Capnpugwash almost live from Celebrity Eclipse

[u2cruiser]

Please dont edit!.............I am sure there are some that colour, if as Capnpugwash says, there actually are sex orgies going on before breakfast.

We do need photographs.

 

hehe! Cap'n may be too late to edit now anyway. Isn't it 20 minutes?

Too funny about the horse :D.

[Mr E Yan]

Maybe there are no mirrors in their cabins so they are unabl to see how appalling they actually look.

 

I'm sure that in many Staterooms the mirrors have been purchased from the fairground House of Mirrors suppliers, to give a more flattering reflection than is the reality. How else can we explain such sartorial clumsiness?

[capnpugwash]

You may want to edit a very funny typo in paragraph one. Those 'wellies' will remain etched on my memory forever in a slightly different way :D

You may well wish you brought your own wellies when you're wading through the volcanic dust ;)

 

Would it be the Blue Lagoon Keflavik is famous for? My Google friend seems to think so.

 

Thank you. Very funny. Now I'm going to read it again. :)

 

Blame the auto correct :) I think it is Reykjavik Airport.

[capnpugwash]

Reykjavik came into sight just after 11am and we sailed gaily past the town and on deeper into the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean to what looks like a commercial port area, I suppose that this ship is too large to dock in the town assuming that any ships are able to do that anyway. At 11.45 we have just boarded the pilot and are now heading in towards land. It doesn’t look like we are going to be as early as the Captain estimated yesterday. I believe that we are scheduled to depart tomorrow afternoon at about 2.30pm.

 

We have been provided a live commentary by the Port Lecturer over the Tannoy as we sail in, it is similar to that provided when entering and leaving New York Harbour only a lot less interesting, I took two facts from the quite intrusive broadcast, the first was that 70% of all people on Iceland live in Reykjavik and the second was that there are twice as many sheep as people on the island. Maybe that is the main purpose of the pink and green spotted wellies from breakfast time and she had only borrowed them from her husband. You do meet some very interesting people on board cruise ships!

 

We are busy turning 180 degrees to moor with our port side onto the quay, this will facilitate an easier departure tomorrow afternoon, it does leave my cabin in the shade unfortunately but I should get the sun tomorrow morning. The surrounding landscape and scenery is quite green, rugged and almost mountainous and it looks very Scandinavian and Alpine. I could easily imagine the Von Trapps running over the green fields singing Edelweiss. In spite of the sunshine there is still a scattering of snow at the top of some of the surrounding hills.

 

Our lines are now ashore and we are winching ourselves close to the quay and securing the ship alongside. It is 1.10pm and the ship has just now received clearance from the local officials and the gangway is of deck 4 in the centre of the ship, it will remain open throughout our stay. I think that it is time for a beer.

 

I went down to the gangway at a little before 1.45 and getting off was quite slow as there was only one fairly steep gangway which everyone had to negotiate, there were ladders fixed to the floor to stop you slipping and even the disabled and elderly had to leave this way. It wasn’t a great success to be fair; anyway I was out about 5 minutes later. The queue for the tickets for the shuttle bus was about 150 yards long and in the 5 minutes that I waited there was no movement at all. I walked into the desk in the building where the tickets were being purchased and there was one girl serving this crowd. I carried on through and emerged to a line of waiting taxis. I spoke to one of the drivers and negotiated a 1 hour tour in his cab for USD50. He went everywhere and we stopped for photos at a few places. We eventually returned about 90 minutes later so I paid him and gave him $10 extra. He was a very knowledgeable young man and showed me the sights.

 

My impression of Reykjavik was totally dispelled today as we drove through some really pretty and scenic areas and the squares and houses in the town were fantastic. I think that my impression may have stemmed from some of the older buildings between the port and the docks where I did a whale watching trip years ago. I apologise if my comments have caused any of you to cancel trips or change your travel plans at all, don’t do it! Come here and you will have a good time.

 

I got back at 3.30 and scaled the gangway which had come down a little as the tide is clearly going out but once on board the ship there was a line of 300 people waiting to leave to go on tours, why there is only one gangway in operation I have no idea especially with the number of disabled people and scooter users on board. I never did get my beer though!

[Paddigton Bear]

Some of you may be familiar with my views on dressing gowns on ships, I am happy for them to be worn but I think they should remain within the confines and privacy of one’s cabin. You can imagine my shock therefore to behold a 50 something lady thus garbed walking through the buffet, she had the red cuffs of a t-shirt or similar protruding from the sleeves and was wearing pink and green spotted willies. My immediate thought was what articles of clothing was she not wearing that the dressing gown was covering and why when she was almost half dressed did she not go the whole hog and put some knickers and a skirt or shorts on? I wonder whether she was doing the walk of shame and had just returned from some all-night sex orgy, I know that some country folk find wellington boots both practical and alluring. I will never know because I neglected to look at her face so I wouldn’t be able to recognise her again. The boots are an entirely different matter as they are etched on my memory forever!

 

 

 

Oh my lord! Could this be the DW from my family on board looking to get in on the action following lycra man's activities! I'm emailing them to check! Keep up the good work! Most amusing read today. You're keeping it real! Now you may not have had a chance to read a previous thread posted today about the ability to see way too much in the elevators from deck 3 if you have a skirt/kilt on but if you have a spare minute, I'm sure you could check it out for us :D There must be a few kilted dudes on this cruise with it sailing from England :eek:

 

The thread is called "A tip for ladies on Solstice class ships":

 

I just happened to be sitting on 3 one evening and looked up at the elevators and there she was ,a female wearing a skirt and standing on the glass floor area of the elevator... and you guessed .. we could see everything!. It was interesting to see how many entered the elevators (during the few times I did not stick to my stairs only plan) wearing skirts and stepped onto the glass floor.

So my tip is ..if you are wearing a shorter skirt avoid the glass floor... LOL!!!!

[tright]

I really love reading your live review!! It reads like a novel. By any chance do you write for a living?

[capnpugwash]

I went to the Molecular Bar for a change before dinner and their speciality is different and unusual cocktails made with fresh ingredients, I had a couple of different ones and they were OK, somewhat unusual but OK. Afterwards I had dinner in the main dining room and the meal was fine; I had snails followed by Pasta e fagioli soup and then a turkey escalope with spaghetti. The escalope and spaghetti were both disappointing but I didn’t leave the table hungry so it can’t have been that bad.

 

It is now 10.15pm and the sun is shining brightly, the temperature is 13/55 degrees and there is a slight breeze blowing.

 

Today is Wednesday July 11th and it is 5.45am, the sun is shining brightly in a clear blue sky. It is so nice to see the sun after the dreadful summer that we have had thus far this year but it feels really strange to have slept on a ship and for that ship to still be docked. There is no gentle swaying as we go through the sea and no wave sounds as the sea washes into the hull of the ship; the only sounds are the calling of the seabirds searching for their breakfast and the constant whirring of the air conditioning in the cabin. It feels far more like a seaside hotel than a cruise ship and I want it to behave like a ship and get moving. It’s really strange because it has never struck me as strongly before as it has just now that I really miss the feeling of being on a ship doing what a ship does. We leave our hotel status at about 2pm today when we sail the 380 miles to Akureyri which is within the Arctic Circle; I imagine that we will arrive there mid-morning tomorrow.

 

I am planning on having a quiet day today and will try to do some studying for the Spanish course that I am taking, of course there are many other things that I would rather be doing so it will be a test of wills, I have a sneaking suspicion that I know the outcome of that little battle.

[cathy82]

Thank you so much for your ongoing review. We are on the August 4th Iceland Cruise and you are really giving us an idea of what to expect.

[BABA 7]

I went to the Molecular Bar for a change before dinner and their speciality is different and unusual cocktails made with fresh ingredients, I had a couple of different ones and they were OK, somewhat unusual but OK. Afterwards I had dinner in the main dining room and the meal was fine; I had snails followed by Pasta e fagioli soup and then a turkey escalope with spaghetti. The escalope and spaghetti were both disappointing but I didn’t leave the table hungry so it can’t have been that bad.

 

It is now 10.15pm and the sun is shining brightly, the temperature is 13/55 degrees and there is a slight breeze blowing.

 

Today is Wednesday July 11th and it is 5.45am, the sun is shining brightly in a clear blue sky. It is so nice to see the sun after the dreadful summer that we have had thus far this year but it feels really strange to have slept on a ship and for that ship to still be docked. There is no gentle swaying as we go through the sea and no wave sounds as the sea washes into the hull of the ship; the only sounds are the calling of the seabirds searching for their breakfast and the constant whirring of the air conditioning in the cabin. It feels far more like a seaside hotel than a cruise ship and I want it to behave like a ship and get moving. It’s really strange because it has never struck me as strongly before as it has just now that I really miss the feeling of being on a ship doing what a ship does. We leave our hotel status at about 2pm today when we sail the 380 miles to Akureyri which is within the Arctic Circle; I imagine that we will arrive there mid-morning tomorrow.

 

I am planning on having a quiet day today and will try to do some studying for the Spanish course that I am taking, of course there are many other things that I would rather be doing so it will be a test of wills, I have a sneaking suspicion that I know the outcome of that little battle.

 

Thanks for your wonderful posts.....what was the outcome of the battle? :rolleyes:

 

BABA7

[rgsmts]

Please keep posting. We are on the August 4, 2012 cruise so your info is great.

[ClaudiaB]

Thank you for your excellent on-the-spot review. We had to cancel our Aug. 4 cruise but are re-booking for next summer so I await your commentary every day. It's most interesting and I find I come back here to see if you've re-posted.

 

I must say, however, you DO need to issue a *spew* alert. :D I almost lost my Diet Coke all over my Mac at the descriptions of both lycra man and that lady. Of course not being from UK I'm not quite sure about some of the words for your clothing - there is the language thing and all - but the overall effect came across just fine, and like I said I pretty much lost my Diet Coke on my computer. Yes, no coffee in this house in the morning, the first sound you hear is the pssssssst of the tab on the Diet Coke can. But I digress....

 

I have to mention here that your description of lycra man reminds me of so many cruises with the men in their - uh, shall we say 'form fitting' (Speedo??) suits. Sheesh!! Can we say waaay TMI. We like to walk on deck in the mornings and it's always quite interesting to say the least. OK what I REALLY want to say is, "NO!!!" Forget the formal wear/what-can-I get-by-with dress code threads. We REALLY should be discussing what not to wear at the pool! But I digress. Seriously. ;)

 

Looking forward to reading more, but just had to say I'm another one anticipating your next adventure. Have a great day in the cool weather - it sounds just lovely about now as you're about 40 degrees cooler than we are here in the southern part of the U.S.

[bailey59]

Love your posts. I feel like a Victorian housemaid waiting for the next Dickens instalment in a Penny Dreadful. I'm also on the 4th Aug sailing and hope we'll get a bit of sunshine. I agree you see some horrible sights (usually the British) and I HATE football shirts on large, middle-aged men. I'll never go with Princess again after finding they show football matches on the poolside screen in the afternoons and out came all the football shirts. As for lycra :eek:. It's very unforgiving on anyone other than a stick insect.

 

You should be getting free cruises for posting for the cruise ship companies. Or perhaps covering the Milan fashion week?

 

Please keep on posting.

Joy

[capnpugwash]

The ship is very quiet this morning apart from the buffet which was crowded with passengers anxious for an early breakfast prior to their departure on tour. Having had some porridge I went to the gym but there was only one lady there and Lycra man was nowhere to be seen. I had a very pleasant sauna in the deserted facility and then I sat in the sun for a couple of hours behind the shelter of some full height glass windows on deck 12 and it was very pleasant, then as the sun moved around I decided that I needed a coffee. I went to the Café Al Bacio on deck 5 for an espresso, the coffee isn’t free here but it is very nice anyway although I rather like the standard coffee as well. The Captain, his deputy and the Chief Engineer were all there sampling the delights on offer so I was in august company.

 

The air temperature has reached 17/63 degrees which is wonderful so I am going to head back to the deck and take advantage of it.

 

It is 2pm and we have just pushed off the berth and are sailing out of the harbour into the glasslike inlet leading to the Atlantic Ocean, earlier I had gone to the buffet for a coffee and noticed that one of the stations was offering Mexican food which is a long-time favourite of mine. I had a chicken fajita, some chili con carne with refried beans and a spoonful of guacamole. It was all absolutely delicious and the chili was just spicy enough. I could eat that type of food every day if it was available.

 

We are now heading North West towards the top left of the island where we will turn to starboard and circle around until we reach Akureyri, our scheduled arrival time is 9am tomorrow morning. The sea is slight, the temperature is lower at 12/53 degrees and there is a 10 knot southerly breeze.

[kitkat1]

The ship is very quiet this morning apart from the buffet which was crowded with passengers anxious for an early breakfast prior to their departure on tour. Having had some porridge I went to the gym but there was only one lady there and Lycra man was nowhere to be seen. I had a very pleasant sauna in the deserted facility and then I sat in the sun for a couple of hours behind the shelter of some full height glass windows on deck 12 and it was very pleasant, then as the sun moved around I decided that I needed a coffee. I went to the Café Al Bacio on deck 5 for an espresso, the coffee isn’t free here but it is very nice anyway although I rather like the standard coffee as well. The Captain, his deputy and the Chief Engineer were all there sampling the delights on offer so I was in august company.

 

The air temperature has reached 17/63 degrees which is wonderful so I am going to head back to the deck and take advantage of it.

 

It is 2pm and we have just pushed off the berth and are sailing out of the harbour into the glasslike inlet leading to the Atlantic Ocean, earlier I had gone to the buffet for a coffee and noticed that one of the stations was offering Mexican food which is a long-time favourite of mine. I had a chicken fajita, some chili con carne with refried beans and a spoonful of guacamole. It was all absolutely delicious and the chili was just spicy enough. I could eat that type of food every day if it was available.

 

We are now heading North West towards the top left of the island where we will turn to starboard and circle around until we reach Akureyri, our scheduled arrival time is 9am tomorrow morning. The sea is slight, the temperature is lower at 12/53 degrees and there is a 10 knot southerly breeze.

 

Thank you Cap'n

We are out on the Eclipse on the 21st July (Baltic ) so all your tips are welcome. Perhaps we shall all see you as you disembark? We shall all cheer! Thank you for your entertaining posts. Keep your eye out for "welly woman", I think there are a few mysteries to unravel there?

Cx

[capnpugwash]

This island is formed of a large number of volcanoes and thus is constantly under threat of eruptions, as we are sailing out the starboard horizon is a line of snow-capped volcanic peaks, hopefully they don’t reach boiling point quite yet. The combination of the turquoise sea and the dark mountains is quite spectacular I think, there is not a cloud in the sky and it all looks very picturesque. Reykjavik is situated at the eastern end of a large bay formed by two long headlands and now 3½ hours after sailing we have reached the end of the uppermost arm and are turning towards the north and entering the Denmark Strait, which I believe separates Greenland from Iceland.

 

We continue north north east along the west coast of Iceland and in about 2 hours we should be entering the Greenland Sea which is part of the Arctic Ocean and then start heading due east to Akureyri. I went to the wine dispense bar earlier and had a couple of glasses of Pouilly Fuisse and then I had a small dinner in the main restaurant, I chose Caesar Salad with lots of anchovies and then a very disappointing chicken dish. Most of the food is excellent but I think that I have just chosen poorly for the last two evenings. Having had a nice lunch I am quite content.

 

The sea is very slight with tiny wavelets, a 17 knot south westerly breeze and a temperature of 13/55 degrees. Our speed is 19 knots. The sun will set tonight at 11.38pm and will rise at 2.45am so in reality it will not get truly dark but will rather be an extended twilight. We will enter the Arctic Circle tonight for about 2 hours but then will leave it as we head down the inlet to Akureyri which is 60 miles south of it. We will re-enter it for a similar time tomorrow evening as we leave Iceland and head towards the Faeroes.

[c-legs]

Capnpugwash; many thanks for your most entertaining blog & '' live from'' ....As they always are on your Cunard threads, they are informative, specific and extremely well written, funny and easy to read.

Looking forwards to the next installment.

 

Again, Cheers

!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the very informative review of your cruise.

[capnpugwash]

During the night we made our way along the coast and now at 5.45am on Thursday July 12th we have just turned south east into the inlet that leads to Akureyri, if it was Norway I suppose that it would be called a fjord but that would mean that we are lost as we are supposed to be in Iceland! There are almost sheer snow topped mountains on either side and it is quite breath-taking, as is the 8/47 degree temperature. The sea is almost calm as we make our way at 18 knots. We have about 40 miles to negotiate in this channel and the instructions are a little unclear as to whether we are to dock or to go ashore by tender. I don’t mind either way other than being concerned at a repetition of the debacle of the single gangway in Reykjavik, in some ways tendering might be better as the chances are that they will use at least 2 tender lounges. I am unsure whether I am going ashore as it is a very small town and 2,500 visitors might well make it crowded and unpleasant.

 

I am hungry this morning after my chicken at dinner so I am going for breakfast at 7am in the buffet and watch us sailing along from the restaurant. I had a delicious breakfast of two soft poached eggs on a toasted English muffin accompanied by a spoonful of baked beans, it made a great change. Two cups of coffee later and I am ready for whatever the day throws at me. Wellie lady and lycra man were both missing but a new character has joined the mix. He is quite striking, about 55 and 5’10” tall. What makes him striking is the almost orange toupee that he chooses to adorn his head. These items aren't inexpensive so I wonder why it seems to be an impossible task for them to be manufactured in a colour that is a more appropriate match to human hair. I might be a little unfair and perhaps they change colour when exposed to sunlight or perhaps toupee man lives close to an old nuclear power station. I've never seen one that didn’t look so obviously false so I can only assume that they can’t make them at any price.

 

We are still heading inland and the surrounding mountains all have flat tops so I think that in the distant past the area was scraped by glaciers which shaved the pointy bits off them. That is the geography lesson for today! You may wonder why Celebrity has an X as their trademark, I did until yesterday when I discovered that the line was originally founded by two Greek brothers whose surname was Chandos. In Greek the equivalent of CH is an X. the brothers sold the line to Royal Caribbean and part of the deal was that the X would continue to be used.

[Lyn Mc]

Thank you so much for taking the time out to post your daily reviews, as with many other avid cc readers we are on the same cruise in August so eagerly await all the info.

 

You mentioned the captain in an earlier post, any idea on who the captain is at present?

 

Thanks,

Lyn

[u2cruiser]

Morning Cap'n,

Don't you ever sleep?

 

You should turn your journals into a book. Lots of cruisers would love to read your extremely funny observations whilst taking their own cruises.

 

Perhaps toupee man originally had orange hair? Sort of carrot coloured? Does he have freckles?

 

Iceland sounds amazing. I can picture you; your soft poached boiled eggs and a heavenly view, spoiled only by orange head.

 

Good luck tendering/not tendering into Akureyri. Have you spotted the horse yet?

[bula squeak]

To see what passenger you are going to dis next:D

[Purplelady57]

Hi Cap’n

 

I am the same cruise on 4th August. Love your blog have become an avid reader. Keep it up.

 

 

Reality has now struck me, retails therapy for jumpers is urgently required.

 

 

Thanks

Purplelady 57

[Bobal]

Enjoying the reports Cap'n :D

 

Just a small correction - the origins of the X ships were 'Chandris', and you're correct that the X is the Greek letter 'chi'. My first ever cruise was on the SS Romanza, which was a Chandris ship with an X on the side. Do you think that means I should be owed some cruise credits to add to my Celebrity account ;)

[capnpugwash]

Enjoying the reports Cap'n :D

 

Just a small correction - the origins of the X ships were 'Chandris', and you're correct that the X is the Greek letter 'chi'. My first ever cruise was on the SS Romanza, which was a Chandris ship with an X on the side. Do you think that means I should be owed some cruise credits to add to my Celebrity account ;)

 

Thanks.

 

We arrived at 8.45 and turned 90 degrees to starboard and approached our berth nose in, he ship is longer than the quay so at 8.50 there was a sharp crack from the stern and the monkey’s fist and lead line was fired ashore, I suppose that they do this because it would be too far for it to be thrown by hand. I have never seen it happen so it made a change to the more usual practice. The town has 17,000 inhabitants and 1,400 passengers are going on organised tours leaving 1,400 potential visitors from the ship. The port lecturer gave a talk as we approached the town and was struggling to find many interesting facts to relate. There is an aircraft museum, a motor cycle museum and a general purpose museum. There is a church and a cultural centre. All gripping stuff!

I went for a late sauna and again I had the place to myself, after I had done all that I went out onto the covered part of deck 12 and sat for an hour or so listening to a book, the crew were being exercised during this time and they were moving around the ship following the instructions issued by the bridge staff. It is almost noon and it continues. The sun is nice and warm at 17/64 degrees and out of the light breeze it is quite pleasant. I'm not sure what to do for lunch today my instinct is to skip it but the Mexican food was just so very tasty that temptation might prove too much for me to withstand. I am definitely not getting off the ship though.

My willpower lasted until about 1.20 and then it crumbled like a taco shell which coincidentally was what I had for lunch, filled with chili, guacamole, salsa and some refried beans, I also had a chicken fajita and the combination was absolutely wonderful. The temperature has dropped to 14/57 and the wind strength has increased so that it is now too cool on deck for me to consider going for a swim. I have a Hornblower book to finish so I will do just that.

[FangedRose]

Also on this cruise on 4th August.

Loving your posts, you are wetting my appetite, can't wait to compare my experience with yours.