Celebrity Eclipse Alaska Short Review

[CNDKangaroo]

Just got home from our June 18th - 25th cruise to Alaska on the Eclipse.  I have been to Alaska twice before, once with Norwegian and once with Holland America and this time was my first cruise with Celebrity.  I travelled with my partner and two of my kids, ages 11 and 14.  

 

Notes:

We were all so impressed and delighted with the incredible crew and level of service and care that we were treated to throughout the cruise. 

 

Dining:

We had early seating for dinner and our waiter and assistant waiter were absolutely amazing.  

 

We attended two specialty dining experiences, one was at Sushi 5 where we devoured the delicious sushi offerings!  The other was the Taj X Indian cuisine experience where my partner and I delighted in a delicious dinner which led us to try new dishes that we were not familiar with but enjoyed immensely.  The Taj X dinner was huge, so much food and we were very, very full so I would suggest a light lunch if this experience is of interest!

 

We loved most of the food on the ship.  We did not eat in the buffet at all (well, I think my children had a few ice-cream cones and plates of fruit for snacks) so I can't comment on the buffet.  The main dining menu offered a good variety of dishes and I was never disappointed.  I really enjoyed the steak and beef dishes.  My partner did comment a few times that he found some of the meals a bit under seasoned but I didn't find that for my dishes, he usually opted for the fish.  The desserts were not overly sweet in our opinion which we appreciated.  We all found the soups offered to be delicious!

 

We did find that we were not great fans of the Mast Grill burgers.  

 

Rooms:

We had hoped for adjoining balconies or oceanview but our TA was unable to find any available cabins so we ended up with 2 inside beside each other which worked out okay.  My partner and I each shared a room with one child which worked out well and gave us enough space to be comfortable.  I do prefer a balcony and I'm not sure I'd go for an inside again as I did find it a bit claustrophobic. The children and partner had no issues with the room and found the complete darkness at night helpful for a good nights sleep.  Our room was cleaned each morning and evening, nothing too special but was well done.

 

We were located mid-ship on the third floor and found the location offered a very smooth sailing experience.  It also was convenient to the main dining room, theatre and the Café/coffee on deck 5.  Music was often played in the atrium on deck 3 and it was loud but we didn't hear anything once our door was closed.  The room was located under the casino which I worried might be loud but I didn't hear anything.

 

Kids Club/Teen Club:

Both programs were well received by my two.  My 14 year old is more introverted and he asked to attend the teen club each night (WOW! - I did not expect that!).  The 11 year old loved the kids club.  Neither were very busy but there were enough in each age group to make a few new connections.  Note: On our sea day the seas were a bit rough and with the kids club being on deck 15 at the very front induced a feeling of seasickness in the 11 year old.  For those that are prone to sea sickness, on rough days the kids club is not the place to be!

 

Swimming:

The weather wasn't super warm but warm enough for the children to enjoy swimming in the outdoor pool.  The water was warmish and they were happy to have the opportunity.  The adults only solarium offered family time from 4-6pm but we opted to use the outdoor pools as it appeared that the indoor option was quite busy on a few of the days (and the space felt a bit clammy and humid which I'm not a fan of).  

 

Activities:

There were a variety of different activities to partake in, the usual trivia, games like Jenga, dancing, golf putting, bocce ball, basketball - I think we did most of them at least once.  We loved the outdoor grass area.  I wasn't super excited about it before the cruise but during the cruise I found we were drawn to the space and we ended up spending a lot of time up there, it never seemed to get very busy.

 

Wildlife:

We saw loads of whales both orcas and humpbacks which was great fun! Not just off in the distance but rather breaching and surfacing close to the ship which was amazing!  We also saw dolphins or porpoises I'm not sure which and some sea lions and seals.  At the Mendenhall glacier we spotted a porcupine which was such a treat!

 

Ports:

Icy Strait Point - I think an excursion would have been a good idea but we just went for a short walk (did see a bald eagle and the nest) and took a look at the cannery.  We spent some time on the beach and took the free gondola ride.  

 

Juneau - We bought tour tickets for the bus to the Mendenhall Glacier from the kiosks on the dock - $45 per person round trip, rides leaving every 30 minutes on the hour and half-hour.  We enjoyed spending time walking the Steep Creek trail (which would offer a great viewing of the salmon spawning but it was too early in the season for us) and the Nugget Falls trail.  The 11 year old took part in the Jr. Ranger experience and received the park badge which he was excited about.

 

Ketchikan  - We bought tickets for the Lumberjack show.  I think we bought them at 3pm for the 3:15 show which was almost sold out.  We opted to purchase them on site rather than through the ship as the tickets were less expensive.  We enjoyed the experience with the kids.  It was a bit of fun and was something different to enjoy.  The location is close to the cruise docks (walkable) and is about an hour long.  After the show we headed to Creek Street and had a look around, taking pictures. 

 

We had visited the ports before so we opted not to do ship excursions this time.  I did miss not going to Skagway this time as it is a favourite port of ours.

 

Hubbard Glacier:

This was our first time at this glacier and it did not disappoint!  Wow!  What an incredible experience.  Nothing prepared me for the immense size of the glacier!  We couldn't get too close as there was significant ice flow but it was still a magnificent sight!  The helicopter pad was opened up for viewing, it got very busy upon arrival.  We opted to wake up early and grabbed prime seats in the sky lounge (we were there at about 6:30am and most of the prime seats were taken by 7:30am).  After the initial crowd of people on the helicopter pad we noticed everyone left so we headed down for our own private viewing of the glacier with only a few crew for company!  

 

Entertainment:

We really enjoyed the evening shows, especially Topper and the magician/comedian.  We looked forward to the shows each evening and found them to be a fun and entertaining experience.

 

Embarkation in Vancouver - We had the early 10:30 - 11am time spot for check in.  The line up for the bag drop off was very, very long.  After a brief wait we headed up with our bags and there were minimal lines, we were on the ship by 11:30am, dropped our bags in our room and headed up for a bite to eat at the Mast Grill, we would not eat there again.  The 11 year old went for a swim and we enjoyed the quietness of the ship!

 

Disembarkation in Vancouver - Seamless.  We opted to walk off with our bags and were told we could leave whenever we wanted once the ship was cleared and no later than 9:30am.  It was a bit crowded so after a bite to eat for breakfast from the Cafe Al Bacio we disembarked, no lines at all.

 

We would sail with Celebrity again.  We found the ship to be well maintained, although she does need a bit of a refurb soon but nothing that detracted from our experience. 

 

 

 

 

    

Edited June 26, 2023 by CNDKangaroo

[Sunshine Bob]

Thanks for taking the time to post this, very informative. I am on the Eclipse in 7 weeks doing the same trip.

[Silkroad]

Thanks for posting your very helpful review! We’re taking our first cruise to Alaska next year (on Solstice) and I’m in the research phase. We’re familiar with the Solstice class ships, but Vancouver port and Alaska are new to us. 

[travelbuds]

Thanks for your post. We were given an 11:30AM-3:30PM check-in time for a 5PM sailing. Do you know if luggage (with Celebrity bag tags) can be dropped off prior to that time? We'd like to wander around the harbor prior to boarding without being bogged down with luggage. How far ahead of check-in time did people start to line up?

[k-chart]

Thanks for your review!  We’ll be on this boat with kids in two weeks so particularly happy to see that your kids enjoyed the kids club/teen program.  Definitely going to bring binoculars after seeing your updates about wildlife visible from the boat.  

[BlackLion 213]

Thank you for your review!