My Wife and I have just returned home from a 14day cruise on the Eclipse. This was our first time on Celebrity having previously cruised 15 times with P and O.
Must say it was a lovely experience. Everthing went very smoothly at Southampton and we were aboard within 30 mins of parking our car. The ship itself is stunning, our stateroom was lovely and the staff excellent.
The food was excellent in the MDR and QSINE was an experience in itself. Being picky we thought there were a couple of things P and O do much better.
The entertainment was not very good, A juggler a man playing a garden hose and 2 mediocre singers. The westend type stageshows however were very good also the ventriloquist Gareth Oliver was great. The cost of the drinks onboard stunned us, more than double the equivelant cost on P and O, Also found having to pay on average $16 for port tranfers which are free on other lines. Overall as a total package we thought the cruise was great. Coming back through the bay of biscay we hit some really nasty weather huge waves and strong winds, the Eclipse took these in her stride and rode the weather really well. We now have a difficult job picking future cruises. Little to pick between P and O and Celebrity with both having a lot going for them, Celebrity Eclipse is visually stunning very comfortable great staterooms and outstanding staff. P and O very British with a traditional pub on each ship and much better entertainment. also very good value for money. a lovely problem to have though. Will probably come down to itinerary as we loved both lines.
My Wife and I have just returned home from a 14day cruise on the Eclipse. This was our first time on Celebrity having previously cruised 15 times with P and O.
Must say it was a lovely experience. Everthing went very smoothly at Southampton and we were aboard within 30 mins of parking our car. The ship itself is stunning, our stateroom was lovely and the staff excellent.
The food was excellent in the MDR and QSINE was an experience in itself. Being picky we thought there were a couple of things P and O do much better.
The entertainment was not very good, A juggler a man playing a garden hose and 2 mediocre singers. The westend type stageshows however were very good also the ventriloquist Gareth Oliver was great. The cost of the drinks onboard stunned us, more than double the equivelant cost on P and O, Also found having to pay on average $16 for port tranfers which are free on other lines. Overall as a total package we thought the cruise was great. Coming back through the bay of biscay we hit some really nasty weather huge waves and strong winds, the Eclipse took these in her stride and rode the weather really well. We now have a difficult job picking future cruises. Little to pick between P and O and Celebrity with both having a lot going for them, Celebrity Eclipse is visually stunning very comfortable great staterooms and outstanding staff. P and O very British with a traditional pub on each ship and much better entertainment. also very good value for money. a lovely problem to have though. Will probably come down to itinerary as we loved both lines.
Thank you for your comments. I'm delighted that you all had a great experience overall.
It's inevitable that some cruise lines focus on one part of the cruise experience and other cruise lines focus on other parts of the cruise experience, creating relative strengths and weaknesses. I think that Celebrity's production shows are quite good, but I agree with you that the headliners often are the top names in the business. These are factors that we all have to consider when choosing one cruise line over another.
A couple of your comments seem to represent cultural differences between the United States and the United Kingdom, which carry over to the cruise lines marketed primarily in the respective countries.
>> The price of beverages on Celebrity, before the automatic gratuity, generally seem consistent with pricing at upper middle class pubs here in the States. Also, the automatic gratuity (15%) matches the customary gratuity here in the States. I think that Celebrity's policy of providing a line for <i> additional </i> gratuity on bar charge slips is extremely tacky at best.
>> All of the major cruise lines marketed primarily in North America also charge separately for the transfers between the airport and the cruise terminal, with two exceptions. If you book a pre-cruise or post-cruise hotel package through the cruise line, the pre-cruise or post-cruise package includes the transfer between the pier and the hotel. Also, if you book airline arrangements through the cruise line, either with or without a hotel package, the air package includes the transfers to and from the airports. It's easy enough to obtain the price of the transfers in advance if you are comparing fares on different lines.
All of the cruise lines marketed primarily in North America follow these basic policies.
Celebrity was far better than P&O in every respect in our experience...except as a Brit I found the tips/Grats a bit excessive. A different world altogether at least one star better.
Whilst we had some very good entertainments on our last P&O cruise, that's what most of it is, entertainment, rather than a full on show on Celebrity.
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JTD 2010
Thank you for your comments. I'm delighted that you all had a great experience overall.
It's inevitable that some cruise lines focus on one part of the cruise experience and other cruise lines focus on other parts of the cruise experience, creating relative strengths and weaknesses. I think that Celebrity's production shows are quite good, but I agree with you that the headliners often are the top names in the business. These are factors that we all have to consider when choosing one cruise line over another.
A couple of your comments seem to represent cultural differences between the United States and the United Kingdom, which carry over to the cruise lines marketed primarily in the respective countries.
>> The price of beverages on Celebrity, before the automatic gratuity, generally seem consistent with pricing at upper middle class pubs here in the States. Also, the automatic gratuity (15%) matches the customary gratuity here in the States. I think that Celebrity's policy of providing a line for <i> additional </i> gratuity on bar charge slips is extremely tacky at best.
>> All of the major cruise lines marketed primarily in North America also charge separately for the transfers between the airport and the cruise terminal, with two exceptions. If you book a pre-cruise or post-cruise hotel package through the cruise line, the pre-cruise or post-cruise package includes the transfer between the pier and the hotel. Also, if you book airline arrangements through the cruise line, either with or without a hotel package, the air package includes the transfers to and from the airports. It's easy enough to obtain the price of the transfers in advance if you are comparing fares on different lines.
All of the cruise lines marketed primarily in North America follow these basic policies.
Happy cruising!
Norm.
Norm:
Just a note on something you may not be aware of. Last year when Eclipse debuted there were many complaints from the Brits about the auto tip added to the drink bills. Celebrity took a different approach this year only on the Eclipse and that was adding the tip into the price of the drink. The auto gratuity doesn't appear anymore but the drinks are the same price overall that they were last year.
You think that's bad, you should see the complaints on tipping overall especially if you pick select dining where there is mandatory pre=paid tips.
Its a cultural thing, some complain tremendously, some don't complain and surprisingly there are a number of Brits who are ashamed of their countrymen for stiffing people on tips. As to my last point, lots of Brits are getting on board and removing the tips off the account and not leaving anything.
First time on celebrity (Eclipse)
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