Groovybusybee

Pulling up a virtual chair Jim, I so enjoy your reviews. 

Making final payment this week on our Med cruise, so this will make it seem even closer.

regards Debbie 

I have had a similar conversation with an executive chef some years ago, but I interpreted it slightly differently.

Yes they do indeed know the nationality of guests prior to the cruise and use this information to influence their purchasing decisions. This is the example that I was given, so apologies if it offends anyone but generally ........more Americans on board = more beef provision needed, Europeans more lamb and fish, more children again changed the ratio of provisions required, but it didn’t alter the menus just the amount of guests who were likely to choose a given meal.

I hope that this makes sense.

Regards Debbie

Holy moley, that looks good!

Well he may be a Brit,  but not a Yorkshireman - an accompaniment?? They should be eaten as a separate course! 

I’m only kidding, whilst strictly speakers they are a starter served with an onion gravy to fill you up so you don’t eat much beef, they are more usually served as an accompaniment these days.

That does indeed look like a good Yorkshire pud.

Debbie 

As a Yorkshire girl I’ve eaten a fair few Yorkshire puddings. We were served them last year on the Silhouette. We had dined in Tuscan the first night so it was our first night in the dining room.

They were cold and hard. The waiter spotted that they had been left by all three of us and enquired why, when told that they were cold he replied that’s how they should be served. I politely said he was misinformed. I thought that was the end of the matter until be brought the Maitre ‘d over who also insisted that the correct serving was cold. He was quite bolshy about it, so much so that it sort of put us off returning to the MDR. As we had a speciality dining package plus quite a few dinners in the buffet and so we hardly dined in the MDR, three nights I think out of the fourteen. Of the three nights we had one great meal, one average and one I would have been ashamed to serve - fatty tough meat that was masquerading as leg of lamb, at least the waiter had the grace to admit it wasn’t leg of lamb.

Whilst it was a great cruise and the food in the specialities and buffet was very good to excellent I really think the MDR was sub par.

Debbie

I’m so sorry that your review has ended Norris, I enjoyed every bit of it. Thank you.

Any chance of a final photo of Snowy?

Hope you enjoyed the opera.

Debbie

Norris, 

You have another North Yorkshire based fan following along. Cuba has never been on my bucket list, well it is now. You have certainly whetted my appetite to see and experience more.

Just love your writing and humour. 

Regards Debbie

I know that some cabins are being redesignated post revolution. Our cabin on Millenium for a round Japan cruise in March 2020 has been changed from a three occupancy down to two.

i booked this whilst on board in October and my travel agent rang on Christmas Eve to give us the choice of two other same category cabins. 

Our cruise is still a year plus away, I would hope that anyone booked on a closer sailing would have already been informed.

regards Debbie

My parents are currently on this cruise. They have been cruising for twenty years the last five exclusively on Celebrity. Unfortunately they report similar experiences.

Mum says that Eclipse is showing wear and tear, nothing major but she has noticed things this time round that she has not seen before such as torn, mended and frayed bedding. Small things but there nevertheless.

Their main complaint has been around the standard of food in the MDR, small portions and poor quality meat and fish. My mother was served a salad complete with part of the cellophane bag it came in, the wait staff were most apologetic. My father really is low maintenance but he sent a dirty glass and two chipped cups back. These attention to detail items I feel wouldn't have happened a few years back, the cuts to staffing are being felt.

I feel disappointed, I booked this cruise for them - it's probably their last as my mother isn't in great health and I really wanted them to make some great memories.

It's not all doom and gloom, they have enjoyed the destinations and say that the accessible cabin is enormous!

We did this cruise in the requested time span and whilst we didn't use the pools the weather was glorious apart from the last day cruising down the east coast of England. The temps were low 30s all fortnight.

I found that as the trip is port intensive the sea days were spent enjoying all the activities on the ship, rather than sitting round the pool area - but people were using the pools.

Please note that I grew up on the north east coast of England and am used to coming out of the sea blue with cold :eek: it felt positively tropical to me!

Enjoy, it's a wonderful cruise - it remains my favourite.

Debbie

I think 7am is generally too early to vacate a room.

My take is a little different, as we have either driven to the port Southampton, or have an evening flight (transatlantic) we are usually the last group scheduled off the ship.

It's bad enough vacating your room at 8am and then having to sit with hand baggage in a public area with nothing much to do until being allowed off at 9.45, but add another hour to this wait? Not a great last memory of a cruise.

Surely there are enough people who wish to leave early to keep cabin attendants busy making up rooms to allow others to remain until 8?

Debbie

When you hear that first 'boing' as your seapass gains you entry to the ship. Then the holiday begins.

My absolute favourite cruise memory is one when we were not even sailing. During the 1980's I was backpacking around Australia, the QEII was about to depart Sydney on a world tour leg, I was very homesick at the time. We spent all day watching the comings and goings on the quay, passengers boarding etc. We returned later at night, all the guests were in full evening dress on the decks, a band was playing on the quayside and streamers were popped as she pulled away. It was so emotional I cried, I have never felt so proud, so British and homesick at all the same time. It felt like most of Sydney had turned out to watch the sail away- wonderful memory.

Deb

And it is the anthem of the Women's Institute, always sung with gusto.

Deb

I recognise that as a Brit we are not the experts on what constitutes a good burger, but my experience of the Mast Grill is that they spoil a good burger by serving it in a cheap and nasty bread bun.

Top end burgers here are usually served in a toasted brioche bun, whilst this may not be authentic I think it makes the whole thing much tastier.

Deb

I have been eagerly waiting for your next review......

Deb

I travel in and out of Spain frequently, in fact we have a home there, and have never been subjected to any questioning. Having said that, we are, at least today still part of the EU so in theory have open travel within the EU although we still have to show a passport when returning to the UK.

Whilst we never used to have to show a passport to enter Spain I have noticed that recently these have been checked.

I wonder if there was some sort of security alert which resulted in the extra questioning that day?

Perhaps a covering letter from her doctor detailing her memory issues would put your mind at rest in case she was questioned?

Regards Debbie

Brilliant review, bringing back great memories of our Alaska trip two years ago on Solstice.

Deb

We were in the same situation after disembarking Solstice in Seattle, we left our luggage at the hotel where we had stayed pre cruise.

I did ask them when we were staying with them , they assured me it wouldn't be a problem and it wasn't. This was the Crowne Plaza.

Debbie

Hi Linda,

I have been following your blog daily since the beginning and it has brought me great pleasure.

Every day my mum asks me where you are and what you have done. After various trips on S class ships I realise that we haven't seen half of the ship - this must be rectified soon! :)

You have invoked memories of the year I spent in Australia nearly thirty years ago and makes me even more eager to take my son with us next year for a protracted visit. Who knows, we may try to squeeze a cruise in!

Enjoy the rest of your trip, safe travels. Where is the next cruise to? I can't wait to come along!

Debbie

This sailing appears to be scheduled for late April in 2017. One sailing only.

Regards Debbie

The floor is spectacular, a truly beautiful wooden floor.

It's like Buckingham Palace, of all the wonderful items on display I thought the best was the hand painted wallpaper and the wooden floor in I think, the music room. A dazzling sun ray pattern.

Debbie

I do hope that your wife recovers swiftly and that you can make your next trip.

I have loved your travelogue and look forward to your postings each morning. Having lived in the UK most of my life I hadn't heard about Woodhenge, just goes to prove that every day is a school day.

Debbie

Most scooters (except bariatric ones) will fit into any of the cabins, yes they do take up space, but it is manageable.

My mum parked hers underneath where the coat hooks are located and the end of the dressing table. Perfectly able to walk past with a little care to get in and out of the cabin and access the bathroom.

This was on a S class ship

Debbie

http://specialneedsatsea.com/sns_google/?utm_expid=12248814-0.FO2vaz9zRTqjTfsC1ApPRQ.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2F

This company are excellent, they will provide a wheelchair or scooter. My mother used them, the scooter was waiting in her cabin for her upon embarkation. Efficient service.

Hope that you can still enjoy your cruise, and get well soon.

Debbie

Third one for me too. I like the firey sun reflected in the windows against the wet/rain on the deck.

Loving the review

Deb

My Mum has very poor mobility and either uses a wheel chair or a stick to walk very slowly.

With out fail a member of staff assists her in the buffet. In fact, after a few days the wait staff got to know her and would welcome her in to the buffet by name and even find her a free table.

Like wise in the dining room it was almost a contest as to who would want to push her wheel chair to our table, the waiter or assistant waiter. In fact, at times, I felt quite left out and redundant!

The kindness of the staff was much appreciated

Debbie