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We took our second cruise as part of a Glass conference. Last year, we went on the Solstice. We chose these ships because they have a lot of art glass decoration, and they have the Corning hot glass studio on top.
This year we got almost the same class room, even though we purchased an interior room originally (we left a deposit a year ago on the first cruise) we were upgraded twice. Our room view was partially blocked by the life boat crane, but it was an awesome view anyhow. Our VOD (video on demand) stopped working 1/2 way through the trip, and TV excursion purchases broke one day giving us a bogus extension to call for resolutions.
We used the early seating, and while we were assigned to a specific table (33x) we were able to float between 5 tables since our group had them all in one area. There was a big difference in wait staff! Our table was OK, but two of the other tables were exceptional. The main difference was speed and personality. Our assigned table staff didn't have much personality and we had to ask for coffee or refills a lot. At other tables the waiter and assistant waiters had our drinks in place asap and always filled, and remembered our names from the first night we visited them. Food delivery was also faster at other tables.
So, if you aren't satisfied with your waiter and you can change tables, DO it!
The cafeteria was good food, but getting a coke or a table cleaned was a pain. Unless you're ordering alcohol they make it seem like you are bothering them in general. We noticed you can turn your drink placard on its side and they won't ask you about drinks again.
They ran out of lids for the coffee on the next to last day. We also purchased the soda package for our son but since you have to go and wait at the bar in line to get sodas he didn't use it. Next time, we'll skip the drink packages, because it was the same on our first Celebrity cruise too. (not worth the hassle).
The eclipse was clean, but a lot noisier than the solstice. Lots of creaks. And our room was nice (the bunk bed in the ceiling was neat!) we must have been next to the sewage pump, because every couple minutes it sounded like someone was flushing the toilet. Some of the glass stairs were broken near quazar... and they pulled up most of the turf the day before we returned, so the lawn games were limited. Not so bad since the last day it rained and blew hard.
One note - the lady that helped us with conference room setup and A/V usage was exceptionally helpful and a pleasure to deal with! Just like last year!
Our son did the x-club as an ensign. He got bored some, there were not many kids this time, but they did keep him active, and he got a TON of gifts and prizes. We used our $100 on-board credit to pay for his package (180-discounted to 120 on first day) versus paying $6/hr for slumber parties.
Lots of friends commented on the really slow Internet. Personally, I kept my phone turned off and used my laptop for the presentations I gave (we taught some classes in our conference) only. It's a vacation people, you are not supposed to work from the ship and constantly update face book!
Overall I'd say there were some excellent people providing service, but this time, not everyone was perfect, unlike last year. The ship seemed more used, and while overall service and value was very good, it wasn't at the same level we've seen on this class of ship. But we'd do it again, because the people on Celebrity cruises are older and more sophisticated, but still a lot of fun, and it's worth the expense!
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