Aft Cabins on the Eclipse

[Ken the cruiser]

We have hooked the October 2017 Canary Island cruise out of Southampton with the TA back to Miami by way of Boston, New York and Bermuda. We booked them early so we could reserve one of the veranda rooms on the aft. This will be our third cruise with Celebrity and have always had a great time, whether it was cruising Alaska or around the Galapagos!

 

As we have never cruised on the Eclipse, we were looking for opinions regarding the aft-facing veranda rooms. Basically, are they comfortable rooms during rough weather or should we be thinking about relocating to a room on either side of the ship? We've had good luck with some aft facing rooms on other cruise lines, but wanted to make sure there weren't any "unknowns" associated with those on the Eclipse as this will be our first transatlantic cruise.

 

Also, we booked a concierge level room as it appeared those were the only ones in the aft section. Are there any good perks that come with the concierge level? Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

[ClaudiaB]

We don't have motion problems so we always book corner aft cabins. These ships do such a good job of stabilizing motion. We experienced 20 foot seas once on Eclipse but we were in the Bay of Biscay avoiding 50 foot seas and changing route.

 

View is great. There is a longer walk to stairs/elevator but we figure it just helps work off a martini and some creme brûlée.

Concierge gets you more loyalty points, and there is lunch on embarkation day in the main dining room.

You also get some small canapés delivered every day, some sparkling "wine" but those are probably negligible. Depending on your cabin, you may have a larger balcony if you're center aft. Supposedly there is a better room service menu but honestly if you want something you can just write it in on the room service card.I do highly recommend room service breakfast on port days. Saves the back and forth and you can enjoy your beverage and a croissant or omelet while pulling into port.

Your cabin is the same size as the verandah cabins.

Have a great cruise. We've sailed on Eclipse 4 times.

[Cruise a holic]

Have had a aft S1 on the Eclipse as well as a S2 mid deck on it's sister ships. Just some points, while the Aft view is beautiful, during the day very hot and sunny. Also, depending upon the direction of the wind, you might get a lot of soot on your balcony. Do not attempt to hang clothes on the balcony as they will get dirty. The cabin, because it is long, has less closet space- but it was adequate for our two week cruise. We didn't mind the long walk to the elevators- but some people might. We had a porthole as well as the glass doors to the patio. However, we had window washing equipment most days parked in front of our side porthole.

 

You do feel a little more motion in the back, but that wasn't an issue for us. I guess it is a toss up, which cabin we liked better. Both the mid and aft cabin IMO were great.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Cruise a holic

[Ken the cruiser]

Have had a aft S1 on the Eclipse as well as a S2 mid deck on it's sister ships. Just some points, while the Aft view is beautiful, during the day very hot and sunny. Also, depending upon the direction of the wind, you might get a lot of soot on your balcony. Do not attempt to hang clothes on the balcony as they will get dirty. The cabin, because it is long, has less closet space- but it was adequate for our two week cruise. We didn't mind the long walk to the elevators- but some people might. We had a porthole as well as the glass doors to the patio. However, we had window washing equipment most days parked in front of our side porthole.

 

You do feel a little more motion in the back, but that wasn't an issue for us. I guess it is a toss up, which cabin we liked better. Both the mid and aft cabin IMO were great.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Thanks! The big reason we asked, as we love aft-facing rooms, is because we almost booked one on HAL's Prinsendam and found out their aft-facing rooms were added after-the fact when they bought her from Seabourn. Unfortunately, the "new" rooms weren't the same size as the other verandas and were known to have vibration and other annoying issues not normally encountered in their other verandas on the ship.

[Fouremco]

We love the Sunset Veranda (SV) aft cabins on the Eclipse and have another booked for our next Celebrity cruise. We've never experienced really rough weather, and what little motion we've noticed in moderately rough seas has not been an issue, even for my DW who is prone to motion sickness.

 

I'm surprised that you say that there are only concierge-level cabins in the aft, as the SV category does not include concierge service. I've taken a look and there are still SV cabins available for both cruises, including at least one still open for both.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Fouremco

[Ken the cruiser]

We love the Sunset Veranda (SV) aft cabins on the Eclipse and have another booked for our next Celebrity cruise. We've never experienced really rough weather, and what little motion we've noticed in moderately rough seas has not been an issue, even for my DW who is prone to motion sickness.

 

I'm surprised that you say that there are only concierge-level cabins in the aft, as the SV category does not include concierge service. I've taken a look and there are still SV cabins available for both cruises, including at least one still open for both.

 

About a month ago we realized the same thing and looked into seeing if it would be worth it to switch to a SV. We found out we could save only $50 pp over both cruises totalling 24 days and would loose all the additional perks we've picked up along the way since booking it over a year ago. Next time we will definitely look at a SV veranda as well.

[spendless]

Been on Eclipse SV & "standard" side balconies. SV has great views but stateroom is same size. No negatives but in my opinion does not justify additional cost.

[Ken the cruiser]

Been on Eclipse SV & "standard" side balconies. SV has great views but stateroom is same size. No negatives but in my opinion does not justify additional cost.

 

Thanks. We realize there is an extra cost, but to us there is something special about that aft view when leaving a port or going through the Panama Canal and seeing the ships in the locks behind you that you just don't get on a side view veranda. One time was saw one of those massive oceanic car carriers going through the left lock of the Panama Canal and a tall ship next to it going through the right lock. What a sight!!

[Fouremco]

Been on Eclipse SV & "standard" side balconies. SV has great views but stateroom is same size. No negatives but in my opinion does not justify additional cost.

We have a 14 day Southern Caribbean booked that cost under $200 more than a mid-ship regular balcony. We're happy paying that small additional cost for the location and the view, but that's certainly a personal choice.

[kandj46]

Just arrived back from a wonderful trip on the eclipse we had a great aft cabin,dead centre of the ship on the top deck (12) .Cabin is exactly the same size as all the others ,but is very private as you are not overlooked.

No soot issues at all. We did notice some noise from the bar directly above,mainly chairs been dragged around and high pressure hosing of the deck very early ......around 4am. Didn't bother us too much really though. The views are fantastic and in our opinion worth the extra.Our cabin was designated concierge ,but what you get for that perk would not be in my opinion worth having ,as others have said a bottle of fizzy and a few nibbles daily. The best perk of concierge is the embarkation lunch.

We had rough seas a couple of times , not really bad ,but enough to have to hold the handrails when walking,we didn't notice it any worse in our cabin than it was lower in mid ships.

Have a great cruise,we have also booked this beautiful ship for a cruise next year.

 

 

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[Ken the cruiser]

Just arrived back from a wonderful trip on the eclipse we had a great aft cabin,dead centre of the ship on the top deck (12) .Cabin is exactly the same size as all the others ,but is very private as you are not overlooked.

No soot issues at all. We did notice some noise from the bar directly above,mainly chairs been dragged around and high pressure hosing of the deck very early ......around 4am. Didn't bother us too much really though. The views are fantastic and in our opinion worth the extra.Our cabin was designated concierge ,but what you get for that perk would not be in my opinion worth having ,as others have said a bottle of fizzy and a few nibbles daily. The best perk of concierge is the embarkation lunch.

We had rough seas a couple of times , not really bad ,but enough to have to hold the handrails when walking,we didn't notice it any worse in our cabin than it was lower in mid ships.

Have a great cruise,we have also booked this beautiful ship for a cruise next year.

 

 

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Thanks kandj446 and glad you had a great cruise! That's always good to hear. We're dead center on the 9th floor and so looking forward to our 2 cruises on her in less than a year from now. We can't wait!!

Edited October 31, 2016 by Ken the cruiser

[deelastcre]

Hi Ken, I think that we sailed together to Galápagos. I think my picture is in the background of your profile picture. We always booked the aft-facing balcony on Eclipse. We had no problems with soot or noise. We were two decks under the Sunset Bar. We have the same cabin booked for Tahitian Treasures this spring. We like the quietness and need the exercise after meals and wine. We always book Concierge Class 1. Give my regards to your wife.

[Ken the cruiser]

Hi Ken, I think that we sailed together to Galápagos. I think my picture is in the background of your profile picture. We always booked the aft-facing balcony on Eclipse. We had no problems with soot or noise. We were two decks under the Sunset Bar. We have the same cabin booked for Tahitian Treasures this spring. We like the quietness and need the exercise after meals and wine. We always book Concierge Class 1. Give my regards to your wife.

 

Hey there Deelastcre!! I see you there. Anida says hi! Was that a great cruise or what! I think of all the cruises we've ever been on, the Galapagos by far was the most memorable and we talk about it all the time! Thanks for sharing your experiences on the aft-facing rooms. Since we booked our first one on a cruise through the Panama Canal, we've been hooked ever since. We just got back from sailing on HAL's new Koningsdam to the North Cape and having an aft-facing room going through the fjords made it all that more enjoyable!

 

Have fun on your Tahitian Treasures cruise. We were looking at that one where you would fly to Sydney and cruise back to Hawaii and then maybe on to Vancouver if the price was right. Looks like a great cruise!!