Celebrity Eclipse Reviews

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If i had to fault something regarding my cruise , i would have to think long and hard , the only thing that i can think of is that the drinks waiters were a little slow in some of the venues , but i really am nit picking there . other than that my cruise was faultless.the food was exceptional , the highest quality in taste and presentation and service , nothing was too much trouble. the entertainment was many and varied , the staff are excellent . the cleanliness of the ship is second to none , our cabin was great , i had worried what an inside cabin would be like , it was fine , generously sized , great shower , comfy beds , fab steward , our position of cabin 9172 was perfect for us , right next to the emergency exit , great in case needed lol , and we were at the end of the corridor so the steward let me leave my mobility scooter outside , he even let me use the plug socket in the hall way to charge my scooter over night , so at ease and helpfull , brilliant . everyone on board were very friendly and pleasant , the atmosphere was lovely , i enjoyed it so much when i disembarked last saturday i had another cruise booked within hours , and so i am now looking forward to cruise no.2 in 24 days time , this time on the p&o azura , i hope it lives up to my exceptional cruise experience on the beautiful celebrity eclipse .

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This cruise was our second with Celebrity but our first on a Solstice class ship. Embarkation- We arrived at about 11.15 and had to wait for about 20 minutes to drop off our cases before parking up across the road and walking into the terminal. We boarded about 15 mins later with ease. After a little welcome drink we chose to take a walk around the ship. We like to find everything and take some ship pictures at the beginning. Steteroom- Our room was ready at about 1pm. It was a lovely room overlooking the back of the ship with a nice balcony. It had plenty of space to store everything, even in the bathroom. We loved the shower, the interactive TV and the decor. Ship interior- Well what to say, if you like traditional ships stay away. We loved the very modern contemporary interior. lots of very cool and modern artwork. The Martini Bar has a very modern decor, the main dining room is all whites and creams with a great wine tower, the Sky Lounge is also lots of whites and creams. You get the picture. Pools etc. - As the weather wasn't suitable for sunbathing we only used the outdoor pool and jacuzzi a couple of times but the pool was warm and both were great and very quiet. The solarium pool did get very busy on sea days and also the pool is very shallow. I love the different types of beds and hammocks etc available. Drinking- We had the premium drinks package. This was about $60 per day and gave you unlimited drinks upto a value of $13.75. So was it worth it, well somedays yes and others no. With posh coffees in Bacio at about $5, beers and spirits with mixer at around $5-$7, cocktails in the bars and martinis at about ??12 and cocktails in Melecular bar at $ 13.75, wine by the glass ranging from $7 - $ 13 you can figure out how much you're likely to drink of these drinks and figure it out. We figure about 4 cocktails and two coffee a day should brake about even. Of course if you don't drink the fancy cocktails the just go for the classic alcohol package. Bars- We liked Ensamble lounge for a pre dinner drink, dark and subtle lighting and live music from jazz to classical. A more traditional cruise lounge atmosphere. We liked The Martini Bar for the Martinis, the supercool decor ( especially the iced bar) and the cool chill out music. We loved the Melecular bar for their Funky cocktails with strange ingredients. However we did feel that due to it's location it lacked atmosphere a bit but this was made up for by the amazing staff their. The Sky Lounge has the great views and a wide range of music with a cool contemporary surrounding. They do have live entertainment in the Grand Foyer which was really noisy and did retract the atmosphere in the Martini bar and the calm Bacio Cafe, so we chose to go to them when there wasn't live music playing. Bacio cafe does great coffees and cakes but with the cool weather this was sometimes very busy and difficult to get a seat, if so get a coffee to go and find somewhere else to sit. I would like to have had a drink in the outside bars but not with our weather, maybe next time i'll go somewhere warmer. Food- Oceanview cafe, Great buffet breakfast, very busy to get a seat but once you've got one there's no long queues due to it's island layout. Lunch was also pretty busy but dinner was always quiet. All the food was very good for a buffet. The main dinning room was good. We were on Select dining and the first night was a nightmare ( quite normal apparently ) but every other night was fine. We waited about 5 mins for a table of two, take note that between 7 and 8 are the busiest times so go earlier or later. If you are happy to share a table then it didn't seem to be a problem. The service could be a little slow to get started but was fine after that. The food was always good.Tuscan Grill, Fantastic service and great food. Arguably the best fillet minion i've ever had. Morano, fine dining at its best. Great service and amazing food. A real treat if you're not used to this type of dining, Wonderful Venison. Quisine, think comfort food with a really quirky twist. Burgers, chinese, indian, tacos, steak and much more. Make your own menu and it's all about sharing. If you're in a group of newly made friends then it's great fun. Entertainment- This was great, Lisa the cruise director was brilliant. The shows that we watched were very good. Eclipse. the show was great, if you like Cirque de Soleil style shows. The dancing and singing cast were pretty good, some better than others but that's always the case. As i mentioned before the music played in the grand foyer in the evening was to noisy, and i'm not an old fart, but it ruined the atmosphere in the surrounding areas. Also if i'd been in a room near the atrium i'm sure you could here it in your room, don't go to bed until after midnight. The hot glass show was great fun to watch and we did watch a few. They even have a raffle or two, try not to get too annoyed when people turn up at the end just to get a raffle ticket and then win. We did. Excursions- OK, we all know that if you do the cruise excursions you pay way over the odds for the convenience. We did the Flam railway, you can do it yourself for half the price. The ticket office is a 2 min walk from the ship and very easy to do. The only thing you don't get is the cold waffles with strawberry jam and sour cream, nicer than they sound. Also the public carriage had a lot fewer people than the ones reserved for the cruise tours. We went Kayaking in Geiranger which was fun and quite hard work, not for the delicate. We had to wait quite a lot for the slower ones to catch up. Could have gone further otherwise. You can rent them yourself, only 5 mins walk from dock but you won't be escorted and i don't know how far down the fjord you can go but again it's a fair bit cheaper. Bergen and Oslo are very easy to do yourself. Oslo has a hop on hop off bus which takes you to all the good parts of the city,and is right outside the ship, including the museums. This is much cheaper and more flexible than the tours we saw walking around in their little groups. Quite frankly we loved the cruise and really loved the ship. I think we're hooked on Solstice class now.

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We booked our cruise to the Fjords quite last minute and paid a bargain price. We were, therefore, expecting the lowest category inside stateroom, so were delighted to be allocated 9260. It is by far the biggest stateroom we have stayed in, even compared to when we've travelled concierge class. The marvellous Marcello did a fantastic job looking after us. My partner and I booked the drinks packages -- he on the premium, while I took the classic package. I have to contradict what has been said earlier about 'breaking even'. Both packages cover drinks other than alcohol, so by the time you add up the coffees, soft drinks, bottled water and alcohol, both packages become value for money. Unless, of course, you are a camel and do not need to consume much liquid (alcoholic or otherwise). They are not designed to share with others, which I found perfectly acceptable. We made good use of the packages in Cafe al Bacio every morning, which I can recommend. Fab double espresso with complimentary pastries, if desired. I thought the ship was absolutely lovely. Very modern lines, without feeling clinical. It was kept spotlessly clean and staff are attentive, friendly and make you feel special, without gushing. For me, the food was a slight negative. I had MUCH higher expectations than what was delivered. Breakfast in the buffet was rarely warm. On the couple of occasions we had breakfast in the main dining room, I found it to be a bit of a let-down -- especially the plastic cheese they stuck in the omelettes. The other disappointment for me was the fact that we had requested a table for 2 for dinner. We were given a table for two, but in reality it was a table for 8 as the tables are less than an inch apart. Regardless of my disappointments, we didn't go hungry and we met some very lovely people. We used the buffet for dinner on a couple of occasions and we were pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was. The Indian section was pretty good too, although I was disappointed that there was never any Mexican food at the Mexican station. We did go to Qsine one night and I thoroughly recommend giving it a go, it is good fun and the food was the best we experienced on the ship. The other place to try is the Bistro on Five -- some strange fillings in the crepes, but boy do they work! There was a mix up on our first night when we were told that we were on the late dinner, but we weren't so we missed out on food. The Maitre d' was almost rude to us about it, which I found unacceptable, but it was rectified the next day after a complaint to passenger services, so all was well. The itinerary was great -- I love sea days, so was quite happy to spend time at sea (others on the cruise weren't quite so impressed). The scenery was breath-taking and we spent very little money off the ship as we simply walked and walked. The Norwegian air certainly helped clear fuzzy heads after one evening of utilising the drinks packages! All in all I would recommend the Eclipse. Great staff, plenty of bars to choose from, constant entertainment, which was of a good standard, if not necessarily my cup of tea. The ship is beautifully designed and has a wonderfully relaxing feel to it.

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Booked via an agent with friends and then used the website to book additional packages. The Celebrity website is probably the worst I have navigated. Trying to establish the best options for dining and drinks packages was difficult and confusing.I pre purchased a classic drinks package , big mistake. Don't do it unless you drink alone and are an alcholic. (About 8 glasses of wine a day sees you break even.Perhaps it is part of the Celebrity Lifestyle.) The embarkation process was quick and efficient.The ship is clean but its designed is a little modern and cold. In the embarkation hall we enquired with the drinks sales staff to clarify the drinks package conditions. We were advised that it was OK to buy drinks on your package and give to others, partners etc. However on this cruise each bar tender applied this differently. Some will let you order only one drink and not allow another order from the package for 10 minutes, others will let you order a round of drinks and set the lowest priced drink as being from the package. No consistent policy is applied.I ended up checking every drinks bill , not my normal routine. I lost count of the number of errors on drinks receipts made by the staff.I had to specify each time the drink to be allocated to the package. As the pre set 15% gratuity on drinks is in effect the bar staff's wages it is not surprising they don't like a pre-paid package (sold as being 15% saving)and they try and maximise your bill. Guest relations said that the packages always causes problems. They were unable /unwilling to cancel the package.It tainted my first Celebrity experience.

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First come the staff, what totally amazing guys they are. From 68 (I think) countries and every single one we met, polite, efficient, accommodating, professional, really not enough adjectives. In particular, our room stewards (Butler) Richard, and Mark. also, Alvaro and Magdalena (Molecular bar), Nenad and all staff (Murano), Jona and crew (main restaurant), all the staff in both Tuscan Grill and Quisine. So many to mention and some names have slipped my mind. But they were all great, well done celebrity on staff selection and training. Dining in all areas was fine (main restaurant didn't suit us but was beautiful). The personal service in the speciality restaurants is outstanding. I'm a vegetarian and absolutely every effort was made for me, I felt pretty special!! Stay away from the buffet on Deck 12 if you're not keen on crowds jostling for food! Except in quiet times when it's ok. The food available is brilliant if you can stand the hussle. The cruise itself was great, such scenery, and weather of all types. In Oslo it was warm enough to breakfast on the balcony which was just lovely. The suite we had also had a jacuzzi bath and, yes, we managed to take 2 or 3 dips whilst at sea, was really great. Service in the suites is marvelous, I felt a little guilty being looked after so well. The room was always immaculate, and Richard gave us a brief rundown of anything he thought might interest us. Well I could go on for ages, but sufice to say, it was money well spent for my 50th, met some great people (mostly at Molecular cocktail bar) ranging from age 20 to 50ish, saw some spectacular scenery and spent a week hanging out on a very stylish, comfortable, elegant ship. We were never crowded despite the 2700 passengers, always got a seat at the bar (forgot to mention Barbara in Martins Bar), never queued for anything. Embarkation and debarkation was a breeze. I have only one tiny negative, on the last sea day the atmosphere on board changed amongst the passengers and crew in the public areas(a bit odd), we found staying in our room, having room service whilst watching tv was the most relaxing option. All in all, a great experience which I can recommend. My husband just wants to get back on board as soon as possible.

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