Eclipse - What's are your top tips? Do's and Dont's?

[amurray88]

Hi all,

 

Doing an Australia and New Zealand cruise later in the year on the Eclipse (14 night/2x7 B2B)

 

What are your top tips? Thanks!

[jelayne]

Have you been on other Celebrity Ships, if so which one?

[mozfoz]

Always be a head of the crowd. Walk on and off with your luggage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[amurray88]

35 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Have you been on other Celebrity Ships, if so which one?

I've not...Royal Caribbean, NCL and MSC before

[jelayne]

No need to make reservations for the theater or other shows. 

Don't expect to have announcements reminding you of some activity starting in 5 minutes.  Only 1 announcement a day. 

The pastries and cookies at Cafe al Bacio are free, you don't need to make a purchase. 

Ice cream at the buffet is excellent.  

[amurray88]

20 hours ago, jelayne said:

No need to make reservations for the theater or other shows. 

Don't expect to have announcements reminding you of some activity starting in 5 minutes.  Only 1 announcement a day. 

The pastries and cookies at Cafe al Bacio are free, you don't need to make a purchase. 

Ice cream at the buffet is excellent.  

Thanks Jelayne, that's super info!

 

Do you do alot on the app? For RCL and MSC everything seemed to be on the app (food menus, drinks menus, show times etc)

 

Thanks!

[Northern Aurora]

32 minutes ago, amurray88 said:

.....

 

Do you do alot on the app? For RCL and MSC everything seemed to be on the app (food menus, drinks menus, show times etc)

 

Thanks!

 

My husband and I primarily use the app for food menus.

 

Show times in the theater are generally 7 and 9 PM nightly.  Years ago on what is now called evening chic nights occasionally the later show would be even later than 9 PM but we haven't experienced that in years.

 

Celebrity still delivers a printed daily planner during the evening turndown service.  We generally use that information for lectures and other activities.

[jelayne]

We use the app to check menus both pre cruise to plan specialty dining nights and while on board so as not to require menus.  We find checking in on the app to very easy.  

We also use the calendar when planning so we don't end up having booked a late ending excursion and a early dinner on the same day.

[Mark_T]

22 hours ago, jelayne said:

The pastries and cookies at Cafe al Bacio are free, you don't need to make a purchase. 

Ice cream at the buffet is excellent.  

... not to be confused with the gelato at Al Bacio which is not free... 🙂

 

 

[ela123]

The sunset bar for sailout especially if you are sailing out of Sydney 

[amurray88]

Loving these tips - thanks so much folks!

Are there any areas of the ship that you wish you had found earlier in your cruise? Or that you thought if you went back you'd make more use of?

 

Thanks again!

[Northern Aurora]

2 minutes ago, amurray88 said:

Loving these tips - thanks so much folks!

Are there any areas of the ship that you wish you had found earlier in your cruise? Or that you thought if you went back you'd make more use of?

 

Thanks again!

 

We enjoy the ambiance of Cellar Masters.  

 

And there is some confusion among first time X cruisers regarding the Aqua Spa Cafe.  It is not associated with the Aqua Class staterooms and is available to all stateroom categories.  It is an easy venue for a quick breakfast or lunch.

 

And just in case you don't know -- there are no indoor smoking areas.  A few specific outdoor areas are available for smokers but smoking is a no-no on stateroom balconies.  And no smoking in the casino.

[miched]

You need to start drinking very early in the morning to be able to drink all day with the drink package.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[bebe08]

I love the solarium...it is our go to for a couple of hours each day on sea days.  It is adults only and has a pool, 2 hot tubs, lots of loungers and the aqua spa cafe.  It is a nice quiet area to relax and read.  There are waiters strolling around taking drink orders.  It is also quite close to the main pool bar if you prefer to DIY.   

 

We love Al Bacio for coffee and pastries during the day and sometimes after dinner as well.

 

Our go to bar in the evenings is Ensemble.  There is often live music and it is a nice relaxing place to sit.  We always check the app to see where music is playing and plan accordingly.

 

The Sky Lounge IMO is under utilized.  It has amazing views on the top deck.  Sometimes there is hardly anyone there.  Although at night there are often activities and it livens up.  That is where we would go for some fun after a show in the theatre if we weren't ready to call it a night.

We are not partiers as you have probably guessed so we tend to look for quieter areas on the ship.

 

Enjoy!

[Barwick Cruiser]

16 minutes ago, bebe08 said:

I love the solarium...it is our go to for a couple of hours each day on sea days.  It is adults only and has a pool, 2 hot tubs, lots of loungers and the aqua spa cafe.  It is a nice quiet area to relax and read.  There are waiters strolling around taking drink orders.  It is also quite close to the main pool bar if you prefer to DIY.   

 

We love Al Bacio for coffee and pastries during the day and sometimes after dinner as well.

 

Our go to bar in the evenings is Ensemble.  There is often live music and it is a nice relaxing place to sit.  We always check the app to see where music is playing and plan accordingly.

 

The Sky Lounge IMO is under utilized.  It has amazing views on the top deck.  Sometimes there is hardly anyone there.  Although at night there are often activities and it livens up.  That is where we would go for some fun after a show in the theatre if we weren't ready to call it a night.

We are not partiers as you have probably guessed so we tend to look for quieter areas on the ship.

 

Enjoy!

You sound exactly like us…enjoy all the same things and places. 

[the penguins]

On 7/21/2022 at 7:31 PM, amurray88 said:

Hi all,

 

Doing an Australia and New Zealand cruise later in the year on the Eclipse (14 night/2x7 B2B)

 

What are your top tips? Thanks!

If you have any time (select) dining pre book as it saves waiting in the lines. On arrival each night ask for the table size you prefer, our choice is always sharing with a table of 6, we find larger tables hard to cope with. If you like the main theatre great dining times are 6.30pm if you want the 9.0 pm show or anything from 8.15 pm if you do the 7.0pm one. Cellar Masters is now a Sports Bar (Craft Central) and is much livelier than previously. 

Use the CC Role Call for shared excursions.

Our favourite ship and the one we chose for our Golden Wedding cruise.

[amurray88]

8 hours ago, bebe08 said:

I love the solarium...it is our go to for a couple of hours each day on sea days.  It is adults only and has a pool, 2 hot tubs, lots of loungers and the aqua spa cafe.  It is a nice quiet area to relax and read.  There are waiters strolling around taking drink orders.  It is also quite close to the main pool bar if you prefer to DIY.   

 

We love Al Bacio for coffee and pastries during the day and sometimes after dinner as well.

 

Our go to bar in the evenings is Ensemble.  There is often live music and it is a nice relaxing place to sit.  We always check the app to see where music is playing and plan accordingly.

 

The Sky Lounge IMO is under utilized.  It has amazing views on the top deck.  Sometimes there is hardly anyone there.  Although at night there are often activities and it livens up.  That is where we would go for some fun after a show in the theatre if we weren't ready to call it a night.

We are not partiers as you have probably guessed so we tend to look for quieter areas on the ship.

 

Enjoy!

🤣 On Symphony of the Seas we were chatting to guys who stayed up til 5am partying every night.... I was just about wakening up at 5am rather than going to sleep so we are certainly not partiers!

 

Love the info on the Solarium thank you!

[amurray88]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

If you have any time (select) dining pre book as it saves waiting in the lines. On arrival each night ask for the table size you prefer, our choice is always sharing with a table of 6, we find larger tables hard to cope with. If you like the main theatre great dining times are 6.30pm if you want the 9.0 pm show or anything from 8.15 pm if you do the 7.0pm one. Cellar Masters is now a Sports Bar (Craft Central) and is much livelier than previously. 

Use the CC Role Call for shared excursions.

Our favourite ship and the one we chose for our Golden Wedding cruise.

Great info about dinner thanks. We are now fairly used to getting a table for 2 as that's what the most recent ships we've done have given. Should we expect to share a table at dinner with Celebrity? No issues either way, we enjoy both ☺️

[Mark_T]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

Cellar Masters is now a Sports Bar (Craft Central) and is much livelier than previously. 

 

On Eclipse it is still Cellar Masters isn't it? similarly it still has the 'Glass Blowing' and does not have the Lawn Club Grill as it has not been through the 'Revolution' yet...

[ela123]

1 hour ago, amurray88 said:

Great info about dinner thanks. We are now fairly used to getting a table for 2 as that's what the most recent ships we've done have given. Should we expect to share a table at dinner with Celebrity? No issues either way, we enjoy both ☺️

You can always get a table for 2. I always ask for one by the window and most times they will make this happen especially if you go to dinner at a quieter time

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, amurray88 said:

Great info about dinner thanks. We are now fairly used to getting a table for 2 as that's what the most recent ships we've done have given. Should we expect to share a table at dinner with Celebrity? No issues either way, we enjoy both ☺️

No problem in asking for a table for 2, but they do tend to be in very close proximity to other tables for 2, mere inches away, so it is more like a table for 4 or 6 with no obligation to talk 🙂

 

... if you do want a little more privacy just ask if they have something more secluded when requesting the table, it won't always be possible, but doesn't hurt to ask.

Edited July 23, 2022 by Mark_T

[emmas gran]

On 7/21/2022 at 7:31 PM, amurray88 said:

Hi all,

 

Doing an Australia and New Zealand cruise later in the year on the Eclipse (14 night/2x7 B2B)

 

What are your top tips? Thanks!

Hi we have friends that live in Sydney and told them about 7 night Eclipse cruises, they can’t find them on Celebrity website so I looked on uk 🇬🇧 and not there either. 
They wanted a 7 night to up the level on Captains club , but will do a 9 night.

[Mark_T]

27 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

Hi we have friends that live in Sydney and told them about 7 night Eclipse cruises, they can’t find them on Celebrity website so I looked on uk 🇬🇧 and not there either. 
They wanted a 7 night to up the level on Captains club , but will do a 9 night.

That's a good point, I should have noticed as we have booked a New Zealand cruise ourselves in early January next year.

 

The shortest round-trip NZ cruises from Australia are 11 nights, and you can do a one-way at 10 nights,  but nothing shorter...

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Mark_T said:

That's a good point, I should have noticed as we have booked a New Zealand cruise ourselves in early January next year.

 

The shortest round-trip NZ cruises from Australia are 11 nights, and you can do a one-way at 10 nights,  but nothing shorter...

Must admit when we did it on Solstice we boarded in Auckland and "forgot to disembark" until Seattle - 60 days on the ship fantastic.

[Mark_T]

29 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Must admit when we did it on Solstice we boarded in Auckland and "forgot to disembark" until Seattle - 60 days on the ship fantastic.

Something for after I retire I think, right now our next trip at 4 weeks in total (cruise/land) is about the limit, but it will not be too much longer now...