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

[MicCanberra]

Love the organist's car, not so much the parking ability. The castle looks great.:D

 

BTW, I thought you had a Princess, not a Queen.

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

The round Tower garden

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite sights in the castle area

 

 

 

 

As we walked around inside , we saw this jaw dropping room - the State Banquet . After taking this photo , I was told no photography , something I had somehow missed in our frenzied pace . But boy , am I glad that got this one , what a beautiful room !!

 

 

 

 

Exiting the enclosed area , my next photo is the Upper Ward ( I think ) .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Love the organist's car, not so much the parking ability. The castle looks great.:D

 

BTW, I thought you had a Princess, not a Queen.

 

She was , but she was promoted when she earned her Mrs degree , in less that 2 years ! :)

[MicCanberra]

She was , but she was promoted when she earned her Mrs degree , in less that 2 years ! :)

 

Clever girl.;)

[scubacruiserx2]

Our last stop was St. George's Chapel .

 

 

 

 

After passing a guard , we returned to the van .

 

 

 

Anyone considering a visit to Windsor Castle may want to take a look at their official video :

 

 

 

Only about 8 miles away was our hotel near London Heathrow .

 

 

 

After a quick unload and saying goodbye , reality had finally had set in - our cruise was over ! :( But , the second half of our vacation was just beginning !

 

 

A quick review of the cruise :

 

 

Summary

 

Cabin - We liked the bed, bathroom, x- large balcony and the location.

 

Dinning - All Specialty Restaurants and MDR servers were great.

The Horizon Buffet staff was also great.

MDR - tables were too close together. We had a table for 2 and 6” away from the next table of 4. We felt like a table of 6. Conversations crossed a lot. There is not enough room to be considered a barrier and end-up in table conversations even if you just want the 2 of you. The people were pleasant, but sometimes you want to be “set - apart”.

Room Service, the food was not so good.

 

Embarkation - Ok , a little slow. Disembarkation was better. The ship was cleared by Immigration before we arrived in port at Southampton. We usually arrive early to self check-out. There was almost no waiting time to disembark.

 

Enrichment - N/A Unless the Chef’s Table counts - fabulous.

 

Entertainment - The Acrobatic Show was very good, the Magician was ok. We did not go to any other shows. Martini Bar was great entertainment as well.

 

Fitness - N/A. We enjoyed the Persian Gardens, very much. ( except chair hogs).

 

Public Areas - Very nice and well appointed.

 

Rates - Cruise ok. Overpriced pub grub and drinks.

 

Service - MDR , Specialty restaurants, Horizon Grill and Cabin Attendants/ Stewards, very very good.

Pub - mixed.

 

Shore Excursions - Our tours were all private. None with Celebrity.

 

Value All things considered, we felt it was a great value. It's an affordable way to see many different countries and represents a good value for the cost . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Clever girl.;)

 

She's also the most capable and caring woman that I know , and a true blessing in my life ! :)

[Tangocherie]

Glad you enjoyed this cruise. If only X offered the beverage package on the Transatlantic...

[MicCanberra]

She's also the most capable and caring woman that I know , and a true blessing in my life ! :)

 

Cool. Mine often make me feel so lucky that she settled for me.:cool:

 

Thanks for the Summary review of the cruise.

[scubacruiserx2]

Glad you enjoyed this cruise. If only X offered the beverage package on the Transatlantic...

 

They don't ? This was only our second cruise and second TA with Celebrity . We found the higher priced drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) a good reason for us to cut back .

[scubacruiserx2]

Cool. Mine often make me feel so lucky that she settled for me.:cool:

 

Thanks for the Summary review of the cruise.

 

Me too , most of the summary was Pat's .

[Gracie115]

Glad you enjoyed this cruise. If only X offered the beverage package on the Transatlantic...

 

They DO offer it....it's just not FREE(or perceived as FREE when it is built into the fares as it is on other X sailings)

[Gracie115]

 

After a quick unload and saying goodbye , reality had finally had set in - our cruise was over ! :( But , the second half of our vacation was just beginning !

 

 

A quick review of the cruise :

 

 

Summary

 

Cabin - We liked the bed, bathroom, x- large balcony and the location.

 

Dinning - All Specialty Restaurants and MDR servers were great.

The Horizon Buffet staff was also great.

MDR - tables were too close together. We had a table for 2 and 6” away from the next table of 4. We felt like a table of 6. Conversations crossed a lot. There is not enough room to be considered a barrier and end-up in table conversations even if you just want the 2 of you. The people were pleasant, but sometimes you want to be “set - apart”.

Room Service, the food was not so good.

 

Embarkation - Ok , a little slow. Disembarkation was better. The ship was cleared by Immigration before we arrived in port at Southampton. We usually arrive early to self check-out. There was almost no waiting time to disembark.

 

Enrichment - N/A Unless the Chef’s Table counts - fabulous.

 

Entertainment - The Acrobatic Show was very good, the Magician was ok. We did not go to any other shows. Martini Bar was great entertainment as well.

 

Fitness - N/A. We enjoyed the Persian Gardens, very much. ( except chair hogs).

 

Public Areas - Very nice and well appointed.

 

Rates - Cruise ok. Overpriced pub grub and drinks.

 

Service - MDR , Specialty restaurants, Horizon Grill and Cabin Attendants/ Stewards, very very good.

Pub - mixed.

 

Shore Excursions - Our tours were all private. None with Celebrity.

 

Value All things considered, we felt it was a great value. It's an affordable way to see many different countries and represents a good value for the cost . :) :D

 

Thanks for a wonderful review of this cruise....I felt like I was "doing it all over again" so you made the cruise last 3 months!!!:) We thought Eclipse was a wonderful ship and would be happy to sail her again.

 

Looking forward to the review of the rest of your trip!!

Edited August 4, 2015 by Gracie115

[Abernhar]

What a fantastic trip-report!!!!

I enjoyed every update with a BIG smile 😀😀😀

[scubacruiserx2]

What a fantastic trip-report!!!!

I enjoyed every update with a BIG smile 😀😀😀

 

Thank you Abernhar . It make us happy if we can help people to smile . We're looking forward to being in your beautiful country again ( Bergen) in about a month . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Thanks for a wonderful review of this cruise....I felt like I was "doing it all over again" so you made the cruise last 3 months!!!:) We thought Eclipse was a wonderful ship and would be happy to sail her again.

 

Looking forward to the review of the rest of your trip!!

 

You're welcome ! We do enjoy reliving our trips - at a snail's pace . We were just looking at some Southern Caribbean cruises on the Eclipse . Some good prices in hurricane season , but with another TA on the horizon , all we can do is look . ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

We really enjoy our hotel and it's location near Heathrow airport , when we have a early , distant flight . There's a decent pub in walking distance .

 

 

 

We prefer non-smoking so we ate inside . Good food and generous portions at a great price . What more could you want ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about a bath ? Well they didn't have that there , but it was waiting , back at the hotel . And after a couple of weeks of showers - a full tub was welcome .

 

 

After a quite and good night's sleep , we were up early like the sun was , this far North . They have a very nice buffet breakfast here ( full English ) .

 

 

 

including jars of honey , mixed in a warm drink , for the still sore throat .

 

 

 

 

From here it's an easy ride on the hoppa bus to the terminal for our flight to St. Petersburg . Check in was smooth , but required a specialist to check our Russian visa ( we have a 3 year visa) . We choose British Air as it's the only non-stop flight to LED . So all we had to do know was wait ( and pick up some gifts for some Russian friends ) .

 

 

[MicCanberra]

They DO offer it....it's just not FREE(or perceived as FREE when it is built into the fares as it is on other X sailings)

 

Yes, not available with the promotions like 123 Go or PYP. I am not sure, but now they have the BBB sales it may be included in the fares if selected.

[Gracie115]

Yes, not available with the promotions like 123 Go or PYP. I am not sure, but now they have the BBB sales it may be included in the fares if selected.

 

Nope....TA's are excluded from the BBB sales..... I'm fine with it...most TA's are priced well and adding the cost of the package would make it ALOT more.... we've cruised on a few short trips with the 123GO perk and it was nice to have whatever you want, whenever you want but we would have to drink ALOT EVERY DAY to make it worth our while to purchase it...so will continue to "pay as we go" and hope the TA's keep their good prices!!:)

[Abernhar]

Thank you Abernhar . It make us happy if we can help people to smile . We're looking forward to being in your beautiful country again ( Bergen) in about a month . :) :D

 

Hope You have a Great Stay in Bergen !

If You are Lucky You will have some sun to .....

Sadly it's often rain in Bergen, but what a Great city when the weather is with you 😎😎😎

[Grams2011]

Scubacruiserx2,

Thank you for compiling this beautiful photo journey of your trip. We are taking this TA next April on the Eclipse, but with a shorter itinerary. We then stay on the Eclipse for the 8 day Norwegian Fjords cruise. Your wonderful photos and narrative are great preparation for our journey. I don't post often on Cruise Critic, just read to gain insights. But I wanted to express my appreciation of your time and talents. Whenever I am alerted to a new posting, it is with pleasure that I view your latest postings. Thank you!!

Kathy

[scubacruiserx2]

Hope You have a Great Stay in Bergen !

If You are Lucky You will have some sun to .....

Sadly it's often rain in Bergen, but what a Great city when the weather is with you 😎😎😎

 

Thank you , unfortunately , it's our only stop in your country . When we were last in Bergen , it rained a little in the morning , but the sun did break through in the afternoon . :cool:

[scubacruiserx2]

Scubacruiserx2,

Thank you for compiling this beautiful photo journey of your trip. We are taking this TA next April on the Eclipse, but with a shorter itinerary. We then stay on the Eclipse for the 8 day Norwegian Fjords cruise. Your wonderful photos and narrative are great preparation for our journey. I don't post often on Cruise Critic, just read to gain insights. But I wanted to express my appreciation of your time and talents. Whenever I am alerted to a new posting, it is with pleasure that I view your latest postings. Thank you!!

Kathy

 

You're welcome Kathy and thank you for taking the time to write . That looks like a great B2B ! The price on the TA is excellent , but double the price for half as many days in Norway , really X ? :eek:

 

Norway is a very beautiful country . We did visit in 2013 , and went to the same places except , we went to Oslo instead of Flaam and Geiranger . But we would have preferred to seen the fjords and mountains of Flaam and Geiranger than the city of Oslo , if we would have been given that choice . :) :D

[MicCanberra]

Nope....TA's are excluded from the BBB sales..... I'm fine with it...most TA's are priced well and adding the cost of the package would make it ALOT more.... we've cruised on a few short trips with the 123GO perk and it was nice to have whatever you want, whenever you want but we would have to drink ALOT EVERY DAY to make it worth our while to purchase it...so will continue to "pay as we go" and hope the TA's keep their good prices!!:)

 

Good to know, I hadn't checked out the BBB prices yet to see what is included or not, as they really only became available in Australia on the weekend (1 Aug).:D

[MicCanberra]

I get two goes at Bergen (the cruise before the TA as well) so hopefully I get kind weather for them (or at least one of them). The fiords are going to be awesome, but I am also hoping the weather allows for the beautiful scenery to be photographed as well.:D

[scubacruiserx2]

I get two goes at Bergen (the cruise before the TA as well) so hopefully I get kind weather for them (or at least one of them). The fiords are going to be awesome, but I am also hoping the weather allows for the beautiful scenery to be photographed as well.:D

 

It's always great to have a couple of chances as it improves the odds . And here's hoping that you'll have weather as great as the scenery ! :) :D