beachseeker

You were right on with your opinions of the cruise. I was on the Eclipse in January 2014 and 2015. It was very nice. People were mostly Americans and Canadians. Some Europeans and Aussies. Groups from Norway and Germany. Nice people....very old...lots of walkers, canes, wheelchairs, scooters, etc. I was walking slowly after an injury. At times, it did feel like a retirement home. The average age seemed to be 80. Met a lot of people who were doing b2b cruises. The days at sea were chilly. Cruises out of Florida in January can be cold. Not ready to do that cruise again. Looking for a better option with fewer days at sea....and warmer weather. January 2013 we sailed out of St. Maarten. January 2012 sailed out of San Juan. Warmer weather during the entire cruise. may do the Summit. Wish that Celebrity would do longer cruises out of San Juan. The 10 day on the Millenium in 2012 was ideal.

Have you checked out the Summit's 10 and 11 day cruises out of San Juan in January 2016?

We were on the Eclipse last month. Was pleasantly surprised that there were not as many scooters and wheelchairs as I had expected. The average age appeared to be much younger than your experience. We are early 60's and we were not the oldest but not certainly not the youngest. There were probably just as many younger as older. A nice mix of ages.

 

Anyone know why they appear to be putting the Suite Dining on the Upper Floor of the MDR, isn't it being put on the lower floor of the MDR on other ships?

Just off the Eclipse Sunday. The Asst Maitre D told us the suite restaurant would be at the front of the lower floor of the MDR.

Nothing against NCL or Celebrity because we enjoy both lines, but I highly recommend Princess for Alaska, especially the Island or Coral. If you haven't been to Alaska then choose a cruise that includes Glacier Bay.

We also received the same message requesting boarding between noon and 3:30. Why does Celebrity need to call twice, text twice and also send two emails to the same person? Also what time is the best to board? Would you wait an hour until 1pm and let all the mad rush get on first? We are elite but maybe that line will be long. Eclipse is at POM and we have not sailed from there.

Currently on the Eclipse. Priority boarding was a breeze with no lines. We arrived at the port around noon, parked the car and walked right into the terminal. Once we had our sea passes we went straight to the ship.

Found them on the net...I don't see Crab legs on the menu...perhaps it's one of those "daily special" type of deals?

 

http://www.westribpub.info/index.php/food

Our bus driver told us about the crab legs at West Rib. They were on the board as a special but I got the feeling they were the special most days during the summer season.

Name of the restaurant is West Rib. One pound of fresh crab legs was $25 versus $50 at the princess lodges. And they were awesome! When we got off the train we stayed in town and walked around (took about 15 minutes) then ate at the West Rib. The shuttle ran every 30 minutes for a while then hourly, back to the lodge.

Haven't had the pleasure (?) of meeting either one of them yet, but this description of Sue Denning reminds me of the CD on our NCL cruise. She was actually very good, but after 2 DAYS her constant "Yeah-ahs!" had gotten very old. ;)

Currently on the Eclipse and we have not found Sue Denning or her voice to be annoying. We have enjoyed her. I prefer the experienced CD versus many of the young CD's that come across as silly. Most of the entertainment has been very good so far.

Have a great cruise. :)

Thank you! Hope we cross cruising paths again soon. Tell Jacque retirement is awesome!

Getting on the Eclipse was super smooth today. Great start to our cruise.

For a reason :rolleyes:.

 

There is sufficient outlets for one's needs.

I have to disagree. When charging camera batteries, kindles, and tablets at night we struggle to get everything recharged after a day in port and before retiring for the evening. DH and I don't share nicely so we each have a camera and tablet.

Cruise next month has a Grenada stop. We have never been there and thought we might get off and walk around. Would appreciate your expansion re: "kinda nasty" as that sounds like a comment that we would pay particular attention to.

 

Thanks,

bill

If you are a beach person don't miss Grand Anse beach. On the top of our list for beautiful beaches. We took the water taxi which was right by the cruise pier, rented loungers and had a wonderful day. Only disappointment was our ship left at 2:00.

Onboard Quest at the moment. Enjoying a sea day on the way to Thailand. As usual it is like coming home with all the crew from previous trips. A couple of things. The four bottles in the suite is exactly as was, ie Pyrat, Absolut, Bombay Sapphire and Johnny Walker Red. If I get a chance I'll ask if theses are to stay. Schweppes Tonic in abundance. No Club Royal or the stuff they loaded on in Fujairah those months ago, so hoping that continues.

 

They are filming onboard. Jenna Pimental, Larry's daughter is here.

 

Message for Spursgirl and Lottie A. Max says hi!

 

More if I get a chance.

 

Phil

Good news about the Pyrat Rum. Have a great voyage!

Count me in for acquiring a taste for Pyrat thanks to Azamara! I'm not a big fan of hard liquor but I thought it was an absolutely delicious sipping rum. But sadly, it appears that Pyrat has been replaced by Bacardi Gold. The AZ website says that all suites now get a 375 ml bottle each of Stolichnaya Vodka, Bacardi Gold Rum, Bombay Sapphire Gin and Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch. Hope we can do a swap for Pyrat ... but if not, that's what I'd like to change on Azamara. ;);)

That's a downgrade for both the rum and scotch. Not nice Azamara.

Downside for John was the Pyrat rum supplied in the CC suite as he acquired quite a taste for it!! only to find out how expensive it is to buy back home, just as well we will be back on Quest in a couple of months time so he can get his "fix".

I too have acquired a taste for Pyrat rum since discovering it on Azamara. Good stuff!

On our Vision of the Seas cruise we bought the unlimited package. We can't remember the exact cost for 7 days but it was around $40 a day. DH needed it for work and it was really nice not worrying about minutes used. You still had to log in and out but it was very easy to use with good service.

If you are in a suite you do have dinner with the Captain or a senior officer at some stage, but this also happens to stateroom guests, so not sure of the criteria.

 

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We were in a Club Continent Suite for both of our cruises and were not invited to dinner with the Captain or a Senior Officer. I don't think that is a perk for all suites.

I think you'll find Azamara roll calls to be very active with opportunities for arranging private tours.

our Mediterranean cruise had a very, very small roll call and very little early planning. Several posted within a couple of weeks of sailing and wanted to join private excursions. Our Caribbean cruise last year had a bit larger roll call and we were able to put a couple of really nice private excursions together and made some very special friends. But, both were very small roll calls and not very active when compared to roll calls on the mass market cruise lines. Our cruise roll call in February on the Eclipse has over 200 pages and has been active for almost two years.

For Alaska I highly recommend Princess, especially the Coral or Island. We were on the Coral this summer and it was a great cruise. Perfect size for Alaska with tons of viewing areas.

 

we hope we do not get sea sick. we are from oz. wonder what others take in case? our doctor will supply some meds if required. best be prepared.

 

thanks again.

I use Bonine. Works great for me with no groggy feel and I can still have my wine at dinner.

I wonder if different cruise lines created different "monsters" for various reasons....................

 

Good luck in your future travels.

 

Sea Ya

Having cruised Princess, NCL, Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, and Azamara I am more aware of loyalty cruisers on Royal than any other cruise line. That said, if we didn't go to the Concierge lounge for breakfast and drinks before dinner I'm not sure my awareness would be any greater on Royal than other cruises. Princess has a lounge for suites and loyalty cruisers from 5 to 8 pm with appetizers but drinks are not free. Few people take advantage of this dedicated lounge. I have cruised on Celebrity only once and it was a few years ago.

We just completed our 4th cruise and all have been in a suite. Drinks before dinner in the CL was a perk that we definitely enjoyed and one of the reasons we booked a suite on the Vision two weeks ago. Our previous cruises were on the Adventure and Serenade out of San Juan. This was the first time that we could not find a seat in the CL and sat outside the door in the Viking Lounge. Concierge and staff worked to keep everyone with drinks and made time to visit with those of us outside the lounge as well. I honestly can't say if it was mostly loyalty guests, suite guests or a mix of both, which is what I imagine was the case. Fact is, the CL wasn't large enough to accommodate the number of guests. We did have a couple of conversations where the guests commented that with the drinks loaded on their sea pass and then drinks in CL that they never pay for drinks on any cruise. The bar service was so slow on the cruise that some were going to the CL to get a drink to take to the theater. I don't blame them because getting a drink in the theater was impossible at night. So, yes we found the CL crowded this time but Concierge found a solution and we had our pre dinner drinks nightly.

We were in a GS last week and the hardest bed ever on a cruise. We asked for a topper and they told us they don't have them anymore. Concierge tried to get our mattress exchanged but no luck. And we asked the first day. Hmmm....frustrating to hear all the others in the concierge lounge talking about asking for a topper and receiving it. We slept so poorly that we will not choose Royal again. We were seriously considering the Grandeur to Bermuda but not happening.

It's too bad because we like the smaller ships and thought there were many positives on the Vision.

DH's review of our cruise last week on the Vision was posted today. If interested here is the link.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=266147

Hi cinnamon and thank you for help in the other thread.

 

So 2 and 5 are the official nights for formals ?

 

Some of us ( including me) were speculating and guessing on our roll call that 2 and 6 might be the nights....... probably we were wrong.

Just guessing but Grand Cayman is a later stay where Cozumel leaves port much earlier (or should have if we not not skipped it!).

Actually, we were disappointed with the Motown band. We have heard much better and there was no light and shade in their performance.

One man's meat etc.......

 

Because I had read here that the mattresses were hard, we requested a Topper on Embarkation afternoon from our room steward. It made a difference and the firm bed much more acceptable.

 

 

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We asked the first morning and was told they don't have any toppers but heard from many others that they received one. Don't know if loyalty level made a difference but being in a suite certainly didn't!