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Haha yes as others have suggested, the basic wifi package (despite being starlink) has been difficult to use. Alas, yesterday we arrived in Hobart and back to my regular cellular service. Day 2 was a sea day. As always there was plenty to do onboard. The standard trivia, movies, arts and crafts, relaxing by the pool, a few cocktails. I was expecting to have Eddy as our cruise director, however I believe he might be working in the background training our new cruise director (I heard from other passengers that he had, had a promotion). I don't want to be too harsh, as he is learning the ropes, and we have previously had the amazing Sue Denning. The food onboard has been excellent. Today we went on a galley tour - as always it was very popular, but I always enjoy walking through the kitchen. Onboard they make everything except the gluten free bread and sugar free icecream - for such a large operation this is truly exceptional. We headed up for an early lunch at oceanview, today's theme UK. They had a variety of savoury pies, cottage pies, Yorkshire pudding, roasts etc. A beautiful display of desserts and pastries. After my last cruise, I stopped eating the desserts on board (they were terrible) however I am pleased to say they have improved. I wouldn't say they are amazing (but again, I might be biased since this is my career). We took part in three consecutive game shows this afternoon, always a bit of fun, before getting ready for the only Evening Chic night onboard. As mentioned we have concierage class (only because the price difference was $50 each from our 1A). We started strong on the afternoon delights, and I was shocked considering the reports I've seen on CC (alas day 3 was note the same standard) Tonight was our first night in the MDR. I was happy with my starter, but think I made the wrong choice on mains. Shrimp scampi - unfortunately quite flavourless. My partner ordered the sirloin, and again was very happy with the steak, but the couple next to us seemed to be having trouble with a very tough steak. Service was very slow, and took 1 hour 10 mins for starter and main (we arrived at 6:15pm). Plenty of sommeliers available, but seemed as though there was only one staff member running for other bar drinks. Tonight's show was Caberat Broadway. The Eclipse singers onboard have been exceptional.

Eclipse has the starlink internet, though the basic package is not fast enough to upload photos, so I'll upload more in a day or two. We headed to the concierge lunch in the MDR. As others have suggested, the lunch isn't anything special, but it does certainly get you away for the crowds in the oceanview. The food was good, but not a stand out, we noticed the whipped butters were no more and now replaced with lurpak (maybe this was only at lunch, we will have dinner at the MDR tomorrow). Our sailing is 100% capacity, and it certainly feels that way. All of the staff have been fantastic, and it doesn't feel like there are any staff shortages. There is certainly a very large drinking culture on this cruise, and a much younger demographic (I'd say average age is between 40 and 60). The bartenders are extremely generous with their pours, and a few pinacoladas was enough for me. The bars have been busy along with Cafe Al Bacio. We watched sail away from our balcony which was beautiful, fantastic weather (I can't wait to upload some photos). We headed to dinner at Tuscan Grill at 8pm, our waiter Augus from Indonesia was fabulous. Friendly, prompt, funny, it was a great dinner. There was no shortage of food, infact Augus wanted us to order, starters, salad, soup, pasta, main and dessert. We settled on the pork belly, calamari, burrata salad, filet mignon and a half serve of lobster rigatoni, oh and tiramisu. My partner loved the pork belly, but I felt the filet mignon was the stand out, ordered medium rare, it was excellently cooked, very tender, we both commented it was the best steak we had had in a long time. I've had the lobster rigatoni many times before, and I'm not sure why i keep ordering it - it's not bad, but it doesn't stand out, very rich with very little lobster. Tomorrow is a sea day, we hope to relax and enjoy some of the activities onboard. Today we already booked our next cruise, Honolulu to Vancouver in May 2024. For those wondering about the buffet at night, there is definitely a reduced selection. Several stations not opened but I did notice the grill station and stirfry station had made an appearance (there was also pizza, pasta, salad, basic American fare, dessert and a mixed selection of hot items). There was also no afternoon tea or sushi - though I think these things may have been cut a few years back now. One thing I did miss was the cheese and antipasto selection, we went to the buffet to get some cheese for sailaway, but unfortunately only Swiss cheese and beef Bologna.

We are staying in a concierge cabin on deck 10 - the first cabin just off the angle. The balcony is larger than standard, but not the largest balcony on the angle I've had before. Noticeable changes onboard include the daily delectable delights and the sparkling wine are now on request. We also received the concierage card holder, along with the upgraded amenities. There is also a small mini bar of snacks in the room (at charge) which I don't recall seeing on previous sailings.

After a snack we started to look around. One thing I have noticed from previous cruises is the push for people to purchase speciality dining is everywhere. At one stage, every floor we went to, someone tried to sell us on the speciality dining. We also noticed this happening at the spa, they really wanted to give us a spa tour (about 6 people asked us, one after another), previously you could look around at your own pace. We are staying in a concierge room, it was nice to see the added addition of foot rests, as I've previously only seen them in the aqua class staterooms.

We arrived at the port this morning at 11am (with a 12pm booking time - the first time available for boarding). They were already boarding as we arrived. As expected they were checking everyone for vaccination status and negative covid tests. We were onboard by 11:10am, the new boarding system is alot faster than the older system. We went straight to the room and dropped our bags, we met our room attendant who was friendly as always. We wandered upstairs to the oceanview just for a light snack and to look around. I haven't cruised since 2018 (Silhouette 10 nights). Many people are commenting on cutbacks in the buffet, but to me, the selection looked better than before. I liked the addition of the make your own ceaser salad, and an entire dip station with pita breads. Dip Selection Make your own pasta and further down, pizza and calzone nachos with a huge fixings station Make your own ceaser salad

Tonight we headed down to Circular Quay for some icecream, and to have a look around the overseas passenger terminal. My partner who has never cruised before, is beyond excited. We walked around the dock, and stood there imagining how large and beautiful the Eclipse will look tomorrow. Just after we got off the train at Circular Quay, you can see the Overseas Passanger Terminal to the left (a very short walk). Overseas Passenger Terminal where we will board tomorrow The dock where the Eclipse will be tomorrow (presumably tomorrow this will all be blocked off for loading supplies etc). We stopped for gelato at Messina Gelato, I'm a qualified Pastry Chef (I use to work for Adriano Zumbo), so good quality sweets are super important (unfortunately I've never been a fan of any of the desserts in the Oceanview Cafe or Cafe Al Bacio on Celebrity, however we have booked at Tuscan and hopefully Le Petit Chef once we board). Pictured is ' pastry cream gelato, besting cake, caramelised almonds' and ' caramel tiramisu' gelato.

By the time we got to our hotel it was 3pm, we had missed lunch and we were starving. We decided to go to Five Guys. Five Guys in Australia is very new, with only 3 stores in Australia. It's definitely not cheap, but we really enjoyed it when we were in Los Angeles in 2019. Our first mistake was forgetting that the cheeseburgers were double patties. Absolutely loved the burger, and probably some of the freshest and crunchyest fries we've had in a while. At AUD $64 for 2 burgers, 2 softdrink (soda) and a regular fries, it's definitely a treat.

This morning we left our small regional beachside town. Somehow we both managed to over pack, and were lugged with the excess baggage fee (my partner says this is because I didn't want to bid to upgrade to Business) Our flight was set for 12:35pm departure, it's a very small airport with no aerobridges and only 3 gates (all 3 gates are in the photo lol). We landed in Sydney about 1:50pm and headed for the train. The train is by far the easiest option to get from Sydney Airport to the city. It only took about 15 minutes. We are staying at the Little National Hotel, the entrance is right at the exit for one of the city loop trains, tomorrow morning we plan to take the train back to Circular Quay (one stop) and take the very easy walk to the overseas passenger dock. We've stayed at the Little National Hotel in Canberra before, and I've previously stayed with the brand 'Citizen M' while overseas which has a very similar room layout. This hotel isn't for everyone, but we love it for the modern touches, comfy bed, free coffee and tea in the rooftop lounge etc.

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Hey all, Tomorrow we leave on our cruise from Sydney Australia, on the Eclipse. A short 5 night cruise down to Hobart and return. Hopefully we will be able to post regularly with a focus on food on board (I'm a chef working in a 5 star resort in Byron Bay - a popular beach side town). It is currently autumn in Australia, though the days are still warm (26C), Hobart is at the Southern end of Australia and we expect lows of 9C. A little about us, we are both in our early 30's and from Australia. This is my 5th Celebrity Cruise ( all on S class) and my partners 1st cruise. We have booked Concierge Class (my first time in concierge, after previously staying in standard verandahs and aqua class). Tomorrow we board at 12pm, with the plan to head straight to the concierge lunch in the MDR. Today we fly out of our very small regional airport, with a short 55 minute flight to Sydney. We will be flying on Virgin Australia. Follow along if you are interested, and feel free to ask any questions, I'll try my best to get back to you.

I've used a pre-paid travel card before with no problems. But do be warned that they will place holds on your card and it may take up to 2 weeks to be released. Last time I had about double the amount I actually spent, put on hold. Ended up being short for the rest of my holiday (Australian, and had my travel card loaded with US), I decided to never do it again.

We booked a concierge as we moved up from a verandah cabin for only $50 more. We sail in 7 days, I will keep you informed. I was actually curious as well, because it looks as though the breakfast menu was slightly expanded for everyone, now that there is a $9.95 charge. I'd actually love some foot rests on the balcony, if they were looking to add in some perks 🤣, not worth the extra for aqua class (for us).

We are booked on the 10th of March (Eclipse), and the cruise is sold out. Not sure if that is 100% because I'm assuming there are cabins set aside for people to isolate in if they get covid?

I lived in Melbourne for 10 years and fully agree with Lahore. The 7 Starbucks stores that remain are conveniently located in tourist hot spots, there to attract tourists who are looking for something familiar. Simply put it, Australians who enjoy decent coffee are often found at their local cafe (family owned), using high quality beans sourced from sustainable sources, with coffee based off espresso shots and not drowned in sugar and artificial flavours. American style coffee is usually pumped full of sugar and flavours, or drip coffee, and is simply a different style of coffee to what Australians enjoy. Drip coffee, which is water based is not very popular in Australia, our closest similar product would be a long black. Most Australians drink an espresso based coffee, finished with hot milk. I would agree that while onboard the coffee is average - even at Cafe al Bacio. Often the milk is scalding and the quality of coffee low and quite bitter (please don't come at me and suggest adding sugar, because I happily drink coffee without). Of course you will still find me there every morning, but it's not the quality I'm use to.

I think we are in the group " willing to accept changes until the last straw". If I think back at our first cruise in 2012, alot has changed. Brunch in the MDR with ice sculptures, free behind the scenes tours (galley tours were always free), tubs of cotton buds and pads in the rooms (oh the uproar when they were removed), the removal and reinstatement of the turndown chocolates, afternoon tea in the oceanview, Michael's club before it turned to suite passengers only. Next month we will be on our first cruise since covid, we last sailed in 2018. I think we will still enjoy Celebrity. Times are changing, and I work in hospitality myself. If I don't have to cook, clean and worry about how I'm getting from point a to b, or where to go to dinner, I'm happy. For me, it's the demographic that Celebrity attracts that keeps me coming back.

Someone posted a copy of the new breakfast room service menu that they received on the Reflection (I will try and find it), and it is only continental breakfast included now. The eggs, bacon, pancakes etc are all now on the premium menu and included a $9.95 service fee plus tips :(. I think alot of people could make do having to pay after breakfast, but I know alot of people enjoy breakfast on their balcony (or even not having to change from their pjs), and don't want to drag plates of food through the elevators to their room. Photo taken by guest (not me) on Reflection.

We called, and the lady was so helpful. I chose to upgrade (in Australia our final payment isn't until 75 days before sailing), upgraded to a C2 from a 1A for AUD$25 each. Felt it was a good deal for the extra captains club points, as we are only 80 away from elite (every little bit counts). Will certainly keep an eye on the upgrade me offers as well for an upgrade to Aqua.

With this in consideration, will those with a classic alcoholic package be able to receive everything in the zero proof package? Previously, it has not included smoothies, redbull, aquapana (?) and vitamin water and only included the selection available in the classic non alcoholic.

Can anyone provide me with instructions on how to change staterooms before final payment, online? I've just noticed our cruise is $500 cheaper (we are 82 days out of sailing). Previously (over 5 years ago) you used to be able to change your stateroom online, I thought rather than doing a simple category change, I could upgrade into a more expensive stateroom (but the same price as our original booking). I can not for the life of me find the option, the only option i can find is 'change stateroom' but when i click on the options it sends me to a dead end. Our reservation is Australian-based, and we have a non-refundable deposit, so cancelling and rebooking is not an option. Thanks for your help 🙂

Followed BeachLovers advice and was able to get in :). Have booked an excursion with 35% off (though i did note the excursion increased by $50 last week - but still cheaper than its original price that I have been watching for a few months)

We sail in March for the first time in 5 years as well. Back on the Eclipse (for the third time), menus for the specialty restaurants don't look like they have changed. We will dine at Tuscan Grille with the first night discount (I've never had a bad meal there across three different ships) and we will try Le Petit, though I agree the menus do look, quiet, average - though the experience sounds fun. The speciality restaurants are quite expensive taking into account currency exchange (Australian), so we will stick with the main restaurant for most of the sailing.

I received this as an email in Australia, but also it's the 15th here (10am) and I can't see any itineries available (only the Solstice, Singapore --> Sydney and return).

I would say average age is around 55 - 65, but also it depends on the itinerary. We took our first Celebrity cruise at 21 - transatlantic cruise from Southampton. The average age was about 70, many people asked "where are you from to be able to take this much time off work" or " you are definitely the youngest on here". On the other hand, we have taken a South Pacific cruise where the average age was around 50-60. We are in our 30's now and Celebrity is the only cruise line we cruise with. We cruise for the excellent food, quality (non tacky) entertainment, great service and relaxation. Never has there been a time I have been bored, and I've happily attended colouring in classes, scrapbooking, late night shows etc.

Yes, as above, you can usually order from the MDR to be delivered to your stateroom, I've done this a few times. I believe unless you are in a suite (where your butler may bring you each course by course) all of the meal comes at once.