One of the
benefits of our business is to try out new experiences so that we can better
guide our clients in creating dream vacations.
This past spring break we chose to sail on Celebrity’s new Eclipse. It is their newest ship in the Solstice
class. I have to say that someone at
Celebrity needs to be fired!! Eclipse
has to be one of the most beautiful ships we have sailed on in quite a long
time. Their marketing department does
not do this class of ship justice.
After a long drive to Miami
we boarded this ship with absolutely no wait and our stateroom was ready and
waiting for us. I will break down my
impressions by category:
Dining / Food:
Most of the ‘contemporary’ cruise lines have good to excellent dining in
their main dining rooms. As Celebrity is
more of a premium brand we were expecting the food to be more leaning to the
excellent side. And boy were we not
disappointed. Every dinner we had in the
dining room was fantastic from the soups, steaks, veal, and even lobster. Every dish was freshly prepared, came out
hot, and was presented superbly. The
main buffet has some of the best food for lunch as well. Many different ‘action’ stations with food
that was much better than your average buffet.
Public Spaces: As
I mentioned the Eclipse is an upscale ship and the public spaces are
outstanding, very contemporary, and well designed. The Ice Bar is very cool with a bar that is cool
and frosty to the touch. The pool area
is well laid out with a lit dancing fountain.
The main theater has great sight lines and plenty of seating. There is very contemporary art throughout the
whole ship and you can spend some time just wondering around taking it all in.
The public spaces did not feel crowded at all. A unique feature of the Solstice class is having
a part of the top deck be the Lawn Club.
Used for many events such as a Jazz evening under the stars with wine
and cheese. The boys also enjoyed
playing Bocce ball on the lawn. Who knew
Ethan was a professional Bocce Ball player!
Shore Excursions: We
were late in planning so had no choice but to use the ship’s shore excursion
for St. Martin. Our experience was not great. The trip was OK but more of the snorkeling
crew just going through the motions ‘get them on and get them off’ attitude. Contrast that with a private tour in St.
Kitts which was amazing … we now have a great vendor to recommend. St. Kitts is
now officially one of my favorite islands. This solidifies our recommendation that
whenever possible use an independent tour company as opposed to the cruise
line.
Kids Programs:
Both Tyler and Ethan loved the kids programs on board. They asked to attend on many occasions. With that being said Celebrity is family friendly
but not geared to families. No rock
walls, characters, special buffets for kids, water slides, or mini golf. The entertainment is geared to adults
although our bys really liked the ‘circus’ show that was performed one
evening. Staterooms are not really built
for families with trundle beds taking up too much room as opposed to the
traditional Pullman bunks.
Entertainment:
Entertainment was some of the best at sea, especially the guest
performers. From the great ‘house band’
who could play every type of music, the single guitarist who played a mean Eric
Clapton, the string quartet from Argentina that was great background
music, the singer straight from the West
End, and finally a very funny one man show that combined comedy with great
skill on the ivories. Something for
every taste.
Summary: We can not wait to sail
on Celebrity again. It was a sad day
when we had to depart for the long drive back to Kansas.
Celebrity is great choice for adults who want a premium experience in an
upscale environment.
Check out our pictures via the link to right ~ Happy Cruising!!
Dave
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