Celebrity Cruises The Retreat Review: Is This Ship-Within-a-Ship Worth the Cost?

After sailing aboard Celebrity Apex and experiencing all The Retreat has to offer, we confidently recommend Celebrity Cruises: The Retreat! It’s perfect for anyone who wants to sail on a big ship but get the experience of exclusive areas and the premier treatment suite guests enjoy. 

First, we'll answer some key questions about The Retreat. Then, we'll dive into the spaces, restaurants, and additional perks of being part of The Retreat with Celebrity Cruises.

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What is The Retreat on Celebrity Cruises?

This is a special cruise suites-only class that Celebrity has named “The Retreat,” which includes special access on the ship along with additional perks.

The Retreat guests are in suites of varying sizes and have a special dining option called “Luminae.” The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner, depending on the day and the cruise ship's port or itinerary.

The Retreat gives guests access to a private lounge area where premium drinks are served and included. It also gives them access to a pool and sundeck area (available on Edge class and Revolutionized ships), with an additional daily bar and lunch menu. During shows, there is a reserved seating area for Retreat guests.

A suite host, or butler, is also assigned to each guest suite of The Retreat.

Which Celebrity Cruises have The Retreat?

All Edge class ships have The Retreat. This includes Celebrity Apex, Beyond, Edge, and Ascend. Additionally, all of Celebrity Cruises Revolutionized ships have The Retreat.

Can Children Be a Part of The Retreat and Enjoy All Its Amenities and Areas?

Yes, there is no age restriction for The Retreat. We co-mingled with guests, young and old.

One of our favorite memories was actually talking to a 9-year-old boy in the hot tub, who was wise beyond his years and had been on more than ten cruises.

The Retreat Spaces on Celebrity Cruises Edge Class Ships

Luminae Restaurant 

It was so nice to have this upscale option for meals. When we boarded the ship at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, it was the first place we went to enjoy lunch. That first lunch ended up being one of our favorite meals!

We love how Luminae on Celebrity Apex was filled with a ton of natural light during the day. The restaurant's interior was modern and cosmopolitan, decorated in black, white, and grey with pops of color (just our style). It's nearly identical on Celebrity Edge.

We have extensively reviewed Luminae in The Retreat here.

The Retreat Lounge 

A special lounge for guests of The Retreat is open from morning to night—midnight, to be precise. Your suite key allows you access to this exclusive lounge. If you want something more casual than breakfast at Luminae, you can enjoy a continental breakfast here. Premium cocktails are also included at The Retreat Lounge. If you like wine, an award-winning wine portfolio of red, white, and bubbly wines representing vineyards worldwide are served complimentary. 

Soft drinks like sodas and water are also available in self-serve mini fridges when you walk into The Retreat Lounge. Sometimes, they also serve afternoon tea. On particular evenings, live entertainment, like an acoustic guitar player and singer, happens at the lounge.

We enjoyed stopping in The Retreat Lounge area an hour or two before dinner for light bites, like fruit, charcuterie, and cheese options. 

The Retreat Pool Deck 

Depending on the ship, you can access this exclusive area through Deck 15 or 16 forward. You use your suite key card to gain entry. 

The pool for Retreat guests includes lounge chairs before you get to the pool and outdoor couches and chairs for lounging and reading books, for example, throughout the space. When we sailed on Celebrity Edge in Alaska, fleece blankets were stacked for guest use outdoors. It's a welcome layer of extra warmth in the cold waters of the Last Frontier!

The small square pool at The Retreat sun deck has a shallow edge, so you can sit in the water but not fully submerge your body. There are also photo-worthy swings, which we enjoyed using to put our feet in the water and read a book. 

The lounge chairs bordering the pool can get pretty busy, especially during sea days if you're sailing in a warm-weather place like the Caribbean or when glacier views are supreme in Alaska. That said, luckily, seating was always available when we needed it. If you're sailing somewhere cold, like Alaska, the lounge will likely be much busier than The Retreat's outdoor areas on cold days.

The Retreat Sundeck

On Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Edge, The Retreat Sundeck was nearly identical. It was very large, with plenty of seating. We never saw it full during our Caribbean cruise. Even on days where there were more people populating the space than other days, like the one full day at sea, there was an abundance of seating available. The seating closest to the pool always filled up fastest.

There are lounge areas with cozy rocking chairs where you can curl up with a book and a good cocktail and lounge chairs for sunbathing during warm-weather itineraries.

The Retreat Sundeck is available on Edge Series and Revolutionized ships. It is unavailable on Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Reflection, Celebrity Constellation, or Celebrity Infinity.

Food at The Retreat Pool

Lunch was available from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. You could order simple items like a turkey wrap, Caesar salad, or shrimp cocktail. 

Everything — from food to drinks — is included at The Retreat Pool and Lounge. A favorite treat at The Retreat Pool Deck was passed hors d'oeuvres come mid-day; they were always a refreshing pick-me-up. A crew member offered us skewered fruit mid-day by the pool one afternoon and mini ice cream cups the next. Little things like that made a big difference to us. On Celebrity Cruises, it made us feel like we were extra special.

What Does Celebrity Cruises' Retreat Cost?

It's really hard to answer this question for several reasons, including that every cruise is different, whether in terms of itinerary (including destination and length of the sailing) or when you book your cruise.

However, you shouldn't be discouraged from pricing out The Retreat simply because it's “exclusive.” Booking a suite that's part of The Retreat is open to anyone.

If there is a current promotion to book The Retreat, including Wi-Fi, for example, if that's desirable to you, then it may be a better deal to book The Retreat than, say, booking a room that you add an internet package onto.

We'd be more concerned about the availability of The Retreat class suites on your sailing over the cost of it!

But given how much is included in The Retreat—from Luminae to The Retreat Lounge with premium drinks no matter the time of day—we'd say it's definitely worth considering when you book your Celebrity Cruises sailing.

Various Suite Options to Choose From & The Retreat Perks

Ten different suite class options allow guests to participate in The Retreat. They include:

• Sky suites (this is the entry-level suite and the most affordable suite option that allows guests to be in The Retreat with Celebrity Cruises)
• AquaClass Sky suites
• Celebrity suites
• Royal suites
• Edge villas
• Penthouse suites
• Iconic suites (they are two onboard Apex) 

If you want to enjoy the benefits of AquaClass in The Retreat (like eating at the restaurant Blu and having spa access), you need to book an Aqua SkySuite, which is a very specific type of suite.

We stayed in an Aqua SkySuite (photos below), and it was nice to have those additional AquaClass options during our 7-day cruise, including welcome drinks in our room upon arrival.

All guests of The Retreat have the following in their suite, available upon arrival or by request:

• Pillow menu
• Binoculars
• Complimentary stocked minibar
• Premium Bedding
• Shoe shine
• Daily canapés
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner from the comfort of your suite, selected from the in-suite dining menu, available daily

Additional perks of The Retreat, for all Retreat guests, include:

• Express priority luggage drop off and delivery for embarkation
• Priority embarkation the day your cruise starts
• Personal butler, available via Butler Chat from onboard or ashore to help with any suite needs, reservations, or excursions
• Reserved seating in The Theatre
• Priority port tendering at available ports of call
• Priority disembarkation the day your cruise ends

If you book a Royal Suite or above, you also get:

• Complimentary laundry service, including unlimited pressing
• Complimentary Extend Your Stay, providing the flexibility of staying onboard longer on disembarkation day in selected ports: Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Venice (Ravenna), Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; and; Southampton, England
• Complimentary SEA Thermal Suite access on Edge Series ships and the Persian Garden on Millennium and Solstice Series ships
• Complimentary Unlimited Specialty Dining, including lunch and dinner
• Ability to customize your in-suite minibar experience before sailing
• Two complimentary bottles of wine or spirits throughout your sailing
• Exclusive complimentary sleepwear (which guests get to keep)

If you are in an Aqua SkySuite, you have two additional perks, thanks to your suite class:

• In-room workout gear
• Daily spa access

The Retreat Review in Summary

We truly loved our experience in The Retreat and cannot imagine cruising with Celebrity Cruises without it. You should definitely look into it as an option when you look into Celebrity Cruises options for your next vacation to enjoy the exclusive perks and service it provides for the ultimate luxurious vacation with this wonderful cruise line.

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