LIVE Norwaylady sails on Edge World Cruise from Rome to Singapore 30.10 to 25.11.23 , 26.night

[Norwaylady]

Cruise Compass Day 9 Sea Day, time change +1h to Yangon, Burma. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scrapcreator]

I have really enjoyed your thorough and honest live review as well as your detailed photos. Thank you so much!

[Norwaylady]

Sea days….

 

I was awake 06.30 new time. Not ready to leave the bed. So it was time to post yesterday’s dinner and today’s cruise compass. Read the Norwegian newspaper and order some Christmas gifts on black week campaign😌 

 

Mr started to wake up around 09.30. 

But was I now hurry😎

So at 10.45 I left for my power walk on deck and he went to the retreat pool deck. 

 

I walked for a good hour. 

After finishing my walk I went downstairs to change into pool attire and go to Mr. 

My inner my said that that my first choice would be the lounger on my balcony. 

But room was still not made up. 

 

We didn’t go to breakfast and after my walk and everything, I was starting to get a bit hungry. 

So around 12.30 we decided to go for a lunch/brunch on the outdoor patio by the pool in the retreat. 

 

Mr wanted the Caesar salad, fruit and some fries. 

I asked for the burger (yes, your reading correct) Mr had it twice since we moved into the retreat. First go was okey. Last time it was really good, fresh herbs and spices inside the meat. I had a taste and it was really tasty. Really juicy and delicious. 

So I hoped for the best😇

Well, not my luck….. it was really nothing to say yes about (sorry chefs… you can really do better) 

 

The Caesar salad can definitely be better in presentation, visually appealing. Looks like a Mc Donald salad. Mr said it was okey, but the one he ordered on site in OceanView for lunch last cruise was better. 

Fruit was as usual. All good. 

They walked a round of lemon 🍋 sorbet around 14.00. 😋 one of my favourites💛

After a little more time on the sun lounger, it was time for a swim. Well, I got into the pool and after a little while it started to rain ☔️😆 

Captain Matt said it was a chance of local rain during the day😂😂 it arrived, rained and cleared up to sunny again😎

 

I decided to call it for the day outside. 

So I went downstairs to shower and start the evening process🥰

[hcat]

hope for feedback about Sr officers party in EDEN... hope it is not crowded and a special event!

[Norwaylady]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

hope for feedback about Sr officers party in EDEN... hope it is not crowded and a special event!

That is tomorrow 22.11. 
So we plan on going🙃

[CardowMD]

The Daniel Bouloud options appear to be the same every night. Do these never change?

[Norwaylady]

All suites received a voice message from the Retreat today. 
Thay said that all passports will be delivered back after Phuket. 
Thai immigration officials has requested that the ship give them all passports for inspection. 
So not a face to face. Just the passports👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

 

They reminded everyone that you need to fill out the entry form for Singapore online. 
If you needed help, please come by. 

[Norwaylady]

Just now, CardowMD said:

The Daniel Bouloud options appear to be the same every night. Do these never change?

 No, it’s the same thing every night so far…..

[Norwaylady]

Some thoughts about our sky suite experience as of now, day 9. 

This is really not easy. 

I feel that you are walking on a thin line of offending people and their preferences. 

 

What I will make absolutely clear is that the crew are working their socks off. 

This is not a crew issue on the ship. 

It’s connected to corporate decisions and their lack of contact to the their product. 

Cut backs is a major part of this problem. 

 

So, we are b2b. 

So we did board the ship in Italy in a concierge cabin. 

I know this sailing is very special in all ways. Number of captain’s club higher levels are far over the usual numbers. Specifically Zenith’s. So they shouldn’t cut anything in butler’s or people connected to the retreat before after the ship arrives in NZ/Aus. It’s a demanding crowd onboard🤓😅

What would be the correct decision was to keep the number as before until they reached NZ/AUS. 

 

I was in one way a bit surprised that we received no contact or letter from the retreat wishing us welcome to us on your next part of your sailing adventure a day before turnaround day. 

I was following our mail box as a hawk to hide it from Mr…🤭

Nothing…..

 

Upon boarding in Dubai, we were lucky. Since we could walk straight on, due to clearing of b2b in the morning. But there was a group of ladies in front of us sailing in SS on the gangway and they were greeted and followed onward by someone from the retreat standing on the destination deck. They had made it very visible and loudly marked we sail suites😅(we are not there😝….) 

 

We just walked on as normal. It was a made house of chaos. So not angry or upset. But it’s the lack of personal touch and the cherry on the top. 

 

We did not see our housekeeper until we tried to find him at 21.05 in the evening. Then we walked in the hallway back to the fun downstairs… Our room had not received turndown service yet…. 

So we went out again so they had a chance to get thru the staterooms. 

Our deck is definitely overwhelmed in housekeeping. 

It’s many suites and our fellow passengers are demanding in many ways. It’s stacks of plates and glasses in the hallway. People bring food from the OceanViev and don’t want the plates in their stateroom. (Fair enough, but team housekeeping is running a marathon picking up all of this on the floor in our hallway. I’m really surprised over the amount of this on our deck) 

 

They should definitely have an assistant on those floors containing several suites. To help off the pressure. 

To force on service from a butler to a housekeeper is not by chance possible. They lack training and don’t have time. They are already working on max capacity to serve their staterooms in ordinary housekeeping duties. (It’s already very clear to me that they are behind schedule of what corporate office thinks is possible and what in reality is possible to do in x hours) 

I can, but will not in a million years call my stateroom attendant to get coffee, I know he’s already overwhelmed by work.

This was just another example of missing cherries 🍒 on the top….

 

We had to ask on day 2, is the 2 bottles of water for us or do it belong to the mini bar? No notice or any information in the stateroom. (Communication is really not to underestimate😜) 

 

Breakfast from room service paper order has worked okey. We had to ask for them. 

It has arrived as requested and contained what we ordered. But they don’t follow it completely. Last delivery we ordered fruit and I always write in big letters and ! NO Pineapple 🍍! I’m allergic…. 

On our fruit it was pineapple….

 

The orange juice is concentrate. It has tasted so sour that your hair is raised. Why can’t they serve real juice? 

It’s just the detail of attention. It’s not ruining my stay. 

 

The biggest problem is the lack of a table to eat on. It’s very low and not really good for eating. This is a design error and they don’t use a pop-up table for serving. 

So it’s either sit on the floor or have you plate on your lap or in bed.

So we have a balcony but no table suitable for eating🙄

 

There’s no paper menu for room service daytime available. Only in the app. 

No options of pre ordering a fruit plate or something when you return from a shore excursion. We can walk to the buffet and pick up something. But I have this really nice balcony that I want to use also😜 at least offer me a tray to carry it with me🙃 So I can get something to eat and drink on one tour🤪🤪🤪( or X probably prefer that I go to the retreat… but half way dirty and done after my day. It’s nice to just land in your own home) Would I be welcomed and allowed to sit in the sofa if I were arriving as after my ship tour on Sil?😝🤭🫣

 

What can we ask for?

Can we request dinner delivery? 

So we can eat private on our own balcony. 

We can probably ask for some of it. But no one has greeted and told us from day 1 in our own home away from home. This is mega important for new people! 

It’s honestly a very important way to connect and make a good first impression! (And we all know that the first impression is important) 

 

We needed to raise some of our questions in the retreat(how do we order breakfast, should we have order forms?). The message is just call us, room service … or housekeeping. 

Again, my apologies for not wanting to be the demanding lady on holiday. (I really hate to call people I know is super busy and have loads of work. So I can put extra work into this….🫠) 

Things that they could have easily answered and made in order if they had time to stop by on day 1 in our suite or your housekeeping had time to actually visit and say hello. This and this works like this and this and this is the best way to make it happen. 

 

In one way, it seems to me that The Retreat team assume everyone is regularly sailing in a suite. We have sailed several times on X, but none in suites on X. (Only JS suite on Royal,  Voyager, and that’s only a bigger room and nothing more. We where extremely underwhelmed) 

I find it a bit difficult to have to ask all this questions. It’s not my job. 

 

When we have stayed at places you want/can compare to The Retreat experience/SS to in Mauritius/China/Japan/Hong Kong/Dubai/USA/Thailand/Singapore. 

We have had a personal connection from the first few hours after arriving and they have talked us thru how to proceed for different services and how things work. 

We have not had anything near that. 

That’s our feedback….

 

We didn’t see/hear the butler before day 6. 

He meet us in the hallway. He knew us from pictures. 

He is definitely overwhelmed in people to take care of and serve in a decent way. 

3 butlers for all suites are crazy overloaded. 

 

Luminae is a nice restaurant in many ways. 

The crew works hard and nothing wrong in the crew. 

The biggest issue is the compose of the menus. Some days it’s an excellent selection and the next day is really hard to find something. (This is a personal preference, from a fish/seafood eater perspective) 

Both me and Mr agreed on that it’s good,  its details and what level they want to be that lacks the details. 

Personally we leaning towards Blu in menu options for vegetables and fish/seafood. 

Some things are better than others. But we are not wowed from a food perspective. My preference point is high, since it’s marketed and sold as excellent. 

Yesterdays dessert was on target+ of all parameters. 

 

We can pick up water and soda drinks in the retreat self-serve section. 

Okay, but I feel like a bad person when I stuff my x shopping bag full of water and sparkling water. Why can’t you just on day 1 tell your preference and what you need. So housekeeping can put it inside your fridge during day service? 

Not a full container, but 4 bottles of water at least. 

 

I’m not joking, we get 2 bottles of water in our stateroom and we need at least 3 more bottles of water and 4 bottles sparkling water. That’s what we drink every day in warmer climates just in our stateroom. I need to drink at least 1l after my 1 hour power walk in the hot sun. 

 

This is so far our experience and we are a decent distance from wowed about it. 

Mr likes the tub and likes the retreat area. 

But he’s not sold as of today. 

 

Crew is friendly and they work very hard. But corporate has taken the cut too far to deliver what they advertise. 

In my eyes it’s a miss/match of what they are advertising and what they deliver in reality. 

 

So we will see if we change our minds, but I think we will stick to “steerage class”  if this is what you can expect from a SS experience. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

Since you will be coming back to steerage class, let me offer this observation.  Priority for suite guests seems to be a lot more of an issue than it is on other ships.  At almost every opportunity for disembarkation they seem to be assigning groups to determine your time to get off the ship and this can be a huge issue for people on private tours.  I’m not arguing the right of the suite guests to have priority but it is a lot more noticeable on this ship.  I think that’s because they almost 3 times as many suites as they do on the Silhouette (176 vs 66 suites).  This is also an issue getting on the ship when there are boarding issues like we had in Athens and Dubai.   For me, this is just another reason to avoid the E-class ships.

 

 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

 

So around 12.30 we decided to go for a lunch/brunch on the outdoor patio by the pool in the retreat. 

 

Mr wanted the Caesar salad, fruit and some fries. 

I asked for the burger (yes, your reading correct) Mr had it twice since we moved into the retreat. First go was okey. Last time it was really good, fresh herbs and spices inside the meat. I had a taste and it was really tasty. Really juicy and delicious. 

So I hoped for the best😇

Well, not my luck….. it was really nothing to say yes about (sorry chefs… you can really do better) 

 

 

 

 My 'go to' has always been the roasted turkey BLT.  I prefer the Luminae burger from Luminae as I have found it hit and miss on the sun deck.  

 

My DW likes the marinated chicken sandwich.  

 

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, CardowMD said:

The Daniel Bouloud options appear to be the same every night. Do these never change?

 

No, it is the same meal choices ever day.

 

 

[DaKahuna]

@Norwaylady Thank you for you comments regarding your suite experience on Edge.  I have had the same apprehensions about out upcoming cruise on Millennium.  Celebrity has certainly, from your and others descriptions, diluted the Retreat experience for sky suite guest.  I am hoping that you will use to onboard feedback QR code as well as the post cruise survey to point out your thoughts and issues to the management on board as well as that in Miami.  Unfortunately, I do not see any change forthcoming until more and more Sky Suite guest start voicing their opinion regarding the current level of service and attention to detail being experienced is made widely known.

 

It sounds like this has not affected you and your husband's enjoyment of your cruise and I applaud you for always having such a positive attitude.  

 

 

[Beachlover1989]

I also appreciate your SS experience comments. Although we didn’t sail suites at the time, it sounds like what I envision SS used to be when they weren’t allowed in Luminae or Michael’s Club. Like a second class suite experience. For those of you who sailed in one back then, is that what it seems is happening?

[JDPCruisers]

2 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

Some thoughts about our sky suite experience as of now, day 9. 

This is really not easy. 

I feel that you are walking on a thin line of offending people and their preferences. 

 

What I will make absolutely clear is that the crew are working their socks off. 

This is not a crew issue on the ship. 

It’s connected to corporate decisions and their lack of contact to the their product. 

Cut backs is a major part of this problem. 

 

So, we are b2b. 

So we did board the ship in Italy in a concierge cabin. 

I know this sailing is very special in all ways. Number of captain’s club higher levels are far over the usual numbers. Specifically Zenith’s. So they shouldn’t cut anything in butler’s or people connected to the retreat before after the ship arrives in NZ/Aus. It’s a demanding crowd onboard🤓😅

What would be the correct decision was to keep the number as before until they reached NZ/AUS. 

 

I was in one way a bit surprised that we received no contact or letter from the retreat wishing us welcome to us on your next part of your sailing adventure a day before turnaround day. 

I was following our mail box as a hawk to hide it from Mr…🤭

Nothing…..

 

Upon boarding in Dubai, we were lucky. Since we could walk straight on, due to clearing of b2b in the morning. But there was a group of ladies in front of us sailing in SS on the gangway and they were greeted and followed onward by someone from the retreat standing on the destination deck. They had made it very visible and loudly marked we sail suites😅(we are not there😝….) 

 

We just walked on as normal. It was a made house of chaos. So not angry or upset. But it’s the lack of personal touch and the cherry on the top. 

 

We did not see our housekeeper until we tried to find him at 21.05 in the evening. Then we walked in the hallway back to the fun downstairs… Our room had not received turndown service yet…. 

So we went out again so they had a chance to get thru the staterooms. 

Our deck is definitely overwhelmed in housekeeping. 

It’s many suites and our fellow passengers are demanding in many ways. It’s stacks of plates and glasses in the hallway. People bring food from the OceanViev and don’t want the plates in their stateroom. (Fair enough, but team housekeeping is running a marathon picking up all of this on the floor in our hallway. I’m really surprised over the amount of this on our deck) 

 

They should definitely have an assistant on those floors containing several suites. To help off the pressure. 

To force on service from a butler to a housekeeper is not by chance possible. They lack training and don’t have time. They are already working on max capacity to serve their staterooms in ordinary housekeeping duties. (It’s already very clear to me that they are behind schedule of what corporate office thinks is possible and what in reality is possible to do in x hours) 

I can, but will not in a million years call my stateroom attendant to get coffee, I know he’s already overwhelmed by work.

This was just another example of missing cherries 🍒 on the top….

 

We had to ask on day 2, is the 2 bottles of water for us or do it belong to the mini bar? No notice or any information in the stateroom. (Communication is really not to underestimate😜) 

 

Breakfast from room service paper order has worked okey. We had to ask for them. 

It has arrived as requested and contained what we ordered. But they don’t follow it completely. Last delivery we ordered fruit and I always write in big letters and ! NO Pineapple 🍍! I’m allergic…. 

On our fruit it was pineapple….

 

The orange juice is concentrate. It has tasted so sour that your hair is raised. Why can’t they serve real juice? 

It’s just the detail of attention. It’s not ruining my stay. 

 

The biggest problem is the lack of a table to eat on. It’s very low and not really good for eating. This is a design error and they don’t use a pop-up table for serving. 

So it’s either sit on the floor or have you plate on your lap or in bed.

So we have a balcony but no table suitable for eating🙄

 

There’s no paper menu for room service daytime available. Only in the app. 

No options of pre ordering a fruit plate or something when you return from a shore excursion. We can walk to the buffet and pick up something. But I have this really nice balcony that I want to use also😜 at least offer me a tray to carry it with me🙃 So I can get something to eat and drink on one tour🤪🤪🤪( or X probably prefer that I go to the retreat… but half way dirty and done after my day. It’s nice to just land in your own home) Would I be welcomed and allowed to sit in the sofa if I were arriving as after my ship tour on Sil?😝🤭🫣

 

What can we ask for?

Can we request dinner delivery? 

So we can eat private on our own balcony. 

We can probably ask for some of it. But no one has greeted and told us from day 1 in our own home away from home. This is mega important for new people! 

It’s honestly a very important way to connect and make a good first impression! (And we all know that the first impression is important) 

 

We needed to raise some of our questions in the retreat(how do we order breakfast, should we have order forms?). The message is just call us, room service … or housekeeping. 

Again, my apologies for not wanting to be the demanding lady on holiday. (I really hate to call people I know is super busy and have loads of work. So I can put extra work into this….🫠) 

Things that they could have easily answered and made in order if they had time to stop by on day 1 in our suite or your housekeeping had time to actually visit and say hello. This and this works like this and this and this is the best way to make it happen. 

 

In one way, it seems to me that The Retreat team assume everyone is regularly sailing in a suite. We have sailed several times on X, but none in suites on X. (Only JS suite on Royal,  Voyager, and that’s only a bigger room and nothing more. We where extremely underwhelmed) 

I find it a bit difficult to have to ask all this questions. It’s not my job. 

 

When we have stayed at places you want/can compare to The Retreat experience/SS to in Mauritius/China/Japan/Hong Kong/Dubai/USA/Thailand/Singapore. 

We have had a personal connection from the first few hours after arriving and they have talked us thru how to proceed for different services and how things work. 

We have not had anything near that. 

That’s our feedback….

 

We didn’t see/hear the butler before day 6. 

He meet us in the hallway. He knew us from pictures. 

He is definitely overwhelmed in people to take care of and serve in a decent way. 

3 butlers for all suites are crazy overloaded. 

 

Luminae is a nice restaurant in many ways. 

The crew works hard and nothing wrong in the crew. 

The biggest issue is the compose of the menus. Some days it’s an excellent selection and the next day is really hard to find something. (This is a personal preference, from a fish/seafood eater perspective) 

Both me and Mr agreed on that it’s good,  its details and what level they want to be that lacks the details. 

Personally we leaning towards Blu in menu options for vegetables and fish/seafood. 

Some things are better than others. But we are not wowed from a food perspective. My preference point is high, since it’s marketed and sold as excellent. 

Yesterdays dessert was on target+ of all parameters. 

 

We can pick up water and soda drinks in the retreat self-serve section. 

Okay, but I feel like a bad person when I stuff my x shopping bag full of water and sparkling water. Why can’t you just on day 1 tell your preference and what you need. So housekeeping can put it inside your fridge during day service? 

Not a full container, but 4 bottles of water at least. 

 

I’m not joking, we get 2 bottles of water in our stateroom and we need at least 3 more bottles of water and 4 bottles sparkling water. That’s what we drink every day in warmer climates just in our stateroom. I need to drink at least 1l after my 1 hour power walk in the hot sun. 

 

This is so far our experience and we are a decent distance from wowed about it. 

Mr likes the tub and likes the retreat area. 

But he’s not sold as of today. 

 

Crew is friendly and they work very hard. But corporate has taken the cut too far to deliver what they advertise. 

In my eyes it’s a miss/match of what they are advertising and what they deliver in reality. 

 

So we will see if we change our minds, but I think we will stick to “steerage class”  if this is what you can expect from a SS experience. 

Thanks for your honest review of your SS experience as disappointing as it is to hear for those of us that cruise suites (SS in particular of late) and those that are considering it. We have three coming up, with one in a few weeks, in SS for the first time since the changes and from reviews have certainly lowered our expectations which is a shame from a product that we have so enjoyed and encouraged others to try. But, we will always keep a good attitude as we know how hard the crew works and just enjoy our travels. Like others, enjoyed following along! 

[Cap_D]

@Norwayladythank you and continued safe travels.  The journey, candor, and humor is appreciated.  We share your concerns about the Retreat experience, and your comments confirm our disappointment.  Some of the impacts of the cutbacks or lack of attention to detail is hard to fathom given the price.  Whether it's bottles of water, housekeeping, convenience for ordering breakfast, and so on there's no reason those shouldn't be able to be accommodated without a you needing to work and ask.  And, I will observe that this thread quickly stopped talking about the dry dock when it was apparent nothing changed, and the door locks need maintenance.  Yet, having the number of days vacation you have and the overall experience, it seems you had a great time.  Obviously that is priceless.  Again, thanks for sharing.  

Edited November 21, 2023 by Cap_D

[Ken the cruiser]

Sorry to hear you continue to experience mediocre service in your SS rather than being wowed. That's one reason along with the Luminae menu options we switched to booking Aqua cabins the past few years. However, we are now finding the Blu menus are getting a little weak and with the increased demand for Aqua cabins causing their cabin fares to continue to rise, we are now considering booking aft-facing Sunset Verandas on Edge-class ships, like we had back in Nov 2021 when we cruised on the Apex in one.

 

However, I'm reading today on CC that there is only Anytime Dining available in the MDRs on Edge class ships rather than also offering Early and Late Fixed seating reservations like they advertise on their website when booking a cruise. When you were in the concierge cabin on your first leg, was it your experience that there was only Anytime Dining or were guests allowed to prebook an Early Fixed Seating table for 2 at one of their MDRs for the entire cruise rather than having to stand in line every night to get a table at one of the four MDRs?

 

[dreamer321]

It looks like the Mr. gave up on his Movember mustache🙁

[Barwick Cruiser]

5 minutes ago, dreamer321 said:

It looks like the Mr. gave up on his Movember mustache🙁

Haha, good catch, I never noticed until I read your post. 

[Lena11033]

Thanks for the review on the butler situation, disappointing but I'm not surprised.

 

What I am surprised about is the fact you specified don't send pineapple as you are allergic and that was sent - that's a huge problem.

[hcat]

5 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

Some thoughts about our sky suite experience as of now, day 9. 

This is really not easy. 

I feel that you are walking on a thin line of offending people and their preferences. 

 

What I will make absolutely clear is that the crew are working their socks off. 

This is not a crew issue on the ship. 

It’s connected to corporate decisions and their lack of contact to the their product. 

Cut backs is a major part of this problem. 

 

So, we are b2b. 

So we did board the ship in Italy in a concierge cabin. 

I know this sailing is very special in all ways. Number of captain’s club higher levels are far over the usual numbers. Specifically Zenith’s. So they shouldn’t cut anything in butler’s or people connected to the retreat before after the ship arrives in NZ/Aus. It’s a demanding crowd onboard🤓😅

What would be the correct decision was to keep the number as before until they reached NZ/AUS. 

 

I was in one way a bit surprised that we received no contact or letter from the retreat wishing us welcome to us on your next part of your sailing adventure a day before turnaround day. 

I was following our mail box as a hawk to hide it from Mr…🤭

Nothing…..

 

Upon boarding in Dubai, we were lucky. Since we could walk straight on, due to clearing of b2b in the morning. But there was a group of ladies in front of us sailing in SS on the gangway and they were greeted and followed onward by someone from the retreat standing on the destination deck. They had made it very visible and loudly marked we sail suites😅(we are not there😝….) 

 

We just walked on as normal. It was a made house of chaos. So not angry or upset. But it’s the lack of personal touch and the cherry on the top. 

 

We did not see our housekeeper until we tried to find him at 21.05 in the evening. Then we walked in the hallway back to the fun downstairs… Our room had not received turndown service yet…. 

So we went out again so they had a chance to get thru the staterooms. 

Our deck is definitely overwhelmed in housekeeping. 

It’s many suites and our fellow passengers are demanding in many ways. It’s stacks of plates and glasses in the hallway. People bring food from the OceanViev and don’t want the plates in their stateroom. (Fair enough, but team housekeeping is running a marathon picking up all of this on the floor in our hallway. I’m really surprised over the amount of this on our deck) 

 

They should definitely have an assistant on those floors containing several suites. To help off the pressure. 

To force on service from a butler to a housekeeper is not by chance possible. They lack training and don’t have time. They are already working on max capacity to serve their staterooms in ordinary housekeeping duties. (It’s already very clear to me that they are behind schedule of what corporate office thinks is possible and what in reality is possible to do in x hours) 

I can, but will not in a million years call my stateroom attendant to get coffee, I know he’s already overwhelmed by work.

This was just another example of missing cherries 🍒 on the top….

 

We had to ask on day 2, is the 2 bottles of water for us or do it belong to the mini bar? No notice or any information in the stateroom. (Communication is really not to underestimate😜) 

 

Breakfast from room service paper order has worked okey. We had to ask for them. 

It has arrived as requested and contained what we ordered. But they don’t follow it completely. Last delivery we ordered fruit and I always write in big letters and ! NO Pineapple 🍍! I’m allergic…. 

On our fruit it was pineapple….

 

The orange juice is concentrate. It has tasted so sour that your hair is raised. Why can’t they serve real juice? 

It’s just the detail of attention. It’s not ruining my stay. 

 

The biggest problem is the lack of a table to eat on. It’s very low and not really good for eating. This is a design error and they don’t use a pop-up table for serving. 

So it’s either sit on the floor or have you plate on your lap or in bed.

So we have a balcony but no table suitable for eating🙄

 

There’s no paper menu for room service daytime available. Only in the app. 

No options of pre ordering a fruit plate or something when you return from a shore excursion. We can walk to the buffet and pick up something. But I have this really nice balcony that I want to use also😜 at least offer me a tray to carry it with me🙃 So I can get something to eat and drink on one tour🤪🤪🤪( or X probably prefer that I go to the retreat… but half way dirty and done after my day. It’s nice to just land in your own home) Would I be welcomed and allowed to sit in the sofa if I were arriving as after my ship tour on Sil?😝🤭🫣

 

What can we ask for?

Can we request dinner delivery? 

So we can eat private on our own balcony. 

We can probably ask for some of it. But no one has greeted and told us from day 1 in our own home away from home. This is mega important for new people! 

It’s honestly a very important way to connect and make a good first impression! (And we all know that the first impression is important) 

 

We needed to raise some of our questions in the retreat(how do we order breakfast, should we have order forms?). The message is just call us, room service … or housekeeping. 

Again, my apologies for not wanting to be the demanding lady on holiday. (I really hate to call people I know is super busy and have loads of work. So I can put extra work into this….🫠) 

Things that they could have easily answered and made in order if they had time to stop by on day 1 in our suite or your housekeeping had time to actually visit and say hello. This and this works like this and this and this is the best way to make it happen. 

 

In one way, it seems to me that The Retreat team assume everyone is regularly sailing in a suite. We have sailed several times on X, but none in suites on X. (Only JS suite on Royal,  Voyager, and that’s only a bigger room and nothing more. We where extremely underwhelmed) 

I find it a bit difficult to have to ask all this questions. It’s not my job. 

 

When we have stayed at places you want/can compare to The Retreat experience/SS to in Mauritius/China/Japan/Hong Kong/Dubai/USA/Thailand/Singapore. 

We have had a personal connection from the first few hours after arriving and they have talked us thru how to proceed for different services and how things work. 

We have not had anything near that. 

That’s our feedback….

 

We didn’t see/hear the butler before day 6. 

He meet us in the hallway. He knew us from pictures. 

He is definitely overwhelmed in people to take care of and serve in a decent way. 

3 butlers for all suites are crazy overloaded. 

 

Luminae is a nice restaurant in many ways. 

The crew works hard and nothing wrong in the crew. 

The biggest issue is the compose of the menus. Some days it’s an excellent selection and the next day is really hard to find something. (This is a personal preference, from a fish/seafood eater perspective) 

Both me and Mr agreed on that it’s good,  its details and what level they want to be that lacks the details. 

Personally we leaning towards Blu in menu options for vegetables and fish/seafood. 

Some things are better than others. But we are not wowed from a food perspective. My preference point is high, since it’s marketed and sold as excellent. 

Yesterdays dessert was on target+ of all parameters. 

 

We can pick up water and soda drinks in the retreat self-serve section. 

Okay, but I feel like a bad person when I stuff my x shopping bag full of water and sparkling water. Why can’t you just on day 1 tell your preference and what you need. So housekeeping can put it inside your fridge during day service? 

Not a full container, but 4 bottles of water at least. 

 

I’m not joking, we get 2 bottles of water in our stateroom and we need at least 3 more bottles of water and 4 bottles sparkling water. That’s what we drink every day in warmer climates just in our stateroom. I need to drink at least 1l after my 1 hour power walk in the hot sun. 

 

This is so far our experience and we are a decent distance from wowed about it. 

Mr likes the tub and likes the retreat area. 

But he’s not sold as of today. 

 

Crew is friendly and they work very hard. But corporate has taken the cut too far to deliver what they advertise. 

In my eyes it’s a miss/match of what they are advertising and what they deliver in reality. 

 

So we will see if we change our minds, but I think we will stick to “steerage class”  if this is what you can expect from a SS experience. 

We  share your point of view.

 

We were in a SS on Beyond before the Butler changes..( used up all our fccs )  It was nice to try but we too are headed back to AQ Class, then Concierge and then an SV. The room itself was nice and large but  we are better suited to standard service,  and can take care of ourselves and what we need fairly well!

 

Early boarding out of Port Ev had limited seats, no snacks... just drink and soda ,  and was a disorderly free for all when we were cleared.  Priority disembark was abt the same.  We were crowded in a small area..with  guards at door b/c many tried to sneak or bs their way in.  It was good to get off the ship first  but it was also a mad race.

 

Our Butler was over attentive, so we felt  less privacy. And no one told us what goodies other than drinks were in the Retreat Lounge..  We did not like Luminae.. we prefer BLU menu, food, atmosphere and service.  Retreat pool was crowded except for port days when we were able to enjoy.

 

Glad we tried it..but esp now not worth it for us to pay  a higher fare..

 

 

[KKB]

@Norwaylady We got a deal on a SS over Easter weekend on the Beyond.

(truly comparable to what we have paid for a balcony when the included OBC was factored in--which apparently is no longer?)

 

We too were very underwhelmed by Retreat.

We also agree it has NOTHING to do with crew doing the best they can.

 

Cliffs notes version--for us, nothing in Retreat was worth paying much extra for.

 

It was nice to try. 

But I doubt we will try it again.

 

Again---thanks for your honest thoughts!

 

[darsura]

We also got a sweet SS deal on the Edge in early July before the butler changes took place.  While we enjoyed our first stay in a suite, we will be returning to Aqua or Sunset Verandas as we usually sail in.  We saw our butler every day, and he was very nice, but we never requested anything, nor knew we could.  We probably wouldn’t have anyway.  The Retreat was nice, but for us, not worth it unless we get another really good deal, which we learned about on these boards.

[Wookie01]

@Norwayladythanks for sharing your SS views, so sorry that the Celebrity executive team have cut back so harshly that the suite experience is not what it should be. 😞
We will be in our first (and last) SS in late December to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. It is an outrageous price and something that we will never do again, but we thought that it would be a great 'treat' to celebrate the milestone. Seems that Celebrity are doing their best to spoil the celebration 😞

 

[hcat]

7 minutes ago, Wookie01 said:

@Norwayladythanks for sharing your SS views, so sorry that the Celebrity executive team have cut back so harshly that the suite experience is not what it should be. 😞
We will be in our first (and last) SS in late December to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. It is an outrageous price and something that we will never do again, but we thought that it would be a great 'treat' to celebrate the milestone. Seems that Celebrity are doing their best to spoil the celebration 😞

 

Congrats!  Don't be shy about letting Retreat, Luminae,  attendants, Cap Club etc know this is a special celebration...I expect they will go out of their way to make it fabulous snd memorable!