Beyond LIVE Med Review 10/20-10/30: Tales from our Suite Roman Holiday

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

For me, personally, I'd be curious to know the answer if you asked for snacks/fruit/cheese (whatever) and maybe a glass or 2 of wine delivered to your stateroom each afternoon. This is an important, yet seemingly simple, part of butler service for me. It's nice when it's there when I return from an excursion. I really am hoping the answer isn't "Call room service."

Rich,  I think we have discussed this before and I agree getting afternoon snacks delivered is an expectation.  I have never encountered a situation where my butler delivered alcoholic beverages as part of their service, aside from refilling the minibar when I had the drinks & more package. 
 However, I am afraid that I have already read on this board where “call room service” is what we are going to be told with regarding many of the things that were normally butler services. 
 

[Cap_D]

@GenerationX Hope you're having a great vacation.  But, also hope you let the Hotel Director and everyone else on the ship leadership team that you encounter know your feedback on the reduced Retreat experience.  The more feedback senior staff can communicate back to Laura and Miami the better.  

[DaKahuna]

6 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

@GenerationX Hope you're having a great vacation.  But, also hope you let the Hotel Director and everyone else on the ship leadership team that you encounter know your feedback on the reduced Retreat experience.  The more feedback senior staff can communicate back to Laura and Miami the better.  

@GenerationX I agree 100% with this.  The very idea that Celebrity’s senior management believes that there is no change to the quality/level of service provided by the “Butler team” is so wrong and a thing that needs to be addressed as loudly, widely, and frequently as possible.  
 

[abbydancer2003]

24 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

@GenerationX Hope you're having a great vacation.  But, also hope you let the Hotel Director and everyone else on the ship leadership team that you encounter know your feedback on the reduced Retreat experience.  The more feedback senior staff can communicate back to Laura and Miami the better.  

 

13 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@GenerationX I agree 100% with this.  The very idea that Celebrity’s senior management believes that there is no change to the quality/level of service provided by the “Butler team” is so wrong and a thing that needs to be addressed as loudly, widely, and frequently as possible.  
 

Yup.  I'm on the Apex in December, and if the experience is not what I'm used to I will talk to Retreat staff and the Hotel director, etc.  Politely of course.

[Bejay219]

Hub

24 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@GenerationX I agree 100% with this.  The very idea that Celebrity’s senior management believes that there is no change to the quality/level of service provided by the “Butler team” is so wrong and a thing that needs to be addressed as loudly, widely, and frequently as possible.  
 

I got a call from Shoreside Concierge, we are in a Sky Suite B2B on Ascent, Madien Voyage. This year is the first time in 21 years not sailing Celebrity Suite or higher.  I told her since achieving Zenith and starting in Sky Suites in May this year (B2B great experience!) but we were very disappointed with not only the tips and OBC taken away, but the Butler.  She proceeded to say she has not heard ONE NEGATIVE THING about the "Retreat Team" and that "everyone" loves it. I said that I have heard differently but will keep an open mind for these sailings but that we have since booked Viking and Cunard after 21 years of loyalty to Celebrity. 

We have been very fortunate to have wonderful Butlers in the past 21 years, some a notch or two above others, but the service is something we could always count on no matter what ship or suite we were in.   The new President said in the Q&A, that the "Retreat Team" will be a good experienc. If it is not the same level, feedback needs to go up the chain of command on the ship and also to the Executive Office. 

[abbydancer2003]

12 minutes ago, Bejay219 said:

Hub

I got a call from Shoreside Concierge, we are in a Sky Suite B2B on Ascent, Madien Voyage. This year is the first time in 21 years not sailing Celebrity Suite or higher.  I told her since achieving Zenith and starting in Sky Suites in May this year (B2B great experience!) but we were very disappointed with not only the tips and OBC taken away, but the Butler.  She proceeded to say she has not heard ONE NEGATIVE THING about the "Retreat Team" and that "everyone" loves it.

Personally, I find this hard to believe, although she maybe hasn't heard any feedback yet, since she talks to people precruise?

[theopup]

7 hours ago, hcat said:

Italy has great leather hand bags, belts, shoes! 

Yes they certainly do have an amazing selection. I have come home with many from both Italy (particularly Florence), and also Spain

[snowowl]

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

Was there a separate Retreat line to get into the building?  I don’t recall.  I remember the lounge being in an open area at the top of the escalator.

As far as I remembered, there was no separate line going into the building. The diversion only started after you got to the top of the escalator. 

[Bejay219]

3 hours ago, abbydancer said:

Personally, I find this hard to believe, although she maybe hasn't heard any feedback yet, since she talks to people precruise?

Would the Shoreside Concierge, upon being questioned, really say anything different?  If they have gotten negative feedback are they going to share that with the the future cruiser?  

Hopefully, all will be fine, but if not, it's important to communicate the problem up the chain of command so this whole structure can be reevaluated if need be. 

[Covepointcruiser]

Passengers seem to enjoy a butler shared with 15 other suites to a retreat team.    Our experience in a Royal Suite with a shared butler was underwhelming.    Maybe this change has improved service to higher level suites.    We would expect that service in a Junior (Sky) Suite but not in a Royal or Penthouse Suite.

[RichYak]

6 hours ago, Bejay219 said:

Hub

I got a call from Shoreside Concierge, we are in a Sky Suite B2B on Ascent, Madien Voyage. This year is the first time in 21 years not sailing Celebrity Suite or higher.  I told her since achieving Zenith and starting in Sky Suites in May this year (B2B great experience!) but we were very disappointed with not only the tips and OBC taken away, but the Butler.  She proceeded to say she has not heard ONE NEGATIVE THING about the "Retreat Team" and that "everyone" loves it. I said that I have heard differently but will keep an open mind for these sailings but that we have since booked Viking and Cunard after 21 years of loyalty to Celebrity. 

We have been very fortunate to have wonderful Butlers in the past 21 years, some a notch or two above others, but the service is something we could always count on no matter what ship or suite we were in.   The new President said in the Q&A, that the "Retreat Team" will be a good experienc. If it is not the same level, feedback needs to go up the chain of command on the ship and also to the Executive Office. 

 

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Passengers seem to enjoy a butler shared with 15 other suites to a retreat team.    Our experience in a Royal Suite with a shared butler was underwhelming.    Maybe this change has improved service to higher level suites.    We would expect that service in a Junior (Sky) Suite but not in a Royal or Penthouse Suite.

Pet peeve.  Are we going to start calling them JUNIOR and SENIOR suites?

 

Has Celebrity ever sold their Sky Suites in another category?  As just veranda cabins?

[CJcruises23]

You just made my weekend as I clicked on the Celebrity boards and saw you are on another cruise! Just finished getting caught up while enjoying my own glass of wine. I will be following along and taking notes as this is a bucket list cruise/vacay I want to do one day as well! I hope you and your hubby have the most amazing time! 

[Wirral Girlie]

@GenerationX lovely to meet and have a little chat with you and Jeremy in the World Class bar last night.

Hopefully see you around the ship again!

Kim and Shaun from the UK

[momofmab]

If you're looking for an authentic, legacy handbag, I would be wary about buying them from an "outlet".  Most brands that have an outlet (Coach, Kate Spade, Michael Kors) are manufacturing outlet-specific bags that are not the same quality as the ones in their flagship stores.

 

Brands such as LV, Gucci and Chanel have a very active resale market and go through a pretty rigorous process before being certified as authentic.  Both have well-known re-sellers who are trusted to be providing authentic products.  Many of the vintage bags are worth much more than those being sold new.

 

Beyond had a handful of pre-owned LV's on my sailing.  I wasn't in the market at that time, but I would have asked for proof of authenticity and I'm sure they would have provided it. 

[hcat]

money better spent elsewhere

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Having been blessed to sail Celebrity since its inception with the Meridien I have witnessed countless changes which is why we are gravitating now to the smaller lines which cost wise provide more for our money. I find loyalty counts little nowadays and I respect everyone’s opinions but the noticeable changes and the food quality cutbacks and nickel and diming with airlines, hotels and cruise lines means they don’t need me and I don’t need them. That said of course we will sail with Celebrity, HAL, Cunard, Royal again.  Crystal, Seabourn, Oceania are now providing longer cruises for us with more luxury as we age lol. As for designer bags etc, my wife has enough to fill a museum and the daughter now flies to Europe to by her Prada and Chanel for her stuff and gets a trip thrown in lol. Not to be snobby by any means but the only items I insist on for myself are my Tiffany watches and Louis Vuitton wallets. Gone are the days it seems when electronics and crystal and leather goods could be had for great prices in the Caribbean, Bermuda and onboard. All the best to everyone and enjoy as I love reading and learning from your posts and I am a loyal member of the Charla and Jeremy fan club!!!

[cruisebeachgirl703]

19 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 
So I’ve been intentionally holding off on this because I want to be as fair as possible and give it a few days living in it before fully deciding on my thoughts and reporting, but thus far, to quote Michael Kors judging Project Runway, “I’m underwhelmed.”

 

I really do want to give it a little more time before sharing details behind my feelings because in fairness, my last Beyond cruise I had what I’m told was one of the best butlers in all Celebrity, Elaine. So it would be tough to meet the standard she set again even without the cutbacks.

 

I’ll do a more detailed post in a couple of days once I’ve lived in it longer, and my position may well change by then, but my initial impression is that there’s NO WAY I’d pay the full 5 figure price being charged these days for a sky suite in E-class on Celebrity when I consider what I get and could get on other lines for the same or a bit more/less money.
 

But I promise I’ll do a full “new world” sky suite life experience post once I have more data to go on. Sorry, I think the extensive analyzing/assessing is a lawyer thing. It drives Jeremy crazy too. lol 

Charla, hope things turn around back to what you experienced before on the Beyond. For us it did not. We were on the Edge CS, CS And SS 2021. We felt we had the best Celebrity butler! Then we sailed Equinox and Summit SS 2022 and, wow, butler service was seriously diminished. Scattered, inefficient, push back. With the itinerary of your cruise and that you are with Jeremy you will make the best of it as you always do. Again, hope it turns around. 

[wineoclock]

I’ve just Posted this  on another thread - re sky suites. But basically I concur the service is not up my cruise last year in a CS on Apex as far as butler goes. 

 

“We are currently on Beyond in a magic carpet suite. (Guarantee) It’s fine. Not great but fine. Saw our head butler first day.
 

If I had paid full price I’d not be happy. 
 

Have to get our own drinks. Fridge not stocked. Order room service again fine. But I miss the connection that you have with a butler. it’s definitely not the same experience whatever the spiel is. 
 

Long lines at the retreat lounge desk, whereas previously your butler would deal. 
 

It’s clear your Retreat Host is a cabin steward and no more. 
 

Id only now book a SS with either a guarantee or as move up. I would not pay full price. 

 

I would also like to know why we are paying the same gratuities as higher level suites and not getting the same service.”

[GenerationX]

Hello from poolside on the Retreat deck in Olympia, Greece!

 

Jeremy and I are treating our weary bodies with cocktails and a hot tub after an awesome morning excursion.  But first let’s go back in time and talk about the rest of our day yesterday.

 

One cool feature of Beyond: if your husband is back in the stateroom in danger of sleeping clear through lunch, you can use the app to turn on the stateroom lights and open the blinds on him without even leaving your barstool!

 

Once Jeremy was up we went to lunch in Luminae.  Once again there were some hits and some misses.  My parsnip soup was bland and not very hot but Jeremy enjoyed his frisées salad starter.  I had an excellent filet mignon cooked to my requested medium rare.  Poor Jeremy, he was so excited to try the shrimp po boy and it ended up being just sad.  It had literally 4 tiny shrimp half the size of my thumb on a massive chewy bun.  I ended up giving him some of my steak.

 

The dessert offerings of white chocolate mousse and butterscotch bread pudding sounded too good to pass up and we loved both.

 

After lunch we again attempted to get the casino to cooperate.  Jeremy managed to go up about $200 between a penny slot and craps.  I’m still searching for a slot machine that likes me.

 

I finally gave up and headed to make new friends in the martini bar and listen to Chloe, our acoustic guitar performer do her happy hour set.  She really has an incredible voice and I’ll be looking for her sets on the schedule the rest of the cruise.

 

Jeremy eventually smugly joined me for a martini then it was time to get ready for our first chic night.

 

Jeremy has never had the pleasure of seeing me in my Gatsby dress so I decided it needed to make a come back for this cruise.  He dressed to impress me too with a gorgeous silk tie he bought in Rome.

 

We went to world class bar for a cocktail (the Rose Water tastes as good as it looks BTW) and headed to the production show Stage Door before dinner.  It looks like all the shows on this cruise are the same ones as when I was on the ship in spring, so I won’t re-review them in detail.  The show was just as good as it was last time and I still believe the shows on Beyond are one of her strongest points. As is customary, Captain Kate came out at the start of the show and introduced her senior officers.

 

Of course, gone were the days of a butler escort to our seat, but it’s one cutback I didn’t miss too much.  There was still a reserved seating area on the second level for retreat guests.

 

After the show we went to Luminae for chic night dinner.  The restaurant wasn’t busy at all at about 8:15 and this time we really enjoyed everything we had. We ended up getting all 4 appetizers. My faves were the poached lobster (albeit small, but hey it’s an appetizer) and artichoke soup.

 

I managed to flirt Jeremy into sharing a bite of his ribeye and it was better than the one I paid to eat in Fine Cut last cruise.  My lamb loin was perfectly done as well.

 

We skipped dessert in favor of espressos then went down to the club to see the Jazz Joint show.  It was also just as good as in spring and Jeremy proclaimed it his favorite Celebrity entertainment yet…no doubt thanks to the lady performers’ outfits and moves.

 

After the show, the kir royales started flowing and by the time we remembered we were supposed to be turning in early for our 7:30 excursion time this morning, it was well after midnight.

 

Needless to say we were dragging a bit this morning, but we’ve now learned our lesson, I promise.

 

More to come later this afternoon!

 

 

[wineoclock]

Sorry I should also add 

 

Make no mistake the product is diminished for a SS. Whatever Celebrity says. 

[theopup]

“One cool feature of Beyond: if your husband is back in the stateroom in danger of sleeping clear through lunch, you can use the app to turn on the stateroom lights and open the blinds on him without even leaving your barstool!”

This just made me laugh out loud!

 

Sounds like you both had a great day, thanks for taking the time to post.

[39august]

We enjoyed Chloe on one of our Equinox cruises last year. She is very good.  Our b2b2b recently on Equinox had the poorest entertainment we have yet experienced. I hope it is improved in January. 

Edited October 22, 2023 by 39august

[hcat]

Thanks for the update.  Great review underway..  as always. You both look great ..love that dress (great color for you) and Jeremy's tie. 

 

Hint to Jeremy..something Emerald and gold  for the neck and earrings would be perfect for that stunning dress!  some of the jewelry shops were willing to deal!

 

Food looks very appetizing..compared to  some food  pics posted by others

(mdr..sad!)

 

can you give more info about the Jazz Joint in the Club?

Edited October 22, 2023 by hcat

[RichYak]

38 minutes ago, hcat said:

Hint to Jeremy..something Emerald and gold  for the neck and earrings would be perfect for that stunning dress!  some of the jewelry shops were willing to deal!

 

Ha! You're a troublemaker! 😂