Eclipse 1/12-1/26/13 Review

[Clydesmom7865]

One more question regarding the Grenada excursion. Did you do the full or half day one? Thx!

 

I did the half day.

[Clydesmom7865]

We'll be on the same cruise in 12 days! Thanks for the great review. Do you remember which nights were designated as formal nights?

 

The second day of the cruise, when we were in Barbados (7th day?), and the second to last night.

[Patrick IL.]

Thank you :)

[koolforkatz]

I did the half day.

 

Thank you :)

[ginnyks]

As if I weren't excited enough for our 9 Feb cruise on the Eclipse!! Thank you so much for your review. As usual my DH and I always book interior cabins, so there is no worry about pulled drapes. If we can cruise at least once a year, I don't mind interior cabins! I wouldn't be able to sleep anyways, as I would be sitting and watching the sea all night.

[medfordgirl]

It is FANTASTIC. LOTS of fun. They have a bar set up below the helipad. No need to bring your own! "Offered" is a subjective term. The bar is the same as any other bar on board: no beverage package, you pay.

 

I LOVED St. Lucia. Great island and would definitely go back. If you want a recommendation for a private tour at a reasonable price: Cosol Tours. Includes a breakfast of traditional local foods (over a dozen of them) prepared by local people and a traditional St. Lucian lunch of warm bread and cheese. We thought we had died and gone to heaven. A water taxi trip to spend around an hour on the beach between the Pitons to swim/snorkel and many scenic vistas to photograph. Worth every penny. I believe around $65 for the day includes shopping stops and a mobile open bar at no extra cost. They make the BEST rum punch. Make sure to try the banana ketchup! Yes, that is correct and not a typo.

 

Our itinerary did Bonaire instead of Curacao. I did hear several locals on at least 3 other islands mention how great Curacao is but I have no personal knowledge, sorry. Have fun it is great run with either island.

 

they changed our itinerary but supposedly they took out Grenada and added Bonaire. At least it better be that way otherwise my husband will have a fit if he doesn't go to Curacao. About your tour in St Lucia, I had been looking at that one. What time do they get you back to the ship? I hate cutting it too close as I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself. And is there anything to do in Bonaire? Do they have any nice beaches near the dock?

[Notagoose]

And is there anything to do in Bonaire? Do they have any nice beaches near the dock?

 

Bonaire is one of my favourite stops, because it has, by far, the best snorkeling I have ever experienced. This time, we just walked to the Plaza Resort (turn right when you get off the ship - about a 10 min. walk), rented a chair for $5, and snorkeled at their beach. You'll see a little pier to the left with steps to the water - that's the easiest way to go in with fins, and tons of fish hang out under the concrete platform a few feet away. There's a nice reef a bit further out if you're a good swimmer. For $5, it was a nice, cheap day. You can use their pool and washroom facilities too.

[ping1]

Thnks for sharing all the information. It is great to read. I'm looking for recent copies of menus, anyone's help in locating these is appreciated.

 

Besides copies of the menus, does anyone have recent Eclipse dailies? Thank you.

[Clydesmom7865]

they changed our itinerary but supposedly they took out Grenada and added Bonaire. At least it better be that way otherwise my husband will have a fit if he doesn't go to Curacao. About your tour in St Lucia, I had been looking at that one. What time do they get you back to the ship? I hate cutting it too close as I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself. And is there anything to do in Bonaire? Do they have any nice beaches near the dock?

 

We were back to the pier by 3pm in St. Lucia. Plenty of time to shop there although the shopping on the tour was better and less expensive. NEVER feared for time at all. The food was AMAZING and the mobile bar didn't hurt either. They had the BEST rum punch of all the islands. The side trip to the bay between the Pitons to snorkel was a major highlight for me. Our guide even stopped when I wanted certain pictures too.

 

Bonaire is a diver/snorkel paradise but NOTHING to do on land and that was from our guide. There are plenty of nice beaches nearby. I would do a water tour if I ever went back.

[sammamishcruiser]

Thank you so much for your review! We will be on the Eclipse 14 day Caribbean in April and are very excited! First time on an "S" class ship and first time in the Caribbean.

Melody:D

[terrytallent1]

The daily schedule will show which things are free and which things have a charge to attend. In general the things with a charge include wine tastings, alcohol tastings (other than the alcohol store samples), special equipment exercise classes and other limited space exercise classes. Various iphone and ipad classes. Craft classes. And of course BINGO. The free things will include demonstrations (glass blowing, cooking, food carving, drink making), glass of champagne at art auctions, some group dance/exercise classes. Seminars (although some of the healthy living classes will have a hard sell of products/services ie accupuncture). Guest speakers will list the subject of each lecture. Most if not all will be rebroadcast on the TV. We find that we want to attend two things that are happening around the same time and we have to pick one. We bring a highlighter and use it to mark the things on the daily schedule we plan to attend. Sometimes we find ourselves wanting to attend different activities and that is perfectly fine. She may go to line dance while I go watch the martini making demonstration. Don't forget to block out time to do nothing. I love to find time to soak in the hot tub but unless I write it on my schedule it just seems to get pushed to the back burner. Terry

[terrytallent1]

This information today is for those who may be sailing on Celebrity for the first time. You will get a beach towel for each person in your cabin. This is for you to take ashore while in port. It should be obvious that you bring the dirty towel back and your cabin steward will replace it will a clean beach towel for the next port. We store ours in a beach bag (which is also provided to you by your room steward) and store it either under the bed or in the overhead bin. You will pick up clean towels at the pools on the ship to use at the hot tubs, indoor pool and outdoor pool. When you are done it will help if you place the used towels in the bin where you picked the towels up so the people looking for a lounge know you are finished using it. You will have robes in your room that you can take to the pools. If you use the spa you do not have to take your own robe. They will provide one to you for use in the Persian Gardens etc. The spa also has lockers and will provide you a key to your locker if you leave your cabin key. Anytime you need a clean robe, towel etc just contact your room steward. There will be a direct phone number to contact him/her in your room. There is a lot of problems on some ships with saving lounges. The Eclipse pool staff will place a card on a lounge that appears to be unoccupied for an extended period of time. If they check an hour or so later and the lounge is still unoccupied they will remove the items on the lounge and free it up for use by someone actually at the pool. They will store the items and will make every effort to find you a new empty lounge for the time you are actually using the pool and lounge. There may also be some passengers who set up card/game tables in the areas where people want to sit down and eat. So far there has not been any effort to designate tables being off limits for those playing games during periods when tables are full and people are trying to find a place to sit and eat. Please find a non food area to set up your game table. There are a multitude of areas on the ship where you can set up a game table. Terry

__________________

[terrytallent1]

Today I will cover Deck 4 on the ship. I know most of you already know right is starboard and left is port but bear with me. If you are facing the pointy end of the ship (forward or bow) then you can determine port (left) from starboard (right) I remember that left and port have 4 letters and right and starboard have more than 4 letters:). If you are at the stern or aft end of the ship you are at the select dining on deck 4. If you go down the hallway to the right (starboard) you will find a ladies room. Just past the ladies room is Cellar Masters (a wine bar) This is one of my favorite features on the S class ships and I will take one day to review it. Next you come to Fortunes Casino. I like the fact it is non smoking but I spend very little time there. If you continue through the casino it will exit into the entertainment court. Street entertainment happens here throughout the cruise. About the only thing I watched there last cruise were the acapella mens singers. They are very good entertainment. The next thing down the hallway is Celebrity Central which is a small theatre where they do lectures, church services, game shows, movies and BINGO. The last thing down that hallway is the Eclipse Theatre main level. Now go back to select dining and go down the left (port) side of the ship. The first thing you see is a men's room. Just past that is Martini Bar. It can get loud in there but the bar top is covered in frost and they put on a show from time to time making a flight of matinis. You can watch it on utube. The other feature there is called Crush. It is a bar devoted to high end vodka. Just past Crush you come to Shops on the Boulevard. This is where you will find logo merchandise, drug store and package liquor store. They will sometimes have free samples. The artwork is well worth some time but I would recommend looking on a port day when the shops are closed and the hallway is not too busy. Next you will come to the Entertainment Court. On the left is Quasar which has interactive games and a bar. You need to try out the interactive games at least once during the cruise. The last thing you come to is the restrooms and the entrance into the Eclipse Theatre. I will cover deck 5 another day. Terry

__________________

[ping1]

There were Zumba classes with Martha, mostly poolside, but some in the sky lounge.

 

 

Can you tell me what time the Zumba classes were held? And at each time, where was it held? I am hoping the classes are indoors because it is so hot to exercise in the sun. Thank you.

[terrytallent1]

Can you tell me what time the Zumba classes were held? And at each time, where was it held? I am hoping the classes are indoors because it is so hot to exercise in the sun. Thank you.

 

Eclipse Zumba instructer had to use the pool area for most classes just before lunch. I am sure she has to use whatever space at whatever time they make available to her. Terry

[VikingRob]

I know it depends on the weather, but most of the classes were 9:00 am by the pool and then sometimes an afternoon one around 4:30, I believe in the Sky lounge. Kim

[miched]

Read that you received 2 invites to the Heli Pad for a sail away. You went both times so it must have been worth going. For those of us that may never get one and other than it is special because of by invitation only what else makes it so special or better than any other place on the ship?

 

.

[mahdnc]

We were on the helipad when Summit left Bermuda. One nice aspect was that several staff officers were there to talk to during the sail away.

[Clydesmom7865]

Read that you received 2 invites to the Heli Pad for a sail away. You went both times so it must have been worth going. For those of us that may never get one and other than it is special because of by invitation only what else makes it so special or better than any other place on the ship?

 

.

 

The actual event of being on the helipad itself was better than the invitation. A glass of Chardonnay, small group, and the unobstructed view at sail away was perfect. Great chance for pictures from the perfect vantage point. And as the previous poster said: there were about a dozen officers (at least half senior) who were there and able to just visit and chat at will. Quite the enjoyable experience. If you are interested I would at least inquire at guest relations about an invite so that you get the opportunity.

[Durk]

We were also on this sailing. Zumba was held every day at 4:30 poolside with Martha. On sea days there were extra Zumba classes at 9:00 a.m. poolside as well. Hope this helps!