Celebrity Eclipse

Celebrity Eclipse leaving Southampton in September 2013
Career
Name:	Celebrity Eclipse
Owner:	Celebrity Eclipse Inc.[1]
Operator:	2010–2011: Celebrity Cruises 2011–: RCL Cruises Limited[2]
Port of registry:	2010–2010: Nassau, Bahamas,  Bahamas 2010–Present: Valletta,  Malta[3]
Ordered:	14 July 2006[1][4]
Builder:	Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany[5]
Cost:	US$750 million
Yard number:	677[6]
Laid down:	23 January 2009[5]
Launched:	28 February 2010[7]
Christened:	24 April 2010 at Southampton by Emma Pontin[8]
Acquired:	15 April 2010[3]
Maiden voyage:	29 April 2010[9]
Identification:	Call sign: 9HXC9 IMO number: 9404314 MMSI number: 249666000
Status:	In service[3]
General characteristics
Class and type:	Solstice-class cruise ship
Tonnage:	121,878 GT[1]
Length:	317.14 m (1,040 ft 6 in)[1]
Beam:	36.80 m (120 ft 9 in)[1]
Draft:	8.30 m (27 ft 3 in)[1]
Decks:	17 decks[3]
Installed power:	4 × Wärtsilä 16V46 67,200 kW (combined)[6]
Propulsion:	Two ABB Azipods Three Wärtsilä CT300 bow thrusters (3,000 kW each)
Speed:	24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)[5]
Capacity:	2,850 passengers[5]
Crew:	approx. 1,271

Celebrity Eclipse is a Solstice-class cruise ship, operated by Celebrity Cruises. She is the sister ship of Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox, which entered service in November 2008 and July 2009, respectively. A fourth ship in the class, Celebrity Silhouette, entered service in Fall 2011. Celebrity Eclipse is the third Solstice-class cruise ship. She measures 122,000 GT and carries 2,852 passengers (double occupancy) plus crew.^[5]

The ship's godmother is Emma Pontin.^[10]

Concept and construction

The keel of the Celebrity Eclipse was laid on 14 February 2007 and she floated in her drydock in 28 February 2010.^[5][7]

Celebrity Eclipse is the third Solstice-class ship, preceded by Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox. Solstice-class ships are considered to be some of the most environment-friendly ships in the world, equipped with photovoltaic system, an optimized hull design, highly efficient hull coatings and lighting system using light emitting diodes.^[11] With these innovations, Solstice-class ships save 30% more energy than other ships of their kind.^[11]

Amenities

Celebrity Eclipse and her sisters offer a wide variety of stateroom categories, including Celebrity Cruises' signature ConciergeClass and the new AquaClass.

On board, passengers will enjoy many facilities, most of which are used for various events throughout the cruise and most are identical to those of other Celebrity Solstice-class vessels. As for dining there is no shortage of restaurants to choose from - there are multiple dining areas including the Moonlight Sonata (main dining room), BLU (exclusive dining room of guests booked in Aqua Class, decorated in slightly different colors than BLU on the Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox), Cafe al Bacio, the Oceanview Cafe, the Mast Grill and the Continental and European-inspired Murano and Tuscan Grille which are also found on other Celebrity Solstice-class vessels. Celebrity Cruises introduced a new specialty dining venue, Qsine, on the Celebrity Eclipse. Some of these do come as an extra fee to guests. Also on board the ship is the Aquaspa and Solarium, an adults-only area designed for relaxation and rejuvenation for the over-16s only. Another exclusive to the Eclipse and the rest of her Solstice Class sister ships is the Lawn Club, an area of real grass that is cut nearly everyday and where activities are held, such as boules, miniature golf and giant Jenga.

The lawn wraps around another Celebrity Solstice Class exclusive - the Hot Glass Show. This is an area where hot glass is blown at sea by professionals from the Corning Museum of Glass, and shows are held at various points throughout the day at no extra cost to the guests. The studio is all electric which is unusual for a glass blowing studio, but for safety reasons flames needed to be kept to a minimum on the ship (hence the electric design). This studio is very well equipped with tools for glass blowing despite it being on a ship, a fact that the professionals there note. Of course being at sea makes the glass blowing much more difficult - sudden winds can cool the glass too quickly and sea salt can be corrosive to the materials used - but the professionals have all had much experience of glass blowing and the majority of the pieces that start to be created make it to the end of the process. A few of the pieces are auctioned off at the end of the cruise to raise money for the museum's scholarship fund, but otherwise the pieces made are not available to buy; instead some of the pieces are taken by the gaffers, and sometimes the pieces are raffled off for free to the audience of the show.

As for other facilities, there are pools, a casino, the Eclipse Theatre, bars including the Martini Bar (with a bar made of ice) and Cellar Masters, gift shops, a library, an art gallery where the art and glass auctions take place and other Celebrity Trademarks and industry-standard amenities. On April 26, 2010 the Celebrity Eclipse launched the iLounge, an internet cafe and an Apple product retailer where classes are held throughout the cruise and some products are available to buy.^[12]

2010 Iceland volcanic eruption

Celebrity Eclipse inbound to Southampton on St George's Day, 23 April 2010, with 2200 British tourists stranded by airspace closure following eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull.

In response to the shutdown of UK airspace due to the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano, the newly completed Eclipse was used to rescue 2000 British tourists stranded in Spain as "an act of goodwill" by the owners. The ship departed from Southampton for Bilbao on April 21, and returned on April 23.^[13]

2011 crew member overboard incident

On 20 May 2011 a 31-year-old Filipino crew member was lost overboard 12 km north of Cherbourg, France. Despite an extensive search by the Celebrity Eclipse and the French coastguard, the man's body was never recovered.^[14]

Allegations of poor working conditions

In October 2012 Channel 4 aired a Dispatches undercover documentary that exposed poor working conditions and exploitation of workers on board the Celebrity Eclipse.^[15] Allegations include flying under a flag of convenience to enable the ship owners to be unconstrained by employment legislation, including minimum wages and working hours. The documentary also aired footage of workers who had no rest days in many months along with workers who were forced to pay helpers to enable them to fulfil their duties. The owner of Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Cruises, refuted the allegations in the documentary.

Gallery

• 

  Celebrity Eclipse departing Southampton.

• 

  Celebrity Eclipse at harbor in Castries, Saint Lucia, in December 2012

References

External links

• Official website
• Cruise Critic review
• Celebrity Eclipse ship location in Google Maps