Eclipsing Northern Europe by cruise : Basic black , and Baltic blues

[scubacruiserx2]

We docked in Stockholm yesterday. We were due to dock in an area thirty minutes outside of the city, but woke up to an announcement telling us that the captain had been able to dock ten minutes from the city. They offered free services to guests who were had private tours and needed to contact the company to inform them of the change of location. I apologise, but I didn't take much notice of the names of the docks. We were on a Celebrity tour, which included a boat tours and the City Hall. The boat tour was not worth it. It was a single deck, covered boat and made for very poor photo ops. The City Hall was amazing and well worth a visit. If we visit Stockholm again, we will do it ourselves. The weather was excellent. We are in Tallin today and the weather couldn't be more different.

 

 

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Thank you for taking the time from your busy cruise and sharing your Stockholm visit with us . That is the next stop for us in our thread . We are hoping and praying that the weather will improve in Tallin and that you will have good weather for your port days in SPB ! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

You can usually find the docking information (expected docking) by searching for the port site for the particular destination. For Stockholm it is http://www.portsofstockholm.com/vessel-calls/. If you use this make sure that you change the pull down men from "in port" to "expected" - otherwise future calls won't show up. For the Celebrity Eclipse call on 9th August you can see that it is Stadsgarten - which is the terminal at the bottom of your map - rather than Frihanman - which is where you docked. I think that Frihanmen has two or three berths for cruise ships, Stadsgarten only one (though a roll on-roll off ferry docks adjacent). Hope this isn't too much information!!

 

Not too much information , thanks a lot ! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Have a look on You Tube for videos - very funny in a sadistic sort of way.

 

If you book a shore excursion through the ship they should wait, otherwise you're on your own :(

 

Here's my contribution from youtube but it's kinda boring . In Costa Maya we could hear the NCL Star's announcements on their PA system constantly calling for these three people to contact the ship's authorities - if they were on board . About 1/2 hour later they slowly walked down the long pier and boarded the ship . The ship immediately closed the door and then set sail .

 

 

 

[bengaltiger1]

Thank you for taking the time from your busy cruise and sharing your Stockholm visit with us . That is the next stop for us in our thread . We are hoping and praying that the weather will improve in Tallin and that you will have good weather for your port days in SPB ! :) :D

 

 

Since posting about the weather and it was raining and very blustery this morning it has improved. Bright sunshine. Warm enough to take my jacket off and walk around in a t-shirt. Still blustery, but so much better. We have really enjoyed Tallin today.

 

 

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[scubacruiserx2]

Our second day at sea was about relaxing , eating and planning for our next stop in Stockholm . We ate breakfast together in the Oceanview Cafe . But at this point in time you still could't serve yourself - even drinks !

 

 

 

There were no condiments , butter , or even sugar on the tables including in the MDR .

 

At the buffet Tyler found himself in Eggs Benedict heaven !

 

 

He acquired the taste for them on a large family cruise on Carnival and he still likes their version the best . His favorite on the Eclipse ? "Extra hollandaise sauce , please" .

 

 

Our choice for lunch was the Bistro on Five .

 

 

 

Tyler enjoyed his Italian crepe with Nutella

 

 

Ditto for Pat and her Onion Soup Gratinee

 

 

 

 

My Hot and spicy shredded steak crepe was a different experience however .

 

 

It seemed to alternate between good bite , bad bite regularity . The bad bites were chewy/tough meat with large piece of fat attached to it . I don't remember the last time that I sent food back - but back it went and I asked for chicken instead . It was much better , however , I was getting full so I didn't finish it .

 

 

We had reservations for dinner at the Tuscan Grille .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Since posting about the weather and it was raining and very blustery this morning it has improved. Bright sunshine. Warm enough to take my jacket off and walk around in a t-shirt. Still blustery, but so much better. We have really enjoyed Tallin today.

 

 

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Splendid , that's great news ! :cool:

 

And we hope that you have a great visit in SPB !!! :) :D

[Gracie115]

How nice that you still had the old "Bistro on 5" rather than the new "Sushi on 5" a al carte menu!! We liked Bistro.....and the Nutella crepe!! YUM!! :)

[jenseib]

That Tombstone dessert looks so big and yummy!!!

[scubacruiserx2]

How nice that you still had the old "Bistro on 5" rather than the new "Sushi on 5" a al carte menu!! We liked Bistro.....and the Nutella crepe!! YUM!! :)

 

We hope that they keep the Bistro on 5 ! And they did have sushi in the Oceanview Cafe , while nothing exotic - it was free ! . They have tried a similar venue , the Seafood Terrace on the Regal Princess , but it didn't seem very popular on our cruise and we didn't try it . I think that the a la carte pricing is a turn off for most people . :p

[scubacruiserx2]

That Tombstone dessert looks so big and yummy!!!

 

It must have been as Tyler was guarding it with his life !! ;)

[pjs678]

We hope that they keep the Bistro on 5 ! And they did have sushi in the Oceanview Cafe , while nothing exotic - it was free ! . They have tried a similar venue , the Seafood Terrace on the Regal Princess , but it didn't seem very popular on our cruise and we didn't try it . I think that the a la carte pricing is a turn off for most people . :p

 

Well, we tried Sushi on 5 on Silhouette and went back 5 times! We found it to be a great use of our OBC rather than the spa or the junk in the gift shops. It's still cheaper than the other specialty restaurants even with the a la carte pricing, 2 Appetizers, 2 soups & 2 rolls each was around $60. They also gave us a 20-30% discount each time after the 2nd visit.

 

Enjoying your review by the way.

[scubacruiserx2]

Well, we tried Sushi on 5 on Silhouette and went back 5 times! We found it to be a great use of our OBC rather than the spa or the junk in the gift shops. It's still cheaper than the other specialty restaurants even with the a la carte pricing, 2 Appetizers, 2 soups & 2 rolls each was around $60. They also gave us a 20-30% discount each time after the 2nd visit.

 

Enjoying your review by the way.

 

 

Was it that good ? All three of our Celebrity cruises have been 2 weeks long each and so we like to try all of the specialty restaurants at least once . None of them had a Sushi restaurant though , but we will give it a try the next time if they do .

We're glad that you are enjoying the review and we noticed that you have a Celebrity Baltic review also . It looks great , and we're thrilled that you had the moxie to DIY in Russia !! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

We had promised Tyler a trip to the hot tub before dinner and on the cold breezy deck it sure felt good in the water !

 

 

 

Shortly afterwards an announcement on the PA advised us that we would be receiving a Swedish S&R helicopter for training exercises . I dried quickly and ran down to our cabin to get my DSLR camera , but they had arrived already !

 

 

 

 

And after this video clip with my pocket camera I did retrieve my Canon for some closeups :

 

 

 

 

Seeing the crew member in the door reminded me of the good old days when I still had a job !

 

 

 

 

Please note that the crew member is attached to the helicopter with a gunner's belt - so don't try this at home without one !!

 

 

 

 

Next : Dinner at the Tuscan Grille .

Edited July 8, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

I took this photo of the Tuscan Grille early in the morning when no one was there

 

 

 

 

Located in the stern of the ship it was quite bright in the dining room since the sun would be setting in our wake .

 

 

 

This photo was taken with a short exposure to make it look darker than it really was .

 

 

 

 

The dinner menu

 

 

 

 

Steak Tartare - no grilling required

 

 

 

 

Goat cheese salad

 

[ighten]

Loving your report.. its our First time on the Eclipse later this year and we have a Baltic and St Petersburg booked for next year..

[QE2_Fan]

We hope that they keep the Bistro on 5 ! And they did have sushi in the Oceanview Cafe , while nothing exotic - it was free ! . They have tried a similar venue , the Seafood Terrace on the Regal Princess , but it didn't seem very popular on our cruise and we didn't try it . I think that the a la carte pricing is a turn off for most people . :p

 

 

 

Loving your review, the Baltic cruises are a bucket list trip for us!

 

Regarding Bistro on 5, sadly Celebrity has decided to roll Sushi on 5 out across the fleet by October. I say sadly as I'm not a sushi fan and quite enjoyed Bo5, although appreciate it was under utilised and thus was up for a change sooner than later.

 

Looking forward to your next instalments!

 

Cheers

Matt

 

 

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[upwarduk]

I say sadly as I'm not a sushi fan and quite enjoyed Bo5, although appreciate it was under utilised and thus was up for a change sooner than later.

 

I do wonder if Sushi on 5 will go the same way as Bistro on 5! Not something I have ever tried.

I would suggest they transfer the Aqua Cafe to this venue, as I can never get a seat in the Aqua Cafe!

Edited July 9, 2016 by upwarduk

[scubacruiserx2]

Loving your review, the Baltic cruises are a bucket list trip for us!

 

Regarding Bistro on 5, sadly Celebrity has decided to roll Sushi on 5 out across the fleet by October. I say sadly as I'm not a sushi fan and quite enjoyed Bo5, although appreciate it was under utilised and thus was up for a change sooner than later.

 

Looking forward to your next instalments!

 

Cheers

Matt

 

 

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Thank you , we're glad that you enjoy it . We love your avatar - a great use of the photo space ! We would love to visit Melbourne , Australia the home of Kylie one day , but we will have to settle for visiting my mom in Melbourne , Florida until then !

 

 

I do wonder if Sushi on 5 will go the same way as Bistro on 5! Not something I have ever tried.

I would suggest they transfer the Aqua Cafe to this venue, as I can never get a seat in the Aqua Cafe!

 

 

That's a great thought Jackie ! This seems to be a hot topic on this thread and so you and the other writers on this thread have inspired us to launch another thread devoted to this issue . Thank you all for your input on this topic !! :) :D

 

Bistro or Sushi on 5 , let the people decide . It's found here :

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2376735

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Loving your report.. its our First time on the Eclipse later this year and we have a Baltic and St Petersburg booked for next year..

 

Thank you and welcome aboard . And if you have any questions or comments - don't be shy ! ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

Shall we finish our dinner ?

 

 

Braised Beef Ravoli

 

 

 

Golden Saffron Riotto

 

I loved this stuff !

 

 

 

 

The Italian grill concept reminds me of Carrabba's .

 

 

Tyler's Shrimp and Scallop Brochette

 

 

 

 

With it's heavy sear , I was afraid that my Filet would be overcooked . But it was a perfect medium - rare .

 

 

 

Pat's Creme Brulee

 

 

 

 

Tyler's Tiramisu

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After our delicious dinner we returned to our stateroom for a camera and clothing change . I use my Sony pocket camera for food photos and convenience , and we wanted to change clothes and get my larger Canon DSLR to go up on the deck . We found our Celebrity today on our bed for our next day's visit to Stockholm .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple notes of interest :

 

1. We would be arriving at 10 am

 

2. We would need our passport

 

3. The sun would be rising at 3:34 am !

 

4. It was getting colder and windy - but clear .

 

5. Celebrity was selling shuttle tickets . Why ? This was not part of our plan !

 

 

 

Up on deck we could see that we had a travel companion .

 

 

 

 

It was the Emerald Princess who would be in the next 3 ports with us .

 

 

Edited July 10, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Up on Deck it was deserted

 

 

 

Where were all the people ?

 

 

 

 

It was like a Ghost Ship !

 

 

 

 

And we loved it !

 

 

 

Our own private cruise ship

 

 

 

And doing what we wanted to do

 

 

 

 

 

In shades of Baltic Blue .

Edited July 10, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[BigJH]

A great review.....we will be on the 31st July sailing and have done the same itinerary two years ago so the photos are reminding us how great the ship is, providing us with valuable information - and - making us very excited for our forthcoming trip.

 

One question - how is the grass looking at the moment?

[scubacruiserx2]

A great review.....we will be on the 31st July sailing and have done the same itinerary two years ago so the photos are reminding us how great the ship is, providing us with valuable information - and - making us very excited for our forthcoming trip.

 

One question - how is the grass looking at the moment?

 

It seems as though the two cows cited below , from an April 1st advertisement , had been doing their job :

 

New moo-vers join Celebrity

Chewing the cud becomes full time role for new recruits

Two Jersey cows have been appointed as lawn keepers on-board Celebrity Eclipse when it returns to Southampton on 30 April 2016. The cows ‘South’ and ‘Hampton’, will be responsible for maintaining the real grass lawn on the top deck of the ship as well as producing fresh milk and cheese for guests during their cruises throughout Europe.

 

Celebrity Eclipse will be returning to Southampton in 2016 with its first European sailing departing on 30 April where both ‘South’ and ‘Hampton’ will begin their new roles on-board. To celebrate their first day on the ship, guests will be invited to the lawn for a cheese tasting meet and greet with the new employees.

 

“We are extremely proud to be the first cruise line to produce and serve fresh milk and cheese on-board Celebrity Eclipse and are very excited for our guests to experience this. As the new lawn keepers on-board, we are confident that our new bovine employees will keep the grass lawn extremely tidy and fresh for our guests who are keen to enjoy a game of croquet or a picnic at our Lawn Club. South and Hampton are great additions to our team and we are looking forward to welcoming them in April.”

 

Ali Forlop

Head of cows

 

 

However , an over zealous lawn keeper may have set his blade too low and beware of flying balls ! :eek:

 

 

[Tom Baker]

I'm assuming that this was an April Fools joke. I can't imagine the amount of pats and pee would be good for the grass.

 

Pull the udder one!:D