Retreat Cutbacks? Lunch Sea Days No Longer on App for March 2024 Cruise

[Alakegirl]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

Some people here are quite apprehensive now after the continued unannounced changes (most for the worse).  There perhaps would be less angst if Celebrity would be transparent about the changes and communicate them in advance instead of having them leaked.  They caused this angst in their customer base!

I agree….Celebrity has caused the apprehension and is doing nothing about it…..

[CHEZMARYLOU]

My husband always referred to the cuts as being the result of Harvard Business School graduates. Now he is saying they are coming from the surprise party department and the practical joke department. Occasionally the fairy godmother department would show up but seems they are still at the ball.

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

Some people here are quite apprehensive now after the continued unannounced changes (most for the worse).  There perhaps would be less angst if Celebrity would be transparent about the changes and communicate them in advance instead of having them leaked.  They caused this angst in their customer base!

Respectfully, I have to disagree with you. IMO, X has not caused this angst.

Perhaps everyone needs to read the T&C's on X's website. They have reserved rights to change everything without announcements.

[cruisestitch]

It’s true they can change everything but it’s the way that they have gone about doing so that makes everyone jumpy.

[C-Dragons]

8 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

It’s true they can change everything but it’s the way that they have gone about doing so that makes everyone jumpy.

Since this topic concerns what may be happening in March of 2024 

I'm just saying perhaps everyone should wait and see how this plays out. 

[George C]

Celebrity suite perks are way better than rccl , one exception is there suite restaurant is open everyday for lunch , my next celebrity cruise is March but we are in royal suite so we can have lunch in specialty, you still should be able to eat lunch in outdoor retreat if that ship has one ?

[Cap_D]

58 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

Respectfully, I have to disagree with you. IMO, X has not caused this angst.

Perhaps everyone needs to read the T&C's on X's website. They have reserved rights to change everything without announcements.

Exactly why boards like this are so important. Before I commit to vacationing on a boat (at sea) with prepayment, I would like to know generally what I'm going to be getting or I may go somewhere else setting aside contractual obligations and reservations.  And, if the cruise fare doesn't include the 4 lunches previously included, then that is relevant and material to my decision, and possibly others, too.  And, considering this community is a good source of information, and observations, and Celebrity is not or conflicts with its own information, plus has the reservation to change, it's worth sharing what we all know. 

 

Similarly, I'm very appreciative of those that do share what they see and experience. 

 

And, at some point, the effort and angst, and actual post reservation service and product changes, will lead me or others to simply opt out of cruising.  

[PTC DAWG]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

The lunch menu shows on my app for sea days in Luminae on the Apex next month. My experience with the app is that it will not be accurate until you get within 30 days of departure. That has been the case for our Apex cruise too. I noticed several changes in the entrees for dinner in the app now as well.

This, I don’t get all the angst re what the app says months out from a cruise.  

[C-Dragons]

22 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

Exactly why boards like this are so important. Before I commit to vacationing on a boat (at sea) with prepayment, I would like to know generally what I'm going to be getting or I may go somewhere else setting aside contractual obligations and reservations.  And, if the cruise fare doesn't include the 4 lunches previously included, then that is relevant and material to my decision, and possibly others, too.  And, considering this community is a good source of information, and observations, and Celebrity is not or conflicts with its own information, plus has the reservation to change, it's worth sharing what we all know. 

 

Similarly, I'm very appreciative of those that do share what they see and experience. 

 

And, at some point, the effort and angst, and actual post reservation service and product changes, will lead me or others to simply opt out of cruising.  

Different strokes for different folks…

We've been cruising with X for over 10 years and never had any “angst” over changes that they have made during that time.

FYI, No one is losing four lunches. They are available out on the Retreat Sundeck. 

[bigbenboys]

11 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

Different strokes for different folks…

We've been cruising with X for over 10 years and never had any “angst” over changes that they have made during that time.

FYI, No one is losing four lunches. They are available out on the Retreat Sundeck. 

Yes, we had lunch on the Retreat sundeck and it started raining. At list on the Edge there was not a covered area to eat. Food even more limited than Luminae. Portions are smaller. Not all cruise locations are in a climate that you can eat outside. 

[George C]

34 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

Different strokes for different folks…

We've been cruising with X for over 10 years and never had any “angst” over changes that they have made during that time.

FYI, No one is losing four lunches. They are available out on the Retreat Sundeck. 

Not every ship has a retreat although I am sure the majority does.

[patty1955]

The app only shows dessert on the dinner menu in the MDR for our March 2024 cruise. And only for the first 7 days.

[Cap_D]

23 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

Yes, we had lunch on the Retreat sundeck and it started raining. At list on the Edge there was not a covered area to eat. Food even more limited than Luminae. Portions are smaller. Not all cruise locations are in a climate that you can eat outside. 

Exactly. On Beyond, the retreat sundeck is a different menu compared to Luminae (with occupancy of about 172 guests) or the Cosmopolitan (also not showing lunch), outside, etc.  

[George C]

20 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

Exactly. On Beyond, the retreat sundeck is a different menu compared to Luminae (with occupancy of about 172 guests) or the Cosmopolitan (also not showing lunch), outside, etc.  

extremely small menu at all retreats for lunch , I believe only 3 items , burger, chicken sandwich and something else , better than nothing, did summit twice in retreat , edge and beyond.

[C-Dragons]

52 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

Yes, we had lunch on the Retreat sundeck and it started raining. At list on the Edge there was not a covered area to eat. Food even more limited than Luminae. Portions are smaller. Not all cruise locations are in a climate that you can eat outside. 

True.

But when it was raining, we would pick up lunch from the Retreat to eat on our our verandah.

And when portions were smaller, we could take a little extra, if necessary.

[hcat]

14 minutes ago, George C said:

extremely small menu at all retreats for lunch , I believe only 3 items , burger, chicken sandwich and something else , better than nothing, did summit twice in retreat , edge and beyond.

i had 2 shrimp cocktails as  salad on BEYOND.. limited menu but just enough...service was very slow!

Bar area and table seating  were overwhelmed....we ate  at a small conversation area in the shade!

Edited August 17, 2023 by hcat

[C-Dragons]

49 minutes ago, George C said:

Not every ship has a retreat although I am sure the majority does.

We prefer to sail on Edge class ships now. 💜 They have Retreats.

[George C]

33 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

We prefer to sail on Edge class ships now. 💜 They have Retreats.

I agree, on summit retreat was a joke , no pool or bar in outdoor retreat.

[bigbenboys]

5 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

We prefer to sail on Edge class ships now. 💜 They have Retreats.

We also ate on Millie at the RSD. Us from Seattle and friends from England were fine with 70°+ F. But friends from Tampa had to go get their jackets. X blankets were not enough. It was an port day in Ketchikan. We had walked to Totem Heritage Center and walked back via Married Man Lane to Creek Street.😲 The food and drink were good. It was an nice change. I think the staff were happy to see us 6.

[C-Dragons]

1 minute ago, bigbenboys said:

We also ate on Millie at the RSD. Us from Seattle and friends from England were fine with 70°+ F. But friends from Tampa had to go get their jackets. X blankets were not enough. It was an port day in Ketchikan. We had walked to Totem Heritage Center and walked back via Married Man Lane to Creek Street.😲 The food and drink were good. It was an nice change. I think the staff were happy to see us 6.

Unless it's raining we will usually be outside on the RSD.

We've enjoyed many cool weather days sitting out there wrapped up in X blankets. 😎

[mahasamatman]

Repeat after me. The app is not to be trusted. The app is not to be trusted. The app is not to be trusted.

[mahasamatman]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

My experience with the app is that it will not be accurate until you get within 30 days of departure.

 

And my experience is that the app will not be accurate ever. We've been on cruises where the app showed no entertainment, or showed activities going on that never happened, or showed imaginary menus. If you trust the app for anything, you are being foolish.

[Joker54]

7 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Respectfully, I have to disagree with you. IMO, X has not caused this angst.

Perhaps everyone needs to read the T&C's on X's website. They have reserved rights to change everything without announcements.

Yes they have that right still doesn't prevent them from notifying their customers of changes - of course it would be easier if their IT department had a clue, they cant even figure out whether to email me, my wife, my daughter or my nephew. My daughter and nephew are not on any of the now 9 cruises that we have booked, but they still get emails about the booked cruises.......

 

I think its called public relations.........

 

Cheers

[Maggie North]

The app usually isn't fully functional until just before sail date; just give it time and don't stress. You also have to keep refreshing it if things don't show up; staff is constantly updating it when onboard. 

[TeeRick]

21 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Respectfully, I have to disagree with you. IMO, X has not caused this angst.

Perhaps everyone needs to read the T&C's on X's website. They have reserved rights to change everything without announcements.

Yes, agree that is in the cruise contract (one which not many people pay much attention).  Even with that legal wiggle room, that is not really an excuse IMO for the loyal customers.  It is making significant changes to their product offering without communicating to the people directly affected who have paid for that product. 

Legal - yes. 

Transparent - no. 

Angst and anger amongst the customer base when this keeps happening- yes.