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Wiseask

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    Celebrity

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. Since reviews are partly subjective, I share some of the poster’s impressions but not all of them. I was on the May 9 to 21 Hawaii cruise, and stayed on board for the May 21 to 28 Alaska sailing. My wife and I, who were celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary, were in a Concierge class cabin on Deck 10. It was our fourth and fifth sailing on the Eclipse. In my experience with Celebrity, the Guest Relations desk or the Concierge assigned to Concierge class passengers will do their best to fix complaints while you’re on board. Of course, some complaints reflect the new normal and can’t be fixed. But the new normal has affected the entire cruise industry, which shut down for years during the pandemic, and has resurfaced with every cruise line cutting costs and services because they, like everyone else, are operating in a new economic reality. Even before the pandemic, I was never a fan of the specialty restaurants on board the S-class ships, thinking them overpriced and frankly mediocre. I had a lot of OBC during the Hawaii leg of my trip and gave Le Petit Chef and the Tuscan Grille a try again. A total waste of money, I thought. On the other hand, I enjoyed the MDR food just fine and from the comments I heard from surrounding tables so did practically everyone else. We even enjoyed the buffet restaurant a few nights when after exhausting shore excursions during the day we didn’t feel like dressing for dinner. The chilly weather during the Alaska leg was a first for me. Normally when cruising in the tropical climates of the Caribbean or the Mediterranean the pool deck is packed, relieving the congestion inside. But unlike its RCCL big sister, Celebrity ships do not offer nearly the number and variety of on board activities, resulting in passengers overcrowding the coffee bar and the buffet restaurant with little else to do when the weather is not conducive to sitting outside. Finding a seat in both the coffee bar and the buffet restaurant became a daily challenge. But Celebrity must be doing something right because both cruises were filled to capacity. I was determined to have a good time and wound up having a wonderful time. I’m sure no matter what cruise line I chose I could find plenty to complain about, but instead I felt privileged and grateful that my wife and I were able to sail to exotic places on a still beautiful ship with perhaps the kindest crew at sea. I certainly agree that the Eclipse is due for a facelift, but thinking that none of us are getting any younger, and regarding Time as our most precious commodity, while on board we booked a Croatia/Israel B2B on the Silhouette for 2024.
  2. We will be sailing to Hilo next month. Although we’d like to see a volcano while we’re there, we purposely did not purchase a ship excursion or an excursion on TripAdvisor, mainly because the tours they offer are too long to suit us, usually six hours or so. Although this will be our first visit to Hawaii, I know from sailing on several other cruises, say in the Caribbean, that there are usually tours offered by guides on the dock, and even taxi drivers willing to take us to tourist spots. Can we expect the same in Hilo, and if so, has anyone taken a private tour to any of the volcanos with a guide they hired on the dock or even with a taxi driver willing to take you? If so, how would you rate your experience? Thanks.
  3. I didn’t, no. But others have: https://youtu.be/lYHhx4fWusA 4.5 laps = 1 mile.
  4. The ship was magnificent, the cruise was fabulous, and I loved the walking track. What more can I say?
  5. Circling back to this topic, we just returned from a T/A on board the Apex and I loved the outdoor track. Unfortunately my wife had broken her foot a few months before and wasn't able to exercise on this cruise, but she did do a slow lap in her orthopedic boot and was equally enthusiastic.
  6. Just to circle back to this topic, we have returned from our T/A on the Apex, and for those of you who posted that the Infinite Veranda cabins had sufficient storage space, you were quite right. Frankly, I thought the cabins were brilliantly designed (except for the bar in the closet), and that the “Infinite Veranda” in particular afforded absolute privacy, extra room, and the ability to enjoy my balcony without leaving my cabin. Two drawbacks: the Captain had the final say whether the window can be lowered, and on two days of rough seas and bad weather it couldn’t. Second, opening the window automatically shuts off the A/C. But we would choose this cabin again with no hesitation.
  7. Thanks to everyone for your replies. We are scheduled to set sail in about two weeks and will see for ourselves soon enough. 🙂🛳
  8. I am about to set sail on the Apex and noticed in a video of the Infinite Veranda cabin that Celebrity eliminated the storage cabinets above the beds which I’ve always welcomed in the veranda cabins on their S-class ships. Although it was difficult to determine from the video, it did not appear that there were many, if any, more drawers for storage in the Apex cabin. Can anyone familiar with both cabin configurations let me know if Celebrity compensated for those eliminated storage cabinets elsewhere in the Apex cabin? Thanks.
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