Only been on Beyond questions on other ships Retreat

[Salf777]

Hi Just did a great cruise on the Beyond, our first Celebrity and we loved it. Live in South Florida and was looking at some other short cruises. Most are on the Sihoulette, Summit or Equinox. I watched some YouTube videos of the Sky Suites and the rooms look a little dated and the retreat looks smaller.

Curious as to what peoples thoughts are on these ships?

I realize the Beyond is new and beautiful and hard to compare but these older ships look nice as well.

 

[39august]

The Retreat Lounge on Equinox is smaller, but does have a bar and the usual breakfast, tea time and dinner snacks. We have had some lovely Retreat hostess and hosts on EQ in the past year and a half. Our room stewards and butlers have been great as well. The Retreat Sun deck, alas, is no comparison to the E class ships, as they were designed for it and the S and M class ships had to try to make it up. Equinox did not get to finish the plans for the sun deck back in 2019 due to problems with the dry dock and refurb plans. It has no water feature of any kind, little shade and no bar. Servers there are plentiful and attentive, however. They get drinks from a near by bar. It is only accessible by steps...a lot of them! They do also serve the limited lunch menu there every day. But we love Luminae and the EQ entertainment has been very good. 

[Salf777]

Thank you. How are the rooms? Are they dated ?

[jelayne]

It is hard to compare the Retreat on the E class to the other ships.  Even among the E class the difference in Luminae, the Sun Deck and the Sunset Bar ( not a retreat area) between the Edge/Apex  and Beyond are significant.

I only wish our 4 Edge bookings were on the Beyond. 

 

[TeeRick]

We are in a CS suite on Equinox now.  It has not been updated.  Yes it is dated but in pretty good shape.  I do not think the Sky suites have been updated either.  But the Retreat Lounge is nice.  And Luminae is excellent.

[Host Anne]

I have been fortunate to sail on all the E-class and S-class ships and have been in the Retreat on Edge and Beyond.  There is no comparison to the Retreat on these ships with the Retreat on the S-class ships.  The Retreat on the E-class ships was "purpose-built."  It's kind of a ship within a ship.  You couldn't do that with the already existing S-class ships.

 

Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer the S-class ships.  I was on two of them in the last six months (Equinox and Reflection) and they are in decent shape.  The Retreat Lounge was previously Michael's Club and is nice but it's much smaller and not connected to any other Retreat amenities as it's on Deck 5 among another lounge and specialty restaurants.

 

One of my favorite cruises in the past 18 months has actually been on Summit (an M-class ship and among the oldest in the fleet).  We did upgrade to the Retreat but like the S-class ships, it can't compare to the Retreat on Beyond.  I prefer smaller ships and everything on Summit was terrific.

 

Don't go into sailing on another ship comparing it to Beyond. Just think of it as experiencing a different ship and have fun.

 

[Oville]

19 minutes ago, Host Anne said:

I have been fortunate to sail on all the E-class and S-class ships and have been in the Retreat on Edge and Beyond.  There is no comparison to the Retreat on these ships with the Retreat on the S-class ships.  The Retreat on the E-class ships was "purpose-built."  It's kind of a ship within a ship.  You couldn't do that with the already existing S-class ships.

 

Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer the S-class ships.  I was on two of them in the last six months (Equinox and Reflection) and they are in decent shape.  The Retreat Lounge was previously Michael's Club and is nice but it's much smaller and not connected to any other Retreat amenities as it's on Deck 5 among another lounge and specialty restaurants.

 

One of my favorite cruises in the past 18 months has actually been on Summit (an M-class ship and among the oldest in the fleet).  We did upgrade to the Retreat but like the S-class ships, it can't compare to the Retreat on Beyond.  I prefer smaller ships and everything on Summit was terrific.

 

Don't go into sailing on another ship comparing it to Beyond. Just think of it as experiencing a different ship and have fun.

 

Thanks, great comparison.

[Jim_Iain]

The ships that have not gone through the Revolution do not have Retreat - they have Michael's Club which is original dating back as far as2000.   Yes they are dated and have a dark paneled club look.  

 

While they do have a dated look they are also enjoyable and you will notice some differences -  First the do not have the hot/cold table - instead they serve you via a menu but offer the same items.   To me I like it.    Instead of serving yourself at afternoon tea they serve you course by course like the good old days.

 

Personally I find the Retreat on E-Class ships to be very impersonal and reminiscent of an Airport Lounge  as oppose to the more intimate experience on M and S class ships.

 

 

 

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, Host Anne said:

I have been fortunate to sail on all the E-class and S-class ships and have been in the Retreat on Edge and Beyond.  There is no comparison to the Retreat on these ships with the Retreat on the S-class ships.  The Retreat on the E-class ships was "purpose-built."  It's kind of a ship within a ship.  You couldn't do that with the already existing S-class ships.

 

Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer the S-class ships.  I was on two of them in the last six months (Equinox and Reflection) and they are in decent shape.  The Retreat Lounge was previously Michael's Club and is nice but it's much smaller and not connected to any other Retreat amenities as it's on Deck 5 among another lounge and specialty restaurants.

 

One of my favorite cruises in the past 18 months has actually been on Summit (an M-class ship and among the oldest in the fleet).  We did upgrade to the Retreat but like the S-class ships, it can't compare to the Retreat on Beyond.  I prefer smaller ships and everything on Summit was terrific.

 

Don't go into sailing on another ship comparing it to Beyond. Just think of it as experiencing a different ship and have fun.

 

Anne good advice.  The E-class ships maybe can be compared to each other only. We definitely like Luminae much better on S-class and M-class.  The Retreat Lounge and Sundeck on E-class is a beautiful area.

[TeeRick]

38 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

The ships that have not gone through the Revolution do not have Retreat - they have Michael's Club which is original dating back as far as2000.   Yes they are dated and have a dark paneled club look.  

 

While they do have a dated look they are also enjoyable and you will notice some differences -  First the do not have the hot/cold table - instead they serve you via a menu but offer the same items.   To me I like it.    Instead of serving yourself at afternoon tea they serve you course by course like the good old days.

 

Personally I find the Retreat on E-Class ships to be very impersonal and reminiscent of an Airport Lounge  as oppose to the more intimate experience on M and S class ships.

 

 

 

Jim I have been pleasantly surprised by the Retreat Lounge on Equinox.  I was expecting the worst I guess, but I really like it.