Comparing the Eclipse with HAL and Princess

[Been There, Planning That]

General Impressions of Celebrity and the Eclipse, with comparisons with HAL and Princess

 

I thought I'd repost this on the Princess threads as our most recent Princess cruise was a fall '16 TA from Southampton.

 

We have cruised more frequently on both HAL and Princess and this was only our second Celebrity cruise. We travel in modest cabins on each line, so have no special status other than that awarded frequent travellers.

 

The Ship: The ship decor seemed more modern, in contrast with the subdued old world charm of HAL or flashiness of Princess.

 

Service: All three lines offered us excellent cabin and table service.

 

Food: Celebrity’s Oceanview Cafe never seemed as crowded as buffets on other lines so that we could always find a noon time seat, even on sea days.

 

I suspect that food is ‘chef’ dependent, but we would equate each of the three lines, though we’d remembered better on Celebrity. For the regular dining rooms on all three lines we've concluded that focus is on presentation.

 

We had traditional early seating in the Sonata, and it was the most packed dining room we’ve ever been in on any ship. In fact it reminded me of an elegant school cafeteria. There were no logical aisles in the centre third, so that getting to our table involved solving a tight maze of tables. Had they added either hedges or corn stalks, it would have been a true adventure maze! Navigation was no easier for the staff.

 

Lectures: On the Eclipse, we most missed port lectures which offered general port information and suggestions for independent exploration as is the norm on both Princess and HAL. We attended general destination lectures but were disappointed that no practical information was offered for they were just a sales’ pitch for left over excursions. Port Excursions would be a more accurate title.

 

Port Information: The port printouts distributed in Eclipse cabins offered very little about local history and directions to anything but shopping opportunities. These are designed for shoppers but both HAL and Princess included some directions to historical sites which most interested us.

 

Excursions: On recent cruises we’ve taken ship excursions, and have found each line to be similar in pricing and excellence or lack thereof. Each line is dependent upon local operators and their buses/mini vans.

 

Age Demographics: Because we choose a minimum two week cruise, the age is generally older on all three lines. We were surprised to notice no exception to this generalization on Celebrity though there were fewer wheel chairs and scooters than on the usual HAL cruise.

 

Internet: We enjoyed the best ever internet on Celebrity, even as good as on European River cruises. And reception was even great in our 6th deck cabin. We've endured the worst internet on Princess.

 

Observation from a non status cruiser On Celebrity we were more aware of missing privileges rightly awarded those in suites and above. I recognize they’ve paid for these privileges, but I wonder if modest travellers are therefore downgraded to keep overall costs from escalating.

 

Annoyances: The right hand side of the Celebrity room service breakfast menu lacked prices for the speciality items. NO restaurant has ever advertized that prices for menu items could be found on the TV! Receipts for purchases lacked prices, for example, it was only later that we discovered that a small bottle of water cost $3.75. Only once on our many morning visits to the 14th deck cafe did we get trolley served coffee while there was always someone peddling water and freshly squeezed orange juice.

 

Summary: We most certainly enjoyed the cruise and would happily cruise again with Celebrity, but other than the Eclipse being a newer ship than many on which we’ve sailed, we find HAL, Celebrity and Princess to be in the same league, with only minor differences among the three middle range lines.

 

Prices and itinerary will determine our future choices, not loyalty to one of these three similar brands.

 

Ruth

Edited March 7, 2016 by Been There, Planning That

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for sharing.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Wastegirl]

 

Observation from a non status cruiser On Celebrity we were more aware of missing privileges rightly awarded those in suites and above. I recognize they’ve paid for these privileges, but I wonder if modest travellers are therefore downgraded to keep overall costs from escalating.

 

I am glad I am not the only one who noticed this. I know cruises with 'status' and those in suites get perks and this does not worry me. However on Celebrity the demarcation was quite noticeable and sometimes a little inconvenient for non-status cruisers. On HAL and Princess we never noticed a status demarcation even though it was there.

[keithm]

General Impressions of Celebrity and the Eclipse, with comparisons with HAL and Princess

 

I thought I'd repost this on the Princess threads as our most recent Princess cruise was a fall '16 TA from Southampton.

 

We have cruised more frequently on both HAL and Princess and this was only our second Celebrity cruise. We travel in modest cabins on each line, so have no special status other than that awarded frequent travellers.

 

The Ship: The ship decor seemed more modern, in contrast with the subdued old world charm of HAL or flashiness of Princess.

 

Service: All three lines offered us excellent cabin and table service.

 

Food: Celebrity’s Oceanview Cafe never seemed as crowded as buffets on other lines so that we could always find a noon time seat, even on sea days.

 

I suspect that food is ‘chef’ dependent, but we would equate each of the three lines, though we’d remembered better on Celebrity. For the regular dining rooms on all three lines we've concluded that focus is on presentation.

 

We had traditional early seating in the Sonata, and it was the most packed dining room we’ve ever been in on any ship. In fact it reminded me of an elegant school cafeteria. There were no logical aisles in the centre third, so that getting to our table involved solving a tight maze of tables. Had they added either hedges or corn stalks, it would have been a true adventure maze! Navigation was no easier for the staff.

 

Lectures: On the Eclipse, we most missed port lectures which offered general port information and suggestions for independent exploration as is the norm on both Princess and HAL. We attended general destination lectures but were disappointed that no practical information was offered for they were just a sales’ pitch for left over excursions. Port Excursions would be a more accurate title.

 

Port Information: The port printouts distributed in Eclipse cabins offered very little about local history and directions to anything but shopping opportunities. These are designed for shoppers but both HAL and Princess included some directions to historical sites which most interested us.

 

Excursions: On recent cruises we’ve taken ship excursions, and have found each line to be similar in pricing and excellence or lack thereof. Each line is dependent upon local operators and their buses/mini vans.

 

Age Demographics: Because we choose a minimum two week cruise, the age is generally older on all three lines. We were surprised to notice no exception to this generalization on Celebrity though there were fewer wheel chairs and scooters than on the usual HAL cruise.

 

Internet: We enjoyed the best ever internet on Celebrity, even as good as on European River cruises. And reception was even great in our 6th deck cabin. We've endured the worst internet on Princess.

 

Observation from a non status cruiser On Celebrity we were more aware of missing privileges rightly awarded those in suites and above. I recognize they’ve paid for these privileges, but I wonder if modest travellers are therefore downgraded to keep overall costs from escalating.

 

Annoyances: The right hand side of the Celebrity room service breakfast menu lacked prices for the speciality items. NO restaurant has ever advertized that prices for menu items could be found on the TV! Receipts for purchases lacked prices, for example, it was only later that we discovered that a small bottle of water cost $3.75. Only once on our many morning visits to the 14th deck cafe did we get trolley served coffee while there was always someone peddling water and freshly squeezed orange juice.

 

Summary: We most certainly enjoyed the cruise and would happily cruise again with Celebrity, but other than the Eclipse being a newer ship than many on which we’ve sailed, we find HAL, Celebrity and Princess to be in the same league, with only minor differences among the three middle range lines.

 

Prices and itinerary will determine our future choices, not loyalty to one of these three similar brands.

 

Ruth

We just did a B2B(feb.7-21) on the Regal. I thought the Regal was more elegant than Eclipse, but there were many downsides on the Regal that has us returning to the eclipse next Jan.

1)Surprisingly trashy pax the first week. I attribute this to football fans cruising for Superbowl week that & the fact that a 7 day trip is much cheaper than a 14 day trip, which allows for less worldly pax to travel. Yeah, I'll get flamed, but so what!

2)Menu completely repeated for second week, even though we went to the Eastern Caribbean from the Western Caribbean. Food overall was good, but not up to the standards on the Eclipse, especially in the specialty rest.

3)Main theater is smallest we've ever seen on a ship this size. It filled too quickly & only had one level. Shows were pretty good but I've seen WAY better. Musicians, though few, were VERY good.

4)NO CENTRAL STAIRWAY!! This caused huge back ups for pax waiting for elevators.

5)Lousy bathrooms in inside cabins. Eclipse had more space & enclosed shower doors. Towels were easily the smallest & roughest I've ever had on a cruise. Regal does have better storage space in inside cabins.

6)Attending staff overall were the best on the Regal. Martyn the cruise director was the best we've ever seen. These are 2 big reasons I'd still consider the Regal in the future

[Been There, Planning That]

We just did a B2B(feb.7-21) on the Regal.

2)Menu completely repeated for second week, even though we went to the Eastern Caribbean from the Western Caribbean.

5)Lousy bathrooms in inside cabins. Eclipse had more space & enclosed shower doors. Towels were easily the smallest & roughest I've ever had on a cruise. Regal does have better storage space in inside cabins.

6)Attending staff overall were the best on the Regal. Martyn the cruise director was the best we've ever seen. These are 2 big reasons I'd still consider the Regal in the future

 

We've taken just one b2b on HAL and for sure the menu was repeated. I guess it just gets too complicated since HAL offered repeated b2bs on the same pairs of cruises.

 

We really enjoyed the Celebrity shower doors compared to those clingy shower curtains on HAL and Princess.

 

And I'm convinced that towel and especially face cloth quality is the 'luck of the draw.' We noticed no difference on our one suite cruise vs more modest cabins.

 

Ruth

[Croptop]

Thank you for posting your experiences on and comparisons of the three lines. I have only ever cruised on Princess ships but as I am now facing cruising solo I have started to expand my searches to other lines in order to find deals with lower solo supplements. I appreciate any and all insights into the other cruise line options that are available.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your comments. I will happily go back and forth between these three cruise lines depending on whichever one offers the best deal for the dates we have available. Overall, they're more similar than they are different.