Celebrity Today Eclipse Ireland & Iceland May 10, 2018

[TexSea]

Hello all. I scanned in the Celebrity Today from our fantastic cruise to Ireland and Iceland. It's available as a 22 MB PDF at https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ndm308dllqdnxz/Eclipse_Ireland_Iceland_20180510.pdf

 

Overall the cruise was wonderful with very good food and service throughout the ship. Just a couple of notes for future cruisers. Because of the tide, the Reykjavik port took a LONG time to walk off the ship as only one very steep gangway was open for quite a while. Apparently that is unusual, but some people almost missed their independent excursions because it took them up to two hours to get off the ship. In the Lerwick tender port, we were able to tender closest to the pier so the process didn't take too long for us (except if you have a tender driver who doesn't know what he's doing). But apparently there's also a tender spot that's quite a bit further away and can take 20-30 minutes to get from ship to the pier.

 

Hope this helps!

[missm]

Hello all. I scanned in the Celebrity Today from our fantastic cruise to Ireland and Iceland. It's available as a 22 MB PDF at https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ndm308dllqdnxz/Eclipse_Ireland_Iceland_20180510.pdf

 

Overall the cruise was wonderful with very good food and service throughout the ship. Just a couple of notes for future cruisers. Because of the tide, the Reykjavik port took a LONG time to walk off the ship as only one very steep gangway was open for quite a while. Apparently that is unusual, but some people almost missed their independent excursions because it took them up to two hours to get off the ship. In the Lerwick tender port, we were able to tender closest to the pier so the process didn't take too long for us (except if you have a tender driver who doesn't know what he's doing). But apparently there's also a tender spot that's quite a bit further away and can take 20-30 minutes to get from ship to the pier.

 

Hope this helps!

We had an even worse experience in Reykjavik on the cruise just prior to yours. The ship was 2 hours late arriving due to high winds. We had to disembark from a very high metal gangway that was covered in snow in blizzard conditions. It was extremely slippery and terrifying. You knew that if you slipped at the top, you would fall all the way down and be seriously injured.

 

Our Golden Circle tour got back at 11 p.m.!

[sentosa25]

Hello Texsea,

Thank you for posting this.

We are doing a very similar cruise next May, but going to Glasgow instead of Belfast.

We live about 20 miles from Belfast, hope you enjoyed your day there.

 

I noticed that you sailed from Dublin at 10pm, we are also scheduled for a late sail away, in spite the previous cruise docking in Dublin at 6am.

Was there any reason given for the late sail away?

What time were you actually allowed to board?

What about disembarking in Dublin?

 

Thank you.

 

Sentosa.

[katysuerx]

We were on this May 10th sailing as well.

 

We were able to get off the ship in Reykjavik immediately, only a 5 minute line. I agree it was a relatively steep incline though. I was surprised they disembarked from Deck 4 (instead of deck 3). We had arranged to pick up our car rental at the pier, and it was very convenient. A perfect spot and we were able to park the car overnight and venture out early on the 2nd day.

 

It was an amazing cruise and despite the less than perfect weather on the sea days (which was fine by me), we had close to perfect weather at the ports! I hope everyone has as good of luck!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TexSea]

Hello Texsea,

Thank you for posting this.

We are doing a very similar cruise next May, but going to Glasgow instead of Belfast.

We live about 20 miles from Belfast, hope you enjoyed your day there.

 

I noticed that you sailed from Dublin at 10pm, we are also scheduled for a late sail away, in spite the previous cruise docking in Dublin at 6am.

Was there any reason given for the late sail away?

What time were you actually allowed to board?

What about disembarking in Dublin?

 

Thank you.

 

Sentosa.

 

Belfast was a very interesting city. And our driver/guide had a definite point of view!

 

The itinerary always had the 10:00pm departure time, which was nice as it gave some extra time in Dublin. Also, it's a very short trip to Belfast anyway. I did wonder if it provided more time for dock workers to restock the ship, since it's not a very regular cruise port like Miami, for example, and they might not have all the capacity to do it quickly.

 

Boarding was available from approximately 10:30am (or maybe 11:30am) to 8:00pm. Disembarkation could occur as soon as the ship cleared. We were on the pier side of the ship and very early people were leaving with their luggage even though we had the overnight there.

[TexSea]

We were on this May 10th sailing as well.

 

We had arranged to pick up our car rental at the pier, and it was very convenient. A perfect spot and we were able to park the car overnight and venture out early on the 2nd day.

 

It was an amazing cruise and despite the less than perfect weather on the sea days (which was fine by me), we had close to perfect weather at the ports! I hope everyone has as good of luck!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I totally agree with you. The car rental was super easy (we used Europcar), as was the driving, and parking was very convenient. Despite the bad weather on sea days, I have to say the ship never seemed crowded inside to me.

[cruise kitty]

We were on this May 10th sailing as well.

 

We were able to get off the ship in Reykjavik immediately, only a 5 minute line. I agree it was a relatively steep incline though. I was surprised they disembarked from Deck 4 (instead of deck 3). We had arranged to pick up our car rental at the pier, and it was very convenient. A perfect spot and we were able to park the car overnight and venture out early on the 2nd day.

 

It was an amazing cruise and despite the less than perfect weather on the sea days (which was fine by me), we had close to perfect weather at the ports! I hope everyone has as good of luck!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hi, may I ask which company did you use to rent your car?

 

Thank you:)

[bigbenboys]

I read on another post that the tide is a factor at the Dublin port.

[katysuerx]

Hi, may I ask which company did you use to rent your car?

 

 

 

Thank you:)

 

 

 

We used Enterprise! I would definitely recommend. Here’s a pic from the ship and a “map” for you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sentosa25]

Belfast was a very interesting city. And our driver/guide had a definite point of view!

 

The itinerary always had the 10:00pm departure time, which was nice as it gave some extra time in Dublin. Also, it's a very short trip to Belfast anyway. I did wonder if it provided more time for dock workers to restock the ship, since it's not a very regular cruise port like Miami, for example, and they might not have all the capacity to do it quickly.

 

Boarding was available from approximately 10:30am (or maybe 11:30am) to 8:00pm. Disembarkation could occur as soon as the ship cleared. We were on the pier side of the ship and very early people were leaving with their luggage even though we had the overnight there.

 

Hello again TexSea,

I hope you enjoyed your Belfast tour never the less.

 

I am interested in your boarding times as we have been told that boarding will not commence until 4pm for the 10 15pm sail away, which means a lot of waiting about.

Reflection is due to dock at 6am that morning.

 

My TA has not been able to find out any reason for this late boarding as yet.

I do know that there is a possibility that we may be leaving from the new cruise terminal at Dun Laoghaire if it is ready by then. Dun Laoghaire is about 15 Km south of Dublin .

[jkgourmet]

Hello again TexSea,

I hope you enjoyed your Belfast tour never the less.

 

I am interested in your boarding times as we have been told that boarding will not commence until 4pm for the 10 15pm sail away, which means a lot of waiting about.

Reflection is due to dock at 6am that morning.

 

My TA has not been able to find out any reason for this late boarding as yet.

I do know that there is a possibility that we may be leaving from the new cruise terminal at Dun Laoghaire if it is ready by then. Dun Laoghaire is about 15 Km south of Dublin .

 

If that is the case, stay IN Dun Loaghaire for a few days pre or post cruise. It's a lovely part of Dublin. The Royal Marine hotel has authentic older charm and excellent service. Two minutes walk from the Dart station so easy access to the Dublin tourist sites as well as the lovely small towns along the seaside. The Air Coach (not the AirLink) bus from the airport stops literally at the front door of the hotel.

[leehal]

We used Enterprise! I would definitely recommend. Here’s a pic from the ship and a “map” for you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Thanks for that, we are using Enterprise in August when we go to Iceland, looks nice and handy. Can you park your car there? We are there for 2 days and are hiring for the 1st day and won’t be back until late, planning on parking there and then handing the keys back the next morning.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[katysuerx]

Thanks for that, we are using Enterprise in August when we go to Iceland, looks nice and handy. Can you park your car there? We are there for 2 days and are hiring for the 1st day and won’t be back until late, planning on parking there and then handing the keys back the next morning.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

 

Yes! We parked the car at Enterprise overnight (we got back to the ship around midnight on Day 1) and came back to the car for some local area driving. Easy peasy! Enjoy it, this was our 2nd time in Iceland and its one of our favorite spots in the world!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sentosa25]

If that is the case, stay IN Dun Loaghaire for a few days pre or post cruise. It's a lovely part of Dublin. The Royal Marine hotel has authentic older charm and excellent service. Two minutes walk from the Dart station so easy access to the Dublin tourist sites as well as the lovely small towns along the seaside. The Air Coach (not the AirLink) bus from the airport stops literally at the front door of the hotel.

 

Thanks jkgourmet,

 

I am going to wait until I have confirmation which port it will be and then will book at least one night before the cruise.

We love the Royal Marine , and Dun Laoghaire is a lovely little town.

We live in Northern Ireland so this is a first cruise for us with no flights .

We will either take the Enterprise Train to Connolly station , cross the platform and use the Dart, or use the Aircoach to the Airport and then the Airlink bus.

 

Post cruise we will just head for home,probably using the Celebrity Transfer to Dublin Airport and then the Aircoach.

 

Sentosa

[missm]

Hello again TexSea,

 

I hope you enjoyed your Belfast tour never the less.

 

 

 

I am interested in your boarding times as we have been told that boarding will not commence until 4pm for the 10 15pm sail away, which means a lot of waiting about.

 

Reflection is due to dock at 6am that morning.

 

 

 

My TA has not been able to find out any reason for this late boarding as yet.

 

I do know that there is a possibility that we may be leaving from the new cruise terminal at Dun Laoghaire if it is ready by then. Dun Laoghaire is about 15 Km south of Dublin .

 

 

 

We were told on board that we had to wait for high tide to leave. Also, it was an interesting sail-in - the ship had to be backed in due to a lack of turning space at the pier.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruise kitty]

We used Enterprise! I would definitely recommend. Here’s a pic from the ship and a “map” for you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

thank you so much! I have found a private tour operator who is willing to do a golden circle tour for our odd port hours, but I'm thinking we might just rent a car instead, or perhaps for just the second day in Reykjavik :)

[ZapRowsdower]

Hello all. I scanned in the Celebrity Today from our fantastic cruise to Ireland and Iceland. It's available as a 22 MB PDF at https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ndm308dllqdnxz/Eclipse_Ireland_Iceland_20180510.pdf

Thank you so much for posting these! Makes me very excited for my own upcoming cruise -- just 3 1/2 weeks now!

[katysuerx]

thank you so much! I have found a private tour operator who is willing to do a golden circle tour for our odd port hours, but I'm thinking we might just rent a car instead, or perhaps for just the second day in Reykjavik :)

 

 

 

It’s definitely doable. Although if it’s your first time in Iceland, a hired driver is nice because you’ll want to look at everything!!!

 

We rented a car with EuropCar in Akureyri. Super easy to get to the rental hut here too but we didn’t have the best experience. Just be sure to check the fuel tank and watch for upcharges. They said we had a full tank but actually the tank empty when we set out!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sentosa25]

We were told on board that we had to wait for high tide to leave. Also, it was an interesting sail-in - the ship had to be backed in due to a lack of turning space at the pier.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Quite understand the need to wait until high tide to sail.

 

It's the fact that we have been advised that boarding will not commence until 4 pm.

[Iamthesea]

We were also on the May 10th cruise. :) Great cruise!

 

sentosa25 - That's false about having to board so late. Boarding, depending on your stateroom type, will start the process around 11:00. We stayed over night before the cruise. Left our hotel at 10:30 and got out of our taxi at 10:50 to off-load luggage. Boarded the shuttle, and were at the pier by 11:20. Checked in and onboard by 11:30. ;)

 

We also had no trouble getting off in Reykjavik to meet our guide on time. We allowed plenty of time, got in line, and were off the ship in about 5 minutes.

We loved most everything about the trip. Beautiful and interesting ports of call. We especially loved Belfast and the surrounding countryside, Shetland, and Akureyri.

 

If you have not been to Edinburgh, I suggest you go there for your day in Glasgow.

[sentosa25]

We were also on the May 10th cruise. :) Great cruise!

 

sentosa25 - That's false about having to board so late. Boarding, depending on your stateroom type, will start the process around 11:00. We stayed over night before the cruise. Left our hotel at 10:30 and got out of our taxi at 10:50 to off-load luggage. Boarded the shuttle, and were at the pier by 11:20. Checked in and onboard by 11:30. ;)

 

We also had no trouble getting off in Reykjavik to meet our guide on time. We allowed plenty of time, got in line, and were off the ship in about 5 minutes.

We loved most everything about the trip. Beautiful and interesting ports of call. We especially loved Belfast and the surrounding countryside, Shetland, and Akureyri.

 

If you have not been to Edinburgh, I suggest you go there for your day in Glasgow.

 

Thank you so much for that information,

that is what I was really hoping to hear.

Were you originally given a late boarding time?

 

Glad you liked Belfast, did you manage to travel further,? lots of beautiful countryside here,and weather in May has been great.

Our daughter lives in Edinburgh, so will definitely be there. It is an amazing city, we love to visit, any excuse and we are there :hearteyes::hearteyes:

[Iamthesea]

We were told the same thing about the 4:00 and after boarding. Then we heard rumors that you could go earlier. Celebrity will send out a letter with a suggested boarding time based on your stateroom deck. Ours was for 10:30 or after. Others on our Roll Call had later times. Even so, if you arrived earlier than your "official time," you were not turned away, but you might have to wait 15-30 minutes before boarding.

 

I would arrive between 11:00 and noon. Obviously those with same day, early flights went straight from the airport to the terminal. There were two busloads of Celebrity transfer passengers unloading when we arrived to ship gangway. We must have arrived to the luggage drop off/check-in area about 30 minutes after they did. Had we gone to the luggage drop off /check-in area any earlier, I think we would have been in for a long wait to check-in and get the shuttle to the pier.

 

Apparently, there were many passengers that waited until 4:00 to arrive. We watched a heard of passengers coming onto the ship very late in the afternoon!

 

In Belfast, we went out to the Giants Causeway and then back through some of the villages. Had lunch in a pub.

 

My husband and I stayed 4 nights pre-cruise in Edinburgh. It was our 2nd trip there. We stayed in an apartment in Moray Place, near Stockbridge. A lovely village! We could walk to the Edinburgh Castle in 30 minutes.

[TexSea]

The Shetlands and Akureyri were very nice surprises on this trip. The day in Akureyri was probably a highlight of the trip for us.

[Northern Aurora]

We were on a series of Eclipse cruises in May, 2016 which included an Iceland/Ireland itinerary. We had been to Iceland before on a land trip, and had no issues with renting a car during that trip. Iceland is very easy to navigate on your own.

 

So when the Eclipse overnighted in Reykjavik we immediately reserved a car again. The Europcar rental kiosk is clear in the photo in post 9 -- it is beside the cruise terminal building and has the green sign. The car was waiting for us in the parking lot behind the cruise terminal, and that is where we parked it overnight. And in 2016 after leaving the Eclipse in Southhampton and spending some time in England we flew back to Iceland. That time we picked up our rental vehicle at Keflavik, and again enjoyed spending time exploring on our own.

[Pavovsky]

If that is the case, stay IN Dun Loaghaire for a few days pre or post cruise. It's a lovely part of Dublin. The Royal Marine hotel has authentic older charm and excellent service. Two minutes walk from the Dart station so easy access to the Dublin tourist sites as well as the lovely small towns along the seaside. The Air Coach (not the AirLink) bus from the airport stops literally at the front door of the hotel.

 

 

Thrilled that you enjoyed Dun Laoghaire. That is where I grew up.

 

And interestingly I worked in the bar in the Royal Marine when I was a student.