Disappointing Eclipse

[lmidbn]

I was on the Eclipse over Xmas in the southern Caribbean it was my first time cruising so have nothing to compare it against. One thing I did notice (and in the end was happy about) was the smallish portions in the MDR. What with what I'd be having for breakfast (lots) it was good to not see a massive amount of food later in the day. A few nights I went with 2 of the starters having said that. Desserts for me were disappointing. The only one that I could not fault that was on every night was the creme brulee.

 

In general I found the staff on board v good esp in MDR. Our waiter and his assistant were fantastic. The cruise director I did not warm to, the type of guy you love or hate I reckon.

 

The evening entertainment was meh... we did not do a drinks package, instead we brought wine on with us and took advantage of the 'social' hrs at the bars eg. 4-6 at passport bar.

Edited January 4, 2016 by lmidbn

[Wine-O]

Thanks for your review. I'm all set for 5 days of disappointment starting in 24 hours. :D

 

Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy. :rolleyes:

[jjwoben1]

Was on the Nov 29 th Eclipse cruise. We ate in both Luminae and the MDR. Service was great in both. Food was good in MDR, fantastic in Luminae. Service throughout the ship was extraordinary and over and above expectations.

Only person who did not smile much was CC hostess, Emma. But since she was fairly new, I chalked the no smile up to learning a new job. Saw the Captain and senior staff around the ship quite a bit.

Our SS staff was always around and helpful.

Canyon Ranch prices too high for what was provided.....should bring Elemis back. Hairdresser, Sophia was really quite good. Only a few people in the salon when I went. ( 5 x)

Only poor impression was casino and have talked to corporate about that incident and will not comment on it here.

 

 

Guess it is very subjective.

[jjwoben1]

Entertainment was good in general....glad to see new shows. Since we are on again in Nov 2016, for the sixth time, I hope to see new ones in the rotation. Again, shows are subjective...not all liked shows but agreed that singers and dancers were excellent.

Plenty to do after shows and on sea days as well as port days. You could do as much or as little as you wanted.

Ship was well kept and decorated for the holidays.

Was always served promptly at El Bacio at a table.

As I said before, all is in the eye of the beholder, or in this case, the cruiser.

By the way, have cruised on HAL, Carnival, Princess, Marco Polo, RCCL and always return to Celebrity.

[Northern Aurora]

Interesting reading the comments. We will be boarding the Eclipse in April for a month long stay, and I am looking forward to our time onboard.

[hulamoon]

There is going to be a lot of staff changes before April. And with the way X is going probably several new policies by then too.

[wpgcycler]

Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy. :rolleyes:

 

If I don't have a good time, it's nobody's fault but mine. Luckily, I'm a perfectionist.

[north29]

Every thing is subjective to a cruisers desires. Also every ship is different depending on the management.

We were on the Equinox(sister ship) over Xmas and New Years, where we were seated we had the best service we have recently experienced since the Monarch. Food for the most part was very good, wait staff and sommelier service was excellent. I can see where other areas with BIG BIG families with big tables might have had some issues.

The cruise over Xmas and New Years have a big chance of being over crowded with kids. We booked that trip thinking that the price and length would be too much for many families NOT SO. One must remember that where most of the time there are only 2 people per cabin, over holidays there can be children of all ages in every open bed. Yes on sea days the smallish pool area was over crowded and even on the first day many unruly young people. YES, thanks Security the problem was taken care of.

PS we went to the deck for New Years, and the Ice sculpture was great but the rest was Meh, but good band, we never went inside to see what was going on there. After dong a RC cruise over New Years last year, on a ship with the promenade it was more fun.

[cookiersmom]

We were on the Eclipse over the summer in the Baltic and loved it. We had great service in the MDR, loved the Hot Glass Show, the entertainment was just "ok". Good on board activities. GREAT Cruise Director. Every staff member you passed said hello and was friendly

 

We were on Summit in the Caribbean over New Years a year ago and it was awful. Bad service in the MDR, zero activities. Horrible cruise director.

 

I truly am convinced that

a. holiday cruises service is crummy because they are crowded, lots of families, short cruise, so staff doesn't seem to care about "bonding" with passengers. And, generally, in the Caribbean, it just seems like the whole ship is run on a tighter budget with less customer service.

b. on any ship it is possible to get good and bad MDR service. I would definitely, early in the cruise, talk to the Maitre D

[jewliana]

Thanks for your review. I'm all set for 5 days of disappointment starting in 24 hours. :D

 

We'll be joining you tomorrow!! Looking forward to another fantastic Celebrity Cruise!

 

[RareCruiser]

I just TODAY got off a five day Miami/Bahama/Cayman cruise, and loved the Eclipse. As my name suggests, we only do this every five years as a family reunion, but the service in every area of the ship was very good. We ate only at the main dining room every night plus lunch on each sea day, and my whole family thoroughly enjoyed the food and all the choices presented. The ship's orchestra, Upbeat Duo, Seabreeze Duet, and the song/dance production company were great, and the other entertainment they brought on board gave terrific shows. We watched the Shades of Buble show twice in the same night. The casino was fun for certain family members. Our stateroom and balcony were small but efficient and luxurious in their own ways. I don't know what else to expect from a cruise, but this ship had everything we wanted at this price.

[davekathy]

I just TODAY got off a five day Miami/Bahama/Cayman cruise, and loved the Eclipse. As my name suggests, we only do this every five years as a family reunion, but the service in every area of the ship was very good. We ate only at the main dining room every night plus lunch on each sea day, and my whole family thoroughly enjoyed the food and all the choices presented. The ship's orchestra, Upbeat Duo, Seabreeze Duet, and the song/dance production company were great, and the other entertainment they brought on board gave terrific shows. We watched the Shades of Buble show twice in the same night. The casino was fun for certain family members. Our stateroom and balcony were small but efficient and luxurious in their own ways. I don't know what else to expect from a cruise, but this ship had everything we wanted at this price.

 

Thanks for sharing your opinion. We are looking forward to our 3 April 2016 14 night Caribbean Cruise on the Eclipse.

[cmalagngl]

We have been fortunate to have cruised most lines with the exception of the high end ones, all have been great value and all extremely enjoyable. We are Four star Mariners on Hal but switched to Celebrity for a change in 2013, now we are Elite grade on Celebrity. Both lines offer good value for money especially if you make comparisons to any comparable Land based holiday. Many of the problems listed by the OP were down to the passengers on that particular cruise, they need to choose more carefully. Noise around the main pool, what do you expect, its a holiday! Food quality has obviously suffered across the industry whilst companies try to maintain their headline prices, HAL is definitely not better or worse than Celebrity in this regard. Specialty restaurant are always better than the MDR for obvious reasons, can you compare a Michelin star restaurant to MacDonald's ? Tuscan Grill on Celebrity now charge extra for Antipasta course, cut backs on Pinnacle Grill are also noticeable with extra charges for lobster.

 

The significant difference between HAL and Celebrity for most people is their respective smoking policies, no more said, but I would like to live a little longer to enjoy more fabulous cruises.

 

Smoking policy is why when it comes down to comparing other options to Celebrity, Celebrity always wins for us.

[constantcruiser]

We were also aboard Eclipse on the last sailing before Christmas, and didn't feel crowded at all. But there were only 70 children on that cruise, and we were told they expected over 600 on the holiday cruise the following week. Completely understandable.

 

We enjoyed many of the activities and dining venues, but I didn't feel the staff had the same camaraderie as we saw on Equinox and Solstice. They were pleasant enough but just didn't have the same spirit as the other ships, and we occasionally observed crew members arguing among themselves. Maybe just feeling down about not going home for the holidays.

[montrealroyalc]

I agree. I sailed on the Equinox on December 21st, 2015 for the Christmas and New Years cruise. We were in Aqua Class as well and all we got was an overpriced vacation. The entertainment was garbage. The food was mediocre and all the staff could care about is telling you sob stories about the life they live back home hoping to squeeze you for greater tips at the end. I have to laugh though at all the people on this forum who think being elite is such a big deal and how Celebrity owes them something. Folks, Celebrity cruises doesn't care about you all they want is your money.

[hypercafe]

I really believe that all companies, land and sea, really just care about your money. Some use making you feel special a way to get it, some do not. Just the way business is.

[Jade13]

I agree. I sailed on the Equinox on December 21st, 2015 for the Christmas and New Years cruise. We were in Aqua Class as well and all we got was an overpriced vacation. The entertainment was garbage. The food was mediocre and all the staff could care about is telling you sob stories about the life they live back home hoping to squeeze you for greater tips at the end. I have to laugh though at all the people on this forum who think being elite is such a big deal and how Celebrity owes them something. Folks, Celebrity cruises doesn't care about you all they want is your money.

 

 

You thought the food in BLU was mediocre or do you mean the MDR or buffet?

[LabGuy64]

well at least you know now Celebrity is not for you, So it was not a total loss

 

On Eclipse, we are in a family verandah stateroom, which has two bedrooms plus a living room and is over 530 sq feet. I actually like my cabin on Eclipse-- just not the overall cruise experience.

 

On Nieuw Amsterdam, we were in a Neptune Suite, which is 500 sq feet, and cheaper on a per day basis than Celebrity.

 

On NCL, we were in the largest suite on the Pride of America and was comparably priced with Celebrity. Of course, the suite on NCL was far nicer than the others.

[Redtravel]

Ships are different. People are different. There are many types of ships and people. Finding the ship or cruise line that makes you happy will be different for each person. I like the Eclipse. I sailed on it twice previously. Each was a 14 night cruise. I am booked on the Eclipse in Jan. 2017 for another 14 days. Nice ship, great service, friendly staff, and good food are what I remember from my experiences on the Eclipse. I have also sailed on NCL and HAL. I hated NCL. I liked HAL. I like Celebrity more than HAL. When and if you find the cruise line and ship that you like, book it again. You may be amazed at the future bookings for the Eclipse. It is the only Celebrity ship that does the winter 14 nights.

[BM64]

We were on this cruise as well and had a totally different experience. It was the best cruise we have had in a really long time. The service and food were great. We thought they did great job NYE, we were anchored off Barbados and saw the fireworks at midnight. Yes, the pool was crowded on sea days but we have never been in a ship that the pool was not crowded on sea days. We would not hesitate to sail the Eclipse again. I'm sorry that your experience was not the same.

[wallie5446]

I agree. I sailed on the Equinox on December 21st, 2015 for the Christmas and New Years cruise. We were in Aqua Class as well and all we got was an overpriced vacation. The entertainment was garbage. The food was mediocre and all the staff could care about is telling you sob stories about the life they live back home hoping to squeeze you for greater tips at the end. I have to laugh though at all the people on this forum who think being elite is such a big deal and how Celebrity owes them something. Folks, Celebrity cruises doesn't care about you all they want is your money.

 

Wow things changed a lot in 3 weeks, there must have been a big crew turnover.

 

We were on the Thanksgiving sailing on the Equinox, Nov 20-30 and the wifester said it was her best cruise in 25 years.

 

It was our 1st time in Aqua, and our most cost effective ever, with comp grats, Classic Bev pkg, and $1050 in OBC, which we cashed out and used to pay for our privately booked tours.

[crusinpsychRN]

I was on HAL Westerdam in early December and could NOT get waited on in the MDR. Food wasn't that good to me. Aft pool was stark with old tables, deck that needs to be redone, all white. Hard to get OJ in the morning on Lido--it was pre poured and needed to be stirred. Good choice of Eggs Benedict every day.

[texasgirl29]

Baltic cruise in July 2015 on the Eclipse, our first time on Celebrity. (You can see my long report with many photos below.) Call me an optimist, but none of the cruises I've been on were anything less than wonderful.

 

I thought the Oceanview Cafe staff were wonderful. Pleasant, helpful and personable. It was bustling, sure, but service was great (we had the classic drinks package and there was always a waiter at your elbow to bring you a latte and some fresh OJ).

 

Maybe when you get to be "elite" or "diamond" you have super high expectations. My expectations are enjoying the sea air, food that I don't have to prepare or clean up, a bed I don't have to make, a show with a drink in my hand, exploring places I haven't been before, and of course, having fun with my family (even if there are four of us stuffed into a cabin!).

[tartantiara]

I am just wondering how on a New Years Eve cruise, the OP has managed to dine in the MDR, Qisine,Tuscan and Muranos three times and post about it on 3rd Jan