Celebrity Eclipse Questions?

[puente0629]

Hi all,

 

We are heading on our first Celebrity cruise on the Eclipse on April 9 and we have a few questions that we hope you guys can help with...

 

1. What are the specialty restaurants and what are the surcharge fees per person?

 

2. What exactly does the "no saving a seat" rule at the pool entail (i.e. you lose your seat if you go get a drink)?

 

3. Is the adults only pool more packed then the other pool area?

 

4. Do you have any suggestions or tips for our first Celebrity cruise?

 

5. What should we arrive at the port?

 

Sorry for all the questions, like I said it's our first Celebrity Cruise.

 

Thanks!!:D

[Gonzo70]

The specialty restaurants include:

Tuscan Grille $30 (Italian Steakhouse)

Murano $35 (French Inspired Menu, Fine Dining Venue)

Qsine $35 (Quirky twists on regular food items; you order several small plates)

Bistro on 5 $5 (Crepes and Panini Sandwiches)

Blu (Main Dining Room for Aqua Class guests; those in suites can dine there for $5 is space is available).

 

All prices are per/person and include a basic gratuity.

 

The no saving seat rule means you cannot put personal items on chairs to use at a later time or to reserve them while you get a meal. If you are going to the bathroom, grabbing a drink, taking a dip in the pool or grabbing a plate of food from buffet or BBQ to bring back to your chair, you do not have to give up the chair.

 

Since the adult pool is indoors, it usually is not too crowded and is generally a nice place to relax. At breakfast and lunch time the Aqua Spa Cafe is open in this area and serves light, healthy foods.

 

If the previous sailing arrived on time and did not experience delays clearing with customs, boarding will likely begin before noon. I generally arrive at about 10:45-11:00am, but if you do not want the risk of possibly having to wait around a bit, arriving between noon and 1:00pm may be better.

[discoverer57]

Sorry, i posted twice!!

[discoverer57]

I was on the Eclipse last week (Jan 29 sail). It was also my first Celebrity experience. I don't have the habit of developping a brand loyalty, but with many other ships and cruise lines behind me, let me say that Celebrity Eclipse was my greatest cruise experience so far and I might just have a tendency to want to repeat!

 

The pool situation is pretty much as Gonzo70 described, we never had a problem getting a chair.

 

We always had dinner in the Moonlight Sonata (main) dining room, and the menu offered an excellent variety. To be honest, it doesn't make sense to me to pay a (70$ for 2) supplement to go to another dining room while I've already paid for what I call a terrific dining experience in the main dining room. I've seen dining room menus on other cruise lines that might justify going to a specialty restaurant, but that's not the case on the Celebrity Eclipse. In a good dining room on land, you can go pretty far with 70$ (Bar bill excluded, as on the ship). I know, opinions differ, but that was mine.

[puente0629]

6. Is room service free and is it available all day?

 

7. What food venue is open late or 24hrs?

 

8. Would you recommend traditional dining or your time dining?

 

9. What restaurants are free?

 

Thanks again!!:D

[kitkat9438]

Welcome to Celebrity. We sailed on the Eclipse in December and it's now my favorite ship!

 

You should check out the roll call for your cruise. You will also find a lot of valuable information here.

 

You can get the following drinks for free: tea, coffee, lemonade and fruit punch from the dispenser. In the morning you can get apple and orange juice from the dispenser in the buffet area. You can get ice cream for free all afternoon with toppings and in the morning. There's also hot fresh pastries in the morning that are free.

Check out my review from the Eclipse. It will answer a lot of your questions.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1324704

 

6. Is room service free and is it available all day? Room service is free and yes it's available all day.

 

7. What food venue is open late or 24hrs?

 

8. Would you recommend traditional dining or your time dining? We prefer traditional and late seating (8:30) so we have time to relax after being in port, get ready for dinner and maybe stop off at the martini bar for a drink before dinner.

 

9. What restaurants are free? Moonlight Sonata is the MDR. There's also a buffet area, pool grill (burgers, hot dogs, nachos, wings, etc.), pizza, sushi, sandwiches around 4:00, etc.

 

 

 

You can find something to eat pretty much all day. Cafe Bacio has fresh pastries which are free in the morning. Ocean View cafe has a wonderful set up for breakfast and lunch items. At 4:00 p.m. you will find small sandwiches and desserts and at 5:30 p.m. out comes the sushi. There's a stir fry and pasta station available all day, as well as salads. By the pool you will find the grill which has hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, wings, etc. The Aqua Spa cafe is located in the Solarium area, which is an adults only covered area that has a heated pool and two hot tubs.

 

There are a couple of categories that are above a normal balcony cabin. Concierge Class and Aqua. Aqua is a step above Concierge Class in that you get all the amenities of Concierge plus you have the added benefit of dining in Blu, a dining room just for Aqua passengers (and Suite's on a space available basis), free bottled water and tea, a wonderful spa shower, fluffy bath robes and towels, better balcony furniture, a pillow menu, fresh flowers and fruit, daily canapes, free access to the Persian Gardens (think heated tile loungers) and relaxation room. Many times Aqua is cheaper than Concierge Class. You also get an extra cruise credit (2 instead of 1).

 

The cabins on the "hump" of the ship have larger balconies than the rest of the balcony cabins, with 1610 and 1606 being the largest for Aqua. I've read that 1552 has window washing equipment in front of it, but not all the time. It is an obstruction though, so I would try to avoid it. We were in 1606 and it's mid ship close to the elevators and stairs, a quick run up to the buffet or down the hall to go to the relaxation room. Here's a list for you to see if any of the larger balconies are available.

 

Resort Deck: 2105, 2109, 2106, 2110

Penthouse Deck: 1547, 1552, 1601, 1605, 1606, 1610

Sky Deck: 1075, 1044, 1231, 1243, 1247, 1108, 1120, 1124

Panorama Deck: 9155, 9192, 9209, 9215, 9237, 9241, 9266, 9270, 9292, 9296

Vista Deck: 8199, 8162, 8255, 8259, 8281, 8285, 8228, 8232, 8254, 8258

Sunrise Deck: 7159, 7206, 7215, 7219, 7241, 7245, 7260, 7264, 7286, 7290

Continental Deck: 6155, 6156, 6209, 6215, 6237, 6241, 6210, 6214, 6236, 6240

 

Here's some pictures for you of the cabins and that spa shower:

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another website that has great pictures of the Eclipse with some menus and entertainment:

 

http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Eclipse-Tour-4.html

 

I also recommend spending the night the night before your sailing so you are not rushed. If you are sailing out of Miami, go to last minute travel dot com and put in five stars downtown and the first hotel that will pop up is the Intercontinental. It's an awesome hotel with a bay view of your ship the next morning. Just don't eat breakfast there, it's outrageous. You can walk on the boardwalk over to area where there's a lot of places to eat for a good price. Also there's a CVS across the street for last minute items.

 

We always go to the ship right after we check out of our hotel so we usually arrive around 11:30 or 11:45. You can usually get right on the ship unless there are problems from the previous sailing disembarkation clearing customs and in your cabin by 1:00 p.m.

[puente0629]

Thanks guys!!!

 

one more question...

 

are there places to go dance at night?

[debandbruce]

My husband and I will be on this cruise as well. It will also be our first Celebrity cruise. There is a roll call going but it is not very active. We were spoiled on our last cruise because we had a great group and did some fun things onboard together. I have heard nothing but great things about this ship and we are really looking forward to it. From the info I have read there are dance clubs on board the ship.

[chrisd12]

Dh and I and another couple are also on this cruise and I agree...the roll call is a little quiet.....maybe means more drinks for us !! Can not wait for this trip, has been 3 years since our last cruise and our first on celebrity. Have read great things about the ship and we are very excited...especially with the miserable winter we are having in New York.

[ninaslcpa]

Having sailed Celebrity 3 times, I would definitely recommend Celebrity Select Dining Option - it requires that you prepay your gratuities but allows you to dine at whatever time you prefer. You can either make an actual reservation or just show up - you may wait a few minutes but we never waited more than 10 or 15 for a nice table - and actually ended up requesting a certain section where the waiter Kevis from Jamaica gave us excellent service. You are seated on deck 4 of the MDR - which I think is actually a little quieter which is a plus for my husband who wears two hearing aides. It's been our experence that the specialty restaurants are a bit over the top and not worth all that $$ - we did enjoy Qsine because it was so different - and wish we had gone with another couple as it's really an experience to be shared!

[ninaslcpa]

6. Is room service free and is it available all day?

 

7. What food venue is open late or 24hrs?

 

8. Would you recommend traditional dining or your time dining?

 

9. What restaurants are free?

 

Thanks again!!:D

Having sailed Celebrity 3 times, I would definitely recommend Celebrity Select Dining Option - it requires that you prepay your gratuities but allows you to dine at whatever time you prefer. You can either make an actual reservation or just show up - you may wait a few minutes but we never waited more than 10 or 15 for a nice table - and actually ended up requesting a certain section where the waiter Kevis from Jamaica gave us excellent service. You are seated on deck 4 of the MDR - which I think is actually a little quieter which is a plus for my husband who wears two hearing aides. It's been our experence that the specialty restaurants are a bit over the top and not worth all that $$ - we did enjoy Qsine because it was so different - and wish we had gone with another couple as it's really an experience to be shared!