GiannaD

I know in the past there have been delays in disembarkation from the Eclipse in Ft Lauderdale due to the configuration of the pier and customs. Once you are off the ship could you please comment on your experience.

Thank you again,

Gianna

Does Celebrity still have the elaborate brunch in the MDR on one of the sea days? Maybe I missed it on the schedule but I haven't seen the brunch listed on your posts. It has been marvelous in the past.

Thanks for all your scans and comments. We'll be on the Eclipse February 22 and are eagerly awaiting our departure.

What would you do without Cruise Critic? People are so helpful... :)

 

 

One more question. Do you consider cruises after the 1 st of January as holiday cruises? I am not that familiar with US school holidays etc. and wonder if I should except the cruise (departure the 4th of January) we are looking at will very popular because of holidays. We are from nothern Europe and have to buy expensive flights and hotel as a pre-cruise stay so we want to get o good deal. A 14 nights cruise, flights and hotel is a quite an investment... + all the excursions... But definitely worth it! ;)

I would not consider a cruise in early January to be a holiday cruise. Most elementary and high schools have Christmas break between Christmas and New Years with students returning to class the first week of January. Most families who cruise also tend to take 7 day cruises. I doubt that you would find many students on a 14 day cruise. The demographic on this length cruise is usually older without children.

We usually do 10-14 day cruises in February and March and have not seen any price drops at all and almost no cabin availability. This time period is popular with residents of the cold areas of the US and Canada as we want to escape our winters. The ships usually sail full.

Book early and watch for specials and price drops.

Thank you for a wonderful review.

Only the first three Solstice Class Ships have the glass shows. Eclipse, Equinox and Solstice.

In a separate thread, ~Cruisenut~ is posting the daily schedule of events from on board the Eclipse during her current 14 day cruise. They are up to day 6 today, and the only mention of glass blowing so far is in today's posting, with a "Meet the glassblowers" scheduled for this afternoon. Not a single show so far that I can determine.

 

Is this normal? Do they wait until half way through the cruise before giving this show?

I also noticed that today was the first day that I saw anything scheduled for the Hot Glass Show. On my past three cruises there were shows almost every day and often more than one show a day. The shows definitely began before day 6.

The lack of scheduled shows on Eclipse this week is the reason I started this thread. I really hope X has not cut back on their marvelous glass shows.

We'll be on the February 22 departure and can't wait to be someplace warm!

Gianna

I've been enjoying your scans immensely. I noticed that today's (Jan 30) schedule lists Meet the Glass Blowers. Was that the first show? How many shows are scheduled? Their shows are my favorites.

Also do you know when the brunch with all the ice sculptures etc. is scheduled? It has been the last sea day in the past.

Thanks

Thanks for the quick reply. You are right. The show is really spectacular at night.

Thank you for all the posts. We'll be on the Eclipse next month and are really enjoying reading about all the activities that we can look forward to on our cruise.

On our past three Celebrity Cruises we have greatly enjoyed watching the artists at the Corning Hot Glass Shows. Does X still have the shows on Equinox and Eclipes?

Hi tomtomtomtom,

I mentioned this on a previous post.

 

I don't think you will be able to watch the Olympics on the ship as the American rights are held by NBC

and Royal doesn't show NBC stations on their TV lineup.

 

NBC Olympic coverage does a lot of tape delay programming so timing could also be an issue.

 

Also stations like ESPN that don't have the rights, are not allowed to use highlights just still pics when announcing winners etc.

 

I am working for CBC Sports as a Statistician / Font Coordinator on the Sochi Olympics and I know that

we are showing a lot of Live programming and will also be streaming a lot of events live, but you would

need to pay for internet use, could be costly.

 

You would have to take the 9 hour time change into account when planning the shows to watch.

 

Royal Caribbean might have paid for the rights to show certain Olympic events for their ships but I think it is highly unlikely.

 

Hope this helps

Cheers,

We'll be on a Celebrity ship for the final few days of the Olympics and assume the NBC stations will not be on their lineup as they are a RCI line.

I am thoroughly enjoying your review. We sailed on the Grandeur in August and have her booked again this year.

Thanks for helping me through the winter.

The cabin is not on the angle of the hump. It is still a great location but doesn't have the larger balcony.

There is a promenade along both sides of deck 5 but it does not go around the bow or stern. You can walk along one side, cut through the lobby and go along the other side. This is not the same as a full promenade but I enjoy walking along this deck especially at night.

Frederick or Hagerstown is a bit of a hike from Baltimore. You would do better to just stay in one of the suburbs closer in. Columbia is a decent area. Also, someone mentioned Arundel Mills. That's near BWI airport which is also another good close in place to the port. Both places have lots of amenities close by, but keep in mind, Arundel Mills now has a casino there, and traffic around there is plain nuts on the weekends. Inside the city line, you can end up paying a lot more money for the convenience to inner harbor, or you could end up in an area of Baltimore you really don't want to be in. Being south of the city also allows you to drive to the port without hitting any tolls. From the north, you're going to hit the tunnel toll or tolls depending on how far north you are. East of town, you might hit the Key Bridge Toll, or need to take the tunnel to the port. The cruise port, I believe is the last exit before you hit the Fort Mchenry Tunnel, which is a $4.00 toll at this point now. It just keeps going up and up.

 

Parking at the port I believe cost $15.00/night.

I agree with this poster. I live near the port and would not suggest staying as far out as Frederick or Hagerstown or in DC unless you want to visit the city. Your best bet for reasonable accomodations is at Arundel Mills or in one of the hotels at BWI airport. They usually offer free parking and free shuttle service to the port which is only about 20 minutes away. At $15 a day for parking at the port the hotel packages are a really good deal. Also there are no tolls if you want to drive and approach the port from the BWI area. You can also approach the city from I 70 via 695 south without going through the tunnels.

Alternatively many people choose to stay in the Inner Harbor or Fells Point sections of Baltimore and enjoy a visit to the harbor and surrounding areas. These hotels also have shuttles to the port.

We were on the August 13 Grandeur cruise and agree that Daryl is the best.

We are really enjoying this thread and will look forward to the next posts.

Thanks for letting us "sail" with you, emeraldcity.

Ben said that he will be off the Eclipse by Feb 8 and that Sue will be on.

Thanks for the update on Sue Denning. She is marvelous and we will look forward to sailing with her.

Also thanks for all the wonderful information.

Someone mentioned using duct tape to attach hangers to the wall to dry clothes. Walls in all cabins are metal so we take along some heavy duty magnets and hang the clothes hangers on them. They work great.

We were on the Equinox for the spring equinox and Celebrity didn't do anything special. I think they missed an opportunity.

We'll be on the Eclipse for Mardi Gras. Hope they do something special. Any feedback from last year would be appreciated.

Sue Denning should be the CD and she is great. Maybe she will plan something.

The Equinox has a lawn with real grass on the upper deck and there is a Corning Hot Glass show where the artists blow glass while you watch. It is really amazing. Don't miss it.

Take along a string (like one on venetian blinds). Tie one end to the shower nozzle, make a loop over one of the small hooks on the inside of the shower and then tie the other end to the shower door rod right where the doors close. It is not great but it works for light items. You can also take along some plastic clip hangers like you get free from various stores and hang them on the small hooks in the shower or better yet on the shower door frame. Hope this helps. All of the walls are magnetic in your cabin so you can use heavy duty magnlts with or without hooks, to hank up washed items..

I thought Luggage Valet is only a program for people who are flying and want their luggage to go directly to the airport!? Would not work for someone who is not flying.

We also think that the luggage valet is only for those flying out after 11:30 am. We are flying out of FLL on Southwest and hope to use luggage valet on our February cruise on Eclipse. Does anybody know if the service was offered on this cruise?

Thanks

We also really love the Grandeur and Enchantment!

Will Sue Denning be back on the Eclipse for the February 22 sailing? She is great!