My first cruise on board of the Celebrity Cruise

Holidaying in a huge ship wasn’t exactly my idea of a vacation but when my other half said we were off to Norway on board of the Celebrity Cruise, I said why not, after all, it will be a holiday !

So here we were in Southampton on a sunny Friday afternoon queuing to check in to board this amazing Eclipse ship. The check in process was a very well organised and rather fast operation, held by friendly staff members.

Pretty impressive isn’t it ?

Now I know what you are doing… I counted them all as well !!

Arriving in our room, we were delighted with the size of it and the apparent comfort. The room included a large king size bed, storage, a wardrobe, large plasma screen TV, mini bar (refiled daily), a seating area. The bathroom compromised a sink, sufficient storage, toiletries (no branding) a walk in shower, bathrobes and lots of fluffy towels.

The balcony was large enough to incorporate two chairs and a table. If only the weather had been a bit warmer in Norway, we would have use it more. I could only imagine how lovely it must have been when touring the Mediterranean Sea.

Soon after getting familiar with our stateroom, we met our room Attendant Jimmy who introduce himself and made sure everything was in order for us. Jimmy has proved to be an amazing attendant and really cater to all our needs with discretion and attention to details.

The décor and the design on the boat was reflecting luxury, over 15 floors, the ship offered many restaurants & bars, disco, lounges, cafes, indoor & outdoor pools – obviously we did not try that one!! The gym was equipped with modern machines and had the most amazing view which made my daily run so much more enjoyable !

Inside pool & Jacuzzi

Our evening dinner on the main dining restaurant was every day delicious and immaculately presented. Each night the Head Chef offered us a different menu with a wide selection of starters, Main including fish & meat and desserts. The service provided by the restaurant team was excellent – the best we ever had.

Dinner with a view !

Martini any one ?

We tried the Spa which uses Elemis products and the experience was was truly amazing. The only down side was the service charge added later on to the bill. It is not something we are used to in the UK and Europe so we ended up paying much more than we anticipated.

Many activities were organised during our week on the Eclipse but being a “tiny bit” younger than the crowd Celebrity Cruise normally cater for, we did not participate to any of them. However, we attended to one of the evening show in the theatre which was fantastic, we felt like in a theatre in London. To add a touch of glamour we played a bit of $$ in the casino !!

Theatre were shows and presentations were organised daily.

Vegas time !!

Relaxation is taken to another level with the on-board…I think we have never been so relaxed in all our life ! Coming back to busy London was really tough ! The level of service offered by each team member is outstanding and could not recommend it enough.

Is this island available for rent ?

Open sea view…

The only negative points towards Celebrity Cruise was not to have paid enough attention when scheduling the cruise to Norway. The week organised fell during a bank holiday which meant most of the shops, restaurants, museums were closed and the streets empty when we were in land. For most of the older guests it was not a problem as they only went as far as the souvenir shops! but for those like us who wanted to discover the culture and the people of Norway, Celebrity Cruise really failed us.

The target audience. Don’t take me wrong, I have nothing against the older generation but being on a huge ship for a week with an average age of passenger closer to 90 years old was tough for a newly engaged couple.

After a week on the cruise, with its up and down, my sea sickness, the fight at the buffet (let me not get into details!!) would I come back… the answer is YES but…not before another good 30 years :-)