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REVIEW – 12 Night British Isles - Celebrity Eclipse

ITINERARY: Amsterdam, Cork Ireland, Dublin Ireland, Holyhead Wales, Liverpool England,

Belfast Northern Ireland, Greenock (Glasgow) Scotland, Inverness Scotland

This was my first cruise on Celebrity. Holland America did not have the itinerary we wanted so we decided to try them. I went with my sister, Nancy. We left 2 days early, actually arriving 1 day early with the late flight and 7-hour time change. We flew Business Class Chicago to Dublin and Dublin to Amsterdam on Aer Lingus. Both flights were late and we got into Amsterdam an hour late. Their passport control people seemed to all close their stations (except 1) and left hundreds of people waiting while the shift changed, causing us to be delayed again. We got to our hotel, Hilton Doubletree Centraal Station about 3:00, too exhausted to do anything in Amsterdam other than a quick dinner and then sleep.

The next day we took a cab to the port, only about 2 miles away, and only had about a 10 minute wait before they checked us in. We booked Concierge Class staterooms (Nancy and I had separate cabins) and paid for Priority Access, so we were in a different line for check-in. Upon boarding we were able to go directly to our cabins. The room was somewhat disappointing. Much smaller than HAL's mini suite by about 100 sq ft. Barely room to walk around the bed and sofa to verandah.
We dropped off our carry-on luggage and went to the Welcome Aboard luncheon for Concierge Guests in the Dining Room. We sat with 4 other people and shared stories about traveling. It was a pleasant meal until someone from the ship stopped at our table to give us a high-pressure pitch about their alternative restaurants and drink packages. Highly inappropriate to the start of a cruise. And this wasn't the last time this happened.

To summarize our trip, I'll break it into several parts. Ship, Staff, Ports/Tours

SHIP

The Celebrity Eclipse is a beautiful ship and exceptionally clean. Every day we saw people cleaning the public areas. Whenever we walked into a dining area there was someone there to squirt hand sanitizer into our hands. We didn't have the usual lifeboat drill. But I haven't cruised since 2019 so I'm not sure if this is common now. We have to view a video on the smartphone app and submit it. If this wasn't done, people were contacted to complete it.
Food: The meals in the Buffet had a different theme every day. Food was abundant, mostly fresh, and to suit a variety of diets. Their hours were not what I was used to. It seemed like in the past we were almost always able to get something to eat there. But lunch was not served until noon and dinner at 6pm. The dining room was pleasant with different specials every day and some entrees that were always available. We had "anytime dining" so we could go to dinner anytime between 5:30 - 9:30. There was some food available on the pool deck, but it was always too cold for us. They have 4 specialty restaurants. The only one we didn't try was the Sushi restaurant.

Le Petit Chef is an unusual experience. They have a menu that comes with a show that is projected onto your table. There is also an alternative menu if you don't like those dishes. But you also get to see the show. What was strange is that the show did not relate to the menu itself, so we were confused about the menu choices. It was cute but not something we'd do again.

The Tuscan Grille was supposed to be Italian fare. We booked late on the cruise and could only get a lunch seating. When we got there and were seated, they immediately brought us Lobster Bisque. We asked why we didn't get a menu, and they said that this seating was a special Seafood Meal with a fixed menu. We were not told this and we had been looking forward to an Italian meal for days. Nancy doesn't eat Seafood, so we left. We were very upset that they neglected to mention this at any time. It was not even in the daily program, the app, or when we made the reservation. So, my only recommendation is to check if you are really getting Italian food.

Murano was excellent. A very upscale experience with several courses including an amuse bouche and a palate cleanser. We had Chateaubriand for 2. The food and the service were excellent, and our only regret was we waited until the end of the cruise to try it, so we had no time to go again.

SHOPS: There are shops on deck 3 which are the usual souvenirs, clothing, jewelry, liquor and a very small sundries section. On deck 4 you have designer jewelry, purses, etc. and the art gallery.
CASINO: Slot Machines and tables for Blackjack, 3 card Poker, Texas HoldEm, Roulette and Craps. You can use American dollars or Euros. If you charge your chips to your cabin, you pay a 5% fee. This didn't seem like a gambling bunch of people, and we always found room to play the games we liked. Dealers were very friendly.
TENDERS: We had to tender into some ports. We skipped one port (Dublin) because the seas were very rough and the tender ride was very long. Another tender we came back on had a problem with the door closing and the ship’s crew and some passengers had to hold it closed but when we hit a wave we got wet. Also, there was a glass hatch at the top that had a leak. It wasn't just a drip but a stream and those sitting near it (Nancy) got wet. Very poor maintenance for something that is used for both a life raft and tendering.
HOT GLASS: They had two people giving lessons in glass glowing onboard. We each got to pick an item, and they would show us how to make it (and keep it). I made a lovely glass dish and Nancy made a vase. The most interesting & fun thing I've done on a ship. (It does cost extra)
SHOWS: These were sadly lacking. We only went to one, a very good comedian. The others were not at all to our interests.
TRIVIA GAMES: We loved these and attended all we could. There were 2-3 a day. We won the Musical Trivia thanks to Nancy knowing the answers to all but 1. And we won a General Trivia with another couple on our team. Not big prizes, the first was a deck of cards and the second was a pop-socket for your smartphone. However, we did not like the fact that there was a large team of over 6 people that won most of the contests. I thought this was very unfair. Only the last day did they limit a team to 4 players.

STAFF

Bar & Food: We had nothing bad to say about any of the bar or dining staff except for one person. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. In the buffet they came around with coffee and juice and cleared tables promptly. One bar person in the dining room was very stiff and didn't really like that we didn't order drinks a dinner and Nancy only wanted sparkling water. And she felt that getting ice was a chore.
Cabin Steward: He kept our rooms clean, brought us ice every night and was unobtrusive but not very friendly.
Shore Excursion Staff: The desk was not very helpful when we asked questions about ports. The staff managing each excursion were a mix. We mostly met in the Theater before an excursion. The first time there was someone at the door checking the excursion people were on and directing them to the desk at the bottom (down many, many steps). We told him it was hard for us to do steps, and he went and got the tickets for us. We said that was crazy with so many older and handicapped people on board to make people do that. The next time we went, they had the desk right by the door at the top. But then the last time it was back at the bottom with no one on top. So, I had to manage the stairs. A very poor system.
Guest Services: This area is a joke. They were never able to help us the first time and sometimes not at all. Celebrity really needs to work on this. Their app was often misleading, part not operational, and overall, a pain. Guest Services’ only answer was uninstall and reinstall it, which never helped. It was constantly annoying us with alerts that we were due back on ship (even when we were on board) with no way to clear it. For disembarking it showed me leaving at one time and Nancy at another. When we asked guest services, they said never mind, it will work itself out in a few days. Two days before the end we went back and again showed them our different times. They finally fixed it. I was never able to see the deck layout of the ship. As for onboard, I would receive cards with invitations and discounts delivered to my cabin, but Nancy never got the same. This happened before the cruise with emails from Celebrity. And Nancy is the one who booked the cruise to begin with.

SHORE EXCURSIONS

Cork was the only Excursion where we had time to do some shopping. The others were bus tours of the countryside, which had no time built in for stopping for more than 15 minutes. We really wished these were arranged better. At Cork we went to Blarney Castle and the Woolen Mills. Unfortunately, Celebrity didn't fully explain the tour. There are over 100 steps to "kiss the Blarney stone" up a narrow, steep, claustrophobic, one way staircase, no way to turn back (as explained by tour guide) and that day there was a 2 hour wait. We might have picked a different tour knowing this. So, we didn't go up the steps and chose to have a nice lunch and do some shopping at the mills.

Holyhead Wales was a 4 hour bus ride through the countryside. We got a well narrated trip about their history. Stopped at one castle for 15 minutes but not time to shop in the nearby town, then another 15 minute picture stop. We got to the town with the 58 letter name and were told we only had 15 to shop there. It was a nice store, and we would have liked more time there.

In Liverpool we took a 2 hour bus tour around the city. The tour guide talked mostly of the architecture and old buildings but left out some interesting things we passed such as a Carousel and Ferris Wheel. He also didn't talk about the new modern architecture. Instead, he touted many bars we should come back and visit, no doubt he received a kick back for that.

In Belfast we did a Hop on Bus on our own, not through the ship and had plenty of time to see the city and visit a Market Square with lots of stalls.

Greenock is the port near Glasgow. Another 4 hour afternoon bus tour that had a 20 minute stop in the town of Luss. It is such a small town, there is 1 store, 1 gas station. It doesn't take long to see it all. Lovely and quiet little village. The bus then got on a ferry for a 20 minute ride back to the port. Beautiful scenery and history of the area. We made it back to the ship with 15 minutes to spare before final boarding call.

Inverness was an afternoon 4 hour tour. Traffic was bad so the ride to the dock for the boat ride on Loch Ness took longer than expected. We were told we only had 10 minutes to use the facilities and no time to shop before the boat left. But it seems we had to wait for two other buses so we could have spent more time in the shops. Out on Lock Ness everyone searched for Nessie but didn't see her. (Perhaps they should device a mechanical one to amuse tourists). Then back to the bus where we were told to board immediately. And then sat there for 15 minutes while they figured out one of the other buses had broken down and we had to take some of their people back. Again, we could have been shopping.

OVERALL

The ship was fine although all things considered we'd sail Holland America if the itineraries were the same. Met lots of nice people on the ship, mostly from America and some from other countries. And managed to avoid talking about politics. We enjoyed the trip and loved the countries we visited. People we met in the various ports were wonderful. They were gracious and didn't show their disdain for Americans although it was obvious that they were all suffering because of the shortages and cost of a war they weren't concerned with.