This was our first cruise to South America. Crossing the Equator to the southern hemisphere is a unique experience. The 16 night itinerary from Barcelona to Buenos Aires included several ports of call we’ve never visited, and the cost was reasonable. We’ve sailed on the Eclipse several times, and were not concerned with getting bored on many days at sea. We arrived in Barcelona after a 2 night stay in Lisbon. We used the convenient Aerobus from the airport to Placa Catalunya and walked from there to Hotel Andante. We met cruisemates from the roll call for a pre-cruise dinner and afterwards still managed to squeeze a visit to the Picasso Museum on a free evening. Next morning we had a 10 minute walk to board the T3 Port Shuttle (€3 each) for the short ride to Terminal “C”. We arrived around noon, hoping to attend the Concierge lunch in the Dining room. However, the embarkation process was a total disaster with long lines and short on processing staff. The “priority line” for Concierge Class took us 2 hours, moving at a snails’ pace because it was merged with all the other passengers at the finish line. So we missed the Concierge lunch, and it’s the first time our luggage arrived at our cabin before us. Not a promising start, topped by an automated phone message in our cabin from the Concierge welcoming us aboard and trusting we experienced smooth embarkation. Since there were so many Spanish-speaking guests, all announcements were also made in Spanish and Portuguese. Our cruise director Alejandro from Argentina also repeated every phrase in Spanish, but he is such a fun guy that we didn’t mind at all. Most of the crew members were eager to please. Cabin: Our C2 Concierge balcony cabin #1062 was well insulated from noise in adjoining cabins. Bed by the bath, and no inside cabins across the corridor. Meals: We had pre-booked Select Dining at 6:45pm. Sometimes we would share a table and other times it was just us two. Our waiter Jorge and assistant Emilio did a flawless and well synchronized job. Since we are Elite members, we were able to enjoy our “happy hour” drinks in the main dining room before 7:00 pm along with our dinner. The Oceanview Café was offering good variety with daily international food themes, but they still have no onion rings and the tasty oatmeal cookies have been discontinued. We dined in Qzine Le Petit Chef for the first time, and were not impressed. We liked the old concept better. We asked twice about a “coffee card” at the Café Al Baccio on the first day and were told they were not being offered. We were told to buy the non-alcoholic beverage package. On the last day we met people who said they bought the coffee cards and enjoyed using them. Celebrity needs to ensure the staff is properly advised on these offers, and they should be better publicized. Entertainment and activities: There were a number of pretty decent headliner entertainers, but none stood out as exceptional. The production shows were also average, a repeat of our Eclipse cruise in the Baltic earlier this year. The aerialists performers and the Tango duo Victor and Denisa who presented tango and gaucho shows were both informative and entertaining. The speakers (Beyond The Podium) were excellent. MickeyLive’s talks about the ports and navigation, Ian Wright about the early years of British superstars and Beth, on the history of South American countries. Shopping was pretty lame, with a narrow range of products and overabundance of watches. Captain’s Club Elite benefits were nice and we enjoyed having two hostesses, Elizabeth and Melissa. Tuscan Grill breakfast was overcrowded so the overflow was directed to Qzine. But the one issue I have is the internet benefit. What ‘s the logic of getting the same number of internet minutes (90) whether you are on a 7 night or a 16 nights cruise? The dynamic Alejandro the Cruise Director kept things rolling along with his quirky snipes at the Argentine way of life, the best looking people and best soccer players. We reconnected with old friends, met new ones, and enjoyed our six nights post cruise in Buenos Aires. Disembarkation was well organized due to advance passport clearance by immigration authorities. Taxi rates outside the terminal are overpriced. We walked to the end of the line, ignoring the approaches of the drivers. Prices kept dropping from $20, $15 as we kept walking away, finally agreed on $10 to our hotel. In summary, this was a very enjoyable Transatlantic sailing with pleasant weather and calm seas. The ports were interesting and the service highly accommodating. Read Less

Chose this cruise because it was a Repositioning cruise to S. America. Spent 4 days in Barcelona, exploring the city and enjoying all that it has to offer. Embarkation was quite crowded, but the lines moved smoothly. We had outstanding service on the Eclipse, both cabin attendants and dining staff were attentive and very friendly. Cabins were adequate and were in excellent shape. Our cruise director Alejandro, was entertaining and involved with the Activities and entertainers. Throughout the ship, we experienced personnel that were motivated and always willing to assist. We chose Celebrity for an excursion in Lancerotta in the Canary Islands, not disappointed very interesting 4 hour tour of this Volcanic island. I was not impressed with the port in Santos, Brazil. Not worth the stop, I would recommend that Celebrity substitute Montevideo,Uraguay, more interesting. Very impressed with Cartagena, Spain and Buenos Aries, Argentina. I have been on 7 Celebrity cruises, this ranks near the top! Read Less

We were traveling with friends and my friend found the cruise. We had traveled on Celebrity before so we decided to go. We were concerned about the number of sea days but that was never a problem. There was plenty to do onboard. The staff was excellent from our room steward, Pablo, to the servers in the dining room and specialty restaurants. The entertainment was the best of any cruise we have taken. We love the live music and the shows. The ship’s public areas were spotless. The only problem we encountered was disembarking at ports. The wait was ridiculous with long lines waiting in hot corridors. There also was too little help for handicapped people getting on buses. Overall it was a great time. I would recommend it wholeheartedly. The food was very good especially in Murano’s specialty restaurant. Quisine was different and the food better than expected. It is more of a novelty restaurant. Read Less

The itinerary was the reason for choosing this cruise. Having sailed on 3 other Solstice class ships, we wanted to sail on Eclipse and were not disappointed! Celebrity has come through again with stupendous service from check-in through disembarkation. This ship was refurbished and it shines. Cleanliness and service is a hallmark. Our cabin was great with an attentive stateroom attendant and our dining experience each night was met with a smiling waiter, assistant waiter and sommelier. We only scheduled one shore excursion with the cruise line due to no other alternative in Zadar, Croatia. All other ports, we scheduled tours through Viator, ItalyTours.EU and Costco. These tours provided a better alternative due to timing, cost, and significantly fewer passengers. Most tours were 8-16 people, much better with logistics. There was never a worry in returning to the port on time. The entertainment seems to improve with each trip. The guest speakers were interesting and provided a good diversion during sea days. The Eclipse orchestra along with the Celebrity singers, dancers, and acrobats were outstanding. Other smaller venues were good as well. The only disappointing venue was the Hollywood Glass Show. Previously under the auspices of Corning, these shows were continual demonstrations of glass creations and ultimately sold for charity. The current show is obviously for revenue. Suggestion: do your homework for shore excursions and book a cruise while onboard, it provides flexibility for future travel and all questions can be answered face to face. Read Less

Itinerary was promising, but disappointed by 2 days in Dubrovnik, when 2 days in Naples, Malta or Civitavecchia would have been better. Another disappointing feature was the impression that Celebrity is always trying to get extra charges wherever possible. The ship provides virtually no help whatsoever to those passengers who do not want to take their very overpriced tours. The entertainment was by and large good and at times excellent, but the show company was much less successful. The show company orchestra was superb. The food in the buffet at breakfast and lunch was very good, but the food at dinner in the main restaurant was a bit hit and miss, at times excellent but occasionally very poor. The chef's ambitious descriptions on the menu were not always matched by what was on the plate. One unfortunate aspect of the cruise was how noisy it generally was. There were several groups of friends who seemed to find it impossible to talk to each other without shouting. The design of the ship also contributed to the noise levels. When music groups were playing in the central atrium, the music was funneled upwards to the open areas above, including many bars and the library, meaning that all conversations had to be louder than was comfortable. As a positive, the staff in the restaurants,bars and the cabin were excellent. On the other hand, the cruise director was poor. I have never been on a cruise where the audience flooded out of the theatre while the cruise director was speaking at the end of the show. He seemed more interested in showing off than in communicating interesting or useful information. Read Less

We are a couple - late 40s/early 50s. We have 2 previous cruises under our belt - 7 nights fjords with P&O and 15 night TA with Princess. We picked this cruise primarily for the itinerary - and it also came at a great price. We were on Celebrity Eclipse - Cabin 1046 - Concierge Class and had Anytime dining. Barcelona Embarcation - incredibly messy - no-one appeared to stick to their embarkation time - although there were separate lines for each "class" they alll used the same check in desks - no dedicated ones. Although this went relatively quickly it just seemed a bit of a mess. Dis-embarcation - great experience. We had a late departure time, and were off with our cases within 5 minutes - perfect! We were able to get into our cabin by 1330 - as advised. However there were issues as DH found an apple under the bed and there was a left over "scrunchie" left hanging in the shower. Concierge lunch - a nice touch. We found it a shame that there was no sailaway party - everyone just wandered about, drink in hand :-( The ship was spotlessly clean and nothing seemed worn out or tired. I did feel sorry for the bathroom attendants who didnt ever seem to get any daylight - they did work very hard. What a great itinerary - every port was absolutely fantastic. We booked 2 excursions with our OBC - Florence by train and Rome in a day. Both were very well organised and our Rome guide was absolutely fantastic. We had the classic drinks package included - this worked well for us as we are not big drinkers. DH made use of the speciality coffees and we had the odd cocktail. We mostly stuck to the $9 drinks and found the wine perfect for us. We went to the shows on 3/4 nights - very professional and a good way to spend 45 minutes. We had 2 major issues with Celebrity as a whole however. 1 - the constant attempts to sell the speciality restaurants (and the spa to a lesser extent). If your restaurant is not selling at an additional $55 a person there is a reason for that!! 2 - the food. We love a formal night and eating in the MDR but are as equally happy in the buffet. But oh my - what a let down they both were. The buffet - the food was the same EVERY DAY - nothing inventive at all. The pasta/mexican/oriental/pizza/grill sections were the same every lunch and dinner. There "Italian night" consisted of a spread of cured meats/olives etc - but this selection also appeared on other nights as well. There was one different item each lunchtime and evening. It might seem like im being picky but honestly we are very easy to please. They did a fish pie one lunchtime at it was the best thing we ate the whole cruise!! As for the MDR again we were very disappointed. We LOVE to dress for dinner and using the MDR is a big part of a cruise for us. However again the menu was very repetitive and nothing special or inventive. In our view they kept the menu like this to push people towards the speciality restaurants. On the last chic night we saw that there were soufflés for desert. They weren't on the desert menu. Our waiter told us that usually they only serve souffles at the speciality restaurants and never in the MDR. On both P&O and Princess souffles were a standard addition to the menu. We were on anytime dining. We also found that the tables for 2 were stuck in the corners and out of the way. On our 3rd night were were being again ushered towards an out of the way table when we passed an empty 4 seater table set up for 2. This was right in the hussle and bussle of the restaurant - when we asked if we could sit there the waitress got all flustered and said she would have to go and check - leaving us standing in the middle of the dining room for several minutes. We then decided to just sit at the table anyway - just as well we did as she never returned! We also never saw anyone in the Sushi restaurants - again they charge extra for this. Our favourite place was the Level 5 Cafe al Baccio - what a lovely place to sit and pass the time - just a shame that it appears to be the most popular venue but also the smallest!!! We also booked Concierge class as it was the same price as a standard balcony. Again - what a waste of time and I dont know why they bother with it. The afternoon canapés are a complete waste of time and we poured the "champagne" down the sink. Other than the embarkation lunch I can find absolutely no benefit to concierge class. Everyone we talked to prior to the cruise hailed Celebrity as far better than both P&O/Princess so this is what we were expecting. I glad we picked the cruise for the itinerary rather than just because it was Celebrity otherwise it would have been a great let down. It have been very critical of the dining issues - however we had a really great time overall. We would use Celebrity again but the itinerary and the price would have to be right. Read Less

This was our 4th Celebrity Solstice class ship. We have done Silhouette, Reflection, and Equinox before sailing Eclipse. Of all our previous cruises aboard Celebrity, our vacation aboard the Eclipse had the least "pop" of any of our previous sailings. Embarkation from Barcelona was a breeze. Our cab from our hotel dropped us directly at the check in area and we were aboard within 15 minutes! Emails from Celebrity urging us to delay our embarkation until our pre-assigned time later in the afternoon were wisely ignored, our early arrival went unnoticed. Our "boarding buzz" was quickly extinguished when we stepped onto the ship. Numerous crew members approached us asking about upgrading our beverage package and/or purchase speciality dinning offers. I understand that this is a common complaint from Celebrity passengers and that this sales approach has not been changed by Celebrity after a lot of passenger complaints. The cruise itinerary was fantastic. The crew was very friendly and engaging. Our fellow passengers were great, always willing to chat or share a smile. Despite some of the shortcomings listed below, in no way did they spoil our cruise. The ports that we visited and the people that we met on board and on our private port tours made our trip a rewarding experience. First of all, the food in the dining room was just ho-hum. The food selections were of average "cruiser fare". At times, the food arrived cold or not up to the proper temperature. To be expected from the MDR. I am sure this would not be the case in some of the other dining venues. Had better on other cruises with Celebrity. In addition to the quality of the MDR food, our wait staff in the dining room, while very friendly to us and other tables, sometimes delivered the wrong starter item or were unavailable to respond to our requests. Our wait staff also spent considerable effort to make us aware that a rating of 8 stars or below would land them in hot water and made it clear that we understood how cut-throat their bosses could be when confronted with "bad" reviews. This has happened on other cruises. This seems to be the standard story that you can sometimes get from room attendants and wait staff. A little less of this would be good! Secondly, the music in the Deck 3 Atrium, next to the Passport bar, was below Celebrity's usual high standard. The bands that played there seemed listless or flat, or maybe it was me, not sure. Again, not a big deal but on other Celebrity cruises this area was where we started and ended our evenings. This time, we were glad to get out of this area and not spend to too much time there. The Eclipse was doing a TA after our cruise and I cannot imagine having to depend on this entertainment to get me through 16 nights of a TA. OMG! Other people we talked to said that the entertainment was good. Just a matter of taste. Whatever. And thirdly, the prices for Celebrity's shuttles into town, at some ports, were shamelessly inflated. Prior to booking the cruise there is never any mention of where and when a passenger might have to shell out for a shuttle. Oops, I guess I should've done more research about how Celebrity might try to get me to open my wallet at those ports. Shame on me! All done. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable cruise and would certainly return to Celebrity and would highly recommend cruising out of Barcelona to the Adriatic to any of my friends, family, or colleagues. Thanks Celebrity. See you in Singapore in 2020! Read Less

This was our second cruise with Celebrity and altough we where open minded it didn't tick our boxes. Find a table in the buffet was an achievement. The waiters in the buffet not at all helpful severall times. In the dining room food was never very warm . No matter how nice the soup is if it'ts not warm it's not good. The Eclipse is a beautiful ship , the cabins are very good ( not very clean in our case). The waiters in the Passport bar where a large step above the rest. Our waiter in the restaurant was good too. The quiz master was a young girl that had no idea about hosting a Trivia the worst of all our cruises we love Trivia and for us it was a major disappointment. The choice of ports fantastic exepting maybe for Zadar that wasn't at all tourist friendly. Nothing major just lots of little problems that didn't got solved, it didn't ruined our cruise but didn't made us want to repeat with Celebrity. Read Less

The ports were outstanding albeit Celebrity outrageous fees to transfer you from the port. What a shame. Shore excursion to Herculeneaum was a five star Shore excursion in Malta could have been better had they included a walk to the second archeological site instead of watching them sell us limoncello for one hour We decided to take the train into Florence and although they gave us a form to fill out they wanted 20$ more pp when we went to pay We wasted at least 30 minutes at a leather store where there was one toilet stall for women and one for men A stop in Split would have been great and longer in Montenegro The HoHo in Montenegro was perfect Food was unimaginative, poor quality, and had it not been for the MaitreD and the wait staff we would have considered it the worse we have ever had at sea Entertainment was entirely horrible.We and several others walked out of a juggler,a comedian and a male singing group. Nothing going on between 8 and 10pm Lecturers on Sea Days were Superb! Read Less

We chose the cruise because it had a good itinerary. We weren’t disappointed. While there were occasional blips in the dining service the staff was very accommodating and working to do their best. We didn’t feel that the upselling of merchandise was too prevalent but there was a big push to get you to book the specialty restaurants. We enjoyed the ‘anytime dining’ because we were able to meet people from all over the world. We mainly did shore excursions that were not through Celebrity as the Celebrity groups were much too large.. It would be nice to have cheaper laundry or self serve laundry like on Royal Princess. The cost for laundry was incredibly high. Wifi is also a huge expense. It would be great to see cruise companies work on reducing this. We had a great time and have already booked another cruise on Celebrity in Southeast Asia. Read Less