Celebrity Eclipse 4/30/18-5/10/18 Ireland, Iceland, and Lerwick review

Background: We are in our mid fifties and have sailed on Celebrity 12 times primarily in the Caribbean and 1 trip to Norway in 2015. Due to a muscle disease I deal with, we booked an accessible Concierge cabin (1028). We had two other couples book the same trip and they booked the cabins next to us.

Pre Cruise:

We wanted to experience Dublin, so we flew in four days prior to the Cruise. We stayed three nights at the Westbury Hotel. A gorgeous hotel located just a few hundred feet from Grafton Street with many shops, restaurants etc. very close. Due to the amount of luggage and mobility scooter, we pre booked airport transfers through Butler tours. This was a Mercedes van that was very comfortable. (100 Euro each way).

On day two in Dublin, we did a private Tour to the Wicklow mountain area. This is about one hour south of Dublin and was a great Tour through the mountains and old monastery’s.

On day three, we all I’d the Guinness Storehouse. What a great Tour and place to hang for a few hours. The gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse had great 360 degree views

Throughout the Four days, our group went to many great Pubs including Bruxxelles, O’Donohues, O’Neills, and Johnny Foxes to name a few.

Embarkation:

There was a separate thread on this earlier. We got a cab at 1130 from the Westbury and headed to the port. Very short drive, but confusion on drop area had us do a loop of the port. Once we knew where to go no problem. (Should be fixed for next sailings). Porters available to take bags, and we went through security and got our Sea Pass cards very quickly. From the check in, you boarded a shuttle bus (fully accessible) to the ship. Buses were running very frequent. Once off the bus, the gangway is right there to board the ship. We were on board by 1230.

We were very fortunate with weather, as we had Sun with temps around 56 degrees F the whole time in Dublin. Cabins opened at 1:20 or so. Because we had three cabins together, we had the room attendant open the three balcony dividers to make one large balcony. Great fun. We purchased the seven night dinner package and booked once we were settled. We ate at Tuscan the first night and it did not disappoint.

Belfast:

Our first stop was Belfast Northern Ireland. We booked a seven hour Private Tour with Belfast attractions Tour co. It was the game of thrones tour with the Giants causeway and Rickety Rope bridge. Colm our driver was awesome, and took us to some great places. The Girls got to try on the actual Cersei Silver Crown as we visited the jeweler that made the items for the series. We visited Caves, inlets, Castles etc..A really great tour (340 Pounds for Private Van for 6 and driver). Once back to the ship we got drinks and ate at Sushi on 5. Another excellent Meal. Our Group did not attend any of the shows, we opted to get entertained at the martini bar, cellar masters, and the casino. The Bartenders at the Martini were awesome. Got to know them very well (Agus and Agus). They even let one of the girls in our group do a six martini pour ...Awsome Fun

Sea Day:

The Seas across the North Atlantic were not bad (8-10 Ft swells) but it was windy. Utilized the ship, (gym, Spa, Casino, shops etc)throughout the day. Ate at Quisine. It was great with six people as you didn’t feel you ordered too much food...Again, a good meal.

Reykjavik, Iceland:

Will continue later....

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JKGourmet

You asked about Disembarkation. 1/2 way through the cruise you will be given a Disembark sheet to fill out. You will be prioritized by the time of your flight etc.(normal). The ship was cleared around 0815, and the que for the self disembarkers was very long. Numbers started being called at 0845. We were in no hurry a we set our flight for 4:00pm to boston...Hate to be nervous about flights. Anyway, we were group 20 and we were called at 0945. We had a private transport set up and met him at he luggage building at the end of the gangway. He pulled his van right to the end of the gangway for us. Taking the tunnel, we arrived at the airport at 1020. 20-25 minute lines for airline check in (We got bumped to business so no hassles), then 10-15 minutes to get through the first security check point. 10 more minutes to get to the US pre clearance and 10 more minutes for security at the pre clear area. Customs will take 5-10 minutes with global entry but could be a bit longer depending on crowd. Then 5 minutes to get to your plane. Your best chance is with self disembark, and to grab a cab. 1 accidant like what happened on 5/10 can really challenge the port area and will increase times. Best of luck and enjoy an awsome cruise

JKGourmet

 

You asked about Disembarkation. 1/2 way through the cruise you will be given a Disembark sheet to fill out. You will be prioritized by the time of your flight etc.(normal). The ship was cleared around 0815, and the que for the self disembarkers was very long. Numbers started being called at 0845. We were in no hurry a we set our flight for 4:00pm to boston...Hate to be nervous about flights. Anyway, we were group 20 and we were called at 0945. We had a private transport set up and met him at he luggage building at the end of the gangway. He pulled his van right to the end of the gangway for us. Taking the tunnel, we arrived at the airport at 1020. 20-25 minute lines for airline check in (We got bumped to business so no hassles), then 10-15 minutes to get through the first security check point. 10 more minutes to get to the US pre clearance and 10 more minutes for security at the pre clear area. Customs will take 5-10 minutes with global entry but could be a bit longer depending on crowd. Then 5 minutes to get to your plane. Your best chance is with self disembark, and to grab a cab. 1 accidant like what happened on 5/10 can really challenge the port area and will increase times. Best of luck and enjoy an awsome cruise

Thanks much. I've tried to pre-book a taxi, but haven't found one that will take the reservation due to circumstances "that the port has done". Sigh.

Our flight is 11:30am. ANYTHING later would have required an additional night in Dublin or a 9-10 hour layover. We have purchased Fast Track, but don't have Global entry. I'm thinking of 'adjusting' our flight schedule a bit and taking the Celebrity transfer. Most of all, I've given up worrying about it. If we miss the flight, we'll deal with it then.

Continuing with review;

Reykjavik:

The ship docked at 1PM, and we were off by 1:30. We booked a golden circle tour with Tours by Locals. his was a private Tour for the six of us including my mobility scooter. The cost for this tour was 1,368.00.

It was a crazy weather day, as it was cold and windy, but the sun was out a lot of the time. Amazing how fast it changes. Dress in layers and bring wind pants if you have them. The tour took us to all of the major attractions, and we were able to adjust as we wanted because it was just the six of us. The Godafoss waterfall did not disappoint!! Our driver had some “Black death” liquor, which was not bad. He had the marinated shark but we opted to pass based upon the drivers assessment that he would only open the cooler outside due to the smell...

Reykjavik day 2:

We opted to stay on the ship as the shuttle buses were not accessible. Next time we will take some time to explore the city..We set sail at 3Pm for Akureyri. After having some fun on the ship, we got back to the cabin at 1230Am and read that we would be crossing the artic circle at 0130. Our friends saw the same and we ended up having an artic circle party on our 3 cabin balcony. It never really got dark with sunset at 1030Pm and sunrise at 0410. Great fun but hurting the next day..

Akureyri:

We docked at 1000 and were off the ship by 1015. We booked another private tour with Taxi#17. The driver was also the owner of the company, and knew so much about the area. We went to the Godafoss waterfall and the Myvatn lake area. The contrast in this area is incredible. From snow capped mountains, to lava fields and Boiling mud pits.We stopped at the Natural baths (similar to Blue Lagoon without the crowds) and had lunch. This was a tour not to be missed. A true 10 day.

Day at Sea:

We spent the day playing trivia, in the casino, and at our normal bar haunts. Ate at Murano and the meal was excellent. Glen our waiter was right on it...We crossed the artic Circle again at 1030Pm.

Lerwick, Shetland:

As this was a tender port, I was unable to go ashore. The other in the group including my better half got off and explored the town The sail in is beautiful, and the town clean and easy to get around according to reports from our group.

Day at Sea:

Seas were fairly calm for a relaxing day at sea.

Cobh (Cork) Ireland:

Arrived Cobh at 1000. Off the ship by 1030 and again had a private tour set up through Butler Tours. Our driver was really good and took us to Blarney castle, the Blarney woolen Mills (my wife did some damage here), and then headed up to Kinsale where we had lunch in this quaint town. Wish we had more time to explore this area. We rushed back to just make it at the all aboard for 4;30PM

DUBLIN:

We pulled into Dublin and tied up about 0730. I already discussed the Disembarking earlier so will not go into any other details.

Summary:

Iceland and Ireland have been on our list of places to visit ever since cruising to Norway in 2015. This was an over all great cruise for those wanting to get a taste of these great countries. Was it cold, YES! You are heading to Iceland in early may and should be prepared. Three days pre cruise in Ireland helped us to adjust to time changes etc and gave us a chance to really see Dublin.

The Ship and staff were incredible, and really went out of their way to help someone like myself that has a disability. There were many passengers that were complaining about this and that, but you will get at anywhere. I would recommend this cruise to anyone thinking of Iceland/Ireland. Let me know if I can answer any questions

Thanks for the review!

Sonoma fans...Thanks for taking us along on your cruise.

Thanks for doing the review.

We did a "stopover" in Iceland (Icelandair...was actually cheaper than our normal airline/delta) coming back from London after a cruise....We were there for 4 days and had a great time...I think (depending on how much time you have) doing the stopover to or from Europe is a great way to sneak a mini vacation in.

Thanks for posting your informative review. We are doing Ireland/Scotland/ England in Aug and are looking forward to it.

Thanks for the review, an itinerary that is on our bucket list!

Thanks for the review! Iceland also on our hit list just trying to decide on land tour or cruise.

I just put this in another thread but thought I would add it here, too.

What was so fun on that trip was seeing the looks on so many crew members faces -- their first sight of snow. My steward was reluctant to go out into it -- but then took a step and was amazed. He came running back inside and said "I caught a snowflake on my tongue!" The steward in the next area heard him and ran for the door to try it too. So many of the staff snuck out to take selfies. They came in amazed at the sight of "sideways snow" because the wind was fierce.

I just put this in another thread but thought I would add it here, too.

 

What was so fun on that trip was seeing the looks on so many crew members faces -- their first sight of snow. My steward was reluctant to go out into it -- but then took a step and was amazed. He came running back inside and said "I caught a snowflake on my tongue!" The steward in the next area heard him and ran for the door to try it too. So many of the staff snuck out to take selfies. They came in amazed at the sight of "sideways snow" because the wind was fierce.

You are so right! It was wonderful seeing the reactions of so many crew who saw snow falling for the first time.

Sonoma Fans, thank you so much for your review, very helpful :)

Thanks for the review! Iceland also on our hit list just trying to decide on land tour or cruise.

If you have the time and the $$$, I would recommend a land tour instead of a cruise. We are on the May 10 cruise (Iceland/Ireland) and have also spent a week in Iceland prior to this cruise. Even with a full 24 hours/overnight in Iceland, it doesn’t even come close to giving you a full taste of this amazing country.

In fact, my husband and I STILL haven’t gotten to the original attraction that I had wanted to go for! Either way you decide, it’s a gorgeous country with some truly fantastic people ❤️❤️❤️

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If you have the time and the $$$, I would recommend a land tour instead of a cruise. We are on the May 10 cruise (Iceland/Ireland) and have also spent a week in Iceland prior to this cruise. Even with a full 24 hours/overnight in Iceland, it doesn’t even come close to giving you a full taste of this amazing country.

 

In fact, my husband and I STILL haven’t gotten to the original attraction that I had wanted to go for! Either way you decide, it’s a gorgeous country with some truly fantastic people ❤️❤️❤️

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree with this. We were on the April 30th sailing. The first day was cut short due to arriving late due to weather/rough seas. Many sites are far apart and on long tours (8-9 hours--like the South Shore) half that time is spent back-tracking on the same road to the ship. Stay in a few locations and rent a car or do shorter tours from each location. Hindsight...:confused: