Eclipse or Constellation for Baltic cruise

[acctgtogo]

We are looking at Baltic Cruises. The Celebrity ships are the Eclipse or the Constellation. The Eclipse sails from Southampton and the Constellation sails from Amsterdam. The pricing on the Eclipse is quite a bit higher. The cruise is two days longer on the Eclipse and it is a newer ship, but is it worth the extra money? It would be about $600pp more. Also, is one port easier to reasch than the other? We will arrive one day early, but do not plan to tour before the cruise due to time limitations. Thanks for any help you can offer.

[tally10]

We are looking at Baltic Cruises. The Celebrity ships are the Eclipse or the Constellation. The Eclipse sails from Southampton and the Constellation sails from Amsterdam. The pricing on the Eclipse is quite a bit higher. The cruise is two days longer on the Eclipse and it is a newer ship, but is it worth the extra money? It would be about $600pp more. Also, is one port easier to reasch than the other? We will arrive one day early, but do not plan to tour before the cruise due to time limitations. Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

We have done the Baltic on both the Connie and the Eclipse. I loved the Eclipse more because she is fairly new and the Connie is 10 years old. However, it should really boil down to the ports. Do you really not intend to see either London or Amsterdam? The airfare may be cheaper to London, but Amsterdam is a wonderful city and you would really lose out not seeing it. It is about an hour by car in good traffic from Heathrow to Southampton. If I remember correctly, Amsterdam is about the same (maybe about 15 min. closer) from the airport to the port. But if you do choose the Connie, please reconsider your stay in Amsterdam. We did the cheese factory, the Keukenhof Gardens, saw wooden shoes being made, plus the city itself is wonderful! Not to say London and Southampton aren't nice, too. Eclipse may be my favorite ship (my daughter said it was the cruise of a lifetime) but Amsterdam is one of my favorite ports. Whichever ship you choose, this is our favorite itinerary and you will have YOUR trip of a lifetime!:)

[acctgtogo]

There are things I would like to see in both London and Amsterdam, so I was trying to decide if one ship was really better than the other. The Eclipse is newer, but it is also larger, so I didn't know if that was an issue (too crowded, harder to disembark at the ports, etc). The Constellation is older and smaller, but has been refurbished. Smaller may also be better - less crowded, better port docking locations, etc. Because of its size and age, does it lack special details, restaurants or advantages that are offered on the Eclipse that would make the Eclipse a better cruise?

[Gonzo70]

I booked Eclipse for 2013 for Baltics for a few reasons:

 

*I prefer S-Class ships. I like the Hot Glass Show, the lawn, and the Molecular Bar - all of which or not available on M-Class ships.

 

*I have already been to Amsterdam, but not to London - so by sailing on Eclipse I will be able to do a pre-cruise visit to London.

 

*Though the cruise on Eclipse is more $$$$, airfare to London is generally cheaper than airfare to Amsterdam (at least from Chicago) so that makes up for some of the price difference.

 

*The Eclipse cruise is a couple of days longer, so that is a plus.

[Anubi]

We are booking the 12-day Baltics out of Amsterdam but are flying into London precruise. We found a fantastic way to get to Amsterdam. Its called Rail and Sail - here is the link

http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm

After the cruise we are spending a few days in Amsterdam.

Just another option. Have a great cruise whichever one you chose. :D:D

[MRSBITS]

We did this cruise last May on the Eclipse, and it was fabulous!

 

We chose the longer cruise because we love spending pre-cruise days in London; and, once we looked at rd.trip airfare from Boston, it made sense to spend the extra$$$ on the cruise.:D

 

Bruges, Belgium (often referred to as Venice of the North - along with Copenhagen) is absolutely a must-see. The 14 nt. cruise also gives you more time in Tallin and Copenhagen.

 

I would suggest that you check-out the specific places that each ship docks in Warnemunde and Stockholm. In both ports, they have "near and far".

 

Good luck on your choice.

 

Carolyn:)

[tally10]

I think the Eclipse is much prettier than the Connie and we thought the overall experience was better. But, I have great memories of the Connie, too. Like Gonzo, I prefer the S class and as we both said, the airfare to London is usually less expensive then to Schipol (Amsterdam) with more options to get there. Whichever ship you choose, it WILL be a cruise/trip of a lifetime for you. The Baltic itinerary is the absolute best, in our opinion, and that is why we have done it so many times. You learn something new every time you go and by the way, I would recommend the private tours, especially in Russia. You see and learn so much more than a ship's tour.

[Denny01]

We booked Eclipse this May. Yes, Connie was cheaper, but we wanted the extra 2 days, and Belgium. We love the S-Class, but Connie was our favorite ship for a long time, so She is good also.

 

We also picked Eclipse because we decided to explore the south UK area a bit. We are staying in a Winchester B&B for 2 days and then catching a taxi down to Southampton for the cruise. We stayed 2 days in a B&B in Southampton on an earlier cruise. Enjoyed it but the town was so badly bombed that isn't a lot of historical areas. But of course, I grew up in LA Calif and anything older than 1940's we considered 'historical'.

 

You cant go wrong with either cruise. Saving a chunk of money is nice, and both departure ports are neat....and both ships are great. And do realize, these are port-intensive cruises and although we are now addicted to S-Class, the Connie is a great one also.

 

Enjoy...nice having such choices isn't it!

 

Den

[We're The Groupnors]

We agree with Gonzo and Tally. We did the Baltics on Eclipse last summer, and loved it. The Connie was our first Celebrity cruise, so that ship has a very special place in our hearts, but we really wanted to go out of Southampton for various reasons, including price and ease of navigation to Southampton. We took the National Express Coach from Heathrow to Southampton, and the reverse on return, and it was truly painless (and very inexpensive). And Bruges is certainly not to be missed...

[rwr235]

We did the Baltics on the Eclipse this past summer...and the Eclipse quickly became my favorite ship to date !

 

To address a couple of your concerns...we never found it to be "too crowded"...disembarkation at ports was never a hard or lengthy process...docking locations were great !

 

Like others have said...the Eclipse has the Molecular Bar(my nightly hangout); Hot Glass show; a never-seems-crowded layout; a longer itinerary...and FANTASTIC staff !!

 

Either way...ENJOY !

 

Woody

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

We had the same issue when selecting our Baltic cruise last year. I actually happen to prefer the Connie to the Eclipse and, for me, flying from Minneapolis to Amsterdam is actually easier than flying to Heathrow. There is nonstop service to both. But the people I was traveling with were from other locations in the country and it would have been hard for them to get to Amsterdam, so we chose the Eclipse. We spent a week in London prior to the cruise and toured Salisbury and Windsor on our way back to London.

You would have to research the flight options from your home airport to see which is cheaper/more convenient for you. The option posted by someone previously about taking the train from London to Amsterdam looked quite interesting! I may look at that for next year if it turns out I can fly home from Amsterdam cheaper than I can fly home from Heathrow.

A cruise like this is really all about the ports. You will spend very little time on the ship. I thought Brugges was very interesting, so if the Connie doesn't go there, that would be a vote in the Eclipse's favor. And if the Eclipse gets more time in Tallin, that's another vote for the Eclipse. Loved Tallin! Not as touristy as the other ports.

As far as docking locations, we got the favorable one in Warnemunde, although I've heard reports that the two ships switch off. We never got to Stockholm but the Connie did. Our captain announced that the port was closed and we went to some other port farther away which was a tender port. But, lo and behold, when people got to Stockholm, there sat the Connie and the AIDABlu which had also been following us around the Baltic, so obviously the port wasn't closed. So the Connie won that one.

I wouldn't make the decision based on the ships. I'd chose the departure port which is easiest and cheapest to access for you and the itinerary you like the best. It's an awesome cruise! And I echo the other poster's recommendation--hire a private tour operator in St. Petersburg. That will be the best decision you make on the whole cruise.

Have a wonderful cruise whatever you decide!

[acctgtogo]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. All were appreciated. We have decided to take the Eclipse out of Southampton. I hate to miss Amsterdam, but my husband didn't want to miss Belgium. We also will get to see Stonehenge and Windso Castle this way. We will definately be taking a private tour in St Petersburg. Thanks again.

[tally10]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. All were appreciated. We have decided to take the Eclipse out of Southampton. I hate to miss Amsterdam, but my husband didn't want to miss Belgium. We also will get to see Stonehenge and Windso Castle this way. We will definately be taking a private tour in St Petersburg. Thanks again.

 

Both itineraries are wonderful. You will love Brugges as much as Amsterdam (it is ALSO one of our favorite ports) and the Eclipse and the itinerary are fantastic! Enjoy!