Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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towny44
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Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by towny44 »

This was our first of 2 cruises on Eclipse in 2015 and I am happy to report that it still provides a top quality cruising experience, the service, food and cleanliness standards still provide a benchmark that other main stream cruise lines struggle to match, for specific details see my previous Eclipse reviews. Will we sail her again, this will undoubtedly depend on the itineraries, we have a Canaries and Azores booked for this September which is a repeat of one we did last year, and we have a Baltic cruise booked for 2016, again a repeat of one we did in 2013. Although we don’t particularly like the Eclipse Med itinerary we might possibly do this again in 2017, but unless Celebrity start to change some of their itineraries we may need to fall back on P&O, or possibly we might try a Royal Caribbean cruise, but Eclipse will remain our favourite ship.

Eclipse had just been in for its first 5 year dry dock and has had a few minor alterations undertaken. The main one is the addition of a separate suite dining room, Luminae, which has been partitioned off from the ground floor MDR, reducing the space by about one eighth, Celebrity is slowly moving towards the multi class system, rather like Cunard. Concern had been expressed on some forums that this might put pressure on the select or freedom MDR, but there was no noticeable increase in queuing or waiting times that we saw, however there is now only one entrance into the lower level MDR which does slow down entry and exit for Club dining and also increases queuing for breakfast. The other minor changes are the re-branding of the molecular bar to the world bar, and the passport bar in the Grand Foyer now doubles as a Gastro bar until 5:00pm serving some pay for food dishes and a large selection of beers.

The entertainment on Eclipse still struggles to match the range and quantity of P&O or Princess, mainly because it lacks the extra show venues of their ships. They only have 3 production shows in the theatre and as they run these for 5 years they are exactly the same ones we had seen on our previous 3 cruises. The number of guest artists seems to be reducing, with 2 of the production singers now being given a theatre show of their own. We only went to 3 shows, other than the production ones, but heard mainly negative comments about most of the others. However Steve Larkins was the hit of the guest artists with his Freddie Mercury tribute show, and we were pleasantly surprised with the singing of the MacDonald brothers, from the X factor, we went with fairly low expectations but thoroughly enjoyed their very well performed and popular repertoire of modern music. The evening entertainment in the Sky Lounge has gone downhill since last year when I commented that a 10:45 start was a bit too late for us, well the first show on there whetted my appetite, fabulous 50’s Rock and Roll night, however this now started at 11:30pm and other shows even later at 11:45. For most folk who remember the 50’s a show starting at 11:45pm is way too late, so a big disappointment for us.

The weather on the cruise was quite cool, we certainly needed sweaters and jackets to keep warm, and my wife was grateful that she had taken some woolly gloves with her. We only had rain on one port day but it had to be Geiranger which is probably the most scenic of all. For the rest the temps were in the very low teens, or lower, and sunshine was in short supply, Stavanger was mostly sunny but with a very cold strong wind almost too strong to dock, in fact MSC Orchestra did not try to dock, so strike one for Captain Manetas and Eclipse. Strangely the warmest day was day one in Reykjavik, where there was a little sun in the afternoon and it felt quite pleasant walking around the town.

Reykjavik – we had an overnight here arriving about 1:00pm and sailing at 2:00pm the next day, for us these half day overnights are a bit pointless, my wife takes her time getting ready in a morning and we seldom have breakfast before 10:00am which leaves little time for us to have a worthwhile visit ashore if we are leaving at 2:00pm, especially when n the same place as the previous day; and accessible shore excursions are limited and very expensive. Full day overnights in places of real interest, like St Petersburg are OK, but we prefer to sail overnight, while we are asleep doing nothing, rather than have extra sea days in 2 halves.

Akureyri – we had been here on a cruise 3 years ago and although the place is little changed it was much busier this time; we wondered if was because we were with P&O last time with almost 100% Brits whereas this time we had only 50% Brits, perhaps Brits take more shore excursions, or perhaps it’s because Celebrity shore excursions or much more expensive. It’s a pleasant enough town to wander around and because it was chilly the tourist shops and cafes were all well patronised. We dined with a couple that evening that had shared a 6 seater mini-bus tour with 2 other couples and saved a fortune on a Godafoss waterfall tour compared with the price of the ships tour.

Klaksvik Faroes – we almost missed this port, it was very foggy as we arrived at the pilot pick up point around 6:00am and we had to wait until 9:00 before it cleared enough for Eclipse to risk the narrow channel, the Captain announced later that another 15 mins and we would have had to leave. The ship berths a little way out of town but they had provided complimentary shuttle buses into town which is built around a natural bay. There is very little to see here, and very few shops or cafes, so most people only seemed to walk around the bay and back.

Geiranger – we arrived here about 8:00am and were using the “seawalk” floating dock rather than tenders which meant we would have been able to go ashore even with a wheelchair, some people had been up early to watch us sail down the fjord, in daylight and quite bright conditions. I checked the navigation page for the temp. and was happy to see it was already 15 deg and it felt quite pleasant on the balcony with a hint of sunshine. Unfortunately by the time we went for breakfast it had started raining and it gradually got worse with low clouds sliding down the fjord sides and covering the Costa Favolosa which was anchored about 100 metres away, it was reminiscent of some Star Trek episodes as the ship kept appearing and disappearing from view. We decided to stay on board and wait for it to stop raining; unfortunately it never did so we have no idea what treats Geiranger might have had for us. We did watch the sail out of the fjord after dinner from the Sky lounge which is similar to the Crow’s nest on P&O but with much bigger windows than Britannia, but conditions were not ideal, still some rain and very overcast.

Alesund – We had an afternoon tour booked here so took our time in the morning and had a late breakfast/brunch. Our expected panoramic coach tour of Alesund turned out to be a drive through the town on our way to the outdoor Sunmore museum of Norwegian maritime and early housing history, not initially an ideal place for a full time wheelchair user, with steep gravel paths to some of the reconstructed houses. However it was more interesting than it first appeared and it was reasonably bright and not too cold and we enjoyed a stroll around the more level areas and into the large boathouse showing small boats and ships through the ages, there is also an onsite café in the pictorial museum. The final stop is at the Mt Aksla lookout point giving you spectacular views of the town and a very worthwhile highlight. Our (Russian) tour guide did comment that the weather was very untypical, locals had never experienced a colder spring and early summer in their lifetime, and the media were saying it was the worst for 40 or 50 years.

Olden – We had been here before with P&O and I was sure this was where I had seen a “seawalk” similar to the one in Geiranger, however they have a fixed concrete dock and my photos from our P&O cruise seem to confirm this was the case then, so I am still trying to remember which port had the floating seawalk, unless I had just watched it on YouTube. It was cloudy and chilly this time, quite a change from the summer weather we had enjoyed last time, but we went ashore for a little stroll into the main town/village centre. There is not a lot to see, especially when the mountain tops are shrouded in mist, and one is left to wonder where the local residents work as tourism cannot support the entire population.

Stavanger – As commented earlier it was very windy here, especially in the morning as we were docking and the harbour, which is actually a large inlet, had whitecaps on the wavelets that were being blown along by the wind. It is not the easiest of ports to explore with a wheelchair, the streets run uphill from all around the harbour and some of the cobbles are difficult to navigate, so our stroll around town was mainly at sea level . To get out of the wind for a time we popped into the Maritime museum which has some quite interesting facts and artefacts about shipping, boatbuilding and associated industries all the way through to the giant oil rig platforms, which has made Stavanger, a much wealthier version of, the Aberdeen of Norway. A final stop at some of the tourist knick-knack shops for a few souvenirs for family and friends, which like everywhere else on this cruise was only too happy to accept credit cards, and we were back on board for our welcoming hot chocolate or chicken consommé drink, just one of the many nice touches that Celebrity provide.

The final sea day did provide one extra bit of excitement when we had a helicopter emergency medi-vac. We were in the cabin packing mid-morning when the captain came on the tannoy to announce that the coastguard was sending a helicopter for an emergency evacuation of one of the passengers. And at about 11:45 the helicopter arrived and after some exceptionally fine and controlled flying in very strong winds, too strong for it to risk landing on Eclipses heli-pad, they winched down 2 crew and then in tandem winched the patient and then his wife aboard. The whole procedure took about an hour and we were able to watch it from our port side balcony, with the wind coming from starboard the helicopter pilot made all his approaches from the port side.

A very interesting event for most passengers but probably a very frightening one for the couple involved, and we were never given any update to advise if the patient was OK or not.
John

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Dancing Queen
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

#2

Post by Dancing Queen »

Nice review John, thanks for sharing.
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Bobbie
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by Bobbie »

Interesting review, thank you. We are just back from a cruise to Ireland, Iceland, the Faroes and Orkney on the Queen Elizabeth (12 nights). We didn't have very good weather either. In Dublin it started raining around lunchtime, VERY heavily, so we quickly hopped on the shuttle back to the ship. We didn't make it to Belfast as there was a deep depression moving in from the west, and the Captain took the decision to get ahead of it by missing Belfast - disappointing for those like ourselves, who had booked a private minibus trip to the Giant's Causeway, although we wouldn't have wanted to visit in the pouring rain and then face rough seas!

We had a full day in Reykjavik (left at 8.30pm), where we had booked another minibus for the Golden Circle tour with IG Tours, they were excellent and I would thoroughly recommend them. The weather stayed dry but was very cold, I was glad to have hat, scarf and gloves. The sights in Iceland were amazing.

The next day we were due to stop in Isafjordur, a pretty little town at the end of a fjord, however there was a very strong wind and it was not safe to launch the tenders, so we turned around and sailed out again! To make up a little for our disappointment the Captain got us to Akureyri early evening, and people could go ashore if they wished, but I'm not sure many did. We'd just finished dinner and didn't fancy changing back into jeans etc. I think a fair number of the crew went ashore once they'd finished for the night. We walked on deck at around 11 - 11.30, as it was still light, and took some pictures.
Next day we had booked a Cunard excursion from Akureyri and this was OK, except that we were so rushed. We only stopped for 20 mins at the Godafoss waterfall - hardly enough time to walk there, take a few photos, and walk back to the coach. The next stop was at a grotty hotel for coffee where we were allowed 40 minutes! We decided to instead go for a walk down to the lake. We were also rushed around the lava formations in just 15 mins, then had to queue for another 10 mins for the toilets! The weather was not good, we had a bit of rain and a lot of cloud and it was still cool.

The next stop was Torshavn in the Faroes, where we did another Cunard tour. Again it was rather rushed, and again we stopped for coffee and a pretty grotty hotel with only 2 toilets for 3 coachloads of people! It rained a lot, so we didn't get off the coach much, but the Faroes scenery was quite spectacular.

Our final stop was at Kirkwall in the Orkneys, and at last the sun came out. We had a beautiful day, and did an interesting coach tour of the island.In the afternoon there was still time to have a look around Kirkwall, which was a nice little town, and we even had a drink sitting outside a cafe!

I will also post this, with a fuller review of the ship, in the Cunard section.

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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

#4

Post by barney »

Cheers for the review

Very good, both of them!

We've yet to venture north so far but no doubt will one day
Empty vessels .. and all that

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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by Dark Knight »

Iceland is truly stunning and a place I would recommend anyone to visit on a cruise
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GillD46
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by GillD46 »

An interesting read, especially about Eclipse, which we will try one day I am sure. Thanks for sharing.
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Gill W
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by Gill W »

The more I read about Eclipse, the more I want to try it.

Thanks for your review, Towny
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oldbluefox
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by oldbluefox »

Thanks for the review towny. Pity about the weather when you are visiting such scenic ports.

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towny44
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by towny44 »

oldbluefox wrote:
Thanks for the review towny. Pity about the weather when you are visiting such scenic ports.
Fortunately for us now, Foxy, the ship itself is 90% of our holiday, we normally only spend 2/4 hours ashore wandering around if the weather is good, with an occasional accessible shore excursion if we can find one that's not too expensive.
Which reminds me I did not comment in my review on the prices Celebrity quoted for private shore excursions in Iceland & Geiranger, where there were no Celebrity accessible tours, Iceland was $560 and Geiranger was $1973 for the 2 of us, I can't believe that anyone took them up on these offers, but maybe there were some Americans who thought they were good value. :shock:
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

#10

Post by Boris+ »

Lovely review - and really glad that you had a good time.

Gill W - go on, book it; I think you'll really enjoy it.

Once we had cancelled our Cunard Iceland outing, I tried in vain to get onto this Celebrity Eclipse cruise, but couldn't find any available accommodation which I fancied, so we're off elsewhere! However, Iceland is still firmly on my bucket list - and pretty near the top, too.

We can't wait to get back on Eclipse, and we've got some Millenium outings booked too.

Anyway, really pleased that you have had a lovely time, and huge thanks for posting this great report.

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oldbluefox
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by oldbluefox »

Those prices for shore excursions are eye-watering, towny. I often think P&O's excursions are expensive for what you get but if I am on a Saver fare I just take it as swings and roundabouts and it does mean we don't have to worry about 'missing the boat'. I wonder if the presence of wealthy Americans meant they could literally charge what they liked although I am surprised there were no Celebrity accessible tours. I would have thought Geiranger and Iceland would be grateful for the trade. Do you think this was due to low take-up on account of a lack of multilingual commentary?

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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

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Post by towny44 »

Foxy, just to be clear Celebrity's prices for ordinary accessible tours are much less than those prices for private tours. The one we took in Alesund was only $79.50pp (=£52pp), and was actually a regular panoramic tour, but utilizing a coach with accessible access, which is something Celebrity frequently offer, but P&O rarely seem to. We booked this on board and were able to utilise our OBC, if we had prepaid for the tour I think I would have struggled to drink my way through that amount of OBC.
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Solent Richard
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Re: Celebrity Eclipse Iceland & Fjords review June/July 2015.

#13

Post by Solent Richard »

Nice review and a pretty similar itinerary to the one we did with Celebrity Infinity in June last year.

The 'seawall' was a real blessing for those with speed of foot.

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