Celebrity Eclipse

Disappointing – We are from Sydney on our second cruise to New Zealand , the last one before Covid . So far this has been extremely disappointing. We were given a table for our dining the first night , the next we arrived to find it was given away and had to sit elsewhere. The food in the bistro is ok to terrible , uneatable . Its never hot and only just warm .… Read more

The staff in almost all cases ard very good and friendly but some just seem disinterested . One our biggest disappointments has been the booked trips , we booked a train trip in Dunedin .As it turned out we were on the wrong side and saw rock walls most of the trip as we couldn't see the other side . Instead of getting people to swap on the trip back , seating didn't change , the engine swapped sides and we went back the same way once again looking at the rock walls missing the scenery on the other side . The biggest joke of all was Hobbition trip , a 5 hour return trip with 2 hours at Hobbition. Due to the extremely poor organization of the shore crew , we weren't called till 30 minutes late , then taken to the back of the very ship of the line of people trying to get off the boat . This was their priority boarding apparently, when we got to where we started in the first place we were then given a special line . It just didn't make sense .So we were late leaving , the coach driver tried his best to make up time , we get their all of excitied to go on tour . We get out of the coach and was told to go to the shop and toilets , we all quickly did this as we wanted to do the tour . We all waited outside the coach , we were then told to get back on the coach , on a very warm day sitting for at least 40mins wondering what was going on , to then be told it was cancelled . We had travelled for two and half hours for nothing , they rang the ship to see if we could get a later Tour and arrive back about half an hour late but they refused so we all wasted a day of our trip . Yes they refunded everyones money but left it up to the coach driver to apologize, no one from Celebrity could be bothered meeting both coach loads of disappointed and upset people to apologize, this is just down right disgusting, they did leave a phone message in our room . We were told the dining room was left open for our late return , we got off went straight to have the door shut in our faces and told to come back in half an hour , this after a long day of nothing was the last straw . AS for Covid , we know its on the ship as people have right next to yes , others we have met have it , But no updated on our the ship is going with Covid at all , we are left in the dark . Yes we all new the risk but some communication would be useful . On one good note the speciality resturants have been first class , the service excellent and the food the best on the ship . The dining food is good but nowhere near as good as last time , the service in the dining room is also good . Will we go on this ship again ....NO As for another one of their ships now probably not , we are now considering another company or flying instead , shame as our first cruise was excellent , so disappointing. Just now tonight we have been offered $300 off each on another cruise , just recieved it so i added to this review .

A recent cruise and a comparison. A mixture of feelings (after 30 plus cruises) – We thought it about time that we tried a line that was a lift from Princess and Royal Caribbean. We had been on the early Coral Princess trip three months ago, and after Covid, this might make an up to date comparison as Eclipse was on its first STH Pacific islands cruise. Cost: $3500 balcony x 11 days for 2 but inc. $600 A credit. ( Coral P… Read more

$2200 for 10 days)

Dining seating: I was shocked to see ( for the first time) a card left in our cabin for our table No. And it DID prove to be a problem with one at our table of four having a (well known ) Personality disorder. After three days we'd had enough and went to the buffet for two nights. For the rest of the cruise we went in 20 mins late for the Supervisor to allocate us a table. This worked well.

Food The meals are very small portions but with a good range of options. You have the unwritten option of asking for any extra dish as well. Quality and presentation were v good. The buffet was a little better than other ships but not to a great extent. ( remember the price)!!

Drinks. I ll make this simple. The only Free cold drinks are water But ,only in Dining / buffet. Otherwise,You will pay In your cabin, in the bars, in the theatre. Everywhere for water. Not cheap either, as the $8 cabin bottles are US dollars. The cabin has a fridge stocked too with other $$ delights. Coffee and tea are mostly free except cappuccino etc. White wine is $11 until you do the US conversion …..for both that’s $22 plus , so say $30 Aust for two! ((AND The food menu still has the older but recent wine at $7.50 US !!instead of the newer/higher price)) The drinks package is dear enough that to get value, you must drink and drink. People with the package had no trouble sharing it with others, it seemed. I understand that this has been changed now to pay for one per use package pp)).

Entertainment: Celebrity has stated that it’s their intention is to have more inside day entertainment and they do that. Acts are generally high quality at night, although by trying to please a variety of people with different types you end up alienating 1/3 some of the time. Support by 6-7 piece on board band who are great. Princess had a 9 piece band. Opening stage show and particular acts really good which inc The Oz Boys. Too many singers, too many others with violins. There was comedy, acrobats and magician. The last three aren’t t to my taste anyway. But otherwise, there's a fair bit to like.

TV. The movies are unknown and quite poor with maybe two unexpected exceptions out of 20. TV under one hour shows, were as they came in the time slot. Not on demand. Poor.

(By comparison, Princess had a v good range. Tv shows were On Demand and well known.)

Staff: Staff are pleasant, very accomodating and it helps to understand that cruise lines are having trouble getting and maintaining staff. I saw a couple of examples of poorly trained/ or experienced staff (inc maintenance).

Covid: All went well although masks were Often left off by passengers which increased in lifts only and say 40 out of 1000 in the theatre. Shortly after, after about two days before the end, the Captain announced that their were a small number of cases and guests should wear masks. On return Gov't rated it as level one. I cannot understand people not wearing masks in lifts and the theatre , for example. 74 died that week in NSW inc. our neighbour. It just seems very co incidental that the only warning was at a time that passengers were about to disembark (and not be counted as infectious). Is the A/C run at full fresh air right to the end of cruise or on the cheaper recirculate? . Celebrity has stated that they are (or have ) been raising their filters to MERV13++. The top grade HEPA filters are Merv 17. Some shipping lines have installed HEPA (& other device too)....such as Norwegian, Windstar etc.

WE GOT COVID, ON THE FIRST DAY OFF THE SHIP, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. NOT IMPRESSED. In the three years we have avoided Covid inc. on the 3 mths earlier Princess cruise where there were better standards. Covid ...we are finding out, is not 5 days, its 5- to say 11days followed by other flu like symptoms lasting longer towards say 2 months. I notice that on this ships passengers forums, it's common to see that a repeat of the Captains warning about masks two days from the end. And people coming off reporting positive Covid result when a day or so disembarked. ++Filters with Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values (MERV)

Conclusions If you had our prior experience, you would notice on Eclipse, more food variety but less per serving of it. More day entertainment, good entertainment generally and better in higher number of acts. Directed seats on dining, unless lining for request later. (Instant request on arrival at MDR for dining on Princess) Great band of 6-7. (As against 9 often on Princess) good staff on both. Dearer cost too, dearer alcohol. Costly water But less boring days, much better mix of ages (than Princess which is often the older set) A bit hard to justify the higher cost except for day entertainment. The shop is useless for occasional item and don't even have headache tablets ! I prefer card system ,free or lanyard ... ( rather than Princess Medallion neck dongle which can be triggered by staff at say 3M rather than tapping medallion. The card is taken and returned for signing with a receipt. RCL s Ovation is too big, poorly planned and I dislike 80% of her.

I’ll Walt until RCL s Radiance class come out later on. Or bring back Voyager class. PS--- Helicopter staff member transfer at sea 10pm was carried out successfully from Helipad.

WHAT A GREAT CRUISE AND STAFF – I have read all of these reviews and seriously, we just came back fro NZ on Eclipse and cannot fault it. We have a fabulous time. Staff were amazing, food was great, and the shows were something else. We kept a tab on our spending and there wasn't any issues. We loved this company so much we are looking for another cruise. I seriously cannot… Read more

recommend this cruise ship and their staff enough. They were constantly cleaning because of the covid scares and telling people to wear masks, unfortunately you cannot change ignorant people. We felt extremely safe with all the protocols and thank you Eclipse for keeping my partner and I safe and for a wonderful holiday.

What a waste – I have never been on a cruise before and, after this experience, do not plan to go on another one. Booking was of course easy, and the use of the app was simple enough and helpful for the most part. The staff were very nice and accommodating. The views were absolutely incredible, and I did see a fair amount of wildlife which was a plus. However my… Read more

overall experience was disappointing. There was much confusion regarding the term “all-inclusive” and what was included in my package that I paid for ahead of time versus what I was encouraged to pay for later. Most of the food options had additional charges and fees that were not clearly explained during the booking process; the food options that did fall under my package were of seemingly low quality, and were buffet style which I did not appreciate during these times of Covid. The food options that were “extra” were not much better; one of these restaurants served sushi that was of low quality, and contain shredded canned tuna as it’s filler ingredient instead of pieces of fresh raw tuna. The activities onboard the ship were limited, and many of them you had to pay for in order to participate. Free activities included use of the pools, sitting on the deck or in one of the many lounges/bars, or seeing a show. Activities that required payment included spa and gym facilities, glassblowing workshop, and shopping for expensive jewelry, expensive purses, and expensive “art”. I paid for a 1-hr massage which I am not convinced was performed by a professional masseuse, and afterwards she held me hostage for 20 minutes trying to sell me products even though I repeatedly said no. The shore excursions were good for the most part, but we were only off-boat for a total of 22 hours out of the 8-day cruise; it would have been closer to 24 hours but two of our days were cut short at the last minute, forcing us to rearrange our excursions and give up ones we had intentionally booked for timing purposes. Overall it seems as though this cruise line is more concerned about making things look good on the surface rather than ensuring quality, and of course getting as much money out of their customers as possible. I should say here — I do not enjoy expensive or “luxury” items, and would not consider myself to be high maintenance; I enjoy relaxation, simplicity, and sunshine. I do not need something to be expensive in order to see it’s value, but I do need it to be of high quality and content. I did not receive those things here.