Liberty of the Seas or Celebrity Eclipse?

[Piggeldy]

I was told it was okay to x-post... I hope nobody minds and I will try to keep this short ;)

 

I am looking for advice from anyone who has traveled Celebrity Eclipse as well as Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas as we are trying to come to a conclusion on... well, which one we should chose.

 

We are looking at 2013 WB TAs.

 

Prices are similar (within a couple of Euros for a comparable verandah staterooms).

 

I assume passenger structure will be similar for a 13 night cruise from Europe to the US while school is on? Will the average cruiser still be younger on RCCL (we will be in our mid 30s next fall but don't mind traveling with an older crowd... had our honeymoon on Hurtigruten in winter)?

 

Stops are similar:

Eclipse: Southampton, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Bahamas (Nassau)

Liberty: Barecelona, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Bahamas (Cococay)

 

Leaving from Southampton or Barcelona wouldn't make much of a difference for us, both short flights (though I assume Barcelona is nicer that late in the year).

 

Would the departure port make a huge difference weatherwise? After a couple of days both should be on the same route, right? I guess leaving from Barcelona should be a little warmer from the beginning?

 

Which is the nicer Bahamas port - Nassau or Cococay? We have never been to the Caribbean so all ports would be new to us.

 

Main problem: I expect DH would prefere RCCL... while I am mainly vacationing to relax he likes to be entertained. There is a minor language barrier (English is DH's 2nd language and he hasn't had a lot of practice) which would likely mean that lectures, comedians etc. would at least be difficult (especially for the first few days, he normally adjusts quite well after some time). He has mild CP so many of RCCL's activities wouldn't be suitable for him (Flowrider, ice rink, climbing wall)... with those three out of the running I guess his options would be similar on both lines? Music, casino, shows? Might music be more modern on RCCL or wouldn't it make a big difference?

 

Has anyone ever traveled Hurtigruten and could compare?

[i know Hurtigruten is different as it's not a typical cruise thus maybe difficult to compare to both X and RCCL.]

 

Any major differences between Celebrity and Royal? Could we order dinner from the dining room to the cabin in the evenings? Beds comfortable on both lines? Self service laundry on both? Anyone nicer to first time cruisers? Better chocolate on the pillow? More towel animals? Nicer staff? Any "real" good reason to chose one cruise line over the other?

 

All help would be appreciated!

[Schasz]

We have been on both ships and we have the Liberty of the Seas booked for a New Years Eve cruise. I do not think you could go wrong on either ship. The Liberty of the Seas will have the Flow Rider, rock climbing wall, and ice skating the will not be things you could do on the Eclipse. We did Aqua Class on the Eclipse that enables you to dine in Blu instead of the main dining room. We enjoyed the smaller more intimate dining experience in Blu. You should enjoy either one of these ships.

[duncanmaria]

Coco Cay vs. Nassau? Coco Cay wins by a landslide.

 

Been on a Freedom class ship and loved it but not on Eclipse although by all accounts it is a great ship, as well. Can't lose either way - two great options!

[rhuntington3]

I've not sailed on Royal (but will in October on Freedom), but I can tell you that Celebrity Eclipse is a beautiful ship and you won't go wrong with booking a cruise on it.

[royalcruz]

I have sailed Solstice ( the sister ship to Eclipse) and Liberty.

 

RC's entertainment is much more fun...there is a piano bar, lots of dance parties, pool games, shows with more elaborate sets, parades, ice show, kareoke, more active dance club, etc. You will see Shrek and other characters in the Promenade and pool parades. The vibe could be more laid back though, on such a long cruise (I think the passengers will be somewhat fewer and older than the 4-7 night cruises that I am used to). I don't do any of the physical activities you mentioned and have a great time! You will find lots of places to relax too, especially in the Solarium.

 

Celebrity's entertainment is usually good quality, but not as much fun. Celebrity has a pool band that also plays in a lounge in the evenings. These bands vary a lot in quality and music type but they all play pop songs. Liberty doesn't have a pool band (this is the only ship I've ever sailed on that didn't have this).

 

The Eclipse has awesome specialty restaurants, much nicer than Liberty.

 

Celebrity has pads on all of the pool loungers (much more comfortable). RC only has padded loungers in the solarium.

 

You will find music from different eras on both lines but the Celebrity dance club is usually so dead that we just pass on by.

 

Cococay has a really nice beach. We don't usually get off the ship in Nassau...we've done a few excursions and walked around a few times. Some people love going from there to Atlantis on Paradise Island but we found it too crowded.

 

Neither has self-service laundry but both offer laundry services. Celebrity has nice chocolates (I'm not sure RC offers them any longer). Towel animals will depend on the cabin steward. Some do a few. Some don't do any.

[Piggeldy]

Thank you all very much for your opinions!

 

My problem is that I am sure we can't go wrong with either of the ships ;) And of course any cruise will be better than being at work in the beginning of November (especially if this year's - nonexistant - summer decides to make another appearance next year).

 

I guess we will have to decide if DH can live without the extra bit of RCCL-fun. Or if I mind giving up my idea of Aquaclass on Celebrity.

[TipsyT]

I've sailed both of those lovely ships and here's just a few ramblings from my experience:

 

- Eclipse has the Hot Glass Show which is absolutely incredible. If you have even one cell of artistic appreciation in your body I would suggest not missing a single demo they have. A couple of the theater shows were fairly good but several were just not worth the time.

 

- Liberty has Quest. A riot of an event that is not to be missed. There are also plenty of outdoorsy activities to either participate in or just enjoy watching others hurt themselves.

 

- We preferred the food on Liberty over Eclipse and we especially liked having the Promenade Cafe available 24/7. Sorrento's pizza was great, too (although I think the best pizza on the sea is from Princess. I swear they put some kinda crack in their dough. It is so yummy.)

 

- No doubt about it, Celebrity was much more expensive that RCCL on all the sundries (specialty restaurants, drinks, lattes, gift shop do-dads).

 

- The service was great on both ships but Eclipse gave a white-glove-yes-madame approach whereas Liberty had a more personal service-with-a-smile approach.

 

- Eclipse has the best use of cabin storage space of any ship I've been on.

 

- Eclipse is newer and much fancier than Liberty (marble and glass everywhere, waterfall faucets, real towels in the public restrooms with attendants most of the time, cushy loungers). If you like and are comfortable with posh you will love this ship. It felt just a little stuffy to us and frankly, boring. The average age of the passengers definitely seemed higher than on the Liberty.

 

- Eclipse has Bistro on Five which has wonderful crepes and sandwiches with an upcharge of $5 per person. I guess this could be compared to Johnny Rockets (the $5 restaurant on Liberty). In that case, the Bistro would win hands-down for the food quality but JR's would win based on atmosphere.

 

- If healthy eating is important to you, Eclipse has an Aqua Spa restaurant where you can get fairly healthy fare for breakfast and lunch. If you are willing to pay extra, you could also sail their Aqua Class category and have access to Blu, a private restaurant that specializes in healthy fare.

 

I guess if I were offered a free cruise with the same itinerary on either ship I'd have to go with Liberty. We liked the food better, the friendlier service, and the greater options for entertainment or just relaxation.

 

Whichever ship you decide on, I'm sure you're going to have a fabulous time.

 

Happy Cruising!

Trish

[compman9]

I have been on both these ships relatively recently.

 

Eclipse is so much better in almost every way, except for the lively atmosphere.

 

However, on a TA, it's not so lively anyway. Just been on a TA on the Navigator, and it was mostly quiet with an older crowd.

 

One big rider to this would be if you are suite guests, or whether you are D+ members. This will impact on your enjoyment experience - the D+ crowd on a TA is often quite a bunch :p;):eek: