I've had both. Shower curtain is my preference. Cheaper, easier to clean, nothing to bruise yourself on.

We changed back to a curtain this past winter while updating the bathroom.

When we purchased our home, it had a conventional, straight rod.

We installed a by-pass door because it would be more water tight and, we thought, make the room more open. It also provided towel-hanging space which was lacking.

The door, in our room, was always a problem. Access to the faucet to warm the water was restricted with placement of the WC. Then, when grandchildren came along, bathing them was very difficult. Finally, as parents aged and needed convenient access, the track was not not comfortable for seat or feet.

So, out it came in favor of one of the newer styled curved shower curtain rods. What a difference. Extra shoulder room and they install so the ends actually attach inside of where the traditional rod went. The shower is just as watertight as was the by-pass door.

That's my input and reasoning. Before and after photos are linked and you can decide if the space looks less open.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bathroom

Our MB (and now the hall bath as well) looks to be roughly the same size, maybe even smaller than fnmroberts' guest bathroom. Definitely the same layout.

There was never a plan to install glass doors in either of the main floor/main use bathrooms during our recent reno's. We had a frameless shower door installed in our guest bathroom (reno'd a year and a 1/2 or so ago), since it would not be used on a daily basis (except by us while both other baths were out of commission!), so we knew it wouldn't be at too much risk of becoming cloudy or cruddy from our hard-ish water. We upgraded to Starfire glass, went up a little higher in height (because of border tile location), had Clear Shield applied just to be on the safe side, got the slightly more $ handle, and all hardware is Brushed Nickel, but stuck with 3/8" glass rather than using 1/2" (so saved some $$ there). All told the shower glass cost us $2737.

We really had no desire to use glass elsewhere. Not only because of the cost (though that was a biggie), but didn't want to deal with the possibilty that the glass might still get cruddy over time, even with Clear Shield (and the dreaded need to remain vigilant about squeegeeing). I also really wanted tubs in the MB and the hall bath and REALLY didn't want people to be able to see right into the tubs while using the bathroom. Yes, we used/are using pretty border tile, and yes, when friends come over and we show them the new bathrooms, we will pull back the shower curtains and show off our tile guy's awesome work, but beyond that, I never saw the need to have my tub area (incl bathing products), on display. And, at least with closed shower curtains, drop-in and other guests don't have to see the broken bar of soap, the glob of conditioner dripping down the side of the tub, etc., if I don't have time to clean in there before they arrive.

We just installed the curved rod in the MB, and will use one in the hall bathroom, too. LOVE it! We had to bias ours inward at either end more than suggested number of inches (on the pkg), because of the limited space between our tub and toilet--didn't want the shower curtain draped over my lap while using the toilet! Even so, it's nice and roomy in the tub. I also love the curtain liner I got at BB&B (along with the rod, which was on sale recently at BB&B, and might be still--HomeGoods had the chrome version for $12.99 BTW). The liner is The Ultimate Nylon (soft as silk) Fabric shower curtain liner. Water repellent, not waterproof, but not a drop of water has gotten out during one month of use. The rod's cruved ends curves the liner ends inwards, and the little suction cups contributes to the edge seal even more.

I am very happy having a curtain.

PS if you are tight for towel bar space; we installed a towel bar on the wall at one end of the tub. Always worked for us in our old bathrooms and I love having my towels right there when I'm finished showering.

We biased the bar against the back tub wall because of the shower rod placement, but you can't really tell when you're inside the tub with the curtain drawn shut.

Prior to remodeling, our main/guest bathroom had a standard bath tub with sliding (frosted) glass doors. I hated them. We never showered in there, and bathing was uncomfortably clausterphobic. Bathing the dog was frustrating because you had to be inside of the bath tub to bathe the dog. Though it did help protect the bathroom when she decided to shake off water and soap mid-bath. I removed the shower doors (among other things) with the remodel and the bathroom feels more open. The shower curtain will suit our infrequent guests' showering needs but keeps the room feeling spacious. The tub would work fine for bathing the dog, except that I do not want her giant nails on my new acrylic tub.

Our old house had a tub/shower with glass doors and a track in the "master" bath (really our ONLY bath on the same floor with our bedroom). I hated it. As others have mentioned, the tracks are very uncomfortable for any activity that requires reaching into the tub, such as cleaning something, you cannot sit on the edge, and the tracks and glass were devilishly difficult to keep clean. Also, the glass made the bathroom noisy...all those hard surfaces.
Our new house includes a tub/shower enclosure for the guest room (we have only a shower for the master and DH's mudroom baths), and all have curtains. Got one of those curved rods for the tub/shower, found a lovely curtain to complement the floor tile, some towels to match, and I think it looks great with no problems keeping the water contained. The fabric curtains serve to soften the harshness of all the hard tile and acrylic, and in a couple of years, if I want to change the look, I'll go find new curtains and towels for a minimum investment. (I found lots of nice curtains at Target and Kohls.)

Wow! Thanks so much! You all made that decision super easy! Shower rod it is. The curved rod looks great and I never would've even known there's a difference between rods since we're just starting the renovation process. On to the next decision...thanks again! :)

You've already made your decision, but I would have voted curtain as well...for the simple reason that I prefer a vintage look. I love all the fun choices out there for gorgeous shower curtains that you can get coordinating-color towels with, and use creative colors on your walls, etc. I just like the way they look!

I first saw the curved rods in a hotel and loved them. Definitely the way to go for a tub/shower and they are now half to a third of the cost they were a few years ago. They do require a permanent (hardware brackets) mounting -- can't do a tension rod with them, but that's the only potential drawback.