JennAngel9

We got off the Eclipse on 1/6 and we had a very similar letter as photographed above except it expressly detailed that drinks were NOT available in the dining rooms.  We did not try, we occasionally remembered to grab a drink on the way into the dining room or grabbed a soda or water with the credit--but I would guess that between us we used it for less than 10 drinks over a 14 day cruise (we also had free drinks in Michael's club which we often took advantage of)...and bought wine in the dining rooms b/c it was inconvenient to leave to go buy drinks.

On 1/9/2019 at 6:05 PM, graveytrain said:

Unfortunately we are not in a suite, so concierge is not an option. Do you know what caused the delay in the arrival of the Eclipse to Buenos Aires? We are scheduled to be in Montevideo on Saturday before debarkation on Sunday which does not appear to be a long distance. Due to the short distance, I’m hoping for an early arrival. 

I'm sorry to say that I have no idea why it was late, but we also had a very short distance and I don't think time of arrival was the problem-- I suspect crowded port?  Oops, I should mention, we debarked in San Antionio-- but we were at least somewhat late to several ports.  I didn't pay close attention b/c w/ 2 young kids we were never aiming to be first off the ship anywhere except Puerto Madryn, where we hoped to beat the crowds.  I'd say we were maybe 15-30m late there?

I am an exclusive e-book reader at this point, but I still love the library as a calm space for reading away from the central areas of chaos and I will be sad if they are eliminated.

Cruising Sister-- we just got off Eclipse--we had two rooms on deck 11 port side (1619 and 1631) as well as a room on deck 10 starboard (1108) and we really noticed the vibrations on the 11th floor port side rooms sometimes when we were in port (or docking/leaving) but not too much vibrating while underway (i.e. 80-90% of the trip) -- I've spent probably 300 days at sea on various ships and I've never noticed anything like it-- but I also have a issue with my lower back so I'm more sensitive to it lately.  It wasn't so bad I was sick or got a headache and I probably wouldn't have cared except when I would sit, stand or walk around while the vibrations were happening it also caused horrible back pain where my nerves are currently messed up.  When I was laying down it just felt like being on one of those massaging beds you used to find in motels that I thought were so fun as a kid... 😮

So we just tried to avoid the room while in port when the shaking was happening.  Don't know if it was being further forward, down a deck, or on the other side that made 1108 less vibratey.

Just off the Eclipse (embarked EZE, left from San Antonio) and wanted to chime in we were also told no walk off self-disembarkation and they were running very late on arrival and everybody appeared to be leaving about an hour after the projected times on their bag tags.  It sounds like the Eclipse disembarking late is a theme this season in South America.

Are you by chance staying in a suite? The Michael's Club concierge (who was excellent all cruise) had us off quickly when it was time to meet our guide.

Thank you Norma!  As it so happens we have the same show booked at the same price! 🙂  Do you think it's better to sit on the ground level or the balcony?

On 12/19/2018 at 11:52 AM, chemmo said:

Two and four year olds can be harder but on the +ve side they are more easily impressed! A few lightweight wrapped items you bring with you plus Teddies and T shirts from the on board store should go down well.

 

Re the stockings, I honestly suggest having a chat with the M’D of Ocean view cafe...Tell him you wish to stuff a traditional stocking for your two tots and I am sure satsumas, a few nuts and chocolates will make their way to your room. Another alternative chat could be with your room attendant and see what he suggests....If you are in a suite you can request the butler or Michael’s host to help.

 

Whilst I am aware you are focusing on ensuring your little ones have happy cruise present memories remember the family time you are giving them is the most precious gift....

 

Again, sincere best wishes for a fantastic family cruise!

Thanks, wonderful advice and a good reminder as I fly around my house trying to think of a 1000 things to pack last minute. We are in a Suite (and also Elite) so I will see if we can just get them to pre-pay all our turndown chocolates for the week up front in the stockings!

Thanks Chemmo.  We are doing vouchers (or possibly neatly-printed post-it notes at this point!) for the grown-ups but I was thinking my 2 and 4 year old's aren't going to be able to grasp vouchers...now I'm reconsidering because I think allowing my 4yo to go to the store and pick something out... or even choose a cookie in Cafe Al Bacio would probably make her very happy.

Is there a way to get a decent number of chocolates for filling stockings other than raiding a housekeeping cart?

Does anyone know where I can find a complete list of shops on the Eclipse?

After years of trying to avoid shopping on board, I'm now doing packing for a Christmas cruise next week and wondering if I will be able to pick up some gifts on board for my kids.  I'm thinking like balls or puzzles or stuffed toys.  I'm not that picky.

Norma, thank you so much for responding and for the additional information and photos.  I am planning to let my daughter attend.  Nothing worse than what she's seen at the opera. 😉

I'm glad you had a safe trip and are home safely.  Thank you again for sharing your experiences and insights with us.

And I echo Abby's interest in where you saw the tango show and what tours you felt were best in Buenos Aires. 

Does the app work for the Eclipse? I keep seeing "3 Ships" on this thread but not clear which they are.

Oh, this is very disappointing.  I understanding wanting to be green but it sounds like there is no news at all.  I guess it pushes more of us to buy internet packages. 

Are you in a city with a Chinese consulate?  Here in LA, if you do everything correctly you get it back in a week or less.  There is a lot of fine print and some slightly unusual requirements (like photo size, with ear showing).  You can also use a visa expeditor service that will make sure you have done everything correctly.

If you don't like kids or crowds (to say nothing of both), I'd suggest avoiding NCL.  We haven't done the Haven yet, but based on the fact that all of the big family suites are Haven suites, I'd expect it to have plenty of kids.

I haven't sailed on NCL since 2011, so I can't comment on crowds now but it was the opposite of low key.  Have you considered HAL/Regent/Seabourn? The latter two don't have suite only dining but they do have open seating of high caliber for all passengers, in our experience. 

16 hours ago, K12Guy said:

If you're in a suite and have a butler just ask him/her to get something from Cafe al Bacio for you and have breakfast on your balcony if the weather is nice. If not, simply enjoy the comfort of your spacious stateroom.

Can all of the suites order from Cafe Al Bacio? I'm not that picky but my husband would love an upgrade to his morning caffeine fix.  Is it just charged to the room and butler picks it up for you to deliver with breakfast?

Caught up the whole thread just in time to wish you a happy (belated) birthday!

Thank you so much for sharing your travel experiences.  We board the eclipse in a few weeks and you have provided so much useful information and interesting tidbits.  If you have a moment, I have two questions:

(1) Do you recall if the show with the acrobats at what appeared to be large kites would be appropriate for children? It looked like something my kids would be very excited about but I know some of the cirque-de-soleil type shows can be frightening or risque.

(2) I recall you mentioned they had started decorating the Eclipse for Christmas. Is it very festive or more understated.  Please let me know if you see any giant structures made out of gingerbread. 🙂 

Thank you again for sharing your cruise(s) with us and I hope you have a lovely rest of your trip!

I'm hoping someone who has cruised recently can confirm the following (gathered from the thread above 6 months ago) is correct:

1) Suites can get money to gamble in the casino with the cash advance fee waived (are Sky Suites and Celebrity Suites included)?

2) The money goes on the card and cannot be cashed out into USD?  

3) If you win money you can cash out the winnings into USD?  What happens if you gamble for a few hours and have some money left that you don't want to keep gambling with?

Thanks!

Does anyone recall what the maximum per transaction limit is on the ship ATMs (and if there is a max per day)?

On 11/28/2018 at 8:09 AM, jelayne said:

When we do long B2B cruises we make 1 withdrawal from the ATM of $400-500.  Our bank doesn’t charge a fee, so the $6.50 is about 1,5% and we prefer paying that rather than carrying cash.

Thanks jelayne-- we are just starting to think about this and, like you, I really do not want to be in a position where we are wandering around international airports and big cities carrying several thousand dollars.  Do you happen to know what the limit on the ship ATM is (per withdrawal or per day)?  I'm guessing we would probably want to take out like $3-5k over the course of the cruise.  I'd happily pay 1% to avoid traveling with it but do not want to pay much more than that!

1 hour ago, DYKWIA said:

The direct youtube link is here 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=314&v=ctgV7gvd0_M

 

one such download tool that usually works is 

https://www.youtubnow.com/

So cool, thank you!  I'm going to watch with my husband tonight and share with his parents who are joining us next month for their first Celebrity cruise!

16 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

Meant to be also a saving on price (but then that applies to every 'sale'), and a discount on 3/4 rates.

The 3rd/4th rate discount is appealing to me...but nowhere near as appealing as kids sail free. 😉  Didn't make it far enough through the booking process to see how steep the discount is.  Did anybody else?  Meanwhile, RCL and NCL has a variety of sailings offering kids sail free.... but of course none in July or late December.  C'est la vie.

On 11/20/2018 at 3:24 PM, abbydancer said:

The show was actually based on at least two different cruises.  The Reflection cruise was the first week of September 2017, and was RT Rome, eastern Med.  Didn't go to Barcelona or France, so I know that was a different cruise.

 

We're spending Thanksgiving with family, and it's downloaded to my laptop so everyone can watch it.

 

BTW, I thought the show was very balanced and fair.  And fun.

Abby, do you have a way of sharing the episode or know where else to find it?

Very jealous that you are featured in a Rick Steves episode.  I don't really watch him much anymore but I do plan to start watching some episodes with my kids once they are over 5 and might make an exception for them pre-cruise!

Got an email suggesting that Celebrity's Black Friday deal is the ability to book my next cruise for a $25 deposit.

Is that going to be the entirety of the deal? We were thinking of waiting to book ShoreEx for a Dec 2018 cruise in hopes there would be some sort of discount offer.
 

Assuming this is the best deal we have, is there any reason we can't book like 3 consecutive cruises (with a $25pp/cruise deposit) and then keep the 1 or 2 we want when it gets to final payment? Is this frowned upon? With our work schedules, it's hard to commit more than 3-4mo in advance.

Any other lines have better deals?  We need to be thinking about summer 2019 and winter 2019 cruises anyway. 😉

NikkiDee, that sounds hilarious but our kids are 2 and 4 so I think it would be difficult enough for them with no gloves. 😉

I've been debating window clings on the door-- upside is holiday cheer, downside is I love the view out the window and don't want the visual clutter.  I can probably live with decor only as high as the kids can reach. 

Thanks bubbachief.  I guess you'll find out in a few weeks if they are as good as their reviews.   Do you (or anyone else on your roll call) plan to liveblog from the Eclipse?