Name Celebrity Eclipse Cost US$750 million Construction started 23 January 2009 Beam 37 m | Owner Celebrity Eclipse Inc. Ordered 14 July 2006 Length 317 m Launched 28 February 2010 | |
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 the third quarter of 2011. Celebrity Eclipse is the third Solstice-class cruise ship. She measures 122,000 GT and carries 2,852 passengers (double occupancy) plus crew.
Contents
- Celebrity eclipse the new solstice class cruise ship
- Design and construction
- Facilities
- 2010 Iceland volcanic eruption
- 2011 crew member overboard incident
- Allegations of poor working conditions
- References
The ship's godmother is Emma Pontin.
Celebrity eclipse the new solstice class cruise ship
Design and construction
The keel of the Celebrity Eclipse was laid on 14 February 2007 and she floated in her drydock on 28 February 2010.
Celebrity Eclipse is the third Solstice-class ship, preceded by Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox. Solstice-class ships are designed to save energy, equipped with photovoltaic system, an optimized hull design, highly efficient hull coatings and lighting system using light emitting diodes, and are said to use only 70% of the energy consumed by other ships of their kind.
Facilities
Celebrity Eclipse and her sisters have several categories of staterooms. There are several bars and restaurants, some offering extra facilities at additional cost. There is a spa and solarium, and an area planted with grass for leisure activities. The Celebrity Solstice Class have a "Hot Glass Show", where glass is blown at sea by professionals from the Corning Museum of Glass, using electrical heating as flames are considered a hazard at sea. Some glass pieces are auctioned off at the end of the cruise to raise money for the museum's scholarship fund; others are raffled free of charge to the show's audience.
There are swimming pools, a casino, a theatre, shops, a library, an art gallery where art and glass are auctioned, an Internet café and Apple product shop, and the usual amenities.
2010 Iceland volcanic eruption
In response to the 2010 shutdown of UK airspace due to the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano, the newly completed Eclipse returned 2,000 British tourists stranded in Spain as "an act of goodwill" by the owners, sailing from Southampton to Bilbao on April 21 and returning on April 23.
2011 crew member overboard incident
On 20 May 2011 a 31-year-old crew member was lost overboard 12 km north of Cherbourg, France; despite an extensive search the man's body was not recovered.
Allegations of poor working conditions
In October 2012 Channel 4 TV aired a Dispatches undercover documentary that exposed poor working conditions and exploitation of workers on Celebrity Eclipse. 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 showed footage of workers who had no rest days in many months, and workers who had to pay helpers to enable them to fulfil their duties. Celebrity Cruises denied the allegations in the documentary.