Review of Eclipse 1 June

[scotslizzy]

Firstly let me say that this was our first Celebrity cruise having previously cruised with Princess Royal Caribbean and P&O .Celebrity wins hand down and we are already thinking about next years cruise with them.

The ship is elegant rather than glitzy and if there is one complaint it is when they have the group playing in the foyer it can get a bit too crowded with not enough chairs . The dining room was very much to my taste and although we were in anytime dining and upstairs we never felt that we were in a poor area as some have stated previously .As to the arrangements for anytime dining I had some concerns after reading the comments of previous posters but on this cruise I have nothing but praise for the way this was handled. We never dined at the same time going from early dinner 6.45 right through till 9.00 and at no stage did we feel that we had to pre book a slot . Only once in the 11 days was there a little wait (5 mins ) and I do not think that is excessive in anyway . We sometimes requested a table for the three of us and on other occasion we shared, so we had ample opportunity to see how they handled the different table requests. One thing the tables are not well spaced so if you want a really intimate conversation keep this until you get back to your cabin!

Food was very good with only one of my dishes (fish ) being a little on the dry side . We also dined in Tuscan Grill and Murano's . Both excellent but my favourite has to be Murano.I love good cheese and I certainly got that in this restaurant. On my comment card I suggested that they should put on a cheese trolly in the MDR and if you want to have this instead of the normal plated cheese offerings they could charge a small supplement.

Entertainment was the usual affair and it must be difficult trying to please over 2000 guests with varying tastes but I enjoyed the groups and the 4 singers who sang at various lounges and in the foyer ,I cannot remember their names but they were good. We usually enjoy the piano bar on amercan cruise lines but this time round when we went in it was all classical music and no inter -action with the guests, a bit too staid for my liking . Perhaps this was because the cruise was from UK, I don't know ? The Irish comedian was really funny and we went to see him twice.

Our cabin was a Celebrity Suite and we were extremely pleased with the layout and the bedding . I also watched some good films and our butler Daniel was courteous and personable . But I could say that about all the staff as this is what makes Celebrity stand out from the other lines that we have sailed with . Top class in every way.

Having done the Canary Island cruise twice now I will not repeat this one again. Our next cruise will either be eastern med or Caribbean . We also got a card for the Captains Elite Club and on the letter that we received when we first arrived it stated this was for Penthouse Royal and Celebrity suites only. I know that there is a great deal of chat about this but all I can say is that it was really nice and it has made us veer towards Celebrity for our next cruise in addition to the service levels and overall product .

Scotslizzy

[Jo and Rob]

Thank you for your review. We are sailing on the Eclipse next year and this will be our first cruise with Celebrity. Can you tell me what activities were on during the day on port and sea days. I am particularly interested in the activities that were included as opposed to ones with a fee.

Can you also tell me what was on the menu for your formal nights please. Did you have lobster? I am aware of the welcome glass of champagne on arrival, were there any other freebies along the way for non suite passengers?

[scotslizzy]

Hi Jo and Rob

 

There was a large variety of activities during the day ranging from Cookery Demonstrations to lectures ,line dancing ,wine tasting ( small charge).In fact too numerous to list . I am not a great one for joining in preferring to sunbathe or go to the Gym which was excellent.

 

As to the food it was the usual Filet Steak, small lobster and shell fish plate, rack of lamb etc . I thought the food was very good overall although please do bear in mind that this is catering on a large scale and should not be compared to the speciality restuarants who cook meals on a individual basis hence the addtional charge .

There was one night where there was free champagne due to Celebrity's 20 anniversary so I would not imagine that this would be availble on your cruise but they may have another "Celebration night" for some other reason.

 

Cheers

 

Scotslizzy