Solar Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Exotic Southern Caribbean

The Itinerary

This was an anniversary cruise and it included 5 new ports and 2 once visited ports . The Eclipse left from Miami , but not before the boarding process . We had been promoted to a Select Member status and this was a chance to hopefully expedite the boarding process and get on board quickly as we had done on our recent Princess cruises . But we weren't alone .

Our line

led to this line .

Joe and Pat,

Another cruise??!!!

Great itinerary. I'm settling in for a nice long read.

Bring it on!

Norris

LOVING this.

Joe and Pat,

Another cruise??!!!

Great itinerary. I'm settling in for a nice long read.

Bring it on!

Norris

Welcome aboard Mr Bimmer , your suite is ready !

Since we live where many people vacation we don't usually cruise this time of year . It was about a thousand dollars more than the same cruise in the off season , when we usually cruise . But it was our anniversary , so damn the dollars and full speed ahead ! :hearteyes:

Goodness! What time of day was that embarkation picture taken?!

Yowza ! That's some line. We were on the cruise that ended on the day yours began. But on our embarkation day we didn't get to the port til noon. By then it was a walk on.

Really looking forward to reliving our cruise through another of your great TRs.

LOVING this.

Super , thanks for tuning in ! :cool:

Goodness! What time of day was that embarkation picture taken?!

That was at 12:18 on my camera's time coding . We had entered the line at 11:30 outside .

Yowza ! That's some line. We were on the cruise that ended on the day yours began. But on our embarkation day we didn't get to the port til noon. By then it was a walk on.

 

Really looking forward to reliving our cruise through another of your great TRs.

Just think of it as a B2B and please be sure to continue to share your experiences with as a comparison with ours to add some additional color and flavor ! ;)

That was at 12:18 on my camera's time coding . We had entered the line at 11:30 outside .

OK, I'm jumping ahead, so how long did it take ?? :eek:

That was at 12:18 on my camera's time coding . We had entered the line at 11:30 outside .

The Ship had a surprise CDC Inspection, 98was the score, at 2-30 it was a walk on, great cruise

Hi Joe, looking forward to this review.

Great start with the photos not so great with the long lines, perhaps arriving after lunch would have been quicker.

We sail across the pond next month! I am interested in your review! 1st time on a Solstice class ship! We have previously done the Zenith and Summit!

Marsha

The line upstairs

Our time coding must have been off a little as the clock only showed 12 :10 .

I have never seen a smiling Spotted Eagle Ray like the mosaic . We also noticed that the line upstairs had a gap and that we were moving at 12:25 per the clock on the wall .

The upstairs line at 12:40

The line below

We were hearing some strange noises in my stomach after boarding at 1 and so we made a beeline to Sushi on Five in an effort to muffle the gastric Rugae music emanating from my abdomen . Unfortunately , they wouldn't open until 1:30 .

We had seen some people dining in the MDR and so we headed there next to try to adjust our dining time to the early dining that we had requested, instead of the 8 PM that we were assigned . We were not allowed to eat lunch at the MDR because weren't qualified but we were able to switch our time by changing to Select dining .

Our last choice was the crowded buffet where most of the people were eating and waiting with their carry their carry on luggage for the cabins to open .

And at 1:30 we entered our home away from home , SV Cabin # 8344 .

Hi Joe, looking forward to this review.

Great start with the photos not so great with the long lines, perhaps arriving after lunch would have been quicker.

Hello Mic and welcome aboard ! Some great advice about boarding , but now you tell us ? :p

So excited to hear about your cruise. Doing a couple of these ports soon (on another cruise line), so hoping I get to hear about them before we leave! Even if we don't get to it, I am looking forward to hearing all about your cruise. :)

The Ship had a surprise CDC Inspection, 98was the score, at 2-30 it was a walk on, great cruise

Thank you for that clarification .

During this review we will be using our resent cruise experience on the Regal Princess to compare and contrast with the Eclipse . In December on the Regal we arrived at 11:15 , entered our cabin at 11:45 and had a choice of 4 free dining venues open to everybody for lunch .

Hello Mic and welcome aboard ! Some great advice about boarding , but now you tell us ? :p

We try and board around 1-2pm, the lunchtime rush is over and it is much more pleasant to have a unhurried lunch ashore. Sometimes this isn't possible though, it depends on the port. Sydney has plenty of places very close to the terminal so dropping bags and getting some lunch is very easy.

We sail across the pond next month! I am interested in your review! 1st time on a Solstice class ship! We have previously done the Zenith and Summit!

 

 

Marsha

Hello , and welcome to the thread .We did the same TA 2 years ago on the Eclipse and our pictorial review of it may be of some help to you also . And with almost 265,000 views , it is our most popular thread . It can be found by clicking on this link : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2213388

If you have any questions , our panel of experts on Cruise Critic are very helpful and we will try to answer them .

We try and board around 1-2pm, the lunchtime rush is over and it is much more pleasant to have a unhurried lunch ashore. Sometimes this isn't possible though, it depends on the port. Sydney has plenty of places very close to the terminal so dropping bags and getting some lunch is very easy.

It's about an hour and a half's drive to the Port of Miami from where we live and I tried to work with the traffic pattern as it can be very busy . We usually eat but had another errand before driving to Miami and I think that that the surprise CDC inspection that Swigso mentioned was the main delay in boarding . The all aboard time was 3PM and with the drive and grass fire season upon us in South Florida , I prefer to allow extra time . Just yesterday the major interstate highway in East Florida I-95 was shut down very near us because of a grass fire . http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/breaking-smoke-from-brush-fire-shuts-down-i-95-north-of-miami/70001031

They also had a major fire just South and West of the Port of Miami yesterday , and we sure would have hated to miss the cruise with the first port being 1100 miles from Miami . :eek:

So excited to hear about your cruise. Doing a couple of these ports soon (on another cruise line), so hoping I get to hear about them before we leave! Even if we don't get to it, I am looking forward to hearing all about your cruise. :)

Welcome , and we did get to dive in 3 ports Bonaire , Aruba and St. Lucia . :cool:

It's about an hour and a half's drive to the Port of Miami from where we live and I tried to work with the traffic pattern as it can be very busy . We usually eat but had another errand before driving to Miami and I think that that the surprise CDC inspection that Swigso mentioned was the main delay in boarding . The all aboard time was 3PM and with the drive and grass fire season upon us in South Florida , I prefer to allow extra time . Just yesterday the major interstate highway in East Florida I-95 was shut down very near us because of a grass fire . http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/breaking-smoke-from-brush-fire-shuts-down-i-95-north-of-miami/70001031

They also had a major fire just South and West of the Port of Miami yesterday , and we sure would have hated to miss the cruise with the first port being 1100 miles from Miami . :eek:

I agree about getting there early (at least close by). As I said, we often plan to get to near the terminal by around 10-11am which allows a few hours for any delays. We then go somewhere for lunch and board after the rush. In your case, I would have got to the port area early, and as I don't really know Miami, would have likely been in the queue.

Welcome , and we did get to dive in 3 ports Bonaire , Aruba and St. Lucia . :cool:

That is awesome! We have not dived at any of those islands!! I'm so picking your brain when I get my husband on a Caribbean cruise! You both dive everywhere!! I love that!

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I have made it throughthat long queue and managed to get myself aboard! I am ready to follow along with you on your journey! :cool:

I have been hearing about those fires down your way on our local news. I think the fires we get here in Florida scare me more than the hurricanes! :eek:

Thanks for sharing.