How much per person, per day for Retreat?

[Gatordad1967]

9 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

The cat food comment made me laugh..

 

Jamie, I would investigate the “ retreat amenities” offered on the ship you are sailing on…they vary somewhat on non Edge class ships.

 

Does the suite only restaurant have a big appeal to you?  
 

Larger room, the Butler, etc..

 

$125 or so bucks a day is probably as inexpensive as you’ll see to try this…I will say that. 

Well it is sorta true, lol.

[wrk2cruise]

Luminae is made up of mostly 2 tops with a hand full of 4 tops but most can be combined to accommodate.

 

They don't offer to seat you with others at the podium in Luminae.   Many people go to the Retreat Lounge for pre-dinner drinks.   It's quite common to see people getting along in the lounge and agree to continue by dining together that 1 evening or possibly for the rest of the cruise.

 

[jelayne]

I have not been asked if we want to share a table in Luminae and have not noticed guests coming in separately and being seated at the same table.

[JamieLogical]

Thanks for the input everyone! I do think I will go ahead and pull the trigger on it. I don't know if I will have an opportunity to try the Retreat again so cheaply and after this I will be able to judge for myself whether the price difference is justified.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

The reason I asked the question is that I have the opportunity to upgrade from a Veranda stateroom on my upcoming 5-Day Summit sailing. It seems like a good deal because I am sailing solo, but they aren't charging the full solo supplement even in the suite classes. So, currently I can upgrade to a sky suite for an additional $1091.60. That comes with the Premium Beverage package, which I would definitely be paying to upgrade to anyway for $60 and $400 in OBC. So in real, out of pocket cost, it would be $631.60 to upgrade, which works out to $126.32 per day. So, the real question is, do you find Luminae, the Retreat Lounge, the Retreat sun deck, and the added service you get in the Retreat to be worth an extra $126.32 per day?

For me it would be a definite yes!

[Gatordad1967]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

Thanks for the input everyone! I do think I will go ahead and pull the trigger on it. I don't know if I will have an opportunity to try the Retreat again so cheaply and after this I will be able to judge for myself whether the price difference is justified.

warning, the suite life gets addicting.  We got a really good deal on our first one, and cry when we cannot get decent pricing on them.  The tranquility is my favorite part.

 

[TeeRick]

4 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

Luminae is made up of mostly 2 tops with a hand full of 4 tops but most can be combined to accommodate.

 

They don't offer to seat you with others at the podium in Luminae.   Many people go to the Retreat Lounge for pre-dinner drinks.   It's quite common to see people getting along in the lounge and agree to continue by dining together that 1 evening or possibly for the rest of the cruise.

 

Yes this.

[wrk2cruise]

Even if you dine by yourself in Luminae the tables are spaced apart but still close enough to have a conversation with tables nearby.  You can usually detect after a brief hello if a party wants to be left alone, but I find some conversation is typical.   They try to seat you in the same section and it's likely you will have the same neighbors most nights.   We found that after chatting across the gap we have invited the neighbors to join us at our table on a subsequent night as they are being seated.   They will quickly slide the tables together.

[TeeRick]

Are you in a Roll Call for your cruise?  Are there other solo cruisers on it?  They would need to be in a suite too or it would cost $30 to dine with you in Luminae for dinner.

[JamieLogical]

Okay, dumb question, is there a bar in the Retreat Lounge? I can't seem to find any great videos of the Retreat Lounge on the Summit.

[PTC DAWG]

8 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Thanks for the input everyone! I do think I will go ahead and pull the trigger on it. I don't know if I will have an opportunity to try the Retreat again so cheaply and after this I will be able to judge for myself whether the price difference is justified.

Go for it, I'm just glad you enjoyed the Equinox enough to consider sailing on Celebrity again.    

Edited August 24, 2021 by PTC DAWG

[TeeRick]

Just now, JamieLogical said:

Okay, dumb question, is there a bar in the Retreat Lounge? I can't seem to find any great videos of the Retreat Lounge on the Summit.

Yes a small bar with a couple of seats at a nearby high top table.  Mostly you sit in the attached lounge at a table and the hostess comes over to get you drinks.  There is also generally soft drinks, water and beer which you can access yourself.

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Go for it, I'm just glad you enjoyed the Equinox enough to consider sailing on Celebrity again.    

 

Loved the Equinox. My husband and I have a 9-Day scheduled in January. Can't wait to be back onboard!

[PTC DAWG]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Loved the Equinox. My husband and I have a 9-Day scheduled in January. Can't wait to be back onboard!

Those two longer cruises they offer are wonderful..went on one fall of 2019, 12 day, scheduled again fall of 2022 for the ABC Islands…

[wrk2cruise]

Which sailing are you on.  I know someone on the 10/4 sailing.

[graphicguy]

Looking at this strictly from a monetary value, I just returned from the EDGE on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean Itinerary in an S2 Retreat Cabin (S3 would cost even less).

 

Fare was approx $3,700 all in.  That included upgraded Streaming Internet for my 2 devices (iPhone and iPad), Upgraded Premium Beverage Package, Tips and the $600 OBC.  Plus, I ate in the Luminae, which was the equivalent of eating in a specialty dining restaurant every night.  That also included priority boarding and disembarking.

 

How much is all that worth?  Well, Celebrity charges $60/pp/day to upgrade to the indulge package on the other cabins.  So, that's an additional $420 to get something reasonably equivalent.  I know that package includes $200 of OBC.  So, the net for Retreat is actually only $400 OBC.

 

Plus, you get the Retreat Lounge, Luminae, Retreat Private Bar/Pool, a Butler, Concierges, etc.

 

By my cyphering, the financial delta between something like Concierge Cabin with Indulge and Retreat is about $800-$900 extra for Retreat vs Concierge.

 

Are the private areas and extra service worth it to you?

[JamieLogical]

7 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

Which sailing are you on.  I know someone on the 10/4 sailing.

 

I am on the 11/13 sailing.

[JamieLogical]

6 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Are the private areas and extra service worth it to you?

 

That's the question I was asking. I don't know yet, because I haven't experienced them. 😋

[Smmessineo]

3 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

Some of us can afford it but don't think it's worth the cost, not by a long shot. Did a Sky suite, on the Equinox once, just to see what all the hype was. Really nice but not worth the difference in cost versus a balcony.

Thanks for your response. Gotta love those people who assume all of us who don't book suites can't afford it, or that once you've sailed in one you'll  never go back.  Like you said, some of us just don't see value in them, based on our personal preferences.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Smmessineo

[wrk2cruise]

You said you were in a regular veranda stateroom.  On "M" class ships these rooms are 168 sq ft which is over 20 sq ft smaller than what you had on Equinox where all veranda staterooms are the same size.  On M class only Concierge Class and Aqua Class are pretty much the same size as the veranda on Equinox.

 

I was hoping you were on the 10/4 as the solo price is better and there are a couple of sought after S1 cabins available for $1998 solo.

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

You said you were in a regular veranda stateroom.  On "M" class ships these rooms are 168 sq ft which is over 20 sq ft smaller than what you had on Equinox where all veranda staterooms are the same size.  On M class only Concierge Class and Aqua Class are pretty much the same size as the veranda on Equinox.

 

I was hoping you were on the 10/4 as the solo price is better and there are a couple of sought after S1 cabins available for $1998 solo.

 

I definitely can't go in the 10/4 sailing, unfortunately. I am returning from a B2B to Bermuda on the NCL Breakaway on 10/3. My boss might kill me if I took three weeks in a row off!

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Those who can afford this accommodation don’t think of the cost per day, since it’s in an entirely different and very expensive experience.  Most folks are not in a position to say “should we do a regular balcony or book Retreat”.  Either you can afford it or you can’t.  Most of us can’t.

 

 

Many guests who book a Retreat experience do it using their full ‘holiday budget’ knowing it means no other breaks for some time to come. Others book the Retreat knowing their cruising/holiday timeline is shrinking and want to do today what they do not want to regret never having done tomorrow...

 

I think the ‘Either you can afford it or you can’t’ simplifies choices many guests make. Most Retreat guests (from our experience) are not rich, they have simply decided the time is right for them to ‘push out the boat’ either to enjoy a special occasion or to fulfill a wish or to do something now before health perhaps prevents their choices...

[RichYak]

42 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Okay, dumb question, is there a bar in the Retreat Lounge? I can't seem to find any great videos of the Retreat Lounge on the Summit.

Yes, and it's quite fun!

[wrk2cruise]

Anywhere with Alexandra serving is fun!    Unfortunately I don't think she is returning to Celebrity.  Hope she changes her mind or I got incorrect info.

 

[Seany527]

 

3 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

I personally think that Celebrity will always be a step up from either NCL or MSC, regardless of cabin choice.  

I can’t speak from personal experiences yet but looking at the Retreat area on Edge class videos and comparing it to the Breakaway (+) class Haven...I am very underwhelmed by what I see. 
 

This is only taking into account the the suite areas themselves of course. I haven’t been able to find any comparison reviews which talk about service levels or actual experiences.