Celebrity Eclipse Questions

[CruisingGal2017]

This is our first Cruise with Celebrity. We have booked a Ocean Veranda Room, roughly 200 sf with 50 sf balcony. It has a Queen bed and a queen pullout bed. Has anyone else had a family of 4 in this room? Our children are 7 and 16. How did it go? Any tips welcome! We are debating switching to 2 Oceanview rooms with no balconies on the 3rd Floor for about the same price. Anyone ever cruised on a deck this low? How was it if so?

 

This ship looks a little less "exciting" than our last cruise on RC Harmony of the Seas. Do you see a lot of kids on Celebrity cruises?

 

The website does not give great info on the dining options. Are the included options only the Main Dining Room and the Ocean View Cafe? Are there other small places to grab a bite? What are the prices like for these if so? If you were going to do one or two paid dinner nights, which restaurants would you choose?

[phoenix_dream]

I'll answer the first part. It will be quite crowded for 4 in this type of room. Personally, I would switch to 2 OV rooms on 3. The OV rooms are a bit smaller, but then you get two queen beds and two bathrooms. We usually sail in balconies these days, but in past years (and in fact last year on a B2B to Alaska) we sailed on the 3rd floor. I personally love that location as it is more quiet and calmer riding for those prone to motion sickness. Also easier to catch an empty elevator! If you can, I recommend getting rooms just aft of the atrium area. Why? Windows are bigger, there is less foot traffic overall, and less door slamming as there are no inside cabins across from you.

 

As to kids, it depends on timing, itinerary and length of cruise. Cruises 7 nights or shorter during the summer will have quite a few kids. Longer cruises or non- school vacation times there will be very few

[Luvcrusn]

I'll answer the second part. Besides the MDR and OVC, there is also a burger/hot dog grill upstairs from the pool deck and the Aqua Spa Café located in the Solarium. The catch with the ASC is that since the solarium is adults only, that would be a problem if eating with the children. The pastries and desserts in Café al Baccio on Deck 5 are free, however the specialty coffees and teas are for fee unless you have an applicable beverage package. As for the specialty restaurants, that's a matter of personal taste (pun semi-intended;p). My personal favorite is Murano. It is French food, the service and food are excellent, however if dining with the kids be aware that dinner there in general is at least 11/2 to 2 hours. You'd be the best judge of their likes/dislikes and sitting ability. Also there used to be age limits, so you may want to check that. It is $50 per person.Tuscan Grille is loved by some, we don't care for it. It offers Italian food and steaks. It is $45 per person. Some of the steaks are extra charge. There is also Qsine, a quirky tapas type of restaurant. It's best to go there with a larger group than 2 since you get to taste more things. You order from Ipads and the food presentations are different. That's $45 per person also. Finally there is Sushi on 5 and that's ala carte. DH hates sushi, so I can't speak to the quality of it, but judging from the fact that it's usually empty, I guess it's not a guest favorite. There are usually deals to be had in the first 3 specialty restaurants I mentioned once you board, especially on the first night and also if you are flexible in dining times. Don't be afraid to negotiate. We've gotten anywhere from 20-45% off. The Eclipse is a great ship and a great crew and hopefully Captain Leo will be back on board when you sail. He's the most accessible and entertaining Captain we've ever had. Enjoy!

[nekzaadvakil]

I'd suggest for you to take 2 oceanview staterooms on Deck 3 if its the same price as 1 balcony room. Its literally double the space and 2 bathrooms. My friends were on Deck 3 recently and they loved it. Deck 3 on S class ships (including the Eclipse) is very close to the central atrium, guest services, the Main Dining Rooms(Deck 3,4), the Theatre (Deck 3,4), the Casino (Deck 4), the shops (Deck 4,5), Celebrity Central (Deck 4) for comedy shows/ Bingo, and the famous Martini Bars (Deck 4). And yet, the rooms were quiet and close to the ocean.

 

Lots of places to grab food thats included in your cruise fare. Main Dining Rooms, Oceanview cafe, Mast Grill for Burgers on the pool deck, pastries at Cafe al Bacio to name a few. However, the Oceanview cafe is literally on all the time and has plenty to offer. Also Room service is included and one can order food from the TV screen in the stateroom.

 

We're big fans of Royal Caribbean and their modern big ships. We managed to cruise on the Allure only last year and she quickly became our favorite ship. However, Celebrity's S class ships are more modern and it feels more luxurious. We just sailed on the Celebrity Reflection and I've got to say, that we're definitely sliding towards Celebrity again.

[motherchic]

I agree about the rooms. It will be very tight otherwise. And 2 bathrooms would really help

As said, more kids do cruise during the summer.

I love Celebrity, but when we travel with our children we cruise RCCL. Many more activities for them.

But I have heard good reviews about the activities on Celebrity ( but no slides, rock walls.......)

[chemmo]

We see the focus on our RC cruises as being busy and entertained and on Celebrity our focus is rest and relaxation...RC is much better for entertainment and activities but Celebrity, in our opinion, has much better food and did I mention just how relaxing it is?

 

I think our son was early teens first time we cruised with him on Celebrity, prior to that we had mainly cruised RC. We were concerned if he would have enough to do...Actually he enjoyed it....Port days we chose excursions we thought he would enjoy and then in the evenings and on sea days he was happy to just relax. There were some younger children on that cruise but only a couple in our son's age range. He did take some electronic gadgetry with him for quiet times. We did on that first cruise miss a couple of 'family activities' like the crazy golf but on the lawn there are boules which became (and still is) a great sea day after breakfast activity. We have over the years seen a great difference in the number of children on board....sometimes quite a few sometimes hardly any but nothing like the numbers we have seen on RC. There are clubs for youngsters of all ages although on cruises with less children they may combine ages.

 

So, I would suggest ensure the kids are aware it is a different type of cruise (not better or worse just different). Encourage them to load up iPads for down time and board and enjoy.

 

Re speciality restaurants. They all have something different to offer. Murano's is our favourite, some of the food is prepared tableside which adds to the 'theatre', Tuscan is a steak house with great views out at the back of the ship. Q'sine gives you a varied, novelty presented menu of flavours from everywhere! This is less fine dining but great fun the first time you do it. If either of the kids are faddy about food this would be the best choice as you choose lots of small portions to share.

 

Have a great family holiday!

[miched]

Check to see if any family varanda's or ocean view family cabins are available.

 

There is also the option that allows you to book a inside across from a balcony cabin.

 

 

Price out the options and choose what fits into your budget.

 

 

4 in a cabin may get a little congested but families do it. There is also the option of using the showers in the gym area. Many passengers do that that are traveling with 2 in the cabin.

 

 

X doesn't have the novelties like RCCL. I have heard and read reports that the youth and teen programs are very good on X and there is no extra charge.

 

There is another thread that is a review with 3 boys on another S class ship. The S class ships are basically the same . Link below

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2512254

 

I am sure that you will enjoy the cruise and have a great time.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

Edited June 20, 2017 by miched

[bateau4]

Hi, Just to let you know there's the third option- we've been on 5 cruises with our two kids in an ocean view room on Celebrity and HAL- the longest 26 nights. As long as you're all organized about putting stuff away and keep night clothes in the bathroom for any late returners, it can be cosy- most of the time we were in ports or around the ship. A balcony is a plus if you're in Alaska for wildlife and scenic viewing so we took a family aft cabin on Celebrity there.

[Chewbecca]

We have 3 in a room, with our 13 year old son and find it tight. The pull out beds don't seem queen sized to me and I think 2 in that with one a 16 year old would be a challenge. I'd definitely switch if you can. Balcony is nice but not really essential, especially on a cooler cruise which I'm guessing yours is? The family verandah rooms are fab but there are so few of them, they are very hard to secure.

 

Our son is one of the main reasons we cruise and celebrity is possibly his favourite line. It depends what sort of child they are I guess, he is fairly quiet and geeky, he does enjoy meeting and having a (very) good time playing cards, having some 'banter' with a small group but prefers not to be in a very large group of kids doing the climbing walls and being rowdy.

 

DS's favourite speciality is Tuscan Grill, he'd choose to eat there every night if he could. He also likes sushi on five and to order room service in between! We like Murano/Ocean Liners too, but it is a much more formal experience than TG. I wouldn't describe it as French though, just as I wouldn't call Tuscan Grill Italian but hey ho, we find them all nice for a change from MDR. We haven't tried Q'sine yet but plan to on our cruise on Eclipse this summer, :-).

[Benjo8]

You do not say whether you have boys, girls, or one and one. But if you have at least one daughter, you need two bathrooms or you will not last the week. At those ages, you need two [bath]rooms to get ready, shower, etc. even with desk and mirror in the room for one lady to put makeup on. I have only a daughter and over many cruises, once she got older, it was very tough to manage three in that room as far as bathroom use to get ready. At that point my wife was taking her shower in the spa after exercise rather than fight for the room bathroom in time to be ready for late seating.