Eclipsing with the EMuLHITS, 12-3-11

[islandgirlejfan]

Just a few notes on our fabulous voyage on the Celebrity Eclipse this past week. We are new to Celebrity and were so sold on their product we purchased another cruise and an Open Passage based our experience, so we really liked most everything!

 

Our only complaints-embarkation and debarkation, chair hogs (in solarium area) and people who feel the staff are their personal servants (more about this later). Two way radios between staff would be a start here with the embarkation/debarkation process. Staff should never be yelling at other staff or worse yet to passengers. Very unprofessional and unimpressive start for a cruise line who wants to be thought of as refined.

 

Chair hogs on this trip were interesting....they used methods I had never seen before in the Solarium. One person would lay on one end and another on the other on the other end policing the group of chairs. In two and one half hours we were in there, no one came back to the middle chairs. Four of us dared to put some stuff on a chair as we were actually hoping to enjoy the area FROM a chaise for awhile as a group, but that didn't happen. The lady on the end gave us horrible looks....my friend and I launched into a chair hog and entitlement schtick within her earshot. I don't think she wanted to mess with either of us.

 

As for the servitude attitude, we witnessed it a few times on NCL, but nothing to the degree we witnessed on Celebrity. These people who work on the ship are not the passenger's personal slaves and those doing it should be reprimanded. This caught us off our guard. It does prove to me that just because someone is one of the *have's* doesn't mean you *have* class.

 

Eclipse-BEAUTIFUL SHIP! Everything was clean, polished and spectacular. The attention to detail shows EVERYWHERE! :) We booked AQ and were very happy with our choice. The stateroom was very clean and smelled so good! Bed was totally comfortable. Loved the hump balcony of 1547. We encountered a little noise from the deck above here and there, but nothing to stress about. Storage was enough for us however if you are a serious overpacker, it could be an issue....more about that later. Loved the bathroom! The shower was a good size. Amenities in the bathroom were lovely. No need to bring Q-tips or cotton balls as they are both provided. We loved all the common areas. Blu was fantastic! The food there was top notch! I only had one thing that really was not a dish I would order again and it was the raw fennel salad. Fennel is wonderful cooked. I usually make it with olive oil, salt and pepper and parmesan. I bake in a hot oven until it caramelizes. Fennel raw is just ok. I'd have something else the next time. No one's fault but mine. We loved having cocktails at the Molecular Bar...Milos is a great bartender!

 

Bistro on Five-

Yummy crepes, wish we would have made it there again! Many in our Roll Call met there on embarkation day for lunch. Lovely spot on the ship to enjoy ppl watching.

 

Blu-

Really, there would never be a reason to book a specialty if you are AQ. You just have no need to if Blu is your dining room. Food was fabulous. Loved breakfast in there...we sat with our friends and it just made for a wonderful stress free morning. Musli tableside was great and we loved the English back bacon. The service is above and beyond. If your orange juice or coffee went dry, more was always around the corner. Loved, loved, LOVED the entire staff of Blu!

 

Murano-

Celebrity nails this where NCL and their concept of LeBistro falls miserably short....at least for me, but hey I've been slammed many times for saying this in the NCL group. It always seems to be well received by those who love NCL. Just a little background on us. Hubby and I have lived in Europe and if people want to believe LeBistro is French, ok....we just do not. In a word, think ELEGANCE. The best place for a romantic dinner ever! The food in Murano was nothing short of splendid! My new favorite is Fois Gras...over the top! I had a lovely veal chop that was oh so tasty. Just when we thought we were good to go with our soufflés for dessert, the chef came out....I told him I wanted to marry him! They sent out two MORE desserts....truffles and beignets. Leave your diet at home if you have reservations here!

 

Qsine-

Loved the food and the concept, but I have to agree with my friends that one time is enough. Just when we thought the food was going to cease, more showed up. We were a table of 8 and none of us were able to move after our experience. Our favorites were the Lava Crab and the Kobe Sliders. The desserts were over the top. My friend remarked that you need two stomachs for Qsine and she's right. That evening we were in a food coma!

 

Tuscan Grill-

We went there the last night of the cruise. Service was a bit uneven which was a little odd since everything was over the top. Maybe it was because it was the last night. It didn't make or break it for us, however it was hard not to notice it. We were seated and didn't have anyone come our way for easily 10 minutes. They lost a bottle of wine we had been drinking and ended up opening another bottle. Food was good though and they have a very good wine list. We would have loved if they would have left a small antipasto plate instead of just giving you bites from it. The items we had off that were fantastic! The steak tartare was simply amazing as was the arugula salad. The Bistecca Toscana"Ribeye" was cooked perfect and was fork tender. Loved the seasoned butter on it....very nice European touch! The pecorino mac and cheese was delicious! We ordered what we thought were going to be small desserts...umm, no. A toffee panna cotta turned out to be 4 desserts on a plate. I think we are still full from it!

 

Oceanview Café-

Everything we tried was great! Loved the salads, enjoyed the sushi, pasta bar was nice. The Vietnamese Meatball was to die for. Always kept clean and spotless.

 

Cafe al Bacio-

I'm already missing Caramel Machiatos there! :(

 

Outdoor pool area never seemed real crowded....solarium area needs to be policed a little better. We enjoyed several days just talking around the pool area. Had a burger urge and filled it at the Mast Grill. Burgers were warehouse store quality and we were ok with that.

 

Had my first spa treatment EVER. It turned out to be very enjoyable and based on that experience I would probably book again. I did not receive a sales pitch and for that I was happy.

 

Persian Gardens-

Only used the area once sadly. Very nice, loved the steam area. Next cruise, we will be in there more. It was very hard to get everything in we wanted to do, even WITH the sea days!

 

 

Ports-

San Juan-

We arrived later than we were suppose to so we just got off, took pictures of the ship and got back on. Rough seas were encountered on the first day and much of the way to San Juan. For the better part of the day overheard was *Purell, Purell, Purell*. Our CC meet was in Michael's. Very nice.....we enjoyed meeting everyone who was actively engaged in the roll call thread and I'm sure based on our experiences we'd all cruise together again.

 

St. Maarten-

Booked Bernard Tours. For the most part, very happy with the tour. Orient Beach was beautiful. We went to LeString and enjoyed an umbrella, 2 beach chairs and a drink each for $15. Maho Beach was great and we LOVED pastries in Margiot.

 

St. Kitts-

Booked Celebrity’s Beach Extravaganza. Would not book this again…we got there sort of late. There were no umbrellas to rent until halfway through our time there and compared to some of the other beaches we saw along the way, this one was not what we envisioned. Drink we bought at bar was kickbutt though-Stinger-HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by ME! I needed it because we were hounded by massage, monkey and Christmas music hawkers. I know these folks are trying to make it, but if I say no once, it’s not likely I will change my mind.

 

Shows-

Saw one….well, more like we were contestants on one. We were selected as contestants for the Newlywed/Not So Newlywed game. We didn’t win (it was close) HOWEVER being the ship rockstars for the rest of the cruise was a lot of fun!! We were recognized everywhere and told how funny we were. We had a great time!

 

 

Packing-

For us, we will be packing even less on the next cruise (I still had two blouses and a pair of shorts I could have worn). You can get away with a few pairs of shorts, a bathing suit and cover up, a few shirts/blouses, two pairs of casual pants and a suit or cocktail dress. Really no need for much else. Take a few clothes pins with you (I have special metal ones that we used when we were campers) that work spectacularly and I will be washing out lingerie the next time we cruise. We are going to get better carry ons so we can just walk off the ship during the debarkation process. Much less stress.

 

We DID NOT buy the drink package and came no where close to hitting our limit even with buying bottles of wine and 12 buck drinks at the Molecular Bar

 

Probably the only real downer was the amount of complaining we witnessed on this trip. People, you are on a cruise…..what is there to get your panties in a wad over? I really want to know?! I have never seen so many seniors that I could have slapped over their heads for being absolutely rude to those trying to make their cruise a good one. This is one thing I have to say we did NOT see as much on NCL. It was pretty limited to those who were in the Garden Villa on that cruise line. People talk about politeness by the younger people? Honestly, these people that work on a cruise aren’t your personal slaves, I don’t care how old you are. Everyone deserves respect, NOT just the captain and the ships officers. Both my husband and I were completely appalled with the treatment of the members of the staff. I was slammed on my roll call by someone because I dared to say that I didn’t want to dine with the Captain. Just for the record I haven’t changed my stance. It was never a matter of I do not respect his position because I do. I just don’t need to do it in order to make my life complete. I would however enjoy dining or being with people such as Milos in the Molecular Bar or Viorel in Blu. I found these people so interesting and a joy to speak with. There was an employee who was having pain in his chest one evening because he was being stressed by several of these needy groups. My hubby who is an ex-paramedic was very concerned about him and asked him several times if he was ok and he said he was, however he also eluded to the fact there were many difficult groups aboard that were giving him grief. Seriously, maybe these sorts should just stay home.

 

With few exceptions, we were so pleased with Celebrity that we bought two more cruises and can’t wait to take them! We have one booked for the Silhouette next January, but we are having some other thoughts about that one so it’s probably going to change. The other is earmarked for Panama. We loved Celebrity and the group we were with. Yep, there were a few bumps in the trip, but we all found a way to have fun. A big thanks to our Roll Call for making a great trip even more fun!

[Char]

Hey Sharon!! :D

 

I'm so glad AQ and Blu met your expectations!! Now you see why we like Celebrity so much.

 

Not so happy about your embarkation and disembarkation chaos though. It shouldn't be that way.:(

 

Interesting about the rude passengers...seems the early December cruises have more than most other times. My daughter and hubby were on an early December cruise and couldn't believe the lack of courtesy they witnessed all over the ship. I looked at some other reviews of December sailings and a lot of them had the same complaint. It's not just Celebrity, but it appears to be all across the cruise lines.

 

What was your favorite drink at the Molecular Bar?

 

Glad you are sailing Celebrity again...maybe our paths will cross sometime. :)

[Texed]

ejfan,

Thanks for the report. :)

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[Mrs_Tiki]

Great review, Sharon! It was so great to meet you and Mike :) Hope our paths cross again!

 

Char, you didn't ask me, but I spent a lot of time with Milos in the Molecular Bar last week, too :eek My very favorite was "Coming Up Roses" ~ delicious and beautiful!

[islandgirlejfan]

Hey Sharon!! :D

 

I'm so glad AQ and Blu met your expectations!! Now you see why we like Celebrity so much.

 

Not so happy about your embarkation and disembarkation chaos though. It shouldn't be that way.:(

 

Interesting about the rude passengers...seems the early December cruises have more than most other times. My daughter and hubby were on an early December cruise and couldn't believe the lack of courtesy they witnessed all over the ship. I looked at some other reviews of December sailings and a lot of them had the same complaint. It's not just Celebrity, but it appears to be all across the cruise lines.

 

What was your favorite drink at the Molecular Bar?

 

Glad you are sailing Celebrity again...maybe our paths will cross sometime. :)

 

We always cruise this particular week and had never witnessed these attitudes. It's ok, it wasn't a dealbreaker, but we didn't like it where the staff was concerned. I think they were so tired by the end of the cruise.

 

Molecular Bar, well the one I wanted Milos didn't have the foam for (South of Rio). My favorite was Lucky Cat and the Pisco Cocktail.....I also liked the 20 Year Martini. We loved going there....met up with our roll call and enjoyed their company. This was a laughing cruise for me....we made friends with another gal and her hubby. She and I had been talking on our roll call, which turned into Facebook friends, texting and eventually meeting. We all hit it off and we live close enough that we can hopefully get together sometime in the future. We had so much in common I just can't tell you.

 

Great review, Sharon! It was so great to meet you and Mike :) Hope our paths cross again!

Thanks Mary....we totally enjoyed the company of both you and Mark....glad you were able to dine with us at Blu on the last formal night. We had a wonderful roll call for the most part....and I hope we meet again soon! :)