Celebrity Eclipse Hubbard Glacier Cruise August 25-September 1

[hsk1977]

My husband and I just got home from our first ever Celebrity Cruise (first cruise at all in ten years), which was also our first trip to Alaska.  We booked last October, and over the last several months I have done most of my research right here on Cruise Critic.  I've thoroughly enjoyed reading every review I could of Celebrity Eclipse, as well as other Celebrity sailings to Alaska.  That being the case, I wanted to submit my own review/trip report here.  I will probably be repeating a lot of what others have said, but maybe some of you will enjoy reading it anyway, or maybe it will be of some benefit to someone else who is planning a similar cruise. Fair warning...this will be a long and detailed trip report! 😁

 

PRE-CRUISE TRAVEL TO VANCOUVER:

 

We woke up at 3:00 am Saturday morning and went to the Nashville airport for our 7:00 am flight.  They say to arrive 3 hours early for international flights, but that early in the morning, we breezed right through checking our luggage, security, etc., and ended up sitting at our gate for quite some time.  That was OK, though, because we were finally on vacation! 

 

We flew from Nashville to Los Angeles, where we had some delays before we finally set off for Vancouver.  Once we landed, we had to go through customs & immigration, which wasn't too bad. Then, we hauled all our luggage to the Skytrain station.  (Which I knew about thanks to you all here!) We took the Canada Line all the way to Waterfront Station and then walked a couple more blocks to our hotel.  It was easy enough, even with too much luggage! 😂

 

We had originally booked a different hotel further from the waterfront, but a month or two ago I found a 30% off deal at Pan Pacific Hotel.  I had checked there originally and remembered what the rooms were going for at the time.  At 30% off, however, we were perfectly willing to pay for the convenience and peace of mind of being right at the port.  Thankfully, our original reservation was refundable, so we switched.  We figured we'd be saving taxi fare by being able to use Skytrain to get there and walking to the ship the next morning, so we justified the extra expense of the hotel itself.  We were so happy we did!  Pan Pacific is a beautiful hotel with beautiful views.  When I booked, I reserved the least expensive room that they had at the time, which was a city view room.  At check-in, however, we were given an upgraded room with harbor views and free wifi.  Score!  The vacation was starting out great!!

 

Here are a few pictures of our room and the views we had:

 

 

 

 

 

[hsk1977]

DAY 1 - EMBARKATION IN VANCOUVER:

 

Sunday morning, we tagged our luggage and called the front desk to have it taken to the cruise terminal.  Pretty soon, it was on its way to the ship, and we were on our way there as well!  We were told we could board as early as 10:30, so that's when we went.  It didn't take long at all to get through the line and head up the gangway to the beautiful Celebrity Eclipse. By 11:00 am, we were onboard with our champagne and checking out the views from deck.  😍

 

When we originally booked our cruise back in October, we chose an obstructed veranda for the price of an ocean view room. Around the first of July, we received an email that we could bid on an upgrade through Celebrity's MoveUp program.  The minimum bid for Concierge Class was $50/person.  I verified that there were no obstructed balconies in the Concierge Class, and we decided to bid $100/person and just see what happened.  Shockingly, about a week later, our bid was accepted!  That being the case, not long after we boarded, we went to Moonlight Sonata for the Concierge Class lunch. 

 

Here's the menu, for anyone who is interested:

 

 

I had the butternut squash soup & roasted salmon.  My husband had the Caesar salad & short ribs.  Everything was delicious, and the service was great!

 

After lunch, we went to the Lawn Club to enjoy the beautiful weather and beautiful views until we could get into our stateroom.  The Lawn Club quickly became one of our favorite places on the ship.

 

 

A little after 1:00, the announcement was made that our rooms were ready.  We couldn't wait to check ours out!  Here are some pics of stateroom 2109, which is on Deck 12 on the port side, near the elevators. It was beautiful and in a really convenient location. Our only complaint is that we could frequently smell cigarette smoke from the nearby smoking areas on the ship.  I'm sensitive to smoke; it gives me a headache.  It was definitely more prominent when we were in port and the ship wasn't moving.  While we were moving, it wasn't too bad.  

 

 

 

 

Here is the daily from Sunday:

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the plate of small bites that was delivered to our room around 3:00.  We found it later and chose not to have them since they had been sitting out for a while, and also because we were pretty full when we found them.  Because I had read where someone else on Cruise Critic had requested that their daily 3:00 snack be a cheese plate, I asked our stateroom attendant, Chris (who was great, by the way!) the same.  Every day going forward, we had a plate of cheeses, nuts, and dried fruit.  Perfect!

 

 

We enjoyed Sail Away at The Lawn Club, where there was live music from the acoustic duo on board.  They were great!  What a great way to start our cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

We had taken advantage of the first night specialty dining discounts and made a reservation at Murano. It did not disappoint!  Our server, Dave, was great, as was the food.  For starters, I had the diver scallop wellington, and my husband had the pork belly.  The goat cheese souffle looked so good that we ordered that as well and shared it. For our entree, we ordered the chateaubriand for two.  With all of that and the cheese plate, we were too full for dessert!

 

Edited September 3, 2019 by hsk1977

[katherinemcgill423]

Thank you so much for your detailed review. I’m going on this cruise in two weeks!

[hsk1977]

2 hours ago, katherinemcgill423 said:

Thank you so much for your detailed review. I’m going on this cruise in two weeks!

You're welcome! I know when I was planning, I wanted to read as much as I could. I have lots more to share and will try to cover another day or two this evening after work. Back to the real world today! 😭

[hsk1977]

DAY 2 - INSIDE PASSAGE:

 

We started our first day at sea at Cafe al Bacio with a table at the window.  There were so many options of yummy treats, including a couple of gluten-free and sugar-free items.  I chose a banana muffin and had the first of many lattes of the week.  

 

 

 

We had a more substantial breakfast in the Ocean View Cafe later and then spent some time lounging at the front of the ship in the Sky Lounge.  It was a lazy day, and we enjoyed just hanging out and watching for whales...we did see a couple, although I didn't get a great photo of them.  At 10:00, we attended the Destination Highlights Presentation in the Eclipse Theater.

 

 

Here is the daily for Monday:

 

 

 

 

That evening was our first Evening Chic night, which we enjoyed very much.  We had purchased the all-inclusive photo package with part of our OBC and so we took advantage of almost all the photography stations set up around the ship before dinner.

 

 

We got a window seat in Moonlight Sonata and had a delicious dinner.  I think I actually enjoyed my meal more than Murano the night before.  I had the French Onion Soup & the Steak Dianne, which was perfectly cooked and very flavorful. My husband had the rack of lamb, which he said was also delicious. 

 

 

 

After dinner, we attended the late showing of Topper.  It was pretty good!  I didn't really get the storyline (maybe we're not supposed to??), but the performances were well-done for the most part, and the costumes were very colorful and interesting. 

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by hsk1977

[katherinemcgill423]

Looks amazing! Were those pastries at Cafe al Bacio included or is there a charge? I’m assuming the latte was extra!

[hsk1977]

DAY 3 - ICY STRAIT POINT:

 

The day started out rainy and cool.  We weren't scheduled to arrive in Icy Strait Point until 3:30, so we were really hoping for a change in the weather before then!  

 

After breakfast at the Ocean View Cafe, we went back to the Sky Lounge to relax and watch for whales and approaching scenery.  Even with the cloudy conditions, we enjoyed the beautiful mountains when we could catch glimpses of them.

   

 

Later, we decided to whale watch from our balcony.  We were not disappointed!  We were excited to see some humpback whales!  Then, maybe 10-20 minutes later, a couple of orcas made an appearance!!  I was so excited! 

 

 

As we approached Icy Strait Point, we could see that Millennium was already there. As we got closer, she sailed away.  It was our turn!  Yay - our first port!

 

We didn't have an excursions booked for this port.  We chose to just do our own thing and explore.  It was a beautiful area!  We decided to get tickets for the shuttle into Hoonah first.  While we were waiting in line, we saw our first bald eagle of the week.  

 

 

 

 

There's not a lot to do in Hoonah, as far as we could tell, but we visited the brewery there - Icy Strait Brewing - and really enjoyed the smoked fish plate.  The beer was pretty good too, although I'm by no means a beer expert.  

 

 

 

We headed back to ISP after eating and just took in the beautiful scenery.  We were so happy that the weather had improved! 

 

 

 

Back onboard, we caught a gorgeous sunset from our balcony while watching orcas in the distance. What a perfect end to our day!

 

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by hsk1977

[hsk1977]

27 minutes ago, katherinemcgill423 said:

Looks amazing! Were those pastries at Cafe al Bacio included or is there a charge? I’m assuming the latte was extra!

Everything we had there was very good! The pastries are all included. 🙂 There’s a charge for the coffees, but if you have a beverage package, they are covered. 

[scottygirl]

Enjoying your review.  I will be on the Eclipse Oct Hawaii-Vancouver.

[CulverCityCruisers]

Following and enjoing your review.

 

One quick question.  We were recently on Equinox (post revolution) and were able to drop our bags in out room before they were all finished.  Were you able to drop bags off in your room and get your room key as soon as you boarrded or did you have to wait unti yu were told the rooms were ready??

 

Thank you and glad you enjoyed.  Looking forward to reading more

[hsk1977]

1 hour ago, scottygirl said:

Enjoying your review.  I will be on the Eclipse Oct Hawaii-Vancouver.

Glad you are enjoying it. I hope I'm not making it too long! LOL

[hsk1977]

9 minutes ago, CulverCityCruisers said:

Following and enjoing your review.

 

One quick question.  We were recently on Equinox (post revolution) and were able to drop our bags in out room before they were all finished.  Were you able to drop bags off in your room and get your room key as soon as you boarrded or did you have to wait unti yu were told the rooms were ready??

 

Thank you and glad you enjoyed.  Looking forward to reading more

 

We boarded at 11:00 and were just told that it would be announced when rooms were ready.  I didn't ask if we could go sooner.  We just carried on a backpack each, so we just kept them with us.

[katherinemcgill423]

Hi hsk1977! Another question for you if you don’t mind answering. How efficient are the stateroom curtains at keeping light out? Are they like typical hotel curtains that are blackout? Or are they pretty transparent (letting light in at the crack of dawn)? 

 

loving all your posts!

[gerelmx]

Thank you for posting your review, we are boarding the Eclipse on September  22, going to Hawaii, can you  post the officers page from the daily?

Edited September 6, 2019 by gerelmx

[hsk1977]

9 hours ago, katherinemcgill423 said:

Hi hsk1977! Another question for you if you don’t mind answering. How efficient are the stateroom curtains at keeping light out? Are they like typical hotel curtains that are blackout? Or are they pretty transparent (letting light in at the crack of dawn)? 

 

loving all your posts!

 

Hello! We were up before the sun most days and opened our curtains, so I’m not sure how well they block out the light. It seems like they did on the couple of days we did sleep later, but someone else might want to comment on that. I do remember that the curtain tracks overlap each other by about 6”, so that helps avoid a gap between the curtains.  

[hsk1977]

9 hours ago, gerelmx said:

Thank you for posting your review, we are boarding the Eclipse on September  22, going to Hawaii, can you  post the officers page from the daily?

 

I am not seeing an officers page in the dailies I took pictures of. Is it usually an insert? I have a folder of the papers I kept and will try to find it there. 

[gerelmx]

24 minutes ago, hsk1977 said:

 

I am not seeing an officers page in the dailies I took pictures of. Is it usually an insert? I have a folder of the papers I kept and will try to find it there. 

 

Don’t worry maybe X already doesn’t doing anymore on the Eclipse and now it is on the TV like other ships

[friendswithdave]

16 hours ago, katherinemcgill423 said:

Hi hsk1977! Another question for you if you don’t mind answering. How efficient are the stateroom curtains at keeping light out? Are they like typical hotel curtains that are blackout? Or are they pretty transparent (letting light in at the crack of dawn)? 

 

loving all your posts!

We were on the same sailing. The curtains are black-out type and let no light through. Ours had velcro that kept the two ends together so not too much light came around and between the curtains.