Live: Experienced cruisers try Celebrity 14 day cruise to Antartica on the Eclipse

[jimbo5544]

Conclusion.....  I probably lost most of you along the way once we got off the ship (rightly so).  I will summarize and move on the next adventure in this journey we called life.  

 

We spent the avast majority of our cruising life cruising Carnival (55 plus cruises).  We will not leave them, not really material to our cruise or my review.  But I do not think I can leave without giving some comparisons between the two lines (you all know they are different, but .....).  Celebrity is surely more upscale in the experience and the price.  From the quantity of room servicing (twice daily vs once a day) to the detail in dining.  That said, and I have said this many times, all cruise lines have WAY more in common than differences.  

 

We were pleasantly surprised (not shocked) with the level or service we got on the Eclipse.  It certainly over achieved.  Will we sail this line again?  Absolutely.  Will we continue to sail on Carnival?  Absolutely.  For us, this type of journey, this type of cruise, is a perfect fit for doing a X cruise, your opinion may vary.

 

Thanks for coming along for the ride, I hope my doing this live review brought and delivered what our experience on this cruise was.  It was a great trip.

 

Until another time.....happy cruising.

[jimbo5544]

[Ontario Cruiser]

We have also travelled on over 60 cruises with Princess , Holland America , Royal Caribbean  and are Elite Plus with Celebrity.  We enjoyed them all but unfortunately my David passed away in September so my cruising days are over. I have so many wonderful memories.  We met so many wonderful people while cruising. Many visited us on Stoney Lake. I live in Peterborough Ontario.  So I will keep reading the boards 

Sherrill  Smith

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[foodsvcmgr]

Thanks for your detailed review.

We were also on this cruise, our first time back on Celebrity since 2018.

We had some concerns reading CC that things had really deteriorated.

The ship was overall in very good shape, especially for having missed the refurb.

Sure, a few dining room chair arms were rough but nothing of concern.

MDR food choices were varied and ranged from decent to very good.

Oceanview offered huge variety of varying quality.

Tuscan was bad, steaks burned then raw.

Entertainment outstanding with the familiar aerialist features.

Cruise director Manuel the best I’ve seen in 65+ cruises.

Excellent guest speaker program.

Overall a great cruise with unusually good weather to experience these areas, such as sunrise at Cape Horn, rarely seen.

A great value for fare paid.

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Cabins seemed a little more narrow and longer, if that makes sense.

Yeah...we've been in regular veranda cabins several times (aqua really isn't a bigger cabin - maybe by a few square feet) and having the closet and bathroom doors hit each other has gotten old. I won't do it anymore. Next time probably suite class or at least a bigger room.

 

4 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

What category room is this? Veranda or ocean view?

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Ontario Cruiser said:

We enjoyed them all but unfortunately my David passed away in September so my cruising days are over. I have so many wonderful memories.  We met so many wonderful people while cruising.

So sorry to hear of your loss, but at least you have the great memories (and I'm sure many pictures!) to look back on. With some of my DW's health issues I'm not sure how much more travel is in our future either. I'm grateful for all the experiences we've had over the years. Noone can take those away from any of us.

[jimbo5544]

5 hours ago, Ontario Cruiser said:

We have also travelled on over 60 cruises with Princess , Holland America , Royal Caribbean  and are Elite Plus with Celebrity.  We enjoyed them all but unfortunately my David passed away in September so my cruising days are over. I have so many wonderful memories.  We met so many wonderful people while cruising. Many visited us on Stoney Lake. I live in Peterborough Ontario.  So I will keep reading the boards 

Sherrill  Smith

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOW, you just made my day.  I hope reading my review brought you a little joy.  YOU can still cruise in your mind.  Remember, memories are the ties that bind.

[jimbo5544]

4 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Yeah...we've been in regular veranda cabins several times (aqua really isn't a bigger cabin - maybe by a few square feet) and having the closet and bathroom doors hit each other has gotten old. I won't do it anymore. Next time probably suite class or at least a bigger room.

 

What category room is this? Veranda or ocean view?

VERANDA in 11 port side.

[jimbo5544]

4 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

So sorry to hear of your loss, but at least you have the great memories (and I'm sure many pictures!) to look back on. With some of my DW's health issues I'm not sure how much more travel is in our future either. I'm grateful for all the experiences we've had over the years. Noone can take those away from any of us.

Amen to that

[jimbo5544]

12 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

Thanks for your detailed review.

We were also on this cruise, our first time back on Celebrity since 2018.

We had some concerns reading CC that things had really deteriorated.

The ship was overall in very good shape, especially for having missed the refurb.

Sure, a few dining room chair arms were rough but nothing of concern.

MDR food choices were varied and ranged from decent to very good.

Oceanview offered huge variety of varying quality.

Tuscan was bad, steaks burned then raw.

Entertainment outstanding with the familiar aerialist features.

Cruise director Manuel the best I’ve seen in 65+ cruises.

Excellent guest speaker program.

Overall a great cruise with unusually good weather to experience these areas, such as sunrise at Cape Horn, rarely seen.

A great value for fare paid.

You summed it up pretty well.  I did not go into detail, and frankly did not know that the ship missed a refurb, but I thought she was in really good shape.  Nice pics.

[Oceangoer2]

15 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

LOL typo..... it was NOT enjoyable.  

 

To further clarify, it was NOT due to lack of effort on the staff's part.  They tried hard, from top to bottom.  There was tons of options but, an especially at lunch time, it really was not that good.  I do not set the bar all that thigh for buffet food.  When you add in the fact that around one it was virtually impossible to get a seat (especially when the weather was not forgiving enough to sit out on the aft open area.

I've always sailed in good weather when the outdoor area takes the overflow.  Even then it's hard to find a table so it's understandable when I think of the climes you were in.

[Oceangoer2]

13 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Yeah...we've been in regular veranda cabins several times (aqua really isn't a bigger cabin - maybe by a few square feet) and having the closet and bathroom doors hit each other has gotten old. I won't do it anymore. Next time probably suite class or at least a bigger room.

I'm confused....are you comparing S class with maybe M class cabins?  On S class the closet and bathroom are on opposite walls and the closet has a sliding door. 

How would they bang into each other?  The verandah, concierge, and aqua cabins are all the same size in sq. ft.;  we have stayed in a hump cabin and it did seem to be somewhat longer and narrower.  To have a 'bigger room' it would be necessary to book a suite. 

[OnTheJourney]

10 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

VERANDA in 11 port side.

We've only ever done Aqua class on the Summit - deck 9 (I think?)

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

'm confused....are you comparing S class with maybe M class cabins?  On S class the closet and bathroom are on opposite walls and the closet has a sliding door. 

Sorry for confusion...yes...M class. We've only ever been on the Infinity and Summit - out of Bayonne NJ.  And, yeah, the doors hit each other if both are open.

Edited February 7 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

A great value for fare paid.

Compared to more expeditionary cruises, definitely.

[Ontario Cruiser]

Thanks Jimbo keep on cruising and I will keep on reading the boards. Sherrill 

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, Ontario Cruiser said:

Thanks Jimbo keep on cruising and I will keep on reading the boards. Sherrill 

Sounds like a deal to me~!

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Compared to more expeditionary cruises, definitely.

Yes, I meant in comparison.

[OnTheJourney]

On 2/6/2024 at 4:33 PM, jimbo5544 said:

Celebrity is surely more upscale in the experience and the price.

Try Viking...I think you'd be well pleased. Having started with RCL and X (mostly RCL) and then did several with Viking, I'd sail with Viking probably all the time if they went out of our two local ports - Bayonne and Baltimore. There's alot about Viking that we really enjoy. Our first cruise was with Carnival - short one following a Disney vacation. We enjoyed it, but never went with them since. The no-flying convenience of RCL and X out of the two ports I mentioned resulted in us going with them. We did Holland America once - for Alaska, and then did a Tauck river cruise in Europe (LOVED it...top of the line company in my opinion.)

Edited February 7 by OnTheJourney

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Try Viking...I think you'd be well pleased. Having started with RCL and X (mostly RCL) and then did several with Viking, I'd sail with Viking probably all the time if they went out of our two local ports - Bayonne and Baltimore. There's alot about Viking that we really enjoy. Our first cruise was with Carnival - short one following a Disney vacation. We enjoyed it, but never went with them since. The no-flying convenience of RCL and X out of the two ports I mentioned resulted in us going with them. We did Holland America once - for Alaska, and then did a Tauck river cruise in Europe (LOVED it...top of the line company in my opinion.)

Now that sounds like a plan

 

[OnTheJourney]

16 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Now that sounds like a plan

Sure, especially since Viking does cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale 

[ninjacat123]

Great review Jimbo and love the pics!!  Thank you for taking the time to put this all together.  Definitely a bucket list trip👍😺