Total Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Tradewinds Transatlantic crossing 2015

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

We were starting to take more of our meals here , especially when it was this empty

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see by the flag , it was German night at the Chef's corner

 

 

 

 

The open design and smaller , but more of stations , is vastly superior to the older liner and longer lined , cafeteria style that the CB uses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

The Eclipse is our only Solstice class ships experience , and having just come out of dry dock , we were not sure what to expect . It's surely a beautiful and highly functional design that exceeded most of our expectations . However , like most things , there is usually room for improvement . And toward that end we usually offer our observations and suggestions . We had really want to try the Molecular Bar , but none was found on the Eclipse . It was however on the map that they gave us .

So the Molecular bar has gone since refit, I think it was quite popular but I only frequented it once as it seemed more like a gimmick, the service staff were not happy people, it was slow and the drinks were expensive and didn't fit in the packages (although with Premium you only pay the difference). Perhaps I was the norm.

The contract with Junior Merino , who supplied the recipes and some of the ingredients for the Molecular Bar, was not renewed so in the dry dock it was converted to the "World Class Bar" , with new drinks.

The Molecular Bar was one of our favorite hangouts so I understand your disappointment.

 

Interesting, strange that they have moved on already.

Thank you for the information . Is this change fleet wide ?

I suppose it will become fleet wide

[MicCanberra]

We ate our dinner in the MDR that evening but without the menu , I forgot what some of it was !

 

 

 

I got this one !

 

 

 

 

Yummy souffle

 

 

 

Love the wine and the souffle'.:D

[MicCanberra]

In all fairness , I think that most of our loss came after the cruise . Having to buy and prepare our own food I think was a key . We also did a lot of walking , and not having easy access to previously prepared food helped also . The higher prices for food in Europe further discouraged rampant consumersism while we were there :) :D

 

I always put on when cruising, the worst was 10 kgs in 2 weeks. :eek:

The tours and travel afterwards often help to balance my weight again before returning home.:D

[MicCanberra]

We were starting to take more of our meals here , especially when it was this empty

 

 

 

As you can see by the flag , it was German night at the Chef's corner

The open design and smaller , but more of stations , is vastly superior to the older liner and longer lined , cafeteria style that the CB uses

 

I like the planning behind X's buffet even if I do try and avoid the area for meals.

BTW, I here that the German sausages are the Wurst.:p

[LuAnn]

I like the planning behind X's buffet even if I do try and avoid the area for meals.

BTW, I here that the German sausages are the Wurst.:p

 

You ARE THE "Wurst"!! How the H...are you??? Miss you and your fun banter...every thing ok re foot/leg wise?? LuAnn

[Gracie115]

So the Molecular bar has gone since refit, I think it was quite popular but I only frequented it once as it seemed more like a gimmick, the service staff were not happy people, it was slow and the drinks were expensive and didn't fit in the packages (although with Premium you only pay the difference). Perhaps I was the norm.

I suppose it will become fleet wide

 

We tried it once, just weren't impressed...

 

Yes, I believe the new bar has already replaced it on all "S" class ships.

[MicCanberra]

You ARE THE "Wurst"!! How the H...are you??? Miss you and your fun banter...every thing ok re foot/leg wise?? LuAnn

 

So you are calling me a huge German sausage, how did you know;)

 

Yes, the foot was all healed by the time we started the tour in Rio, I still took it easy and avoided too much walking but it was fine for the remainder of the trip. The Galapagos islands were awesome as well.:D

[MicCanberra]

We tried it once, just weren't impressed...

 

Yes, I believe the new bar has already replaced it on all "S" class ships.

 

I will verify this in December when I am back on the Solstice.:D

[scubacruiserx2]

We tried it once, just weren't impressed...

 

Yes, I believe the new bar has already replaced it on all "S" class ships.

 

Missing the MB is not the worse thing that could happen ( or should I say wurst ? ) , perhaps more of a one hit wonder , or a curiosity like an ice bar . We just thought that it would be fun to try something a little different . :) :D

Edited June 25, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[Gracie115]

Missing the MB is not the worse thing that could happen ( or should I say wurst ? ) , perhaps more of a one hit wonder , or a curiosity like an ice bar . We just thought that it would be fun to try something a little different . :) :D

 

Oh I absolutely get it.....which is why we tried it the one time.....and I will say that the drinks were very cool to look at....just didn't taste very good....course that's coming from a wine drinker so what do I know!!?:eek::D

[scubacruiserx2]

Toward the right of this photo was my favorite grab and go food - Indian specialties . Although it's part of one of the cafeteria style long lines , it was never crowded . We enjoy Indian cuisine , but there are not too many places serving it where we live . And so we always enjoy it when we visit London .

 

 

 

 

DW loves sushi , so we were both in Heaven , just in different sections .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a week at sea , some of our clothes had taken on a character of their own and were in need of a bath . This is a place where Celebrity has missed the boat - NO Laundromat !

 

 

 

 

Thank you Caribbean Princess !

 

 

 

When visiting in Europe sadly , we equate having a drier , even a coin operated one , with luxury .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we didn't consider the cost of their laundry services to be budget friendly .

 

 

 

 

 

Thus we were thrilled when Celebrity issued the Laundry Bag Challenge ! And so , we were ready to throw down , even if it meant our opponent was a paper thin , biodegradable bag . Well it took several attempts to stuff our opponent into submission without exploding it's smelly contents . But we finally won the last round and backed off to a safe distance before photographing the result .

 

 

[cruise47]

The laundry prices posted are about the same prices that I pay at my local cleaners. Laundry shirts locally are only $2.50 per shirt.

Edited June 25, 2015 by cruise47

[kenevenpar]

The laundry prices posted are about the same prices that I pay at my local cleaners. Laundry shirts locally are only $2.50 per shirt.

 

Annoyingly, the =X= laundering of dress shirts does not include pressing:eek:. You have to note it, and there may be another charge. If you are Elite and above in Captaiins Club, you get some laundry, dry cleaning and pressing done for free. :)

[chamima]

Oh I absolutely get it.....which is why we tried it the one time.....and I will say that the drinks were very cool to look at....just didn't taste very good....course that's coming from a wine drinker so what do I know!!?:eek::D

 

 

 

We were only wine drinkers (well I was, my husband loves a good old single malt) until we met the Molecular Bar.

It was covered under the Premium package so I just thought I may as well try something - I could always just take a sip and throw the rest away.

Wow - what a surprise! :D

 

I now love a Bourbon mixed drink (the Kentucky Derby) , I thought I hated gin and found out I like good gin (Hendricks) when mixed the right way.

I have a whole list from there that I loved. It's opened up a whole new world that I really didn't need to know existed - I now look at the "mixed drink" section of the menu in addition to the wine selections and I'm sure there are MANY more calories there! :o :(

[texasgirl29]

Wow, three bucks to wash a pair of socks!

 

Is the laundry challenge available to anyone?

 

My plan for our 14 night cruise and 5 nights pre-cruise in London is to take enough socks & underwear to last me without washing, and everything else gets worn a second or third time.

 

I'm going to miss those steamy, crowded laundry rooms on Princess and Disney.

[scubacruiserx2]

Wow, three bucks to wash a pair of socks!

 

Is the laundry challenge available to anyone?

 

My plan for our 14 night cruise and 5 nights pre-cruise in London is to take enough socks & underwear to last me without washing, and everything else gets worn a second or third time.

 

I'm going to miss those steamy, crowded laundry rooms on Princess and Disney.

 

Yeah we hear you , my tube socks only cost three bucks . In London we saw laundromats , so maybe you can start off the cruise with everything clean . We took some older things which were throw away grade . Some smaller items were hand washed and draped over the shower stall ( no line in the shower ) . The hair drier was used sometimes . Of course we reused and we had some light "cabin attire" . I took some of my shirts on wire hangers which were used on the balcony or inside to eliminate wrinkles .

 

 

DW carries a small spray bottle which we use to mist the items on the hanger and then the AC drys it wrinkle free . A Baltic cruise is port intensive allowing ample drying time while ashore . Some people may want to bring a clothes line and clothespins . I suspect that they offer the laundry challenge to everybody , and we did pretty good . Our individual tally would have been $130 , but was $ 45 in the bag . But we could have done it for less than $ 10 in the Princess laundromat ;) I think that most people who cruise like to have different options available . Like location and ports , dining and food choices , and drinking or entertainment options . I wish that Celebrity would offer some choices for those of us who would like to use a laundromat :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

We like to plan something a little special for our at sea days and for this , being our 4th in a row , we had wanted something special before our next day's arrival in the Azores . The seas were still running 10 ' and it was still rainy for most of the day and so a special dinner turned out to be a nice diversion . After reading Celebrity's description , " A modern and playful approach to dishes from around the world , artfully presented with an element of surprise and delight " , we still weren't sure what to expect . And my nocturnal photo journey didn't reveal much more either .

 

 

 

Except a kind of a twilight zone-ish feel

 

 

 

 

And so , if you don't mind losing the element of surprise , come and join us for dinner in Qsine .

 

 

Edited June 25, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[MicCanberra]

Oh I absolutely get it.....which is why we tried it the one time.....and I will say that the drinks were very cool to look at....just didn't taste very good....course that's coming from a wine drinker so what do I know!!?:eek::D

 

I have to agree, gimmicky and drinks looked cool but some didn't taste that good and this coming from someone who will drink just about anything.:o

[MicCanberra]

Wow, three bucks to wash a pair of socks!

 

Is the laundry challenge available to anyone?

 

My plan for our 14 night cruise and 5 nights pre-cruise in London is to take enough socks & underwear to last me without washing, and everything else gets worn a second or third time.

 

I'm going to miss those steamy, crowded laundry rooms on Princess and Disney.

 

Personally I don't mind the prices, they are very reasonable for the larger items.

As for the smaller items, they often can go into the laundry bag challenge (LBC) or we tend to wash these items in the basin and they dry overnight. Some cruises they do not offer the LBC.

[MicCanberra]

Yeah we hear you , my tube socks only cost three bucks . In London we saw laundromats , so maybe you can start off the cruise with everything clean . We took some older things which were throw away grade . Some smaller items were hand washed and draped over the shower stall ( no line in the shower ) . The hair drier was used sometimes . Of course we reused and we had some light "cabin attire" . I took some of my shirts on wire hangers which were used on the balcony or inside to eliminate wrinkles .

DW carries a small spray bottle which we use to mist the items on the hanger and then the AC drys it wrinkle free . A Baltic cruise is port intensive allowing ample drying time while ashore . Some people may want to bring a clothes line and clothespins . I suspect that they offer the laundry challenge to everybody , and we did pretty good . Our individual tally would have been $130 , but was $ 45 in the bag . But we could have done it for less than $ 10 in the Princess laundromat ;) I think that most people who cruise like to have different options available . Like location and ports , dining and food choices , and drinking or entertainment options . I wish that Celebrity would offer some choices for those of us who would like to use a laundromat :) :D

 

We also bring clothes that will not make it home and we also bring an elastic twisty line for hanging clothes to dry in front of the A/C vent overnight.:D

[MicCanberra]

We like to plan something a little special for our at sea days and for this , being our 4th in a row , we had wanted something special before our next day's arrival in the Azores . The seas were still running 10 ' and it was still rainy for most of the day and so a special dinner turned out to be a nice diversion . After reading Celebrity's description , " A modern and playful approach to dishes from around the world , artfully presented with an element of surprise and delight " , we still weren't sure what to expect . And my nocturnal photo journey didn't reveal much more either .

 

 

Except a kind of a twilight zone-ish feel

 

 

 

And so , if you don't mind losing the element of surprise , come and join us for dinner in Qsine .

 

 

 

Looking forward to it, I haven't been to Qsine as yet. Lovely photo BTW.:D

[scubacruiserx2]

After being greeted and seated you are given an ipad mini that serves as your menu

 

 

 

 

You scroll thru different screens and tap add to favorites to order

 

 

 

 

 

And thru the magic of the computer - it appears

 

 

 

 

Next stop : Japan

 

 

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

The food looks wonderful, I did read that they use the ipads for people to order themselves.:D

[Bimmer09]

I have resisted the urge to quote the photos from the buffet section.

 

The buffet presentation is the best I have seen to date and I'm not even talking about the food but rather the spaciousness of the room and the eye-candy touches of the produce-filled vignettes at the stations.

 

Then you tell me there is Indian food?!!!

Having lived in London for 13 years I almost overdosed on Indian food, eating it a minimum of 3 nights a week. In Chicago I am down to 3 times a month.

 

Also- German specialities?!! I have been to Germany so many times that my middle name is Schnitzel.

 

I hadn't planned on visiting Quisine next January on the Silhouette (was planning Tuscan Grill and Murano and get to dine in Luminae for free each night) but those lollipops look very inviting. I foresee tremendous weight gain...

 

I must say the X food presentation is stellar. I have no problems with the Princess cuisine (I am a plate-licker) but am definitely hoping the X food tastes as good as it looks.

 

Perfectly focused photos of food cannot be beat!

 

Cheers!

 

Norris