Entertained by Celebrity Eclipse

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 11

Review summary

Celebrity Eclipse Cape Liberty NJ - Bermuda - Cape Liberty NJ July 28 - August 4, 2024 4 adults (66 - 74 yrs old) Rating: B+ Itinerary - Our first visit to Bermuda. Very nice. Weather was incredible, 70s and 80s temp. Naval Dock Yard where ship docks is very accessible with lots to do in area. The town has a free shuttle that stops at the main attractions, though they really are walkable. Several pubs, restaurants, in the area. The Clock Tower shopping mall offers very nice clothing and crafts, much better than the cheap offerings at most Caribbean ports. The town of Hamilton is at the other end of the island, 20 minutes by ferry. We visited Hamilton and spent several hours on Front Street taking in a pub and a restaurant. The Wednesday evening street market was fun, but we did not stay for the weekly parade, which gets good reviews. We took a boat tour of the island’s houses of the rich and famous. Great tour guide who is actually a musical director. He and his boat captain treated us to a vocal performance. They were great. He informed us that Bermuda has the highest cost of living in the world, and that proved to be true as we shopped and ate. The famous fish sandwich on raisin bread ran $22 - $25! But we found it with a free Swizzle cocktail at the Bermuda Bistro in Hamilton for $22. Our visit coincided with the annual island celebration of emancipation, so many shops were closed for the holiday. The big event was the annual cricket match between St. George’s and Somerset. Be careful of choosing this week for your cruise. Embarkation / Disembarkation- Both were incredibly easy, perhaps the easiest of any cruise we have taken. Cabin - Our balcony cabin was just fine. The balcony was great, very roomy with a nice table and two reclining chairs. The bathroom was spacious enough with a nice shower. We had more than enough space for our clothes. No outlets next to bed for charging devices. Service was fine. Ship - We love the Solstice Class ships. Nicely laid out, beautiful architectural touches, numerous lounges, abundant outdoor spaces. Deck 5 offers a nice wide outside deck for walking or sitting. The lawn area on 15 is very nice with the Sunset Bar at the back with great views. The big problem up here is the smoking allowed on the port side. Very disappointing that such prime real estate is dedicated to smokers. We would have spent more time at the Sunset Bar had we not had to endure smoke. The theater is nice with a few levels. The casino is just the right size with no smoking and a hall on side so passengers do not have to walk through it. The Solarium is wonderful, adults only, two hot tubs, pool, great lounge chairs. We spent hours there. Entertainment - Superb! A group of professionals provided three great theater shows wrapped around a musician and comedian. Then there were bonus performances by the production performers in the Sky Observation Lounge (1940s song and dance) and the Foyer (The 60s). Just wonderful. As if that was not enough, Celebrity brought in a headline - Robert Neary - to put on his Neil Diamond Experience. He did a bonus performance the next day in the Foyer of classic Sinatra, Deal Martin, etc. More than we expected. The solo guitarist who performed in the various lounges was good as were the combos that performed in the lounges, too. One problem was that there were times around dinner times with no entertainment in the lounges. Lounges - A very nice selection of different types of lounges. We enjoyed evening cocktails at Ensemble, the Martini Bar, and Passport. A few years ago Celebrity went to a smaller martini glass, which is crappy when you are paying $17 a cocktail. The big disappointment for us was the World Class Bar, which we have enjoyed so much on past cruises. The menu has changed to include more Scotch and rum drinks with fewer (none?) bourbon drinks. And a few of the cocktails are priced at $19 and $22, putting them out of the Premium Drink package. Really? We used to spend so much time at the World Class Bar with its master bartender, but we spent no time at all at this one. A big negative. Dining - Celebrity’s buffet is wonderful. Lots of offerings. Each day was a different theme for lunch but with other offerings, too. Main dining food was good to very good. However, we would have liked to see more new offerings each night. Service was excellent. Now for Anytime dining as opposed to the set 6 pm or 8 pm seatings. The Anytime dining reservation system is a mess. We were told that all reservation times were filled before the sailing and that we would have to show up and put our name on a list and receive a beeper. So that’s what we had to do, usually waiting 30 minutes for a table. Specialty Dining - Murano is a great dining experience. The food, the service, the atmosphere are just wonderful. We ate in Murano twice. Alejandro was the consummate waiter. Murano is a classy restaurant that deserves classy attire. Shorts and white t-shirt! Come on, Celebrity. Enforce your dress code. I actually felt uncomfortable wearing a sports coat because so many guests were underdressed. Tuscan was ok, but a bit underwhelming. Is it an Italian restaurant or a steakhouse? Why can’t Celebrity have a dedicated steakhouse? My filet mignon was overcooked as it was on our last cruise. And it’s too dark in the restaurant. Spa - Nice but without a lot of amenities. One lounge room with nine heated tile lounge chairs. No hot tub. Style - Classy is the first word to come to mind. No hawking of anything. Great service. A nice cruise on a very nice ship.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Cruise Statue Of Liberty

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

Royal Naval Dockyard, West End, Bermuda

Disembarkation

Other reviews of this sailing