Eclipse Alaska Thoughts - July 24th

[mrbocbox]

After some sweating about Covid tests, we tested negative at home in Texas and flew out to Vancouver. We stayed at the Pan Pacific above the Canada Place terminal. Great beds, kinda expensive, ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY EASY for departing on a cruise. 

 

Our boarding appointment was at 12 Noon and the check in portion was super quick and easy, they briefly look over your fast pass and covid tests, then move you onto Security & US Preclearance. As there were a total of 3 ships leaving from the same pier, this took about 50 mins. This was our first experience with 3 ships in 1 terminal and it was a little rough. Line kept moving, but processing 9,000 people was a lot. But, after all that, we were on the ship and our keys were at the cabin door. Cabin was ready to go. 

 

We had received notification that we got our Move Up to a concierge class stateroom the week before and had a nice aft facing hump by the mid-ship elevators. Room was just like our previous Equinox class ships. Kinda getting dated. As was much of the ship. It doesn't seem that anything has been updated. 

 

The service was great. Lots of smiles. Encountered a few overworked bartenders. Worst was in the theater. But, we only went to 2 shows. We spent a lot of time at the Sunset Bar and got good service there. The Martini Bar was always busy and could take a while for drinks. We'd sometimes go to the Casino bar to get drinks and come back and people watch. 

 

Ports were amazing. Great scenery. We got SOOO close to the Hubbard Glacier. Much closer than the previous ship I was on. Got to see calving and hear the thunder. It was freezing, so bring WINTER clothes! We took the Sawyer Glacier Explorer excursion out of Juneau. It was expensive, but stunning scenery. We saw humpback whales, bears, seals, sea lions, eagles. Absolutely magical. HIGHLY RECCOMEND. 

 

We didn't hear of any people falling ill with Rona. Only the occasional coughs which raised eyebrows. lol. There were some people wearing masks here and there, but not too many. 

 

Our only gripes were the following:

Main Dining Room food seemed off. Menus were blah. We had Select Dining, which I really liked because the pace seemed faster than traditional seating. We never really waited to get seated. We did the Tuscan Grille on embarkation day for the special and was underwhelmed. Starters and desserts were good, but the steak was puny and greasy. Due to the lackluster MDR food, we started eating dinner in the Oceanview. At least we could try a variety of things. I chock it up to supply chain issues. I've seen menus and food pics from other Celebrity ships in service right now, and I'm jealous of what I see. I definitely feel that Eclipse was on the short end of the stick when it comes to quality ingredients. 

 

My other complaint is mild, but will result in a lot of groaning. Often times when we were on our balcony, our next door neighbor would start playing guitar. I wouldn't have a problem if it was pleasant Spanish guitar or some classics. No, it was acoustic Metallica. And sometimes he would sing. 😞  Much in the same way we don't appreciate smokers wafting their exhales around us, the same goes for music. Eventually we'd start talking loudly and he would retreat indoors. It's not how we'd like to experience the scenery of the inside passage. 

 

Overall, we had a great time seeing so much natural beauty. It was great to be back on a ship after having this cruise booked since 2019. 

[basenji56]

I had a guy next door to me who practiced his saxophone every afternoon when I was trying to take a nap.  I finally complained and they talked to him.  I guess you should be glad he didn't bring his electric guitar and amp!

 

[TraderSam]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We've just booked the Eclipse for June next year so will check out your Sawyer Glacier recommendation. 👍🏻

Edited August 10, 2022 by TraderSam

[john2003]

I hope they up their food game before our October cruise out of Sydney. I am expecting a quality experience.

[CU64]

On 8/9/2022 at 7:08 PM, mrbocbox said:

After some sweating about Covid tests, we tested negative at home in Texas and flew out to Vancouver. We stayed at the Pan Pacific above the Canada Place terminal. Great beds, kinda expensive, ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY EASY for departing on a cruise. 

 

Our boarding appointment was at 12 Noon and the check in portion was super quick and easy, they briefly look over your fast pass and covid tests, then move you onto Security & US Preclearance. As there were a total of 3 ships leaving from the same pier, this took about 50 mins. This was our first experience with 3 ships in 1 terminal and it was a little rough. Line kept moving, but processing 9,000 people was a lot. But, after all that, we were on the ship and our keys were at the cabin door. Cabin was ready to go. 

 

We had received notification that we got our Move Up to a concierge class stateroom the week before and had a nice aft facing hump by the mid-ship elevators. Room was just like our previous Equinox class ships. Kinda getting dated. As was much of the ship. It doesn't seem that anything has been updated. 

 

The service was great. Lots of smiles. Encountered a few overworked bartenders. Worst was in the theater. But, we only went to 2 shows. We spent a lot of time at the Sunset Bar and got good service there. The Martini Bar was always busy and could take a while for drinks. We'd sometimes go to the Casino bar to get drinks and come back and people watch. 

 

Ports were amazing. Great scenery. We got SOOO close to the Hubbard Glacier. Much closer than the previous ship I was on. Got to see calving and hear the thunder. It was freezing, so bring WINTER clothes! We took the Sawyer Glacier Explorer excursion out of Juneau. It was expensive, but stunning scenery. We saw humpback whales, bears, seals, sea lions, eagles. Absolutely magical. HIGHLY RECCOMEND. 

 

We didn't hear of any people falling ill with Rona. Only the occasional coughs which raised eyebrows. lol. There were some people wearing masks here and there, but not too many. 

 

Our only gripes were the following:

Main Dining Room food seemed off. Menus were blah. We had Select Dining, which I really liked because the pace seemed faster than traditional seating. We never really waited to get seated. We did the Tuscan Grille on embarkation day for the special and was underwhelmed. Starters and desserts were good, but the steak was puny and greasy. Due to the lackluster MDR food, we started eating dinner in the Oceanview. At least we could try a variety of things. I chock it up to supply chain issues. I've seen menus and food pics from other Celebrity ships in service right now, and I'm jealous of what I see. I definitely feel that Eclipse was on the short end of the stick when it comes to quality ingredients. 

 

My other complaint is mild, but will result in a lot of groaning. Often times when we were on our balcony, our next door neighbor would start playing guitar. I wouldn't have a problem if it was pleasant Spanish guitar or some classics. No, it was acoustic Metallica. And sometimes he would sing. 😞  Much in the same way we don't appreciate smokers wafting their exhales around us, the same goes for music. Eventually we'd start talking loudly and he would retreat indoors. It's not how we'd like to experience the scenery of the inside passage. 

 

Overall, we had a great time seeing so much natural beauty. It was great to be back on a ship after having this cruise booked since 2019. 

It amazes me that people do not think….playing a musical instrument on a cruise ship balcony. You weren’t the only ones who heard it. 

[Lobbylin]

Thanks for your review! We will be on Eclipse next month heading to Honolulu & Sydney. Do you have a daily planner that you can share with me? I’m trying to get a feel for what times trivia will be as we have a lot of sea days.

Were there any offers on board for the speciality dining? I recall years ago that waiters would try selling the dining around the ship and that if they had a lot of availability they sometimes offered a discount.

I was lucky enough to go on one of the Eclipse inaugural cruises when she first launched… a few years go now! She was very modern then!!