CruiseDad-NYC

1 hour ago, rotoal said:

I thought that foot stools are a perk of Concierge and Aqua and aren’t expected to be available in standard balcony cabins.

That would be my understanding as well.

On my recent Eclipse voyage, the attendants in the Solarium did enforce the towel policy and did move things if there hadn't been activity for awhile (and I believe if the attendant had been notified).  I really appreciate that.

On my recent B2B on the Eclipse (which I got off on Saturday), we had foot stools in our Aqua Class cabin balcony on the first segment but did not have them on our V2 cabin balcony on the second.

I don't mind filling out the cruise survey and actually appreciate being given the opportunity to give feedback on my cruise experience and hopefully improve things for future cruises (and help give recognition to crew members who had a positive impact on my vacation).  I don't know if it helps anything, but it is nice to be given an opportunity to speak.

I do find it off-putting, however, and think it cheapens the vibe to be implored many and multiple times to fill out the surveys.  On my recent Eclipse cruise, we were implored probably the most we have been in recent memory to fill out the survey.  By waiters. Managers. The cruise director.  I think even the captain may have done it during his final talk in the theater.  It was too much.

I will give excellent crew ratings, because I think they all deserved it.  I am not going to lie and say the food was good, because it wasn't.  For some customers, these cruises are a lot of money and maybe the trip of a life time.  Falsely stating that things are good when they aren't hurts those people and doesn't help the cruise line overall, because word gets out, including at CruiseCritic!

I just booked this one last week (albeit for August 2025 followed by the return to Boston).  Very much looking forward to it!

3 minutes ago, JDPCruisers said:

Does look in good condition, the bathroom similar?

Yes, in good condition.  I actually don't think the bathrooms need to be changed at all other than new towels.

3 minutes ago, CruiseDad-NYC said:

Hi, JDPCruisers - I would not be concerned about the condition of the Eclipse based on my experience onboard over the last 3 weeks or so. But, I would temper my expectations a bit.  It is well-maintained, but not new. It just felt a bit dated, including in the staterooms (e.g., dated carpets, upholstery, towels were sometimes thin).  It needs to be freshened up and polished, but not ripped apart.

This was my cabin (9186) taken just a few days ago:

54 minutes ago, JDPCruisers said:

Thanks for the updated information. We are on end of Aug/Sept for 11 days in a SS. We, too, are concerned about the condition of the ship before it's update, particularly the staterooms as we were on Constellation in Dec before it's dry dock and the stateroom we had was in in dire need of a complete update and that is an understatement. 

Hi, JDPCruisers - I would not be concerned about the condition of the Eclipse based on my experience onboard over the last 3 weeks or so. But, I would temper my expectations a bit.  It is well-maintained, but not new. It just felt a bit dated, including in the staterooms (e.g., dated carpets, upholstery, towels were sometimes thin).  It needs to be freshened up and polished, but not ripped apart.

Hi, I just got off the Eclipse on Saturday after being on it for 21 nights on a B2b (i.e., 7 nights from Buenos Aires to Rio De Janeiro and then 14 nights from Rio to New York).  I have been writing up a review that I hope to post soon.  We had a really terrific time overall, and the Solstice class is my favorite Celebrity class of ship. 

The Eclipse is in very good shape, but definitely feels a bit dated and could use some freshening up as some others have said.  New carpets, new curtains, reupholstered furniture, and some paint in places (e.g., on the outside of the ship and by some windows) and it would sparkle.

The crew is really excellent.  The food was very average - nothing to be excited about and not as good as the Edge B2B from Barcelona last September.

I would go on it again for sure assuming the itinerary and price were right even though it needs a polish, which I understand is happening in the Spring of 2025.  If it is expensive, I don't think I would splurge on it.

On Bonaire, I have been a couple of times to Harbour Village resort.  They offered a day pass.  Beautiful and quiet private sandy beach and a restaurant.  I would definitely do it again. 

I remember speaking with a captain on a RCCL ship a couple of years ago.  He had been annoyed that 2 passengers were 30 minutes late back to the ship (turns out they were hanging out at a bar in the cruise terminal area).  The engines had been idling, and I believe he said it was $10,000 in additional fuel charges and that he was going to be giving them the bill (I couldn't tell if he was serious or not, but he was definitely annoyed and said he had  been able to do it that time, but is not always able to wait that long).

I feel bad for the little boy!

Thank you for the terrific review, which I am following with great interest.  I am traveling in Argentina in April, including Ushuaia and then boarding the Eclipse in Buenos Aires and sailing to New York. Am really looking forward to it!

Antarctica is definitely on my bucket list.  

Thanks again, and have a great cruise.

5 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Be aware that you are not supposed to bring NA beer on board.  They may have allowed it in Barcelona  but don’t count on it for Eclipse 

5 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Be aware that you are not supposed to bring NA beer on board.  They may have allowed it in Barcelona  but don’t count on it for Eclipse 

That's not true. 0/0 beer is non-alcoholic and Celebrity allows you to bring in non-alcoholic beverages that you can carry on yourself (can't be in checked luggage).

Hi, there - I started drinking non-alcoholic 0/0 beer last year in solidarity with my wife, who had to stop drinking alcohol because of some medications she is on.  I was shocked at how good they are now and how many choices there are.  Taste-wise, I can't tell the difference and don't mind not getting a buzz off them, which I have actually noticed is a plus for me.

You can bring non-alcoholic beer on board and keep them in the refrigerator in your cabin.  That's what I did on my B2B Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona last fall.  I brought 2 six packs that cost me about $5 each, which is less than the price of a single non-alcoholic beer on the ship.  I will be on the Eclipse again this spring and will do the same.

Good luck to you and enjoy your cruise!

People here seem to think that if you remove the "gratuities" that have been billed to your account - which the cruiseline freely allows you to do - that the hardworking staff do not got paid and have worked for free.  That is simply not true.  The hardworking staff are paid a guaranteed amount by contract.  The cruiseline uses the "gratuities" to pay the staff salaries.  If the amount of the "gratuities" does not meet the amount budgeted for crew salaries, the cruiseline makes up the difference.  If it exceeds it, the extra amount go into a bonus pool pursuant to which staff can make a little extra - not much.

If you really want to pay a "gratuity" (i.e., a paid recognition of good service) pay the individual in cash.  It is up to you whether you want to pay the optional cruiseline gratuities to your account, and if you wish to pay them and reduce the cruiselines' obligations to pay the crew, you should feel free to do so.  But, the crew get paid the same either way. They are not not paid if you don't pay them.  It is a money grab by the cruise line.  If you really want to reward crew for good service, pay them directly.  They will receive this money in addition to their contracted salary.

This can be annoying and shouldn't happen.  It happened to me twice on my recent Edge B2B cruise.  We are Captain's Club Elite members and get selected free drinks between 5 pm and 7 pm.  When I checked my account on the last night, I saw that I was charged $10.40 for 2 bottles of water that each should have been free, particularly since I clearly said each time that I was served the water that I was taking it as part of the Elite benefit.  By the time I figured it out and went down to Guest Services and waited in line and explained the situation and they looked it up, 45 minutes had gone by.  It may seem minor, but that's 45 minutes on vacation that I shouldn't have had to spend, particularly when Celebrity tacks on a 20% service charge to everything.

You just have to be careful or otherwise be prepared to write off the cost of getting it fixed.

I just spent 2 weeks on Edge (i.e., Barcelona to Rome for 7 days and 7 days back to Barcelona) this month.  This was my first Celebrity cruise since a 2019 cruise for 10 days from Venice to Croatia and Greece and back.  I have sometimes wondered whether the food is better on European cruises than US cruises just because Europeans wouldn't tolerate lower food quality that Americans seem to be OK with.  I will say the food on the Edge was just very excellent all around - from the Oceanview Cafe to all of the dining rooms and Spa Cafe.  Fruit and vegetables were particularly fresh.  Just as good if not better than 2019.  (Bar service and drinks, however, were another story - very poor this past trip).

I had been a little wary based on the attempts Celebrity had made in January of this year to lower standards (which seemed to have backfired).  But, we were very happy based on the 14 days on our 14 days this month on Edge.  I will say, however, that we were very unhappy on the 2 cruises we took last summer and fall on the RCCl Adventure of the Seas (i.e., Celebrity's sister brand).  It was so poor that we are now open to other cruise lines than after approximately 20 cruises over 20 years (we had previously only been on RCCL and Celebrity).

Thanks for the comparison with Princess, a cruise line I have been curious about but never sailed on. I have only been on Royal and Celebrity (and 1 Mein Schiff) for the 20 cruises I have been on.  With all of the cuts post pandemic (particularly on Royal) I am open to trying other cruise lines whereas I wouldn't have before. Your perspective confirms what I have read elsewhere.

Alaska is definitely on my bucket list!

5 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

One thing we did was to purchase the only (I think) cruise line excursion that did not require one to use the cable car to get to the top.  I believe that the tender takes you to a different drop-off, where a bus takes you to the top and back.  I do note that it sold out pretty quickly.  Plenty of other excursions, but again I think that only one took you to the alternate drop-off point where you'd board a bus.

That is a good idea - the next time I go back to Santorini (and I am sure I will), I would do a cruise excursion that does not require the cable car (and I might consider a catamaran or sailing excursion if they have one).

On 7/28/2023 at 4:06 PM, Cherries Jubilee said:

In my opinion the Uber/Lyft pickup is the iffy part of your plan. We were delayed getting off the ship the last time we sailed but even that delay was nothing like how long it took us to get a Uber/Lyft.

 

The app kept losing connection because there were so many of us out there and then the wait for a car was really long. It didn’t matter if we wanted an XL or were even willing to spring for a Luxury car. 
 

It was slow when we sailed Oasis in May and even slower when we sailed Anthem in January. In fact we eventually gave up in January and called a family member to pick us up because it was too cold. 
 

We also live incredibly close.

 

If you try it, definitely do self assist and get out of there as fast as you can so you can avoid the outdoor rush.

This was my experience as well.  I have taken 3 trips arriving back in Cape Liberty over the last year.  Twice it took us almost 2 hours to get an Uber/Lyft, and we walked off early.  Once, we pretty much had no problem.  Getting off was no problem, it was getting an Uber/Lyft that was a problem (and the taxis were a total ripoff).  Not a huge deal for us, because we were just going to Long Island.  But, if I had a flight to catch, I would consider pre-reserving your ride if you could.

4 hours ago, redwings1958 said:

PORTS:

7. SANTORINI - IMHO; this should be an AT SEA DAY; It was just a mad house in OIA and FIRA

 

I hear you about Santorini - an absolute madhouse the last time I was there, right before the pandemic. I ended up getting separated from my family for over half an hour because of the crowds.  Stunningly beautiful place.  Too many people!

Glad you had a great time overall, and I agree with your assessments on the other ports as well.

Thanks very much for this report, which I am reading with great interest.  I am doing this journey in September as part of a B2B on the Edge from Barcelona and can't wait.  In La Spezia, I am thinking of taking the boat to the furthest village and then walking between a few and then taking the train or boat back (if it is hot and super crowded, I might not need to see all of them, even though I am really looking forward to going there - I think it depends on the crowds).

I am curious to see what you did in Cannes and Palma, as I hit those parts as well (in addition to Valencia, Ibiza, and Portofino).

I could use an Aperol Spritz and some fresh pasta now!

I hope you have been having a wonderful trip!

I have a CPAP, too, and have brought it on the last 7 or 8 cruises on RCCL and Celebrity.  I always request the cord and distilled water before hand.  I probably get it 50 - 70% of the time.  For the times that I don't, I just ask the cabin attendant on the day of embarkation, it has been there before bed time without a problem. It is super common and not an issue for the cruise lines.  Don't worry about it, and have a great cruise!

Clickbait heading topic.  No chaos - surprise! Sorry I gave in and clicked!