The Retreat on Celebrity Cruises: What’s Included & Is It Worth the Upgrade?
This is our guide to The Retreat on Celebrity Cruises, the cruise line’s suite-only experience.
We experienced The Retreat on Celebrity Xcel during a 7-night Caribbean cruise.
Watch a video of our experience here:
We paid for this cruise ourselves. No hosting, no freebies.
What is The Retreat on Celebrity Cruises?
The Retreat is Celebrity Cruises’ suite-only product, available to guests staying in select suite categories.
It’s designed to offer:
Private dining
Exclusive indoor and outdoor spaces
Priority services
Extra inclusions bundled into the fare
On Celebrity Xcel, the Retreat common areas are grouped across Decks 15, 16 and 17. This layout is slightly different from some older Edge-class ships, where suite spaces are more spread out.
The suite area is not a fully separate space like the Haven on Norwegian Cruise Line or the MSC Yacht Club. Instead, cabins are located on various decks across the ship.
The Retreat cabins
One important thing to understand about The Retreat is that it isn’t a single cabin type — it’s a collection of different suite categories, all of which come with access to the same Retreat spaces and inclusions.
Depending on the ship, these can include:
Magic Carpet Suites
Sky Suites
Celebrity Suites
Royal Suites
Edge Villas and Iconic Suites (on select ships)
The experience inside the Retreat areas is the same regardless of which suite category you book. What changes is the size, layout, location, and balcony style of your cabin.
On Celebrity Xcel, we stayed in a Magic Carpet Suite, which is classed as the entry-level suite — despite having one of the most unique balconies at sea. You can read our full cabin review here: Review: Celebrity Xcel’s Magic Carpet Suite – Our Honest Thoughts
Higher-end suites offer more space, larger balconies, and in some cases multiple rooms, but they don’t unlock additional Retreat venues or extra inclusions beyond what’s already provided.
Luminae: The Retreat restaurant
Luminae is the Retreat-exclusive restaurant and, based on our experience, the strongest part of the Retreat package.
Breakfast at Luminae
Breakfast at Luminae was excellent overall.
The space feels elevated, with:
Panoramic forward-facing windows
Comfortable seating
A calm, refined atmosphere
Food quality was consistently high:
Pastries were genuinely impressive — some of the best we’ve had at sea
Freshly squeezed orange juice that actually tasted fresh
Well-presented dishes with good variety
Service was friendly and attentive, although it was very busy, even toward the end of breakfast service. We would personally like breakfast hours to run a little later, particularly with time changes, but this is a minor complaint.
Luminae is also open for lunch on sea days and dinner every night.
Dinner at Luminae
Dinner at Luminae was consistently very good — easily better than most specialty restaurants on mainstream cruise lines.
That said, on Celebrity Xcel we noticed a clear difference compared to previous Edge-class ships.
Luminae felt busy almost every night.
During our sailing we experienced:
Regular queues to enter
Waits of around 10–15 minutes on multiple evenings
A less intimate atmosphere than we’re used to in suite-only restaurants
Celebrity Xcel has around 250 suites, which is more than earlier Edge-class ships, and that increased capacity is noticeable in Retreat venues.
Food quality remained strong throughout:
Starters and salads were a highlight
Mains were generally well executed
Desserts were consistently excellent
When we mentioned a texture issue with one dish, the response was extremely thorough — perhaps a little too thorough in classic British “we didn’t mean to make a fuss” fashion — but it showed genuine care from the team.
One downside worth noting is that the amuse-bouche was often fish-based, with no vegetarian alternative offered.
The Retreat Sundeck
The Retreat Sundeck on Celebrity Xcel is visually impressive and well designed.
It’s split across two levels and includes:
A large suite-only pool
Two hot tubs overlooking the side of the ship
A wide mix of seating, including loungers, pods and shaded areas
Bar service and poolside dining
Towel stations and sunscreen
When it’s quiet, this is one of the nicest suite-only outdoor areas we’ve experienced.
However, during peak times — particularly on sea days — it could feel very busy, sometimes to the point where it felt less exclusive than expected.
The best times to enjoy the Retreat Sundeck were early mornings, port days, and around sunset.
The Retreat Lounge
The Retreat Lounge is an indoor, suite-only space designed for relaxing, light snacks, and concierge support.
Inside, you’ll find:
Comfortable seating and sofas
A workstation (Pictured above)
Panoramic side-facing windows
Self-serve snacks at certain times
Fridges stocked with soft drinks and water to help yourself
A full bar with roaming staff
A concierge desk
From a practical standpoint, it’s very useful — especially for avoiding the main Guest Services desk.
From an atmosphere point of view, however, it felt a little underwhelming. Compared to suite lounges on some other cruise lines, it lacked a sense of occasion.
For example, on our MSC Yacht Club experience the lounge felt more like a place to visit with Live Music and Events.
On Celebrity Xcel, the Retreat Lounge felt more like a comfortable waiting area than a space we actively sought out.
Service and staffing
Service throughout The Retreat was generally very good.
Staff were friendly and attentive, although at busy times the experience could feel stretched — particularly during dinner service and on the Retreat Sundeck.
Butler service
Retreat guests have access to a butler.
Based on our experience, the service is largely reactive rather than proactive. Unless you actively request assistance, you may not see much of your butler.
In contrast, on our Norwegian Spirit Penthouse Suite sailing, our butler was very proactive in providing snacks when we returned from excursions and arranging dining.
Extra tipping is a personal choice; we didn’t make significant use of the service.
What’s included with The Retreat?
Celebrity is refreshingly clear about what’s included as part of The Retreat experience.
Premium drinks package
Premium Wi-Fi for both guests
Stocked Mini-bar (Once per cruise) and daily bottled water
Room service
Priority embarkation and disembarkation
Reserved seating for some shows
The premium Wi-Fi in particular was excellent and reliable enough for streaming, uploading, and working while onboard.
Is The Retreat worth the price?
On our Celebrity Xcel sailing, we paid $7,000 total for the week, or roughly $1,000 per night for two people, which works out at around £5,000.
Once you factor in the premium drinks package and Wi-Fi, the overall value becomes more reasonable — particularly on a brand-new ship.
That said, expectations are high at this price point.
Our main criticisms were:
Retreat areas often felt too busy
Retreat areas can be far away from your cabin
Regular queues at Luminae
The Retreat Lounge lacked atmosphere
Butler service felt passive
Exclusivity wasn’t always as strong as expected
Conclusion
The Retreat on Celebrity Cruises offers excellent food, strong inclusions, and well-designed private spaces.
At its best, it feels genuinely special. At its busiest, it can feel crowded and less exclusive than you might expect from a premium suite product.
Based on our experience on Celebrity Xcel, the food is a standout strength. The atmosphere and sense of exclusivity, however, don’t always match competing suite experiences.
It’s a very good suite experience — just not a flawless one.
For a detailed look at the actual cabin we stayed in, including the balcony, bathroom and layout, read our separate review here: Review: Celebrity Xcel’s Magic Carpet Suite – Our Honest Thoughts