LIVE from Silhouette and Eclipse. OUR HOLIDAY ADVENTURE!!! Dec 14 to Jan 4th

[chicagopaul]

Hi Paul

 

Thanks for taking the time out of your vacation to post your review.

 

Could you tell me a little more about "Liquid".

 

Is there a charge?

 

When is it performed and what is involved?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sure! FYI right now I am sitting at Iguana cafe enjoying a beer on the water in Curaçao! Gotta love paradise on Christmas

 

There is no charge for liquid. It is a free event. They basically bring in a DJ and a couple bars into the solarium, add some cool lighting and some fun lounge chairs, etc. it basically becomes a night club seen. The performance in the pool is pretty basic. The video above is pretty much most of it. Though the cruise director showed up and said hello and so did some officers. It all depends on your cruise. If it is crowded the part can be much fun, if no one shows it will be quite boring. Ours was fun. Many people of all ages were dancing by the pool. Some people treated it as a white party.

 

 

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[chamima]

Thanks Paul!

If you have time grab a taxi to Cas Abou Beach right now!

It's absolutely beautiful!!!!

We went last year and can't wait to go back this coming year.

[chicagopaul]

Thanks Paul!

 

If you have time grab a taxi to Cas Abou Beach right now!

 

It's absolutely beautiful!!!!

 

We went last year and can't wait to go back this coming year.

 

 

We would but it looks as though rain clouds are slowly starting to roll in. I think we will order one more beer and then head back to the ship. Tomorrow is a sea day so I won't be able to update but we are in Grenada on Saturday. Tomorrow is also formal night. First formal night I wore a suit and the next two I will wear a tux. New Year's Eve is formal night as well. Cannot wait for that night! Though it will also mean we are near the tail end of our adventure so I'm hoping it comes about slowly.

 

 

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[chamima]

Hi again Paul,

Just curious who the Maitre D' (or dining room manager) is in Blu .

Our experience last year wasn't great (things seemed to be very hurried and tense) so, while I won't name the person from last year, I am hoping it will be someone else.

Every other experience in Blu has been wonderful and we're looking forward to another good one.

[cruisinskier]

Merry Christmas Paul! Enjoying your review.

Safe travels.

Jerry

[nikel]

Our waiter is Kirk, known as Captain Kirk. He hails from Jamaica. He can get busy at times, but his demeanor is excellent and once we order the food comes out in perfect timing, always hot and warm (or cold when it is suppose to be!).

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So enjoy reading your daily review.

We had Captain Kirk last year too...found him to be one of the best ever ...

Happy holidays

Edited December 25, 2014 by nikel

[Darren267]

Hi Paul

 

It sounds like you met some amazing people on your first cruise, you must have felt very lucky.

 

PS check your facebook messages!

[cruisetimeforme]

Hi Paul! Thanks for the info you've been sharing with us. I'm curious to know if they've been offering any comedy shows in Celebrity Central on the Eclipse. We sailed Equinox over Thanksgiving and no late night comedy there, so really hoping Eclipse will provide a few laughs this time around. Thanks! Enjoy the remainder of your cruise

[judyfssw]

Hi Paul

We will be on the cruises beginning on 1/4. I'm enjoying your review of the Eclipse very much. The fact that you're uploading your review on land sort of indicate to me that the WIFI service is as bad as Host Andy indicated. Have any of your new friends been eating in the DR? What are they saying about the food and service?

Continue enjoying your cruise.

[chicagopaul]

Hi again Paul,

 

Just curious who the Maitre D' (or dining room manager) is in Blu .

 

Our experience last year wasn't great (things seemed to be very hurried and tense) so, while I won't name the person from last year, I am hoping it will be someone else.

 

Every other experience in Blu has been wonderful and we're looking forward to another good one.

 

 

We have Anita. She's excellent. There is another one as well but I'm not sure her name as we've always dealt with Anita. We just mentioned we loved our section and she always has been able to get us a table there. We typically eat between 8 and 8:30

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Hi Paul

 

 

 

It sounds like you met some amazing people on your first cruise, you must have felt very lucky.

 

 

 

PS check your facebook messages!

 

Haha good to hear from you! I'm not seeing any Facebook messages? Did you maybe send them to my work Facebook page?

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Hi Paul

We will be on the cruises beginning on 1/4. I'm enjoying your review of the Eclipse very much. The fact that you're uploading your review on land sort of indicate to me that the WIFI service is as bad as Host Andy indicated. Have any of your new friends been eating in the DR? What are they saying about the food and service?

Continue enjoying your cruise.

 

 

Most people have had positive things to say about the food in MDR. I only heard a couple minor complaints but the couple we were talking with last night said they've been very impressed with the food in MDR.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Currently we are in Barbados. We are at The Boatyard Beach. It's quite crowded as this is where most of the crew goes as well. The WiFi is very spotty but it's slowly getting the job done. Yesterday we were in Grenada and we just stayed on the ship. We were able to get some great seats by the pool and spent some time in the water. It was a nice day and we definitely got a lot of sun.

 

We continue to meet new people on the ship and have closed down the martini bar the past few nights.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Hi Paul! Thanks for the info you've been sharing with us. I'm curious to know if they've been offering any comedy shows in Celebrity Central on the Eclipse. We sailed Equinox over Thanksgiving and no late night comedy there, so really hoping Eclipse will provide a few laughs this time around. Thanks! Enjoy the remainder of your cruise

 

 

I haven't seen any comedy in celebrity central. We had sin city on the silhouette but nothing yet on the eclipse outside of a comedian that was on board the first day in the main theater.

 

 

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[chamima]

We have Anita. She's excellent. There is another one as well but I'm not sure her name as we've always dealt with Anita. We just mentioned we loved our section and she always has been able to get us a table there. We typically eat between 8 and 8:30

 

 

 

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Does Anita happen to be a tall, beautiful girl who has close relatives in Australia?

If so, she was an assistant in Blu on our Solstice cruise in Australia in 2013 who was very obviously being groomed for something else.

If it's the same Anita please ask her if she'll still be on the ship in February.

We (Allan and Karen - Allan is a vegan and she made him a special smoothy every morning!) would LOVE to see her again!!!!!

[chamima]

We have Anita. She's excellent. There is another one as well but I'm not sure her name as we've always dealt with Anita. We just mentioned we loved our section and she always has been able to get us a table there. We typically eat between 8 and 8:30

 

 

 

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Does Anita happen to be a tall, beautiful girl who has close relatives in Australia?

If so, she was an assistant in Blu on our Solstice cruise in Australia in 2013 who was very obviously being groomed for something else.

If it's the same Anita please ask her if she'll still be on the ship in February.

We (Allan and Karen - Allan is a vegan and she made him a special smoothy every morning!) would LOVE to see her again!!!!!

 

Hi again Paul,

If your schedule is like ours in Feb. you'll be in St. Lucia today. I love St. Lucia.

It's so beautiful.

 

Also, if your Anita is our same Anita from the Solstice in 2013 AND if she'll still be on the ship in February - ask her if she needs/wants anything from shoreside in Michigan. She took such good care of us that year that we owe her! :D

[goldfish1111]

Hi Paul, Sorry to bug you but did you happen to find out if the future cruise desk will be open on January 4. Thanks a lot

[chicagopaul]

Hi Paul, Sorry to bug you but did you happen to find out if the future cruise desk will be open on January 4. Thanks a lot

 

 

I am currently sitting on my balcony on the 28th writing this post. The weather is roughly 82 and the clouds that were here have cleared out for the most part. We are in the port of Barbados but this will be posted tomorrow when we are in St. Lucia

 

A couple house keeping items lol future cruises is open on embarkation day. The times are 1:30 to 3:30 and 5 to 9pm. For those looking to book on the 4th I would get there as soon as possible. They do not take appointments but I've found they're pretty quick. I will tell you what we booked shortly! Also remember that the iLounge is also open 24hrs so worst case scenario, let's say there's a very very long line and there is no way they'd get to you (I highly doubt this though) you can also visit the wonderful celebrity website and book. You can surf the celebrity website for free.

 

The Internet. I have not purchased Internet on the ship yet, but I will need to at the end so we can check into our flights, etc. I will let you know how the speed is. I have talked to people on the ship about it and they say it is slow but it depends where you are. It seems to work well around the pool area I am told.

 

Two days ago we had a lovely dinner in Blu, our best yet. We each had a filet and split a lobster ravioli for the main course. We also had tuna tar tar to start which was excellent too. Jelena is our sommelier. They have her working tables all over Blu, but she is perfect. We always get refills when needed and often get different wine with our starters and entrees. She never misses a beat and her wine recommendations have been very good.

 

Yesterday was Grenada. We didn't get off the ship. It was a pretty hot day and the pool was relatively empty so it was a perfect day for us to have a "private yacht." The temperature was only 86 but it felt much warmer and it was quite humid. We've mostly been eating lunch at the mast grill. I've been enjoying their hot dogs and burgers.

 

Today was Barbados as you might remember from my previous postings. It was cloudy most of the day. We walked to Carlisle Bay Area which is where The Boatyard is located. It is a beach that you must pay to enter. Crew gets in cheap or free, we had to pay $15 but it comes with a free dink each and a shuttle back to the port. It was about a 25 to 30 minute walk to and from the beach. We chose to walk back and see some of the town once more. There is free wifi at The Boatyard but it is very spotty, worse than the ship! But at least it was free and it finally allowed me to check all my emails. They had a good sized bar, beach area with chairs and cabanas and a DJ. We arrived around 11:30 and all the beach chairs and cabanas were taken but we were able to find seats at the bar. I have a fun video of the bar I will try to up load.

 

Tonight we have dinner in Blu again as usual. As usual we will hit the martini bar before. Tonight there is a magician in the main theater that we may go and see.

 

Our Future Cruises!

 

We booked two on this cruise.

 

November 28th, 2015 eastern Caribbean The Reflection 7 nights. We booked a sky suite. Our first suite, cannot wait to try the new suite restaurant and the joys of having a butler.

 

May 26th, 2016 British Isles cruise, 12 nights. We are in Aqua class for this one. We are traveling with friends on this cruise and we may upgrade to a large suite for all of us to share for relatively the same amount of money...not sure if it would be enough space for 4 people though.

 

Overall we are having a blast and cannot believe are nearing the end of our trip! Time really has flown by.

 

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[chicagopaul]

Cheers from Antigua! We have decided to stay on the ship today as we will be off the ship for tomorrow in St. Kitts as well as visiting Airport beach the following day.

 

Yesterday was St. Lucia. We decided to go to Choc beach as it was mentioned on the cruise critic web page for the St. Lucia. The beach the cab driver took us to felt like we were in someone's back yard....and I don't mean this as a good thing. It was quite uncomfortable. The beach was not much of a beach and the water was far from clear or appealing. We walked out hoping our cab driver was still there but nope, he had left.

 

We then flagged down a cab on the side of the road and he took us to a much nicer beach....named something bay....can't think of the exact name right now. We were with another couple so we snagged 4 beach chairs and enjoyed the sun for the afternoon.

 

Yesterday's dinner was decent in Blu. We both had this fried cheese dish to start which was excellent. I then opted for a Cesar salad which was my least favorite caesar I've had on the ship. We then both had the pheasant as our entree which was pretty good. The desert was bananas foster and it was excellent. We had the freemark abbey Chardonnay throughout dinner which I think is my new favorite Chardonnay (at least that I can afford haha). As usual out sommelier was a rockstar.

 

We went to see a performer in the theater last night. She does impersonations of famous female singers. She was really quite good and we enjoyed the show very much. I ended up buying a watch yesterday as well after having several drinks uh oh! But it's a very nice watch and I'm happy with the purchase.

 

Instead of the typical martini bar, Edward wanted something a bit more quite so we ended the night in ensemble lounge listening to a drum, bass, and piano trio. They were very good and entertaining. They ended at midnight so we went to bed early and enjoyed a good night of sleep.

 

We may book a specialty restaurant, probably Tuscan, one night but we've been very happy with Blu. I've found the service to be leaps and bounds above MDR. I credit this to the entire staff and not necessarily the corporate policies of celebrity. They have wait staff running all over the place and only two sommeliers for the entire restaurant but they're doing a great job. As long as celebrity hires excellent staff then they can get away with less staff I suppose.

 

The Internet on the ship is ok right now. Most people are off and this is the first time I am using it. I bought the 240 minute package for $81.25 and we have a 25% off coupon so not a bad deal. I thought. I remember Internet packages costing more so I am pleased with the pricing. Overall the Internet is a bit slow but not as bad as previously reported...at least this is my initial experience. I'm sitting by the pool bar now and the reception here is good. In our room I think it will be a different story.

 

Moscato: no moscato by the glass in the wine list in Blu. They do have a Riesling for $9 per glass. I will try to take a photo of the wine list tonight and ask our excellent sommelier if she is away of any moscato on the ship by the glass. The freemark abbey we had last night is not by the glass anymore, only in cellar masters, but our sommelier give it to us by the glass and we ended up finishing the bottle anyway. So maybe some exceptions can be made.

 

Lastly. My apologies for any grammatical errors. This is all coming from my iPad and the updated autocorrect is not always my friend.

 

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[true45]

Chicagopaul

Thank you for your commentary

We are booked in Aqua 1st time in jan 2015

And eclipse 14 days jan 2016 - we were on eclipse b4 but love your update also port info

Happy sailings

 

 

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[goldfish1111]

Paul,Thank you for the info!! Have a great rest of trip!

 

goldfish

[wedding96]

I'm on the Eclipse with chicagopaul. Main dining room food is worse than ever (as you can see from my signature, I'm a celebrity regular) to the point where my family and I dread dinner. Even Tuscan Grill and Murano have declined. Internet has been surprisingly good. Weather has been amazing. And despite the food and a subpar room steward, we are having a great time!

 

 

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[torontotraveller]

We are boarding the Eclipse Jan. 4th when you depart. Your videos and opinions and experiences have added to our excitement. Thanks for sharing.

[Project_gal]

I'm on the Eclipse with chicagopaul. Main dining room food is worse than ever (as you can see from my signature, I'm a celebrity regular) to the point where my family and I dread dinner. Even Tuscan Grill and Murano have declined. Internet has been surprisingly good. Weather has been amazing. And despite the food and a subpar room steward, we are having a great time!

 

 

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I am so surprised to read you comment about the food on Eclipse. We were on the TA in November and, from our first meal in Bistro on Five for embarkation lunch, we were impressed by the quality of the food across the board - from the buffet to Murano. As you will see from my signature, we are also Celebrity regulars and, IMHO, the food was much better than it has been for a number of years.

[chamima]

I'm on the Eclipse with chicagopaul. Main dining room food is worse than ever (as you can see from my signature, I'm a celebrity regular) to the point where my family and I dread dinner. Even Tuscan Grill and Murano have declined. Internet has been surprisingly good. Weather has been amazing. And despite the food and a subpar room steward, we are having a great time!

 

 

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We are boarding the Eclipse Jan. 4th when you depart. Your videos and opinions and experiences have added to our excitement. Thanks for sharing.

 

Does Anita happen to be a tall' date=' beautiful girl who has close relatives in Australia?

If so, she was an assistant in Blu on our Solstice cruise in Australia in 2013 who was very obviously being groomed for something else.

If it's the same Anita please ask her if she'll still be on the ship in February.

We (Allan and Karen - Allan is a vegan and she made him a special smoothy every morning!) would LOVE to see her again!!!!!

 

 

 

 

torontotraveller and wedding96- Could one of you please check if Anita, the dining room manager in Blu is "our" Anita from the Solstice in 2013 and if she'll be on the Eclipse in February.

SO EXCITED to see her again.

Thank you!