Celebrity Eclipse June 19-26 thoughts

[YMMBug]

I just got off the Eclipse this morning and wanted to make a few comments while it is fresh in my mind.

 

First off, I must say the staff was absolutely phenomenal!! Captain Leo leads a great team. 

Check in was interesting but reasonably well done except that once we went through all our Covid vaccine information etc etc we were directed to security. The lady who had checked us in made a comment about a slip of paper but due to a combination of loud noise and my deafness I must have misunderstood.  Apparently there was an agent handing out little coloured slips further up the line.  No agent was handing anything out as we turned the instructed corner so I thought I misheard and kept going. Got to security and they wouldn’t let us in because we didn’t have it. My husband couldn’t walk any further at that point so I said just sit down and I’ll go talk to the agent security directed me to.  They were great. They walked me all the way back to the beginning of the process to point out the agent I dealt with. He then helped me by escorting me through the system, which even he found confusing, but we made it back, through security and onto the ship. It took us 1 1/2 hours from start to finish. Lucky part was it took so long the rooms were available!

 

One noticeable issue for me at meal times the lack of hand sanitization efforts at the beginning of the cruise. The first two machines I tried didn’t have any fluid in them. No crew was there ensuring people USED the sanitizer either. We boarded on Sunday and by Monday you could hear coughing starting around the ship. It took until Wednesday for a consistent response for sanitizing hands was implemented.  I know masks are not required and at the beginning they were few and far between. Again later in the week many more had masks on. 
 

The crew always wore masks.

 

Food was great and it was nice to have Maritime (Nova Scotia or Maine) lobster tails. I don’t like the Caribbean rock lobster tails so this was a pleasant surprise. The service staff we had was outstanding!

 

I did the hot glass as well. I paid before we left on the trip back in March.  I couldn’t find any reference to it on my Reservation nor on my X app once it loaded up so I reordered it. Turns out I had two bookings but a simple call to Celebrity cleared that up. There we about 8 people who prepurchased spots but if you didn’t go upstairs the first day they were there to book you had to take what was open. Might be nice if precooked appointments could be made on the x app. The fee covered most projects but I made the flare bowl.  You only have to pay the difference for the more expensive pieces but again they was not clearly spelled out anywhere I could find. Maybe I am technologically challenged. It was fun  and you get to help form and blow your item. 

 

I know you can’t control weather but I can’t leave it out.  It was 27*c or 80*F in Juneau! We got within one ship length of the Hubbard Glacier and saw lots of ice breaking off. I get climate change and realize the heat of the day added to our show but it was THE highlight of the week. 
 

Disembarkation was smooth and quick. 10mins from the scheduled off time to walking out through customs with our bags. 
 

We unfortunately did test positive for Covid when we got home this afternoon after over two years of avoiding getting it and being fully vaccinated and boosted. We started getting symptoms within a couple of days boarding even though everyone on board should have been negative. 
 

All in all it was a nice jump back into the cruising life!

Edited June 27, 2022 by YMMBug
Update glass show

[chemmo]

Thanks for your review.

 

When you started getting symptoms ‘within a few days of boarding’ did you present to medical for testing/possibly isolating?

 

I hope your symptoms are mild and you make a speedy recovery.

[Barwick Cruiser]

Thanks for reporting back…we’re on Eclipse in September. Glad you had a great time and excellent weather as well! Question, did you notice if there was any Villa Maria Sauvignon blanc onboard?
 

Also curious whether you self tested when you experienced symptoms? Hope you have minimal symptoms now and recover quickly. We are also vaxxed and boosted but aware that the shots don’t keep us from contracting Covid but only to hopefully keep the symptoms minimal. 

[sfaaa]

I was on the cruise right before OP. Mask was mandatory in theater and casino from Day 1. Still some people ignored the policy. Handwashing was not enforced at restaurant entrances. Buffet was self served. Some night events at observation lounge were packed with zero social distancing and few masks. By Day 5, fair amount of coughing around. DW tested positive for COVID two days after the cruise. Not trying to be negative but cruisers beware.

[jelayne]

15 hours ago, chemmo said:

Thanks for your review.

 

When you started getting symptoms ‘within a few days of boarding’ did you present to medical for testing/possibly isolating?

 

I hope your symptoms are mild and you make a speedy recovery.

I'm thinking they didn't test or contact medical or we would have heard about their quarantine experience.  Hope they at least wore masks anytime outside of the cabin to minimize the spread.

[gordylad]

Constantly hearing of people getting off the ship and discovering they caught covid which is really disappointing as the last thing you want is for this to happen. We are due to sail   November to Brazil and to be honest it’s slightly worrying to think that we could be in the same position so far from home.

Edited June 27, 2022 by gordylad

[DCPIV]

Thanks for your review!

 

I'm very glad to hear that you got so close the Hubbard glacier. That's quite a treat! 

[Peteymil]

3 hours ago, gordylad said:

Constantly hearing of people getting off the ship and discovering they caught covid which is really disappointing as the last thing you want is for this to happen. We are due to sail   November to Brazil and to be honest it’s slightly worrying to think that we could be in the same position so far from home.

I think you have to be prepared for that possibility though!

[YMMBug]

UPDATE. The tests we took onboard showed negative. DH thought he had a head cold. I have sinus issues anyway and they were no different to me.  We did stay in our cabin more and had masks when we were out wandering the ship.  The first positive test was the day we disembarked and got home. We only live a 2 hour flight from YVR and had masks on on the plane too. 

[Jldevlin]

• Did you have any issues with dining wait times ???  Or any supply issues ??

[chemmo]

31 minutes ago, YMMBug said:

UPDATE. The tests we took onboard showed negative. DH thought he had a head cold. I have sinus issues anyway and they were no different to me.  We did stay in our cabin more and had masks when we were out wandering the ship.  The first positive test was the day we disembarked and got home. We only live a 2 hour flight from YVR and had masks on on the plane too. 

Hope you are now feeling better.

[TNhome]

We were on the same cruise as the OP. My husband started feeling bad the last day of the cruise and upon arriving home we have both tested positive as well.  Unfortunately this does not seem to be a mild case as we are still experiencing symptoms 9 days later.  We found it very disappointing how Celebrity mishandled any covid protocols.  We have been on Princess and Norwegian prior to this cruise and were very satisfied with their protocols and felt they were doing all they could to protect their guests.  Celebrity has dropped the ball on this one. Due to the lack of hand cleaning and self service at the buffet we had no intention to eat there.  However one night we decided on room service, ordered on the t.v. and it never arrived so we were forced to eat the buffet as it was the only thing open. On disembarkation day we were sitting in Tuscan Grille listening to an orchestra of coughing and sneezing.  It was clear there were many sick passengers. Usually we are excited for the new passengers and what they are about to experience, unfortunately this cruise we felt sorry them. We are Elite plus and have been avid Celebrity cruisers up to this point, we will definitely rethink this on our next cruise.

[BigAl94]

On 6/27/2022 at 5:45 AM, YMMBug said:

 

One noticeable issue for me at meal times the lack of hand sanitization efforts at the beginning of the cruise. The first two machines I tried didn’t have any fluid in them. No crew was there ensuring people USED the sanitizer either. We boarded on Sunday and by Monday you could hear coughing starting around the ship. It took until Wednesday for a consistent response for sanitizing hands was implemented. 

Totally unacceptable from Celebrity, it's as if they know the cruise line going down is inevitable and desperately struggling for revenue at all costs with no respect for the customer.

[Lastdance]

We all have to remember that reviews are different depending on ships and experiences.  Yes, there is no excuse for not washing hands, filling sanitizing machines etc; however, knowing these things are always a possibility, plan accordingly.  Covid is alive and well, but unfortunately invisible, so we are all responsible for ourselves...do what you need to do and realize that it is always a possibility.  Hope for the best, but plan for the worst!  No magic bullet here...

[Mr. Nazzy]

Just to add to the others, we were on the same cruise and both came home with covid.  My wife started getting symptoms on the last sea day and I started on disembarkation day.  She took a test when the symptoms started, but was initially negative. We both tested positive the next day after arriving home.  We both have mild, but persistent symptoms. 

To answer the previous question on dining wait times - No.  The first day there was a bit of a queue to get into the main dining room.  We had a group of 6 and had anytime dining.  We typically ate around 630 and had the same team with us the entire cruise.  Service was fantastic throughout the cruise. If there was a staffing shortage, it wasn't obvious to us.

All said, we don't regret the trip at all. This was our first Alaska cruise. We had an amazing time and saw things we'd never see before.  We are already planning our next cruise. 

[DevilinaBluDress]

We were on this cruise, too! I'm sorry to hear about so many folks with Covid. I hope you heal quickly! 

 

Luckily, we managed to avoid getting Covid (or anything else). Generally, we wore masks in crowded spaces like the elevators, indoors on excursions, in any show, and while we were on the Behind the Scenes tour. On that tour, we learned that there were 2100 guests on the sailing. On the bridge, the officers shared how amazing it was to get 3/10 mile from the Hubbard Glacier- 1/1000 trips get that close. They said that it was incredible because the flow age created a visible path to get so close. 

 

We avoided the buffet and we mostly ate in Lumine and hung out at the World Class Bar which was almost empty every day as was Michael's Club unless there was a special event.

 

Our embarkation was super smooth. By a real fluke, we were the first to board the ship!

 

Overall, the service was amazing! We met some really nice people, and Alaska was breathtaking.