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Celebrity Eclipse July 4th week


hospsafe
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A little background...1 adult, 2 teenagers.  First Celebrity cruise.  Previously on Carnival, RC, and Princess. 12 total.  Second Alaskan Cruise. First was on Princess. Suite - Aft corner cabin.

I was told by a ships officer there were approximately 3100 people with 1100 staff members.  Approximately half of the 3100 were first time Celebrity cruisers. 

 

Here are some thoughts...

 

We had amazing weather the entire week!!  The boys and I had an incredible time.  A cruise is what you make of it. 

 

Stayed at Pan Pacific at the pier 2 days prior.  Spend the extra dollars for access to the lounge. I would stay there or the Fairmont.

 

Did the Vancouver Hop on/Hop Off.  Probably the worst HO/HO I have ever experienced.  It was a recording and not a live person.  Did a harbor tour which was great. I love Vancouver!

 

Getting on the ship was a breeze, by 10:30 thanks to the Suite Concierge but had to wait for our room until 1:00.  No big deal.  The boys and I travel very light.

 

Probably the best suite attendant we have ever had.  He has been with Celebrity for 20 years.

 

They need to do something about Micheals Lounge.  It should be cigar lounge because thats how it felt being in there.

 

Luminae had very good menus and the service was spot on.

 

Heard mixed reviews about specialty dinning.  Its a shame that they didn't enforce the dress code.  Saw jeans even on "Chic Night" in the specialty and main dinning room.

 

Overall I thought the food was very good. Probably the best I have had on a cruise.

 

I can see why people do the Aqua Class rooms. Its a more luxurious feel in that area.The spa was Ok but I had a great masseuse.

 

Clearly Celebrity is for an older crowd.  I would say the majority of the folks were over 60.  Not much was planned for the kids nor did they promote it even though there seemed to be a lot kids of all age ranges. I did talk to a couple of guests in their 30's and they were bored.

 

The feeling of the cruise was unlike any I have ever experienced...overall the fellow cruisers weren't very sociable, standfoff-ish at times, very cliqu-ish, the lack of "community feeling" was missing.  The couple of other experienced cruisers I talked to during the cruise and at the airport felt the same way.

 

The entertainment was really bad except for the comedian/juggler.  During our sea days the pool area was packed but yet the CD didn't plan anything. No I don't expect a "hairy chest competition".  Compared to the Naturalist on the Princess, I was not impressed with this one.  Maybe it had something to do with the itinerary.  He only got on the ship wide P/A once.  Otherwise he was in the sky lounge without a microphone and not very informative.

 

Getting off the ship was a breeze.  We were off by 7:30 and were at our gate, cleared both Canadian and US Customs by 9:00am! I didn't expect this at all so much so I booked a 2:00 flight.

 

The Hot Glass venue (glass blowing) was very cool and not expected.

 

We got lucky with our excursions. All were very good. Two out of 3 had less than 10 people.  We did a 4 1/2 hour halibut fishing which was great.  Be fore-warned you are reeling in approximately 295 feet of fishing line. I strongly recommend doing the Zodiac tour in Kechikan.  They were booked through Celebrity but it will be the last time I go through the cruise lines to book tours simply due to the cost.

 

The bartenders at the Martini Bar were great.  Very entertaining.  I think its the best bar on the ship.

 

I would do Alaska again and it will probably be on Crystal or Seabourn.  When braking down costs, line by line, they are very comparable.  If I were to do it on a big ship, I would go back to Princess and do the inside passage.  I just don't see the value of Celebrity.

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We were told when we tried to make reservations for the Italian Restaurant they said jeans weren't allowed. My boys and I only brought shorts and jeans.  I understand that the cigar bar will never happen.  My point was Micheal's was very dreary.  They couldn't open up the curtains because all you would see are the life boats.  The decor was black and red.  They need to lighten it up.

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3 hours ago, hospsafe said:

We were told when we tried to make reservations for the Italian Restaurant they said jeans weren't allowed. My boys and I only brought shorts and jeans.  I understand that the cigar bar will never happen.  My point was Micheal's was very dreary.  They couldn't open up the curtains because all you would see are the life boats.  The decor was black and red.  They need to lighten it up.

 

The ships are all being updated and the new decor has a lighter brighter  color scheme.  The Eclipse is scheduled for updating starting in Nov 2020

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Our Celebrity Alaskan cruise from Vancouver was by far the most casual of all our cruises and had a completely different vibe than any other Celebrity cruise we have ever been on (Caribbean, European, Baltic, Med).  If it had been our first cruise with Celebrity it may have been the last although it was a good cruise.  The Luminae staff was the absolute best we have encountered.     We felt, at least on our sailing, that the itinerary drew many people who don't normally cruise and have no plans to in the future.   There were many multi-gerational family groups as well.    Again, it was a good cruise, just not typical of what we generally have come to expect from Celebrity. 

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I actually saw more fellow guests in jeans on Alaska cruises than any other cruise which makes sense due the itinerary which is why you saw more in the dining room.

 

Celebrity is a more relaxed cruise line compared to some of the others. I like that. I like the absence of announcements for inch of gold, art auctions, etc. 

 

When it comes to value one has to do their homework. Breaking it down I do see the value of a suite on X compared to the competition but everyone is different. Glad that you experienced X first hand. Thanks from the review.

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Shiraz, yes LOccitane was still available.

 

NCHPcruiser, " the itinerary drew many people who don't normally cruise and have no plans to in the future.   There were many multi-gerational family groups as well." Exactly. That must have played a role in it as well. I guess I didn't notice is as much on my previous cruise to Alaska with Princess.  

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Just as an FYI, Michael's was the name Celebrity gave on other ships to the Cigar Bar. I was not on the Eclipse before, but on their other ships that was what it was. It was dark, but the Concierge there was excellent, as were the others who worked there. If you were on July 4th week, and had breakfast in Luminae, and say the service was great, it means that they took to heart the various things we mentioned to them that we had issues with on the sailing on the 16th. I think one of the reasons that people might be more casual on Alaskan cruises is because of the times that you are in port. Icy Straight Point and Ketchikan were a late arrival, departing late, and even Juneau was an 8:00 departure. 

 

We did not have L'Occitane in our suite, but did have another high end brand that I don't remember the name of, definitely not Bigelow's because that was founded by my friend's grandfather, and her brother runs the company now, so I would have remembered. 

 

The ship itself was in excellent shape. I think age of those on board is definitely going to be older than RCCL and Carnival, but not as old as HAL. It did seem that if the kids wanted to take part in the programs, they had to seek them out, which happened when we used to cruise with our sons when they were that age. It is just how the line operates, and if you were given a different impression, you were misled. Not sure who the comedian was on your sailing, the one we had was very funny, but the other shows were very mediocre. Although some people thought they were great, so I guess it depends on where your bar is set. Admittedly being a NY'er mine is high.

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Thanks for the review, our multi-gen family of six is sailing in late August. I haven't seen many Eclipse reviews so yours is welcome. I especially appreciate the flight info, as we have an 11 AM flight and are wondering if we can be confident we will make it if we hustle. Looks like yes!

 

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