We haven’t sailed on Seabourn since 2012 as we were put off by their liberal smoking policies. We decided to try them again especially since the itinerary for the British Isles was unique having a good number of stops in Scotland. Embarkation was quick and our suite was ready at noon time which was a great plus for us. We stayed in a spa penthouse suite which was quite nice but not sure it is worth the extra money versus a regular penthouse suite. You really don’t get much extra except for a few extra soaps and sponges, and a larger balcony. Seabourn advertises healthy snacks in the spa suites but we had great trouble getting them to deliver what was advertised. Perhaps it was due to a totally clueless stewardess who failed to replenish items on several occasions and seemed uninformed about extras for the spa suite, among other issues. When reported to the supervisor, we were told that she was new and to give her a few more days, and if we weren’t satisfied, they would replace her. Although we had numerous other problems with her and reported them, the housekeeping supervisor never replaced her. We ate most of our meals in the Restaurant where the food was top notch and wait service excellent. We used room service for breakfast every day and several times for dinner. They also delivered the same top notch service and excellent food as the Restaurant. Used private tour guides so did not sign up for any of the ship shore excursions. Staff at Seabourn Square were efficient and helpful. We especially enjoyed this area for coffee and snacks during the day. In terms of entertainment, we only attended one show which included a comedian which was okay, just okay. Handre served as cruise director and certainly lived up to his fine reputation. Overall, this is a lovely and comfortable ship that handles rough seas quite well. Except for a problem with housekeeping oversight and our stewardess, sailing on the Ovation was a very enjoyable and memorable experience. Read Less

I chose this cruise because of its itinerary. This was my first time on Regent. I usually do Princess. If you want to try Regent, start with another ship. The Navigator is old, small, has very little entertainment during the night or day and the decor is average at best. One of my biggest problem with this cruise line is their costs to book your hotel and airport transfers. They pay for your first night before the cruise, but obviously it has been figured into the cost already. If you want to stay additional nights, I strongly suggest that you book it yourself. They charged $419 per person for the additional night. Our room only cost about $300 a night for double occupancy. So by booking with Regent, I paid over twice as much for that second night. I had my daughter with me on this trip and even though she was staying in our suite during the cruise, I had asked for an additional room for her before cruise. They put her in our room on the sofa bed and charged an additional $769 to do so. So now this extra night has cost me $1,607. Apparently, a third person in a suite does not get a free room the night before. I was encouraged by Regent agent to book the room through them because they could not guarantee both nights would be in the same room if I did not. I ended up paying for my daughter to have her own hotel room for both nights and Regent would not refund me the $769 because it was not done 30 days prior. I did not realize there was only one hotel room until I arrived in Dublin. Long story short - I would have saved a lot of money if I had personally just booked two rooms for two nights and skipped on their "free" one night of hotel. The airport transfers are no better. They have a private driver pick you up at airport which is very nice but they forgot to notice that my daughter was on a different flight and then never picked her up. She took a cab for $56. Regent charged us $113 times 3 for airport transfers. It did include a ride on a bus from the hotel to ship but still very pricey. The positive things about this cruise were the staff and the food. Everyone that assisted us on the ship were top notch. The food was the best I have had on a cruise ship. Their one specialty restaurant was excellent but we could only get one night's reservation on a 12 night cruise. All alcohol is included with your cruise and they serve excellent choices of liquor, wine and beer. The downside is people can over drink when it is basically free. The excursions were also included and they were satisfactory. We ended up paying for premium tours 3 times but there are plenty of free ones. Be sure and book those early on and do not wait till right before the ship departs. The good tours fill up fast. Read Less

We put three cruises together starting in Dublin 7/18 and disembarking in Barcelona 9/1. The positive was the crew and service was excellent for the most part. The negative is extensive. The ship was not particularly stable with a good deal of pitching and rolling in calm to moderate seas. Vibrations at the stern were noticeable even on the 10th deck. Some people in cabins at the rear portion of the ship demanded new cabins. The food was mediocre for the most part. The signature Prime steak restaurant had to recook a medium rare filet on two occasions. Surprisingly there was little local food and wine as we cruised Scandinavia and Europe. Wines were focused on primarily US wines and frequently ran out without resupply. The ship docked most of the time a significant distance from the actual place we were visiting. Long bus rides were the standard and cabs back and forth were extremely expensive. Tours were clearly not designed with the guest in mind but for the convenience of the cruise line. Many times tours were scheduled when venues or cities being visited were not open. the maddening thing was there was adequate time to run the same tour a few hours later in the day without impacting the scheduled departure times. Many times the "free time" did not occur due to the guide not managing the tour properly. 75% of the guides were substandard compared to other guides in Europe and on river cruises. It was a very expensive experience with such a negative result. Many people with hundreds of cruising days on Regent were complaining about the lack of quality on the cruise as compared to their other experiences. Read Less

We chose this cruise for its itinerary, ship size, and culinary reputation. Unfortunately the weather was rough--cloudy, windy and cool, which meant we couldn't spend much time eating outside or lounging poolside. Because of the heavy waves, we were unable to dock in Belfast, which, since we made the rookie mistake of not adding on additional travel time at the end of our tour, meant that we missed out entirely on Ireland. The service onboard was excellent; a very cheerful, friendly and attentive staff of waiters and cabin crew who made sure we were comfortable. We expected to enjoy dining in the specialty restaurants, which were very good, and at the coffee bar, which was also excellent. Because of the weather we only ordered from the poolside lunch counter twice, where we found excellent fish & burger choices, and a truly memorable chocolate malted milkshake. The Grand Dining Room was a disappointment, it took a long time to get the food, which was not hot, and more bland than we prefer. The Terrace Cafe had better food, more variety, and short waits. We appreciated the themed dinners, Pan-Asian, Italian, etc. Portions everywhere were on the smaller size, which meant we could try more things. Desserts were delicious, and we loved starting our mornings early at the Horizons lounge with a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant, with great views of coming into each port. Except for a few times, it never felt crowded on the ship. The library is a lovely spot to relax in. The entertainers were very young and energetic, seem to really enjoy being there. We saw just a few shows: an impressive ventriloquist, and a review later in the week. Not really our thing, so we appreciated the choice of DVDs which we could watch in our room. We also had fun with the daily trivia contests that they ran. Our package came with three excursions, the first, to Hadrian's Wall, was the best, very informative, beautiful scenery, learned leader. The next two were not as good, more pointing out the window at things whizzing past with guides who talked incessantly, saying things like, "and here is the second largest mortgage bank in Scotland." We will pick more carefully next time, or go off on our own, which worked out fine for us. And there will be a next time. We liked the comfort of the ship, the tasting menu of visiting many different ports for a day trip, seeing where we'll want to come back to and stay longer. The Isle of Man, Liverpool, Edinburgh all made that list for us. Read Less

The Ship, Cabin, Dining, Entertainment & Service were Excellent. Unfortunately, Travel that far is also about, if not mainly, the location and that experience. Ireland and its people were a found Treasure in spite of the shore excursions Nautica offered, not because of them. For a Ship of this caliber and cost I expected hand picked and above average Excursions. 2 out of 3 Excursions were Horrible (Kinsale & Bantry) and we gave a detailed written complaint to the excursion manager. Their attitude was, "Too Bad, no one else complained." We’ve asked to be taken off their mailing list as other options at that level of travel will be explored. Cork/Kinsale: The commentary was cute and entertaining while on route. Town was a big disappointment. Basically a Tourist trap, overloaded with Buses, wasted time with tea and scones in a Hotel with no atmosphere. Walk to the City Centre was a challenge for some. After visiting a few shops, noticed the long bathroom lines around the block at the Tourist Information Center that took up rest of the time allowed. Basically a frustrating Pit Stop. Bantry: "Spectacular Beara Peninsula": Long drive at breakneck speeds. Cannot open windows on a large Tour Bus and when A/C isn't working, it's miserable. Tour Bus used for Giants Causeway showed us what a clean, well maintained, WC on bus, excellent driver and Excursion should be. The comparison was Night and Day. IMHO all Excursions should have been at this level. Independent walks of Ports of Call would have been better use of our time rather than those two horrible Excursions.We don’t expect travel to be PERFECT but expected Oceania to handle the complaint PERFECTLY. I suggest avoiding the OCEANIA sponsored excursion. Read Less

We had not been to Ireland until this trip. We found it friendly, warmer than expected, beautiful, work very good food. The Eclipse is a Soltice class ship and we love all of them. We have friends that know Captain Michael, so we may have had a few special touches. We had to miss Belfast because 70 knot winds closed the port, first time fo us on 15 cruises. That meant we missed the Giant Causway which was a bummer. We had that day at sea, and Celebrity organized a few lectures that were quite interesting. All in all, this was a delightful 12 days around a beautiful country I was also impressed with Liverpool and our brief joint through Wales. We always sail Celebrity and we have never been disappointed. I would recommend this cruise line, this ship, and this itinerary to anyone who enjoys new experiences. We have 3 more Celebrity cruises booked. We ate in Moreno, the main dining room, Blu, Tuscan Grill, and the Oceanview cafe. All were good. The servers will help make your meal special. The specialty restaurants were good, at a discount. We always enjoy the entertainment and this cruise was no different. The Captain and his Senior officers were accessible and were very informative. Read Less

We choose this cruise because of the itinerary, price and our past experience on the Eclipse. We booked Aqua Class because of our past experience on the Equinox. The Aqua Class Balcony rooms are small but access to the Blu Restaurant makes up for that. ...... or so we thought.. The Blu experience was just ok from a food and service perspective. Our favourite lounge was the Ensemble. Andre was a great waiter, lots of character. We only liked one of the entertainment acts. Dany Smart had a solid repertoire of songs. Our first experience with Celebrity and the Eclipse was five years ago. The experience was so awesome we stated we would only cruise with Celebrity. That was four Celebrity cruises ago. I am not sure if Celebrity changed it's philosophy since our orginal experience, but we have gone from being awed to disappointed. This will be our last Celebrity cruise. Read Less

After 3 Mediterranean cruises, we picked this unique itinerary with 2 overnight ports. The ship was fantastic but crew was not very enthusiastic compared to previous cruises. The crew seemed overwhelmed initially especially in the Sunset Bar. They ran out of many popular items the first day! The bartenders at the World Class Bar were exceptional. The main dining room menu selections could use some updates too - nothing special for those who don't eat meat or fish. Overall, prefer to use Buffet due to variety - especially the grill. Cheese & meats selection was good. Love the fresh omelet every morning. Major kudos to Stanley our stateroom attendant for amazing service. He was perpetually pleasant & professional. Also, thanks to Roxanna the masseuse for the best massage experience ever! Giuseppe was always upbeat & entertaining. The shows were very good. Loved the silent disco! The ports were great. Sad we missed Belfast due to weather. LeHarve is a long distance to Paris & Normandy but will need to go back again for more French flavor. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the Iceland experience. Wanted a taste of it before jumping in for the whole meal. We had been to Ireland before, and weren't really that excited about going back. We aren't PUB people, nor big beer drinkers. The shopping isn't all that great, and the site seeing, well, not that exciting either. Nonetheless, we got to Dublin early Saturday morning before our Monday embarkation. On Saturday we walked around the area of our hotel, near the Spire. We did the HOHO on Sunday, and on Monday went to the (free admission) Botanical gardens which were lovely. That used up enough of Monday so that we didn't arrive at the port until the 3pm to 4pm timeframe and therefore walked right on to the ship. So, embarkation was a dream! Our cabin was ready (deck 6 veranda), the room steward visited with us immediately (Muhe was fabulous!) and recorded our desires (extra hangers, ice bucket filled at night, etc). We didn't go back into town at all before our Tuesday departure from Dublin. The seas were a bit rough between Ireland and Iceland, but not the worst we have ever had. The ship did well with the rolling surf. First day at sea was leisurely with a spa appointment and relaxation in the Persian Garden which I had bought admission to for the entire cruise. This ended up to be a bit problematic on our second sea day when it was at capacity and therefore a few of us were denied admission. This was a negative on the spa staff. Our Iceland experience was unusual because we had 2 half days in Reykjavik (arrived at 1pm the first day, and departed at 3pm the second day). Our first day we booked the Golden Circle with Viator (less expensive than the ship's tour) and it was spectacular. We met our tour guide at 2:30pm and returned to the ship at 11pm. We got a feel for the topography and enjoyed every minute of the tour with Darrin. The second day we had a ship's tour for the Blue Lagoon which is not to be missed. I was very skeptical because of the cold air and warm water, but the entire experience was delightful. Down to the facial mask and the smoothie that were included in the admission. Don't be leery of the experience, there is nothing like it in the world. Just do it. At any cost. We left there and sailed north to Akureyri and hired a private driver for this part of the island. The driver did not speak English which was a bit problematic, but we saw a good deal of the country. A day at sea was followed by the Shetland Islands, for which we got a ship's tour of the northern part. Interesting, pretty. Don't need to go back. Another day at sea, followed by docking in Cobh and taking the very convenient train to Cork. Nice city. We had spectacular weather everywhere we went. It rained for one hour on us in Dublin. Other than that, the sun was out for us whenever we were in port. The ship experienced foggy conditions on the north sea which was cozy feeling, actually. Entertainment provided by the ships staff (dancers, singers) was first rate! I loved the addition of the up close and personal performances, where they were in the foyer and on deck 14. Just John and Paul were squeal-worthy. The local performers were just so so in my opinion. The dining room staff was okay, we moved tables to get a bigger table and more personable waiter and that was worth the move. Qsine was okay, we went the first night at 1/2 price, the waitress dribbled grease down the sleeve of my top which I didn't notice until the second time I tried to wear it. Ruined it. I had the internet package for the whole cruise and the connection was good most of the time. Our drink package was a nice addition. My spa appointments (I had 5) were all fabulous. There is just nothing like a cruise! Read Less

Liked the itinerary. Food was just ok. I lost 8 lbs on the cruise so maybe a ship with just fair food is good. Most of we Americans need to lose weight anyhow. However, in 2014 we were on the Oceania Marina and it was the best cruise food I ever had since Sitmar's the Fairwind. I do not believe in spending more money than your cruise fare so I skip the luxury restaurants on a ship except when they are included with the booking, e.g. Oceania. The Eclipse is a beautiful ship and the largest I have been on and I prefer smaller than 3000 passengers. The Ocean Cafe on deck 14 often looked like"Vulture City" but the breakfasts were better than the MDR. Cruisecritic had a couple get togethers and they had a nice presence on the ship. We are all lucky to have Cruisecritic as a partner to our sailings. We had a nice cabin forward (family cabin). Other than the carpet could use a shampooing, it was very nice. Celebrity asked us pre cruise (booking) if we were celebrating a special occasion, which we were and anniversary and then did nothing for it. That was probably ok, though because I didn't need an extra cake. Their desserts for the most part we good and the waiter we had, Walter, was terrific. Always had a smile to greet us. All in all, our cruise was a good value and I am glad to be down to 152 lbs. Read Less

I enjoy cruising Celebrity for many reasons. They have an excellent buffet and a spa cafe with healthy selections. I have dairy allergy and entire dining staff was helpful in determining what I could eat and chefs would make adjustments for me. I did notice some changes from my previous cruises such as the breadsticks in the spa cafe are no longer organic and maybe a slight dip in diningroom food quality. I understand some cuts are made to keep cruising affordable, I would much rather pay a little more to keep things on the higher end which Celebrity Is known for. The bars are top notch. The staff is so hard working and they all bend over backwards to make your cruise perfect. We had an excellent itinerary and two overnights which gives you a chance to spend extra time in a port. I did notice that there were a lot of paid activities on sea days instead of free activities and I think Celebrity needs to take a long look at that. Even with some slight slips, I’m still rating 5 star at this time. Read Less

I have travelled previously with Celebrity and other cruise lines, This was my 13th cruise. and find Celebrity the best at this price point. Last year my friend and I travelled to South America on another cruise line ( Celebrity were not doing that route when we were able to travel) This year, we decided we wanted to see the north and liked the itinerery. We were in concierge class and our 'butler' Hector was very attentive. Ship's cleanliness always impresses me as does the staff in all locations. I am finding the entertainment is improving over the years, however, i also find the nightly selections in the dining room are shrinking. This may be due to the fact it was a shorter itinerary. I was disappointed at the wine selection included in the classic beverage package. On previous cruises there was a better and higher level of wine offered. Guess they are trying to encourage us cruisers to move up to premium. We met some wonderful people on the Eclipse. The tour guide on The Golden Circle tour together with the driver were excellent. They were very knowledgeable and answered any and all questions in a friendly, professional manner. Would I travel again with Celebrity....absolutely! Read Less

This was our first cruise with Celebrity. We are diamond members with RCL and wanted to try out Celebrity. We found the dining to be a step up from RCL with no need to dine at specialty restaurants. I was delighted to see lobster on the menu which RCL has eliminated. The service was excellent throughout the ship with a special thank you to Bar management for their personalized help in arranging a private event. Entertainment was awesome. Room attendants were very attentive and kept our cabin immaculate. The public spaces on the ship were spotless and looked very up to date specifically the rest rooms. Embarkation was not that smooth due to the port in Dublin but I hear it has improved significantly and I trust it will continue to improve. The same with disembarkation. It could use some refining regarding private taxis picking up passengers. We loved the itinerary that included Ireland, Iceland, and the Shetland islands. Customer service was a priority throughout the ship. The Eclipse is a beautiful ship. We need the behind the scenes tour and really enjoyed it especially the bridge. In the future we will likely cruise on Celebrity or RCL. Celebrity was a bit more expensive but we need get a lot of perks such as on board credit and the dink package which is a huge savings. All of our pre cruise and post cruise conversations with Celebrity were very helpful and staff did aim to please. Read Less

We wanted to go to Iceland without incurring the high price of lodging and eating on the island. In Dublin the check-in terminal is not at the ship. After check-in they bus you to the ship. We walked from the last Luas (tram) point. Probably should have taken a taxi. Since the ship spent the first night in Dublin we were able to walk from the ship to the tram (Luas). It took 15 minutes. We are fans of inside cabins. They are always dark at night and cheap. We only spend time in our cabin to sleep and shower. We tried to get early dining but were told it was full. We were given anytime dining (I think they call it Select) on deck 4. That turned out to be better. We typically showed up around 6:30 asking for a shared table. We were always seated immediately. If you can, ask for a table of 6 versus 8. It was hard to talk to the people across the big tables. Get Rick Steve's books for all your destination and follow his tips. Avoid ship excursions. Try to find excursions on Roll Call. We joined one to do the Golden Circle in Reykjavik. We rented a car in Akureyri and toured Lake Myvatn on our own (use Rick Steve). You can do that in Reykjavik too. We did a Free Tour in Reykjavik. There was a great walking path from the ship to downtown Reykjavik. Lerwick can be done with a self walk. We did meet a couple that rented a car and saw a lot more. Cobh was easy to do with a self walk. We did take a ship excursion to the Blarney Castle. Nice botanical place to visit but if you had plans to kiss the stone be prepared for a long line. Getting in to see the castle is only available by standing in the same long kissing line. Disembarkation was easy for us. We walked off with our luggage at 6:15 AM. This was 15 minutes before the published time. They had created a rope line for ones needing a taxi. At 6:15 there were no taxis to take. The security guy said just to wait. Sure enough at 6:30 taxis started showing. I yelled back in the line of people that had now formed to say I was going to the airport and wanted to know if anyone was interested in sharing a cab. We had a taker and for 20 euros a piece we got a ride. The meter was 35 euros. There were parked taxis further down the dock that had been reserved. I would discourage that. I heard two stories of reserved taxis either showing up late or not at all. In the second case the couple missed their flight. Just be one of the first off the boat and you won't have a problem. Unless you get WiFi included in your package I wouldn't buy it on the ship. You can usually get WiFi on shore at a cafe or municipal building e.g. library, community center, etc. The ship had great entertainment all 10 nights in the main theater. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Read Less

After an aborted attempt to get into Reykjavik on Azura last year, I finally made it. This was my main reason for booking this cruise. Celebrity is still Celebrity. First time on Eclipse and all so similar to Solstice. Embarkation at Dublin went quite smoothly, given that it was in a large, very hot tent. I took a taxi to the port from my hotel. Easy. I found the food OK in the dining room. I seldom go near the buffet and one of the best parts of finally being elite was the Murano breakfast. I joined a family I met at the cruise critic cocktail party [big thank you to Karen for that one] for an Indian meal at Qsine. What a disaster! Turned up at 7 to be told that their booking was at 8.30. Couldn't find my friends and when I went back at 8, after attempting to contact Qsine via guest relations as 'they don't answer the phone during service', there they were. Fortunately the maitre d comped my meal but I would have to say that food was a huge disappointment. Doughy naan bread and samosas. I have had very good Indian food in the buffet on Solstice but this was not worth the effort. I seldom go to any of the shows, having discovered ages ago that they are not my cup of tea so I really cannot comment. I did notice that the atrium is being used for some rather loud activities so I'd suggest booking a cabin well away from that. Private excursions except for Lerwick. The much vaunted 'Golden Circle tour' was a bit of a letdown. If you have seen the geothermal activity in NZ at Rotorua or the Niagara or Iguassu Falls you will be very disappointed, and it is a long day. The walk through the rift between the tectonic plates was fascinating. The tour out to Mytavn from Akureyri was similar but a great view of the tectonic plates. We were lucky to have a windy day as they have a severe midge problem. They even sell hats with nets like they do in outback Australia. Lerwick was a ship tour and the only place we tendered. Well organised and I went to Jarlshof. It was freezing and the comfort stop at the Sumburgh hotel actually had a man on bathroom traffic control, letting 3 ladies in at a time. Thank goodness it was not raining. Very interesting archaeological ruins. Time for a quick visit to the fudge shop before tendering back to the ship. Several people hired cars to tour in all ports and that seemed to be very successful. We docked next to the train station in Cobh so getting to Cork was easy. There had been a lot of discussion about this as at one stage it looked like we would dock in Ringaskiddy, industrial area across the bay. I took the ship transfer to the airport rather than try for a taxi. Big mistake as I got to spend 3 exciting hours at Dublin airport before I could check in. I was very excited to finally reach "elite" status on Celebrity but I am now reconsidering the value. A free bag of laundry, washed and folded, 3 cocktails each evening and a discount on internet , may not be enough to retain my loyalty. Azura last year had a much cheaper single supplement, a super free laundry and tea and coffee making facilities [with biscuits] in the cabin, just great when you are waking up at 2am with jetlag. I'll be seriously shopping around for my next cruise. Read Less

We chose this cruise primarily because of the itinerary. The size of the ship didn't look overwhelming and the opportunity to enjoy the Aqua Class experience was enticing. We looked forward to enjoying the cabin enhancements, the Persian Garden and the Blu restaurant. Of these three features, only the Blu restaurant was special. We traveled with friends who enjoyed the overall experience but who also shared some of our frustrations. Embarkation was well organized and fast. The muster drill was poorly organized and unnecessarily painful. We were crowded in a very small space and standing for more than 1 hour. We were not allowed to leave while the staff repeatedly tried to locate "missing" participants. Then past 1:30 we were all dismissed to a miserably crowded lunch buffet. The pattern of too many people and insufficient seating for the buffet (particularly at lunch time) was repeated multiple times. The ports were great. Even Lerwick, Scotland, which required tendering, was well organized. We did only private tours as the Celebrity offerings were overpriced. Also, due to the average age of the guests, too much time was wasted with herding activities on the boat excursions. There were shameless ways that the boat's excursions were pushed including calling non-ship excursions "the enemy", Entertainment was geared to the lowest possible denominator. No comedy club and only one fairly miserable show each night. Musicians were inconsistent; some good and at least one very poor. The gym was well equipped. Up charge classes were reasonably priced but often started late and ended early. The spa was incredibly expensive. The Persian Garden was lovely but often inaccessible as it was up sold to all comers. Service was exceptional but the cabin had multiple problems. The toilet stopped working twice; once for more than 4 hours. CS blamed a guest for the problem but it still should have been fixed faster. Telephone cord was broken and it took more than 2 hours to get this fixed. The light in the bathroom only worked 50% of the time and requests to have it fixed did nothing. The refrigerator door didn't close all the way. The curtain was insufficient to block out all of the light (light most of the night in Iceland) and it was very worn. Food in Blu was excellent. Food in the MDR and the buffet was average with a few good exceptions and a number of poor exceptions. The grill was only open on the first 2 days of the cruise which was a big disappointment. The pizza was much worse than the competition. We dined in the Italian Specialty restaurant and it wasn't worth the up charge. Very few movies were shown or available in the cabin. Some were very old. Discontinuance of the Corning Glass Program was a heart break for me. My son used to work at Corning and I am familiar with the excellence of their program. The substituted Hollywood Glass sales opportunity was tragic. Overall the ports and the weather won out and made this a great trip. Unfortunately I did not find the love I sought with the Celebrity Eclipse. Read Less

Celebrity Eclipse After many cruises with Celebrity I think it’s time to find another cruise line. With each of our recent cruises the quality of the experience seems to deteriorate just a little more. It is not one big thing that has brought about this change in our attitude but the accumulation of tiny things. The dining room staff not quite as well trained, on this recent Norway trip from Dublin the junior waiter had difficulty pouring ice water without getting at least one guest per meal wet. The cafeteria on deck 14 is always crowded and unlike several years ago there is no staff to find tables or manage trays. There are no trays so it is impossible to carry a whole meal to your table. This forces one to spend an unnecessary amount of time wading through other guests. Wandering drink waiters seem to be in short supply making it necessary to go to the bar to fetch your own if you want a drink any time before your meal is finished. Equally important, the quality of the food has deteriorated. Hollandaise sauce is so far from the real thing as to be unrecognizable. I’ve eaten some delightful falafel but the product on Eclipse is just plain awful. A continental breakfast, particularly on a European cruise, shouldn’t be hard to come by but it is. Salami, bologna and terrible cheese slices just won’t do. Fresh fruit such as melon or pineapple was once upon a time sliced with with the skin removed....not any more. And I won’t even bother to comment on what passes for roast potatoes... The selection of beverages varies from bar to bar making it a hit and miss process finding one’s favourite drink. The entertainment has deteriorated significantly from what it was a few years ago and every bit of entertainment has amplification that is unbearably loud. On this class of ship with, its 12 floor atrium, every lounge space including the library is subject to ear splitting noise which makes conversation near impossible. If there is one quiet space with comfortable seating where one might read or chat with friends I was unable to find it. And no I won’t be moving up to Azamara as I suspect the same cost cutting is happening there. Read Less

We chose the cruise for the itinerary and Celebrity because we prefer them. We expected cooler, cloudier and less sunny weather but after the first cloudy day at sea we were blessed with clear almost cloudless skies, warm temperatures, no rain and wonderful scenery. Our stateroom was as expected and we had an excellent steward who seemed to second guess our needs. The stateroom was always spotlessly clean and well serviced. We don't care for the appetisers delivered to the room so cancelled them after re-trying them for a couple of days....we thought they might have improved...but no. The appetisers in the Sky lounge before dinner were much nicer. We couldn't fault the itinerary. the weather helped. We chose not to do any Celebrity organised tours as we are quite willing to walk and explore and had never been to any of the ports of call before. So easy just to get off the ship and walk either on the level, to viewpoints, alongside waterfalls through countryside etc. We ate once in Tuscan, on the first night, when there are usually discounts. The food was very good as usual. We chose to book to go to the special "Tuscan Night Out" towards the end of the cruise, which was priced at almost twice the normal price of the normal Tuscan cover charge and promised to be something special...special food cooked by the chef with wines to match. 50 people only and accompanied by a senior member of the ships crew on each table. This proved to be incorrect. The menu was a truncated version of the normal Tuscan menu with the addition of lobster ( which we had had in the main dining room the night before) and the "wines" offered were available on the classic drinks package.... we already had this. The service was not up to scratch and the tables were badly organised. We complained after the meal to Guest Relations and the next day the Maitre'D of Tuscan personally dealt with our complaint to our satisfaction. Celebrity do need to re-think this option. This was the only thing to marr a perfect holiday. I woke up one morning at 4a.m and couldn't resist looking outside. The scenery was breathtaking. After taking photos and a video I had to make myself go back to bed and ignore the wonderful scenery as we glided through the fjord....I would have been shattered the next day if I hadn't Approaching Geiranger the captain turned the ship through 360 degrees so all those positioned on any vantage point could see the Seven Sisters Waterfall and the equally impressive waterfall opposite it. We were simply spoilt with the scenery and became quite blazé on seeing yet another waterfall. I was constantly taking photos because the scenery was so photogenic. The ports had easy access for all. Read Less

We chose Tauck small ship cruises due to reputation. We had a good experience last year on two river cruises. We would not recommend small ship cruises with Tauck. I had written a 5 page letter describing both the good and the bad on two small ship back to back cruises and I received back a one page letter addressing one item. Most group dinners consisted of chicken. Very little choice of local foods since we visited 5 different countries. We drove around after lunch to kill time before going to hotel. VERY boring!. We should have been given a choice of shopping since we were close or go to hotel to wait. the stop At Tallinn was rushed. In Saint Petersburg only overpriced souvenir shops were suggested. Should have gone to a market area and shopped for bargains. Too many people(40) on each excursion trying to meander thru the towns we visited. I had thought Tauck was different using local guides and smaller groups. Other excursions we have been on have larger groups for less money. We did have a good Swedish lunch and a good Russian lunch. Not chicken!! this cruise better than the first one two weeks earlier with Tauck. Read Less

I would recommend this cruise for anyone who likes an adventure...from the ports to the weather, this cruise was unique for us. Highlights - Beautiful scenery and history. - Prebook Guiness tour in Dublin...less expense and saves a lot of time. Great tour...highly recommend. - We really enjoyed the small towns. Akureyri, while small, was easy to get off and walk around. Lerwick, Shetland Islands, the same...although we had to tender (still relatively easy). We also had good weather at both which helped! - Also really enjoyed our time in Reykjavik's Golden Circle. The waterfalls and scenery were amazing. - Entertainers Bryan James and Michael Redden were excellent on the ship. Also, love the Silent Disco. - Service in the main dining room was excellent. Lowlights - Dublin port transportation is an issue. Celebrity is overcharging for transfers and communication is not good. Our recommendation, take Airlink (12 euro RT) from the Dublin Airport to the Arena stop then take a taxi to the port. You can see the ship, but it is a 30-45 min walk to the terminal where you check in for the cruise. Contrary to what the ship told us, there are taxis available at the port. Transportation into the city center was 20 euro (total) for 6 of us. Celebrity is charging $15 per person per day for unlimited shuttle service to and from the port. Celebrity advised to prebook a taxi if you were going to take one. Express Taxi, which was recommended specifically by Celebrity, never came when reserved...a waste of time. Don't bother. - Green Hop-On-Hop-Off bus in Dublin was - Excursions are overpriced...more so than normal. Ex. Golden Circle tour in Iceland...$220 on the ship, $80 when you get off the boat. Recommend renting a car. Enterprise has a rental office at the port. $110, unlimited mileage. We used for two days and definitely saw more and saved money vs the excursions. There is also a Hop-On-Hop-Off option right at the port. - Everything in Iceland is very expensive. $13 for a pint of beer...local beer is 2.5% alcohol, a 20 oz Coke is $4. Plan on eating and drinking on the ship. Read Less

This was our third cruise on the Eclipse and enjoyed it immensely. For some reason the Celebrity product can be different from ship to ship. The Eclipse is our favorite. We arrived in Dublin the day before the cruise and because my wife uses a portable oxygen concentrator, we basically just rested from traveling. We did go to an excellent restaurant, Urban Brewing for dinner. We arrived at the embarkation point around 3:00PM and there was no wait getting on the ship. Our cabin was ready so we did not have the usual wait. This trip we did have an accessible cabin which we recommend highly if it is something that you need. Our cabin steward, Irwan, was exceptional and went out of his way to accommodate my wife. I believe that dining is where the Eclipse is superior to other ships. Normally we do three nights of specialty dining but because the main dining room was so good, we only did one. Our waiter, Mario and his assistant Igor, along with Oliver the wine steward were among the best we have experienced. The menu and the food itself were very good for a cruise ship. We did the Tuscan Night Out special dinner in the Tuscan Grille and it was very disappointing. For $89 each we were supposed to get a very special dinner prepared by the executive chef accompanied by fine wine. The actual menu appeared to be a limited menu from the regular one and the wine served was quite ordinary. The only highlight was that each table had a senior officer dining who in our case was engaging and forthcoming with so much information. We did the lunches at both the Tuscan Grille and Murano. The one at Murano was much superior to the Tuscan Grille. The entertainment on this cruise was very ordinary. The production shows were repeats of past shows that have outlived their welcome. Please Celebrity, get rid of Topper! The individual acts were better but not as good as our last three cruises on Celebrity. Pete Matthews, the juggler, was great. What was very welcome was the fact that there were no mega sales clogging the aisles. All sales were held inside the shops with an occasional table outside. Greatly appreciated. The service throughout the ship was exceptional. Even in a crowded OceanView Cafe tables were cleaned almost immediately. Bar service was very good. Since this was a cold weather cruise very few passengers were ever outside so all public venues were very crowded especially the buffet and Cafe al Bacio. Every person from any division of the cruise staff said hello or some other greeting. No exception. We did a ship excursion in Dublin and Scotland. Both were better than usual. It is hard not to enjoy yourself in those countries. In Iceland we did a tour with fellow cruise critic roll call passengers , the south tour with GeoIceland which was about nine hours and was really good. In Belfast we did a tour with Odyssey tours which was very much enjoyed. We picked this cruise because of the itinerary and the ship. Thoroughly enjoyed both! Read Less

We have been on approximately 25 cruises on maybe 7 different cruise lines, but never on Celebrity before our cruise to Iceland from Dublin. It was the itinerary that attracted us and Dublin and Iceland did not disappoint. Prior to the cruise we were advised not to come to the pier for embarkation until 4:30. we spent the day touring Dublin, and we were lucky enough to have made a reservation for the Kilmainham Gaol. You need to do that ahead of time. Anyway, by the time we arrived at the ship, the boarding process was a snap. No lines, walked right through in time to make the 5 o'clock fire drill. Since we picked the cruise based on the itinerary, we were not too concerned with other aspects of the cruise. The balcony stateroom on deck 6 was fine although it was a little cold for us to take advantage. Maybe a May cruise in the North Atlantic is a month too soon. The stateroom was roomy as was the bath, the only criticism being the lack of storage space for our clothes. We had to use storage cabinets over the beds which were awkward to access. The steward was terrific. The room always clean. He got to know our schedule and made up the room as soon as he saw us leave, both in the morning and at night. We prefer to eat all our meals in the main dining room if we have time. The food and the service were first rate. No need to hit any of the specialty restaurants which our dinner companions panned. Our two waitresses were friendly, efficient and made superb recommendations every night. Our one night at the buffet due to a late return to the ship was awful. Only problem we perceived was a lack of attention to detail by the Maitre d staff. We requested a large table when we made our reservation a year prior to the cruise. We were placed at a table for 4. Our table mates were great, but they were not there every night. We were right next to a table for 12 which never had more than the same 2 couples at it. If the staff were alert, they would have have asked the four of us if we wanted to sit at the larger table. In fact, our section had 4 tables of 4 and it was rare that all four tables were full. With a table for 12, the chances are much better that you will not have to dine alone. The entertainment was good, but not much better than that. The comedian/juggler was probably the most entertaining of the programs. The talent they brought aboard was superior to the production programs which had great costumes and sets, but the music and dancing were mediocre. What I missed was a good piano player at a piano bar during cocktail hour or before or after the show. We never took a ship shore excursion preferring to hook up with cruise mates we met on line. The private excursions were excellent. So nothing to report on that score. The wifi was the best at sea of any cruise line i have been on although it is getting better on all cruise ships. Disembarkation was easy. We had a 2:30 flight. The cruise line scared us on the availability of cabs because of the number of cruise ships in port and the remote location of the pier so we purchased the ship's transfer and arrived at the airport nearly 5 hours before our flight. But there were several cabs out front when we departed the ship so we could have avoided the early drop off and found something to do Sunday morning. All in all, we were very satisfied with the itinerary and the cruise ship and would recommend both. Read Less

The process getting on the boat was long, unorganized and confusing. The process getting off the boat was also very unorganized especially since the announcement giving permission to leave the boat never were announced to be heard in the cabin until the people lining up was so long. Disembarking was a total nightmare that was not organized at all, it took more than 45 minutes to get off. The cabins needs a face lift/ remodel. The food at dinner was good and the service was also good. Our cabin service was good. The Live Entertainment was excellent, if not for that the cruise would have been a total disappointment. The weather was horrible, we were 2 hours late getting into port in Iceland which made us miss the excursion we had booked that day, but I do not blame the cruise line, safety comes first. All being what it was it was the worst cruise experience we have ever had and we have been on many cruises. Read Less

I wanted to see Iceland and everything Celebrity has been a disappointment.i am finished with ocean cruising. The queues for excursions are poorly done, while the staff openly praise themselves for a job well done.. Yesterday’s excursion left at 5pm instead of 330 and was supposed to be 8 hours. Our last stop was in the dark. Got back to the ship at midnight. Today Ring of Fire excursion took us to the same sites as yesterday”s Golden Circle excursion. These excursions were very expensive and seeing the same sites twice wasted our once in a lifetime trip to Iceland. Everything on the ship is an up sell and onboard activities are boring. The activities staff are indifferent to customers. Our dining room server has been a delight but she can’t make up for the disappointment that this trip has been. Book private tours if you are doing this trip Read Less

Bucket - List trip to Iceland, with Ireland and Scotland thrown in. One issue to start out with was embarkation and debarkation in Dublin. This was the first time any big ship did a turn-around, so it was chaotic. As with any firsts, lessons must be learned. None of the taxis taking us to the port knew where to go or how to get in. But this was done in true Celebrity style. Getting off the ship and out of the port, well, that was another story. One cabbie told us on the way to the airport two days later, that the cruise line and port reached a deal to keep cabs out, and force passengers to take obscenely priced "transfers" by bus to the "City Center" or airport, and tons of them did. We stood in the rain and wind with a wheelchair waiting in the long queue for a cab, because suitcases and mobility challenges do not go well with bus transfers to be dropped in the middle of a foreign city. But once onboard, we were treated like, well, celebrities. The spa (pricy) provided great service, the folks in Michael's Club and Luminae restaurant were fabulous. Food was great also in all of the specialty restaurants. Casino was clean and smoke free!!! Only complaints with shore excursions were the behavior of other passengers - some were actually fighting because someone else took their bus seats, and others violently complained because the flowers were not blooming at the Botanical Gardens, and said they did not know we were going to waste time there. (She and her friends must have never read the description of the shore excursion). Room service was a challenge - 6 out of 8 orders were missing one or more items. We came in a day early and stayed two days afterward just to adjust to the time difference and to see more of Dublin. Would do it again - just maybe a little later in the year when it is not so cold. Read Less