Eclipse, the latest ship from Celebrity Cruises, has been built to appeal to British cruisers. Jane Archer gives her verdict.

Celebrity Cruises is taking on the UK’s established cruise lines by basing its classy new ship Celebrity Eclipse in Southampton and tweaking its American style to appeal to the British, who are expected to make up 80 per cent of passengers on each sailing.

There are kettles in cabins, Yorkshire pud and mushy peas on the menu and one lounge will offer pub quizzes and games.

The ship, used to rescue holidaymakers stranded in Bilbao, Spain, during last month’s week-long ash crisis, was named in Southampton on April 24 by the local yachtswoman and breast cancer survivor Emma Pontin, who was chosen because breast cancer is Celebrity’s chosen charity.

Celebrity Eclipse weighs 122,000 tons and holds 2,850 passengers, based on double occupancy (3,143 when full). It is based in Southampton until October, sailing to the Mediterranean, Baltic and Canary Islands. In winter it will be sailing in the Caribbean from Miami.

Facilities
The wow factor is the half-acre real grass lawn on the top deck where you can play croquet and boules, or go putting (there are three holes) – passengers can even have a picnic on the lawn.

There are 12 bars and lounges, the most popular being the Martini Bar, which features a layer of ice on the counter. The Sky Observation Lounge has floor-to-ceiling windows and will be transformed into a pub on some nights of each cruise. At Galleria Tastings you can learn how to mix a cocktail. Cellar Masters has comfy leather sofas and dark wood, and machines which dispense wine by the glass. You just buy a card and choose your measure.

There are three pools, a theatre, a nightclub and children’s and teen areas. Other facilities include a spa, gym and casino.

Dining
The new Qsine restaurant (new because it’s not its on two sister ships) is a speciality restaurant serving quirky takes on old favourites, such as fish and chips in cardboard boxes, sushi lollipops and spring rolls served in springs. The menu is on an iPad and there are no courses – just order and dishes turn up when they’re ready. There’s a $30 (£20) per person charge.

Murano serves upmarket French cuisine at $35 (£24) per person, the Tuscan Grille ($25/£17 per person) is an Italian steak and seafood restaurant and you can have crêpes in Bistro on Five for an extra $5 (£3) per person.

There’s no charge for food from the buffet, poolside grill or dining room, which has fixed or dine-when-you like seating. To appeal to the British, there’ll be more vegetarian and Indian dishes on the menus, plus beef stew, Yorkshire pudding, mushy peas and pork pies.

Blu is an intimate dining room with a healthier menu for passengers booked in an AquaClass cabin (see below).

Cabins
There are inside, outside and balcony cabins and suites, a few with third or fourth beds or interconnecting doors for families.

There are kettles in all the cabins on sailings from Southampton (they’ll be put into storage while the ship is in the Caribbean) but only tea bags are supplied: milk and coffee needs to be ordered through room service. As a nod to its British passengers, BBC Prime and Sky News are available on in-cabin televisions.

There are 130 AquaClass cabins near the spa. These cost more but come with extras such as bath robes, free bottled water, toiletries and free access to the thermal suite (usually $20/£13.50 a day) and a table in Blu.

Entertainment
As with the food, Celebrity is tweaking entertainment to appeal to the British. Masque is a party tribute to the Beatles, Elton John and Queen. There are three shows in the theatre – I caught a glimpse of “Eclipse – The Show”, a mix of dance and aerial acrobatics, which wasn’t as spectacular as the daily newsletter suggested, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The other performances are Ovations, featuring plenty of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Edge, a song-and-dance show.

There are live bands in venues around the ship. The string quartet in the atrium was lovely – the music flows up into Bistro on Five and the Martini Bar – but I was less keen on the jazz band, which drowned out all conversation.

Telegraph rating: 7/10