Solar Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Exotic Southern Caribbean

[scubacruiserx2]

The rest of lunch from the Tuscan Grille

Chicken Parmesan

 

Spaghetti and meatballs

 

Dessert

 

[scubacruiserx2]

It was nice to get a bag of clean laundry back but I do miss having it pressed and on hangers like Princess does .

We had dinner in the MDR after skipping a few nights . When we had our late dinner there earlier we had a group next to us who were so loud and inebriated that we couldn't hear each other or the people sitting next to us ( I am basically deaf in one ear) . We left early and spoke to the lady in charge seating as we left .

Our servers welcomed us back and and explained that it was less noisy early in the evening . The clam chowder was good with the bacon , but there were few clams .

Duck confit

I've had a lot of Chicken Kiev in Russia but it was always a roll . This one was flat and had a butter and herb bubble , instead of being rolled in the center .

We skipped dessert and had a nice quite walk . Later when we checked our account on the TV we discovered that our dinner servers are not paid for the nights that we didn't eat there . :o

We felt bad for them and did make it up later but we really miss the old days of giving envelopes !

[scubacruiserx2]

The ABC islands were dry and brown but the next stop , Barbados , began the damp and green islands .

The Club Med 2 was right behind us

And the Mein Schiff was ahead of us

We walked about 1/2 mile to exit the port

And we waited for our guide under this tree with some others

[upwarduk]

Joe,

Which Mein Schiff. We have been on Celebrity Mercury (1) and Celebrity Galaxy (2) but I believe there are more now.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[scubacruiserx2]

Joe,

Which Mein Schiff. We have been on Celebrity Mercury (1) and Celebrity Galaxy (2) but I believe there are more now.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Here it is

[upwarduk]

Mein Schiff 5

Certainly not a Celebrity ship in a previous life and my 2016 book of cruise ships doesn't have her listed.

BTW Galaxy was Mein Schiff 1

Mercury is Mein Schiff 2 for Tui ( German ) cruises.

[Walt fan]

We had the most amazing snorkeling in Barbados on a cruise in 2013; private catamaran group that took a group of 10 all over; we saw alot of active sea life including a black batfish which I had never seen before. Can't wait to read along on your adventures!

[pirategirl007]

Thank you for that clarification .

During this review we will be using our resent cruise experience on the Regal Princess to compare and contrast with the Eclipse . In December on the Regal we arrived at 11:15 , entered our cabin at 11:45 and had a choice of 4 free dining venues open to everybody for lunch .

 

Following along can't wait to see what your comparisons are. We were on Regal in November and are back to CEL with Equinox this summer. I'm trying to get my expectations in line. I adored the Regal but love CEL too so hoping I'm not too jaded by Regal Princess awesome experience.

[scubacruiserx2]

We had the most amazing snorkeling in Barbados on a cruise in 2013; private catamaran group that took a group of 10 all over; we saw alot of active sea life including a black batfish which I had never seen before. Can't wait to read along on your adventures!

 

That sounds really nice . It was rainy and windy on the day that we were there and we had one last dive on the following day in St. Lucia . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Following along can't wait to see what your comparisons are. We were on Regal in November and are back to CEL with Equinox this summer. I'm trying to get my expectations in line. I adored the Regal but love CEL too so hoping I'm not too jaded by Regal Princess awesome experience.

 

A Bond pirate girl ? I love it .

Most of the comparisons are buried in the narrative so if you have questions , please ask away or I can do a summary at the end .

BTW we loved our 2 Regal cruises . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

We had a private guide named Pamela who is about the same age as our son . After meeting we headed out to our first stop which is near Holetown - St. James Parrish . As we approached we saw a group of tourists on foot with umbrellas for the drizzle .

The church dates back to the 1620's

 

The Baptistry

The original bell is dated 1696 and was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London . It also produced the American "Liberty Bell" and "Big Ben " .

The stained glass window showed a local convert to Christ being baptized

And when the cruise bus arrived , we left .

But not before being accosted by a shirtless man asking for money to eat . Pamela gave him the money that he asked for ( some change ) .

He then requested 5 dollars as we were leaving !

[MicCanberra]

Mein Schiff 5

Certainly not a Celebrity ship in a previous life and my 2016 book of cruise ships doesn't have her listed.

BTW Galaxy was Mein Schiff 1

Mercury is Mein Schiff 2 for Tui ( German ) cruises.

Perhaps it is the Century?

[MicCanberra]

Perhaps it is the Century?

Perhaps not, the Century is now SkySea Golden Era.

It seems that Mein Schiff 3,4 and 5 were purposely built for Tui.

[upwarduk]

Perhaps not, the Century is now SkySea Golden Era.

It seems that Mein Schiff 3,4 and 5 were purposely built for Tui.

 

I read yesterday that Mein Schiff 6, left the ship yard in Finland, for sea trials.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/16669-mein-schiff-6-departs-for-sea-trials.html

[MicCanberra]

I read yesterday that Mein Schiff 6, left the ship yard in Finland, for sea trials.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/16669-mein-schiff-6-departs-for-sea-trials.html

Cheers.:D

[scubacruiserx2]

Our nest stop was at the Animal Flower Cave at the northern point of Barbados

There is a small crafts market and a restaurant with bathrooms here which came in handy because we encountered a rainstorm here . And you can see aloes with there true flowers here .

The view looking east

and west

Our lovely guide Pamela

We didn't go down in the sea cave because it was windy and rough .

Video :

 

 

We saw some goats through the car window as we were leaving .

[pirategirl007]

Except we made artificial kidneys !

 

My mom was a nurse when I was a kid and brought one of these home once, I dont know why but I was fascinated by that thing and played with it for weeks carry it around with my dolls and such. I dont know what use I thought it had but knew it was to be protected like baby dolls. Hadn't though about it years now!

[pirategirl007]

Any advice on Victoria ? We will be there from 6 pm until midnight . And thank you for sharing your nice photos and advice on Ketchikan . Especially the eagles .

 

We did Solstice last year on a similar itinerary. My husband loves nature and birds so we got off the ship and headed right along the coast line and walked the path there to where there was a pier/jutty out into the water and caught a few birds there grabbing up some insects in the late day sun. Then we walked thru the park and took a few pictures in the fading sunlight, went and saw the Empress as the sun was going down and hit up some shops and pubs. There are shuttle buses back to port in town that are $5-10 they weren't much at all. Well worth it.

 

If you do the gardens take the ship excursion b/c often its only open late for 'special tours' which are usually locked down by the ships and its a ways out / longer drive too. Tea in the gardens is a highlight but often hard to find offered on the evening only stops.

[scubacruiserx2]

One of the reasons that we scuba dive is some of the amazing interactions with some of the great sea creatures like whale sharks .

I just saw an excellent video of a whale shark with many fish shot at one of our local dive spots . The shark like fish are Cobia . Enjoy the video !! :) :D

 

 

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

Love looking at the whale shark pictures.

[perfect match]

Things have been very chaotic today as we found a suite deal on a cruise to Alaska in less than 3 weeks ! We're excited about our first visit there and here's our ship leaving Port Everglades for Alaska .

 

So I wander off for a couple of days and come back to find you've booked another cruise! You have been busy! Sounds like you really did get a "suite" deal. :D You will be heading for Alaska around the same time as we will be in Vegas.

 

I loved the whale shark video! I am fascinated by those amazing creatures. :cool:

[MicCanberra]

Suite deal indeed., Joe knows how to spot a bargain, or is it Pat.:)

[scubacruiserx2]

Love looking at the whale shark pictures.

 

Us too , what a way to finish a dive ! :cool:

[scubacruiserx2]

My mom was a nurse when I was a kid and brought one of these home once, I dont know why but I was fascinated by that thing and played with it for weeks carry it around with my dolls and such. I dont know what use I thought it had but knew it was to be protected like baby dolls. Hadn't though about it years now!

 

This was a Mommy and a Daddy and later we made pediatric sized . They were very breakable and bit heavy especially when filled .

We did Solstice last year on a similar itinerary. My husband loves nature and birds so we got off the ship and headed right along the coast line and walked the path there to where there was a pier/jutty out into the water and caught a few birds there grabbing up some insects in the late day sun. Then we walked thru the park and took a few pictures in the fading sunlight, went and saw the Empress as the sun was going down and hit up some shops and pubs. There are shuttle buses back to port in town that are $5-10 they weren't much at all. Well worth it.

 

If you do the gardens take the ship excursion b/c often its only open late for 'special tours' which are usually locked down by the ships and its a ways out / longer drive too. Tea in the gardens is a highlight but often hard to find offered on the evening only stops.

 

Thank you for the advice and ideas . We did book a local guide and will make our requests in advance while being open to his advice and input .

[scubacruiserx2]

After leaving the cliffs on the North shore we headed south and east through the sugar cane fields .

Pamela told us about their festival called "Crop over" which is like Carnival and they crown a king and queen of cane cutters . This man cut and stacked 160 tons of cane and the lady cut and stacked 75 tons ! Simply amazing .

We next drove through a lush area

Which opened up to this view of the East coast and a craft market by the road

A tour bus was on our heels and swarmed the view

But we drove thru and down the bumpy road as you can see in the video :