Just returned from the 14-night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Eclipse and it was wonderful. Will break it down by categories:

Coming and going: Embarkation was a breeze. We were on the ship, made our reservations for specialty dining, and were eating lunch in Bistro 5 by noon. Rooms were ready by 1:00ish. For debarkation, we lingered in the Tuscan Grille (for Elite members) until 9:00 am. We used the luggage valet program, which was great - no lugging bags through security in port or airport and they were amongst the first ones off the plane in Boston. Will definitely take advantage of this program more often, although we had to pretty much beg to get on the list as we never received the appropriate form to fill out. Next time, we will be right on it.

The Ship: So beautiful and easy to navigate. There was someone always cleaning something, art work was nice, public rooms cheerful. Crew went out of their way to be friendly - always asking about our day, to say good morning or good night, helping in any way possible. Pool area is the only thing that lacks. One 6' deep pool and one 3' deep pool in the main area. Total bather amount was supposed to be 25 in the "big" pool, less in the smaller pool. Felt crowded at times, especially on sea days. Lounge chairs were plentiful, but there were definitely people saving chairs very early in the morning and not returning for several hours. Always managed to get a chair, but had to be at the pool by 9:00am to get something near the pool. Tried the solarium pool once and was not impressed. That pool was about 4' deep - not very relaxing at all. We dubbed it the wave pool because on rocky days, the waves were big. Casino was another disappointment - not a lot of variety for the slot machines. Came home with most of my casino money because it just wasn't fun. Read more