LIVE FROM Eclipse with video and photographs

[L751]

Hi jo and rob its great to read about your holiday and the lovely pictures and video's look forward to reading it every day. We set sail in August, just a quick question about whether the dress code are being adhere to in the evenings it would be a great help for knowing what we need to pack enjoy the rest of your cruise we will be watching.

 

Day 4 – Gibraltar UK

To see our latest Day 4 video please click the link below

 

Skovgaard, I definitely will compare P&O with Celebrity later in the cruise as requested

Kittykate, the films so far include Secretariat and King’s Speech. They are always shown in Celebrity central 4 but I haven’t checked it out yet.

Saw777, our cruise director is a Canadian called Dru Pavlov who is excellent.

UKTog, the internet packages posted are the standard packages before the 15% added minutes. Thanks for the comments about the photography.

Edinjean, some of the tables are pretty close together I think it is the luck of the draw to be honest. Ours is fine.

 

Last night the restaurant staff were really attentive and made us feel like VIPs! We were slightly late (but within the 30 minute window you have on fixed dining) as the photographer had his studio lights set up on deck 4 which we weren’t expecting and he was doing such interesting casual shots we didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

 

Jo’s tip 20 – Take advantage of the photographers on non-formal nights as there are no queues and they do some more casual shots.

 

We were greeted in the restaurant like old friends by the waiter, assistant waiter and Maitre D (who stood and chatted for ages) and the service was swift, efficient and not at all rushed. Our plates were cleared together, Emily got her egg free frogs legs and our waiter even made a swan out of a serviette at the end of the meal! We pre-ordered Emily’s main again although I think she finds it hard to choose when she has just eaten. Our assistant waiter even suggested that Emily could have egg free pancakes for breakfast if we wanted. We asked the Maitre D about this and he went to talk to the kitchen but couldn’t get a definite answer and told us to ask at breakfast. Sure enough this morning Emily had egg free pancakes in the MDR (and was extremely happy!)

 

Today was our first port day and we had a ship excursion booked with Celebrity “Upper Rock tour for families”. I would thoroughly recommend this tour (whether you have children of not) as it included the main highlights Gibraltar has to offer. Our guide outlined the content of the tour and we pointed out that we should also be going to Europa Point. She had no record of this on her itinerary but phoned her office at the first stop, and although they had no record of it at her office either, they still added it onto the end of our excursion (and we ended up having a bonus hour by the time we got back to the ship).

 

Jo’s tip 21 – If you think the tour is missing part of the itinerary speak up straight away as you may be lucky like us and not have to miss out.

 

Our tour started with a minibus ride to the cable car (no queue) which we took up to the Upper rock. After our free ice-cream and great view, we walked down to St Michael’s cave, stopping to admire the Barbary apes along the way. The road is quite narrow and we had to stop and stand on the side several times for taxis and tours to pass, but our guide always stood in the way of the vehicle until everyone was clear. After the cave visit our minibus was waiting for us to drive to Apes’ Den (which is where they landed on my head in the video) and then to a view point of the runway which crosses the road. We were lucky enough to see the road close and a plane land and take off during our five minute stop. Then we drove down into the town to visit the Gibraltar museum which has two genuine Egyptian mummies!! From there we drove to Europa point (the most southerly part of Gibraltar). The journey back was via the other side of Gibraltar so we felt like we had a tour of Gibraltar as well!

 

I have read previous port posts of Gibraltar saying how easy it is to do DIY. However having seen how far it is up the rock to get the great view, how far the cable car is, and how red faced independent walkers looked walking up the hill I would certainly consider doing a tour. It was completely stress free and dropped us right back to the ship at the end (no one opted to stay in town to shop but that was an option if anyone wanted).

 

After a quick lunch at Mast Grill (fast, hot and tasty burgers and hotdogs served with chips and onion rings) Oliver, Emily and I cooled off in the ship’s pool (today’s weather 32 degrees C and sunny) while Rob made the most of the free 3G Wi-Fi from Gibraltar to edit and upload the video. He ordered room service by phone, they said it would be 30-40 minutes but it arrived in 10 minutes. Rob was ever so impressed and enjoyed his lunch on the balcony which was served with a red rose in a vase! How lovely is that!

[karpela]

I don't know if I would have looked as calm when an ape jumped on my shoulder! Great video and wonderful information.

 

Cheers from Oregon. :D

 

Joe

 

Exactly what I was thinking!! :D

Great job Jo, thoroughly enjoying your reports and Rob's wonderful videos.

Well done to you and your lovely family.

We are on the Eclipse later in the year, can't wait now.

Adele :)

[Kannon22]

Hi Jo, Rob and family,

 

Really enjoying your videos and photos from Eclipse. We are cruising on her next year and are finding your blogs very interesting:)

 

Can you tell me what Video Editing Software you are using? I find the computer supplied product I have to be rather basic and would love to have more creative in-put into the finished videos.

 

Keep the reports from Eclipse coming please:)

 

Peter

[Jo and Rob]

 

Day 5 – Sea Day

To see our latest cabin tour video please click the link below

 

Jackie G, we have included some pictures of the gym for you at the end of this post.

 

Dorset Cruiser, unfortunately we could not change the information on Google Earth about Gibraltar and Spain but we knew Google was wrong.

 

L751, there are some t-shirts in the MDR in the evening but the majority of passengers are certainly looking smart casual. There were less tuxedoes than we expected on formal night which was certainly less formal than P&O or Princess but there were still 60% tuxedoes for the first formal. To be honest you will not feel out of place in smart wear for a restaurant. Shorts are permitted for breakfast and lunch but not dinner.

 

Kannon 22, Rob uses Final Cut express on his Mac but says that Adobe premiere elements for PC is just as good.

 

Information about our cabin

We are in cabin 7131 which is a 2B stateroom with a veranda on deck 7 port side. There are four of us in the cabin. The sofa bed also has a trundle bed underneath it but we selected a cabin with an upper berth and our steward checked with us on the first day which configuration we preferred. He agreed that the trundle bed is not as good as it blocks access to the balcony.

 

Jo’s tip 22 – if there are four of you book a cabin with an upper berth rather than using the trundle bed.

 

The cabin is very spacious for a basic cabin and is much larger than a standard cabin on P&O however it doesn’t have as much drawer space despite the size of the cabin. There are no drawers or shelving in the wardrobe, but there are five drawers next to the fridge on the left (the bottom 3 are deeper than the top two) and one drawer below the vanity unit right of the fridge. The wardrobe has two separate additional rungs that fold down to give two level hanging if required. Check out my previous tips 5, 6 and 7 for ideas on how to maximise space.

 

The fridge is a good size and easily holds the wine box we brought on board and the cans and bottles of water than we get from the bars on the way back to the cabin when we remember! We also have a carton of milk from room service if we want to make ourselves a drink with the kettle that is provided on sailings out of Southampton.

 

Jo’s tip 23 – Get your room steward to empty the fridge on arrival so you have all the space you need.

 

The bathroom is very spacious and has the best storage space of any bathroom we have had on a cruise including the mini-suite on Crown Princess. The shower is a generous size and has sliding doors. Although there is no washing line there are two spigots (knobs) that you can hang costumes on in the shower plus two more on the door. Celebrity provides soap, lemongrass moisture lotion, lemongrass conditioning cream and lemongrass hydrating shampoo. There are also cotton buds, cotton wool balls and tissues in the bathroom.

 

Jo’s tip 24 – Bring your own shower gel as it is not provided.

 

The lighting in the cabin is good and the upper bunk has its own light in the ceiling. The bedside lights are both extremely bright and as they can’t be dimmed you can’t really read in bed without disturbing the rest of your cabin. The main lights can be dimmed and even when the bathroom light is turned off there is still a dim light so you can see.

 

The balcony is spacious with clear glass and a wooden rail. The balcony floor is wooden and the furniture has a metal frame with a wooden top. The two seats recline in three different positions. Surprisingly there is no light on the balcony.

 

Interactive TV

The cabin has an interactive TV. When you turn it on you are given a menu screen with “InStateroom Entertainment” as the first option. Click on this for music, TV for watching regular TV channels (including BBC World New, CNN, Sky News, Fox News, Weather, Cartoon Network) and the ships channels (front of ship, GPS map on 23, cruise director’s channel on 2, shore excursions on 3, Celebrity life on 14, TDN with Celebrity Life Activity for talks on 4) , on demand, internet, news (for written American, Australian, British, Canadian and International news (just scroll down to the news you want)

 

Jo’s tip 25 – to go back to the original selection press M for menu or of course you can turn it off and on again!)

 

From the original screen, scroll right for:

Shore excursions

Celebrity Today (for general information not the information in the newspaper delivered to your cabin)

Shopping (packages and gifts you can purchase onboard)

Information (accounts, general information, settings (language and parent controls)

Photos – this is no longer available perhaps because people were taking pictures or videoing the pictures? I’m sure they will overcome this with a copyright label in the future.

Dining – Room service, restaurants, wine

 

Jo’s tip 26 – To access your on board account scroll round to information and click on accounts. Our On board Credit did not display on the first day but is there now so don’t panic if you don’t see it straight away.

 

Jo’s tip 27- The television account only shows charges and credits. You can also get a print out at any time from Guest Services and that shows all your visits to bars with $0 for your drinks packages. I seem to be a fan of Cafe Al Bacio!!

 

We are really pleased with the cabin and don’t feel at all crowded even though there are four of us. We are not using the coffee table and that is placed by the patio door as the floor space is more valuable to us and it is still a useful landing spot by the balcony. There is a huge amount of space under the bed and we have not hand to open the cases which are extremely tall. We are also able to store our shoes under the valence and the lifejackets are also under there!

 

Jo’s tip 28 – If you really don’t like the overhead lockers (I do and can reach at 5 foot 4) you can also store the lifejackets up there and put clothes etc in the lifejacket baskets instead under the bed.

 

The gym on the Celebrity Eclipse

 

Another view of the gym

 

3 Our Cabin

 

4 Arriving in Gibraltar

url=http://howarthfamily.smugmug.com/Travel/Celebrity-Eclipse-2011/18165279_JPnbSj#1414174704_989GzS5-A-LB][/url]

 

5 Emily eating frogs legs

[staygulf]

Fantastic report Jo, are your videos sponsored by Celebrity ? ;)

 

Staygulf's tip. Don't let the crew hear that you leave the sliding balcony door open. It screws up the thermo balance of the ship and you are likely to be made to walk the plank ! This was drummed into us at one of the interesting Celebrity life talks given by the environmental officer. :eek:

[TLCOhio]

Great tips, photos, video, etc. Keep it coming. Us travel "junkies" love being fed. I have a MacBookPro and appreciate the details on "Final Cut" being used for the editing. Macs are great for these things!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Just back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. These postings are now at 26,102 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Dorset Cruiser]

Loved your latest video - now I know what to expect on Silhouette in January:D

 

I thought there must be an explanation for putting Gib in Spain; I know a teacher would not make that sort of mistake:D

 

Keep them coming.

 

Chris

[Cruiser Susie]

Your video tour of your cabin was wonderful... it will be a very helpful video for those who have not been on the Eclipse or other S class ships... and it made me smile to remember our cruise on her last February! Thank you again for sharing your family, your journey and your thoughts and ideas with us.

[Mermen]

I'm with Terry. I too have a MacBook Pro and love it, and the iMovie editing software.

 

My question for Rob, is what type of HD Camcorder are you using and is that a hot foot / light or is your camera light (saw it in the bathroom video) an LED on the unit? I'm using a Sony HD and have awful low-light issues. Back light in our cabin videos is always an issue, but I notice not with yours.

 

Sorry for the technical question...but we techies have to stick together! If you prefer to reply to my e-mail, it is: scorpgc@gmail.com

 

Loving your vids and dailies. Thanks in advance for your reply and help.

 

Gary

Edited August 3, 2011 by Mermen

[LovesBeagles]

Thank you so, so much. We are booked in a 1A cabin (same design as yours) and I was having some concerns about the space and storage.

 

It looks like it will be fine. After all, we are only 2 adults and look how you have done with 4.

 

You have given the best tour of the inside of a cabin. It is so much easier to understand when you do a video of it while explaining things. People had said that there was alot of storage in the bathroom, but I had no idea of what they were talking about.

 

You are a saint for taking the time and trouble to do this for all of us.

 

Thanks a million.

 

Maria

[Lois R]

Hi again,:) Jo, I think when you finish this video (at the end of the cruise)

You ought to submit it for "The Best Video":D.

Your friendly and informative narrative are absolutely fabulous:)

[MrsKruse]

Thanks for sharing...what great videos! We're considering a sailing on either the Solstice or Eclipse in March and this makes it all the more enticing :)

[Zoey1]

Thank you so much for sharing your journey with all of us! Your family is delightful and I do believe I saw another one of your video diaries on another line as we have never sailed on Celebrity yet, we have been on RCCL & Princess many times and just got back from our first HAL cruise which was not our favorite. How is the entertainment in the evenings and do they show movies more than once a day?

 

Glad you are enjoying your cruise! We are thinking of sailing on the Eclipse in February.

Wendy

[librarylady19]

Hi Jo and Rob, wanted to say again how much I am enjoying your posts, photos and videos. Don't know how you are finding the time to do all this and clearly have a wonderful family holiday as well. Thanks again!

I noticed you had pics of the gym. Would you happen to know if gym is above cabin 1520? Have booked this cabin and have read conflicting reports of noise from gym

Edited August 4, 2011 by librarylady19

[PeggySand]

Really enjoy your posts, and your pictures are really great. We are sailing b2b on the Summit in Nov. and I hope at least some of my pictures come out as well. I will be following your thread with interest.

 

Peggy

[excitedofharpenden]

BRAVO!!!!!!!!Great videos. Do you children have any idea how lucky they were to be taken on such a great vacation?

Carole

That is what I was thinking too! What a great experience for them at such an age.:cool:

 

Phil

[upwarduk]

If you see something on the right you fancy make sure you order it as it may not appear again during your cruise and save a possible favourite from the left which will be available another day.

 

The Eclipse has a 14 day menu, so we had repeats on our 16 day cruise.

I have so far only read the 1st page, but have watched all the videos (6), which have been added to the link on page 1. Your 2B cabin looks the same as our 2A.

 

I suspect that you were rushed through your Evening meal, as you are on 1st sitting.

We have always taken 2nd sitting and are usually complaining about how slow the service is.

 

I have noted your comments re the egg allergy, as I have now a sensitivity to all dairy products. I have read my notes on our booking & have noted that I need to ask for Soya milk to be supplied 90 days before sailing ( not much hope for late bookers)

[Ems2]

I am so envious, you are where I would like to be, especially today as it is pouring with rain.

 

Your posts and video's are thoroughly enjoyable and bring back some lovely recent memories. My DH and I are counting down the days to our 2nd cruise on the Eclipse, only another 343 to go!

 

What a lovely family you are too.

[ladylemondrop]

Another great video - how nice for people who will be travelling on Eclipse in future to see a cabin video, very useful indeed!

 

We were lucky enough to stay in a Family cabin on Solstice, these are always shown as "Sold Out" on Celebrity website (category FV) this is because initially they are only sold by phone to Celebrity, and only for family of 5 people minimum. Then, if they are not sold nearer to time of departure they open them up to whoever is lucky enough to get one - I had a 2b booked, and happened across the FV one day on the website, then spent an hour on the phone, to Celebrity who confirmed, yes, we could have it and it was EXACTLY same price as the 2b!!! I literally ran out into our street screaming with joy!!

 

Ask reception if you can maybe tour one, for future reference, and if you have enjoyed your experience perhaps next time you can try and book it - 575 square feet, not a suite but HUGE. We loved it.

 

I second previous poster too - what a great family - we are now watching your blog daily, it beats whatever is on TV here!!! :)

[librarylady19]

Your video tour of your cabin was wonderful... it will be a very helpful video for those who have not been on the Eclipse or other S class ships... and it made me smile to remember our cruise on her last February! Thank you again for sharing your family, your journey and your thoughts and ideas with us.

 

I agree! Please post a link to this video along with your cabin report when you get home. It will be a great addition to the S class cabin spreadsheet for sure.

[Jo and Rob]

 

To see our latest Day 6 video please click the link below

 

Day 6 – Toulon, Provence in France.

Staygulf, no our videos are not sponsored by Celebrity but we are open to offers! Ha! Ha!

 

Gary, the HD video camera is a Canon HG-21 AVCHD camcorder. We sometimes use Lite panels video light which has a dimmer switch so Rob can balance the light against any under exposure caused by backlight. The camera performs well in low light up to a point. If Rob shoots towards the balcony he presses the backlight compensation button.

 

Wendy, the entertainment in the evenings lacks variety for us. I haven’t seen any comedians or acrobats yet but I know there is an acrobatic show later in the cruise so I will keep you posted.

 

Jackie and Adrian, we don’t feel rushed at all now so I think it was just a first night problem. Also two tables (one of five and one of ten) in our section have not turned up for the past three nights which has no doubt eased the strain.

 

Thank you so much everyone for your lovely comments. They are really appreciated.

 

We had breakfast from the buffet for the first time today and I was very impressed. The selection was more international than I have ever seen. Not only was there the traditional continental breakfast (cereals and pastries), American breakfast such as corned beef hash, muffins and waffles (with cream, cherries and strawberries) and English breakfast selections (bacon, eggs in every form, sausages etc) you could have freshly carved roast ham with a selection of other cold meats and cheeses, a selection of smoked salmon, marinated herring and Chinese breakfast items such as Pak Choi and fried rice. You could even have ice cream for breakfast as it is served from 7.00am!!

 

The view from the buffet is superb so we were able to enjoy the Eclipse coming into port at La Seyne-sur-mer which is the port opposite Toulon city. From there we headed down to the Eclipse Theatre on deck 4 where all the shore excursions meet. Organisation is good with only one member from each family going up on stage to collect the stickers for the tour rather than everyone crowding around the desk.

 

Jo’s tip 29 – if you are travelling with friends or more than one family wait until everyone arrives in the theatre before you collect your stickers to ensure that you will be on the same coach (there were three coaches doing our tour).

 

You can buy water and cans in the theatre for your trip and with all bars if you have a package there is no need to sign anything. We have done two trips with Celebrity now and both times we were quickly escorted out of the theatre and onto our coaches. You hang onto your tour tickets until you board the tour coach at which point the guide will collect them from you.

 

We did Aix-en Provence – TU33 which was a 5 hour trip and cost £123.50 for the family. There were radio sets with earphones on each seat which were used for the escorted street part of our tour. Our guide talked about the landscape and vegetation of Provence on our journey to Aix and included information about famous people associated with Provence. On arrival we were then instructed to use the headsets to hear him as he was using a radio mike.

 

I have to say that we were unlucky with our guide. He had no enthusiasm or passion in his description and raced ahead without allowing people to pause and enjoy our surroundings. Fortunately he gave the meeting time and location on the coach as he made no effort to keep the group together or check that no one was lost. Anyone with mobility issues would not have managed to keep up with our guide. We had over an hour of free time at the end, but we would have been much happier having some time at each point of interest to soak up the atmosphere with less time at the end. I had a number of issues with the trip which were all the more obvious having had such a great tour of the upper rock in Gibralter.

No air conditioning on the coach going

Toilets locked on coach going, asked driver upon arrival and he said he couldn’t stop to open them despite then sitting in the parking space for another 5 mins

Guide then told us we should have asked the driver! We did! If desperate go to a cafe (many people needed the toilet not just Oliver)

Guide eventually walked us to a public toilet much to the relief of half the coach!

Headset radios were faulty and did not all work ( he had no spares which was very frustrating)

The driver hit the curb of the roundabout on the way there and drove through a red light on the way back!

No commentary on return journey at all (not even I hope you had a pleasant trip!) until back at the port when he promoted the ship’s shuttle.

I love France and enjoyed seeing Aix-en-Provence again especially all the lovely fountains. It would have been much too expensive to go there independently but I didn’t learn much more than I had previously read on the internet in preparation for our trip. We were back on board on time and headed straight for the buffet once more and had a lovely lunch.

 

Jo’s tip 30 – try the Pad Thai it is absolutely delicious.

[LovesBeagles]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience on our tour.:( Let's hope you had your one bad tour and all the rest will be winners.

 

Maria

[Fisherlady48]

I just have to mention that I am wondering about your last name. I have cousins in Pennsylvania who are also named Howarth. Small world.

 

ps The children are stealing the show!! Love seeing you all

 

K

[dzcruisers]

Loving your posts!

 

Please tell customer service about the tour or maybe the excursion desk. They can't fix it if they don't know. Thanks.

[*kittykate*]

Thanks for answering my question regarding the cinema Jo, I notice in one of your top tips you mention about clearing the fridge out to make space for the 'box' of wine you brought on board. Is this one of the large boxes of wine you can buy in the supermarket type and did you get it on board without any hassle. I notice that the 'rules' state two bottles only but if we can take a box on then that would be more than 2 bottles ;o)