My Husband says upgrading to a suite guest was a no-brainer for us as it is a cheaper alternative to funding my champers habit. – Mary
Suite Perks – Private lounge
Suite guests are entitled to lots of perks starting with boarding the vessel at your leisure. We were diverted straight to a private lounge, which could, if we wished, to be our base for our time onboard. I love the lounge as I am an avid champagne drinker. Please do not judge, coffee just doesn’t cut it for me.
The lounge offers stylish chairs, private soirées of an evening and fresh coffees at sunrise. I must confess, as a Mum to a stir-crazy Five year old – the lounge isn’t really for me. There really were no other children in there and although an elegant space, I would rather be in the hub of activity whilst parenting and sober. The coffee shop onboard the eclipse was always very busy and so the lounge did come in handy for my Husband to refuel… on coffee. Lounges are great for a more personal drinks package I guess. There is zero charge for any beverage you require and never a queue.
Drinks drinks drinks!
Whilst we are on the subject of alcohol (breaking the ice here), I should really mention the martini bar. A very cool place to hang out when dressed to kill and the ultimate excuse for an Instagram snap, however. I found the martinis to be ridiculously expensive and really not that well shaken. Fantastic ambience, trendy and upmarket but unfortunately our drinks really were not up to standard. For the prices charged we expected the full cocktail mixing and shaking show and that was not the case.
I really am aiming to keep this post positive but as a Brit myself, we love to read about a bit of negativity, don’t we? Honestly just two more points about Celebrity that I was not keen on and then Imma gonna take Y’all on a whirlwind of positive experiences that we had onboard the celebrity eclipse as suite guests.
Suite Perks – Our suite
So let’s talk about the rooms. Straight away I can tell you that I would have been just as happy in a balcony room. It was nice to have a small dressing room and double sinks, and a large sofa. Oh and the loungers on the balcony.
But who designed these suites? Houston we have a problem. Imagine a spacious lounge with plenty of seating and two sets of double sliding doors. The bedroom is located behind a different set of walls with no view, no window and no access to fresh air. Celebrity jump on trend and reposition that layout will you! If only our bedroom had of been blessed with an open plan layout and a view of the ocean from our pillows then our vacation would have felt complete. During the nights I felt extremely claustrophobic and although I could have set out the sofa bed in the lounge, I really didn’t want to sleep apart from the Husband.
Kids clubs
So my last nag (I promise) was the children’s club. We never really experienced it and I can assure you from the few occasions where we did attend the kid’s discos and activities that the children were all very happy and content. The staff were full on, energetic and whizzing around at 100 miles an hour along with the kids. Our Daughter is socially anxious and will not run straight into a club. She prefers to make some form of contact first but I feel she was just expected to adapt to the onboard schedule. There are no toy libraries onboard so be prepared to take books or colouring materials for dinner distractions. I must stress again that all the children we saw in the kids club were very happy and bookings were really popular.
Top deck
The pool area has no water slides for kids but does have a splash zone which lights up at night and looks really pretty. Celebrity was the first ship to introduce life vests for kids onboard around the pool areas. We loved the splash zone with small fountains of water. I am not one for splashing around in a pool and like to use the water for exercising rather than leisure so I owe everything to the eclipse for using their initiative and providing my child with a safe place to play whilst I could lay on my sun lounger and relax within reach.
Indoor pool
There is an indoor Adult solarium with a pool and a healthy snack bar. Salads are served in bite-size portions along with an array of feel-good foods. A lovely complimentary place to lunch and you can grab a smoothie too. The adult pool opens to families for two hours every afternoon.
Suite Perks – Private sundeck and restaurant
There is a private sun deck for suite guests which comes with waiter service. Suite guests are also provided with an alternative restaurant to dine in for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My Husband is not a buffet person and my Daughter loves a 3-course breakfast so we relished the fact that we had our own special restaurant to eat in. The restaurant was never too busy and we were always guaranteed a window seat. Sunsets are the best at sea you know.
Suite Perks – Champagne picnic
We were so busy loving life on this particular cruise that we did not get to picnic on the lawn. Suite guests can take a luxury picnic up on the top deck which is home to a lawn with real grass. With 24 hours notice, concierge can arrange you a champagne picnic at sea. We will most definitely be booking this experience next time we cruise with celebrity. The lawn deck offers deck chairs as seating and a few tables with cushioned chairs. We really enjoyed spending our evenings up here drinking cocktails and enjoying the sea air. The bar staff are lively and attentive giving off a Caribbean feel.
Suite Perks – Butler!
Ok, so we had a butler. He came with our suite and was on hand twenty-four seven to attend to our every need.
We really didn’t need anything though and our Daughter phoned him more than we did. Our butler, Gordon already had a special bond with our family as we had the pleasure of his services on a previous cruise. Gordon has also been my Father in laws butler a few times so it was really special to meet him again. Gordon was very sweet to our Daughter and often bought her cookies. Our Daughter loves to dress for the shows onboard a cruise ship and he greeted her every evening in white gloves and escorted her to her seat. What a treat at just a Four years old! And beautiful memories for us.
Suite Perks – Theatre seating
Suite guests are given priority top tier seating in the theatre. Personally, I am just as happy to sit below and the view is just as good. Priority seating is great if you are onboard with other family members as we usually are.
We really enjoyed staying on the Celebrity Eclipse as Suite guests and of course, the benefits are always welcome. However, as regular suite guests on other fleets and liners, I can certainly confirm that a balcony room was just as comfortable as a suite.
Emma says: This is such an interesting post! Thank you lots, Mary. I was lucky enough to visit the Celebrity Eclipse in July and we did get to see all of the suites. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to stay in one, and now I know.
I’m really surprised that the bedroom in the suite doesn’t have any windows. That doesn’t make it much better than my inside cabin!
About Mary
My name is Mary and I am Mum to one. I write about cruising with kids and travelling with children. My family has been cruising for nearly a decade and we have experienced most cruise liners and picked up expert tips along the way. You can find me on my site here: campingandcruising.com and on instagram here: campingandcruisingtravelblog
Check out my Celebrity Eclipse photos here
or…
To watch the vlog of my day onboard below