Eclipse Feb 11 - 18 Review

I'm planning to finish this and submit to the cruise reviews part of CC. Here is what I have so far.

This was my second ever cruise. The first was on an older ship from a different (mass market) line, and after a disappointing cruise I didn’t understand what people saw in it. A friend saw me post on a social media site that I had been disappointed and suggested a travel agent she knew that would “straighten me out” and help me find something I would like. At her suggestion, we tried again. We are so glad we did!

Although we were sailing out of Miami, we chose to fly into Ft. Lauderdale since it was less expensive and I was able to fly on Southwest. We caught a non-stop flight the day before our cruise and all started off on a positive note. I had originally booked a hotel for the night before in Miami that I thought offered a shuttle to the cruise port. Upon learning that was not the case, I went looking for alternatives about 10 days before the cruise. We ended up staying at the Hyatt Place FLL-Plantation and rented a car from Hertz to get around. I used the Hyatt website to book my hotel and chose it due to frequent stay points and price. The hotel was reasonably clean, quiet and rather out of the way. The morning breakfast was decent and they had bottled water for us to take on the way out. It had the advantage of being located very close to a shopping complex so that we could pick up the last minute things we had forgotten. Since I discovered Friday night that I had brought book four in a series when I meant to bring book two, it was especially handy to run into the B&N to pick up what I needed. The Target allowed me grab an extra umbrella and a handful of other items I thought I might want.

Renting the car from Hertz was a wonderful idea! Using a coupon code from the Visa web site, I was able to rent a compact car for the period I needed for only $30 including tax and fees. I picked up the car at the FLL airport and turned it in at the Hertz downtown near the cruise port. Hertz then shuttled me to the cruise port. There was no additional charge for dropping it off at a different place than I picked it up. Again, the rental car gave me the freedom to run around as needed for what I had forgotten or decided I wanted for the cruise. As an FYI, there is a Publix supermarket between the hotel and the interstate to get to the cruise port. While we did not pick up wine for the cruise (we had a beverage package) that would have been an easy way to do it.

Embarkation was fairly straightforward. The shuttle from Hertz was met by a luggage attendant who took our bags right away. We entered the terminal for the Eclipse and were immediately asked for our ID and Express Pass. I had these ready, and we were on our way! We went through the next security check point where our carry-on bags were scanned and we went through a metal detector. All was well there, although we did see a table set up where disallowed items were being collected. We had not yet received health questionaires for some reason, but I finally located two of them and we entered the line to have out photos taken and receive our sea passes. There were multiple people directing embarking passengers to the next available station, so that took less than 30 minutes. By this time, it was about 1:15pm, and we were informed that our stateroom was ready, and we were off to check it out before heading to deck 14 for lunch!

We stayed in a 2D on the 6th floor of the Eclipse, #6208. The life boats came up to about the rail on the veranda, but we still had a great view. We had plenty of sun on the way from Miami to San Juan on our own veranda. It was a slightly oversized veranda since it was at an angle. Our steward, Gladwin, and his assistant Moose, took very good care of us. I swear they have ESP to know when we left our room! The room had plenty of storage for our purposes, a closet, drawers and storage over the bed. The bed was not the most comfortable, particularly in the center where they push the beds together, but we managed. While we did notice some “creaking” that others have commented on, the noise was not enough to keep us awake most nights. The only time it really woke us was when we docked and we could hear/feel the thrusters firing up to bring us dockside.

The shower was decent. We liked the glass shower and the lack of a curtain. I also liked the foot rest bar in the shower to aid in shaving. The entire bathroom seemed generously sized. While there is not a clothesline in the shower, there are pegs on the wall to allow things to drop dry in the shower area. There are also pegs on the bathroom door and the wall just outside the bathroom for hanging things to steam or dry.

The TV in the stateroom is on an arm that allows it to be moved. We liked that we could swivel it to watch a movie in bed at night. We also liked the movies on demand feature that would pause a movie and allow us to come back to it up to 48 hours later. I also liked the view from the bridge on Channel 6 and the GPS location on Channel 5.

We had Select Dining in the MDR and could eat any time between approximately 6pm and 9 or 9:30pm. We chose to eat early, right about 6pm, each evening. The first evening, we were seated in Cuma’s (pronounced Juma) station at a round table with 2 other couples who were much older than we were. They were all retired, while we are much younger. We looked over and spotted friends we had not seen in a while and didn’t know would be on the ship. We had dinner the rest of the cruise with those friends in the same waiter’s station in Select. Cuma was a wonderful waiter, teaching us a small amount of Turkish Language, suggesting items from the menu and generally taking care to ensure great meals and atmosphere even when we wanted to visit over drinks and he needed to turn over the table. His assistant Hayati was new at his position, but by the end of the cruise had the routine down pat. He fetched fresh water for tea each evening when we commented that the water in the waiter’s station was in a coffee urn that had contaminated the water and made it unsuitable for tea. Our Sommelier, Ivan, was great at suggesting wine to go with dinner, and didn’t turn up his nose when we decided we’d stick with our favorite White Zin. When I noted that one of the glasses of wine poured didn’t taste as expected, he looked shocked, went off to check it and returned to let me know it was as it should be. I loved that he checked. The Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling was absolutely wonderful after dinner each evening.

We did note that when we presented ourselves promptly at 6pm, we were escorted to our favorite table right away. By 6:45, the line had formed and other diners had to wait until the early-birds had finished. It appeared as though passengers wishing to dine after 8 were less likely to stand in line, however. I do not know about those wishing to dine even later as I rarely was near the MDR entrance after dinner.

The Oceanview Café on 14 was set up station-style, allowing passengers to move between stations for the choices they preferred. There were always an assortment of dishes every time I looked for a snack. The choices from India were not spicy to our tastes, and there were only a few dishes each day. Luckily, we do not cruise simply for those dishes. Daily tea in the afternoon was a treat, as tea sandwiches were available as well as fresh scones. Sadly, these dishes were only available for about an hour each day. There were a number of different sized plates available, allowing passengers to choose the size desired for the meal they were looking for. While I would not care to dine in the buffet for each meal, it was a great way to get a fast breakfast, lunch or snack on my own schedule, and the food was reasonable.

On sail-away, we joined the group from Cruise Critic at the Sunset Bar to watch and visit as we left Miami. Thanks go to Tara for making sure we all had name tags! While there were a few bar waiters circulating, it was usually easier to go directly to the bar for a drink than to wait and hope a waiter found us. It is worth mentioning that one side of this bar allows smoking, including cigars. Since we were moving at a decent clip and the breeze was blowing, the smoke was not bad, but I made a mental note to use the other side for the rest of the cruise. The group broke up fairly quickly, as we sailed at 4:30 and dinner began at 6pm.

Very thorough review so far. Looking forward to the rest. And if you ever get a chance to post a picture of your balcony that'd be great as people seem to often look for pictures of the 2D's.

PS: Ivan is a fun guy. Very attentive and good sense of humor.

wow, excellent start

Looking forward to the rest.

Weird question-did you have to take off your shoes when you went through security at the pier? I have been wondering if it is the same as when you fly. Thanks for the great review!

No, there is no taking off of shoes!! Until you get to your cabin, that is!!!

We didn’t do much else on Saturday evening, as I was feeling under the weather. Sunday, however, we got off to a great start! We started off Sunday with breakfast in the MDR. With all the flu going around, we decided to avoid the buffet for a day or two in the hopes that we would therefore limit our exposure to potentially ill passengers. The MDR offered the usual breakfast fare: eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, breads, etc. I saw no sign of the fresh squeezed OJ, but we were content with the regular juice. We did have to ask for new water for tea, as the water originally brought to us was from an urn that had previously contained coffee. That was a reoccurring theme and we could tell that most of the wait staff were not tea drinkers.

On the way back to the room after breakfast, we stopped at the Café al Bacio for tea. It was better than the MDR, but not awesome. I’ve posted before that I’m a tea snob, and this taught me that I needed to make sure I brought my own.

Next, we headed to the Roll-Call party in Michael’s Lounge. We were joined by the cruise director who welcomed us to the ship. They had coffee, water, etc, and some sweet rolls. We enjoyed visiting with everyone until they started taking all the refreshments away.

We headed back to our cabin to get some sun on our private veranda. A quick stroll through the pool area had told us that we were better off on our veranda than the pool area while the band was out. Additionally, all the chairs in the sun seemed to be taken. Luckily, we were on the sunny side on the way to San Juan.

On the afternoon of the first sea day, we attended the Celebrity Life lecture on how they navigate the ship. To a couple of math nerds (DH is an engineer), it was really interesting. I was amazed that they are still using the traditional methods of paper charts, taking measurements from the stars, etc. I liked that they had both the old and new methods of GPS as well. I was also interested to learn about the training and hierarchy on board the ship, which the speaker went into. He told us about the book of rules and instructions that he had to memorize and take an exam over within a week of joining the ship. He was required to score 100% on that exam to retain his job. If only my students were as serious. While I feel terrible that I didn’t make a note of his name, I was very interested in the fact that he was educated at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, earning a Bachelor of Science degree and taking as much math as many of the engineering students I work with – including three semesters of calculus and differential equations. He said he uses a lot of spherical trigonometry in his current position. The bridge crews work four hour shifts, and he is part of the 8 – 12 shift. This means he works daily from 8am to 12pm, then again from 8pm to midnight. As soon as I figure out how to upload photos, I have a whole bunch of them to share!

We had a very pleasant afternoon, lounging on the veranda in the sun, before dressing for dinner. That first sea day was a formal night. DH was one of a handful who wore a tux, and I wore a formal gown. We joined our friends at dinner, arriving right before 6pm. There was a very short line forming when we arrived, but it was quickly worked through once the doors opened. We gave our cabin numbers and were seated in Cuma’s area once again. Dinner was quite tasty and we enjoyed our company. Following dinner, we visited the Molecular Bar that I had read so much about. The drinks were definitely interesting! The topping of liquid nitrogen isn’t something you see every day. We found a quieter spot there to visit with our friends that we hadn’t seen in quite some time. There were no servers in that area – just the bartender. In spite of being younger than the average passenger, we ended up calling it an early night and turned in after a couple of drinks.

Monday dawned beautiful once again and we began it with breakfast in the MDR followed by more sun time on our veranda. In spite of the obstructed view, we were happy to sit out there in the sun. We grabbed a couple of drinks and spent a couple of hours in the sun before attending the Celebrity Life lecture from the Engineer. While very interesting, that lecture was a little more difficult to listen to. The previous day’s speaker was a native English speaker. The engineer chosen to speak was from Argentina, and while he knew his material he was obviously working hard to explain in English. He spoke from a set of prepared PowerPoint slides and he was attempting to read the words on them to us. Once the Q&A part began, he was much more comfortable. He sometimes had to repeat himself to explain, but it was clear he was more at ease than he was when reading English slides. It was interesting to listen to some of the questions from other passengers and his responses. For example, one of the passengers asked if the potable water was stored in the same tanks as fuel or as ballast. The engineer insisted that potable (drinking) water was stored in specified potable water tanks and that nothing else ever went into those tanks. Additionally, potable water was never put into a tank that might be for another purpose if it was ever intended to be potable water. The passenger seemed surprised by this statement. There were a number of questions about the transformers, the type of power available (DC or AC, voltage, step downs, etc) and the speaker was able to answer each question. Immediately after this lecture, we headed up to the buffet to grab a late lunch before docking. We sat next to a window and watched as we pulled up to the pier.

We reached San Juan, P. R. a little bit ahead of schedule, and by 3pm we were off the ship. From the time we headed to the 2nd deck to head off until we actually set foot on the pier was only a few minutes. I had previously researched the port and planned to catch the free trolley to one of the old Spanish forts that are now managed by the National Park Service. It was not immediately obvious where to catch the trolley, however I spotted a man in a uniform standing next to a vehicle that said National Park Service on the side and asked him where it would be. He pointed us to the right place.

The trolley was indeed free and we headed up the hill. After just a couple of stops, it began to get quite crowded and we decided to get off the trolley at the “new” fort, San Cristobal. I had hoped to make it to the old fort, El Morro, but we decided that could be the next trip. The trolley dropped us off right at the entrance to the fort and up the stairs we went. The cost to enter was $3 USD per person, and we headed in! We hiked up the stairs, walked out onto the fortifications and were amazed by the view. We had an excellent view of our ship from the top. It is amazing to realize that this fort was started in the 18th Century, and was still in use as late as World War II. Even more amazing was the size of the stairs. At 5’9”, I’m probably 5-6 inches taller than the original builders. I cannot imagine how they ran up and down those stairs, and how they were able to fire weapons from the weapon ports. They had to really move and lift their legs much higher than many people do today.

The old wall from the original settlement continues along the coast all the way to the other end of the island where El Morro stands to guard the island. The amount of manual labor that it took to build that wall is amazing to me. We also saw two of the original garitas, or sentry boxes. and were able to walk into one of them. The oldest garita dates from the mid-1600’s, before the fort itself was built. The weather takes a toll on this new world history.

About 5:30, we had hiked around enough and decided to make our way back to the ship. We stopped at the CVS just off the pier for a few forgotten items, then made our way to the pier. We had to show our photo IDs to actually get onto the pier, as well as open any bags for the police to inspect. They were being very careful to only let passengers onto the pier. There was a grey navy ship on the pier next to us and I asked a local policeman about it. That ship was from Argentina and had been in port for a number of days giving the crew liberty. The officer was happy to visit with us and told us his opinion about the upcoming statehood vote.

We showered upon our return to the ship, then joined our friends for dinner about 6:30 or 6:45. The MDR was more lightly used this evening as we were in port until 10pm. A number of passengers chose to have dinner in San Juan, however we saw no reason to pay for dinner on the island. The food was good, the service outstanding and we enjoyed sharing about our day. Our friends had taken the bicycling tour of San Juan through the ship and had gone on a 12 mile bike ride. The three young women leading the tour knew all about the history and stopped them every couple of miles to tell them about what they were seeing. They definitely saw a couple of ‘seedier’ parts, but said they didn’t feel unsafe. After dinner, we went upstairs to the Molecular Bar for a couple of drinks, then decided to enjoy sail away. We sat out in the Oceanview Bar area on 14, just aft of the buffet, and watched as we pulled out of port. Finally, off to bed before an early day in St. Martin!

GREAT REVIEW!

Where exactly is the Molecular Bar located on the ship????

Enjoying your review and looking forward to your photos. We were on this itinerary and were glad we had visited San Juan previously as there wasn't much time to explore on our short port stop. It was quite hot in the afternoon which wasn't so conducive to extensive walking. We actually only soent an hour or so off the ship The bike tour sounds intriguing; on our next pre-cruise visit in 2013 I might checkpoint that out.

GREAT REVIEW!

 

Where exactly is the Molecular Bar located on the ship????

The Molecular Bar on deck 5, near some of the pricier shops. It's easy to miss I'd you don't know about it.

Here are two of the photos we took from the balcony. I was standing on the back of the balcony itself when I took these.

The next three are taken with the other camera at the edge of the balcony. They give an idea of what the view is like when you are trying to see the ship, etc.

Great review. Can't wait for the rest.

:-)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The officer was happy to visit with us and told us his opinion about the upcoming statehood vote.

 

While I usually read reviews I rarely comment on them. However, I am finding yours to be excellent.

So, what was the officer's opinion about possible statehood?

Thank you, Northern Aurora!

The officer we spoke to was not in favor of statehood, however it was for reasons that were kind of interesting. He has a cousin who lives in NYC and he spoke about the taxes the cousin pays - taxes on his car, on his home, etc. PR already has a fairly high sales tax, but at this point, they do not have personal or real property taxes. He didn't seem to understand that those taxes are from the state, not the federal government. At the current time, the residents of PR do not pay income taxes either, so they would be required to pay those if they became a state.

He did comment, however, that if they became a state the could vote for the president and have voting representation in Congress. He was in favor of that, but not to the extent that it would cost him additional funds out of his pocket. He also stated that the federal government already gave PR a lot of money for the schools, and seemed to believe that those funds would end of they became a state.

Basically, it sounded as though there is a lot of mis-information in PR about what taxes and block grants are and what they would pay for or receive if they became a state. It comes up every few years, however.

Before we went to bed on Monday, we placed our order for breakfast on Day 4 – Tuesday using the interactive TV room service menu. We each ordered ham and cheese omelettes and fruit cups. DH ordered ham and potato as sides, I ordered bacon. The omelettes were a little cool, but not bad considering. We also ordered four servings of Darjeeling tea for breakfast. All was well here. They brought us four of the little metal water pitchers to make the tea. We ordered breakfast to be delivered between 7 and 7:30, and had been advised by our friends that they previous two days they had received a phone call letting them know that breakfast was on the way. We set the alarm and planned to get up when the phone rang so that we’d be ready when breakfast arrived. Unfortunately, our experience was not the same as our friends. No phone call – instead the knock came at the very earliest part of our time window. Oh, well. Interesting to note, our breakfast was brought by our cabin steward!

We opened the curtains and were able to entertain ourselves watching the view as the ship got close to the port. We chose to eat in the room then started getting ready for the day on shore. About 30 minutes after breakfast was delivered, the phone rang and it was room service checking to be certain all was well with our breakfast. That was a definitely plus!

We pulled into port a few minutes early and we were off the ship quickly and by 9 or 9:30 am. I had booked a tour with Bernard’s Tours, a highly recommended provider based on the forums on Cruise Critic. We paid $40 USD each for a group tour. I had cash ready to go and it did not take long before we were loaded onto a small bus for our tour of the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin.

Our driver was Junior and he was accompanied by Juliette. We had 18 – 20 people on the bus, taking up just about every seat on the bus. We started off with a stop overlooking one of the bays, so that we could take a few photos. We continued on to a stop to see sea urchins and a raised platform for photos. By 10:40 we were at Orient Beach and we were told to be ready to leave at 12:30pm. We visited the left side and it was CROWDED! There were people on top of people with no room between the chairs/umbrellas on the beach for most of what we can see. Be prepared to pay to use the restroom, there was a woman charging $0.50 per use, however she checked and cleaned as it was used. We also walked the beach a bit and our opinion is that if the sight of un-clothed people doesn’t bother you it might be better off to walk down a ways on the nude side as it is much less crowded. I understand that if you go to the opposite end quite a ways that it becomes much less crowded as well.

We loaded up the bus at 12:30 and continued on to the market in Marigott. We had a snack at a French Pastry shop that was quite tasty before driving on and heading to Maho Beach to see the planes fly right overhead. Maho is quite a tourist area, with many condos, shops, bars, etc and could probably be a destination in itself. We saw a few young people try to stand in the jet wash as a 747 was taking off. They were buffeted around just a bit. If that doesn’t appeal to you, there are signs where to stay out of when the jets take off so that you don’t run that kind of risk.

We heard a little bit more about the history while driving around a bit more, drove through Phillipsburg, then were back at the ship by 3pm or so. After a busy day, we were ready to hit the buffet to check out the options for tea time (fresh warm scones!) before showering and heading to dinner.

We visited with our friends about our day at dinner. They had booked an excursion through the ship that would be a hike up a mountain. Due to the weather forecast, the excursion was canceled. They were a bit disappointed, as they didn’t receive word about the cancellation in time – and it was primarily their own fault. The ship had started allowing passengers off about 8:50am, and they were among the first to get off the ship for some quick shopping before their excursion. The excursion was scheduled to start around 11am or noon and go until just before all aboard. Just a few minutes after they left their cabin to go ashore, Guest Services had left them a voicemail that the excursion had been cancelled as there were storms predicted in the afternoon making it potentially unsafe to hike up the mountain. They came back to the room about 30 minutes before the scheduled excursion and got the message – after it was too late to book a different tour of the island. They rolled with the punches, however, and got off the ship to see what else there was to do. They ran into some passengers off the NCL Epic (docked next to us) who asked them if they would join them in their taxi tour of the island as the driver wouldn’t take them without two more in the group to split the cost. They agreed and had a nice short trip around the island, hitting the high points. They also learned more about the ship next to us. What they shared with us really made us all glad we were on the Eclipse! These people had waited in line over 90 minutes to get off their ship because there was only one door open to leave and so many people wanting to get onto the island. We had just strolled off and on! They also complained about the number of kids who were rowdy, the smoking, etc. All of their complaints were reasons we had chosen to sail Celebrity.

Dinner was decent and we spent the evening up on the Solstice Deck watching the stars and the other ships in the distance while traveling to St. Kitts.

Another great installment. :-)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great review. Can't wait for the rest.

:-)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking forward to meeting you in less than two weeks! I see you are using Tapatalk...I have an ipad and I'm thinking about purchasing it. Can you tell me the advantages?

Thanks,

Donna

Before we went to bed on Monday, we placed our order for breakfast on Day 4 – Tuesday using the interactive TV room service menu. We each ordered ham and cheese omelettes and fruit cups. DH ordered ham and potato as sides, I ordered bacon. The omelettes were a little cool, but not bad considering. We also ordered four servings of Darjeeling tea for breakfast. All was well here. They brought us four of the little metal water pitchers to make the tea. We ordered breakfast to be delivered between 7 and 7:30, and had been advised by our friends that they previous two days they had received a phone call letting them know that breakfast was on the way. We set the alarm and planned to get up when the phone rang so that we’d be ready when breakfast arrived. Unfortunately, our experience was not the same as our friends. No phone call – instead the knock came at the very earliest part of our time window. Oh, well. Interesting to note, our breakfast was brought by our cabin steward!

 

 

We opened the curtains and were able to entertain ourselves watching the view as the ship got close to the port. We chose to eat in the room then started getting ready for the day on shore. About 30 minutes after breakfast was delivered, the phone rang and it was room service checking to be certain all was well with our breakfast. That was a definitely plus!

 

 

We pulled into port a few minutes early and we were off the ship quickly and by 9 or 9:30 am. I had booked a tour with Bernard’s Tours, a highly recommended provider based on the forums on Cruise Critic. We paid $40 USD each for a group tour. I had cash ready to go and it did not take long before we were loaded onto a small bus for our tour of the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin.

 

Our driver was Junior and he was accompanied by Juliette. We had 18 – 20 people on the bus, taking up just about every seat on the bus. We started off with a stop overlooking one of the bays, so that we could take a few photos. We continued on to a stop to see sea urchins and a raised platform for photos. By 10:40 we were at Orient Beach and we were told to be ready to leave at 12:30pm. We visited the left side and it was CROWDED! There were people on top of people with no room between the chairs/umbrellas on the beach for most of what we can see. Be prepared to pay to use the restroom, there was a woman charging $0.50 per use, however she checked and cleaned as it was used. We also walked the beach a bit and our opinion is that if the sight of un-clothed people doesn’t bother you it might be better off to walk down a ways on the nude side as it is much less crowded. I understand that if you go to the opposite end quite a ways that it becomes much less crowded as well.

 

 

We loaded up the bus at 12:30 and continued on to the market in Marigott. We had a snack at a French Pastry shop that was quite tasty before driving on and heading to Maho Beach to see the planes fly right overhead. Maho is quite a tourist area, with many condos, shops, bars, etc and could probably be a destination in itself. We saw a few young people try to stand in the jet wash as a 747 was taking off. They were buffeted around just a bit. If that doesn’t appeal to you, there are signs where to stay out of when the jets take off so that you don’t run that kind of risk.

We heard a little bit more about the history while driving around a bit more, drove through Phillipsburg, then were back at the ship by 3pm or so. After a busy day, we were ready to hit the buffet to check out the options for tea time (fresh warm scones!) before showering and heading to dinner.

 

 

We visited with our friends about our day at dinner. They had booked an excursion through the ship that would be a hike up a mountain. Due to the weather forecast, the excursion was canceled. They were a bit disappointed, as they didn’t receive word about the cancellation in time – and it was primarily their own fault. The ship had started allowing passengers off about 8:50am, and they were among the first to get off the ship for some quick shopping before their excursion. The excursion was scheduled to start around 11am or noon and go until just before all aboard. Just a few minutes after they left their cabin to go ashore, Guest Services had left them a voicemail that the excursion had been cancelled as there were storms predicted in the afternoon making it potentially unsafe to hike up the mountain. They came back to the room about 30 minutes before the scheduled excursion and got the message – after it was too late to book a different tour of the island. They rolled with the punches, however, and got off the ship to see what else there was to do. They ran into some passengers off the NCL Epic (docked next to us) who asked them if they would join them in their taxi tour of the island as the driver wouldn’t take them without two more in the group to split the cost. They agreed and had a nice short trip around the island, hitting the high points. They also learned more about the ship next to us. What they shared with us really made us all glad we were on the Eclipse! These people had waited in line over 90 minutes to get off their ship because there was only one door open to leave and so many people wanting to get onto the island. We had just strolled off and on! They also complained about the number of kids who were rowdy, the smoking, etc. All of their complaints were reasons we had chosen to sail Celebrity.

 

 

Dinner was decent and we spent the evening up on the Solstice Deck watching the stars and the other ships in the distance while traveling to St. Kitts.

I am enjoying this review so much! Just adds to my anticipation of the Eclipse!

Looking forward to meeting you in less than two weeks! I see you are using Tapatalk...I have an ipad and I'm thinking about purchasing it. Can you tell me the advantages?

Thanks,

Donna

Donna,

I use it on my phone. The thing I like best about it is that I can quickly look at threads I responded too. I don't have to wade through all the postings. My DH bought it and I just logged into iTunes with his info to get it for my phone for free. :-)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Before heading to bed on Tuesday, we again placed our order for breakfast via the TV. This time, since we had a reservation for a 9am tour with Beulah Mills and Welcome Tours, we wanted to have breakfast just a little earlier and we asked for breakfast between 6:30 and 7am. If I remember correctly, we were scheduled to arrive at 8am and we were there early yet again. We pulled up right next to our sister ship, I believe it was the Equinox. We were backed in while they were in opposite. We watched all of the activity on the ship while enjoying breakfast before going off to our tour.

We did experience a couple of disappointments, but didn’t worry about them and went on about our day. We had again requested tea to drink and instead of individual tea water pitchers, we received a larger carafe of water like the kind the send coffee out in. The first cup from the carafe wasn’t too bad, but after that it smelled and tasted way too much like coffee for these tea drinkers. Additionally, room service forgot the tea bags. Luckily, we had packed our own (I took loose tea and bags to put the tea in) and we used those. We didn’t bother with too much tea, however, due to the coffee smell/taste. No check in call today, or I would have reported it, but we weren’t going to fuss about something that most people who are not tea drinkers don’t understand.

We left the ship about 8:30 and went to look around before our tour started. The welcome center had a number of police, and only tour guides who could show they had a reservation with a group were allowed in. We spotted a number of taxi drivers and such, looking for passengers, but we just kept walking and ignored them. We walked out of the way to avoid one of the “monkey men” as I wasn’t thrilled with the whole monkey idea anyway. If I want to see monkeys, I’ll go to the zoo in St. Louis where I know they are well cared for! We looked in a few of the shops to get an idea of what they had. We decided we’d come back after the tour of the island.

Shortly before 9am, we headed back into the welcome center area and Beulah came in a few minutes later. She split us into two groups, one wanted the full tour of the island and the other wanted the highlights tour. We went with the full tour and she led us out and introduced us to “York” who would be our driver for the day. For our comfort, York started us off at a shop that sold drinks where all the drinks were $1USD. While DH and I had brought bottles of water from the ship, we decided to check how the Coca-Cola was made. It turned out they used sugar rather than corn syrup, so we bought a couple. Before we got under way, Beulah appeared to collect the fee for the tour. Most of us had cash ready to go, however one couple did not. We made a detour to an ATM so that they could settle up. As a small company, she only accepted cash. We also saw the car of the Governor-General of St. Kitts & Nevis. He is a retired physician and we were told that he cruises the port area each day to see the visitors come to his island.

We drove through Basseterre, around the blocks and such, while York told us some of the history of the town and island. I saw Georgian (think King George of England) and French architecture, an old church tower and their government building. We next went on to Palm Court Gardens. The owners have rehabbed the house, re-landscaped it to become a beautiful garden, added a nice pool with a bar and small restaurant, and added the Shell Works Boutique. The Shell Works Boutique is a small business where various creations, including jewelry from the shells, are created. Visitors are welcome to use the pool for a small fee for the day. The proceeds from these ventures go to charity. When we reached Palm Court Gardens, we were shown around by York, who was obviously familiar with the property. He told us about the various plants, what they were and what they were used for. A number of them pre-date modern medicine and he knew the uses for them.

We then drove a bit until we reached Romney Manor. All this time, York was sharing the history of the island. It was clear that he loves his homeland as he told us all about it. He told us about the egrets nesting in the trees, and about the fact that St. Kitts used to have wild parrots. It seems that St. Kitts also used to have snakes, until someone imported some mongoose to deal with the snakes. Once the snakes were gone, the mongoose started eating the young parrots, since parrots nest very low to the ground. Sadly, the parrots are no longer on St. Kitts. On the way up to Romney Manor, we saw a great deal of beauty. York invited us to walk and enjoy the photo opportunities. As we started up the steep hill, York asked us to enter his van to help add weight to it on the wet road. We reached the top of the hill and he introduced us to Romney Manor, now the home of Caribelle Batik. There was a placard with information about Samuel Jefferson, the great-great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson. There was also a giant Saman tree, approximately 400 years old. It is absolutely HUGE! The tree has its own ecology on and under it. Again, York led us around a bit to show us the sights on the property and point out things that might be of interest. He then led us into the Batik workshop where they explained how the Batik was made. We were given time to explore the property and make purchases if we wished. This property also had a restroom open to the public.

As we left Romney Manor, we drove by the church yard that holds the remains of Samuel Jefferson. The stone church appeared to have the same design as many from the 17th and 18th Century Anglican Churches. York also explained how the local people live. Rather than borrow funds for homes, many people build them piece by piece as they have the funding. The homes are built from concrete blocks, in order to withstand hurricanes. They are not allowed to be taller than the palm trees, and many of them seem to reach 2 stories after a time. We saw many homes where the second story had been started and would be completed when the residents had the funding saved. We also learned that many of them do not have running water in the homes and that the island government had built public baths in many neighborhoods. He did point out that many of the homes had electricity even if they did not have water.

We stopped for a short break to see the black rocks in the surf, then went on to Ottley’s Plantation Inn for a short look. This former sugar plantation has been converted to a resort, with a pool, restaurant, and guest rooms. Finally, York showed us the new resort area, where the new homes for vacationers and the Marriott property are located. We arrived back at the port area near 2pm, a much longer tour than expected but it was very informative. We did a small bit of shopping, then headed back to the ship for a snack before dressing for dinner.

Following dinner, we headed to the hot glass show for their evening show. I’ve seen glass blowers before, but often they were using period equipment. The show was very interesting and informative. I was surprised at the size of the pieces they worked, as well as the fish made from glass. Finally, after a long day we headed to bed.

Thursday was a full day at sea and we didn’t have anything planned. As a result, we slept in (for us – maybe 7:30?), then headed to the buffet for a light breakfast. After indulging in a heavier breakfast than expected, I looked over the drink menu on the table and decided that the vanilla-lime drink advertised sounded interested. I asked DH to please go get it for me from the bar in the buffet (Destinations I believe it is called?) as there were no bar waiters that we could see. DH came back and he was not happy. It seemed that the bartender was facing away, but looking in the mirror while doing something when he arrived at the bar. Rather than greet my husband and say “just a moment”, the bartender failed to say anything at all until he finally turned around and was ready to take his order. While my DH was giving his order, another customer arrived and the bartender also took her order. Without any comment, the bartender filled the other woman’s order for a soda and glass of ice, then finally made my drink. Upon finishing making the drink and ringing it out, the bartender handed the sea-pass to my husband and almost snidely stated, “here you go, _____” where he used my name. While individually, none of these would have been a problem, however added together my DH wasn’t pleased and voiced his concern to me upon his return to our table. I flagged down a supervisor walking past and mentioned to him that we had experienced poor service. The supervisor took down my cabin number and that it was an issue with the bar, and said he would report it and we should expect to hear from Guest Services.

Following breakfast, we wandered the ship a bit. Upon returning to the cabin, we had two messages waiting for us. One was from Guest Services, the other from the Bar Manger. Wow! I called the rep from Guest Services back and commented that the reason we had said something was because we had received such excellent service to date on the ship. He thanked us, and said he would let the Bar Manager know.

At 10am on Thursday, the brunch opened in the MDR. Our waiter the evening before, Cuma, had advised that we wait until the rush had passed before heading to the brunch. So, about 10:45 we headed to the MDR. The ice sculptures were all that we’ve seen photos of before! They were outstanding! We had stirfry with lots of fresh veggies, a bit of fruit, then headed to the stairs to find a table since all the tables on the lower level seemed to be full. The wait staff didn’t seem to be very excited here. We again asked for tea, with water that was freshly boiled and had not been stored in a former coffee urn. That threw the server for a loop it seemed. He finally brought our tea, but then never came back. I finally flagged down the asst. maître-d and requested more tea with fresh water and he sent someone after it. At that time, we noticed they had changed one of the tables over to sushi, but we were full enough that we’d have been eating just to eat. We did see a member of the bar staff offering champagne to some of the tables near us, but that was after we’d been seated for probably 30 minutes.

My opinion was that the food at the brunch was really about the same as we could find at other locations throughout the day, but that the décor was interesting. I was disappointed in the wait staff where we were sitting, but decided not to let it ruin my day.

The next place we headed was the Celebrity Live lecture on the recycling done on the ship. They recycle as much as possible! They even crush the glass so that it takes up less space, separating it into colors. They also crush the CFL bulbs into a special container that collects the emissions. It was very interesting to the two of us.

Following the lecture, we headed outside for some sun! It was a bit windy, but otherwise not bad. I flagged down a bar waiter, requested a drink (I had the PALL after all) and waited until it showed up. When the drink finally came (it took a bit of time) I handed the waiter a tip in cash and asked him to please bring a bottle of water on his next trip through the area. About 20-30 minutes later, the water appeared and I asked for another drink again on his next trip through. We sat and soaked up the sun for a couple of hours before heading inside to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was the second formal night and it was certainly interesting to see what people wore. DH was again one of a few in a tux, but everyone we saw was nicely dressed. After dinner we headed to the card room. Unfortunately, it was quite loud there from the performance on 3 in the foyer, so we went looking for someplace a little bit quieter. We didn’t stay out too late, choosing instead to head to our cabins to read and relax. After all, it was our vacation and we were doing what we liked!

When we arrived at our room, there were two messages from the bar manager. In the second one, he gave an extension where he could be reached. I returned his call and relayed to him the experience that morning. I also said that the reason we said something about it was because it was so unusual! He sounded appalled at our experience. I responded that I had reported it because I thought it could be used as a learning opportunity for the individual in question. The bar manager insisted that he wanted to make it up to us, and since I had the package I let him know that I wasn’t worried about it. We were amazed, however, just how they jumped on the situation.

Sounds like you learned A LOT in St. Kitts! Sorry about the bar experience. Glad you didn't let it dictate your mood for the rest of the trip. :-)

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I'll finish with what happened with the bartender as soon as I have time. It was rather amazing. Had to get to bed last night!

I'm a definite tourist when it comes to visiting places. I love to learn all about them and their history.

Hopefully I can finish this after work tonight since we paid for the behind the scenes tour and I took a lot of photos:D

Thursday was a full day at sea and we didn’t have anything planned. As a result, we slept in (for us – maybe 7:30?), then headed to the buffet for a light breakfast. After indulging in a heavier breakfast than expected, I looked over the drink menu on the table and decided that the vanilla-lime drink advertised sounded interested. I asked DH to please go get it for me from the bar in the buffet (Destinations I believe it is called?) as there were no bar waiters that we could see. DH came back and he was not happy. It seemed that the bartender was facing away, but looking in the mirror while doing something when he arrived at the bar. Rather than greet my husband and say “just a moment”, the bartender failed to say anything at all until he finally turned around and was ready to take his order. While my DH was giving his order, another customer arrived and the bartender also took her order. Without any comment, the bartender filled the other woman’s order for a soda and glass of ice, then finally made my drink. Upon finishing making the drink and ringing it out, the bartender handed the sea-pass to my husband and almost snidely stated, “here you go, _____” where he used my name. While individually, none of these would have been a problem, however added together my DH wasn’t pleased and voiced his concern to me upon his return to our table. I flagged down a supervisor walking past and mentioned to him that we had experienced poor service. The supervisor took down my cabin number and that it was an issue with the bar, and said he would report it and we should expect to hear from Guest Services.

 

Following breakfast, we wandered the ship a bit. Upon returning to the cabin, we had two messages waiting for us. One was from Guest Services, the other from the Bar Manger. Wow! I called the rep from Guest Services back and commented that the reason we had said something was because we had received such excellent service to date on the ship. He thanked us, and said he would let the Bar Manager know.

 

At 10am on Thursday, the brunch opened in the MDR. Our waiter the evening before, Cuma, had advised that we wait until the rush had passed before heading to the brunch. So, about 10:45 we headed to the MDR. The ice sculptures were all that we’ve seen photos of before! They were outstanding! We had stirfry with lots of fresh veggies, a bit of fruit, then headed to the stairs to find a table since all the tables on the lower level seemed to be full. The wait staff didn’t seem to be very excited here. We again asked for tea, with water that was freshly boiled and had not been stored in a former coffee urn. That threw the server for a loop it seemed. He finally brought our tea, but then never came back. I finally flagged down the asst. maître-d and requested more tea with fresh water and he sent someone after it. At that time, we noticed they had changed one of the tables over to sushi, but we were full enough that we’d have been eating just to eat. We did see a member of the bar staff offering champagne to some of the tables near us, but that was after we’d been seated for probably 30 minutes.

 

My opinion was that the food at the brunch was really about the same as we could find at other locations throughout the day, but that the décor was interesting. I was disappointed in the wait staff where we were sitting, but decided not to let it ruin my day.

 

The next place we headed was the Celebrity Live lecture on the recycling done on the ship. They recycle as much as possible! They even crush the glass so that it takes up less space, separating it into colors. They also crush the CFL bulbs into a special container that collects the emissions. It was very interesting to the two of us.

 

Following the lecture, we headed outside for some sun! It was a bit windy, but otherwise not bad. I flagged down a bar waiter, requested a drink (I had the PALL after all) and waited until it showed up. When the drink finally came (it took a bit of time) I handed the waiter a tip in cash and asked him to please bring a bottle of water on his next trip through the area. About 20-30 minutes later, the water appeared and I asked for another drink again on his next trip through. We sat and soaked up the sun for a couple of hours before heading inside to get ready for dinner.

 

Dinner was the second formal night and it was certainly interesting to see what people wore. DH was again one of a few in a tux, but everyone we saw was nicely dressed. After dinner we headed to the card room. Unfortunately, it was quite loud there from the performance on 3 in the foyer, so we went looking for someplace a little bit quieter. We didn’t stay out too late, choosing instead to head to our cabins to read and relax. After all, it was our vacation and we were doing what we liked!

 

When we arrived at our room, there were two messages from the bar manager. In the second one, he gave an extension where he could be reached. I returned his call and relayed to him the experience that morning. I also said that the reason we said something about it was because it was so unusual! He sounded appalled at our experience. I responded that I had reported it because I thought it could be used as a learning opportunity for the individual in question. The bar manager insisted that he wanted to make it up to us, and since I had the package I let him know that I wasn’t worried about it. We were amazed, however, just how they jumped on the situation.

It was intersting to note that you had the 'package'. I would assume you were referring to the beverage package. Although I don't think it appropriate for the bartender to act the way you describe, I'm surprised your DH got the drink. The beverage package is to be used only by the person who it is purchased for. If your card has the package sticker then you should have ordered the drink. If I am wrong I surely apologize.