Eclipse Photo Review - Feb. 15, 2015 Exotic Southern Carribean Cruise in Aqua Class

[Vol fan]

I'm looking forward to seeing all of your beautiful photographs, too, Tom. Reliving our cruise and all the lovely islands and the grand Eclipse will be such fun.

On with the show!

[prim8keeper]

I can see the pictures on my iPad!:)

 

I'm looking forward to seeing all of your beautiful photographs, too, Tom. Reliving our cruise and all the lovely islands and the grand Eclipse will be such fun.

On with the show!

 

Thanks guys! It seems as though putting them back in there original location fixed the problem.

 

I'll post some more updates tonight. I'm sitting at work watching the snow fall outside. What I wouldn't give to be back on Eclipse...

[micmacmissy]

Oooh, I can already tell this is gonna be a good one!!!! Looking forward to more!

[charlie52]

We have done this cruise twice and it is without a doubt our very favorite!!! The only way they could improve it is to include St Croix ( our fav island). Great ship, great islands... perfect cruise!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[remharri]

Great photos! I'm looking to try Celebrity so I'll be following!

[SharonK]

We were also on this wonderful cruise! Love love loved it!! We only did 5 excursions so we found the cruise to be ultra relaxing. Can't wait to see all your beautiful photos Tom and relive our experience.:D

[Susie51]

Looking forward to more pictures.

[General Max]

Thanks guys! It seems as though putting them back in there original location fixed the problem.

 

I'll post some more updates tonight. I'm sitting at work watching the snow fall outside. What I wouldn't give to be back on Eclipse...

 

Tom, you need to get back to work so you can pay for the next cruise.

[Hollywood Traveler]

Tom

So excited to read your review and re-live that wonderful cruise.

Hi and love to your adoptive cruise parents!!! So glad we got to meet all of you!

(I do agree with Pete that you have to make a sea day out of one of the port days near the end)

 

Karen, I'm fairly certain Tom and Pete's adoptive cruise parents were absolutely delighted to get to know the two of you and I'm sure they hope to meet you again on a future cruise.

 

Tom, as always, your photos are a delight. I love the pictures of some of the plantings around your adoptive parents' house. :D Can't wait for the islands.

 

To all the rest of you we met on the cruise, you all made it really special. One of the most enjoyable ever.

 

Larry

[GeorgesGal]

Tom, looking forward to the rest of your photo review! My sister and I will be on the Eclipse on the 29th of this month, but on a slightly different itin: instead of Bonaire we will be going to Grenada.

 

Two years ago we were able to catch a Celebrity cruise which included all three of the ABC's, and we have visited all of these islands more than once, so ours will be a totally relaxing cruise, hitting beaches almost everywhere.

Edited March 7, 2015 by George'sGal

[prim8keeper]

I think someone asked a while back about how many memory cards I took with me. Believe it or not, only one, a 32GB ScanDisk Extreme. I like to live on the edge. I shot in raw + JPEG and took my laptop so I could dump my photos each day. Then I re-formatted the memory card just to be safe.

 

Since I had two other cameras I also had two additional memory cards I could pull if I needed too, but I never had too. I figured if I had to take one of those it would be easy enough to replace on one of the islands.

 

Moving forward I'll probably only shot in raw since I now feel confident editing my raw images, but I like having the security of the JPEG images as well just in case. Then I'll just take a few more memory cards with me.

 

Ok, now I'm off to edit some photos so I can post again. :)

[Eddie's Girl]

We're thinking about this itinerary for Feb '17. Have been to 2 of the ports but the rest are new to us. Thanks for doing this review. Can't wait for more!

[prim8keeper]

Sorry for the delay. It seems like every time I go to work on this something else comes up that needs my urgent attention. At any rate, let’s resume where we left off in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Sunday morning we woke up after a good night’s sleep. Starting this season Eclipse is sailing out of Miami instead of Ft. Lauderdale. While I know not everyone is happy about this decision, we were since previously we had only sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale. I now see the downfall of Miami. I will get to that later in the review.

 

Since parking at the port is so expensive in Miami, $20/day, and the alternatives are limited we decided to go via a private van with several of our friends. The cost per couple with tip was around $50. There were 12 of us total and the van made two stops. The first stop was at a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale to pick up those staying there and then the second stop was our adoptive cruise parent's house. Some of our other friends who also live in Florida had driven there to make things easy. Since it was Sunday the drive down to Miami was quick and we didn't run into any problems.

 

I believe we arrived at the port around 11 am and it was a bit of a zoo. There were 7 ships in port and there were still people coming out as we were going in. It was also slightly confusing where we needed to go since there was only one sign which told you where to enter for Eclipse. Once inside we went through the first security check where they looked at your Xpress pass and passports. From there you went upstairs to go through regular security. We only had to wait a few minutes and then we moved onto the lines to check in.

 

One thing I have noticed the past three times we have sailed is that the person who directs you to the appropriate line now goes by you status on X over the category you have booked regardless of which is higher or which line is shorter. I don't know if it’s the way they are looking at the Xpress pass or what, but I find it somewhat annoying since in this case, the line for Select was much longer than the line for Aqua class which had no one in it. Knowing I could, I just ignored them and we went into the Aqua class line. Unfortunately, our friends who were originally not far behind us where directed to the Elite line which caused them to be delayed due to the wait. I'm not sure what the point of having all these lines is if they aren't going to use them in the most efficient way.

 

Check in was a breeze, however the counter staff was directing Aqua class passengers in the wrong direction. So we walked down the entire terminal only to be told to go back to the other side. By the time we got back they were allowing Zenith, Suites and Aqua class to board. Our friends were now checking in so we told them just to go straight to the escalator since we could board. Once upstairs we walked right onto the ship albeit slowly. Yay for being some of the youngest on the ship…lol. Unfortunately, our friends were told by the time they went to go upstairs that priority boarding had ended and they now had to go get in line. While at the end of the day that isn't a huge deal I really didn't understand why. If you have priority boarding shouldn't you be able to board at any time regardless of what group is boarding? I get people may be upset since it would look like you were cutting the line, but Celebrity is the one who created these perks. It took them another 15 minutes or so to get on the ship.

 

Here is the Celebrity Today Early Edition we were given at check-in.

 

We ended up being some of the first people on the ship which was great. The first thing we did was book Murano. We had pre-booked Tuscan Grille, however we had two complimentary dinners from Celebrity that we needed to use. We had an issue previously on Silhouette and X generously gave us two free specialty restaurant dinners for Eclipse. Logically, I went with the restaurants that cost the most. After taking care of that we went over to wait for our friends at Bistro on Five. I also started taking some photos of the ship.

 

Once our friends were on board we went to Bistro on Five for lunch. The cost is $7 per person. On embarkation day it is more than worth the price because even if it is busy, it's much less crowded than the buffet. I was a little disappointed to see that Eclipse was using the old Bistro on Five menu. Apparently they will get the new menu after the dry dock in April. There are also now at least two new menus I have seen. The first one we saw on Summit last summer. That menu had a variety of options which included steak, etc. and then more recently there was a different menu on Silhouette which just had more crêpe and panini options. I was really hoping they would have the menu from Silhouette. I had a great spicy Italian sausage crêpe, but no such luck. I ended up getting the Tuscan Sun which is a crêpe with artichokes. If you like artichokes I would highly recommend it. For dessert like always I had the Italian which is full of bananas and nutella. Yum! We also started putting our drink packages to good use. Everyone had upgraded to the premium package. It seemed as though most people had at least the classic beverage package from one promo or another. Towards the end of lunch around 1 pm they made the announcement that our cabins were ready.

 

After lunch we decided to go up to our cabin to drop off our backpacks. It was also our hope that our luggage would be there. No such luck. Since we had nothing else to do we decided to go to the Martini bar until muster. I was ecstatic to see a new menu! They had just switched to the new menu starting with our sailing. The new menu is more like the original menu. There are a lot more vodka based martinis and fewer gin based ones. In December on Silhouette I noticed it was about 50/50 and the vodka options had been reduced. They also have a new 25 Year Anniversary martini. It is made with the new Grey Goose VX vodka which also contains some cognac. I was going to try it, but they had yet to bring up the new vodka since it was being loaded onto the ship that day. Oh well, I took one for the team and had a pomegranate martini instead. I now also had a reason to return.

 

 

After two martinis we were feeling pretty good and settling into cruise mode. A few people from our roll call came along and introduced themselves as well which was fun. It's always nice to put a face to the screen name. Around 3 pm the bar closed and they made the announcement telling everyone that it was time for the muster drill. We had planned to go back to the room and check to see if our luggage was there so we could unpack, but like always, time somehow got away from us at the martini bar. I'm not sure why that is? :)

 

Our muster station was C1 which was located in Michael’s Club which is now the dedicated lounge for suites and zeniths. I thought, “Great, if the ship does go down we will be the first off the ship!” As far as a muster station goes this isn’t the best location. Previously we had always been in the MDR or theater. If this ends up being your muster station and you need a seat I would suggest getting there very early since they are few and far between. Thankfully we were early enough that we could stand near a wall rather than in the middle of the room with a bunch of other people. The video seemed shorter than it was on Silhouette in January. They cut out the part at the end where they go through where to find the video in about 20 languages. So as a result the whole drill seemed shorter. This was very welcome since that room was getting warm with so many people in it.

 

After the muster drill we stopped by our cabin quickly so I could grab the good camera and then we went up to the Sunset bar for sail away. Through the roll call we had also organized a sail away party and people came wearing their finest tiaras or mardi gras beads. One of our amazing roll call members made name tags that she passed out. She really went all out. You can see them in several of the photos. They had our screen name, real name and then various stickers based on what she knew about us from our post on the roll call. It was a great time and I apologize to everyone who I didn’t talk too since I was taking photos.

 

This first photo just shows various cruise critic members talking.

 

 

For those who have not sailed out of Miami before if your ship is not facing towards the mouth of the harbor you actually have to sail into the basin where the ships turn around and then sail out. These photos show the Carnival Spender turning around. It was really neat to watch. While they were turning around we also pulled out since we were already facing towards the mouth of the harbor.

 

 

Edited March 8, 2015 by prim8keeper

[prim8keeper]

As we were sailing out we passed by several of the other ships which were also docked in Miami. We were originally docked right behind the Disney ship.

 

 

I thought it was neat to watch another ship follow us out.

 

 

 

 

 

[prim8keeper]

The queen talking to her loyal subject.

 

 

It would be fun to live along the inlet.

 

 

Next stop Aruba!

 

 

 

 

[prim8keeper]

 

 

 

A final view of Miami as we headed out to sea.

 

 

 

[Eddie's Girl]

What great pictures!

[prim8keeper]

While I did end up posting most of the photos from sail away that I edited today, you can find the full album here. I will also probably continue to add photos as time goes by.

 

We were some of the last people to leave sail away since I wanted to get as many photos as I could. I think it was almost 6 pm by the time we left. Once we got back to our cabin our luggage was waiting for us so we decided to quickly unpack and then get ready for dinner. We had received an offer to dine in one of the specialty restaurants for 50% off which was for Aqua class only. It seems like they do this on most sailings now as a way to help spread people out for the first night. Since we were going to be eating in the specialty restaurants later in the cruise, we passed. We also think that the first menu in Blu is one of the best. The menu had my favorite soup on it, the corn veloute with chorizo. I'm pretty sure I would turn down a free specialty restaurant if it meant missing that soup.

 

This is the full Celebrity Today for Feb. 15, 2015 along with the Featured Today insert. We also recieved the In the Spotlight which features some of the officers working on Eclipse.

 

After getting dressed for dinner we stopped by the Molecular bar for a quick pre-dinner drink and to meet our friends. For this cruise the Molecular bar would become our bar of choice for a variety of reasons. The main reason though was because they did the vouchers for Elite and above instead of having a nightly Elite Cocktail Party. Thus, most of the bars that accepted the vouchers were very busy from 5 pm to 7 pm and it could be difficult to find a seat. This even extended to Cafe al Bacio and the Martini bar since you can now order wine, etc. there. The Molecular bar I believe is now the only bar on the ship that wont take the vouchers since they only serve their specific cocktails which are $13 each. I'll return to this subject later in the review. However, while I know they are very popular with some, I'm not a fan of those vouchers.

 

After a drink we headed to dinner in Blu which did not disappoint. The staff in Blu was outstanding. It also seemed as though X has once again improved the quality of the food. Anita is the hostess in Blu currently and she is wonderful. I really can't say enough positive things about her. I was a little bit sad to hear she will be moving to the new suite restaurant once it opens on Eclipse since we will be back on Eclipse in December. I guess I just have to book a suite now?

 

After dinner we stopped at Cafe al Bacio for an after dinner espresso. From there we decided to call it an night since we were tired after a long day. It seemed as though most people on the ship had the same idea.

 

As those of you who have read my previous photo reviews know, we do not really attend the shows. That was again the case on Eclipse. However, we did go to a few to see Sue Denning including her One Woman show. I had seen so much about her here on cruise critic that was interested to finally see/meet her in person. Most of the CD's we have had on previous X cruises have not been that good.

 

Perry Grant was also on the cruise. I believe it was his first cruise back on the Eclipse after a break. His show, as others have reported, was in Cellar Masters. While I have never seen him in person, I have seen some videos previously and he just isn't our cup of tea so we did not attend any of his shows. It looked like a lot of people did though since Cellar Master's was packed when he was playing. I think its nice though that X found a use for Cellar Masters.

[Chitown12562]

I think someone asked a while back about how many memory cards I took with me. Believe it or not, only one, a 32GB ScanDisk Extreme. I like to live on the edge. I shot in raw + JPEG and took my laptop so I could dump my photos each day. Then I re-formatted the memory card just to be safe.

 

Since I had two other cameras I also had two additional memory cards I could pull if I needed too, but I never had too. I figured if I had to take one of those it would be easy enough to replace on one of the islands.

 

Moving forward I'll probably only shot in raw since I now feel confident editing my raw images, but I like having the security of the JPEG images as well just in case. Then I'll just take a few more memory cards with me.

 

Ok, now I'm off to edit some photos so I can post again. :)

 

It was me who asked, so thank you for remembering the question. I took my laptop on our last cruise also. I was thinking that I would leave it at home on the next trip and just take enough memorie cards.

[prim8keeper]

One more thing about embarkation day before I move on, those much talked about boarding times. I'm not sure what is going on and it seems as though X may not fully know as well. For Silhouette we were given very specific hour windows at which point we were supposed to show up. Basically the more you paid the earlier you could check in. The only exception was suites and zeniths who were invited to check in at any time during the boarding process. You are notified about a week before the cruise via an email, text or phone call. Possibly all three and I learned the hard way if you didn't acknowledge it they just kept sending them/calling.

 

For Eclipse the boarding time became much more general for everyone. It was 12 pm to 3 pm. Now, I could be mistaken, but isn't this when X has always said to come to the pier? Regardless though, if you want to go early, just go early. No one will prevent you from checking in and both times we ignored the notice and went when we wanted too without issue.

[Hollywood Traveler]

Lovely photos, Tom. Thanks again for going to so much work. It's wonderful to relive the cruise through your lens and your words.

 

Larry

[FlorenceItaly]

Loving your review. Thanks so much!

[sassyw]

See that Cafe Bacio doesn't open until 11. Where can you get specialty coffees early latte, etc)

[SeaGams]

Lovely photos, Tom. Thanks again for going to so much work. It's wonderful to relive the cruise through your lens and your words.

 

Larry

 

Correct as usual my subject. Lovely review Tom, and thank you for taking the time and effort so we can re-live our wonderful cruise vacation. I love your logo too!

[prim8keeper]

See that Cafe Bacio doesn't open until 11. Where can you get specialty coffees early latte, etc)

 

On every day but embarkation day Cafe al Bacio opens at 6:30 am (port days) or 7 am (sea days) and closes at 1 am. :) If you need coffee before that you can always get it at the Oceanview Cafe or from room service.

Edited March 8, 2015 by prim8keeper