Celebrity Eclipse
 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. |
|
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Celebrity Eclipse |
| Owner: | Celebrity Cruises |
| Operator: | Celebrity Cruises |
| Port of registry: |  Malta[1] |
| Ordered: | July 2006[2] |
| Builder: | Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany[3] |
| Cost: | $750 million (USD) |
| Yard number: | 677[4] |
| Laid down: | 23 January 2009[3] |
| Launched: | 28 February 2010[5] |
| Christened: | 24 April 2010 at Southampton by Emma Pontin[6] |
| Acquired: | 15 April 2010[1] |
| Status: | In Service[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Solstice class cruise ship |
| Tonnage: | gross tonnage (GT) of 122,000 tons[3] |
| Length: | 314.80 m (1,032 ft 10 in)[4] |
| Beam: | 36.80 m (120 ft 9 in)[3][4] |
| Draft: | 8.30 m (27 ft 3 in)[4] |
| Decks: | 17 decks[1] |
| Installed power: | 4 × Wärtsilä diesels type W16V46 combined 67,200 kW[4] |
| Propulsion: | 3 × Wärtsilä bow thrusters CT300, 3000 kW each. |
| Speed: | 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)[3] |
| Capacity: | 2,852 passengers[3] |
| 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 gross tons and carries 2,852 passengers (double occupancy) plus crew.[3]
The ship's godmother is Emma Pontin, a famous yachtswoman.[7]
Contents |
[edit] Itinerary
Summer 2010- Mediterranean and Northern Europe sailing from Southampton
Winter 2010- Caribbean sailing from Miami
Summer 2011- Mediterranean and Northern Europe sailing from Southampton
Winter 2011- Caribbean sailing from Miami
Summer 2012- Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Iceland sailing from Southampton
Winter 2012- Caribbean sailing from Fort Lauderdale
Summer 2013- Europe sailing from Southampton
[edit] Concept and construction
The keel of the Celebrity Eclipse was laid on 23 January 2009 and she floated in her drydock in 28 February 2010.[3][5]
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.[8] With these innovations, Solstice-class ships save 30% more energy than other ships of their kind.[8]
[edit] Amenities
Celebrity Eclipse and her sisters offer a wide variety of stateroom categories, including Celebrity Cruises' signature ConciergeClass and the new AquaClass.
Onboard, 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.[9]
[edit] 2010 Iceland Volcano Eruption
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.[10]
[edit] 2011 Crew Member Lost Overboard
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 has yet to be recovered.[11]
[edit] References
 |
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009) |
- ^ a b c d http://www.meyerwerft.de/page.asp?lang=e&main=3&subs=0&did=1743
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice_class_cruise_ship
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Keel-laying of Celebrity Eclipse". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 23 January 2009. http://cruisebusiness.com/news.php?u=20090123150655. Retrieved 26 January 2009.[dead link]
- ^ a b c d e Asklander, Micke. "M/S Celebrity Eclipse (2010)" (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. http://www.faktaomfartyg.nu/celebrity_eclipse_2010.htm. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
- ^ a b "Celebrity ECLIPSE leaves building dock". Meyerwerft website. 28 February 2010. http://www.meyerwerft.de/page.asp?lang=e&main=3&subs=0&did=1728. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ Celebrity Cruises' New Celebrity Eclipse to be Named by Courageous Ocean-Racing Yachtswoman. Press Release. Celebrity Cruises. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010
- ^ Launch of Celebrity Cruises' Newest ship 'Eclipses" Others Newest Solstice Class ship named by courageous yachtswoman Emma Pontin. Press Release. Celebrity Cruises. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010
- ^ a b Delivery of Celebrity ECLIPSE. Meyerwerft website. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010
- ^ http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/press-release/rcl_celebrity-cruises-to-present-celebrity-ilounge-on-celebrity-solstice-and-celebrity-summit-891402.html
- ^ Jo Palmer (22 April 2010) "Stranded tourists return from Bilbao on Eclipse cruise ", BBC. Retrieved April 23, 2010
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13482453
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||
