MarGG

You won't need luck - I was going to say I hope you have a wonderful time - but I don't need to hope, I know you will :)

 

We are going on Infinity in October, and have 2 cruises on our absolute favourite ship to look forward to next year booked already.

 

Your first cruise is very, very special, and you will feel nervous, apprehensive,excited and overwhelmed all at once - but its a wonderful feeling. Please don't worry about anything, you are going on a fabulous ship, with a wonderful cruise line, which is in itself fantastic when it's your first time - enjoy :)

 

Lou x

Thank you for the encouragement! I am actually almost sure the cruise is going to be great! Still nervous a bit as it is going to be an absolutely new experience!

And thank you Jo and Rob! I will try the roll call. It is strange I haven't done it earlier. Thank you for the hint.

Hi MarGG

 

We are on the same cruise as you, and like yourself getting quite excited.

 

If you need to borrow any guidebooks we have a few and would have no problem lending

 

Have you registered for the meet and mingle.

Thanks for the invitation! I never thought about that. And how do you register?

Well, it has been a long time since I last came here. It's my favorite thread, so I just feel like I have to post here one more time before I leave for my first ever cruise (which is less than in three weeks time!!!). Oh my! I am still worried... And also so exited!!! I am always nervous before I go on any trip but this time it feels like it is something different. Nevertheless I am really looking forward to it. I hope everything goes well! Please wish me luck and good weather!

We are planning to do Helsinki in the DIY mode. I am trying to get the maps of all the places we are going to, but for some reason I can not find a nice one of Helsinki. Will there be one available on board the ship (we are on Celebrity Eclipse) or in the docking area?

I would like to join cruise_alot123. Could we summarize it a bit?

I have two questions:

1. What are the musts in Helsinki? So far I figured out the Sibelius Monument and the Rock Church. What else?

2. If we choose to take a hop-on-hop-off bus then where exactly do we hop on for the first time?

Thanks a lot in advance - all you replies are so helpful for a inexperienced cruiser!

I just returned from the Eclipse last month.

 

In the picture of the library be aware that the first 5 shelves have real books but after that they are fake books.

 

This is a useful remark! Because the first question I had when looking at the picture was how would one get a book from the upper shelf or how would one even know what the title of that book was!:)

Thank's Trialawyer - it's a wonderful picture. And the library looks very cozy!

I do not think I will carry a lot of books with me - maybe just one or two. But what I was expecting to find in the library was some books about the countries and ports to visit. Do you know if there are any? It would be nice to refresh some history and culture information of the place the day before coming to it. I believe you can not carry books out of the library, but you have to read there, is that true? Also are there any restrictions on bringing in your own book?

Trialawyer, I have one more question. I heard there was a library on the Ship. Could you comment on it? Is it big? And what kind of books can you get there? Thank you in advance for any information!

There are two harbours with several quays.

It depends where you are docking, but here is a route map:

 

http://www.citytour.fi/articles/441/

The link doesn't work for me...

We are going to take the hop-on-hop-off bus in Helsinki. Could you explain how exactly to get from the port to the point where you can take this bus? Is there just one docking area in Helsinki? Thank you in advance for your explanations!

We also used Best Guides for our non-cruise tours. We were in Russia in winter and they organized a trip of 4 days in St.Petersburg and 3 days in Moscow for us. The tours could not be better! We had wonderful guides both in SPb and in Moscow. We went to the Hermitage twice and Inna, our guide in St.Petersburg never showed us two things twice. Actually she always had some new information for us during all the 4 days. We were never tired of listening to her. I was surprised how a person could be so knowledgeable and at the same time so enthusiastic! Moscow was also a wonder. Lena, our Moscow guide was also very informative and pleasant and told us a lot of interesting stories about ancient Moscow and about Soviet Moscow. It was one of the best trips we have ever had!

And now that we are going on our first cruise (and so much looking forward to it!!!!!!!) Best Guides are making a new itinerary for us to visit places which we could not see in winter.

We will for sure go to Petrodvorets. And Best Guides suggested Oranienbaum and the Cottage. Maybe someone has some more suggestions? What is there that would be interesting for the second visit?

Please don't worry about anything, you'll have a wonderful time.

 

I can remember when we first started cruising, it took our friends a good 5 years to persuade me, and now over 40 cruises later - well, it speaks for itself :)

 

You will love Celebrity, their attitude to their 'guests' is second to none, the staff are truly wonderful. Eclipse is the most amazing, beautiful ship ever. We had 35+ cruises with P&O, 2 with Cunard (QM2), and took our first Celebrity cruise is Oct 2011. We are now waiting to join Equinox for the second time at the end of this month, having already cruised twice on Eclipse :)

 

Replace your 'worry' with 'excitement' - you'll have a blast xxxxx

 

Louise

I am gradually switching from 'worry' to 'excitement' reading these posts. Thank you.

And I believe all the concerns about the sun deck are not so important on a Baltic cruise. Baltic is not quite a resort area, is it? What about the weather there in August?

Like you, I'm somewhat nervous about cruising, but feel more reassured by all the positive comments everyone on this forum has about Celebrity & Eclipse.

Good to know I am not the only one worrying about everything:)

Your only "problem" will be spoiling your second cruise if you choose a ship which doesn't measure up to the Eclipse. Orson Welles famously made his best film first, so that everything that followed was a disappointment by comparison. Likewise, the Eclipse is also a hard act to follow. Anyway, between now and your cruise in August, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Well, this does sound like a bit of a problem...:) Thank you for the encouragement anyway! We are really looking forward to this cruise.

I just want to thank you Trialawyer for this review once more. We have finally made our choice and we are sailing on Celebrity Eclipse!!!!! Your review was the one thing that finally convinced us to make this choice. So if we do not like it you will be the one to blame!;)

Just joking of cause - for all I read here I am sure we are going to love it. And we are really looking forward to the trip - though assuming that it is to be our first cruise we are a bit nervous.

Thank you once more for the wonderful review!

Thanks for your post. There were three formal nights during our two week cruise. The first was the second night, the second was the second Saturday and the final was the night before the last night. Showtimes were posted daily in the handy Celebrity Today publication. The shows in the theater were usually at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm, although twice they were at 8:30 pm and 10:45 pm. My advice is to remain flexible. You can always make your dinner reservations after you determine which showtime suits you or even if the show appeals to you.

 

Frankly, in the highly subjective area of entertainment, I did not consider the quality on the Eclipse to match Celebrity's superb accomplishments in the food and service categories. In my opinion, the theatrical productions were standard for a cruise ship, but in a very competitive market that can be taken as a compliment. The singers and dancers on the Eclipse were energetic, their costumes were colorful and the show tunes were toe-tappers. I would be disappointed if I'd paid $100 or more per ticket to see them on Broadway, but as part of my cruise fare they were perfectly fine for an evening's entertainment. The other theatrical acts were hit or miss for me. I like magicians and comedians, and there was a combination of both in a performer from the UK I thought was outstanding. On the other hand, there was a ventriloquist whose biggest laugh of the night came at my expense when he took a verbal shot at me for leaving his performance early. I should add that my wife disagrees with my negative assessments. She went to and enjoyed each and every show. I should also add that the entertainers on your cruise may, and most likely will, differ from mine. The entertainers rotate from ship to ship at each port of call.

Does the ship have actors as part of the crew - or would they invite some local performers in different ports? And what kind of show would there be usually?

We will also be on the feb. 8 th cruise next year and can't wait, especially after your review.

 

MarGG - we did the Baltics with Celebrity a few summers ago. It really was a trip of a lifetime!

It sounds like Celebrity will be perfect for you.

Thank you for encouraging me!

Thank you once more for the wonderful review, and thank you everybody for your helpful advice! I really feel like I may settle with Celebrity - looks very much what I am looking for.

Thank you so much! This review is just what I needed. We are choosing a Baltic cruise for this Summer right now and Celebrity was one of the options. Could you advise about the passengers there? What age category and what countries was the majority from?

We are in out fifties, Brits - me and my friend. We like nice food but are not heavy eaters and we are not very much in for drinks (a bit old fashioned - like tea ). We are in for art and culture. And we like it when it is calm and comfortable. Do you think we will fit in?