1st time on Celebrity - we're going all in!

[ajtaylor29]

Hubby and i love cruising, have enjoyed every cruise and cruiseline (some more than others, of course!) and in recent years we've been pretty loyal to Royal. We started on Carnival years ago, then shifted to Royal, with 1 on HAL and 1 on Crystal sprinkled in. However, I've been wanting to branch out and try some new lines, particularly Celebrity (i know, sister co. to Royal) and eventually NCL, maybe Virgin, maybe MSC, etc. Hopefully we'll get to spend our golden years cruising all over the world! (we're 60-something now).

So, we started looking at cruises for next year in Northern Europe, and came across a B2B opportunity on the Eclipse: Best of Scandanavia (13 nights), then Iceland, Ireland and Scotland (13 nights). They both sounded so amazing that we couldn't pick so we decided to do both!  It's may/June 2025. We've never booked that far out either so the waiting will be something new for us.

I'm a little nervous as we've never sailed this long, and it's a new ship/new cruiseline for us so i hope we like it!!!

I know it's an older ship, and we're fine with that. But, for those who have sailed on Eclipse recently please let me know your thoughts! I believe i read that Eclipse will be in dry-dock next March, so when we board in May we'll hopefully have some new carpet!

[the penguins]

15 hours ago, ajtaylor29 said:

Hubby and i love cruising, have enjoyed every cruise and cruiseline (some more than others, of course!) and in recent years we've been pretty loyal to Royal. We started on Carnival years ago, then shifted to Royal, with 1 on HAL and 1 on Crystal sprinkled in. However, I've been wanting to branch out and try some new lines, particularly Celebrity (i know, sister co. to Royal) and eventually NCL, maybe Virgin, maybe MSC, etc. Hopefully we'll get to spend our golden years cruising all over the world! (we're 60-something now).

So, we started looking at cruises for next year in Northern Europe, and came across a B2B opportunity on the Eclipse: Best of Scandanavia (13 nights), then Iceland, Ireland and Scotland (13 nights). They both sounded so amazing that we couldn't pick so we decided to do both!  It's may/June 2025. We've never booked that far out either so the waiting will be something new for us.

I'm a little nervous as we've never sailed this long, and it's a new ship/new cruiseline for us so i hope we like it!!!

I know it's an older ship, and we're fine with that. But, for those who have sailed on Eclipse recently please let me know your thoughts! I believe i read that Eclipse will be in dry-dock next March, so when we board in May we'll hopefully have some new carpet!

Great choice. Eclipse is one if our favorite ships and the one we chose to celebrate our Golden Wedding on. We love all the S class ships. You haven’t mentioned your cabin but for us deck 7 or 8, rear facing balcony on the hump and with the bed next to the balcony is just perfect. My wife has mobility issues and having the couch nearest to the door gives us much more space. The forward facing Sky Lounge has great views and a variety of seats. As we don't drink alcohol our "go to place" is the Cafe Al Bacio. Shows in the main theatre will be 7 and 9pm - the latter the most popular. We have Anytime Dining precbooked for 6.30 always at a sharing table  (we eat as a couple every day at home) which works great with the theatre time.

Enjoy.

[Cruise a holic]

I am sure you will love it!  Hope that you are in a sky suite or above.  The perks are wonderful!  Enjoy your cruise.

[Octavias]

Congratulations!  Sounds like two amazing itineraries.  We booked a year in advance for our first cruise and will be leaving later this month.  The only thing I didn’t expect was how many changes Celebrity made over the year we have been waiting.  I would definitely save a copy of your details for reference. 
enjoy your anticipation and planning, and your cruises! 😊

[ajtaylor29]

3 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

I am sure you will love it!  Hope that you are in a sky suite or above.  The perks are wonderful!  Enjoy your cruise.

yes, we are splurging on this cruise since we're on for so long! 1st leg in a Celebrity suite, 2nd leg in a Sunset Sky Suite!

[Cruise a holic]

55 minutes ago, ajtaylor29 said:

yes, we are splurging on this cruise since we're on for so long! 1st leg in a Celebrity suite, 2nd leg in a Sunset Sky Suite!

Great choices!  Since we started sailing in suites, we haven't been back to balcony cabins.  We love the suite lounge and  Coastal kitchen and on the E class ships the suite deck. We aren't wealthy but are getting on in years.  Our children are all married with families of their own and it is their responsibility to provide for their families.  We a spending their inheritance one cruise at a time!

[ajtaylor29]

2 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Great choices!  Since we started sailing in suites, we haven't been back to balcony cabins.  We love the suite lounge and  Coastal kitchen and on the E class ships the suite deck. We aren't wealthy but are getting on in years.  Our children are all married with families of their own and it is their responsibility to provide for their families.  We a spending their inheritance one cruise at a time!

Totally agree! We always start out saying we'll be fine in a nice balcony cabin....then slowly talk ourselves into the suite because well - the suite life is so wonderful! Glad at this stage in life that we can afford to pamper ourselves a bit!

I'm hoping that Luminae is as good as Coastal Kitchen, because we're perfectly happy eating most of our meals in Coastal. We will usually have one or 2 specialty meals mixed in, and i'm sure on this 3-1/2 week cruise we'll want to do that a few times. Which are your favorite restaurants? I'm really looking forward to trying something new, since i've eaten in all the Royal restaurants multiple times!!

[Cruise a holic]

4 minutes ago, ajtaylor29 said:

Totally agree! We always start out saying we'll be fine in a nice balcony cabin....then slowly talk ourselves into the suite because well - the suite life is so wonderful! Glad at this stage in life that we can afford to pamper ourselves a bit!

I'm hoping that Luminae is as good as Coastal Kitchen, because we're perfectly happy eating most of our meals in Coastal. We will usually have one or 2 specialty meals mixed in, and i'm sure on this 3-1/2 week cruise we'll want to do that a few times. Which are your favorite restaurants? I'm really looking forward to trying something new, since i've eaten in all the Royal restaurants multiple times!!

We enjoy luminae meals.  However we also take a package and do three (or more) dinners in Specialty restaurants.  We have done move up's from Sky suites to Royal Suites or Celebrity suites, but ships are running full lately and we must sail prime times- so doubt we will luck out again.  But as long as we have access to suite perks, I am happy in a sky suite!

Edited May 9 by Cruise a holic

[Cruise a holic]

27 minutes ago, ajtaylor29 said:

Totally agree! We always start out saying we'll be fine in a nice balcony cabin....then slowly talk ourselves into the suite because well - the suite life is so wonderful! Glad at this stage in life that we can afford to pamper ourselves a bit!

I'm hoping that Luminae is as good as Coastal Kitchen, because we're perfectly happy eating most of our meals in Coastal. We will usually have one or 2 specialty meals mixed in, and i'm sure on this 3-1/2 week cruise we'll want to do that a few times. Which are your favorite restaurants? I'm really looking forward to trying something new, since i've eaten in all the Royal restaurants multiple times!!

Lol!  Ditto

[D. B.]

On 5/8/2024 at 8:25 AM, ajtaylor29 said:

Hubby and i love cruising, have enjoyed every cruise and cruiseline (some more than others, of course!) and in recent years we've been pretty loyal to Royal. We started on Carnival years ago, then shifted to Royal, with 1 on HAL and 1 on Crystal sprinkled in. However, I've been wanting to branch out and try some new lines, particularly Celebrity (i know, sister co. to Royal) and eventually NCL, maybe Virgin, maybe MSC, etc. Hopefully we'll get to spend our golden years cruising all over the world! (we're 60-something now).

So, we started looking at cruises for next year in Northern Europe, and came across a B2B opportunity on the Eclipse: Best of Scandanavia (13 nights), then Iceland, Ireland and Scotland (13 nights). They both sounded so amazing that we couldn't pick so we decided to do both!  It's may/June 2025. We've never booked that far out either so the waiting will be something new for us.

I'm a little nervous as we've never sailed this long, and it's a new ship/new cruiseline for us so i hope we like it!!!

I know it's an older ship, and we're fine with that. But, for those who have sailed on Eclipse recently please let me know your thoughts! I believe i read that Eclipse will be in dry-dock next March, so when we board in May we'll hopefully have some new carpet!

I was just on Eclipse a few weeks ago. Around the bottom of South America.

  I did see a few indications of wear that should be addressed but overall the ship (and my Concierge cabin) were fine.

  I would sail on Eclipse tomorrow with no worries.

I love the M and S class ships as they are less crowded and less Glitzy than newer ships.

 

[ajtaylor29]

2 hours ago, D. B. said:

I was just on Eclipse a few weeks ago. Around the bottom of South America.

  I did see a few indications of wear that should be addressed but overall the ship (and my Concierge cabin) were fine.

  I would sail on Eclipse tomorrow with no worries.

I love the M and S class ships as they are less crowded and less Glitzy than newer ships.

 

Thanks! I love to hear this!

We've sailed on older RC and Carnival ships, also the new, bright shiny RC ships. Love them all! 

While i do enjoy some of the variety on the bigger ships, we also seldom take advantage of all the bells and whistles (no slides, flowriders, go-carts needed for us!)

We tend to take the new big ships when the itinerary doesn't really matter (what? Cozumel again you say? Ok Sure!!! Let's go cruising!) But, when we sail for a special itinerary like this one, what's most important is a good cabin, great crew and a few good dining options. I'm sure we're going to have a great time!

 

[nimiq]

9 hours ago, D. B. said:

I was just on Eclipse a few weeks ago. Around the bottom of South America.

  I did see a few indications of wear that should be addressed but overall the ship (and my Concierge cabin) were fine.

  I would sail on Eclipse tomorrow with no worries.

I love the M and S class ships as they are less crowded and less Glitzy than newer ships.

 

I also love the M and S class ships but the Edge to my liking beats them all. Not sure what ship your referring when you say not as crowded and Glitzy ? Must be another line as even the Edge class keep it modern elegant look without being over the top. 

[abbydancer2003]

For specialty restaurants the Eclipse has Murano (continental), Tuscan Grill (Italian/steak), Le Petit Chef (gimmick), and Sushi on 5. If we do one, it's Murano.  

 

We did our first Royal on Symphony in a suite last year.  We prefer Celebrity - Royal was a bit too big for us, but we had fun.  One difference is that Coastal Kitichen was open for lunch every day, Luminae, like main dining is closed on port days.

 

On the Eclipse, the Luminae kitchen is co located with the main dining kitchen, so you can order from the main dining menu if you want.  

 

I've been on the Eclipse a few times, and have her booked again next year.  My sister and I will bringing her back after the 2025 European summer.

 

Edited May 10 by abbydancer2003

[D. B.]

1 hour ago, nimiq said:

I also love the M and S class ships but the Edge to my liking beats them all. Not sure what ship your referring when you say not as crowded and Glitzy ? Must be another line as even the Edge class keep it modern elegant look without being over the top. 

I like the older ships. Classic with lots of wood.I don’t like the style of the Edge class ships. Especially the freaky mirrored hallway going back to the big empty Eden where the Main dining room should have been.

The Edge class ships are not much bigger than the Solstice class ships but like all newer mid priced cruise lines Celebrity packs in another 1000 guests.

Summit has 2100 guests and Edge goes to 3700.

My biggest disappointment with the Edge is that there is no forward Sky Lounge.

Edited May 10 by D. B.
Added content

[the penguins]

21 hours ago, ajtaylor29 said:

yes, we are splurging on this cruise since we're on for so long! 1st leg in a Celebrity suite, 2nd leg in a Sunset Sky Suite!

have a great cruise.

Love your CC name - it's the boss's (Anita's) initials and maiden name. Our grandson lives in Dallas and we will be staying with him in November sadly flying both ways whereas normally we do one way as a Transatlantic cruise.

[Tom47]

We are on the Best of Scandinavia, May 9-22, 25.  There is a roll call for our cruise if you are interested.   See   

 

Edited May 12 by Tom47

[KKB]

On 5/8/2024 at 10:25 AM, ajtaylor29 said:

Hubby and i love cruising, have enjoyed every cruise and cruiseline (some more than others, of course!) and in recent years we've been pretty loyal to Royal. We started on Carnival years ago, then shifted to Royal, with 1 on HAL and 1 on Crystal sprinkled in. However, I've been wanting to branch out and try some new lines, particularly Celebrity (i know, sister co. to Royal) and eventually NCL, maybe Virgin, maybe MSC, etc. Hopefully we'll get to spend our golden years cruising all over the world! (we're 60-something now).

So, we started looking at cruises for next year in Northern Europe, and came across a B2B opportunity on the Eclipse: Best of Scandanavia (13 nights), then Iceland, Ireland and Scotland (13 nights). They both sounded so amazing that we couldn't pick so we decided to do both!  It's may/June 2025. We've never booked that far out either so the waiting will be something new for us.

I'm a little nervous as we've never sailed this long, and it's a new ship/new cruiseline for us so i hope we like it!!!

I know it's an older ship, and we're fine with that. But, for those who have sailed on Eclipse recently please let me know your thoughts! I believe i read that Eclipse will be in dry-dock next March, so when we board in May we'll hopefully have some new carpet!

40+ cruises under my belt over 20 years(DH about 30)...Celebrity is our fav line, followed closely by Princess, but RCCL/NCL/Carnival are all right there. (we are 58 & 61)

 

After 2 B2B MSC cruises (one Caribbean/one Europe), won't do them again--though I have heard that Yacht Club, particularly on the older ships is amazing. (we did Retreat on Beyond...got a wonderful price. Enjoyed it, but don't feel it was worth the extra $ for us)

Celebrity certainly cannot compare to Crystal, but we find mainstream lines to be more alike than different.

 

Honestly we find more differences from ship to ship than line to line. If we could just get our favorite things from each ship on one ship--well, we would never leave that ship!

 

That itinerary looks AMAZING. We did northern Europe in October & loved it more than we anticipated; I did UK last May & fell in love; took DH this year & he was equally enthralled. 

 

Glancing at those itineraries--we LOVED Copenhagen (did a Segway tour; our friends who are in their late 60s talked us into it & it was a BRILLIANT way to see the city!), Amsterdam (do spend some time there if before/after or at least on turnaround day), Belfast, Inverness (Love the Highlands). Many ports we have not been to--wish we could do this one!!

 

Have a WONDERFUL time!!

[ajtaylor29]

20 hours ago, Tom47 said:

We are on the Best of Scandinavia, May 9-22, 25.  There is a roll call for our cruise if you are interested.   See   

 

thank you! yes, i will definitely join the group!

[Lastdance]

I couldn’t wait to do my first b2b in Europe, but it did seem to be quite longer than I had imagined.  It really helped to plan some land time either before or after the cruises, as that saved me.  Never in a million years would I have thought that because I actually wanted to do part of a world cruise.  Life is all about surprises and being able to monitor and adjust.  Sounds like you have some wonderful adventures forthcoming...enjoy!😍

Edited May 13 by Lastdance