bobtuba Cruise Review on Celebrity Eclipse on Mar 18, 2018

Celebrity Eclipse Cruise Review

bobtuba

Contributor Level: First Mate

102 Days Till Next Cruise

Reviews: 28

Helpful Votes: 277

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

Sail date: March 18, 2018

Ship: Celebrity Eclipse

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We had a wonderful time on the Eclipse. Almost everything was top notch, and this trip now takes first place as our best cruise holiday to date. My criticism of some aspects of some excursions does not impact that assessment. Embarkation/Debarkation Although the scene curbside was a bit chaotic, embarkation in Miami was smooth and relatively quick. We were early, but there seemed to be enough parking spaces in the nearby structure to accommodate all the guests arriving by automobile. Debarkation was similarly pain-free; once the gangway was opened, we were through the terminal and driving away within 15 minutes (carrying our own luggage). Note: Miami just raised their port parking prices to $22 per day. It’s now to the point where choosing other locations is worth it. Or alternatively, sail from Lauderdale. Ship/Staff The ship made a very good impression. It was clean and in good repair, and we love the layout of the Solstice class ships. There are only small differences between the five, if you know one, you know them all. The staff were friendly and outgoing. We were consistently greeted with a smile from all the ship’s company, no matter what their function. Almost all facilities were excellent in design, function, and condition. One notable exception was the steam room, which needs improvement. Food The variety and quality of food for lunch in the Oceanside cafe was very good. I found the curries particularly appealing and consistently tasty. Only the Mexican section was in my opinion substandard. The lunch in the spa cafe was tasty, light, and artfully presented. A change up of some of the salad items occasionally would be welcome. The breakfast and evening meals in the Blu restaurant were consistently of a high standard in both taste and presentation. Entertainment The evening entertainment was varied and interesting. However, some acts were repeats from earlier Celebrity cruises. Excursions The tour around St John’s and Antigua (Panoramic Antigua) was somewhat disappointing. Not necessarily the fault of the tour operator, I have a feeling there are just not that many interesting things to see on the island. The beach and water activities are probably fine, we were first time visitors to the island so we took the highlights tour to first get an overview of what was there. The answer? Not much. Just another Caribbean “Socialist Workers’ Paradise.” We very much enjoyed the Wonders of St Lucia tour. Note: Bridge and tunnel engineers, your skills are sorely needed in St Lucia. Every road goes around little inlets instead of across them, and then up and down every hill with 17 hairpin switchbacks instead of under it. Not for those who easily get motion sickness. The Bonaire Highlights tour was excellent. As the island is small, the drive from one end of the island to the other does not take all that long, despite narrow and sometimes unpaved roads. From the flamingos in the North to the salt pans in the South, the tour was interesting and informative, and I felt we had a good overview of the island. By contrast, “Fascinating Curaçao” was not at all fascinating. There were two stops: The first was someone’s herb garden where we spent almost an hour including the opportunity to buy allegedly medicinal teas; the second was the Curaçao liquor factory which was infinitely more interesting, but other than that, it was a quick dash with the bus along some main roads with an occasional comment about this or that. After 3.5 hours all we had really seen of the island was the herb garden, the liquor factory, and the road there and back. Not recommended. Call me unusual, but I would have been much more interested in seeing the workings of the oil refinery as opposed to an herb garden.

3 Comments

DeeJack 6 years ago

We were on the same cruise at this time bobtuba. It was a great time. We booked all our tours (besides one tour) outside the ship since it offered more of sites in one tour. I agree with everything you said, very thorough review.

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IkeDeb 6 years ago

Fantastic!

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IkeDeb 6 years ago

Wow, wonderful!!

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