CELEBRITY ECLIPSE WOULD NOT BE MY FIRST CHOICE.

So yesterday seen me travel to Southampton once again, this time to visit Celebrity Cruises ex-uk ship – Eclipse. In this blog you’ll hear my thoughts on her and why she has come a firm fourth in my ‘Ship Scoreboard’, after expecting her to rank higher.

First impression: 10/10.

It has to be said that at first sight she is a gorgeous looking ship, her smooth lines, tall bow, and staggered stern is extremely pleasing to the eyes. A white ship with a dark blue finish for the promenade deck and funnels do suit and is staple to all Celebrity Ships. I was excited to get aboard to see if she was as good on the inside as she was on the outside.

Lower deck public areas 7/10.

Walking around Eclipse inside you do soak up a nice feeling. Celebrity pride themselves on ‘modern luxury’ and let me tell you, she certainly is that! However I’m not sure if that is for me, although very smart there just didn’t seem a lot to keep me occupied, a lovely atrium – nothing WOW but still very nice. The theatre was a good size with comfortable seating, a good size stage too. Classed as an inside space the speciality restaurants and the Sky Lounge were also very nice, but with $45-$50 per person cover charge you wouldn’t catch me in there more than one night per cruise! The Sky lounge looks over the front of the ship and would be lovely as you were sailing into the sunset, however the floor was giving way (nothing major) but seemed uneven. The bars on the lower decks were nice including a cocktail bar and a martini bar, again unique features but YAWN! I prefer a ship with more innovation. The shops were on a curved walkway split over two decks which was actually very good and again smart. The whole ship was well kept but dust on the handrails is one of my bug bares and clearly visible during my ‘phone light test’. Quasar – the night club on board gets a special mention although extremely chic and modern it was just again a bit too funky which to me equals boring.

Upper deck public areas 8/10.

A couple of nice pools on this ship, one covered in a solarium section with a jumping fountain and nice sunbeds with the towels already on them – yes please, would like to see air circulating in this area as I wouldn’t want it to turn in to a greenhouse. There are then two pools open to the elements which were ok, nothing special and just seemed a bit dull. The lawn club on this ship was well kept (living grass at sea) but I didn’t really see the point in it, why? Such a waste of space and I think the area could be filled much more effectively. An interesting area here though was the hot glass show which I think my dad would love to watch. A few outdoor café’s with some tatty plastic chairs that you’d find on MSC were present although I bet they serve up a mean burger and fries.

Food 8/10.

We were treated to a four course meal in the main restaurant. The appetiser was Beef Carpaccio with salad, Dijon alioli, and capers.  Although very nice, you need salt and pepper. Started was Creamy Tomato soup with basil pesto and croutons, nice but ok, you needed salt and pepper. The main was fillet of beef or Tuna steak, I had the beef which was good just how I like it and was melt in the mouth. Served with raw carrots (I didn’t eat them) and green beans, roast potato and a rich gravy I would definitely have it again. Desert was fresh berries, frozen yoghurt, presented in a caramel basket which was nice, but the caramel basket was chewy and after three mouthfuls I felt sick. Apparently it’s meant to be crispy but this certainly wasn’t. The bread was nice but butters in packets do my head in – bring me the butter curls! I don’t want to fiddle about with packaging.

Cabins 9/10.

Some fantastic cabins on this ship, we viewed a range from inside right up to the penthouse. Pretty much all cabins have a comfy, large leather sofa, large bed, ample vanity unit with mini bar, and a good sized bathroom. In fact the bathrooms are probably the best I’ve seen on a ship, even on the insides it does not feel cramped, a full sink unit with wooden front and a ceramic sink, not something you see very often. As for the penthouse, it was a good size with a lovely grand piano that played itself, I’d love to chill out and read a book to the sounds of the piano playing to me. The balconies are of a mid size so perfect if you want a balcony for two people, not four.

Conclusion:

You may be thinking ‘blimey he’s really slating this ship’ but don’t get me wrong she did have negatives but she did have some superb positives. I would sail on Eclipse and pay a fair amount to do so, but she just wouldn’t be my first choice. I’d have a great time at that too, I can see me spending most evenings in the casino or possibly watching some live music, but I certainly wouldn’t visit the Art Raffle or the ‘guess the price of the painting’ – Please. I’m counting the days till I’m back on a Princess Ship.