Mostly Royal cruiser trying Celebrity Eclipse

Booking Pacific Coastal repositioning this week on Eclipse for March 2020?

Please tell me about the ship, about the differences between Royal and Celebrity. I think things will mostly be the same, but am interested to see what the differences might be. So what should I expect?

Have done Allure, Anthem, Radiance (and upcoming Rhapsody) with Royal and Pacific with Princess, so I've tried all sorts of sizes of ships already. Really prefer the 2000-3000 pax ships. Unfortunately I don't have enough Royal loyalty points to get equivalent status on Celebrity... aaaaaah maybe some day.

Simply:

No smoking anyplace indoors, only a few (3 or so) outdoor areas.

Only one announcement a day, usually at 10am

no flow riders, climbing, etc.

no belly flop or hairy legs contests

no quest

quieter, more relaxing, cruise

same chair hogs

better food (imho)

more personable crew. It is not uncommon to find the captain and other senior officers just roaming the decks and stopping to say hello.

just to name a few items...

Eclipse is a beautiful ship and is in the 2-3000 range. It doesn't feel crowded. There is a more laid back atmosphere on Celebrity ships, no water slides, rock walls, wave pools etc. The food and service is a step up from Royal and the specialty restaurants, especially Murano are more than two steps up. There is no smoking anywhere indoors, including the casino on X. There will be one daily announcement, fewer silly pool games. Depending on whether on not your cruise falls during school holidays there will probably be fewer children aboard than you'll find on Royal ships. X has no more formal nights. They have been replaced with Evening chic which allows for much more personal expression and choice.

As for Captains Club, Crown and Anchor, it would benefit you to get a Captains Club number and associate it with your reservation and advise them of your Crown and Anchor level. Depending on your points, it may get you to the Select level if you're not Diamond on Royal. Even the Classic level offers a few benefits. Either way, it costs nothing.

The shows do not require you to make reservations as on Royal and are held each evening at 7 and repeated at 9. There will be several productions shows with staff entertainers and a variety of various guest entertainers the other evenings ranging from singers, comedians, etc. There is less nightlife on X depending on the guests aboard. We always find things to do. They will hold several Silent Discos and many folks find them fun. Guests are given headphones offering various music types and guests select what they like. Watching guests dancing to the various types of music simultaneously is entertaining and participating, of course is fun as well. The headphones light up different colors depending on what was selected and you can tell what others are listening to by the color of their headphone lights.

When you first board on embarkation day you'll be welcomed with a glass of bubbly or a mimosa. Celebrity will mail out the sticky luggage tags if you request them, unlike Royal who only offer the print it yourself variety. (You may also print your own if you want to.) On port days you'll be welcomed back to the ship with chilled towels and a cool drink dockside. You'll find hand rolled cloth towels in the restrooms. All in all a very adult oriented atmosphere with good food and service. Have a lovely cruise.

Agree with Luvcrusn’s summary.

We see a Celebrity cruise as having a focus on rest and relaxation compared to RC’s action and activity....

And I love the fresh flowers at various venues and the lovely live orchids in every public ladies room. X is a much more elegant experience.

Luvcrusn is spot on. We have sailed both Celebrity and RCL and Celebrity is our preference. We only do RCL when traveling with friends that prefer RCL and are grateful for the some reciprocity on loyalty status.

While RCLmis still very nice, Everything on Celebrity is a notch above RCL...staff friendliness, food, stateroom amenities, suite amenities, etc.

After many Royal sailings, Eclipse has emerged as our favorite ship. Assuming you took classic bev pkg as your perc just sit back and enjoy specialty coffees at Cafe Al Bacio, wine and cheese sail-aways on the lawn, sommelier service in mdr, and evening cocktails at the sunset bar.

After many Royal sailings, Eclipse has emerged as our favorite ship. Assuming you took classic bev pkg as your perc just sit back and enjoy specialty coffees at Cafe Al Bacio, wine and cheese sail-aways on the lawn, sommelier service in mdr, and evening cocktails at the sunset bar.

It's a repositioning cruise so I don't see any perks poping up in the mock booking, but I'll see when we book on Friday!

We had reached Diamond Plus Loyalty tier on Royal before we ever even tried Celebrity. Coincidentally our first Celebrity ship was Eclipse. It was love at first cruise. Our first cruise was a two week Southern Caribbean cruise. We really liked the food, the laid back atmosphere, the comfy seating, the clean no smoking air. There is an open air area at the aft of the ship with very comfortable seating where you can even smoke cigars if you wish. Also one side of the Deck Five promenade allows cigarette smoking.

The beds are very comfortable. The officers walk around the ship at night and are approachable. The coffee shop is cozy. The ship is immaculate. The food is delicious. The buffet is less frenetic (except on rainy days at sea.)

Some things have changed over time. The live music isn't what it used to be. For example, Ella Fitzgerald's son used to have a jazz combo that played nights in the Ensemble Lounge. Unfortunately you are lucky to have an acoustic guitarist and singer duet now.

But if you like peace, quiet, elegance and a generally older crowd, you may be very pleased with Eclipse. I really hope you are.

It's a repositioning cruise so I don't see any perks poping up in the mock booking, but I'll see when we book on Friday!

No harm in continuing to look for perks. I have taken a number of repositioning cruises (transatlantics, transpacifics) and have gotten some OBC from travel agent as the one and only perk. The highly-touted Go bigger, Best etc. generally do not apply to repositioning cruises. Maybe you will get lucky.

Does Celebrity have a daily planner, like the Cruise Compass on RCCL? If so, what is it called and is there anywhere online to see examples?

Also, what are generally the outdoor areas where smoking is allowed? I want to be sure our veranda is not near them. Thanks!

:D

 

 

Some things have changed over time. The live music isn't what it used to be. For example, Ella Fitzgerald's son used to have a jazz combo that played nights in the Ensemble Lounge. Unfortunately you are lucky to have an acoustic guitarist and singer duet now.

 

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The singer is Ray Brown Jr who is the adopted son of her and Ray Brown. I think he is actually her nephew. The groups they have on board always change as they may get tired of cruising. I seen one singer get in a dispute with the CD on another line, and quit playing during his set left the area and walk off at the next port.

Some CDs claim they give the passengers what they want and others claim they are stuck with what the main office supplies.

I am not a fan of the solo guitar players as most aren’t really that good or great. It is sad to see them playing to mostly to empty chairs and the way that the Ensemble Lounge is set up it is more or less a holding area for pre dinner drinks and not a show lounge.

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Does Celebrity have a daily planner, like the Cruise Compass on RCCL? If so, what is it called and is there anywhere online to see examples?

The daily is called Celebrity Today... Actually, another Cruise Critic member just posted [yesterday] those associated with a seven night Western Caribbean trip aboard Silhouette in April... You'll find samples here...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2669546

Does Celebrity have a daily planner, like the Cruise Compass on RCCL? If so, what is it called and is there anywhere online to see examples?

Also, what are generally the outdoor areas where smoking is allowed? I want to be sure our veranda is not near them. Thanks!

You can download the Celebrity Cruises app on IOS or Android and they have the daily plans on there as well (select ships only right now). The Equinox is on the app.

We just got back from an 11 day Baltic Cruise on Regal Princess, and are scheduled for a 7 day cruise, in several months on the Eclipse. Both Princess and Celebrity are our favorite cruise lines. More similar than different. We do feel that Aqua Class was a "step-up", but Princess has recently come up with "Club-Class" which is their version.

Where would I give the edge to Celebrity. Certainly their Blu-dining Room, as well as a covered pool. On the other hand the Piazza as well as Horizon Court and Bistro on Princess were outstanding.

You can download the Celebrity Cruises app on IOS or Android and they have the daily plans on there as well (select ships only right now). The Equinox is on the app.

Not supported on the eclipse...yet

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Great info. Doing my research. Have heard so many good things about Celebrity.

Just did my first Celebrity cruise on Infinity.  It was a Pacific Coastal cruise from Vancouver, BC to San Diego.  We booked with 2 perks free approx. 9 months before the cruise.

3 minutes ago, rsquirrel said:

Just did my first Celebrity cruise on Infinity.  It was a Pacific Coastal cruise from Vancouver, BC to San Diego.  We booked with 2 perks free approx. 9 months before the cruise.

That's good to know how far out it's best to book. And to check what perks might come with it. Thanks!

I read that Ray Brown Jr and his group are currently on Silhouette.   I am praying that they are still onboard for my Dec 9th cruise.

Thanks for all of the details!

Can someone please compare the bathrooms between Royal and Celebrity - both suites and balcony maybe?  

7 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

Thanks for all of the details!

 

Can someone please compare the bathrooms between Royal and Celebrity - both suites and balcony maybe?  

It depends on the suite just what your bathroom is like as it does on RC. Generally on Celebrity...

standard balcony has standard shower.

SS has shower over tub.

CS has shower over tub and Jack and Jill doors (RC grand suite)

RS has jacuzzi bath, separate good sized shower, two sinks (nicer than owners suite)

PH has toilet enclosed, slightly larger jacuzzi, bigger shower and enough room to hold a party in (better layout than RC royal suite)

These are all based on S class. 

Thanks @chemmo

Thanks!