Exotic Southern Caribbean | Celebrity Eclipse | Nov 16, 2013

[Maligator]

Howdy again, Cruise Critic. I've been working on my trip report for a few days now and it's getting wordy, so instead of posting the lump sum farther down the road, I thought I'd try the piecemeal approach. I will try my best to answer any questions as I progress.

 

I feel like I have to first explain that – unlike last year’s cruise – this one left me feeling like writing a review was more of a chore than something exciting. But I shall plod on and do my very best to be thorough, fair and maybe provide a giggle along the way.

 

And So It Begins Again

 

We really hadn’t planned on taking another cruise so soon after last year’s Eastern Med sailing, so I was a bit surprised when my wife set about researching almost as soon as we got off the plane. Seems she likes cruising at Thanksgiving, because it gives her two extra days off that don’t count against her vacation bank at work. The Med being my choice, this would be hers. I had no reservations about what she might pick, because – as one of my older co-workers said (and I’m paraphrasing for the sake of civility) – cruises are like “snuggling.” “Even when it’s not that great, it’s still pretty good.” So unless she picked something called Treasures of the Horn of Africa, I was sure I’d be fine with her decision. After mulling it over, tabulating and consulting her tea leaves, Exotic Southern Caribbean won out over a Panama Canal and a Trans-Atlantic.

 

We tapped our trusty AAA travel agent for the third time and managed to snag one of the only remaining rooms we were interested in. Having thoroughly enjoyed an aft stateroom on Millennium in Alaska, we picked a Sky Suite on the 11th deck, #1667. We picked and paid for our excursions through Celebrity right away and cashed-in miles to cover the flights, so all that was left was to watch the countdown clock for seven agonizing months.

[Maligator]

Day 1: IAH-FLL | Saturday, 11/16/13 | Cloudy 75F (in FLL)

 

Also in port: Westerdam, Carnival Freedom, Oasis of the Seas, Crown Princess | Port load: ≈ 13288

 

The alarm clocks went off at 05:30, but I don’t think either of us was asleep. I was just excited, like a little kid on Christmas morning and she was trying to think if there was anything she hadn’t packed or thought of. For once, I was the one who overpacked. We budgeted for on-board laundry this time, which meant I could pack less, right? I guess not. But there was a lesson learned here and I shouldn’t make the same mistake again. More on that later. Each of us had one large suitcase and one carry-on. I weighed our bags on a bathroom scale (the first of a series of lapses in judgment I had regarding bath scales on this trip) and mine came in a shade over 50 lbs, for which United would charge a fortune. The cabbie managed to find us, despite an outdated GPS that took us 10 minutes the wrong direction before I got him on the right track. Even with the scenic route, he got us there on time and we went right in to the check-in kiosks. Sure enough, my bag was 55 lbs. So while the line stacked up behind us, I decided that saving $100 was worth the shame of being “those people” who set about repacking at the counter. It didn’t take long and after stuffing some shirts in our backpacks, I was under the limit and we were off to suffer the indignity of the TSA screening. I glanced at my watch and saw we had plenty of time before boarding. But as we walked up to our gate, I was confused by the lack of anyone else sitting in the waiting area. Seems United changed the departure time on us without any kind of notification. OK…this one’s on me, because one should expect the unexpected (like a flight leaving early) and should check such things. Fortunately, they hadn’t closed the door yet and we were among the last passengers to board, which made us “those people” once again. The flight was uneventful, though it seemed longer, due to a trio of ill-mannered booger-eaters in the seats in front of us and their parents, who seemed incapable of delivering any discipline.

 

FLL was an easy enough airport to navigate and we were dragging our suitcases from the carousel within minutes. One great thing about FLL being a major cruise port is the line representatives are easy to pick out. We’d purchased the transfer through Celebrity, which I can’t recommend enough. The bus picked us up at the terminal, made one more stop at another terminal and 15 minutes later, we were shuffling off at the pier. Also of note, regarding the transfer, was our driver, who did not stop talking over the PA system the entire time. Some information about the airport expansion, most about his impending retirement and all of it, insignificant. Also, there was a group of Celebrity cruisers at another terminal in a near mutiny over having waited more than an hour for the bus to Miami. Anyway, ours went smoothly and getting dropped off at the entrance to the check-in lines was very nice.

 

Check-in was as smooth as I could have wanted. We were shown the line for suite guests, of which there were none ahead of us and we were at a counter in seconds. This was where I had everything crossed that I could cross, as last year at this time, we couldn’t figure out why our keycards didn’t work. Alas, no visit from the Upgrade Fairy on this trip, but all was well. We had the room we wanted and were on our way up the gangway within 5 minutes. Fortunately, there was a group ahead of us who got snagged by the ship’s photographers, so we were able to skate past without that nonsense. By the time we got to the 11th deck, we only had to sit in the lobby for a minute before the announcement that guests were now able to head to their rooms.

 

Room 1667 was at, obviously, the far end of the ship. The fact that I gained no weight on this sailing, I credit to the walk between the nearest elevators or stairs and our room. I did actually pace it out and came up with ~100 paces from the midship elevator lobby and our doorstep. This ship is 1041 feet long, but I’m certain it was more than that to our room. Anyway, 1667 is a “S2” Sky Suite, which is the most-junior of the suites. The “S1’s” are on the aft corners, are a little bigger and face both aft and the side. Our S2 was about 50% wider than the average veranda room, offering ample room between the end of the bed and the bulkhead, as opposed to our C1 on Millennium, where it was a tight fit. The sliding door was accompanied by a non-opening side light and the combination of the two was enough to flood the room with natural light. The bed was a queen-size with two nightstands. A desk with lighted mirror was at the foot, where there were an assortment of power plugs and jacks for Ethernet. There was a sofa with a fold-away sleeper and an adjustable-height coffee table. Another large storage counter with a minifridge and what looked like a 40” TV were across from the sofa. The TV could angle out from the wall for watching from bed. The veranda was also 50% wider than the average, offering enough space for two chairs, a table, two footstools and a chaise lounge. The chaise was from the pool deck, apparently. It was already there when we arrived and our butler left it there until the last day.

 

The bathroom was plenty large for our needs. It had a fancy-looking sink and faucet on the marble counter with three mirrors. The two on the sides concealed some small shelves, big enough to store all our prescription and toiletry containers. The middle mirror was heated, which kept it from steaming up during a hot shower. There was an unreliable bath scale (more on that later) and the head was…well…it did what it needed to do and with a sucking force that might swallow a Volkswagen if one were parked too close. There was a full-size bathtub/shower combo with the rainshower head. Compared to the RS from last year, while I liked the individual stall better in the RS, the S2 at least allowed adjustment to a comfortable temperature that didn’t leave me in the burn ward. However, the total height of the tub stall was right at 6’5”, making the shower head a little low for me. At 6’5”, I had to stoop a few inches, but it was barely an inconvenience.

 

Shortly after our arrival, we met Leslie (from St Vincent), our stateroom attendant, as well as Sheldon (from Jamaica), his assistant. Both were pleasant, though Sheldon was omnipresent and was exceptional. He called us by name right away and kept up with our activities, so he would ask about the day’s events. This is not to take away from Leslie, but Sheldon was an example for others to follow. We didn’t meet our butler, Olga (from Russia), until the following day, but she was readily accessible and when she found out we like iced tea, she had a fresh pitcher two or three times a day for us. I really think we hit a trifecta of cabin staff.

 

After meeting our attendants, we dropped our stuff and the wife was off to the gym for what would be the only workout she’d get during the entire cruise. For me, the time before sail-away is awkward. I want to explore the ship and get the lay of the land, as well as pictures. But I really don’t like having people in my shots and everyone else is wandering around, too, making it nearly impossible. So I resigned myself to shooting what I could from the upper decks. Fortunately, Fort Lauderdale is a haven for yachting and I’m a big fan of watercraft of all kinds. I was geeked to see “Cakewalk”, even if she was a good distance away. HAL “Westerdam” was adjacent to us and blocked our view of the other ships in port, which were “Carnival Freedom,” “Oasis of the Seas” and “Crown Princess.” The Princess was unobstructed, but was berthed way across the harbor. By the time we sailed, I was disappointed to see we were the last to leave port.

 

After enjoying the sail-away from our veranda, we made our way down to the Moonlight Sonata dining room (MDR) for our 6pm seating. We were assigned to table #110, which we found was a 2-top on the lower floor, just inside the port side entrance. It was nestled up against a window and was surrounded by other 2- and 4-tops. Initially, I really liked it, but Kristi tends to get wurfy with fast motion immediately outside and this table’s view had plenty of that. That first night, she could hardly eat after a few minutes watching the roiling whitewater racing by just outside the window. From that night on, I’d go in a few steps ahead and pull the curtain far enough to where she couldn’t see out. However, after about 6:20, it was too dark to see anything, anyway. Shortly after we sat, we met our servers. Vladmir, from Bulgaria, was assisted by Aleksandr, from Serbia. Aleksandr was very pleasant and attentive and will make a very good waiter in the near future. But I thought Vladmir excelled. We have always had fantastic waitstaff on each of our previous cruises, but I think Vladmir tops the list. My wife and I are creatures of habit with me being a little more adventurous with my cuisine. Kristi has a less tolerant palate and new experiences or extremes of any kind (except maybe chocolate) will ruin a meal for her. Vladmir was very patient with her and was accurate with his descriptions of “fishiness” or how spicy the dishes were.

 

Tonight’s choices:

 

Kristi: Shrimp Louis, Ceasar salad, NY Sirloin

Matt: Escargot, Cream of Mushroom soup, Salmon

 

For some reason, I didn’t record what we chose for dessert. I think on any future cruises, we may go with the anytime seating, as we weren’t always hungry right at 6pm.

 

We decided to skip the evening production show, which I think would have been an amalgamation of all the upcoming acts. We wandered the ship, learning the lay of the land and planning for our at-sea days. Tired from the day’s travels, we stopped by Oceanview Café for a snack before heading back to the cabin for the night.

 

More soon...

Edited January 4, 2014 by HickoryShampoo

[upwarduk]

We did this cruise March 2013, but missed Curaçao, due to high winds, so I was interested to see your photos.

Also the 'at Sea' album. Those shots of the flying birds are superb.

What camera are you using?

[gordylad]

We did this cruise March 2013

 

 

Thinking of the 1st March 2015 cruise. Just wondering if there were many kids on board and you mentioned the wind, was it that bad?

 

Thanks

[coldweathergirl]

Loving your writing style and your review. We were on the Nov 30th sailing and loved our time on board.

[GaryfmCol]

delete

Edited January 4, 2014 by GaryfmCol

[GaryfmCol]

Awesome review, Matt..when is "Chapter Two"?

 

 

We're on the ECLIPSE, January 25, in about 3 weeks....

 

Thanks.. :)

[upwarduk]

We did this cruise March 2013

 

 

Thinking of the 1st March 2015 cruise. Just wondering if there were many kids on board and you mentioned the wind, was it that bad?

 

Thanks

 

Not too many children on board, probably because it was a 14 night cruise.

It was Easter Monday when we couldn't dock in Curaçao, apparently it's quite a narrow channel.

I know there is 'March Break' in USA & Canada at the beginning of March, but someone else will give you details of that. Schools in UK usually have Half Term mid - late Feb, depending when the Easter holiday falls.

[Hart10]

Great report so far ! We will be on Eclipse Feb 22nd and looking forward to you review:)

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Maligator]

We did this cruise March 2013, but missed Curaçao, due to high winds, so I was interested to see your photos.

Also the 'at Sea' album. Those shots of the flying birds are superb.

What camera are you using?

 

Canon 5D Mk III. Those particular shots were with a 100-400mm zoom.

 

 

 

 

 

Just wondering if there were many kids on board and you mentioned the wind, was it that bad?

 

Thanks

 

Not very many, but a few. One family had 3 toddlers and I saw a handful of teenagers. The wind was not bad on our sailing.

 

Next installment should be coming either this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

 

Thanks!

 

Sent from my SCH-I915 using Tapatalk

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Great report so far. Liked the pictures as well. Wish I were sitting there right now watching the wonderful hot glass show. Love that cruise!

[TeaBag]

Enjoying your review. We got off Eclipse as you got on and we had the same stateroom attendants. We, too thought Sheldon was great.

[Maligator]

Day 2: At-sea | Sunday, 11/17/13 | Partly Cloudy 85F

 

Also in port: n/a

 

With nothing really on our schedule but to start relaxing, we took our time getting up and ready for the day, then hit Oceanview Café for breakfast. I picked up what would become the standard breakfast for me: bananas, apple, heap of bacon and a couple links of breakfast sausage. Kristi usually got a plate of melon and pineapple, then went back for eggs or waffles.

 

We browsed the shops on deck 4, looking for nothing in particular, but disappointed we didn’t find any kind of itinerary-specific t-shirt like we found in Alaska in 2010. We then made our way up to deck 15 for the Hot Glass Show. Both of us really enjoyed the shows on Equinox and I think having it on Eclipse is what pushed this cruise over the finish line when we picked. This was a less-experienced group of artists, compared to those we saw last year, but you couldn’t tell from their work.

 

After the glass show, we went down to Celebrity Central for one of two Celebrity Life lecturers on this sailing. The other was supposedly a mystery writer, but after hearing a neighbor talk about it, we never did catch her. This guy was a professor, though I don’t recall what his specialty was, I don’t think it was astronomy. Unfortunately, his presentation was about astronomy and stargazing. I was disappointed with what turned out to be a very dry presentation based heavily on a PowerPoint show he didn’t seem entirely familiar with. We decided to skip the rest of his presentations.

 

Lunch was back in Oceanview Café and I neglected to note earlier that it seems Celebrity heard the complaints about clearing tables in a timely manner, because we never had to look more than a minute for a place to sit. My only gripe this time was the temperature. The mid-day sun really baked one side of the buffet seating area and the A/C couldn’t keep up. It looked like the shades were left up so as not to block the view, which was non-existent, unless one just can’t get enough blue ocean. I’ll admit I didn’t approach anyone about it, so I can’t really complain too loudly.

 

After a couple hours of reading and dozing in the Sky Lounge, we wandered by the Molecular Bar to check out a presentation about these weird concoctions we saw in a promotional video. We got there just as they opened and found it was less of a formal presentation and more of a one-on-one with the bartender about the assortment of menu items. I settled on a “Dragonfly,” which looked like muddy pondwater scooped from Yoda’s swamp, complete with liquid nitrogen fog off the top. Kristi picked the “Mr B,” that was similar in appearance, if Yoda lived in Oz instead of on Dagobah.

 

This was the first of three formal nights for this sailing and we’d scheduled Qsine for dinner as one of our two specialty restaurants that come with the suite. For those unfamiliar, Qsine is not a typical restaurant and though I’d done some research, I still wasn’t totally prepared. First, your waiter “culinary travel guide” brings your menu on an iPad, with which you swipe between dishes with themes from around the world. Second, you know your limits and come hungry. There are about 20 different dishes and more than a few might look like can’t-miss items, but I suggest booking a second dinner with them, rather than what we did, which was order ALL the food and leave uncomfortably full. Our “guide” did warn us to pick sparingly, but we forged ahead and over-ordered, anyway. Looking back, I’d have certainly booked that second dinner.

 

Kristi: Disco Shrimp (Bouillon Poached Tiger Shrimp, Avocado, Tomato & Celery, with Cocktail Aioli and Crunchy Toppings), Lava Crab (crab mush inside a crispy bird nest of noodle and floating in spicy lobster sauce), Crunchy Munchies (assortment of fried things; some familiar, some not), Painter’s Mignon (little steaks served with some sauces), mini-burgers (which I thought were terrible). She had a meatball dish ordered, but we cancelled it when we realized we were in over our heads. She also declined dessert, which was unprecedented.

 

Matt: Disco shrimp, lava crab, treseviche (shrimp, salmon and sea bass ceviche marinated in alcohol; I thought it was horrible and barely touched it), lobster & escargot (surely, this is what the Gods eat) and ended the meal with “chocolate tombstone” (a mousse cake).

 

After dinner, we attended the production show in the theater. Olga, our butler, met us in Celebrity Central and escorted us to the section for Captain’s Club Elite and suite guests. The night’s show, “Edge,” was a variety show of classic rock and pop sets. Like the previous cruises, this sailing had 4 main vocalists (2 men, 2 women). The men were good, but unremarkable. Of the women, the blonde would have stood out, if not for the petite redhead and her extraordinary pipes. She reminded me of our beagle. How does such big noise come from such a little being?

 

With plenty of evening left, we changed into comfortable clothes and set out with my camera and tripod to take photos around the ship. I love taking photos of ships’ design and prefer to have them with as little pedestrian traffic as possible. Tonight’s subject was the solarium and the wall fountain, though the fountain was being coy and only came to life for a few seconds at a time.

 

We ended the night (or so we thought) with milk and cookies at Oceanview Café before bed. Around midnight, Kristi reached up to switch-off the bedside wall sconce and the entire fixture fell off the wall, shorted out and killed power to the whole room! I called the desk and fought back the sarcastic urge to request a pastry chef when asked if I wanted an electrician to come up. Within minutes, the electrician arrived, reset the breaker and re-secured the fixture on the wall.

 

More soon...

Edited January 5, 2014 by HickoryShampoo

[chamima]

Day 2: At-sea | Sunday, 11/17/13 | Partly Cloudy 85F

 

Also in port: n/a

We ended the night (or so we thought) with milk and cookies at Oceanview Café before bed. Around midnight, Kristi reached up to switch-off the bedside wall sconce and the entire fixture fell off the wall, shorted out and killed power to the whole room! I called the desk and fought back the sarcastic urge to request a pastry chef when asked if I wanted an electrician to come up. Within minutes, the electrician arrived, reset the breaker and re-secured the fixture on the wall.

 

More soon...

 

 

Thanks for the GREAT review!!!

Please keep it coming.

It's VERY early on a Sunday morning and you may have to send that electrician to my house to repair the computer keyboard that is now covered with the coffee that flew out of my mouth as I read your last part! :p :D

[Maligator]

Day 3: At-sea | Monday, 11/18/13 | Partly Cloudy 85F

 

Also in port: n/a

 

After breakfast in Oceanview, we relaxed by the pool until our massage appointments in the Aqua Spa. Of note, this cruise had a German tour group that stayed on after the trans-Atlantic, as well as a large number of Russians and other unidentified Europeans. Why does this matter? Well…as an American, I am both unfamiliar and uncomfortable with Speedos. This presents a quandary, as I am not a specimen of masculinity, nor a pinnacle of human male physique. So I’m a little befuddled by the involuntary rising of bile I experienced every time I entered the pool area. Nevertheless, there were enough people there of all shapes and sizes that we blended right in without shame.

 

We were met in the Aqua Spa, where – for some reason – we had to fill out forms. Apparently, you cannot just show up and get a rubdown. My masseuse was a pleasant woman from Thailand whose name I didn’t record. Her English wasn’t very good, but certainly much better than my Thai and I wasn’t there for conversation. She left the room and told me to strip down, but in the language barrier, I thought she told me to leave my shorts on. What she meant was my underwear, turns out, as she thought it was odd that I’d left the shorts on. But we got past that and on with the massage, which started with the flaying of my flesh with some sort of silent, nuclear-powered coarse-grit power sander. I don’t know what that accomplished, but it was followed by a coating of boiling oil on the areas she’d just sanded down to the muscle. The remainder of the massage was much more relaxing and we booked another for the end of the sailing.

 

We grabbed lunch in the buffet and moved to the Lawn Club on 15 to read until the afternoon hot glass show. It was a long show and when it was over, it was already time to change for dinner in the MDR.

 

Kristi: shrimp cocktail, Ceasar, baked chicken, chocolate cheesecake

 

Matt: escargot, Asian consommé, NY sirloin, crème brulee

 

During my research into this cruise, I kept coming across a lounge act, Perry Grant. Everything I read said he was a comedy-piano act and everyone seemed to be bananas for him. Some even said they booked on the Eclipse just to see him. So we dropped in on his show in Michael’s Club after dinner. I’m not really sure what I was expecting. We used to go to a nightclub when we were dating that had dueling piano comedians that incorporated the audience in the act. But this was different. Perry is like a muted Liberace who sings Broadway and movie tunes from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. The crowd demographic leaned toward the senior end and they seemed to dig it, but we were underwhelmed. Between songs, though, he was a riot. He’d bring someone up and have a little conversation with them and would generally be a great big old diva. But it wasn’t enough to hold our attention during the unfamiliar songs, so we hit the buffet for snacks before bed.

[Host Jazzbeau]

But we got past that and on with the massage, which started with the flaying of my flesh with some sort of silent, nuclear-powered coarse-grit power sander. I don’t know what that accomplished, but it was followed by a coating of boiling oil on the areas she’d just sanded down to the muscle.

 

Did you used to write material for Dave Barry? I'm definitely getting a waterproof keyboard cover. :D:D:D

[Maligator]

Did you used to write material for Dave Barry? I'm definitely getting a waterproof keyboard cover. :D:D:D

 

Ha! I loved Dave Barry's column and read it every Sunday growing up. I think his work greatly influenced my writing. Sorry about your keyboard. ;)

[Maligator]

Day 4: Oranjestad, Aruba | Tuesday, 11/19/13 | Sunny 90F

 

Also in port: none | Port load: ≈ 2850

 

After breakfast in the buffet, we headed downstairs to deck 2 to get off the ship. This is where Celebrity – specifically the Eclipse – could do a better job with organization. On the Equinox last year, everyone on Celebrity excursions met in the theater, where we were segregated by tour and would leave as a group. This system (or lack thereof) was just get off and find your tour on your own. Not a hard task, but not exactly a breeze, either. We were corralled into a port building to wait and were treated (that’s being generous) to the dulcet tones of a recorded steel band. Ugh. Finally, our group was called and we were walking down the pier to our catamaran. It was a nice, clean vessel and the guide was a loud Aruban whose banter delivery sounded like he’d done it so many times, even he wasn’t amused by it anymore. As the cruise went on, I learned that the islanders are big on having the “biggest,” “newest” or “most popular” things. Our Aruban guide was very impressed with their oil refinery, which he pointed out no fewer than ten times was the second-largest in the world. But we were on a sailboat in Aruba and not at work, so none of that mattered. I just sat back, tuned out the noise and enjoyed the scenery. The boat sailed up the west coast to Palm Beach, where we spent ten minutes trying to figure out which chairs we were allowed to sit in before we were herded onto an open-air school bus painted like a big, gay parrot. This guide also prattled on about God-knows-what (I wasn’t listening), but didn’t forget to beg for tips, which is another island tradition, I guess.

 

Our bus rumbled up the coast to California Point, where we were shown a lighthouse we couldn’t enter. I was underwhelmed again, but later learned this is where Natalee Holloway was last reported alive. That part didn’t make the tour. Anyway, we were given five minutes to not go inside the lighthouse before we were off to the next stop.

 

I was interested to see Aruba was quite arid. Except for the azure water, I thought most of the island looked like the Mexican desert. Even the neighborhoods looked Chihuahuan. After a few miles of these Aruban colonias, we arrived at a little Catholic chapel, where we were given 5 minutes to gawk at the tininess and wonder aloud why they’d build such a small place before we were back on the bus.

 

At Casibari Rocks, we were given a whole 10 minutes to get to the top, take selfies and get back down before the bus left. You may have picked up on my subtle disdain for the tour experience. In which case, you’re to be commended for your perception. I have no problem stating this tour was pretty nice until we got off the boat, at which time it went south. Getting back to the ship was an act of mercy.

 

We grabbed some lunch back on the ship and struck out into Oranjestad to do a little shopping. We didn’t wander far. The port area is unremarkable if you're not into jewelry and features the same shops you find at every port, so we went back to the ship to swim and generate some Vitamin D at the pool.

 

That evening, since the ship didn’t leave until 8pm, we took another catamaran for a sunset sail. This was a different company (Red Sail this time) and they were light on the talking and heavy with the drink pouring. I clicked away like a tourist, knocked back more than my fair share of sugary adult beverages and talked with other folks from our ship. I’d managed to get everyone who’d listen educated on and waiting to see the green flash, but a pesky cloud bank manifested itself along the horizon just in time to spoil the fun. But we thoroughly enjoyed the trip and recommend it.

 

Back on the ship, since we were sailing during our dinner seating, we grabbed supper in the buffet, then enjoyed the sail-away from the veranda.

 

More imminently...

[carolslc]

Absolutely loving your review. My dh wonders why I find Cruise Critic so entertaining. Your review is an example of why I squander time on here now rather than facebook. ;)

[Jane2357]

I'm reading each and every word of your review as I'll be on the Feb. 8th cruise - actually near your cabin - in 1663 a corner aft. My 1st suite and I guess I watch too many old movie because I'm imagining a butler from days gone bye - getting Olga, a female - isn't fitting with my vision - sexist of me I know. :o

[upwarduk]

Our Aruban guide was very impressed with their oil refinery, which he pointed out no fewer than ten times was the second-largest in the world.

 

You were mis- informed.

The Refinery closed April 2012.

It made me very sad, as my son was working there in 2001/2002, attempting to get the 3rd world refinery into the 21st century.

I asked our guide what had happened to the township of San Nicolas, where he and his family had lived. The answer was, 'it is no more, since the Refinery closed.'

The only remaining work on the island is Tourism.

 

When we returned, I asked my son what he knew. He confirmed that the Refinery shut, ' about a year ago' ( we visited early April 2013.) due to Health & Safety issues.

[xraymagic]

We are new to Celebrity and were wondering if they have the after dinner Special Shooters, like RCCL does. If they do, can you help me with the price. Trying to figure out if they would be covered by the Classic pkg or if we would need the Premium pkg.

[Maligator]

Absolutely loving your review. My dh wonders why I find Cruise Critic so entertaining. Your review is an example of why I squander time on here now rather than facebook. ;)

 

Happy to help in your delinquency! :p

 

I'm reading each and every word of your review as I'll be on the Feb. 8th cruise - actually near your cabin - in 1663 a corner aft. My 1st suite and I guess I watch too many old movie because I'm imagining a butler from days gone bye - getting Olga, a female - isn't fitting with my vision - sexist of me I know. :o

 

Rest at ease. Olga is very personable and will take good care of you. We were uncomfortable with having a butler, at first. We're pretty simple people who don't require much in the way of pampering, so we didn't know what to do. But she took the lead on most things, like the iced tea and getting our laundry squared away when we sent it out. She'll also take care of your specialty restaurant reservations or any activities that require reservations.

 

We are new to Celebrity and were wondering if they have the after dinner Special Shooters, like RCCL does. If they do, can you help me with the price. Trying to figure out if they would be covered by the Classic pkg or if we would need the Premium pkg.

 

I'm not familiar with "special shooters," but if it's under $8, it's covered by the Classic.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Us Two]

What a wonderful read!! So nice of you to take the time to share.

We did this cruise a year ago and have some fond memories. Didnt write a review , not as good as you in holding folks attention. :p