phoenix_dream

All ABC cruises eventually book up well. Some schools/colleges start spring break in March. Also the prices for pre-cruise hotels can be even higher in March. I suspect that is why the March one has yet to sell out.

I've cruised in January many, many times. The islands are always nice and warm - in fact, much more comfortable than later months but definitely warm enough for beach time. Leaving from Florida (and in Florida) may be cool (or even cold) but once you get south January is the perfect month IMHO

Very much disagree with you. Summit is a great ship - yes, smaller, but was revolutionized and looks very nice. What some call small, others call comfortably sized. As to age, yes, Celebrity tends to trend older than Royal, But "OOOLLDD clientele"? Only on the longer cruises. These days there are a lot of younger people sailing Celebrity ships thanks to their marketing scheme. Kind of an insulting comment at that. Heaven forbid you have to spend time cruising with OOOLLDD people.

Interesting no one else has reported getting the survey. Wonder if the ones who got one have sailed with kids recently? Anyway, my opinion is that except for cold or otherwise inclement weather when a designated family time is reasonable, the solarium should remain adults only. And for that matter, during the family time it should be required that parents be present (I know, even harder to control).

We sailed her for 21 days a year and a half or so ago and really enjoyed our experience. We were in the Retreat so that could make a difference. It was also before any MDR dining changes were made so can't speak to that. She was overall in good shape - not revolutionized but public areas had been cleaned up quite a bit. Our one and only complaint revolves around the television if that matters to you. It was small, old, and did not have the usual automation features of on demand movies, online account, etc.. Our cabin had not been updated with new furniture or anything, but to us that didn't matter.

It does seem like Celebrity is trying to do some good things for their loyal customers after making so many of them (us) angry because of all the cutbacks. This and the opening of the Retreat Lounge for Zenith are positive steps for us as well as good PR for Celebrity. They get a lot by doing this - they make their loyal passengers a bit happier, and it costs them barely a cent. I hope they continue looking at ways to improve things.

It was never more than a couple of hours, and never was the first night. So there were plenty of hours you could have used the Sky Lounge. Granted, they might not have been your preferred hours, but your post makes it seem like the lounge was blocked out all the time, from mid day on and that was never the case.

We were just in a corner aft Sky Suite, deck 9. People on the decks above us could see us if we were by railing.

So you feel it's completely ok to wear whatever the heck you want to, even though you booked a cruise with a line that has specific rules about what you should be wearing? That the rules may belong to other people, but not to you, or they can just be ignored because who cares about rules? Wow. That's a very interesting attitude. Do you feel that way about their other rules? Ok to smoke if you decide to do it? Ok to roller skate down the hallways if you decide to do it? Ok to bring bottles of alcohol onboard if you decide to do it? Sorry (not sorry) I just don't see the difference. Rules are rules. You can't just decide which to follow and which not. That's all I can say without getting booted off of Cruise Critic.

I am sorry for the issues you faced, especially the toilet one and how it was handled. I appreciate the balanced review you are providing. I agree contacting the Hotel Manager is a good idea. He seemed to be a very personable guy who seems to take his job seriously. As to sailing Eclipse in general, just got off of her Sunday after a b2b of 14 days total. We had zero issues of any consequence. We were in two separate cabins, a Sky suite on 12 and a corner Sunset Sky on 9. We had some noise issues with the first one - carts rolling from around 3 am on. Luckily not loud enough to cause us to lose sleep, but a bit annoying. Our stream Wi-Fi was not as good as we’ve experienced on some ships, but not that bad. We had a lot of fog on our 2nd cruise which might have worsened the reception. Service and food overall were great. We ate in Luminae with an occasional stop at the buffet for lunch. We noticed some wear and tear here and there but we felt she was overall in good shape. We dined in both Tuscan and Murano and enjoyed both. I am writing this mainly to ally concerns of future passengers. Not denying at all the issues mentioned, just saying I think they were more the exception than the rule.

I'm on Eclipse now in the California coastal area and IMHO the ship has been very cold all cruise. In the Caribbean I usually bring a light sweater as I tend to get cold easier as I get older. For comparison, in Florida I am often in shorts while locals are wearing down jackets so keep that difference in mind. 🙂

I think we need to keep in mind that many of these bookings might be from FCC during the shutdown. Or is that timing past? Will be interesting to see what next year's capacities look like with so much bad publicity about MDR food, taking away dedicated butlers for sky suites, and on and on. Couple that with the reinstitution of student loan payments, as well as credit card debt shock from so much overspending and we'll see what happens. I know I have fewer Celebrity cruises booked for next year than I usually would.

As regards tipping in general, that is how the ship’s payment/salary process works. So whether your country does or does not customarily tip should have zero impact on whether you should tip onboard. As to extra tipping, I feel that is a personal decision. My view is that these staff work way harder and longer than I ever did for far less money (and I worked hard, for often long hours!) So I will always tip even more for the excellent service I normally get. I don't vary extra tip amounts by size of room or amount paid, but rather by service provided.

Onboard now

On Eclipse now, in two different sky suites on a b2b. On each segment the head butler arranged to have our minibar cleared out and stocked with the soft drinks and water we like. I know it's not an official perk but in sky suites we've always had butlers willing to do it. Can't say they all will, but pleasantly surprised this trip after all the cuts.

DH and I have Android and no issues with the app - onboard Eclipse this week

We were on the cruise affected by Fiona. Missed 2 ports, but added overnights in Quebec City and Portland which were nice. Seas were actually very calm. Service and food on Summit in Blu were some of our worst ever strangely enough as usually it gets good reviews. And then we came home with Covid.....But there was a lot to love about it. Our favorite was Quebec City and sightseeing in Boston before we sailed. On Eclipse now and really enjoying the cruise. Not revolutionized but in good shape and staff is very good, as is the food (we're in Luminae).

On Eclipse now. Haven't noticed any changes in the Luminae menu. Didn't do a before and after comparison but they seem to be the same as before. I can't speak to specific items but everything I was used to ordering was there. Food has been generally good to very good, and great service.

Pills only work so well. I can vouch for that. But intolerance is way different than allergies and the like. At most eating some dairy might cause some unpleasant digestive tract issues, but not put me in the hospital like an allergic reaction might.

That's how it was for awhile when cruising resumed . That is NOT how it works now.

You're right. When booking a 5 year old ship everything should be perfect. Geez. A few nonremoveable stains on a coffee table. The horror. Bad draining? Yes that definitely should have been noticed and fixed. We agree on that. So should the toilet ring thing but as long as it works OK wouldn't give it a second thought. Not flushing for 15 minutes? That is almost always because some ignorant guest flushed something they shouldn't and it stopped up the vacuum system. If this summary is not considered complaining I don't know what is. No five year old ship, hotel room, restaurant, and so on is ever going to be perfect no matter how much maintenance is done. It's like expecting my 72 year old body to look like a 20 year olds. No amount of Botox or exercise is gonna make that happen. If you need perfect, only sail brand new ships. Peg me as a Celebrity cheerleader if you want (Although if you read all my posts they would belie that). But I'd rather say I'm a realist about what is reasonable on a 5 year old ship.

I'm on Eclipse now. I don't see a lot of rust or wear and tear anywhere. Our cabin has older furniture but overall in good shape. Some minor scratches and so forth but I'm definitely not seeing a lot anywhere onboard. Overall service has been good. We are in a suite and Luminae has been very good with great service. Lunch at the buffet is similar to what I've seen for years. Entertainment so far has been better than average. Have not seen a production show yet so don't know about the singers and dancers. Overall so far so good.

Agree. Much higher price. Much lower quality and quantity of offerings. And we're the ones being criticized for not being happy with that equation??? Where's the logic in that?

I get your point. But what is wrong is the signicant increase in price coupled with the significant decrease in quality or level of offerings (meaning, for example, less steak and a lot more chicken, pasta, and cheaply priced fish) and number of options.

Agree.