We boarded Celebrity Eclipse in Honolulu for a tour of the Hawaiian Islands.

We paid full price for a Balcony room and were a little disappointed to find all the passengers who booked inside cabins were given free upgrades to balcony rooms because the ship was only at 50% capacity. I also have a severe gluten allergy and I was disappointed at the lack of choice of gluten free options. The gluten free bread was recycled sponge cake and very sweet. Most of the staff outside the main dining room never heard of gluten free. This ship is also advertised as child friendly but there are no activities for kids outside of the kids club and kids are barely given a mention and not noted on the daily planner. We have sailed on several cruise lines and other ships offer separate gluten free menus and they also offer substantial benefits for people with special needs such as priority boarding on sailaway and tenders. None of this was offered on Celebrity. A few days into our 11 night cruise, Captain Leo calmly announces a couple of people contracted Covid and they now recommended to wear masks. Most people ignored this advice because we were advised it was only 2 people who were infected. Well by the end of the cruise more than 60 people were now in isolation (many of the infected guests were wandering the corridors chatting to crew without wearing masks) and passengers were dropping like flies every day. A few days after his initial announcement Captain Leo then mandates compulsory masks but by then it's too late. There was still no social distancing anywhere on the ship and overcrowding in lifts, stairs, theatre etc

The wifi is also painfully slow even if you pay for the premium service and constantly drops out even in the internet lounge. The entertainment is also catering for an older clientele. Our cabin toilet had a delay in flushing. The service lift broke down in Honolulu which meant luggage were very delayed and some people didn't get their luggage until 9pm when they boarded at 1pm. Disembarkation was horrendous at Vancouver and we were stuck on the ship for hours due to issues at the Port. Read more