Celebrity Eclipse - overwhelmed with cabin choice

[AllureOfVacation]

Hi everyone,

 

we (2 adults) found a very nice 14 night Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse in February. We are completely new with Celebrity, so we do not know much about this ship

 

We can not decide which cabin to choose. We want a balcony, that is for sure, with no obsctruction, maybe even a larger balcony. I do not even know if there are some balconies which are larger than others on this ship.

 

The Aqua Class cabins have free access to the spa, right? If this is the only real perk, we can skip this category.

 

What is the main difference between Concierge Class and regular balcony cabins? Priority embarkation and a bottle of champagne?

 

Some cabin categories one should avoid? By the way, motion sickness is not a problem, and we prefer a cabin with less traffic in front of our door

 

Does anyone recommend aft balconies? If yes, which deck is the best? Never cruised in an aft, but we would like to try

 

Thanks for help, hints and tips for choosing the right cabin

Edited October 3, 2016 by AllureOfVacation

[TeaBag]

If you book a regular balcony, book a 1A. They are located on the hump and have larger balconies. The best thing about AQ class is Blu, the dedicated dining room where you will eat breakfast and dinner. Only AQ class can eat there and also suite guests if there is room for them. We book AQ just for Blu. We are not spa people and we never go to Persian Garden but you might love the steam room and the heated tile beds which look out to sea. You also get 2 extra tier points/day (5) for this category and Concierge

 

We rarely book Concierge because on the S class the cabins are the same size as regular cabins. You do get to eat in the dining room on embarkation day, as a perk. You know about the sparkling wine, but you also get nibblies delivered every day in the afternoon to your cabin. Sometimes they are okay, sometimes not.We love aft balconies and there are some lovely ones in C1. I think the 5 on deck 11 that are marked C1 on my deck plan are AQ class. I would go for one of those. Enjoy your cruise.

Edited October 3, 2016 by TeaBag

[Drysil]

Hi, and welcome!

 

The S-Class Cabin Information document (stickied in the forums) is a beast, but it is really your best source of infomation (along with forum searches on particulars!).

 

Folks have differing opinions of the relative merits of the different classes and their perks; Concierge has (as the name implies) a concierge, as well as the small perks you mention. Aqua has meals in a different, smaller dining room than the MDR, some minor cabin upgrades, and spa access for free (but not free treatments, of course).

 

Your cabin choice is really a distillation of your individual priorities -- for example, it sounds like Inside and OV are probably not for you. There aren't really whole categories that everyone avoids, at least as far as I can tell.

 

I've never sailed in an aft cabin, so I can't speak to that option. Cabins on the 'hump' (the angled portion of the decks only, not the parallel center) tend to have slightly larger balconies with respect to the rest of their class.

 

I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding opinions on the relative merits of the balcony classes, representing a diversity of opinions. Good luck, and enjoy dreaming about your cruise!

[wallie5446]

Hi everyone,

 

we (2 adults) found a very nice 14 night Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse in February. We are completely new with Celebrity, so we do not know much about this ship

 

We can not decide which cabin to choose. We want a balcony, that is for sure, with no obsctruction, maybe even a larger balcony. I do not even know if there are some balconies which are larger than others on this ship.

 

The Aqua Class cabins have free access to the spa, right? If this is the only real perk, we can skip this category.It is to the Persian Garden, not the spa. The main perk is the semi private dinning room BLU.

 

What is the main difference between Concierge Class and regular balcony cabins? Priority embarkation and a bottle of champagne?That is about it, we have sailed in all 3 category's.

 

Some cabin categories one should avoid? By the way, motion sickness is not a problem, and we prefer a cabin with less traffic in front of our doorThe only foot traffic will be from your cabin mates. No thru traffic to speak of.

 

Does anyone recommend aft balconies? If yes, which deck is the best? Never cruised in an aft, but we would like to tryWe have sailed on decks 11, 9, and 8. And are booked on 7 for our next cruise. We have yet to afford an AFT on a S-Class ship. But love the Aft on other cruises.

 

Thanks for help, hints and tips for choosing the right cabin

 

Bottom line, IOHO, there is not a horrid cabin in the S-Class design. The larger balcony will be on the slant of the hump, just like on RCCL Our 2nd favorite location after the Aft.

Edited October 3, 2016 by wallie5446

[helen haywood]

Celebrity's Solstice Class ships (the Eclipse is one of them) has two banks of elevators, forward and midship. If you have an aft cabin just be aware you will be doing a lot of walking to get from your cabin to anywhere. Some people like the exercise; some with mobility problems do not. The slanted balconies on the hump are the largest. If you look at deck plans you will see they are the ones before and aft the hump area. Celebrity's elevator banks there in the midship area are recessed behind a corridor wall so even though you are near them you will not hear foot traffic. And its great to be close to the elevators and the stairs, IMHO.

[ClaudiaB]

We always sail aft, and high on deck 11 penthouse deck. If it's in the budget get an aft corner sky suite.

 

Main reason for Aqua Class (as they have same exact cabin size except for the suites) is their own dedicated restaurant, Blu.

 

On Celebrity there are 3 dining rooms for your meals (the free ones). The main dining room which is large and services the vast majority of passengers; Blu which is smaller and services Aqua Class (and suites upon availability); and Luminae which is for suites.

 

The advantage to Blu and Luminae is they're smaller. Wait staff and chefs can customize easier as they're fixing for much fewer people. Better menus. We ate in Blu 5 cruises and loved it (still do) until Luminae.

 

Concierge advantages are location and a few negligible perks. And more loyalty points which get you up the loyalty ladder quicker. Celebrity's loyalty perks are actually good.

 

We prefer the penthouse deck because theoretically the better butlers and stateroom attendants are there (because the higher end suites are there). But we'd take a sky suite aft any deck because we like the spaciousness. And we like Luminae. And Michael's Club which is the suite private lounge.

 

There is a longer walk to the aft cabins because no rear stairs or elevator but we just figure that's helping to work off a martini or creme brûlée.

 

There are many opinions on cabins. Just keep reading here. I'd sail in a regular old veranda cabin to sail though. We got a deal on a sky suite once and never looked back (I imagine that's not the only time it's happened ;) )

[purdo]

We sailed on Eclipse in August and booked Conceirge, a balcony on deck 10, room 1283 & my sister was in 1291, these are aft cabins, port side. No obstruction. Great cabins a short walk from the lifts. Would book them again.

[Relaxinginthesun]

If your budget can afford it - Sky Suites are the best cabins in my opinion. More Space, Bigger balcony and bathroom. Plus unlike most lines you get 95% of the amenities of the larger suites at a fraction of the price.

[Luvcrusn]

Hi everyone,

 

we (2 adults) found a very nice 14 night Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse in February. We are completely new with Celebrity, so we do not know much about this ship

 

We can not decide which cabin to choose. We want a balcony, that is for sure, with no obsctruction, maybe even a larger balcony. I do not even know if there are some balconies which are larger than others on this ship.

 

The Aqua Class cabins have free access to the spa, right? If this is the only real perk, we can skip this category.

 

What is the main difference between Concierge Class and regular balcony cabins? Priority embarkation and a bottle of champagne?

 

Some cabin categories one should avoid? By the way, motion sickness is not a problem, and we prefer a cabin with less traffic in front of our door

 

Does anyone recommend aft balconies? If yes, which deck is the best? Never cruised in an aft, but we would like to try

 

Thanks for help, hints and tips for choosing the right cabin

 

I can understand your confusion. A number of cruises ago our TA mentioned a website to me that has been immensely helpful in choosing cabins on any cruise line. It is cruisedeckplans.com and is a TA tool that shows the layouts and overviews of all lines and ships along with pictures that are very helpful in making selections. It shows cabin with larger balconies, adjoining rooms blocked views and whatever you can think of that makes cabin selection regardless of line clear and easy. They don't sell anything, it's an informative tool. I use it whenever I'm booking with a line directly or with a TA ever since.

[Fl Sue]

We frequently book guarantee concierge when the rate is close to balcony. The simple reason is that there are NO concierge rooms on a lower deck than 9 (solstice class). It's a cost saving measure that has provided us with several wonderful rooms at a lower price. The evening appetizer is nothing great, same with pillow selection, etc. Basically a concierge is the same room as balcony but you are assured that you will be on floors 9, 10 or 11.

[Luvcrusn]

We frequently book guarantee concierge when the rate is close to balcony. The simple reason is that there are NO concierge rooms on a lower deck than 9 (solstice class). It's a cost saving measure that has provided us with several wonderful rooms at a lower price. The evening appetizer is nothing great, same with pillow selection, etc. Basically a concierge is the same room as balcony but you are assured that you will be on floors 9, 10 or 11.

 

Also with Concierge you get priority embarkation, separate departure lounge and the embarkation luncheon if you desire and want to skip the lunch crunch in the oceanview. On the millennium ships the concierge cabins are larger than the regular verandahs, but on the solstice they are the same size.

[4774Papa]

Celebrity's Solstice Class ships (the Eclipse is one of them) has two banks of elevators, forward and midship. If you have an aft cabin just be aware you will be doing a lot of walking to get from your cabin to anywhere. Some people like the exercise; some with mobility problems do not. The slanted balconies on the hump are the largest. If you look at deck plans you will see they are the ones before and aft the hump area. Celebrity's elevator banks there in the midship area are recessed behind a corridor wall so even though you are near them you will not hear foot traffic. And its great to be close to the elevators and the stairs, IMHO.

 

We have been on an aft cabin twice.

Here is a key point to remember. Many aft cabins on cruise ships have little or no cover. You are exposed to the sun. This can be a problem if you are cruising in a hot climate. We had an aft cabin on the Century last year's cruise from Singapore to Dubai. It was late March, early April, but HOT, HOT. Our balcony was too hot to enjoy. We would have done much better with a regular balcony with a cover and something of a breeze to cool us.

 

The second time, was Alaska and the aft balcony was perfect. It was September and cool, even cold when close to glaciers. Still, our balcony didn't have any wind that made it even colder.

 

Another issue is that when the weather is stormy, the best cabins are at the middle of the ship. An aft is not at the middle and there is more movement. IF you are prone to sea sickness, then an aft may not be for you.

[wallie5446]

Hi everyone,

 

we (2 adults) found a very nice 14 night Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse in February. We are completely new with Celebrity, so we do not know much about this ship

 

Thanks for help, hints and tips for choosing the right cabin

 

Gary is posting live from the Eclipse, maybe you could ask if he could get you a few pics to help with your decision. Here is the link to his thread,

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2409268

[thebutlerdidit]

If you avoid the 2D and 2C categories, then you're fairly sure to avoid obstructions. We've only sailed Aqua Class on the S-class ships, but have an aft suite booked in December and a 1B booked next October. I chose a 1B cabin on the flat part of the hump, deck 9. I've had an Aqua cabin on the angled part of the hump before, and though I loved the balcony depth, I wasn't crazy about the limited view. I think I'm really going to enjoy being midship and having a 180-degree view from the balcony. There are 2B cabins on the flat of the hump too, but they're on lower decks.

[southessex-gary]

I am currently laying on the bed in Cabin 1200 on deck 10. This is an aft facing cabin....

 

Will take some pics tomorrow and post them once the maid has been in.... lol.

 

Cant get anymore private than 1200 as we have our own little private entrance that we share with the corner suite 1198. so its only us and them who will ever be outside our cabin door.... oh and room service.....

 

Anyway. will get some pics and get them posted sometime tomorrow.

 

Gary

[dodger1964]

Celebrity's Solstice Class ships.. Celebrity's elevator banks there in the midship area are recessed behind a corridor wall so even though you are near them you will not hear foot traffic. And its great to be close to the elevators and the stairs, IMHO.

 

We could hear the "ding" of elevators on our last cruise!

[Duanerice1]

We usually sail either Concierge or Aqua. Aqua when the price is right. Concierge becasue they have footstools. Yep, we sit on the balcony a lot and like a footstool. But you can book a 1A just below the CC cabins and buy a blow up footstool :) All normal cabins are the same layout basically. So a balcony on deck 8 is the same size as the corresponding balcony on deck 11. So if you pick a large balcony in say Aqua on deck 12, the cabin directlybelow it on deck 11 might be a Concierge with the same large balcony. Go down to deck 10 and you'd get a regular veranda with the same large balcony. The only difference is price and amenities.

 

Aqua is our favorite (don't want to pay for a suite). A few nice amenities, including footstools but the main attraction is access to the Persian Gardens and Blu. We rarely use the Persian Gardens but Blu is fantastic. More like a restaurant where to us the main dining room is more of a nice banquet hall with much better food :)

 

Look on the deck map and pretty much anything that has an angled balcony is usually larger than others. So many people like the hump but we are more of fans of the "indent" near the front elevators. Super large balcony and close to the gym, spa, and Solarium. But also check the sticky thread on the top of this page to investigate further.

 

Have fun!

[wallie5446]

We have stayed in 8226 on the Equinox, on the slant of the hump. The cabin doors are not open to the elevator doors, there is a sound proof wall between them. A wonderful location, the only foot traffic were those few dozen cabins on down the hall. Which for the most part we were some of the final few rolling up the carpet behind us, when we turned in for the night!:D

 

The slant cabins are my wife an mine most favorite after the aft.

[DYKWIA]

We've were in a slant 1a this year on 9, a 2b up front last year, and a 1c aft on 8 two years ago. All guarantee cabins.

 

All cabins were fine. The balconys are larger on 1As but the standard balcony is reasonably large. Also, because of the slant your view might be limited. We enjoyed the room and loved the location but my wife and I agreed we wouldnt pay 100s of dollars extra for it.

 

Our 2b last year 2 cabins from the front was again fine, but did suffer from a bit of noise early morning on port days as their is an observation platform that us lowered below your room. We were happy with getting this as a guarantee but probably wouldnt pick this room if we had the choice.

 

Our 1c was again fine, but the aft rooms are a bit of a walk from the lifts, if that's a factor.

 

One other factor that we realised this year is the location of the bed (near balcony or near wardrobe / bathroom) . We find the rooms where the bed is closer to the wardrobe / bathroom feel more spacious, despite being the same size.

 

my wife and I did enjoy the mid ship location this year and the ability to get to and from the room quickly, we agreed which deck was of less importance.