Celebrity Eclipse Review

Love Celebrity Eclipse; Celebrity Cruises... Not So Much

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse
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chesapeake_traveler
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Value for Money
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Sail Date: Nov 2011
Cabin: AquaClass 2

The Celebrity Eclipse is an exquisite cruise ship, and the crew was extraordinary. I especially loved the Tuscan Grill, and BLU offered an intimate atmosphere with special attention to detail that you would not be able to achieve in the larger main dining room. The Aqua Spa seemed very expensive for the short time I received treatments; however the staff was professional and very informative. The Cruise Director, Mike, was superb and I was very happy to sail with him again on our 2nd Celebrity cruise. A variety of entertainment was presented, and I enjoyed all of the shows and special guest performances that I attended. The ports of call were excellent. We visited the El Morro fort in Puerto Rico which was magical. We took a boat ride from St. Thomas to the beautiful Trunk Bay, St. John and fell in love. We did the Sea Trek dive in St. Maarten which was amazing.

I give five stars to the Celebrity Eclipse; however Celebrity Cruises has appalled me. There were three people in my reservation, separated into two Aqua Class staterooms. This was not my original plan, and it's important that I share my booking experience to prevent others from making the same mistake I did. Thirty days before our sail date, my husband and I decided to add his 19-year-old daughter to our reservation through the Celebrity Reservation phone service. Celebrity assisted us in booking a second stateroom at the lowest fare possible under my step-daughter's name. I paid for her booking in full, and then I logged into the My-Celebrity website to complete her online check-in. I was unable to complete online check-in due to a Celebrity Cruises policy that prohibits stateroom assignment of anyone under the age of 21 without an adult older than 21 booked in the same room or the stateroom is physically adjacent to the stateroom of a parent. I called Celebrity Reservations back, and asked them why they did not tell me about this policy when they assisted me in booking a stateroom for her. There was no response; therefore I asked them to help me fix the reservation problem. I was advised to move my husband into her stateroom and move her into my stateroom, and then when we boarded the ship we could go to Customer Relations and switch them back into the correct rooms. I accepted this option; however I was uneasy about it since my husband and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary in a Concierge Class stateroom and my step-daughter was booked in a regular stateroom. I contacted Celebrity Customer Service to verify the information I had been given, and discovered it was untrue. I requested cancelation of my step-daughters reservation with a refund because there were no Concierge Class staterooms available that were adjacent to one another and Celebrity failed to tell me about their under-21 policy when they booked her reservation. Celebrity refused to refund the money I paid, and they suggested I upgrade to two adjacent Aqua Class staterooms. This upgrade was the only option Celebrity gave me to remedy the situation without losing our Concierge service, and it cost an extra $2,000. I completed the online check-in and my step-daughters name did not appear on our Xpress Pass, although both stateroom numbers were present and her name was listed on the onboard expense account and the luggage tag example. Celebrity assured me that I did not need to worry. On sail day when I attempted to board the ship, a Celebrity customer service representative informed me that my step-daughter could not board the ship because her name was not listed on the Xpress Pass. I demanded immediate attention to this matter, and after shedding a few tears, the problem was quickly resolved. Upon entry into our staterooms, my 19-year-old step-daughter was provided a bottle of champagne and open access to the mini-bar. Celebrity Cruises must improve their reservations process and their customer service department before I ever consider booking another cruise with them again.

Cabin Review

AquaClass 2

Cabin A2

1509 and 1507 are very quiet staterooms with no rescue boats visible below or overhang above as with other staterooms on the ship. You can see part of the Captain's bridge to your right which I found interesting. These rooms are very close to the Relaxation Room in the Aqua Spa which is very convenient and gives you another room to sit in outside your stateroom. The closet is small with not many hangers; however we made good use out of all the other storage drawers and bins in the room. The bathroom is very nice with more storage space than most people need.

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