chef and came up with a chocolate mousse made with coconut milk and had it delivered to our cabin for the GD every afternoon. Now, will I get this kind of service from a butler team? I really doubt this. 

I need to add to this. On that cruise our butler later told me that the standard room service people had been substituting skim milk for lactose free milk on room service orders. If our butler had not been so diligent or if we were under the current new butler system our granddaughter would have unknowingly been served lactose loaded skim milk which could have put her in the hospital or ship's medical center. Now that butlers no longer deliver the room service breakfast this could have been a reality for us.

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I had every butler since Covid tell me that our Premium drinks package included the wine, beer and bottled water in our mini fridge along with bringing drinks from the bars to our cabin.

We have had most butlers (since late 2019) offer to stock our mini fridge/counter with beer and bottled water. We have never been offered more than the “welcome” bottle of wine, and we’ve certainly not been offered cocktails from bars en suite. It wouldn’t occur to us to ask for these things. I drink a lot of water, so I have greatly appreciated our butlers’ efforts to keep our suites well supplied with large bottles of Premium water.
 

Though we’ve been quite happy having my waters and DH’s beers supplied for us, I’ve never thought these were standard items for Sky Suites. I’m afraid the halcyon mini fridge days are over. I had a chance to take a quick pic of two flyers that were staged to be placed in Sky Suites the day we disembarked (8/21). 
 

Edited August 24, 2023 by Silkroad

[terrydtx]

9 minutes ago, JDPCruisers said:

This is level of service and care we previously experienced with our dedicated butler in Sky suites. I, too, doubt that the butler team could deliver that level of service no matter how much they may want to. I feel for them with these changes, must be a big adjustment to what they have been trained, and for some we have spoken with, desire to do as their profession. From our experiences, all respect to them.

Our butler on the Equinox in June was Katarina from Ukraine. Before any of us knew about the butler changes, she expressed in a conversation one afternoon that her current contract was up the end of August and so far, she had not been offered a new contract. I asked her what happens if they do not renew her contract, she said she would have to go back to Ukraine, and that really frightened her. I sure hope she got her contract renewed.

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

We have had most butlers (since late 2019) offer to stock our mini fridge/counter with beer and bottled water. We have never been offered more than the “welcome” bottle of wine, and we’ve certainly not been offered cocktails from bars en suite. It wouldn’t occur to us to ask for these things. I drink a lot of water, so I have greatly appreciated our butlers’ efforts to keep our suites well supplied with large bottles of Premium water.
 

Though we’ve been quite happy having my waters and DH’s beers supplied for us, I’ve never thought these were standard items for Sky Suites. I’m afraid the halcyon mini fridge days are over. I had a chance to take a quick pic of two flyers that were staged to be placed in Sky Suites the day we disembarked (8/21). 
 

I have never seen that bar menu on any of our past SS cruises, and we have always received unlimited Evian bottled water without even asking and at no charge. If this is the case now, we will still have our min bar emptied and bring back bottled water and beer from the Retreat Lounge. My DW and I normally drink 2-3 bottles of Evain a day and no way I will pay for them now. 

Edited August 24, 2023 by terrydtx

[Cap_D]

Butlers were and are one of the last lines of defense or only access point to what is available in the ship but not accessible to a guest.  Intercepting milk with lactose because the room service has no QC or management, locating the vitamin water that is onboard and part of the drink package, but never readily available, helping stock water (so a guest doesn't need to carry around a handful of waters), working the system to provide a dessert that meets a dietary need, remembering a preference, and so on.  They were a bit of glue and a face for what could otherwise be a faceless experience that is left to corporate parameters and chance (e.g., that anyone else is paying attention).  

 

When posters talk about Celebrity and past experiences, it's examples like the ones above that have created repeat customers and satisfaction, and cost the company very little compared to finding a new customer to churn through.  It's also what makes the Retreat worth a premium, as it has provided a hedge against a potentially bad experience with no options for # of days.  We had read about it when considering our first booking, and experienced it first hand on our cruises.  Now if anyone looks or starts to hear about any of this, the impression will be entirely different.  Corporate doesn't seem to care, and it seems anyone servicing a Retreat guest will be incentivised to do the minimum, and maybe penalized if they go above and beyond for customer satisfaction, etc. 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by Cap_D

[Silkroad]

14 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I have never seen that bar menu on any of our past SS cruises, and we have always received unlimited Evian bottled water without even asking and at no charge. If this is the case now, we will still have our min bar emptied and bring back bottled water and beer from the Retreat Lounge. My DW and I normally drink 2-3 bottles of Evain a day and no way I will pay for them now. 

As I said, these flyers were staged for placement in Sky Suites the day we disembarked, meaning those who embarked on 8/21 would have found them prominently placed in their Sky Suites. Going forward, what happens in practice is unclear, but X is clearly stating that beverages supplied to Sky Suites are not covered in beverage packages. Perhaps those who are currently onboard will share their experiences.

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

Butlers were and are one of the last lines of defense or only access point to what is available in the ship but not accessible to a guest.  Intercepting milk with lactose because the room service has no QC or management, locating the vitamin water that is onboard and part of the drink package, but never readily available, helping stock water (so a guest doesn't need to carry around a handful of waters), working the system to provide a dessert that meets a dietary need, remembering a preference, and so on.  They were a bit of glue and a face for what could otherwise be a faceless experience that is left to corporate parameters and chance (e.g., that anyone else is paying attention).  

 

When posters talk about Celebrity and past experiences, it's examples like the ones above that have created repeat customers and satisfaction, and cost the company very little compared to finding a new customer to churn through.  It's also what makes the Retreat worth a premium, as it has provided a hedge against a potentially bad experience with no options for # of days.  We had read about it  when considering our first booking, experienced it first hand on our cruises.  Now if anyone looks or starts to hear about any of this the impression will be entirely different.  

 

 

Thank you for your very insightful response. When you mention how people in the retreat pay a premium, in most cases, a Sky Suite will cost more than double the cost of a standard Verandah cabin.