judgeender

I know that we can pay to have Celebrity do laundry, but does the Eclipse have any public laundry facility where we could do our own laundry?  I haven't seen it on other Celebrity ships, but thought I would double check as we are starting to pack.

Thank you.

Also interested in this.  Primarily a wine drinker and trying to decide whether the upgrade is worth it and what the differences really are once on board.

Did the tour back in December.  It was interesting.  We did see the Bridge, I-95 corridor, Engine Control Room, provisions area, laundry and galley.  Might be forgetting something.  We did not get to see behind the theater.  The group was split in 2 for the Engine Control room, so we had a bit of down-time waiting for the other group to go and come back.  It was very interesting.

Not sure if you can really order from the hostess.
Just got back from a cruise on Empress.  A couple of mornings, my wife slept in while I went to breakfast in the MDR.  I would order a plate to take back to our room so she had something when she woke up.  They would just give me it with the cover still on it.  I've seen the same thing at other meal times. 
But this was not ordered with the hostess, it was another meal ordered at the table.

Just got back from the 8-night December 23rd cruise to Cuba.  There was 1 "formal" night.  Dress Codes were:

12/23 (Day 1 - embarkation day) Casual/70s

12/24 (Day 2 - Havana): Casual

12/25 (Day 3 - Havana): Casual

12/26 (Day 4 - At Sea): Formal

12/27 (Day 5 - Cienfuegos): Casual

12/28 (Day 6 - At Sea): Casual

12/29 (Day 7 - Grand Cayman): Casual/White Attire

12/30 (Day 8 - At Sea): Casual

Very different from the tour we had in December from Reflection. We also did the canal tour through Celebrity. We had no wait to board the boat (we were on the bigger of the 2 boats that did the tour that day). Lunch was good. The weather was extremely hot, but the tour was very good. The tour guide provided a lot of narration. We did have to "wait" in the canal before entering the locks for the ship that was going to accompany us, so the pilot was able to take us up toward the new locks while we waited (he told us they don't often get to do that). It was a very long day and if I recall we got back shortly after the "all-aboard time", but the Reflection didn't leave until all the buses were back. Sorry your experience wasn't as good. You should definitely let Celebrity know.

My wife and I returned yesterday from the Celebrity Reflection and did this tour on December 31, 2017. This review is a little long given our history of trying to get there and wanting to provide an accurate review.

Background:

We had been trying to see Chichen Itza for a number ofyears. Two years ago, we were signed up to do a tour through the Silhouette by bus, but the bus tour was cancelled, while other tours (through Celebrity Journeys) did go.

In January 2017, when I started looking at this cruise, I downloaded the shore excursion guide, and only the bus tour was available. When I booked the cruise in the middle of 2017, the shore excursion guide and celebrity's website only listed a bus tour. After booking, I did look into the private journeys options. The only option provided was an 8-hour private tour for $330 per person that still involved 3 plus hours of travel by ferry and then "private vehicle." That tour would have provided about 2 hours at Chichen Itza. We decided against the private journeys tour and booked the regular bus tour.

When I saw this thread mention a tour of Chichen Itza by air, I looked at the tour options available online and this tour was not listed for our cruise. However, I called Celebrity and was told it was available and it was 6.5 hours total with about 1.5 hours travel time each way. I was told that the flight was about 45 minutes, there would be 2.5 hours at Chichen Itza (compared to just 1 hour with the tour by bus) and then lunch at a restaurant (rather than a boxed lunch on the bus). We switched from the bus tour to this tour as it would provide more time at Chichen Itza and would be more relaxing for New Year’s Eve that night.

In talking to others on our tour, it appears that the tour was available at some point early on, then cancelled and then became available to reserve again. If you are interested, and this tour doesn’t show up, you may want to call Celebrity to see if it is available.

Tour Description:

Note: I pulled this from the January 29, 2017 Reflection Shore Excursion Book (I will add the description that was in the shore guide provided on the boat tonight):

Journey to Chichen Itza, the ancient Mayan archeological site, on this once-in-a-lifetime private flight over the Yucatán Peninsula. Hop aboard our private Cessna for a thrilling flight over the Yucatán Peninsula. As you soar over the ancient archeological site of Chichen Itza, admiring the massive pyramid from above, learn about Mayan culture and history. Then, on the ground, meet our certified guide for a tour through the incredible Chichen Itza archeological ruin, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the massive Kukulkan pyramid, “El Castillo.” In its height, Chichen Itza was one of the largest cities of the Mayan civilization. After your tour, you'll enjoy free time to explore this Wonder of the World on your own. Then, travel to a local restaurant where you'll savor Mayan and Mexican delicacies, followed by areturn flight to your ship.

Highlights:

·Board our private Cessna for aonce-in-a-lifetime flight over the magnificent Yucatán Peninsula and Chichen Itza archeological site.

·Learn about Mayan culture during your incredible and exclusive flight.

·Meet your certified guide and explore the Chichen Itza archeological site, visiting Kukulkan pyramid, “El Castillo.”

·Explore Chichen Itza on your own and discover asite celebrated as one of the 7 Wonders of the World.

·Savor an authentic lunch at a local restaurant where you'll sample Mexican and Mayan dishes.

Our Tour:

A couple of days into our cruise and a few days before Cozumel and our tour of Chichen Itza, we received a letter in our stateroom with new tickets for the tour. Our tour was pushed back from a 10:15 a.m. meeting time to a 12:00 noon meeting time with a 12:15 departure. The letter indicated that this change was due to “operational” issues. I went to the Shore Excursion desk to try to get more information. I was told that the company running the tours operates 2 aircraft (there was some confusion as to whether it was helicopters or airplanes), but one of those planes required maintenance, so they would only be running one airplane. To do so, they would take one group up, then return with the aircraft to take us. I was assured that we would still have the full tour, including 2.5 hours at Chichen Itza and still have lunch at a restaurant. We would just be getting back at around 6:30 or 7 rather than earlier. I was told that they selected who to switch to the later group based on sign-up date. I was told there were 8 people in the first group and 9 in my group. Although I asked them to let me know if there were cancellations and something opened up in the first group, there were none so we couldn’t switch. Some different explanations of what happened and how groups were chosen were given to some of the other people on this tour.

The tour is run by “Explora.” When we arrived, we were told that, although our tickets indicated a meeting time of 12:00 and departure at 12:15, our meeting time was 12:15 and departure at 12:30. The 9 of us got in a cab and before going to the airport, we were given a “tour” of some of the hotels. During this, we passed the airport twice. I was fairly sure (and it was confirmed at the end) that this was to buy some time for our airplane to return.

When we got to the airport, our pilot and plane were ready. The plane wasa 10-seat plane. One of the 9 of us, sat in the "co-pilot" seat each direction with the pilot being the 10th. There was 1 seat on each side of a narrow aisle. There is very little leg room – the first row has a lot more leg room than the others. After take-off, the cruise ships were off the right hand-side (I was on the wrong side L). Due to some clouds, the ride was a little choppy, but not too bad. Shortly before landing, you could see El Castillo at Chichen Itza off to the right hand side in the distance, but not much else due to the distance. The flight took about 45 minutes.

After landing, we met our guide and drove a short distance to Chichen Itza. Upon arriving, the first group was ready to return to the airport. Once at Chichen Itza, we spent about 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours with our guide touring Chichen Itza. During that time, we saw (and learned about): (i) El Castillo, (ii) the Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles, (iii) Temple of Jaguars, (iv) the Great Ball Court, (v) Platform of Venus, (vi) Temple of Warriors, (vii) Group of One Thousand Columns. We also saw the observatory from a distance (as noted below). We did not visit or see the cenotes or any of the other many buildings that are in the direction of the Observator or any others at Chichen Itza. It was fairly crowded when we got there, but was emptying out well before we finished our tour.

After the tour, lunch, at the hotel that is next to the ruins, was included (tips for service not included). We were given about 35 minutes for lunch. It was a buffet lunch that included many choices including multiple Mexican, Mayan, vegetarian and even “American” options. Lunch included 1 bottled water, soda or beer. The lunch was very good.

After lunch, we saw the Observatory from a distance (from the hotel steps). But we could only see what was above the trees. This was also visible at the start of the tour which was the same location. We then returned to the airport and flew back (about 45 minutes flying time). The trip back was very smooth. Cruise ships were on the right side of the plane, but due to some fog/hazy conditions and the sun setting, pictures were difficult. When we returned, we went straight to the Reflection which took about 15-20 minutes. We arrived back right at 7 p.m. (all-aboard time).

Overall Impressions:

After two hours in the heat, a break for a very late lunch was nice. Another 30 minutes would also have been nice, but I don’t know that 30 minutes would have given time to go see the parts of Chichen Itza that it looks like we didn’t get to. We probably would have just spent a little more time around the Temple of Warriors and the Columns. I don’t know how much could have been seen with only an hour from the bus tour. I think it would have felt very rushed. This tour is considerably more expensive than the bus tour, but I think you get a tour that doesn’t feel rushed.

I would have liked more time to see the parts that we apparently missed, but I don’t think 2.5 hours is enough to see everything, unless you rush through it all. The only way I can think to have more time would be a “private journeys” by airplane that builds in more time. But without 8 people, that would likely bevery expensive. It could also be done on itineraries where the ship is in Cozumel from 10 to 7 like ours was. Many ships leave earlier and aren’t there as long.

Despite the "problems" and anything negative above, I enjoyed this tour a lot and would definitely recommend it to anyone considering going to Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is beautiful and you need as much time as possible there. It seemed like all 9 people on our tour really enjoyed the tour and liked that we had less travel time and more time at the ruins.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

"Here's a standard cabin. I think Royal does drawer space better. Here there are 3 deep drawers and since there are no shelves in the closet they have to be useful for non hanging clothes and all your other "stuff". "

Assuming you are tall enough to make use of it, there should be a shelf behind the wooden frame above your bed (it opens upward).

So we can get just chips and salsa at Sabor or do you have to have the whole dinner?

Yes, for $10 you could get just chips and guacamole (with salsa) as a "to go" order from Sabor. No need to have the whole meal if you just want the chips and dip.

New Year's Eve Menu for those interested. I will try to get the daily Cruise Compass for each day uploaded in the next week.

New Years Eve Menu.PDF

Thank you for taking the time to write a review!

 

You mentioned having a drink package...can you tell me if you were ever charged extra for any drinks? i am wondering specifically for cocktails. I prefer martinis, Grey goose is my preferred vodka.

 

Also you mentioned getting chips and salsa from Sabor. Were you able to get a margarita as well? I wasn't sure if they were available for dine in only. Also, are they different than what you can get anywhere else throughout the ship?

I was never charged extra for a drink. I did mostly stick with wine and regular margaritas though. There were martini options on the plan as I did try a couple of their "specialty" ones, though I don't know for sure if Grey Goose specifically is covered.

Unfortunately, I did not try to order a margarita from Sabor, just the chips and guacamole (with salsa), so I don't know if you can order those to go or not or if they are any different from those made at the other bars.

My wife and I recently returned from the 11-night Christmas and New Year’s cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. Overall we had a great time. This was our first cruise on Royal Caribbean, though we have done a number of cruises on other lines, including 3 on Celebrity.

Embarkation: The check-in process was very quick. After checking in we had to wait a few minutes before boarding, but were on board well before lunchtime.

Room & Ship: We were in a balcony room. The room was fine and was a typical size for a balcony. Unlike on other ships, we did not have coffee table. We did miss the coffee table at times, but at the same time, without one there was a little more space available. There were 2 days when there was a problem with the toilet system in our section of the ship not working (we were told it wasn’t just our room and no one had to come to our room to fix it), but they seemed to fix the problem both times relatively quickly. The ship in general was very nice.

Dining:

Windjammer:

I had breakfast in the Windjammer twice. They had the typical selections. The way they handled omelets on this ship was very nice – after ordering, you would get a number and could come back to pick up your omelet. This was nice so that you didn’t have to just stand around waiting.

We had lunch in the Windjammer only on the first day and a couple times had a snack here. The food was okay, but the selection of options, particularly international options, was not as extensive as I am used to on buffets. In my experience Celebrity has more options and the food quality is little better. Although I didn’t eat lunch or dinner here otherwise, I did often walk through to see what the options were and a lot of the lunch options seemed the same every day. Dinner seemed to have a little more variety, but still not as much as I am used to on other ships.

Unlike other cruises we have been on, the Windjammer is completely closed in the late afternoon. After a full day of excursions, we typically are looking for a snack after getting back on board since we would eat dinner later (8:30 or so). Unfortunately, the Windjammer is closed at that time. Although Café Promenade is open, it simply lacks the choices we are looking for at that time. Café Promenade is limited to a couple of sandwiches, pizza and cookies. It would be nice if RCCL could keep a section of the Windjammer open with a broader (and slightly healthier) selection of options available at that time. Some of the things that we have often enjoyed on other ships in the Buffet at this time include fresh fruit, sushi, cheese and crackers, chips and dip and other more snack based items than Café Promenade has.

MDR:

We ate most of our meals in the Main Dining Room. We had My Time Dining and typically would go to the early show and then dinner afterwards. We only had a lengthy wait on the first formal night (Christmas Eve). A couple days into the cruise, we made a “reservation” for the rest of the cruise to be in a particular section, however despite the “reservation” we were only able to get in the desired section a couple of times. There were only 2 formal nights on the 11-night cruise – Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve (though this one was mistakenly listed as “Casual” in the Daily Compass).

Breakfast: I had breakfast in the MDR every day except 2 days. Generally breakfast in the main dining room was fine with one exception. The service on the first port day was exceptionally slow. Although it was a port day, with an expected ship clearance time of 10:30 we figured going to the MDR well before 9 am, breakfast in the MDR would be fine. Service that day was very slow. I think it was well over an hour, closer to 1.5 hours before we were done. It was also the only day that I was told that cranberry juice was not available in the MDR (I walked up to the Windjammer to get it). Every other morning, getting cranberry juice was not a problem. Other days, the breakfast service was fine.

Lunch: We had lunch in the MDR on each of the sea days. The salad bar was nice and something I had not seen on other ships, but would like to see added on other lines. The selections for lunch were also fine.

Dinner: Dinner service was generally fine except for the first formal night. Service that night was very slow as we waited almost 20 minutes after being seated before our waiter or assistant waiter appeared. It took a long time to get drinks and each course took a long time. This meal is what prompted us to start requesting to be seated in the section we were in the first night. Service other nights was fine. New Year’s Eve had a special menu (printed on a standard size page of paper and rolled up) and the typical “Everyday Items” were not available according to our waiter.

Food Quality: I know food quality comes up a lot on the forums, so will address it briefly. Food is very subjective, so these are just my opinions. Since I haven’t been on an RCCL cruise before, I cannot compare it to past offerings, but I can compare to other cruise lines, such as Celebrity. Options changed each night, but seemed to lack some of the international variety I have come to expect on other cruises. The food quality was okay but almost nothing really stands out as very memorable or very good. The best quality was New Year’s Eve dinner menu. The quality of both the MDR and Windjammer on Celebrity is in my opinion better than on RCCL (selection on Celebrity is also better). There wasn’t anything wrong with the food, but also nothing really special or very good about most of it. I think the biggest takeaway was there very few items were so good or so unique that they stood out as something I want to have again on the next trip. Additionally, I definitely missed having some more truly international options.

Christmas/New Year’s Eve/Hanukkah: The ship was decorated for the holidays and there were many holiday themed events. New Year’s Eve had the typical celebrations throughout the boat with noisemakers, hats, beads, etc. available for people to pick up at dinner time. One negative compared to other ships is that RCCL decided that certain bars, such as Vintages, would require reservation of a table at a significant price if you wanted to be there. We instead stayed at R Bar. Like on other ships, a free glass of sparkling wine was available at some spots on the boat, but apparently R Bar was not one of those locations (we didn’t care since we had the drink package, but simply noting it). Also, the bar closed at 1:30 even though there were still a fair number of people there.

Drinks/Bars: We had the Deluxe Beverage Package. Except as noted above, had no problems getting a drink. Also, I never had a problem getting an alcoholic drink and a bottle of water at the same time. However, I found fewer wines by the glass that I enjoyed than I have on our other cruises, including those on Celebrity.

Each of the bars has a different theme to it. They were all fine, but if you want a specific drink, you often had to go to a specific bar to get it.

Shows: We went to all of the evening shows (except the first night, welcome show). They were all fairly good and about what we have come to expect on a cruise ship. Each of the shows was about 45 minutes in length. We never saw the ventriloquist that was scheduled – his luggage did not make it to the boat and he was replaced by one of the cast from the Navigator who did a good job. Additionally, the first night Jennifer Singer was scheduled to perform, she did not perform. She was switched with the magician.

There were 2 ice shows. During the first half of the cruise, there was a Christmas Song ice show. During the second half, there was the “Ice Dancing” show (this replaced the show in the main theater one night) and also included an acrobat. Both shows were also good.

Excursions:

Bonaire: We booked a tour through Bonaire Vista Tours. The tour was in a van and covered most of the island in about 3.5 hours. It was very good.

Aruba: We booked the “Island Ultimate” tour through ABC Tours Aruba. This was a full day tour of the island. The tour took us all over the island and included some snorkeling and a trip to the bat caves. We along with 2 other families from the ship were on this tour and we enjoyed it a lot.

Antigua: We booked the “Mystic Sail and Snorkel Cruise” with Tropical Adventures. This was another very good excursion. We sailed along the coast of Antigua, then stopped for snorkeling. After snorkeling, we had lunch while sailing back.

St. Kitts: We booked the “Day Trip to Nevis with Lunch” through RCCL (the only tour we booked through RCCL). Although this was a full day tour, it was scheduled to leave an hour after our scheduled arrival in St. Kitts. We enjoyed this excursion. However, likely due to the late start time of the tour, the tour got back to St. Kitts after the “all-aboard” time. The ship did wait, but this tour was the reason the ship left port about ½ an hour late that day. Had the tour been scheduled to start, like most full-day tours, at the estimated ship clearance time, the tour would have arrived back in time to avoid this delay and even give people a little time in port to shop if they wanted.

San Juan: We have cruised out of San Juan a couple times in the past and spent time there. In light of the early port time (7 am to 3 pm) and this being New Year’s Eve, we decided not to book any tours. Instead we got off, walked around Old San Juan and had a nice Brunch at Casa Cortes Chocobar.

Labadee: Having been here before and this being New Year’s Day, we did not book any excursions.

Internet: I had prepurchased the VOOM package (Surf and Stream) for 1 device. The quality of the service varied. Sometimes it was better than at others. It worked fairly well for checking and responding to emails and basic web surfing from my ipad and iphone though it would often take a little bit to load a webpage or email. Connecting to my work VPN on my laptop was very slow, sometimes taking 15 minutes or more to fully connect and update. There were no major problems switching devices, though it sometimes required disconnecting from the wi-fi network for a couple minutes before turning it back on to trigger the pop-up screen asking for the login code.

Wi-fi phone calls had a noticeable lag in communication.

On a side-note, if you don’t want to purchase “VOOM”, about 2 days before the end of the cruise, RCCL had a special offer for internet access: for only $40.00 you could get 24 hours of access for a device or 60 minutes for $14.95. Not sure why anyone would choose this over VOOM which was only $12.99 or $17.99.

Debarkation: No problems getting off the boat, finding our bags and going through customs. The port does have Global Entry, but the “lane” was not because it wasn’t needed at the time. Even though it wasn’t open we were directed to a line where we were the next ones in line. None of the lines looked like they had more than 2 or 3 waiting though.

After exiting, we were able to get on a bus to FLL for $10 less than the price onboard the ship, even though it was the exact same bus.

Miscellaneous Note:

For those interested, whenever Sabor is open, you can order guacamole, chips and salsa to go for $10. You can order either through the bar staff at the Schooner Bar or the hostess at Sabor.

Day 1 Mike Pace, day 2 ballroom fever, day 3 Greg London, day 4 all access, day 5 Jennifer singer, day 6 Jennifer singer, day 7 Michael Harrison, day 8 ice show, day 9 now and forever show, day 10 horizons band(no names), day 11 Phil tag.

 

This is just the show info that is in the cruise compass. There were not any specific names associated to the bands.

 

 

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Couple Notes -- Jennifer Singer did not perform day 5, it was the Magician (don't recall his name).

I also believe the person you are looking for was Day 7 and replaced Michael Harrison. I don't recall exactly, but I think it was Warren Martin. If I remember I will update.

As noted, many of the tables for 2 are very close to each other. You can often ask to be seated in a quieter area of the dining room and sometimes the table next to you won't be filled. As noted, if you walk around, there are many places where you can often find a table for 2 that is a little more isolated because it is next to a wall, a divider or a column. so that at least on one side there is more distance to the next table.