Choosing Your Celebrity Stateroom

The tiers buy access, not just space

On Celebrity, moving up a stateroom tier unlocks venues and services, not merely square footage. That is why the upgrade question is worth taking seriously here in a way it often isn’t on other lines.

The ladder runs: Inside, Ocean View, Veranda (or Infinite Veranda on Edge Series), Concierge Class, AquaClass, then The Retreat. Concierge and Aqua are both veranda rooms — you are paying for what comes with them.

Check current details: Categories, layouts, square footage, bed configurations and occupancy limits vary by ship and change with refits. Everything here describes the typical pattern; confirm against the current deck plan for your specific ship and sailing.

Inside staterooms

No window. The smallest and least expensive rooms on board, and genuinely dark with the lights off.

• Best for: travellers who use the room only to sleep, port-heavy itineraries, and anyone who sleeps better in total darkness.
• Trade-off: no natural light means no sense of time. Set deliberate alarms.
• On Edge Series, "Deluxe Inside" rooms are noticeably larger than standard inside rooms — worth the small difference.
• The money saved here funds specialty dining, excursions or a longer trip, which for many travellers is the better buy.

Ocean View staterooms

A window or porthole that does not open. More expensive than an inside room, less than a veranda.

• Best for: travellers who want daylight and a sense of where they are, without paying for outdoor space they would not use.
• Often good value on cold-weather itineraries where a balcony goes unused anyway.
• Watch for obstructed views — some ocean-view rooms look onto lifeboats or equipment. These are usually discounted and clearly coded.
• "Deluxe Ocean View" rooms are larger; the uplift is usually modest.

Veranda staterooms

The standard balcony room and the most-booked category on the fleet. On Solstice and Millennium class these are conventional open-air balconies.

• Worth it on scenic itineraries — Alaska, the Norwegian fjords, the Adriatic — where the view is the product.
• Worth it if you will genuinely use it: morning coffee, a quiet hour, sail-away.
• Less worth it on port-intensive Caribbean runs where the room is for sleeping.
• "Sunset Veranda" rooms face aft and are the best balconies on the ship for most people. They cost more and sell out first.
• "Deluxe Veranda" simply means a larger room; the balcony itself may be standard.

Infinite Veranda (Edge Series only)

On Edge Series ships the standard veranda room has an Infinite Veranda: the upper window lowers and bifold doors let the veranda space become part of the room. You gain indoor space; you lose an open-air balcony.

• In favour: the room feels considerably larger, it is weather-proof and quieter, and it is much better in cold or windy conditions.
• Against: you cannot step out onto an open balcony, and the enclosed space behaves differently in temperature and airflow.
• Opinions are strong in both directions, and they do not correlate with how experienced the cruiser is.
• If you want an open-air balcony on Celebrity, the fix is choosing a Solstice- or Millennium-class ship — not a different stateroom on an Edge Series ship.

Check current details: This is the most common source of post-booking disappointment on Edge Series ships. Look at photographs and video of an Infinite Veranda in both open and closed states before committing.

Panoramic Ocean View, and the porthole veranda

Two different Edge Series rooms get confused with each other and with ordinary verandas. Panoramic Ocean View (code PO) has floor-to-ceiling glass and NO veranda. Deluxe Porthole View with Veranda (codes P1 and P2) DOES have a balcony — but a large porthole opening commonly obstructs the view from the balcony and the room.

• PO — Panoramic Ocean View. Expansive glass, no outdoor space. Priced between an Ocean View and a Veranda, and good value if you never sit outside.
• P1 / P2 — Deluxe Porthole View with Veranda. A real balcony at a lower price than a standard veranda, with the trade-off that the porthole structure can block much of the view.
• Neither is a bad room. Both are bad surprises.

Check current details: Check the category code, not the marketing name — and check it against the deck plan for your specific ship. Our group offer listings label PO as having no veranda and label P1/P2 as a veranda the porthole may obstruct.

Concierge Class

A veranda stateroom with a service layer on top. Typically priority embarkation and disembarkation, upgraded bedding and bathroom amenities, an afternoon canapé service, and a dedicated concierge for bookings.

• Worth it if: you value a smoother embarkation and someone to arrange dining and excursions for you.
• Not worth it if: what you actually want is the spa or a different restaurant — that is AquaClass.
• The room itself is usually the same size as a standard veranda; better locations are common but not guaranteed.

Check current details: Concierge Class amenities have changed several times and vary by ship. Confirm the current inclusions for your sailing rather than relying on older accounts.

AquaClass — usually the best-value upgrade

AquaClass is a veranda stateroom positioned near the spa, with complimentary access to the thermal suite and Persian Garden, and — the significant part — dining in Blu, an exclusive restaurant AquaClass guests have to themselves.

• Blu has a lighter, more modern menu than the main dining room and is noticeably smaller and quieter.
• Thermal suite access is a real amenity on a cold-weather sailing and would otherwise be a per-person charge.
• Rooms usually include upgraded bathroom fittings and spa-oriented touches.
• The price step above a standard veranda is typically modest relative to what it unlocks — which is why we recommend it more often than any other upgrade.

"Prime AquaClass" and "Aqua Sky Suite" are variants: the former a better-located AquaClass room, the latter a suite with AquaClass privileges. Both cost more.

The Retreat

Celebrity’s suite tier, and effectively a separate product. Every suite category — Sky Suite upward — is part of The Retreat.

• Luminae: a private restaurant for suite guests only, with menus developed with Daniel Boulud.
• The Retreat Lounge and Retreat Sundeck: private indoor and outdoor space, with service.
• A dedicated butler, plus a concierge team.
• Typically included: premium drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities and specialty dining — the suite fare bundles what other tiers buy separately.
• Categories run from Sky Suite through Celebrity Suite, Royal Suite, Penthouse and, on Edge Series, the Iconic Suite and Edge Villa.

The honest test: The Retreat is worth it when you will spend real time on the ship and in its spaces. On a port-intensive itinerary where you are ashore every day, the same money buys a longer trip or a better itinerary.

Check current details: What The Retreat bundles varies by ship and fare, and has changed over time. Confirm exactly what is included in writing before booking a suite.

Deck and location — the part the price doesn’t show

Two rooms in the same category at the same price can deliver very different weeks. Location is free to get right and expensive to get wrong.

• Avoid directly below the pool deck or a buffet — deck chairs scrape from early morning.
• Avoid directly above or below a nightclub, theatre or live-music venue.
• Midship, mid-height is the most stable position if anyone is prone to motion sickness.
• Aft rooms have the best views and the most vibration; forward rooms feel the most pitch in open water.
• Check what is directly across the corridor — a crew door or service area means traffic.
• Connecting rooms are useful for families and are limited; they are usually not part of group inventory.

Check current details: Deck plans show what is above and below a room. Always check the decks immediately adjacent, not just your own, before confirming a specific room number.

Guarantee categories

A guarantee means you buy the class and Celebrity assigns the room later. You are guaranteed at least that class and may be assigned better — but you have no control over deck, location or layout, and the assignment can come close to sailing.

• Suits: flexible travellers, solo cruisers, anyone prioritizing price over position.
• Does not suit: travellers with motion sensitivity, mobility needs, or anyone travelling with people they want to be near.
• You cannot usually change a guarantee assignment once it is made.

Check current details: Guarantee codes appear in booking systems as single letters. Where a group offer on this site is a guarantee category, we label it as such — you should always know before you book whether you are choosing a room or being assigned one.

Which upgrade to buy, in order

The ranking changes on a port-heavy warm-weather itinerary, where an inside room and two specialty dinners often beat a veranda you’ll barely sit on.