Did I hear that correctly - there is no retreat lounge or retreat sun deck on the Eclipse?? The only exclusive place is Michael’s? The Beyond had a beautiful sun deck with a pool and bar in addition to a retreat lounge.
Adrian , we cruised Eclipse on prime balcony and loved it wow the atmosphere was unbelievable our cruise director Eddy was unbelievable he ran a great ship so to speak, as we have always cruised Holland it was a big change for us and loved it and also cruised "all included " and loved Sushi on 5. I have noticed a massive increase in fares on Celebrity and the not so all included now, Fantastic watch thanks for posting. think we might go back to Holland or try Princess next cruise
Excellent analysis thanks Adrian. I must admit that if pricing was comparable I'm not sure whether the ship within a ship experience would be better than simply opting for a more luxurious cruise line. Way too many variables to consider in pondering this I suspect.
Thanks Mark. I do wonder the same thing, especially since more boutique, luxury cruise lines are generally based on smaller ships which helps in delivering a more upmarket experience.
I'm so excited for my June sailing in the retreat on Summit, and moreso after watching this video (and the previous entries in the series). I'm actually going to be staying in a relatively new category for Summit (as I understand it): Aqua Sky, offering the best of both categories. Luminai and Blue, unlimited access to the Persian Gardens spa, a whole slew of perks and a VERY generous onboard credit. This will be my first trip with Celebrity, and I have a feeling I shall emerge completely spoiled!
Helpful information, Adrian. Thanks for the thorough review. We are sailing on Eclipse in the fall of 2024 in the Southern Caribbean so this was helpful. We sailed in a Sky Suite last fall in the Mediterranean on the Edge and had a marvelous experience. Luminae was quite luxurious and service was exceptional. We'll see how it compares to the Eclipse.
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the review! I think you might have a more "intimate" experience onboard Eclipse, being a smaller ship with a much cosier Luminae. Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself immensely!
We have Silhouette coming to the UK this year so are keen to discover more about Celebrity in general and what it offers its guests; so we found this really useful.
Thanks for the helpful information. Any update on the remaining revolution schedules since you're video came out? I'm particularly interested in the Reflection. TIA.
Hi Adrian as usual very enjoyable and informative, I don’t think we would ever be able to afford a Celebrity cruise but it's nice to experience it through your vlog.
Thanks Ken, glad you enjoyed following along. If you’re ever flexible with timing, there can often be big discounts on last minute sailings with Celebrity as they try to fill the ships so something to look out for.
We were lucky enough to be in a Royal Suite on the Summit. It had been updated and the Retreat Staff were exceptional! Unfortunately, all the pre-cruise preferences were unmet; but mostly corrected after speaking to the Retreat Concierge( our Butler was MIA most of the cruise, the suite attendant was AWESOME and made up for the Butler's shortcomings) The priority embarkment and disembarkment were definitely an underrated perk. The bartender in the Retreat Lounge was most certainly the best on the ship. I would likely opt for a Sky Suite next time, definitely was a solid value despite its price!
The updated RS on the Summit looks beautiful! Shame about your pre-cruise preferences not being communicated to the onboard team. We had a few minor things that weren't addressed, but the majority had been taken care of. It's a wonderful way to cruise!
Excellent review...this was our first time in a suite on your cruise and as you know, we were not overwhelmed however, we do have a sky suite booked for next year on one of the Edge class ships in the Caribbean where it seems to be a little more affordable. And yes, it was disappointing how we were not offered compensation for the missed ports. We were on a Princess cruise in September and were compensated nearly $1200 for missing out on Adelaide and Port Lincoln as we were in a suite. Oh well...que sera sera!
Thanks Julie. I do think the Edge Retreat experience will be better on the whole, though will be interested to see if that is the case. Felt like Celebrity just ignored the port changes altogether after they sent their notice around.
We went on Retreat last October on Equinox. Fantastic service and fabulous meals in Luminae. Not too crazy about Retreat Lounge as it’s basically just a small room. The general areas like Cafe Al Bacio, buffet and solarium were crowded, not feeling the luxury at all. I do enjoy the shows on Celebrity though which is one reason that keeps me traveling with them. Their Retreat price has gone up significantly. I am not sure if it’s all worth it now. We are now exploring other cruise lines like Oceania and Viking.
Thanks Tom. Appreciate you sharing your experience also. The price rises are definitely making smaller, more boutique cruise lines look like a viable alternative to The Retreat.
Hi Jeanette. I arrived at the terminal at about 11:20am and we were in the room within 20 minutes! That doesn't account for any delays you might experience, but it was perfectly seamless when I boarded. Make sure you present yourself to The Retreat check-in line outside the terminal entrance. Enjoy!
An announcement was made in Noumea to the effect that the ship isn't aligned with the satellites. If you paid for the service it was unavailable for about 8 hours. No refunds offered. We once visited Noumea on the Celebrity Century and they appologised that we didn't dock at the town terminal but at the freight terminal(where we did this time). They gave a refund of some of the port charges. This cruise cancelled ports but Celebrity didn't offer any sort of compensation. It was almost like we should have been lucky to get there at all. The prices of cruises have risen generally far too much. If I hear one more time that "due to Co%#id" I will scream. Great to meet you and Michael on this cruise. Maybe again one day. BTW. I still haven't figured out what is on your cocktail book. Is it a glass cat? Cheers Clark
Thanks Clark. Was great to meet you both as well! I'm sure we'll cross paths again one day. Haha that would be Zoe, the glass dachshund made onboard Eclipse.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy looking logically, from your video & some other of your comments, it seems that the price you paid & the extras that you received was fairly good value compared to the regular balcony price for 2 people.
@@johnhowes1686 it was really good value. I booked in September 2021, so I think the pricing was reflective of the fact that we were still in the shut down period.
That’s an interesting point to consider - in some ways that might be why Royal Caribbean divested itself of Azamara, knowing that Celebrity would be pushing upmarket with the “ship within a ship” Retreat concept. My cruise on Az Journey was a fair few years ago now, and pricing has definitely moved upward since. That cruise came with similar inclusions, but was a couple of hundred dollars per night cheaper.
I'm sorry but I think the decor of the suites in the Eclipse is richer and warmee than the IMO boring gray and white suite interiors of the Edge ships. Those are just formulaic trendy and will date themselves in a few years IMO. I don't see the appeal in all of the gray and rectilinear style of the Edge ships whatsoever and if the so-called upgrade to the suite is to make it more like the Edge, I think they should skip it. I think just spruce up the original to the same style and up the tech and the suites are much more warm and inviting in the original style. If you want to go a little lighter with the woods, fine, but not gray everywhere. I'm not big on the retreat. It's just a way to separate classes of passengers and and make some areas off limits to some of them, maybe most of them. Reserved seating, priority embarkation, that's fine. But class division is a step backwards and that's what NCL, Celebrity, MSC and others are embracing with their suite-only areas of ships. Not too bad on Equinox because it wasn't designed for them. The Edge ships are over-hyped IMO. The decor is very muted in terms of colors and patterns and repetitive in the use of grays and beige or gray, white, red, as is most of the Retreat spaces. They lack intimacy in spaces. I don't like the idea of making the Equinox more like the Edge. That's a downgrade. The Solstice ships need to keep their own character distinct from the Edge ships for those that appreciate their style and intimacy. While I think refreshing and refurbishing the Solstice class ships, making them Edge-like is a negative IMO. Celebrity is clearly going for revenue in making all of these suites and they'll be less special. At some point, Celebrity probably wants to make 25 percent of their ships suites, or at least call slightly bigger rooms suites.
I love grey 😍 The suite we stayed in on Eclipse was very dated - but still supremely comfortable. Could definitely use a big refresh. Thanks for sharing your experience.
After just completing a cruise on the eclipse we will never go on celebrity again. We had a balcony room and could not justify $95 Usd per person per day for drinks. You never mentioned that all costs are in usd which means a standard beer was $10 usd which is around $14aud ouch. I noticed you never ate in the standard restaurant which was handy as the food was very sub par. The other restaurants which we did 4 over 14 nights cost us $100 each plus drinks and of course that’s usd!! So each night in these places were really $300aud which is crazy. Having the retreat is great, but for people not in it made us feel very us and them which spoilt the whole feel of the cruise. You never mentioned real dollars as I am sure you received a heavy discount due to a travel blogger/agent. Please give us the true story and maybe travel with the peasants next time as see what you think.
Phillip, as titled, my review is of The Retreat. That is the experience I booked, paid for, and sailed in. I don’t believe I mentioned that the review was of Celebrity in general, so if you were watching it for a general review then you chose the wrong video. It sounds like you were surprised by the fact that the ship operates in USD onboard (which by the way, Royal Caribbean does also) so I can only imagine you chose to book your cruise direct or without the help of a travel agent. That’s a perfect example for readers of your comment, as to why booking with a travel agent is the smart choice. As for your assumption that I received some sort of discount, you’re mistaken. I paid the full rate. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Phillip, as misdirected as they are.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy I agree with the title and what you are saying but without dollars on the table I could not suggest or try the retreat. I would not buy a car unless I know the price. The use of usd is not uncommon for me as I have sailed in Canada/Alaska it was the value that they were charging us. Many people said to us it’s ok we have the drinks package so it’s all included, which is totally false as you still have to pay per drink the tip the server which comes out at the end of cruise and added to your bill. Maybe people didn’t read the fine print on this. As the cost of the wifi per day don’t get me started.
@@phillipw1412 totally understand. However, tips are all inclusive on Australian voyages. There shouldn’t have been any other charges for service fees on your account at the end of the cruise. The 18% service fee is included in the drink price on Australian sailings. The Retreat costs are dependent on the sailing - just check the cost based on the departure for something in a Sky Suite or higher and you’ll have it. I paid approx $15,000 for 2 passengers.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy I was of the understanding that Celebrity never charged daily service fees as long as the cruise is booked and paid for in Australia or NZ. This included all sailings anywhere in the world. They always built it into our initial cruise fare so it could never be removed at guest services. Has Celebrity changed this policy recently for sailings outside of Aus/NZ? Or maybe for balcony and below classes of cabins only (taking away the all included promotion, even for Aussie/Kiwi’s that booked in their countries)? Iv read some comments elsewhere lately that suggest this to be the case.
Did I hear that correctly - there is no retreat lounge or retreat sun deck on the Eclipse?? The only exclusive place is Michael’s? The Beyond had a beautiful sun deck with a pool and bar in addition to a retreat lounge.
Thanks for the review, great information. I am booked in a Celebrity Suite on the Edge in early 2024. Really looking forward to the experience
Glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching. Hope you have an epic time on Edge next year. Should be incredible if Eclipse is anything to go by!
Now I have an even bigger WOW factor for our upcoming cruise and Retreat experience. Thank you much for the well explained perks of the Retreat..
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching and I hope you have a brilliant cruise in The Retreat.
Great review...very much liked the Eclipse !!
Thanks Michael. She’s a lovely ship with an excellent crew.
Adrian , we cruised Eclipse on prime balcony and loved it wow the atmosphere was unbelievable our cruise director Eddy was unbelievable he ran a great ship so to speak, as we have always cruised Holland it was a big change for us and loved it and also cruised "all included " and loved Sushi on 5. I have noticed a massive increase in fares on Celebrity and the not so all included now, Fantastic watch thanks for posting. think we might go back to Holland or try Princess next cruise
Sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing your experience. I also loved Sushi on 5... was so good we kept going back haha
Excellent analysis thanks Adrian. I must admit that if pricing was comparable I'm not sure whether the ship within a ship experience would be better than simply opting for a more luxurious cruise line. Way too many variables to consider in pondering this I suspect.
Thanks Mark. I do wonder the same thing, especially since more boutique, luxury cruise lines are generally based on smaller ships which helps in delivering a more upmarket experience.
I'm so excited for my June sailing in the retreat on Summit, and moreso after watching this video (and the previous entries in the series). I'm actually going to be staying in a relatively new category for Summit (as I understand it): Aqua Sky, offering the best of both categories. Luminai and Blue, unlimited access to the Persian Gardens spa, a whole slew of perks and a VERY generous onboard credit. This will be my first trip with Celebrity, and I have a feeling I shall emerge completely spoiled!
Sounds brilliant! You’ll have the best of both worlds with Aqua and Retreat perks.
Helpful information, Adrian. Thanks for the thorough review. We are sailing on Eclipse in the fall of 2024 in the Southern Caribbean so this was helpful. We sailed in a Sky Suite last fall in the Mediterranean on the Edge and had a marvelous experience. Luminae was quite luxurious and service was exceptional. We'll see how it compares to the Eclipse.
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the review! I think you might have a more "intimate" experience onboard Eclipse, being a smaller ship with a much cosier Luminae. Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself immensely!
We have Silhouette coming to the UK this year so are keen to discover more about Celebrity in general and what it offers its guests; so we found this really useful.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Thanks for the helpful information. Any update on the remaining revolution schedules since you're video came out? I'm particularly interested in the Reflection. TIA.
I've just had a look, and the latest document I can see still lists all remaining ships as "coming soon" unfortunately.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Thanks for checking. Haven't seen anything on it either.
Hi Adrian as usual very enjoyable and informative, I don’t think we would ever be able to afford a Celebrity cruise but it's nice to experience it through your vlog.
Thanks Ken, glad you enjoyed following along. If you’re ever flexible with timing, there can often be big discounts on last minute sailings with Celebrity as they try to fill the ships so something to look out for.
We were lucky enough to be in a Royal Suite on the Summit. It had been updated and the Retreat Staff were exceptional! Unfortunately, all the pre-cruise preferences were unmet; but mostly corrected after speaking to the Retreat Concierge( our Butler was MIA most of the cruise, the suite attendant was AWESOME and made up for the Butler's shortcomings) The priority embarkment and disembarkment were definitely an underrated perk. The bartender in the Retreat Lounge was most certainly the best on the ship. I would likely opt for a Sky Suite next time, definitely was a solid value despite its price!
The updated RS on the Summit looks beautiful! Shame about your pre-cruise preferences not being communicated to the onboard team. We had a few minor things that weren't addressed, but the majority had been taken care of.
It's a wonderful way to cruise!
Excellent review...this was our first time in a suite on your cruise and as you know, we were not overwhelmed however, we do have a sky suite booked for next year on one of the Edge class ships in the Caribbean where it seems to be a little more affordable. And yes, it was disappointing how we were not offered compensation for the missed ports. We were on a Princess cruise in September and were compensated nearly $1200 for missing out on Adelaide and Port Lincoln as we were in a suite. Oh well...que sera sera!
Thanks Julie. I do think the Edge Retreat experience will be better on the whole, though will be interested to see if that is the case. Felt like Celebrity just ignored the port changes altogether after they sent their notice around.
Wow sounds amazing ❤️ i dont think that we could ever afford to travel in a suite like that
We went on Retreat last October on Equinox. Fantastic service and fabulous meals in Luminae. Not too crazy about Retreat Lounge as it’s basically just a small room. The general areas like Cafe Al Bacio, buffet and solarium were crowded, not feeling the luxury at all. I do enjoy the shows on Celebrity though which is one reason that keeps me traveling with them. Their Retreat price has gone up significantly. I am not sure if it’s all worth it now. We are now exploring other cruise lines like Oceania and Viking.
Thanks Tom. Appreciate you sharing your experience also. The price rises are definitely making smaller, more boutique cruise lines look like a viable alternative to The Retreat.
Hi there, we are travelling on Eclipse next week in a Royal Suite. What time where you able to check at the Sydney cruise terminal?
Hi Jeanette. I arrived at the terminal at about 11:20am and we were in the room within 20 minutes! That doesn't account for any delays you might experience, but it was perfectly seamless when I boarded. Make sure you present yourself to The Retreat check-in line outside the terminal entrance. Enjoy!
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Many thanks that is great news.
An announcement was made in Noumea to the effect that the ship isn't aligned with the satellites. If you paid for the service it was unavailable for about 8 hours. No refunds offered.
We once visited Noumea on the Celebrity Century and they appologised that we didn't dock at the town terminal but at the freight terminal(where we did this time). They gave a refund of some of the port charges. This cruise cancelled ports but Celebrity didn't offer any sort of compensation. It was almost like we should have been lucky to get there at all.
The prices of cruises have risen generally far too much. If I hear one more time that "due to Co%#id" I will scream.
Great to meet you and Michael on this cruise. Maybe again one day.
BTW. I still haven't figured out what is on your cocktail book. Is it a glass cat?
Cheers Clark
Thanks Clark. Was great to meet you both as well! I'm sure we'll cross paths again one day.
Haha that would be Zoe, the glass dachshund made onboard Eclipse.
Thanks for sharing Adrian. Just one question, how many days was the cruise?
Thanks John. It was an 11 night cruise.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy looking logically, from your video & some other of your comments, it seems that the price you paid & the extras that you received was fairly good value compared to the regular balcony price for 2 people.
@@johnhowes1686 it was really good value. I booked in September 2021, so I think the pricing was reflective of the fact that we were still in the shut down period.
I wonder if the Retreats are to compensate for the loss of Azamara. Did your costs equate to the Azamara Quest cruise?
That’s an interesting point to consider - in some ways that might be why Royal Caribbean divested itself of Azamara, knowing that Celebrity would be pushing upmarket with the “ship within a ship” Retreat concept.
My cruise on Az Journey was a fair few years ago now, and pricing has definitely moved upward since. That cruise came with similar inclusions, but was a couple of hundred dollars per night cheaper.
I'm still waiting for... what ever happened in the restaurant/ strange experience.... 🤔
Here’s the link: Why I Walked out of Luminae, Celebrity Cruises' Suite Restaurant
th-cam.com/video/1nyfHItyo00/w-d-xo.html
I appreciate this info. I wish there was more ship footage and less of the apartment.
Thanks for watching. I hope you watched my other videos from Eclipse? Lots there…
No more gratuities or separate butler in the Sky suite.
No more gratuities included in any of the Retreat Class suites 🫠
Did this cruise leave from an Australian port Adrian?
Yes, it left from Sydney. You can watch the vlog series here if you like: th-cam.com/video/VTPPBcx4K4s/w-d-xo.html
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy thank you :) i will watch them :)
I'm sorry but I think the decor of the suites in the Eclipse is richer and warmee than the IMO boring gray and white suite interiors of the Edge ships. Those are just formulaic trendy and will date themselves in a few years IMO. I don't see the appeal in all of the gray and rectilinear style of the Edge ships whatsoever and if the so-called upgrade to the suite is to make it more like the Edge, I think they should skip it. I think just spruce up the original to the same style and up the tech and the suites are much more warm and inviting in the original style. If you want to go a little lighter with the woods, fine, but not gray everywhere.
I'm not big on the retreat. It's just a way to separate classes of passengers and and make some areas off limits to some of them, maybe most of them. Reserved seating, priority embarkation, that's fine. But class division is a step backwards and that's what NCL, Celebrity, MSC and others are embracing with their suite-only areas of ships. Not too bad on Equinox because it wasn't designed for them.
The Edge ships are over-hyped IMO. The decor is very muted in terms of colors and patterns and repetitive in the use of grays and beige or gray, white, red, as is most of the Retreat spaces. They lack intimacy in spaces. I don't like the idea of making the Equinox more like the Edge. That's a downgrade. The Solstice ships need to keep their own character distinct from the Edge ships for those that appreciate their style and intimacy. While I think refreshing and refurbishing the Solstice class ships, making them Edge-like is a negative IMO. Celebrity is clearly going for revenue in making all of these suites and they'll be less special. At some point, Celebrity probably wants to make 25 percent of their ships suites, or at least call slightly bigger rooms suites.
I love grey 😍 The suite we stayed in on Eclipse was very dated - but still supremely comfortable. Could definitely use a big refresh.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Prefer you did this suite/retreat review on an updated ship like the Edge. The one you showed looked old and tired sorry.
I mean, that would have been nice for me too. Not sure why you’re apologising? lol
After just completing a cruise on the eclipse we will never go on celebrity again. We had a balcony room and could not justify $95 Usd per person per day for drinks. You never mentioned that all costs are in usd which means a standard beer was $10 usd which is around $14aud ouch. I noticed you never ate in the standard restaurant which was handy as the food was very sub par. The other restaurants which we did 4 over 14 nights cost us $100 each plus drinks and of course that’s usd!! So each night in these places were really $300aud which is crazy. Having the retreat is great, but for people not in it made us feel very us and them which spoilt the whole feel of the cruise. You never mentioned real dollars as I am sure you received a heavy discount due to a travel blogger/agent. Please give us the true story and maybe travel with the peasants next time as see what you think.
Phillip, as titled, my review is of The Retreat. That is the experience I booked, paid for, and sailed in. I don’t believe I mentioned that the review was of Celebrity in general, so if you were watching it for a general review then you chose the wrong video.
It sounds like you were surprised by the fact that the ship operates in USD onboard (which by the way, Royal Caribbean does also) so I can only imagine you chose to book your cruise direct or without the help of a travel agent. That’s a perfect example for readers of your comment, as to why booking with a travel agent is the smart choice.
As for your assumption that I received some sort of discount, you’re mistaken. I paid the full rate.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Phillip, as misdirected as they are.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy I agree with the title and what you are saying but without dollars on the table I could not suggest or try the retreat. I would not buy a car unless I know the price. The use of usd is not uncommon for me as I have sailed in Canada/Alaska it was the value that they were charging us. Many people said to us it’s ok we have the drinks package so it’s all included, which is totally false as you still have to pay per drink the tip the server which comes out at the end of cruise and added to your bill. Maybe people didn’t read the fine print on this. As the cost of the wifi per day don’t get me started.
@@phillipw1412 totally understand. However, tips are all inclusive on Australian voyages. There shouldn’t have been any other charges for service fees on your account at the end of the cruise. The 18% service fee is included in the drink price on Australian sailings.
The Retreat costs are dependent on the sailing - just check the cost based on the departure for something in a Sky Suite or higher and you’ll have it.
I paid approx $15,000 for 2 passengers.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy I was of the understanding that Celebrity never charged daily service fees as long as the cruise is booked and paid for in Australia or NZ. This included all sailings anywhere in the world. They always built it into our initial cruise fare so it could never be removed at guest services. Has Celebrity changed this policy recently for sailings outside of Aus/NZ? Or maybe for balcony and below classes of cabins only (taking away the all included promotion, even for Aussie/Kiwi’s that booked in their countries)? Iv read some comments elsewhere lately that suggest this to be the case.
Starlink internet sucks
I have to agree based on my experience haha