If you’re dreaming of sailing the high seas in style, a Sky Suite might be just the ticket. This luxurious accommodation offers an exclusive suite experience that brings five-star service and luxury. But what is included with a Sky Suite on Celebrity Cruises?
These are classed as entry-level suites, but don’t let that put you off! There’s plenty of added extras with this type of suite. Let’s dive into the exceptional perks, spaces, and services you can expect.
Types of Sky Suites on Celebrity Cruises
Firstly, there are different grades of Sky Suite to choose from. There are four types of Sky Suites:
- Magic Sky Suite
- Sky Suite
- Aqua Sky Suite
- Sunset Sky Suite
Magic Carpet Sky Suite
A Magic Carpet Sky Suite is the lowest grade of Sky Suite and is situated near the Magic Carpet on Edge class ships. For the suite benefits at the lowest price, choose this type.
There are 4 Magic Carpet Sky Suites on each deck, from deck 7 to deck 12, and they are all located mid-ship. If you book a guaranteed suite, there is a good chance you will be allocated one of these.
These benefit from a bigger balcony than regular Sky Suites in other locations but you will have a slightly obstructed view with the Magic Carpet structure.
Standard Sky Suites
Standard Sky Suites are located on decks 9, 10 and 11 on Edge class ships. This is the type of Sky Suite we stayed in on our Celebrity Beyond cruise.
Aqua Sky Suite
The next grade of Sky Suites is an Aqua Sky Suite. Interestingly, these are not specific suites and you won’t find them on the deck plan.
Instead, these are regular Sky Suites with additional perks such as unlimited access to the thermal suite, fitness classes and Blu restaurant.
These are a perfect choice if you are looking to turn your cruise into a relaxation and wellness retreat.
Sunset Sky Suites
Finally, Sunset Sky Suites are located at the very aft so you can enjoy wonderful wake views from your balcony. There are less of these types of suites and they are highly sought after – so book early for a chance to secure one of these.
Spacious Accommodation with Modern Luxury
Sky Suites are thoughtfully designed with both comfort and aesthetics in mind.
When you experience one of these suites for the first time, it’s the little touches that you will notice and appreciate.
A Sky Suite offers around 300 square feet of indoor living space, plus a private veranda that’s bigger than the typical balconies on Celebrity Cruises (approximately 79 square feet).
The veranda has traditional sliding doors instead of an infinite veranda so if you prefer this style, a Sky Suite is a good choice.
A bathroom with a tub
Sky Suites offer a spacious bathroom with a small tub, shower, separate WC, wash basin and vanity.
Premium Toiletries
The bath tub is perfect to enjoy a soak after a long day of exploring in port along with premium toiletries. In our sky suite we found:
- soap
- shampoo
- conditioner
- body wash
- body lotion
- shower caps
It seems like a small detail but the bath towels are a great size in a Sky Suite, nice and big to wrap around yourself rather than the itsy-bitsy ones we’ve had in other cabins.
A hair dryer is provided in a Sky suite and there’s a handy vanity space in the bathroom complete with magnifying mirror. This is ideal for getting ready and there was a plug socket for the hair dryer positioned next to the vanity space.
A minibar in your Sky Suite and a welcome bottle of wine
In a Sky Suite there is a small fridge that’s pre-stocked with soft drinks, water and beer.
Throughout the cruise, soft drinks and water are restocked so you always have access to a cold drink in your suite.
Before your cruise, you will be asked to give your preference on the wine in your cabin. This is for the welcome bottle that will be waiting for you on embarkation day.
The added comforts in a Sky Suite
The king size bed has exclusive Exhale bedding (which feels super soft) and faces outwards so you can wake up in the mornings, open the curtains with a touch of a button and enjoy the ocean views.
In the suite, you’ll also find an umbrella, plush robes and binoculars to use during your cruise. These aren’t for you to take home with you – but the complimentary tote bag is. This is really handy to use for carrying beach towels if you’re heading to the pool or beach for the day.
Beach towels are provided for you in the suite and you also have access to the complimentary shoe shine service if your pair are in need of a polish before chic night.
Watch our full tour of a Sky Suite
Exclusive Access to The Retreat®
Booking a Sky Suite automatically grants you access to The Retreat, a private enclave for suite guests.
It’s worth mentioning that your Sky Suite is not actually in The Retreat area. The Retreat is located at the front of the ship and you can access it with your cruise card. Only passengers staying in a suite can use this area and unfortunately, no guests are allowed.
Within The Retreat are the following areas and venues:
- The Retreat Lounge: A 24/7 exclusive lounge with concierge service, gourmet snacks, beverages, and a quiet space to relax
- Luminae restaurant: A private restaurant for suite guests only, featuring a menu curated by a Michelin-starred chef, Daniel Boulud
- The Retreat sun deck: (not available on all Celebrity cruise ships) An exclusive outdoor space with plush loungers, poolside service, hot tubs, pool and bar
The Retreat Lounge
This is where you’ll find the concierge desk. The friendly staff here can help with anything you need — from checking in for your flight to printing important documents.
The space itself is open 24/7, with plenty of comfy seating and tables where you can relax any time of day.
There’s also a bar where you can grab a drink whenever you like, plus a fridge stocked with soda and bottled water you can help yourself to.
Feeling peckish? There’s a small buffet station offering a continental breakfast until 10am, and later in the day, an afternoon tea selection.
We tried it out during our cruise — it’s perfect for a light bite… though how light depends on how much you pile on your plate!
It’s also worth knowing that the Retreat Lounge hosts a few special events throughout the cruise. On ours, we had a drinks reception with the ship’s officers and a silent disco.
Invitations for these events are delivered right to your suite, so keep an eye out!
The Retreat Sun Deck is your Exclusive Space to Relax
In the Retreat, you have access to an exclusive sun deck area, away from the Resort Deck.
The sun deck offers plenty of padded sun loungers with cushions and sofas to choose from. There are also clamshells and parasols that can be used if you need shade.
Because it’s located at the front of the ship, you also get to enjoy forward-facing views from the sun deck and this is particularly good for times when scenic cruising is important, like the Norwegian Fjords, Alaska, the Panama Canal and individual ports like Kotor.
We always found a sun bed on our cruise and it was definitely a refreshing change to hunting for somewhere to sit on the main Resort Deck.
We spotted these cards attached to sun beds to discourage people from hogging them all day. Do you like this idea? Let us know in the comments.
During the day, crew members come round with cold towels and fruit kebabs as well as taking drinks orders.
Towels are available on the sun deck and a thoughtful touch is the mineral sun lotion and aloe vera here too.
There’s a small pool and hot tubs you have access to, these can get get a bit busy at certain times of the day like most pools and hot tubs but were quieter than the ones around the main pool area.
The Retreat sun deck also has a bar serving drinks and a small bar menu with items like caesar salad, chicken sandwich, shrimp cocktail and a signature burger – apparently the burger is very tasty so we’re going to try it in the future.
If you need to burn off some of those burger calories, you’ll be pleased to know that you can access the walking track directly from the Retreat – very handy if you want to get your daily exercise in between relaxing and eating!
Luminae: your exclusive restaurant
The final exclusive area of The Retreat is Luminae – a restaurant that could easily rival the specialty dining onboard and for suite guests no bookings are required!
Luminae is open daily for breakfast and dinner. It’s also open for lunch on embarkation day and sea days.
This is a perfect option for embarkation lunch, away from the hustle and bustle of the Ocean View Cafe and a way to truly start your cruise in style.
Embarkation day lunch menu
Lunch in Luminae offers three courses and is served with wine of your choice. The food at lunch is simpler but still tasty and beautifully presented.
Breakfast menu in Luminae
Breakfast is available from 7.00am to 9.00am every day. There’s a choice of pastries to start before moving on to hot and cold options from the menu. This is a good option if you want a leisurely breakfast, perhaps on a sea day or a port day if you have a late excursion.
Here’s some of the breakfast dishes we enjoyed at Luminae.
Dinner in Luminae for suite guests
We think you should really make the most of dinner in Luminae as it’s essentially your dedicated main dining room.
The staff in Luminae are exceptional and they are very good at making a note of your preferences so that they can anticipate the wines you like and any special dietary requirements.
You’ll have the same servers throughout your cruise and this reminds us of when we first started cruising.
Having that personalised service does make a difference and even though they make it look effortless, it takes a lot of attention to detail and professionalism we really appreciate.
The menu changes daily but there’s an ‘always available’ section too. It features the Daniel Boulud milk chocolate pill that you should definitely try if you love chocolate!
Here’s some of the dinner dishes we enjoyed at Luminae.
Every Sky Suite has a Personal Retreat Host (Butler Service)
Every Sky Suite guest is paired with a Retreat Host (formerly known as a butler), who can assist with:
- Priority reservations for dining, excursions and onboard experiences
- Packing/unpacking assistance
- In-suite dining from any onboard restaurant
- Daily canapés, espresso and tea delivery
- Shoe-shining and garment care
This person looks after guests in around 20 Sky suites.
We ordered room service breakfast and our Personal Retreat Host took care of it for us.
Suite guests have access to an extended room service menu with no delivery fee.
From the room service menu, we also ordered some snacking plates, which we enjoyed in the afternoons during our cruise.
We also asked our Personal Retreat Host to help us make a reservation for a specialty dining restaurant. We simply told them our preferences and they took care of it for us.
Sky Suite Premium Perks to Enjoy
It’s important to know that Sky Suite guests enjoy an elevated level of convenience and value with several perks built into the fare:
Premium Drink Package
The Premium Beverage Package includes unlimited cocktails, wines by the glass, specialty coffees, juices and bottled water up to the value of $19. Wines by the bottle are discounted by 20%.
This means you can enjoy drinks from bars around the ship that have premium cocktails, like the Martini Bar and the World Class Bar.
The drinks package also works in the restaurants onboard so you’re free to enjoy glasses of wine and cocktails with your meals.
Premium Wi-Fi
Stream your content or keep in touch with loved ones during your cruise. In a Sky Suite you can use premium wifi on one device per person.
The Premium WiFi gave us no problem during our cruise. We could make video calls, stream podcasts and videos and use social media whilst onboard.
This WiFi is powered by Starlink and we can clearly see a difference compared to the basic WiFi.
5. Priority Everything
When you’re cruising in a Sky Suite, the VIP treatment begins even before you board:
- Priority check-in and boarding
- Early access to your suite
- Priority seating at shows in the Grand Theatre
- Priority disembarkation in ports of call, tender ports and at the end of the cruise
On embarkation day, you have the luxury of a special Retreat lounge in the terminal building.
Understandably this differs from port to port but in Fort Lauderdale, it’s a dedicated area in the Celebrity Cruises terminal. There are refreshments and snacks available while you wait to board and plenty of staff on hand to help make the embarkation process run smoothly.
During the cruise, there’s a shore excursion departure lounge just for suite guests and you have priority departure and embarkation at most ports, including those that require tendering – that’s one way to avoid the queue for tenders!
We haven’t experienced this but if you book a Private Journeys excursion, you can be escorted from the ship to your car by your butler. We did spot passengers doing this on a previous cruise and it certainly seems to take away the stress of finding where you need to be to start your excursion.
Is a Sky Suite Worth It?
If you’re looking for more space, personalised service and exclusive areas, a Sky Suite is a compelling upgrade from standard balcony cabins.
It’s worth adding up the costs of things you plan to pay extra for, e.g. the drink package, Wi-Fi, because the difference may not be that much once you factor these things into your cruise fare.
While it may come at a premium, the inclusion of The Retreat, all-inclusive perks, and a touch of luxury make it a popular choice among seasoned Celebrity cruisers and first-time suite guests alike.
You can watch our dedicated video about our first experience to see firsthand what to expect.
Our First Experience of a Sky Suite and The Retreat
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Laura is a UK cruise blogger based in Cornwall, UK. She founded Cruise Lifestyle in 2016 to share useful advice about cruising, destinations and food.
Last port visited: Bridgetown, Barbados
Next port of call: unknown, but she can’t wait for cruising to resume safely!
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Would be great on a cruise with lots of sea days to make the most of all those exclusive areas.
Author
Yes, I think a good few sea days would be useful to make the most of everything available with a Sky Suite. Lots to enjoy!