Celebrity Eclipse Cruise Reviews - Reviews

1} Although the cruise line emphasized dress code to maintain the elegance of the ship's ambiance in the Moonlight Sonata restaurant on Evening Chic (formerly Formal) nights, we noticed that it was not enforced. Since this is advertised well in advance of the cruise, the casual dressing violators should really be prepared for it.

2} The last dinner featured several special dishes which used to be offered on separate evenings so that this time missed out on one or more of them. The food was excellent at all times, but there was more repetition.

3} We missed the daily live classic string instrumental music that has been provided on almost every other cruise we have been on. 

4} The Captain's party events could be offered by membership levels due to the large amount of members. We tried to attend a couple of the events but they were so crowded that it was not enjoyable to stay.

Our review of the Jan 23, 2017 cruise of the southern Caribbean and the various but similar islands cover several areas. Regrets none but comments many. Having cruised with Celebrity several times before, once we started thinking about it while cruising the southern Caribbean on the Eclipse, we noticed many on-board changes compared with past Celebrity cruises. Gone are the Sunday brunches, ice and fruit sculptures, dining room farewells on the last night, lunches at no cost in specialty cafes, nighttime stateroom towel displays, actual class on martini making changed to an individual demonstration only, celebrations (anniversary or birthday) are really minimalized, uncomfortable chairs in dining room that are impossible to slide, and the veranda stateroom couch being horribly uncomfortable. Now for the additions noted are: custom photography persuasion is now minimized, cleanliness in all areas of the ship, crew friendliness and best of all smoking prohibited and enforced on verandas. Entertainment remains very good, especially the individual performances. The ship’s house band, Drew etc. gave monumental performances. They could have played all night and never repeated a tune. One of the best we’ve seen on any ship.

The cruise was a success and the weather prevailed for all days out of and in port. But when you go to so many island nations in one trip, in the end there wasn’t much difference or uniqueness between them. Most memorable it seems were the ship docking and departure from each port.  Food at the standard venues was mostly great except that there seemed to be more fish than meat entrées in the main dining room and the vegetables were too al dente for our liking, except in the buffet area. We really liked the set-up there and the main courses in the pans were a great idea. Wait staff was always and has always been fantastic, along with the sommeliers, meals were something for us to look forward to at lunch and dinner.  Though we can’t conclude whether having the beverage package is economical or more for our convenience. The prepaid gratuity makes the decision process less cumbersome when the cruise is over.

And finally, the really worst parts of the cruise were the rude patrons at the buffet café. So many mannerless people we just don’t understand the lack of civility some people display. What’s the hurry? Stepping in front of others that are waiting in line or leading the way with their head or plate to get to the food before anyone else is so annoying. We soon learned to eat later or in the lunch dining room if it was available.

Using the same travel advisor (Pamela Gemini Bishop) with is always a treat because she keeps good notes for herself about her clients. She is knowledgeable and responsive and makes us feel like we always are getting the best deals. As long as we can cruise, she’ll have us as a customer. Celebrity will continue to be our first choice for cruising with Royal Caribbean a close second choice.

The Eclipse was spotless and very well maintained. Our stateroom attendant could not have been more helpful and accommodating. The choice of islands was perfect. Particularly enjoyed two days at sea coming and going. All ships personnel were very professional. Really liked that it was 14 days. Ten or less is just too short.

On the negative side, the entertainment was nonexistent. It is obvious that Celebrity is cutting costs and the former wonderful shows are gone. Ditto for the food. Morning cheese selection is Kraft Swiss and provolone. Not until the LAST day of the cruise did they put out the good European cheeses. Overall good selections good but they are cutting costs here as well. Pastries were Wal-Mart quality. Nonetheless the cruise was a good value for the money.

Food was great. Service was great. Shows were very good. The house band was great. The cruise musicians were just okay. They need to have more jazz. The regular drink package will not get you a martini. Shore excursions were overpriced.

Met a lot of nice and interesting people . The ship is in excellent shape and kept very clean and comfortable . Ship s activities were very low key and boring.

THe entertainment was the worst out of all of the 30+ cruises we have taken

THey are owned by ROyal Carribean but do not give you equal benefits and amenities . A few of staff were not accommodating to my requests. But many were excellent our cabin attendant THeresa was the best we have ever had.

The food was good to very good try the Qsine restaurant for a unique dining experience. Our server Sophia was very knowledgeable and made it a great experince

The ship is boring after dinner hours as the entertainment was so bad we walked out of most of the shows

The ports were interesting but many excursions are not worth the price  check out your travel time from ship before you book excursions

due to storms at our departure airport we missed ship sailing and had to fly to Aruba to meet ship Celebrity hot line was very helpful and is a good thing we had travel insurance as they do not refund anything or give you anything for missing the first 3 days 

The Celebrity Eclipse cruise to the Southern Caribbean was great for "mature" people.  There were very few children on board so consider this if you have kids.  The food was excellent as was the entertainment and the ports of call were varied.  I highly recommend this cruise. 

This is the 11th cruise I have taken and the first on Celebrity.  Overall it was a good experience.  The service was outstanding and the crew made every experience extra special. 

The food was good but not great, I have had better food on other lines however nothing was bad.  We ate at 2 of the specialty restaurants and while they were good I did not think they were worth the high cover charge.  We had the premium drink package and it made things very easy and I was not shocked my a huge bill at the end of the 2 weeks.

The only complaint I have about this ship was the bed, it was hard and rutted.  I spoke with my room steward who did all he could to add a few layers of padding however it was still very difficult to sleep.  Since I paid a fair amount for a concierge level balcony I was hoping for a better sleep experience as the Celebrity description stated.   I have been a regular cruiser on Princess and enjoy their new bed's as getting rest is very important to me while on vacation.

I was so very happy with the atmosphere on the ship, I never felt as if I was being badgered to spend more money at every turn as with other lines.  I appreciate that there is still an old style of cruising available, thank you Celebrity.

Very classy cruise ship.  Professionalism and cleanliness exceptional.  Food everywhere on the ship is very good.   Plenty to do onboard and many shore excursions available. 

Ports of Call; that's a nice list, pity we didn't go there (Basseterre, St. Kitts). Instead they parked us in front of a $100/ticket singer nobody knew and blew off those stops in a profit motivated switch. Broken down ship, dirty cabin, indifferent service and an 18% mandatory 'tip' for every little thing, good service or not. 

Overhyped shore excursions that bore no resemblance to the printed listing, and obviously had not been checked out for veracity by the staff. 

We are not first time cruisers, but with this line, we are last timers. 

The ferry ride to St.John's was great as the crew was very knowledgeable about the area.  They had a great sense of,humor and it was easy to see they enjoyed their job

Overall, a wonderful experience, with just a few hiccups, outlined more specifically below. We would definitely consider cruising again and highly recommend it to anyone seeking utter relaxation!

The crew was fabulous. We ate every night in the dining room and spent most days in the oceanview bar, Dave was great, a real go-getter. Henry and Saha were great in the dining room , Henry anticipated our needs and filled them quickly. The cruise director did a good job and the captain was the most personable we've seen in 22 cruises.

Best part of this cruise was winning Bingo!

Worst ever - was experience with dining room staff - especially my waiter Henry in select dining room - Moongate ?

Beautiful ship, good entertainment, lunch in the Oceanview cafe became very boring and repetitive. Main dining room food was just average, many meals had to be sent back. Only port we enjoyed was St Marten. Probably would not recommend  this cruise. Drinks are ridiculously priced.

The crew was extremely friendly, especially the dinning servers and house keeping! The dinning room food, could definitely use some improvement. The food looked fantastic and sounded wonderful, except it always lacked flavor and we are not picky eaters. We would recommend this cruise line and already have, plus the ship was kept very clean!

enjoyed the shows, coffee shop, restaurant dining and balcony.  

Wish dress up night was not so lax.  coats & ties for men not pull over shirt and jeans. Those people could continue to eat  top side as before.

Dining room meals were not as taste as previous cruises.

The Celebrity Cruise line knows how to make everyone's vacation special. From the ports of call - the food etc. - you are made to feel very important. It was a great vacation - can't wait to go again. 

The swim with sea turtle, beach and sail was horrible and extremely dangerous. It was suppose to be 4.5 hours. It was two hours long. A half hour swimming with A turtle. Dropped off to snorkel with sea turtles more or less at a marina in amongst many boats and jet skis flying all around you. Only was given a half hour to snorkel. My husband was struggling in the water no one came to his aid. Another larger man couldn't stay above water and a crew member was standing on the boat and yelling "relax big man" never got in to help him. Description said for beginners but beginners stayed on board because no one helped them. One crew member was smoking pot on board. Captain was steering the boat with his feet and was texting the entire time. He drove us 50 feet from where we snorkeled to swim to and from the beach for 30 minutes. He said if you aren't back in 30 minutes I will leave you. TRAVELER BEWARE!

We booked this 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise with our 3 adult children to spend some uninterrupted quality family time. It was a wonderfully amazing vacation! The food, the drinks, and the impeccable service aboard the Eclipse are truly five star! The shows are varied and entertaining.  The adult pool area is relaxing, and the lawn area up top has an unparalleled view that is not to be missed. 

We sailed 4 times over the past 12 months, and have 2 more trips in the next several months.   I always get nostalgic when i cruise.  We have been sailing over 40 years, and it seems every time we sail the cruise line is cutting back or scrimping on something.  The Good the bad the ugly,  The Good customer service was outstanding I guess it need to be from all the complaints about the food, and food service especially in main dining room.  Internet service has improved dramatically and technicians know what they are doing.  Embarking and disembarking was very efficient. There were 3 times more wheel chairs than I ever seen. We had outstanding room steward, all we needed to do is ask once and it was taken care of.

The BAD and the UGLY  Entertainment for an 11 day cruise was very poor, no variety at all only singing and dancing no other acts seemed like same show over and over.  Activities were few and same tired ones you see every cruise Cruise director lacked imagination. 

Limited seating in main dining room, only late seating available.  Wait staff in dining room was poor, times varied up to 1 hour from day to day on how long it took you to finish your meal.   Buffet reminded me of cheap buffet on Vegas Strip, Desserts were plain compaired to past cruises. 

Excursions were so expensive compared to private companies.