scubacruiserx2

After dinner we found our Eclipse Today on our bed

And yes , on our second day at sea the sun would be rising at 4:38 am ! We decided then and there to try to sleep in the next day .

And finally , can some one tell me what's right with this photo ?

The wayward kettle , and all that goes with it , had returned .

And although it was out of focus , we rejoiced to see it , and thought of all the joy that it would bring !!!

My choice for dessert was the Strawberry Fields Forever

And a Silver Bullet

No , not Bob Segar's band ! The Gelato at Qsine . :) :D

Ha ha....love it... I'd go with another band of that era...the Grateful Dead's line :

 

What a long strange trip it's been!!! :D

Yes it has been !! ;)

This course was Pat's and my favorite

It's kinda like a buffet in a box !

A Greek and Middle Eastern sampler plate

The desert menu is a Rubik's Cube contraption which is opened to Tyler's favorite course .

A chocolate tombstone !

As I reflected on Tyler's tombstone photo , I asked Pat the other day what she wanted written on her tombstone ( she had a close encounter last year ) . She said that she didn't really know and asked me what I wanted . I instantly thought of an obscure Moody Blues song title . What am I doing here ? :eek:

Thank you for the welcome. I am glad to be safely on board for this cruise. I don't EVER want to be a pier runner - even on a virtual cruise! :eek:

We couldn't agree more , but , to borrow the title of a famous Russian movie ( in Russia ) The Irony of Fate almost caused us to become pier runners in SPB ! :eek:

Or so we thought - at the time !

Enjoying your review! We're on a variation of this cruise which goes btb with the Fjords in August. Interesting to read about the passport issue since we will need them in STP! :)

Thanks ! That sounds like a great cruise(s) . And as Jackie mentioned below , you will have them before SPB ! Ours were picked up by us on the day after Bruges - our first day at sea .

You will have your passports returned well before St Pete!

Joe, I am happy to see your Qsine experience as I missed it on the Silly and mean to enjoy it on the Reflection.

 

As it was sparsely populated were you able to get a discount in advance?

 

On our sailing it was selling for $30 pp at the table outside the buffet on our last night but we had decided to try the MDR for the first time.

 

Don't stint on the pics! (as if...)

 

Norris

On longer cruises like this one we like to try different dining options especially on the dress up days or days at sea . We did get about a $ 30 reduction pp by booking a 3 visit package in the specialty restaurants , in advance of our departure on this cruise .

Qsine is especially fun with more than just a couple so I'm sure your grandson had a good time with all the quirky presentations. It's a fun place!!

 

Wondering how the motion was in your forward cabin on a windy sea day...if you had any of those....

We had hoped for a larger group but our CC group was fairly small . Perhaps because the cruise had originated in the UK , and children were still in school .

We really didn't feel any problems while underway . I think that the bulbous bow really did it's job and the design is very seaworthy ! However , when using the forward thrusters to dock or leave port - it was a different story ! :eek:

Here's a bulbous bow and forward thrusters from the HAL ship Zaandam .

Photo and article from Wikipedia :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbous_bow

In some/most cases yes but there are also domestic cruises that do not require airfares, for some people anyway.

Hi Mic , I hope isn't considered a hijacking , but I saw your name pop up and we hope that this finds both you and Rosie well . We have completed our cruise to the Baltic and are currently reviewing it on the Celebrity thread and we would love to have you join us . Also , we have been looking at Australia as a possibility , but a Princess TA in 2 months is also in the mix . So many cruises , so little money ! :) :D

We had booked dinner on a Casual Chic night at Qsine and so the restaurant was rather empty . It's a casual , interactive place were they seem to encourage you to play with your food . It begins with an ipad menu and you also use it to order dinner .

The window seating here , like the Tuscan Grille , is for 2 .

Our first course was the Sushi Lollypops

And the Disco Shrimp which is a twist on a shrimp cocktail and comes with a flashing cube , giving it it's name . And Tyler of course , found another way to put it to use .

This was our next course

Ty had been reluctant to try Escargot in the MDR , but when found out that it was lobster , he was all in , including the brioche cones .

Oh boy.....couldn't agree more.....we were very dismayed at the quality(or lack of it) of the production shows on Reflection this past April....about the only thing I could complain about....but they were really bad.... we stopped even bothering about half way through...

 

You mention "Rain- A tribute to the Beatles" ... we saw that here a couple years ago and it was wonderful!!!!:) We enjoyed the Beatles show on Reflection, but Rain was just great, would love to see it again.

We would see them again if they came around and we liked how they used a multi media format and incorporated the historical and cultural context which surrounded the Beatles and Beatlemania .

Since I've just done a virtual Transatlantic witth you, I will follow your recommendation and cruise on over to the Baltic. :D

 

I think my DH was more interested in the Moody Blues cruise than the Baltic one though.... :eek:

It is probably more affordable and has some of the original bands instead of just tribute bands . :) :D

It was nice to have a day at sea and to sleep in . But when we woke up , the weather had changed dramatically from the previous day .

I went on deck for a photo while Patty got ready for breakfast in the MDR .

Our favorite off - day routine was to sleep in a little , get a good cup of coffee at Cafe al Bacio and take it to the MDR , where the coffee wasn't as good . We do enjoy the MDR for a good breakfast and some us time with each other . Tyler really enjoyed sleeping in and if he was still sleeping , we would change and head out to the Persian Garden .

A little later that morning we would be meeting with the Cruise Critic " Connections " group .

It was a much smaller group than our TA group which had met in the much larger Sky Observation Lounge . This meeting is a nice way in which Celebrity demonstrates their interest for the passengers in general and CC members in particular . The Master of the ship , CD , Head Chef and a number of other officers attended and spoke .

It was also a change to show our appreciation to them and all of the hard work that they do for us . And they did take questions also .

It's a also a place to meet others and place a face with a name from CC . This is Joyce and John from Alaska . They were on the same excursion in Bruges and it was nice to sit down with them and get to know them .

Following!! :) :):)

Great , welcome aboard and we hope that you enjoy "our" cruise . ;)

I guess I haven't been paying close attention lately because I've only just found you. I will try to keep up from now on, or at least get back as quickly as possible when my attention wanders. :p

 

Great cabin choice for the 3 of you! I'm sure you all enjoyed having the extra space. The layout of the cabin looked to be very functional. :cool:

 

I enjoyed your tour of Brugges. Looks like a beautiful place to visit. Even the caattle boat tour looked like fun, but you really had me at the chocolate shop! :eek:

 

Now, off to get some chocolate! It may not be Belgian chocolate, but for now it will have to do. :D

Welcome aboard Nancy we're glad that you made it on the ship and didn't get left behind on the pier ! We hope that you enjoyed your last cruise and we're really thrilled to see that you have several scheduled . :) :D

 

 

I found a couple of things a little strange though . John was playing piano on Hey Jude which was clearly played by McCarthy in life . And a right - handed , base playing McCarthy might be anathema to a Beatles purist ! :eek:

Having seen several excellent Beatles tribute shows including Beatlemania and Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles we had high hopes for this venue . This clip shows what we had hoped to see :

But having attending this show , we found kevinyork's fine thread , Celebrity Eclipse - New production Shows , Oh Dear to be spot on .

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2364785

And while there was a lot that we loved about this cruise , we don't think that Celebrity's entertainment was it's finest hour .

Both cruise options sound wonderful, but this one probably is something no one he knows has ever done.

I can remember being about 13 and going away with my grandparents and I had to keep up my "coolness" too. LOL.

He was so funny sometimes often doting on and protective of Pat when I had wandered off to take photos . But when he's around friends , we like to give him some space and room to grow . He's a great kid and both he and we learned a lot from the trip and each other . :) :D

martinstaxi@skynet.be. They were very professional.

 

 

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Thank you , we appreciate that . :) :D

After our Beatles show we noticed that it was still daylight and the weather clear . And so we hustled down for a clothing and camera change . On one of the upper decks we caught this sunset .

And on the way back we passed by the Martini Bar we noticed that they were loading up for a Martini flight .

The Celebrity Today for our first day at sea .

I'm here for the duration.....we enjoyed the Beatles show on Reflection too this past April...what fun!!! I think your "John" was more fun than ours though!!:)

Great Gracie , but as you and Norris both know - our cruises can get pretty long sometimes ! :rolleyes:

And our John when seated at the piano , bore a resemblance to another John - Elton !

I found a couple of things a little strange though . John was playing piano on Hey Jude which was clearly played by McCarthy in life . And a right - handed , base playing McCarthy might be anathema to a Beatles purist ! :eek:

We were in Bruges yesterday. A fellow traveller organised a taxi for eight people. It was €25 per couple. Off the ship on to the free shuttle bus to the port entrance. The taxi was waiting for us. We were in Bruges by 8:30. It was very quiet and nowhere was open. The advantage was we were able to stand back and admire the buildings without crowds. The Tourist Information centre does not open until 10:00 am and this seemed to be a common theme. Easy place to walk around and we enjoyed the boat ride. The return taxi wax booked for 13:30. He was waiting for us and after what seemed a very quick journey we were back at the port entrance. Same process in reverse as getting off.

 

 

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That sounds like a great plan and the way to go ! And thank you for taking the time from your cruise to share it with us . We hope that you have great weather and a great cruise . :) :D

Can you also share with us which taxi service that you used ?

glad to find you latest review!!!

How fun to take your grandson. did he like it? Was this his first cruise?

And we're glad that you found us and how have you been ?

This was Tyler's 3rd cruise with the others being in the Caribbean on NCL and Carnival , which are a little more kid friendly . The original plan was for Alaska but we still had time on our Russian Visas and we thought that this would be good for his education and world view . He did enjoy himself , but acting cool at age 13 is also very important . :cool:

Truly enjoying your review, thank you for taking the time to post it! Now I will quietly sit back and continue to enjoy.

Thank you Kentucky816 and you're welcome . And with a Baltic cruise coming up shortly and a New Zealand cruise on the distant horizon , we're thrilled for you ! :) :D

I believe that taxis were at a premium- I seem to remember much discussion on our roll call, because all available taxis had been pre booked.

I think that was also the case on our cruise as well . So if you are considering this option , book early !

After our return to the hip , we took a nap to help us stay up for the Beatles Celebration , the evenings entertainment . After waking up we noticed some movement on the balcony .

There were some windmills and what appeared to be an oil platform in the North Sea .

And after dinner , we headed down to the Eclipse Theatre where Damian our CD was MC .

He introduced the Ship's Master , Leonardos Palaiokrassas , who also possessed an excellent sense of humor , and was highly visible and accessible throughout the cruise .

The band followed after and launched into song after song of the early Beatles music .

The John Lennon character seemed to be the best musician and here reveals his cheeky side .

And after about 40 minutes they earned a standing ( dancing ) ovation .