scubacruiserx2

The Maine Lobster bisque.

The photo looks like I had too much wine , but the blur is from a slow shutter speed conveying movement .

Lobster Bisque

Smoked Salmon and Crab Parfait

Porcini and Morel Risotto

Phyllo Backed Anjou Pear

There really is not one thing that I don't like on that menu. Although, I haven't had the Caviar or the Fois Gras as menu items, although they had some with a chef's table one time.:D

Total agreement Mic !

Tyler asked us what he could have on the menu , we told everything ( meaning multiple starters ) . When he asked us what Fois Gras and Caviar were , the look on his face was priceless when Pat explained . I wish that I had photographed his reaction !

It was like the classic scene in the movie Big where Tom Hanks first tries Caviar :

The revised a la carte menu

Amuse bouche

Divers Scallop

Pork Belly ( I did take a photo )

Warm Goat Cheese Souffle

Henry took very good care of us !

Very dapper and you scrub up okay as well;) You all look great, Murano's is certainly worth dressing for even if you skip the lobster. My favourite is the Pork belly and then the Venison.:D

Thank you Mic , we do do enjoy dining there ! I had the pork belly but didn't get a photo and Pat did enjoy her Venison . :) :D

I removed the one menu and scrubbed it up a bit , and will re post it .

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Tyler wanted to go to Murano .

But there's something magic about the word 'Lobster' in Tyler's vocabulary which makes him ( and us ) willing to dress Evening Chic .

No tux , no ties

We were seated in a separate room , but I must say , Tyler's behavior and manners were impeccable on this evening !

What would you like for dinner ?

What would the water temp be like for diving in December, I suppose it is only slightly above the equator so not too bad.

The water is still nice then and usually gets a little cooler at the end of the December through March . But what really got me cold in February was the air temperature , and the constant wind on the unsheltered moving boat . My biggest mistake was not bringing a fleece , a jacket or a towel ! Lesson learned ;)

We do the opposite, we have started spending New Year in Tenerife, to have at least 2 weeks away from the 'white stuff.'

You have a similar climate to where Pat grew up in Michigan which it quite different from here . It's only ever snowed here once - and that was the year in which Pat moved here ! :eek:

We used to love going to Michigan with our kids to visit for a couple of weeks in the Winter for a White Christmas or in the summer for a break from the Florida heat and humidity . Your Summers are like our Winters , but we prefer to live here and visit there . ;)

I had already noticed that cruise on the CB in your signature before you mentioned it. About time you two, or is it 3, went diving! :D Great choice, booking an aft cabin. :cool:

 

Loved the look at Tivoli Gardens. May have to plan a visit there some day. My list of places to visit somehow seems to keep getting longer and longer.....

We haven't been able to dive together since Pat got medical clearance . But we've booked Cozumel for a long week with some friends in late October but , unfortunately , we have to return before you reach Cozumel because we would love to dive with you !

All of our upcoming cruises are just Pat and I . But we do have a snowcation trip planned for Tyler & his brother ( they have never seen snow ! ) over the Christmas / New Year's Holiday .

:) :D

I can't post photos of our dinner at Murano as Photobucket is undergoing maintenance again . We will post as soon as they will let me .

We're thrilled to see that the Caribbean Princess is returning to Ft. Lauderdale soon and so we booked a nice aft cabin for December . We have a popular thread which shows 4 Caribbean cruises which we did on that ship , and it's found here if you care to see it :

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2094420

After booking two years ago and reading both your TA and this review, we board Eclipse tomorrow. :D

Thank you for reading and writing ! We hope that you have an amazing trip and say hello to nursedibdob for us . :) :D

The view

Tyler's Shrimp Alfredo

Pat's Filet Mignon

My Scallop Risotto

Tiramisu

Chocolate Lasagna

Thank you to everyone for responding. It seems that the overwhelming choice is a private tour. To provide a comparison does anyone know the size of the groups that the Cruise Line puts together?

The large buses hold about 36 -40 and here's some prices

We paid $ 860 for 3 people and 3 full days in a Mercedes van with driver and our guide shown here . And we went wherever we wanted to .

It's a bit early for lunch here , and a bit late for lunch in the UK , but on the Eclipse it was the perfect time .

At the Tuscan Grille they had a reduced menu and a reduced price

This was Tyler's favorite restaurant so far

A crispy crab cake

I don't know if we had entered the North Sea at this point as it seemed so calm , like the Caribbean .

Except we were on a different ship

with a TV screen

and an adult pool

and a brilliant sunset .

Oh , that was the Regal ! :cool:

More photos of the Eclipse aft , on this beautiful day

The aft is our preferred location and view . The heart marks our balcony from our TA on the Eclipse .

Here's a view of the S1 Sky Suites .

This seminar from the Celebrity Today caught my attention . Would it be worth $20 to see if a coke drank from a Riedel glass would taste different ?

But we decided that the money would be better spent on the lunch special at Tuscan Grille !

In Australia, we have a system similar to Demark as we have high wages and as such a high cost of living, however, wages vary greatly still due to the skill set and demand. (I.e doctors earn much more than bus drivers.). Taxes are moderate and tipping is appreciated but not necessary here. I think we sit somewhere between the two (Denmark and USA) systems

 

As for my tipping practices, I follow the custom when visiting the various countries, and when cruising, I pre pay the gratuities.The room steward always gets an extra tip, the amount depends on any extra service provided. Every crew member that we meet or serves us, gets a smile and a thankyou which always helps and then they often will then go that bit further when they serve us again. We then reward the individual staff members or crew if we feel that they have gone above and beyond the normal duties (waiters, bar or drink staff, concierge, etc).

Thank you Mic for your POV and sharing the Aussie model with us !! :) :D

Beautiful video , thanks for sharing ! :) :D

And here's why I want a drone cam ! A stunning video of the Eclipse's sister ship the Equinox , in Santorini by fellow CC member slidewilson . :) :D

Whole review has been fabulous as always & so informative, but I must be honest & say that these gorgeous photos of Eclipse are a treat, especially since I'll be boarding her in just 2 days [emoji3]

 

 

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Woohoo , we hope that have a great cruise with great weather ! :) :D

Get prepared and stay safe Big Bend ! :eek:

More blues , forward facing aft

and aft facing forward

Waiting for the Hot Glass show

Ball games

These two look like they were taken with a drone cam

On this this day at sea there were some beautiful shades of blue to be found .

I think the crew definitely need to be paid appropriately for their work. However, if that was at the Australian wage levels, that will drive up the price of cruising considerably and ships wouldn't fill. Even at other OECD countries wage levels it would be much higher, which is why cruise lines mainly employs crew from developing countries like SE Asia and the sub continent or even former European Eastern block countries.

We as Americans have many service type jobs which rely on tips like our youngest daughter has ( and my Mom and Pat had in the past ) . And our personal belief is reflected by that . We consider 15 % of the bill as a starting point for basic service when dining out and very rarely give less . If we can't give that or more then we won't dine out . But not all Americans think the same and are willing to leave little or nothing . And so we always give extra on the cruise over and above the standard gratuities , and base it on their performance . We can afford to do this based on our low tax structure , with us choosing whom to give special attention , and we enjoy this system .

We don't know much about the Australian system . We did however hear a few things from several of the Danes about theirs . They all earn high wages and pay high prices for goods and have high taxes . We listened to a bus driver who said that in an effort to achieve financial equality , wages were equalized with doctors earning almost what bus drivers or fast food workers earned . He also said that they had a 60% income tax . His observations were that it was too expensive to eat out (even with his high paycheck ) and that many of the good doctors had left the country .

Adam shared with us how expensive and difficult it was to own a car in Denmark . He said that the government had just lowered the car registration tax from 180% to 150% ! . This is paid in addition to the high price of the car in the first place . Thus the price of a small car selling for $30,000 , becomes 75,000 . :eek:

Could it be that what Marcellus said in Hamlet is true ?

For most Americans a car = freedom , and for many - a necessity .

It was a NCL ship's tour, we had booked for a tour of the city and the Carlsburg Brewery. Either there was not enough people or the brewery was closed (cannot remember) so they offered this tour instead. As it was there was only 12 of us on this tour in the end along with two crew members. We also got the canal cruise and half our money back, so worked out well.:D

BTW, I was not one of the napping people, neither was my wife, however, the crew were.:eek:

Wow , that sound like a great tour and deal ! :D

As for the crew , they probably needed the nap . ;) They have a busy jobs , with very long hours , and are separated from their families for extended periods . And yet , they make our vacations amazing !

They deserve more respect , more money - and a vacation with naps too ! :) :D

We did a tour that consisted of a Canal cruise, visiting the Tivoli gardens and a city tour. As it was still the morning, around 10am, when we arrived at the gardens, most exhibits were closed. However part of the tour was the micro brewery they have there and as such we had a couple of beers (imperial pints) each prior to lunch, some had more. Quite a few people were staggering out of the gardens a few hours later for the city tour. :eek:

Some of those that over indulged stayed on the coach to sleep it off.:D

Was that a cruise ship tour ?

On our first visit on NCL we did their tour which was a canal cruise and a drop off at Tivoli in the evening . It took almost an hour to load the large bus at each stop and we became DIY's and small groupers as a result of that experience . We did get to spend the night in Copenhagen that cruise , and Tivoli is beautiful at night . And I do remember having a Tuborg there and it was $ 9 American in 2006 ! :eek:

How was the nap ? ;) :)