Alsmez

Wine choices by the glass in Eclipse two weeks ago were pathetic. She had just returned from Australia so there were quite a few OZ wines available that weren't listed on the menus, but outside of Murano/Tuscan you never knew what you were going to get unless you asked to see a label/specified a brand. If you had a package, they just poured whatever. We received white zin instead of rose and some sweet white instead of Sauv Blanc on many occasions. The only decent red I was able to find by the glass was a Bordeaux blend, only available in Murano. I didn't see anything from Chile or Argentina, etc., anywhere on board. Lots of cheap California and mass producer labels. VERY disappointing, and I'm hardly a connoisseur - just an aficionado of interesting wines from elsewhere in the world.

No, there was a much larger selection than just pizza and ribs at dinner, though my husband would agree with @bnurick that those were the best offerings! On our sailing the buffet had about 3/4 of the stations open at dinner except on night 6 (lobster night in the MDR) - that night we had only 1/3 or so of stations open and a real lack of options. We probably should have gone to the MDR after seeing the limited state of the buffet, but we were tired from a long excursion and it was already fairly late by the time we went to eat, plus my DH doesn't care for lobster and wasn't interested in any of the other menu options (normally he would have ordered the lamb, but not after the sad lamb he received in Murano). To be honest, I wasn't either, and one small lobster tail hardly constitutes a meal in my book. Here's the menu:

I wondered if the ship having just come back to North America from Oz might have something to do with the food quality in general - using up the last of supplies bought elsewhere, etc. I sincerely hope things improve for future sailings!

The only major difference is the presence of the hot glass show on Equinox vs the Porch and Lawn Club Grlll (two specialty restaurants) on Silhouette. If having a lot of dining options is important I would choose Silhouette, otherwise it's a coin flip. They are both great ships!

Like @Georgia_Peaches said, a backless sandal with bling. Definitely more upscale than a rubber shower flip-flop but still makes the signature sound! I might also refer to these as a "thong sandal," but not just a thong (which is used to describe G-string underwear in the places I have lived most of my life) (Michigan/upstate New York/NYC).

Interesting! I didn't ask, and as it happens we headed directly up the stairs to our room on 6 when we embarked and didn't even turn toward Bacio. The entryway was crowded with people asking about where their Seapasses were, etc., so we wanted to get out of there ASAP! I'll keep that in mind on our next sailing. They did have a group of staff members dancing on the gangway and shouting welcome as we walked in, however - cute if you're into that sort of thing but definitely not my style and IMO not really harmonious with X's "modern luxury" positioning. 🤷‍♀️

Enjoy, TraderSam and CaliB! I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip (and hopefully some warmer weather).

Well, there are worse fates...😉 Don't worry - we managed to eat quite well despite some missteps. I'm sure you will too!

I was amused to see a statement on our dailies last week (Eclipse to Alaska) which stated that flip-flops (among other attire) are not allowed in any of the dining venues. I can see them disallowing the cheap plastic ones that are basically shower shoes, but I have worn dressy flip flops in basically every dining venue on the ship, including Murano. I have a feeling it has a lot more to do with the overall attire of the flip-flop wearer than the flip-flop itself! 🤣

Nor did we, just a few humpback tails. However, I was lucky enough to see an orca do a full breach from the deck of Eclipse one night - it was so cool. Fingers crossed for bubble net feeding next time!

You are doing EXACTLY what we did - I hope you enjoy them all! I was also not sure whether the Hubbard Glacier was going to be worth it but IMO, it totally was - we saw so much calving, so close - it was incredible. Loved the helicopter tour to Herbert Glacier and the dogsledding as well. The glacier landing was amazing - I felt like I was walking on the moon!

Update now that we're back - we did the Mahoney Lake tour with Ketchikan Adventurevue and it was fantastic! The only drawback is that there's a 45 minute bus ride to get to the location - a bit tiresome, but worth it when you see how gorgeous and remote the location is. Totally unspoiled rainforest, not a house or building in sight! The crew (especially Jasmine) was great and the whole thing very well organized. Beautiful scenery and driving the UTVs was tons of fun. I wish we had more time at Mahoney Lake, though, or an option to do a short hike around the area - maybe they'll add an extended version at some point. Highly recommended!

We just sailed with Casey and Glacier Wind as well, on May 30. His first mate that day was his brother Kyle - maybe he was on your sailing as well? Regardless, I agree that Glacier Wind is great - everyone was super nice and it was a well-organized tour. Unfortunately we didn't see anywhere near the level of whale activity you did, but they can't control that! Your pics are amazing! We tipped $20 per person for two people or $40 total. I didn't see a jar or anywhere to leave tips, so I just handed it directly to Casey as we disembarked - he seemed sort of surprised, which surprised me! I didn't see any other passengers tipping but I'm not sure where they were from - we had a lot of non-Americans on our sailing and I know tipping is less customary in other places, so who knows. Maybe people were just salty that we didn't see many whales!

We just returned from a fantastic 7-night Alaska cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse, and I wanted to take a moment and share my thoughts with my fellow Cruise Critics! This was our 6th Celebrity cruise and our first since the restart, plus our first-ever trip to Alaska. Our last one was on Summit in 2019, and we were thrilled to be back on the S-class and exploring a new-to-us ship (previously sailed Equinox, Silhouette and Reflection). We're now in our mid-late 40s and have witnessed a lot of changes in X over the years since our first cruise in 2011 – some good, some bad – but nothing could detract from Alaska’s magnificence. Even with post-pandemic cutbacks, this was one of our favorite cruises to date. Here’s the skinny: EMBARKATION: Smooth other than a long line at customs. We arrived at 11:30 (our pre-arranged “wellness check” arrival time) to find that no one cared about that pre-arrangement – it was a free-for-all. Customs took about an hour and a half, everything else took 15 mins or less, and we were on the ship by about 1:15. I was bummed that they cut the welcome champagne, but I do like the new practice of proceeding directly to your room to drop bags and get Seapass cards. THE SHIP: Despite some age-related wear and tear, Eclipse is still a beautiful and elegant ship. We love exploring the vast array of artwork on S-class ships and were delighted to discover some beautiful pieces on Eclipse – maybe my favorite collection across the entire S-class fleet. Public areas were clean and tidy. She could use a refresh but I didn’t notice any issues that affected our cruise in any way. Crew was great across the board. CABIN: Sunset Veranda 6315, port side of center. Our first SV but not our last – it was a great room and a perfect location for AK (though I might hesitate to book one in the Caribbean due to lack of shade). Beds were firm but reasonably comfortable, though my side sloped away from the middle, causing me to almost roll out a time or two. Pillows were too small and very limp – luckily, our lovely steward was able to track down two extra king-sized pillows for our use, which improved things dramatically. No sheers on the windows, but no other problems. POOLS/OUTDOOR AREAS: It was pretty cold throughout our cruise so no one used the outdoor pools. The outdoor hot tubs were always taken when we walked by, though, and the Solarium was typically packed (frequently with children, even outside of family hours, which I find very annoying). The lawn and Sunset deck were definitely in use but not terribly busy – we spent quite a bit of time up there playing bags and enjoying the view from the bar when the wind/rain allowed. FOOD/DRINK: I posted a separate, extensive review of all of the dining venues and bars we patronized onboard: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2942993-celebrity-eclipse-dining-review-may-28-2023-sailing To recap briefly, we’re not big on the MDR and ate mostly in specialty restaurants and the buffet. The buffet was actually better than I expected, but the post-pandemic cuts are noticeable elsewhere, even specialty restaurants (especially Murano). Liquor selection was fine but wine was ABYSMAL, another very obvious cutback. ENTERTAINMENT/LECTURES: We loved having a naturalist on board, and Michaela did a great job educating us about whales (of which we saw many right off the ship!). We are professional classical musicians and were largely unimpressed by the entertainment, but that’s not unusual. The production shows ranged from odd but not terrible (Topper) to truly awful (Amade). There were a couple of small ensembles and soloists we enjoyed, but not much else. Trivia was fine, the comedian was good for a few laughs, and beyond that we just concentrated on Alaska! CASINO/SHOPPING: We’re not really gamblers but we played video poker one afternoon – good way to lose $20 and an hour of your life. The casino seemed quieter than we’ve experienced on other cruises, probably due to the itinerary. Shops were also relatively quiet except during the big flash sales. Selection was similar to what we’ve seen on other S-class ships. PORTS: Alaska is just amazing, period. We arranged our own excursions except for the Hubbard Glacier small boat expedition offered exclusively by Celebrity. This was pricey but TOTALLY worth it – we got vastly closer than the ship could and saw tons of calving. Incredible. Our excursions in Juneau (helicopter ride to a dog sled camp on Herbert Glacier) and Ketchikan (UTV off-roading to Mahoney Lake) were also fantastic. We went whale watching in ISP and that was a bit of a letdown, but it really depends on the day’s whale activity. I loved the itinerary overall but will probably look for a cruise that goes to Skagway and/or Glacier Bay (possibly a one-way from Anchorage) next time to explore some new areas. Also, after seeing the inside passage, I have no interest in a Seattle round-trip – Vancouver all the way! Stunning scenery as well as an opportunity to visit a really cool city. DISEMBARKATION: Painless for the most part. We were in a later group (9:05) and just waited in the buffet until it was time to go. Luggage area was well marked and easy to navigate. There was a bit of a wait to hand in our customs cards, but once that was over we quickly got out of Canada Place (had to lug our suitcases up the exit ramp but that was FAR preferable to waiting for the single elevator), walked a couple of blocks to the rideshare pickup area and called a car. I think we were at the airport by 10:30 or so. CONCLUSION: We remain fans of X and the S-class but I sincerely hope they take steps to remedy some of the issues caused by their cost saving measures, especially with respect to dining and wine. We’d happily sail Eclipse again, but we’re looking at the E-class for a change of pace for our next X cruise and also considering other lines that may offer a better dining experience.

Yes - here's a copy of the menu we were served. Slightly different from the last cruise we took on the S-class in 2018. Murano-menu 2023.pdf

On Eclipse last week, there were quite a few IPAs in the cold case next to the Passport Bar on 3 that weren't listed on any menu. In fact, many beers in that case weren't listed on menus - I think the selection changes constantly based on what is available where the ship is stocking up (in our case, there were many from Alaska Brewing since that's where we were sailing). I don't know what the prices were for all of them but I would think at least some would be included on the classic package.

Here a link to the dining review: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2942993-celebrity-eclipse-dining-review-may-28-2023-sailing/ As for the production shows, we stopped by most of them but left quickly because the singing was poor (we are pro classical musicians - others may have felt that the singing was good). The show called Topper was odd but there were at least dancers and aerialists to distract us from the bad music. Amade was a joke.

True, although we have never had a poor experience in Murano before. I think the lower quality meats are a fleetwide cost saving measure that is really hard to disguise in a place like Murano, which has a protein heavy menu.

IMO, no - it used to be our favorite restaurant on board as well, but it was terribly disappointing on our Eclipse cruise last week. See my review here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2942993-celebrity-eclipse-dining-review-may-28-2023-sailing/

Post-Cruise Thoughts and Summary As I mentioned above, this was a FANTASTIC trip. The various dining-related foibles we encountered did not detract from our enjoyment of the cruise overall, and we remain fans of the S-class and Celebrity in general. That said, we are planning to sail an E-class ship for our next Celebrity cruise (probably 2025), and we are booked on Virgin Voyages for a winter getaway in 2024. Time for something new. Like the ship herself, the entire S-class dining experience could use a refresh. Menus and concepts (particularly Murano and the MDR) are tired – they have been for a long time, but the pandemic accelerated the shift away from the formal, three+-course menu structure that was already underway. Celebrity clearly understands this, given the dining venues they developed for the E-class – it’s time to upgrade the S-class with a modern concept of its own. The price-to-quality ratio of the specialty restaurants is also WAY off unless you book at a substantial discount, evidenced by the plethora of empty seats at every restaurant we patronized. Celebrity needs to remember that people can always cancel these reservations and packages, and they will if they feel they’ve paid way too much for a poor experience on night one. The included venues had their highs and lows, but the cutbacks are much too obvious in some places, especially the MDR. Cruise lines have their work cut out for them in the post-pandemic era and Celebrity will need to step it up in the dining arena if they want to maintain their position as the “luxury” mass market line.

Bars and Bacio That about covers dining – now a brief note on drinks and snacks. At the risk of sounding petty, I was rather disappointed that they cut the welcome champagne at embarkation. I know, it’s a dumb thing to miss, but there was just something so festive about it, that physical sign that vacation has begun. Sigh. Another little cut that may be costing X more than it is saving in the long run. Anyway, we had the premium package and got excellent service at all of the bars, all week long. Liquor selections varied bar to bar, but all of the standard mid-range gins/vodkas/browns (Bombay, Grey Goose, Absolut, Jim and Johnny, etc.) were widely available, as well as quite a few nicer bourbons and scotches at the Ensemble Lounge. Mixed drinks could be questionable if you ordered something esoteric, but the basics (bloody Mary, mimosa, Aperol spritz, daquiri, etc.) were prepared competently (except the time DH ordered a screwdriver and ended up with someone’s version of a sidecar, LOL). Wine, however, was a MASSIVE fail. I don’t expect to be drinking Chateau Lafite Rothschild on a beverage package, but I do expect to have a decent selection of reds, roses, whites and sparkling available by the glass ship-wide, and ESPECIALLY in a venue called Cellar Masters. The wines available by the glass in CM were a JOKE. I forgot to snap a photo, but there were maybe 4 each red and white and 2 each rose and sparkling, typically 1-2 at the classic price point and 1-2 at the premium. Reds were super pedestrian, cheap pinot, merlot and cabernet with not a single Italian or South American option. Whites and rose were equally boring, just a cheap French pink that they were out of half the time, oaky chardonnay and a “premium” yet awful Aussie Sauv blanc. Elsewhere on the ship, every single white I tried, other than the Villa Maria Sauv blanc (which is only okay), was sweet, watery or both. They had stocked up on an Australian rose called Two Truths while Eclipse was in Oz, and it’s a good thing they did, because the only other “rose” they were serving was white zinfandel. White f*cking zinfandel. WHITE ZIN IS NOT ROSE, IT IS KOOL-AID. DH had to specify “dry rose” every time he ordered a glass in order not to get white zin, and he still ended up with white zin 25% of the time. I did have a very nice red Bordeaux blend in Murano, but it was not available anywhere else on board that I could find. Tuscan had a few Italian reds but they were mostly mediocre and also not available elsewhere. The only readily available sparkling wine was the dreadful Celebrity Vintages or something even cheaper and crappier. This was one of the most noticeable cost-cutting measures and something Celebrity should rethink immediately if they want to retain their “upscale” customer base. Bacio on 5 is our morning stop for coffee and interestingly enough, it was FAR less busy than I’ve ever seen it. Coffee and service were good, but the pastry case looked substantially less tempting than on previous cruises. The couple of things I tried were not great – the almond croissant and pain au chocolat, for instance, were shadows of their former selves. We got a free scoop of gelato with our CC status and it was not worth the price we paid for it. We’re not big sweets eaters so this didn’t matter much, but it did contribute to a feeling of general decline, IMO.

Specialty Restaurants: Sushi on 5 We hadn’t planned to dine at Sushi on 5 this time around because it historically hasn’t made sense with the dining packages – they only gave you a $30 or $35 allowance to spend while the packages usually work out to $40+ a night. However, I happened to read here that they had raised the allowance to $50 on Solstice, so I stopped by the reservation desk to inquire whether that was the case on Eclipse as well. The reservationist told me they were offering a $60 allowance with the packages – a good deal indeed! We ended up spending $107 of our $120 allowance and ate very well – we each had a ramen slider (my favorite thing on the menu!), then split some dumplings and five or six rolls. As we have always experienced, Sushi on 5’s food is comparable to a mid-level sushi takeout joint, although I did notice that the slices of fish topping our various rolls were thinner than they have been in the past, and the filling to rice ratio was somewhat lower than it should be. Regardless, that amount of sushi would be $100ish at a mid-level place at home, so no real complaints other than that I was too full to order the yuzu sorbet for dessert!

Specialty Restaurants: Tuscan Grill Fortunately, Tuscan was a vast improvement over our previous experiences there – so much so that we ended up switching two of our remaining Murano reservations to Tuscan (and the third to Sushi on Five, more on that in a moment). All three of our meals in Tuscan were solid, though a few dishes were hit-or-miss and the meats were mostly not great. I would say the food overall was a step up from Olive Garden – it’s not a place I would frequent if I had other options, but it is definitely better than the MDR and on this cruise, better than Murano. Service has always been an issue on previous visits to Tuscan but not so this time – we had three different waiters and all three did an excellent job, as did the sommelier and support staff. Across three meals, we tried most of the main menu, including the pork belly, crab cake, calamari, burrata, carpaccio, lobster rigatoni, beef pappardelle, strozzapreti carbonara, ribeye, veal marsala, grilled branzino and broccolini and mashed potato sides, as well as the entire dessert menu (six items). Bread basket was much improved from our previous visits (in stark contrast to Murano, where the bread basket has devolved into stale rolls from the buffet) – the soft sourdough had great tangy flavor and the warm parmesan focaccia was delicious if a bit greasy. Appetizers were mostly strong, outside of the crab cake on the last night, when it became a breadcrumb cake with a hint of crab. The cider sauce on the pork belly, like most sauces on board, was too thick (and there was too much of it), but once I scraped most of it off, the pork itself was lovely and tender. Burrata was creamy and decadent. Calamari a bit tough but the coating was light and crispy. Pastas were always perfectly al dente, although massively oversauced. Swimming in it, in fact – and the sauces themselves were too thick. However, when I requested an order of lobster rigatoni “light on the sauce,” it was dry – a sure sign that no one was keeping an eye on the consistency of the sauces and adding pasta water/butter to thin or enrich as necessary. The alfredo and the carbonara sauces, neither of which should be a basic white sauce, were actually both the same basic white sauce – typical of low-end Italian restaurants (in the US, anyway). Don’t order the carbonara if you are expecting an egg-based, creamless preparation because you’re going to be disappointed. Meats were something of a weak point. I had the grilled branzino the first night, which was fine but not outstanding – a bit overcooked and underseasoned. Crispy garlic chips were a nice touch, though. DH tried to order the skirt steak the next night but was warned away by our waiter, who said there had been a lot of complaints about it being tough. I’m guessing it was inside skirt, which is cheaper but always tougher than outside skirt. He ordered the ribeye instead, which was also kind of tough, LOL. We’re spoiled by the whole prime ribeye subprimals I wet age and cut into steaks at home, but it was still better than the sad lamb at Murano! Veal marsala the following night was better, but oversauced. Sides were quite good, particularly the al dente sauteed broccolini, which I ordered every night – best vegetable prep on the ship! Desserts were largely too sweet for my taste but I am not really a dessert person. They were all generally well executed with one exception – the spumoni donuts. These were greasy and tough, with a flavorless and visually unappetizing green filling (supposedly pistachio, but definitely did not taste like it!).

Specialty Restaurants: Murano We purchased a 5-night dining package for this 7-night cruise, with the intention of dining in Murano for four of those nights (including the first night). For night two, I reserved Tuscan Grill, which ranged from meh to horrid on our last couple of S-class cruises, but we wanted to give the new menu one chance to impress us. Sadly, our night one dinner in Murano was a huge letdown. The menu has barely changed since our first Celebrity cruise, and although I knew that, I was disappointed to find that the standard of preparation has gone from land restaurant-quality cooking to barely better than banquet hall. The tableside lobster was as good as ever, but my veal main was tough and dry, served on a too sweet, totally congealed sauce. DH’s rack of lamb was absolutely laughable – I didn’t know lamb chops could be that tiny. There was no more than a silver dollar-sized “eye” on some of them, and they were poorly butchered, with shards of bone and gristle clinging to the meat portion. While I understand this is partially a sourcing issue, the chefs in Murano should have cleaned up the butchery at a minimum, or preferably removed them from the menu since they were so subpar. They were also tough and overcooked – understandable given their size, but really unforgivable at the price point. Seasoning was all over the map – some elements of each dish were far too salty, while others had no salt at all. I opted for cheese for dessert, which was all delicious, well-ripened and a varied selection, but they seem to have done away with the cart and allowing you to choose your own adventure – I was simply presented with a plate bearing a small slice of eight different cheeses. Not the end of the world, but a bummer for a cheese lover like myself. DH wasn’t interested in any of the dessert options so ended up with ice cream. Service was slow and uneven, and very much lacking the personal touch we have always experienced in Murano.

MDR and Buffet I’ll begin with the two included dining venues onboard. After our first Celebrity cruise on Equinox in 2011, we decided that the MDR is not our thing and have elected to eat mostly in specialty restaurants (or Blu/Luminae if applicable) ever since. However, we do typically try the MDR at lunch or dinner once per cruise, just to see if anything has changed or improved since our last trip. I was sorry but unsurprised to find that the MDR was as lackluster as ever, maybe more so given the menu changes. I checked the dinner menu nightly and rarely saw anything tempting – first courses, which used to be somewhat interesting, have been whittled away to uninspired salads and soups for the most part. Second courses now rely heavily on inexpensive meat and fish (turkey, cheap cuts of beef and trash fish like tilapia featured prominently), as well as starchy vegetarian options. We had lunch there on a sea day and although the service was better than usual, the food was generally poor. A veal dish that was supposed to be braised and wrapped in crispy phyllo was actually stringy beef in soggy dough; my salmon was horribly overcooked, undersalted and lukewarm when served. DH ordered pad thai, which came as a sticky lump of rice noodles with a bit of soy sauce drizzled on top and a few shrimp thrown in the bowl. Runny key lime pie to finish (see photos). It may be unfair to judge the MDR on the basis of one meal, but we weren’t willing to waste more time or stomach space on it. In fact, we ended up going to the buffet afterwards for lunch since we ate no more than a bite or two of what was served in the MDR. Speaking of the buffet, I was actually very pleasantly surprised at the variety and quality of the food in the buffet given both our previous experiences (which have been a mixed bag) and the negative reports that surfaced earlier this year. We ate breakfast and/or lunch here daily, plus dinner on the 5th and 6th nights of the cruise. Breakfast was the same quality and variety (both good) that we have always experienced on Celebrity ships, though I cannot judge breads/pastries/waffles/etc. since I stick to protein at breakfast. The salmon, bacon, sausage, eggs to order, etc. were all excellent and mostly at the correct temperature, which is critical. Lunches were also generally very good, with a few duds (greasy, leaden fish and chips; tough burgers and minute steaks) and a few standouts (crispy fritto misto, fabulous Indian, Indonesian and Filipino braises, a better-than-expected selection of cheese and salumi most days). DH loved the various bone-in chicken preparations (fried, roasted in mole, jerk, etc.) and ribs. Pizza was decent when hot and fresh. One thing I wish they would add to the buffet is a selection of crudites – I love raw vegetables but I hate messing around with their salad bar setup, so it would be nice to have an alternative. Variety was adequate given the rotating “theme” each day (one day Mexican, the next Italian, etc.). Dinner was a bit less successful for us, at least on the 6th night, which happened to be lobster night in the MDR. They REALLY phoned it in in the buffet. The selection was probably half of what it had been on the previous evening (or at lunch) and outside of a nice roasted brisket at the carving station, I found very little of interest. The main event was trays of pre-cooked burgers – chicken, salmon, beef, turkey – all of which were dried out, greyish in color and generally frightening. I visited the stirfry station for some variety and put together a selection of vegetables, only to find out that the only sauces on offer were teriyaki, sweet soy and regular soy sauce. Seriously, no sriracha or chili sauce? Also, they stated it would take 15 minutes or so to be prepared (likely due to understaffing). I requested regular soy and pepper flakes (I hate sweet stir fry) and waited for it since there was nothing else I wanted, but ended up disappointed – outside of the pepper flakes, it had no flavor at all, and was overcooked to boot. Pizza to the rescue, I guess. There was also a very tasty orange cake on the dessert table that night, light and moist – but I had to taste three or four other terrible cakes to find the one good one. Somehow I managed not to take a single photo of the buffet this cruise – you’ll have to use your imaginations, but I expect most of you know what X’s buffet food looks like by now. 😊