Butler Team Service in SS - Please Post Current Cruisers Comments on your Experience.

[abbydancer2003]

11 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 My plan is to do a live report of my Millennium sailing in May so that will give you some sort of baseline, although a lot can change in 8 months.  For us whether we cruise again with Celebrity will be determined in large part by our next two cruises (MSC & Celebrity).

 

 

 

 

I'll do a live in January, so we can see if anything changes between now and then.  I have X sky suites booked through mid 2025, with one more planned to book at the end of 2025, after that, we'll see.  I'm pretty sure I can't get DH onto MSC.

[PompeySailor]

Here you go

an honest review from an X fan

This guy tells it as it is 

 

X execs need to see the reactions from Retreat Manager and head butler 

 

This was a very good review of the Retreat and Sky Suite Butler service

and how it had deteriorated 

 

 

[Northern Aurora]

We board the Edge on October 30th for a B2B2B.  All of the legs are in a Sky Suite.  Trying to keep an open mind.

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, abbydancer said:

I'll do a live in January, so we can see if anything changes between now and then.  I have X sky suites booked through mid 2025, with one more planned to book at the end of 2025, after that, we'll see.  I'm pretty sure I can't get DH onto MSC.

 

 From my research sailing in the MSC Yacht Club is very much like sailing the Retreat on Celebrity E-class ships.  As long as you remaining within the Yacht Club it is very peaceful and serene. 

 

I have read some horror stories and some good stories about life outside the Yacht Club area though and it seems to vary around ship and time of the sailing.

 

[emmas gran]

9 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

We board the Edge on October 30th for a B2B2B.  All of the legs are in a Sky Suite.  Trying to keep an open mind.

Me too, however just completed 2 weeks MSC YC and it was excellent. When I mailed my CVP this was the response

I’m sure we’ll blow YC out of the water! 😉

 

They have a lot to do if that is the case!!!

[Wookie01]

14 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Good luck with that as from what I understand, this is one of the things that are no longer being provided.

 

We have our first Sky Suite cruise coming up in December and we recently received an email from Celebrity inviting us to 'personalise your upcoming Celebrity Edge cruise'.
One of the items specifically included  in their email was complimentary in-suite espresso & cappucino, so it will be very disappointing if this is not the case and I WILL be pointing this out to the head butler (or whatever they are called) if this service is not available.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Wookie01

[LMHSRN]

40 minutes ago, Wookie01 said:

We have our first Sky Suite cruise coming up in December and we recently received an email from Celebrity inviting us to 'personalise your upcoming Celebrity Edge cruise'.
One of the items specifically included  in their email was complimentary in-suite espresso & cappucino, so it will be very disappointing if this is not the case and I WILL be pointing this out to the head butler (or whatever they are called) if this service is not available.

This add is correct.  HOWEVER what it means is that you have a machine in the room, not that they will deliver it.

[micruiser2002]

3 minutes ago, LMHSRN said:

This add is correct.  HOWEVER what it means is that you have a machine in the room, not that they will deliver it.

I do not believe the in room machine makes cappuccino's.  I believe what this line means is they will deliver these to your room but by room service and not from the Bulter or Cafe that others have gotten in the past.

[LMHSRN]

1 minute ago, micruiser2002 said:

I do not believe the in room machine makes cappuccino's.  I believe what this line means is they will deliver these to your room but by room service and not from the Bulter or Cafe that others have gotten in the past.

Well, time will tell.  But I have seen machines an the coffee pods were for cappuccino also.

[terrydtx]

15 hours ago, Cap_D said:

@Baynanno1thank you for posting the video in appropriate threads.  

 

@terrydtx did you share your recent experience and I missed it?

 

We got home yesterday after spending a week post cruise in Santorini. 

 

When we boarded the Apex on the 14th I asked the Retreat hosts in the Retreat lounge about what we could expect by not having a dedicated butler in our Sky Suite. I mentioned the premium bottled waters and was told the only free water in our cabin would be the standard can or plastic bottled water and our room attendant would leave as many as we needed each day. We opted for the plastic bottled water and had a least 6 in our cabin every day all supplied by our room attendant. I was told we would no longer be able to have a butler deliver drinks from the bars to our cabin. These were two things we all knew about before we boarded anyway.  I was also told we could access any of the premium waters, and beers from the lounge anytime we wanted to take back to our cabins. I then requested that everything not free in our cabin be removed, which was done by the time we returned from lunch the first day. Any other things we needed would be taken care of by the Butler team in the Retreat lounge. The few times I called the retreat butlers my call was always answered on the first call. 

 

Room service was done by standard room service crew members and was on time, hot and correct every morning. The delivery people offered to set up out table for breakfast as was done in the past by our butlers. Most other ex butler duties were done by our very good room attendant. 

 

Overall the Sky Suites did meet our expectations and we were satisfied but still not 100% happy about the changes. Will we continue to book the Retreat with Celebrity?  With the other changes like no longer including gratuities and any OBC along with the huge increases in pricing for SS, I seriously doubt we ill book any more future cruises with them after our two cruises in January already booked.

 

As a side note to Cookiegate I thought I would post this picture of the still free cookie jars at Cafe Al Bacio. 

Edited October 2, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

33 minutes ago, micruiser2002 said:

I do not believe the in room machine makes cappuccino's.  I believe what this line means is they will deliver these to your room but by room service and not from the Bulter or Cafe that others have gotten in the past.

You are correct that has never meant you have a machine in you cabin.

[jelayne]

29 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We got home yesterday after spending a week post cruise in Santorini. 

 

When we boarded the Apex on the 14th I asked the Retreat hosts in the Retreat lounge about what we could expect by not having a dedicated butler in our Sky Suite. I mentioned the premium bottled waters and was told the only free water in our cabin would be the standard can or plastic bottled water and our room attendant would leave as many as we needed each day. We opted for the plastic bottled water and had a least 6 in our cabin every day all supplied by our room attendant. I was told we would no longer be able to have a butler deliver drinks from the bars to our cabin. These were two things we all knew about before we boarded anyway.  I was also told we could access any of the premium waters, and beers from the lounge anytime we wanted to take back to our cabins. I then requested that everything not free in our cabin be removed, which was done by the time we returned from lunch the first day. Any other things we needed would be taken care of by the Butler team in the Retreat lounge. The few times I called the retreat butlers my call was always answered on the first call. 

 

Room service was done by standard room service crew members and was on time, hot and correct every morning. The delivery people offered to set up out table for breakfast as was done in the past by our butlers. Most other ex butler duties were done by our very good room attendant. 

 

Overall the Sky Suites did meet our expectations and we were satisfied but still not 100% happy about the changes. Will we continue to book the Retreat with Celebrity?  With the other changes like no longer including gratuities and any OBC along with the huge increases in pricing for SS, I seriously doubt we ill book any more future cruises with them after our two cruises in January already booked.

 

As a side note to Cookiegate I thought I would post this picture of the still free cookie jars at Cafe Al Bacio. 

Terry, did you ask for or get any afternoon snacks

( cheese plate, shrimp cocktail) delivered?

 
Were you able to place any standing orders with room service such as juice and coffee every day at 8, or did you have to order daily?
 

Any surprises left for you, cookies at night, bottle of wine?
 

[terrydtx]

10 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Terry, did you ask for or get any afternoon snacks

( cheese plate, shrimp cocktail) delivered?

 
Were you able to place any standing orders with room service such as juice and coffee every day at 8, or did you have to order daily?
 

Any surprises left for you, cookies at night, bottle of wine?
 

We were able to ask for afternoon snacks including cheese and shrimp which were delivered by room service crew. Nothing was left unless we ordered them first. We called the retreat butler team number first time and were told to place order direct with room service in the future and it took 30-45 minutes for delivery every time.

 

No standing orders for morning coffee or juice unless you filled out the RS card the each night before.

 

No surprises left in cabin, but we did get the pillow chocolates every night from our room attendant.

 

On thing I forgot to add, one afternoon the 4 in our two SS's of us wanted a glass of white wine from the Retreat lounge to have with our cheese plate, and John the bartender gave us the whole bottle to take back to our cabin without asking.

Edited October 2, 2023 by terrydtx

[thebutlerdidit]

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We were able to ask for afternoon snacks including cheese and shrimp which were delivered by room service crew. Nothing was left unless we ordered them first. We called the retreat butler team number first time and were told to place order direct with room service in the future and it took 30-45 minutes for delivery every time.

 

No standing orders for morning coffee or juice unless you filled out the RS card the each night before.

 

No surprises left in cabin, but we did get the pillow chocolates every night from our room attendant.

When arriving back to the ship after an excursion feeling overheated, tired, and hungry, and finding the buffet all but shut down, we were irritated to realize that we’d need to order from room service and face a lengthy wait. Instead, we got back to our rooms and had fruit, cheese, and little crunchy breadsticks waiting for us! It was just what was needed, and it was supplied by our thoughtful, dedicated butler who had anticipated our needs. I was so thankful, and let him know he’d really made our day. This was on Millennium in April. Service like this is GONE. The Retreat concept has really devolved, and saying it hasn’t doesn’t make it true. 
 

 

[jelayne]

11 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We were able to ask for afternoon snacks including cheese and shrimp which were delivered by room service crew. Nothing was left unless we ordered them first. We called the retreat butler team number first time and were told to place order direct with room service in the future and it took 30-45 minutes for delivery every time.

 

No standing orders for morning coffee or juice unless you filled out the RS card the each night before.

 

No surprises left in cabin, but we did get the pillow chocolates every night from our room attendant.

 

On thing I forgot to add, one afternoon the 4 in our two SS's of us wanted a glass of white wine from the Retreat lounge to have with our cheese plate, and John the bartender gave us the whole bottle to take back to our cabin without asking.

Thanks.  Leaning toward Zach’s assessment that SS is just a larger cabin with access to a lounge and Luminae and we aren’t fans of Luminae.

[PompeySailor]

10 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Thanks.  Leaning toward Zach’s assessment that SS is just a larger cabin with access to a lounge and Luminae and we aren’t fans of Luminae.

That sums up what an SS now is perfectly

[thebutlerdidit]

38 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Thanks.  Leaning toward Zach’s assessment that SS is just a larger cabin with access to a lounge and Luminae and we aren’t fans of Luminae.

Larger room, Luminae, and no room service fee. 

[PompeySailor]

3 minutes ago, thebutlerdidit said:

Larger room, Luminae, and no room service fee. 

Love your screen name 

Maybe time to change it to fall in line with the recent changes 

“thebutlerdidnotdoit” 🤣

[thebutlerdidit]

1 minute ago, PompeySailor said:

Love your screen name 

Maybe time to change it to fall in line with the recent changes 

“thebutlerdidnotdoit” 🤣

Thebutlerdidit goes back to my very first email address; I’ve used it a lot through the years. 😂 

[Ken the cruiser]

With the lack of an actual butler assigned, it will be interesting to see what the sky suite daily gratuity charge will be when compared to an Aqua cabin after October 4. 

[PompeySailor]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

With the lack of an actual butler assigned, it will be interesting to see what the sky suite daily gratuity charge will be when compared to an Aqua cabin after October 4. 

Increased of course $$$

That is the cruise lines current business model 

Reduce service and increase cost

Then sell it as an enhanced experience with no changes 

 

 

[jelayne]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

With the lack of an actual butler assigned, it will be interesting to see what the sky suite daily gratuity charge will be when compared to an Aqua cabin after October 4. 

I doubt it will change from the current $23 for Suites and $18.50 for Aqua.  I’m sure they are splitting the $4.50 a day between the cabin attendant and Room Service who seemed to have picked up most of the Butlers duties 😂

[RichYak]

40 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

With the lack of an actual butler assigned, it will be interesting to see what the sky suite daily gratuity charge will be when compared to an Aqua cabin after October 4. 

October 4th is irrelevant as far as the removal of butlers from Sky Suites which happened mid-August. 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

October 4th is irrelevant as far as the removal of butlers from Sky Suites which happened mid-August. 

But don't the gratuities disappear from the All Included fares associated with both the Aqua and Suite cabins? In fact from my understanding, the mandated All Included inclusion on Aqua cabins also disappears all together. Correct?

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

But don't the gratuities disappear from the All Included fares associated with both the Aqua and Suite cabins? In fact from my understanding, the mandated All Included inclusion on Aqua cabins also disappears all together. Correct?

Yes. They will now be charged to your onboard account daily even if you book with AI after 10/4. Still has nothing to do with removal of butlers from sky suites. It doesn't really have anything to do with AQ cabins either except that AI will no longer be mandatory. And anyone who booked any cabin class with AI prior to 10/4 grats are still included.