Detailed Photo Review of Celebrity Eclipse 14 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise 3/4/18

[deladane]

Your fan base will surely miss your reviews! :)

 

Aww, thanks! Fear not, we will cruise again eventually!!

[riclop]

Thanks for the fantastic pictures and review.

[longhorn5]

Hi Dana -

 

I followed your Paul Gauguin review a few months ago when we were planning for our January 2018 PG cruise. French Polynesia does not disappoint - we had an AMAZING time and hope to return at some point. I asked you a bunch of questions about your camera and you were so sweet to answer them all. I ended up getting the camera and my husband surprised me with the Fish Eye lens because he knew how much I wanted it. I met another gal on our PG cruise who also bought the TG5 and Fish Eye lens after reading your review! Olympus really should pay you some sort of commission. :) I took so many amazing pictures and am so glad I got the camera and lens.

 

We will be on the Eclipse this July sailing the Baltic region out of Amsterdam. This will be our second big bucket list trip this year - someone needs to pinch me!! We were on the Equinox 5 years ago and loved that ship so we are excited to be sailing on her sister ship.

 

I am looking forward to following along on this review.

 

Karen

[FLbeachbaby]

Hi Dana ! It's Karen from our Paul Gauguin cruise. I just clicked on this review and saw it was yours so wanted to say hi !! We are leaving on a Celebrity Southern Caribbean in a few days so I am excited to read your review. It's our first time for the ABC Islands. Looking forward to seeing all of your beautiful photos.

[Kdanemjm]

Dana,

Was your ship sold out? How crowded did you find the pubic areas? Just a few more days for us and our shipmates!

[deladane]

Thanks for the fantastic pictures and review.

 

Thanks for reading along :cool::cool:

[deladane]

Hi Dana -

 

I followed your Paul Gauguin review a few months ago when we were planning for our January 2018 PG cruise. French Polynesia does not disappoint - we had an AMAZING time and hope to return at some point. I asked you a bunch of questions about your camera and you were so sweet to answer them all. I ended up getting the camera and my husband surprised me with the Fish Eye lens because he knew how much I wanted it. I met another gal on our PG cruise who also bought the TG5 and Fish Eye lens after reading your review! Olympus really should pay you some sort of commission. :) I took so many amazing pictures and am so glad I got the camera and lens.

 

We will be on the Eclipse this July sailing the Baltic region out of Amsterdam. This will be our second big bucket list trip this year - someone needs to pinch me!! We were on the Equinox 5 years ago and loved that ship so we are excited to be sailing on her sister ship.

 

I am looking forward to following along on this review.

 

Karen

 

Hi Karen,

I am so glad you love the TG5 and Fish Eye lens as much as I do, and that you had a fabulous cruise with PG!! Looks like we have similar taste in cruise ships ;) The Baltics looks so pretty (from what I've seen of them in photos haha)... Have a wonderful cruise! I'll post lots of photos of the ship, although you already know what it looks like having sailed on the Equinox haha

[deladane]

Hi Dana ! It's Karen from our Paul Gauguin cruise. I just clicked on this review and saw it was yours so wanted to say hi !! We are leaving on a Celebrity Southern Caribbean in a few days so I am excited to read your review. It's our first time for the ABC Islands. Looking forward to seeing all of your beautiful photos.

 

Hi Karen! I actually thought of you on this cruise because one of our new friends wore rash guard leggings and it reminded me of your cute leggings that you wore on our cruise haha I really need to invest in those to avoid sunburns and having to reapply sunscreen constantly (although I am proud to say I made it through this cruise without any sunburns! yay!) So funny that you are taking such a similar cruise to what we just did. You will love the ABC islands- there are so many exciting things to do there! If you are leaving in just a few days then I may not get up to the ABC part of my review before you leave. Have a wonderful cruise and come back to let me know how it went!! :D

[deladane]

Dana,

Was your ship sold out? How crowded did you find the pubic areas? Just a few more days for us and our shipmates!

 

I think the ship was nearly sold out, but not completely. I had checked before leaving for Florida and there were a few inside and oceanview cabins available, but the Concierge, Aqua, and Suites were all sold out. It only really felt crowded on the sea days when everyone was on the ship. The buffet area could be a bit challenging with people walking in every direction and bumping into each other carrying plates of food! It was also really hard to find a lounge chair in the shade near the pool (although it was mostly due to chair hogs and not actual people in the lounge chairs). The good thing about this ship is that it is very big and has lots of different public spaces so you can always find somewhere to be comfortable, it just take a few minutes of walking around to find that place!

[FLbeachbaby]

Haha my swim leggings aren't so sexy but neither is skin cancer ! Living in FL we are always boating and beaching so they do come in handy. I did realize you were just starting your review after I posted as I excitedly went to the end when I saw your name. I know your pics will be fab so I will wait and see them when we return. Ours is the Reflection 11 day so can't wait to see our mutual stops. Clearly we like the same adventures.

[deladane]

Day 3: Saturday, March 3 ~ Exploring more of Miami

 

We woke up around 8:30am after a much-needed night of sleep. There wasn’t anything specific on today’s agenda, but we had asked our friend last night for recommendations on what to do and he suggested walking along the Venetian Causeway for the views, and checking out the shops on Lincoln. That sounded good to us, but first, we needed breakfast. Le Chic French Bakery was on our way, so we decided to return there but order something different from yesterday. We each ordered eggs and cheese on a baguette and it was delicious. This place was a great find!

 

 

After breakfast, we continued up Washington Ave. to Lincoln Road. There is a stretch of 5 or 6 blocks that is closed off to vehicular traffic and lined with trendy retail shops and restaurants, with lots of outdoor seating. There are also some sculptures, fountains, and plenty of palm trees for shade. It was a sunny, beautiful morning and this made for a great place to take a stroll.

 

 

 

Along the way, we noticed a German beer hall and restaurant and thought it would be a fun place to get some drinks in a few hours. As we got closer, we saw a sign in their window that this location was closed, and they had moved to the Bayside Marketplace across Biscayne Bay. We had already planned to walk along the Venetian Causeway, so this was not much further and it gave us a destination to walk towards. Back at home, we enjoy taking long urban walks around San Jose or San Francisco, so this was right up our alley. Google Maps said it was 4.1 miles away- not too bad and it was a beautiful day so we may as well give it a go.

 

The Venetian Causeway is a long road connecting South Beach to the mainland and Downtown Miami. Along the road, there are several tiny islands with a few fancy, high-end houses. Each of the islands are separated by a small bridge that rises just a few feet above the water, and the road itself is only 1 lane in each direction, so it provides a picturesque, relaxing place for a leisurely stroll.

 

 

We could even see the cruise ships docked at POM out in the distance,

 

[deladane]

 

There are also 2 small draw bridges along the Causeway, and both were up when we got there so we could watch the boats sail through.

 

 

After over an hour and a half of walking, we reached the end of the Causeway in Downtown Miami. The views of the skyline were so pretty from the end of the bridge.

 

 

We weren’t quite hungry for lunch yet thanks to those filling egg and cheese sandwiches from the bakery, so instead of turning left towards Bayside Marketplace, we turned right to walk along the water and admire the giant condo buildings and hotels and the boats docked in the marina. Just beyond that was a lovely park filled with people enjoying their Saturday morning. The park also has free public restrooms, in case you were curious!

 

We came across a few art installations which we thought were interesting. They were very tall chairs, or thrones perhaps, and decorated with mosaic tiles depicting different religions and cultures. One of the locals walking by told us they were made by children working with elderly residents of a care home (or something along those lines- they weren’t totally sure).

 

 

 

[deladane]

Eventually, we started getting hungry so we turned back to go south towards the Bayside Marketplace. With all of the research I had done before the trip, I read a lot about Bayside Marketplace and really wanted to check it out, but I assumed we would spend all of our time in South Beach and need to save this for a different trip. As soon as we arrived, we knew it was worth the walk. Despite being a bit touristy, there were lots of bars and restaurants with large outdoor patios overlooking the water, and lots of fun shops with interesting goods to look at. There was a stage set up for live music, and hundreds (or even thousands) of people having a fun time on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. What more could we ask for? Oh yeah, beer! After walking through the entire complex unsuccessfully, we had to consult one of the interactive directories to find that our final destination was upstairs.

 

Bavaria Haus is a German style beer house selling Hofbrau beers, complete with a wait staff originally from Bavaria! They sell their beers in 0.5 liter mugs, 1 liter steins, or 2 liter boots, and offer a full menu of traditional German dishes.

 

 

 

 

We requested a table on their outdoor balcony in the shade and ordered a couple of steins a giant pretzel to start.

 

 

 

Still hungry from our long walk to get here, we then shared a chicken schnitzel wiener with a side of their special potato salad. Yummm!

 

[Vagabond Knight]

HURRY!!! We're leaving on this cruise on April 1st!!! :cool: :D

[deladane]

HURRY!!! We're leaving on this cruise on April 1st!!! :cool: :D

 

oh no! I'm going as fast as I can, but I definitely won't be finished before this weekend! I hope you have a fabulous cruise :cool:

[deladane]

At around 3pm, we were ready for a change of scenery. We wanted to go back to South Pointe Park to watch the cruise ships sail away again, but there was no chance we could walk back all that way (especially after drinking a liter of beer! Haha). Thirty minutes and an $8 Uber ride later, we arrived at our destination. We had 6:30pm dinner reservations and still needed to walk back to the hotel to shower and get changed, so we couldn’t stay too long at the park, but we did get to see 3 or 4 ships sail away. Just 24 hours to go until it is our turn to be up on one of those ships!!

 

It’s always fun to see an old friend… Celebrity Equinox

 

 

 

RCCL Empress of the Seas looks like a small yacht in comparison to the ships that sailed before and after her haha

 

 

Here comes the big boy… Norwegian Escape

 

 

 

[deladane]

At around 4:30pm, we made the 8-block walk back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. By the time we left the hotel to walk to dinner, the weather had changed and it was much cooler and very windy. Little did we know, this would be a sign of things to come for the next 2 weeks. Luckily, when we made our dinner reservations last night, we requested to sit inside!

 

Pane & Vino is a charming and intimate Italian restaurant with homemade pasta made right in the front window. It reminded me of the little restaurants I used to go to in the West Village and Little Italy when I lived in NYC. The menu offered a nice selection of appetizers, pasta dishes, and entrees at around $20 to $30. When we walked passed it last night, DH’s friend said he really likes this place and recommended we make reservations for tonight, so we did!

 

 

 

DH and I both ordered the homemade pappardelle with slow cooked lamb ragu, and it was fantastic! You can really taste the difference from store-bought pasta.

 

 

After dinner, we were exhausted from a very long day of waking all over Miami, so we just walked back to the hotel, repacked our bags, and went to sleep early to rest up for embarkation day!

 

Step Tracker Daily Total: 27,214 steps; 11.03 miles; 9 flights of stairs

[rmf11699]

Hello again Dana! I followed your honeymoon adventures and have been waiting anxiously for you to begin posting about this cruise. Me and the DW will be in St. Maartin in mid-May so very anxious to see your pictures and review of the area after the hurricane. Keep up the good work!

[deladane]

Hello again Dana! I followed your honeymoon adventures and have been waiting anxiously for you to begin posting about this cruise. Me and the DW will be in St. Maartin in mid-May so very anxious to see your pictures and review of the area after the hurricane. Keep up the good work!

 

Thanks for following along (...again!). We didn't stray too far from the ship in St. Maarten because we wanted to avoid the areas hardest hit from the hurricane. Lots of photos to come of the cruise village area and Great Bay beach :)

[deladane]

Day 4: Sunday, March 4 ~ Embarkation Day!

 

Just shy of 2 years after booking this cruise, the day had finally arrived to board the Celebrity Eclipse!!

 

 

I’m sure you can guess where we went for breakfast… That’s right! Back to Le Chic French Bakery for those delicious almond croissants! We needed one last chance to taste that sweet yumminess before leaving Miami. Bellies full, we went back to the hotel to gather our bags and request an Uber. It cost us $12 for an UberX to drive us 20 minutes to the Port of Miami. It was so exciting to set eyes on the ship for the first time as we drove passed it on the bridge.

 

 

Our driver had no idea where to go upon entering the port even though we saw the electronic sign listing our ship at Terminal G and could clearly see where the ship was docked from miles away. At first, he tried to pull into Terminal D where the Carnival Vista was docked- good thing we were paying attention and stopped him!

 

Soon enough, we pulled up in front of Terminal G, unloaded our bags, and handed the big suitcase over to a porter before entering the terminal. We arrived at 10:20am and there were only a handful of other passengers checking in. There was no line at all at the security x-rays or at the Concierge Class check in counter, so I was happy we showed up so early. Within just a few minutes after arriving, we checked in, took our security mug shots, were handed our seapass cards, and directed to take a seat in the small waiting room at the end of the terminal. When I say small, I mean SMALL. There were already about 50 passengers in there and there were hardly any empty seats available, but we did find 2 seats in different rows. I don’t know if there was another waiting room somewhere else, but this seemed like a very small space to wait to board the ship considering it was full to capacity this early in the day. Luckily, it didn’t matter because they started boarding the ship not long after we arrived. First they called the suites, and then at 10:50am, they invited Concierge Class passengers to board the ship! Up the escalator and through a short bridge, and we stepped foot on the Celebrity Eclipse before 11am!!! I was seriously shocked at how early we were on board, but no complaints from me!

 

The lunch options on board didn’t open until 11:30am, so we had a few minutes to run some errands around the ship. First we went down to the MDR to check out the Concierge Class lunch menu. This is often considered one of the best perks of Concierge Class- they invite you to a sit-down lunch in the MDR from 11:30am until 1pm so you can avoid the crowds at the buffet. While it would be nice to let them hold our rolling carry on bags and to enjoy a leisurely meal, I really did not want to spend that much time at a drawn out sit-down lunch when I was anxious to explore the ship. I was curious about the menu though, so we went down to take a look. Nothing really appealed to us after having that big almond croissant for breakfast a few hours ago, so we did not stay.

 

 

Next, we went to guest services to ask a few questions before the lines got too long. Then, we went up to deck 5 to ask the Maitre’D at Tuscan Grill about discounts for eating there on the first night. Before we could even ask, he volunteered a 30% discount! That sounded good to us so we tried to book for 7pm, but he said that was not available and gave us a 6:30pm reservation.

 

Errands complete, it was time to relax. The buffet was still closed at this point, so we went upstairs to deck 15 and walked aft to the Sunset Bar, then down the stairs to the Oceanview Bar outside of the buffet area. One big perk of sailing on a sister ship to a ship you already sailed on is that you know the layout really well and know more than one way to get where you want to go. Our goal was to find a table in the shade where we could relax with a few drinks and eat our lunch with a view overlooking Miami. The Oceanview Café front doors were still closed, but no one stopped us from coming downstairs from the Sunset Bar, and the bar and seating area out back there was open for service. This was such a great way to start the cruise and it was much less noisy and chaotic than sitting inside the buffet area.

 

 

[deladane]

We also had a great view of the port and all the palettes of supplies getting loaded onto the ship.

 

 

 

We also spent some time reading through today’s daily schedule and deciding how we wanted to spend the rest of our day.

 

 

 

 

[Clarea]

Fantastic photos, thanks!

[deladane]

Fantastic photos, thanks!

 

Thank you!

[deladane]

Your shirts are awesome

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

haha thanks! We just wore them to board the ship :)

[deladane]

At some point, we got hungry for a little lunch so we took turns guarding our carry on bags at the table and getting food from the buffet. I opted for some seafood paella, a slice of pizza, and something sweet for dessert. Is it just me, or do the desserts always look way better than they taste? So many of these cakes looked delicious, but they tasted dry and bland. I was a big fan of the small rectangular chocolate fudgey mouse cakes though.

 

 

 

 

We stayed out there until around 1pm, then went back inside. We knew they would announce that the cabins were ready at around 1:30pm so we wanted to beat the rush at the elevators. We went down to the library outside the mid-ship elevators on deck 10 so we’d be close to our cabin, and just as we stepped off the elevator, they announced that cabins were now ready. We had perfect timing! Our big suitcase was waiting outside our cabin door when we arrived, so we spent an hour or so getting unpacked and settled in the cabin. It was the same layout as the cabin we had on the Equinox, so that made unpacking go faster since we already knew where to put everything. I packed 2 collapsible storage bins for each of us as they fit perfectly in the space above the bed and make it easier to get stuff in and out of there. For the first time in 8 cruises, I took the advice of many expert packers on Cruise Critic and brought an over-the-door hanging shoe organizer with clear pockets. We both found this to be extremely convenient to store our little odds and ends. I hung it on the outside of the bathroom door and it helped keep the counters clear and free up space in the little dresser drawers. Here are some photos from around the cabin before we had a chance to mess it up…