Celebrity Eclipse - The best ship I've ever seen, (so far)

I've just got back up from Southampton after a travel agent day visit to the Celebrity ship, The Eclipse, (It's a hard job but somebodies got to do it). The cruise lines invite us all down every so often to tour their ships and enjoy some lunch in the dining room so that when my lovely passengers ask about a particular ship we can comment from personal experience.
Today was the turn of the Celebrity Eclipse.
If you'd asked me about it before I would have told you that Celebrity cruise lines were Royal Caribbeans big sisters.
Stylish, sophisticated, elegant, innovative, modern and relaxed.
My opinion of them hasn't changed after today, Celebritys ships, especially the Eclipse, are all these things. What I didn't realise till this morning was that those descriptions were just words.
I didn't realise how stylish she was. I didn't realise how sophisticated she was. I didn't realise how innovative she was. And neither will you until you sail on her. The pictures I've added below, (and there are a few), don't do her justice at all. Until you're onboard, surrounded by her elegance, bathed in her mood lighting and relaxing in one of her many bars, (the martini bar is my favourite, more on that later though), you won't be able to appreciate her either. I really do have to repeat, these pictures don't do her justice; however, hopefully they will wet your appetite just enough to book a cruise on her. Trust me, you won't regret it!

My first view of the Eclipse

With that iconic funnel. It's no red and black, (Cunard), but you can still spot it from a mile out.

Guest visitor number 007! License to cruise.

That's me Rob and Anna going through check in. All the staff were really polite and friendly, even though they could tell we weren't passengers.

The Eclipse theatre. It can hold up to 1,113 passengers with lots of room for wheel chair access as well.

Remember when I said innovative? Well the theatre has screens outside with show times and videos of what you can expect.

The sky lounge, located at the front of the ship, was really gorgeous. Again I'm going to point out these pictures don't do it justice, but it was clean, simple, modern and elegant. The perfect place to watch the ship sail out of port, or relax of an evening with a live band playing.

You can't really see during the day but the Eclipse is quite big on mood lighting and there are strips of it in the central column behind the bar.

These loungers point straight forward so that when the ship is sailing you can lounge back, enjoy a drink and watch where the ship is heading. A great vantage point!

The dance floor and in the background is where the live band would set up.

Up on top deck with some of the sun loungers. Very padded and comfortable!

I do like to see a well stocked bar.

Not just a random photo of a table. I wanted to show you a picture of the ash tray as there are certain places on the top deck where you can smoke. Unlike Royal Caribbean, Celebrity also let you smoke out on your balcony, (if you're lucky enough to have one).

A few shots of the open swimming pools up on main deck with two heated pools on either side as well.

Remember that word innovative again? Well Celebrity pride themselves on having things on their ships that no one else has. Like half an acre of real lawns that you can picnic on, play french boules or just chill out in the sun on. 

Three or four times a day they also have glass blowing demonstrations up on deck with the money from any glass pieces bought going to charity.

My only bug bear from the entire visit. Fake wooden floors. Why do so many cruise lines insist on putting down this horrible looking lino rather than real wooden decking?

Chill out at the back of the ship, away from the wind, in the sunset bar.

Another great innovation. A fountain on deck that can also double up as a stage or dance floor of an evening for shows and discos.

Want to stay up on top deck but don't want too much sun? No problem, just jump in one of these tented sun loungers.

The inside swimming pool. Very stylish and chilled out.

And yes this chair did comfortably fit all three of us!

I bet that mood lighting wall would look absolutely amazing of an evening.

The Aqua spa. Beauty, health, fitness, well being, you name it they offer it.......

And everything they offer can viewed on this touch screen TV in the Aqua spa reception with a list of treatments and prices available. Another great modern innovation.

No not just a random barber sign!

 I wanted to show you all the signs had braille underneath.

Now I'm working on the assumption that there wont be too many blind people reading this review but for anyone that likes to cruise with a blind family/friend member, or any one wheelchair bound say, I wanted to let you know that they have been thought of and catered for by Celebrity.

The Persian Gardens. I have never felt more relaxed in my life.

I'll admit the idea of a great big stone slab doesn't exactly scream comfort but they are heated and moulded to your body to such an extent that I could of easily fallen asleep in one.

Any guests in an Aqua class suite have unlimited access to this room but anyone else would need to pay a small cover charge for it, (trust me, it's well worth it).

The mood lighting theme is continued right throughout the ship, even in the stairwells.

A quick shot of the shopping boulevard.

Shopping's never been a big interest of mine, especially on a cruise ship but for those of you who do enjoy it you have plenty of choice.

Why have I taken another photo of some steps? Well it's to show you another innovation, (are you getting bored of that word yet? There's lots more to come yet). Those steps on some kind of spring so you almost fell as though you can bounce down them. Quite hard to explain but fun to walk down.

Quasars, the Celebrity night club. Open late until the last guest leaves. Get ready for a lot of mood lighting! Maybe not the best nightclub in the world for anyone who suffers from epilepsy but great fun for the rest of us.

That's the DJ booth in the form of a giant spaceship pod thing. Yeah, I wasn't quite sure either. It did look really cool though.

The Celebrity Central, which can hold up to about 220 people does double duty as a second theatre, cinema and comedy club of an evening. During the day they will show a movie three times a day with Bingo games organised in between. 

I didn't really think bingo quite fitted in with Celebrity style but apparently it's really popular. 

One of, if not the, biggest casino I've seen at sea to date with something for everyone to do from video poker........

to craps......

to roulette......

to real poker.........

to lots and lots of slot machines.

The martini bar. The greatest bar I've ever seen and also where I'd be spending all my evenings if I was onboard.

That bar has a padded armrest with the rest of it being metal which is chilled from underneath to such an extent that this happens.....

perfect for keeping your drinks cold.

Crush. Sister bar and right next to the martini bar. Crush specialises in all forms of vodka.......

With a big trench filled with ice in the center of the bar to keep your drinks cold.

Cellar masters is the wine bar onboard the Celebrity Eclipse. All the waiters in here are wine experts ready with some great advice and selections for you to sample.

As you can see there very well stocked with a multitude of wines from around the globe.

Here comes that word innovation again. Some of the rarest/nicest wines are set up on this turnstile and with a quick swipe of your card will deliver a small sample of the wine for you to taste before you move on to the next bottle to try.

A great idea for anyone who wants to 'try before they buy'.

Bistro on Five specialises in sweet and savoury crepes and whilst I didn't get a chance to sample any of the crepes on offer they did all look absolutely delicious!

See for yourself.

The Gelateria, (I think I'm spelling that right), specialising in real Italian style Ice creams with.....

loads of different ice creams and................

toppings to design your own perfect combo.

Muranos is one of the speciality restaurants onboard that serves up fabulous looking French/Mediterranean style cuisine in a really traditional atmosphere for just a small cover charge.

Now Qsine is something really different and I think epitomises the whole Celebrity ethos. You don't have menus in the traditional sense, instead you make your food selections from an I-Pad but you don't dine in the traditional fashion either.

Dining in Qsine is all about a sharing experience. It even dispenses with the traditional idea of 'courses'. Instead you'll make your selection based on a country of origin and different share platters will be brought out for you and your dining companions that highlight the best foods from that country. It all looked really delicious.

Blu is the speciality restaurant reserved for guests in Aqua class suites. Although other guests can dine here it's by reservation only, subject to availability. All the food in the restaurant reflect the Aqua spa ethos so it's all about well being, health, fitness and happiness.

All the decorations also match, being very minimal but at the same time stylish. 

I was really disappointed when I first saw this in the central atrium. At first glance I thought it was a giant Telsla ball which would of been fantastic, (FYI if there are any cruise ship designers out there that's a great idea for a central lobby), instead it is a giant metal globe with a tree planted in the top half that can only be seen from above.

It's an amazing centre piece and with the possible exception of Royal Caribbeans royal promenade, one of, if not the, best centre piece I've yet seen.

As you can see the Eclipse has a very well stocked library, although I couldn't see how anyone was meant to get to the top shelves so I'm not sure if the top shelves are for decoration or if they can be reached by means of a step ladder.

You'd be excused for thinking these next photos are of another small speciality restaurant but know, they're the top penthouse suite onboard the Eclipse.

Stunning yes?

This is a shot of one of her balcony cabins, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see any of the inside or outside cabins I'm afraid, sorry.

Just before we all went in for lunch I had to make a quick personal stop and just to show you Celebritys attention to detail continues right throughout the ship this is a photo of one of the sinks in a public toilet......... (I've seen worse).

The Moonlight Sonata is the main dining room on the ship where most people would eat and is decorated very simple but sophisticated in lots of white and chrome. It all felt very elegant inside. 

Some shots of my lunch, all very delicious. Baby leaf salad......

Short ribs with creamy mash and green beans in a tempura batter

and a chocolate bomb dessert. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

So that's the Eclipse. For anyone who has sailed on her before, do you think I've done her justice or have I left anything important out.

And for all those of you who haven't sailed on her before, are you more or less likely to sail on her now?

Happy cruising.