Celebrity Eclipse Review
Inconsistent - Great Dining - Weak Buffet - Excel. Srvc & Rooms - So So Enter.
Rating by category
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Have cruised with NCL and Holland-America for comparison.
ONBOARD NATURALIST: Milos is Excellent. Every lecture he provided was excellent scientifically, with supporting details and entertaining :). Answers questions extremely well, and is one of the most enjoyable people you will meet on a cruise. He is not on every cruise.
FOOD: Knew from reviews that Celebrity Eclipse had food quality issues. Dining room (Bluemoon) was good to excellent food quality with rare exception. Service was very good. Main buffet (Oceanview Cafe) was very disappointing. Consistently over cooked and dry meat, but sometimes done well on a few dishes. Cakes: not one was worth eating at the buffet. Everyone I tried (then frankly gave up after about 10 tries over several days) was either extremely bland or just poor flavors. Colorful, but not worth eating. Cafe served creme brulee that was awful. Bluemoon dining creme brule was excellent. Cafe cheese cake was awful. Bluemoon dining cheese cake was excellent. Cafe salad vegetables were often either unripe of going bad. Pizzas are mediocre. Pasta is an embarrassment. Every red or meat pasta sauce was literally SOUP, not sauce, with very weak flavoring. Cafe breads were consistently dry and hard (left out too long). Donuts were worse I've ever tasted -- old and tough. Breakfast food quality was better in the cafe than lunch or dinners, but again, waffles were dry. Pancakes were better. Meats were often dry. Muesli cereal was very good.
Cabin Review
Inside Stateroom 9
Rooms were excellent. Very nicely done washrooms and comfortable beds. Better than NCL and a bit better than Holland-America. (NCL had bed bugs on Bahamas cruise in 2014.)
Port Reviews
Victoria
Beautiful city, but nothing in the city compares to Butchart Gardens. Excusions are ridicously overpriced, but because Uber is outlawed in BC, the trip from dock to gardens gets complicated. The garden ticket is only about ~30 CAD per adult and parking is free. Buy in advance and it is good anytime for one year. We have been to Victoria before and best price is to purchase tickets in advance on the ferry boat from Port Angeles to Victoria. You can buy in USD and avoid high Canada sales taxes.
Juneau
Juneau is a great experience to see how a modern, industrial, Alaska city operates in a remote region. Mendenhall Glacier is an enjoyable trip, but you can rent a car for what you pay for just 2 people to take a $45 each ship shuttle bus from dock to Mendenhall Glacier. With a car you can see the many beautiful sites along the Glacier highway. St Teresa church and gardens on the water is beautiful whether you are Catholic or not. Bears frequent Eagle Beach State Recrecation Area during April / May low tide as they come down to eat clams before teh berries and salmon are available. They were reported as active in the morning the day we visited, but we did not see them in the evening. This is a locals favorite park just for the views and open space.
Icy Strait
Beautiful area, but city of Hoonah is quite run down in many areas and not enjoyable to visit. The dock and receiving area is very nicely done. We visited with several locals and had a great afternoon learning of the history and their lives in Hoonah, and enjoyed bald eagles and a hump back baby whale in the harbor and around the ship.
Skagway
Skagway is interesting to walk around, but better to hike out to the point and smuggler cove. If you don't mind a really overpriced bus ride or train ride, then do the Yukon. Skagway is very commercialized tourist shops, and distracts from the beauty of Alaska. National Historic Park is a nice escape.
Sitka
Spectacularly beautiful city. Our favorite of all Southeast Alaska ports. Similar to Seward in beauty and views. Many bald eagles, and great drive up the mountain.
Ketchikan
Ketchikan is over crowded and few excursions worth doing, per local guides.
Vancouver
One of the most beautiful cities in the world. Stanley Park, near the docks, is great for sea side walks and interior forest walks.