Eclipse is a lovely boat but for a Baltic cruise has insufficient indoor areas to sit in the evening. The cabin is one of the better ones compared with other ships. The buffet was chaotic at meal times so we tried to avoid busy times but risked food being packed away. The entertainment provided by the cast was not as good as I was expecting, but Uke Box and the Beatles tribute made up to some extent of our disappointment. Service in bars and dining room along with food was another disappointment no local cuisine and we refused to pay despite pressure and sales pitch to upgrade to speciality restaurants.

The ports were why we were on the trip and they did not disappoint although we did no cruise trips just got off and found a boat, bus or train. I did not expect to pay for a shuttle bus into towns, another move for cruise lines to get more money out of us. St Petersburg trip was organised with TJ Travel who were excellent cheaper and better than the ships offerings.

The muster exercise I would have thought not acceptable to Maritime law, could not see the video nor the demonstration too many people in small room, people feeling faint, not being allowed to leave, absolute farce. Read more