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Is the Celebrity Cruises "The Retreat" experience worth the money? The all-inclusive experience is advertised and sold as modern, resort-living luxury but, as you'll see in this video, it's not quite as simple as that.
In this review, we'll look at the various accommodation types that allow you to enjoy The Retreat, starting with the Sky Suite and Celebrity Suite, and topping out at the Royal Suite and Penthouse Suite. We'll discuss what's included, and how guests of the top two suite types onboard actually gain access to more inclusions.
From Luminae, to Michael's Club, The Retreat Sun Deck and Retreat Lounge, there are plenty of benefits for guests of The Retreat.
There is of course an important distinction to make when it comes to The Retreat onboard Celebrity Cruises. It can definitely impact on your experience and it can be easy to get caught out if you're not careful.
Whilst The Retreat is billed as having the most modern and luxurious accommodations afloat, there are two distinct experiences onboard Celebrity Cruises ships. The brand new, Celebrity Edge inspired accommodations and public spaces, and the older, Solstice and Millennium Class experience on ships that have not yet seen their multi-million dollar refit yet take place.
From dining and service, The Retreat definitely provides an experience that is a step above the norm. Your personal butler and The Retreat Hosts will do their best to ensure you have a pleasant time onboard, and will see to your requests, negating the necessity to ever attend the Guest Services desk.
There were some general misses, the Starlink internet service was awful, and pre-cruise email communications from Celebrity Cruises were woeful. Plus we lost 2 ports on our originally 6 port cruise and this was barely acknowledged by the cruise line - despite family focused cruise lines like P&O Australia and Carnival offering their guests onboard credit as a gesture of goodwill on recently affected cruises.
The concept of value is obviously a very subjective one, but I definitely appreciated the long list of inclusions. Taking into account that we also had an onboard credit, we barely spent anything extra on this cruise. For us it really was all-inclusive and that made a difference.
Though it’s not always the case, when you factor in the cost of drinks packages, specialty dining, and internet and add those to the cost of a standard room, you can start edging towards the cost of a suite, and in many cases that’ll come with additional extras that you don’t have to pay for separately. It’s worth looking in to when you’re booking your next cruise, on any cruise line. Having said that and without specifically mentioning how much we paid for our room, I can tell you that a 10 night cruise to the same part of the world and in the same room type onboard the admittedly newer Celebrity Edge is more than double what we paid for ours and at those prices, the justification falls apart for me. Much like beauty though, value is in the eye of the beholder so your mileage may vary.
Luxury is in many ways defined by comfort and ease and I think that’s what stood out most about our cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. It was easy - and apart from my single strange interaction in Luminae, there were really no issues. If you’re seeking an experience that’s a step above in terms of amenity, The Retreat is definitely something to consider but make sure you know which Retreat experience you’re booking.
Overall, I had an incredible time onboard Celebrity Eclipse, and based on the inclusions, the level of service and the suite itself, it now ranks as one of my top cruises, second perhaps to my 2018 voyage onboard Azamara Journey.
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments! Thank you for watching.
