Celebrity is now a one and done. We have no intention of booking on them again.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
As a guest in The Retreat, this was a horrible experience compared to sailing in the NCL Haven. There was no one to escort us onboard and we were left to find our own way to our cabin.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The buffet and Raw on 5 were the only places with good food. No spots in the specialty restaurants were held back for Retreat guests. Our concierge didn’t even try to get us tables. She simply opened the same app we had on our phones, said nothing was available, and we were out of luck. The specialty steak restaurant was splitting the filets in half so they were only about 1/2” think, then cooked them until well done (when medium rare was ordered). The Oceanview Cafe steak was so horrible that we sent it back. The filet was only about 1/2” thick and extremely well done. We waited another 20 minutes for something else to be brought out. The Maitre ‘d came over, apologized, and said she would take off this for us. We thought that meant she would comp that meal. Nope. She did absolutely nothing and we were billed $109 for the “pleasure.”
Raw on Five
5 out of 5
The only restaurant worth paying for. The buffet had better food than all of the other specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The Retreat pool had a stated capacity of 15 but always had about 40 in it. There were few if any lounge chairs available. The regular pool and deck was more accessible. Not what was expected when paying 3x the fare for a regular cabin.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
TJ Tana, the magician, was wonderful.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Our butler was wonderful. Retreat sun deck and lounge staff were non-existent. Often took 2 hours for someone to come around on the Retreat sun deck. They were too busy attending to the 40 people in the pool. The Retreat lounge only had a single bartender who was also running drinks around to the 100 people there.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship itself was great.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The Celebrity Suite was huge and roomy, but not worth the 3x price based on the horrific food and lack of service.
Ship tip
Save your money and do NOT book in the Retreat. If you want service, book in NCL Haven
Not even worth getting g off the ship. There is very little there, the concierge does not have any maps of the ports to identify what shops are there and where.
@dlwatkins4. It wasn’t that we couldn’t find our cabin. As NCL Haven guests, we were escorted from the pier, onto the ship, and taken to our cabin in a private elevator. The same was true of disembarkation. Pointing out the huge difference in service.
Very disappointing to hear this, but I am not surprised. I am reading mixed reviews about Beyond lately. I have my first Beyond cruise during April, and now am a bit worried. Seeing what you have to say about Retreat, I a wondering if I wouldn't have been better off just booking a sunset suite outside of the retreat at half the price. Too late now.
We too have cruised Celebrity many times and found none of those things quite true. Yes, you pay more for the Retreat and yes there are many people on the sea days at the Retreat pool, but not that we couldn’t find a chair and we’ve always had someone to get us drinks/snacks. Why do you think you need help to get to your cabin? We love Celebrity and I’m sorry your cruise did not fulfill your expectations. Maybe you should go to NCL in the future.
The days of being treated like a celebrity or anything even close as they brand themselves are gone. Recently went on the Constellation and it definitely was not the same as years ago. Unfortunely, many cruiselines seem to no longer care about the quality of a cruise experience anymore.
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