Id make my decision in this order. #1 quality and flatness of tile (this will decide if i stagger/stack. It will also decide how tight of a grout joint i can actually use .) #2 layout for best fit in the given space( accounting for expansion joints/grout joint size) #3 focal points (I.E. am I placing a recess niche in the wall? are there any windows i want balance with etc etc etc. Dont skip #1 #2 and dont force either/other. still make sure you nail #3

@Mike Blasko Thanks for all of this. Do you think I need to have them redo this? This is my first and last remodel. I've just had such a horrible experience of feeling like I can trust the experts to do what is best, while we end up having not to mention structural damage prior to this because a plumber cut through our engineered floor and roof trusses. At this point, I have to pick my battles but no, none of this makes me happy. It feels off but I don't know how to say what is off about it and since I don't know what I don't know, I am having to learn this the hard way from experts who can point out how to do this appropriately. 1) Full tile off bath floor instead of the shower floor to eliminate small cut at wall to floor. This would have made the cut at ceiling approx. 4"-5" 2) Easiest solution - Raise the shower floor to meet ceiling with full tile at the highest point. This would have provided a slightly larger cut at the floor also. - Can you explain a bit more about what this means? 3) Do the wall tile joints line up with the bath floor joints? Could you show me where you mean? My wall tiles are vertical, and my floor tiles are horizontal lengthwise... the grouts are at the half point mark. 4) The cut at the ceiling won't be as noticeable once grouted. How that cut is driving you nuts and not the 1/2" sliver on the floor outside the curb I don't quite understand. The 1/2 in sliver is also driving me nuts, I spoke to my contractor about it but again bc I don't know what can be done, I didn't ask him to fix it. It drove me nuts, and my only solution is a bath mat in front of my shower.

Design-wise, it just depends on how it looks. Usually it's shiny on wall, matte on floor. But it doesn't have to be. Show the tiles you're considering and...well, people will probably STILL ignore your request and keep saying it's too slippery and not answer your question (even though you are aware of that and I think it is safe to assume you will not use it if it is not suitable in that regard)... anyway show the tiles and see if that helps people decide. There are normal things that are done, and you're not doing it the "normal" way, but that doesn't mean that your particular choices don't work that way.

Looks like the OP has that wall tile around the shower threshold and, I assume, the walls too, so not that easy to get rid of the wall tile. Maybe just reducing the amount of the wall tile, except for shower area, will help tone down the discord between tiles.