Just back from Eclipse - any questions?

[Lois R]

Didn't notice any mention of an accapella group. We've really enjoyed them on Millie and last year on Solstice. Have they eliminated this from Eclipse?

Irene

 

They had an Acapella Group:) I can't recall the name but I saw

them singing a couple of different times.

[wv4891]

Hi all,

 

We did the 13 day Transatlantic on the Eclipse that ended in Miami on 11/13. If you wish to see pix of the ship, you can click on my pix link in my signature. The ship pix stat on page 8 of the album. We stayed in a Sky Suite on the Resort Deck (have quite a few pix of that also). Sorry for the size of the album, I am still deleting photos out of it. We dined in all the Speciality Restaurants and had lunch several times in the Bistro on Five. All three Speciality restaurants were unique and we loved everyone of them. The Crepes in Bistro are a must try.

[Infi]

DebnJoe: You're welcome! As the staff explained it, the 6 hour visit was a bit of an anomaly, but still! :eek: The Eclipse show was at least 45min, probably a little longer...most of the shows tended to be more towards an hour long. The shows are at the same time (7 and 9) every night. In your situation, maybe you could try going to the 7pm show and then going to Qsine? You should be on time for the reservation or close to it.

As for coming back to the restaurant to eat dessert...I felt bad asking the waitstaff, but they acted like it was no problem and told us it happens all the time. We were traveling with family, and we really didn't want them to miss the Eclipse show, and the meal did end up longer than we expected.

 

I&J Cruisers: There was an acapella group onboard, but sorry, I don't remember their name. I was told they were new to the ship since its US arrival. I rarely, if ever, saw them - they performed in the Broadway production show doing a Jersey Boys medley, and once after the show in the Entertainment Court. They weren't as roaming or interactive as I remember the acapella groups on other ships.

[vplsh]

Didn't notice any mention of an accapella group. We've really enjoyed them on Millie and last year on Solstice. Have they eliminated this from Eclipse?

Irene

 

 

I don't remember their names either, but they were on the Century last Christmas. We followed them around the ship. Unfortunately they did not perform often on our 3 day Eclipse trip and I didn't get to hear them more than once.

[DebNJoe]

DebnJoe: You're welcome! As the staff explained it, the 6 hour visit was a bit of an anomaly, but still! :eek: The Eclipse show was at least 45min, probably a little longer...most of the shows tended to be more towards an hour long. The shows are at the same time (7 and 9) every night. In your situation, maybe you could try going to the 7pm show and then going to Qsine? You should be on time for the reservation or close to it.

As for coming back to the restaurant to eat dessert...I felt bad asking the waitstaff, but they acted like it was no problem and told us it happens all the time. We were traveling with family, and we really didn't want them to miss the Eclipse show, and the meal did end up longer than we expected.

 

I&J Cruisers: There was an acapella group onboard, but sorry, I don't remember their name. I was told they were new to the ship since its US arrival. I rarely, if ever, saw them - they performed in the Broadway production show doing a Jersey Boys medley, and once after the show in the Entertainment Court. They weren't as roaming or interactive as I remember the acapella groups on other ships.

 

Great - That makes me feel so much better! We'll go to the 7 pm show, then straight to Qsine!

 

When I called Celebrity I was told the show times were 8:45 and 10:45 and that the show would last approx 2 hours!! :o

 

Just goes to show you, if you want accruate information - ask on Cruise Critic!! :D :D

[brentp]

The accapella group was named - Last Call - I believe. They were very good (strong lead) and in my opinion they picked up the Ovations show mid-way through it. They were also out on the ship performing - but very rarely - some days 2 shows, 1/2 hour each - some days not at all.

 

Might as well give my comments on the main entertainment while I am here. All shows were at 7pm & 9pm, except for the first formal night (Sunday) when there were 8:30pm & 10:45pm (Ovations show).

 

Eclipse singer & dancers: we've seen better. We felt the singers were good with the correct songs for their voices, there was a dance couple that was very good all the time, but the standard dancers were pretty weak (they were out of sync most of the time). They did 2 shows on their own, . . . and were part of a 3rd.

 

Ovations: First show - Broadway review. Good, . . . but got off to a slow start. Once the Last Call group came out, things picked up. Very solid second half. The Les Mis numbers were excellent (should have been the finally, actually).

 

Edge: Weakest of the 2, in my opinion. I've commented on the dancers, . . . now put them in aerial routines after you had "professional" aerialist a couple of nights before. It was hard to stay awake during this one.

 

Eclipse: Excellent. Excellent. did I say Excellent? Show was great - all the main performers (aerialists, contortionists, juggler/wire act, etc) were top notch. The singers and dancers were fillers for the main acts here, . . . but you were focused on the main acts. John - the CD, was always saying "don't miss tomorrow night's show." Well, this is the one not to miss!!!

 

Pete Matthews: Pretty good. We caught the last part of the first show, . . . and it was good enough to go to the second show to watch the whole thing. Comedy, juggler, etc. Witty, . . . but found he did repeat himself a few times (especially on the last night variety show).

 

Karen Grainger: This one surprised us. Hard to go to listen to a person impersonating other singers, . . . but she did it very tastefully and with enough humor to keep it real. Also, she has a pretty darn good voice in the first place. Yippee (when you see the show - you will know what this is for) :)

 

Oh, . . . and the cruise?

 

Excellent. Food in the MDR was superb (fortunately, we ordered the TDay Turkey as a third entree to try, . . . which we did, and went back to our rack of lamb quite quickly). Someone mentioned the Chateaubriand, . . . excellent! Weather, . . . started out a bit windy with rough seas, but slowly started to calmed down after we left San Juan. Overall, an excellent way to spend Thanksgiving week. Only down side, . . . we might want to do this every year for the holiday now.

[andrek]

Do you know what kind of hair dryers were in Concierge Class? People on this board keep saying that you need to bring your own dryer if you have thick or difficult hair. I do, but I really don't want to take up the room in my suitcase as I only take a carryon for the entire cruise. Thanks for any information you can give me.

Andrea

[firemanbobswife]

Do you know what kind of hair dryers were in Concierge Class? People on this board keep saying that you need to bring your own dryer if you have thick or difficult hair. I do, but I really don't want to take up the room in my suitcase as I only take a carryon for the entire cruise. Thanks for any information you can give me.

Andrea

 

Andrea,

 

The hairdryers are the same in all the rooms. They do just fine for thick hair. I have very thick, long hair, and the dryers are great. I will not be bringing my own. Can't wait to see everyone!!

[andrek]

Thanks Tiffany! Now I have more room for clothes and shoes!

[Eloise4Ever]

Andrea,

 

The hairdryers are the same in all the rooms. They do just fine for thick hair. I have very thick, long hair, and the dryers are great. I will not be bringing my own. Can't wait to see everyone!!

 

One more question about the hairdryers please! Are they attached to the wall in the bathroom or can they be used at the desk/dressing table?

 

Thanks for your help.

[firemanbobswife]

One more question about the hairdryers please! Are they attached to the wall in the bathroom or can they be used at the desk/dressing table?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

They are in the drawer of the vanity next to the TV so you can sit in the chair or stand and do your hair. You plug it in to the outlet on the side of the desk. So, they are not attached. Hope this makes sense.

 

Tiffany

[Infi]

DebnJoe: I'm glad sharing my Qsine experience helped! Your plan sounds perfect. I agree with you, the Celebrity reps on the phone are so woefully uninformed. You can call 5 different times and get 5 different answers. But two hour shows, that one takes the cake! :eek: I noticed that this will be your first X cruise...hope you have a wonderful time, and I know you'll love Qsine - a lot of wow just in that little restaurant!

Andrek: The hairdryers are the same in all cabins. They are probably a little weaker than your average one at home due to voltage restrictions, but more than usable. Caveat: my daughter and I both have fine hair and found the dryers worked well for us.

 

Eloise4ever: the dryers are in the vanity/desk drawer. You take them out of the drawer, and plug them into the outlet for it on the desk/vanity. There's a large mirror right there that you can use. I don't recall if there's a plug for it in the bathroom, maybe someone else remembers that better.

[Eloise4Ever]

That makes perfect sense Tiffany! Thanks so much. Thanks also Infi - I'd much prefer to use the hairdryer at the desk/vanity than in the bathroom so the set-up sounds great.

 

Eloise :)

[DebNJoe]

DebnJoe: I'm glad sharing my Qsine experience helped! Your plan sounds perfect. I agree with you, the Celebrity reps on the phone are so woefully uninformed. You can call 5 different times and get 5 different answers. But two hour shows, that one takes the cake! :eek: I noticed that this will be your first X cruise...hope you have a wonderful time, and I know you'll love Qsine - a lot of wow just in that little restaurant!

 

Yep - our 1st X cruise, and I'm quite sure we are going to love it. We can't wait, everything about the ship looks and sounds amazing. Besides Qsine, we've made reservations at Tuscan Grill for Valentines Day and also purchased the drink packages!! It will be nice to have that all inclusive feel - now that all of that stuff is paid for in advance :)

Now I have to figure what to use my OBC for - we will actually have some left over after the tips are covered!! Hmmmm - I may just have to hit the shops ;)

[SugarLover]

One more question about the hairdryers please! Are they attached to the wall in the bathroom or can they be used at the desk/dressing table?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

They are packed in a little cloth bag which you will find in the dressing table drawer, along with an adapter for the Europeans. You can use whereever. They also have wisely put a whole strip of outlets (different voltages) on the side of the dressing table, where the dresser light switch is too, so you can charge electronics on the counter, etc. (as opposed to the floor, or bathroom!).

 

One thing I found only when packing to go home :mad: also in the way back of the drawer, is a portable double mirror for makeup etc. We didn't have it for some reason in our first cabin, (I know because I took out the hair dryer and filled it with my jewelry and makeup). Our second cabin, I unpacked differently and didn't use all the drawers.

 

I also have a couple comments on our experience last week, but will try to succinctly write them up later in a review hopefully! (Disembarkation was disaster for us... about 9 am they were letting EVERYONE off at the same time, and the terminal got swamped, so they stopped letting people off for a while. Customs lines were problematic...(there were four lines, but then they just all of a sudden closed two, and ALL THOSE PEOPLE were told to go to the end of the other two lines.... not good!). Many grumpy passengers! Also, we were back-to-back on the 20th, which took waaaay too long...almost 3 hours standing around (9:45 to 12:30). We were not let back on the ship until the opened the doors and let everyone (new) in with us! Never doing a B2B again!!!

 

Bar service was terribly slow, and yes, the bartenders seemed to be awfully green. I was glad I did NOT get the drink package, because I would have wanted to drink 3 drinks in the time it took me to get one! Not all the bars were properly stocked, always running out of something, etc also. Only Thomas in the molecular bar knew what he was doing.

 

I am also trying to remember the maitre d's names in the specialties.... and am blanking out! (someone early in this thread asked). I can picture the gentlemen... the only ones I can definitely remember are Adrian, and Akar. Murano's escapes me, as well as the overall m'd.

To the asking poster: if you have a name, I would recognize if I heard it.

[Infi]

Yep - our 1st X cruise, and I'm quite sure we are going to love it. We can't wait, everything about the ship looks and sounds amazing. Besides Qsine, we've made reservations at Tuscan Grill for Valentines Day and also purchased the drink packages!! It will be nice to have that all inclusive feel - now that all of that stuff is paid for in advance :)

Now I have to figure what to use my OBC for - we will actually have some left over after the tips are covered!! Hmmmm - I may just have to hit the shops ;)

 

You're going to love Tuscan! That was the restaurant I really wanted to try onboard, and it was wonderful. Fantastic food and the desserts were to die for - if you love creme brulee, their pistachio marble creme brulee is the best I have ever had. The views and ambiance in Tuscan can't be beat.

As for OBC...we had quite a bit on this last cruise and it still managed to find a way to be spent. :o I blame the midnight Black Friday sale!

 

If you have the time, write a review when you get back...it's always fun to read the thoughts of first time X cruisers. :)

[billc102]

They are packed in a little cloth bag which you will find in the dressing table drawer, along with an adapter for the Europeans. You can use whereever. They also have wisely put a whole strip of outlets (different voltages) on the side of the dressing table, where the dresser light switch is too, so you can charge electronics on the counter, etc. (as opposed to the floor, or bathroom!).

 

One thing I found only when packing to go home :mad: also in the way back of the drawer, is a portable double mirror for makeup etc. We didn't have it for some reason in our first cabin, (I know because I took out the hair dryer and filled it with my jewelry and makeup). Our second cabin, I unpacked differently and didn't use all the drawers.

 

I also have a couple comments on our experience last week, but will try to succinctly write them up later in a review hopefully! (Disembarkation was disaster for us... about 9 am they were letting EVERYONE off at the same time, and the terminal got swamped, so they stopped letting people off for a while. Customs lines were problematic...(there were four lines, but then they just all of a sudden closed two, and ALL THOSE PEOPLE were told to go to the end of the other two lines.... not good!). Many grumpy passengers! Also, we were back-to-back on the 20th, which took waaaay too long...almost 3 hours standing around (9:45 to 12:30). We were not let back on the ship until the opened the doors and let everyone (new) in with us! Never doing a B2B again!!!

 

Bar service was terribly slow, and yes, the bartenders seemed to be awfully green. I was glad I did NOT get the drink package, because I would have wanted to drink 3 drinks in the time it took me to get one! Not all the bars were properly stocked, always running out of something, etc also. Only Thomas in the molecular bar knew what he was doing.

 

I am also trying to remember the maitre d's names in the specialties.... and am blanking out! (someone early in this thread asked). I can picture the gentlemen... the only ones I can definitely remember are Adrian, and Akar. Murano's escapes me, as well as the overall m'd.

To the asking poster: if you have a name, I would recognize if I heard it.

 

Glad we are not the only ones that thought the bar service was bad, the fact they did not stock the bars with supplies was also a probelem. They blamed it on the TA who drank for free on their two day cruises on 11/13 and 11/15. We did buy the beverage packages and feel broke even.

[str0nac]

Thanks for the informative review. We are looking forward to our Jan 15th cruise on the Eclipse (1st time on Celebrity) and I'm absorbing everything I can about the ship, food and experience.

 

A couple of questions:

1. Just wondering if you did any shore excursions? Or was it just fun enough to walk around the port cities?

 

2. During days when the ship is in port are both the buffet and main dining room open for lunch?

 

Now I don't want to start a heated discussion about tipping (as I saw a thread earlier on where things became a bit nasty :(), but just wondering if it is customary or expected to tip the wait staff at the specialty restaurants or if they are included in the "auto tip". Again, I'm just trying to figure out the "norm" here.

 

Like others, I can't wait to see your pictures of the menus and food!!

[BamaD]

The Thanksgiving sailing of the Eclipse was terrific! Having said that, I am going to have to agree with the bartender comments.

 

Pool bar was "hit-or-miss."

Sunset bar was usually good unless swamped with sail-away crowds.

Bartenders in the Oceanview Cafe were absolutely hostile.

 

My one casino bar experience felt like an "airline." Ordered a Bloody Mary, asked for extra-spicy. I was the only one at the bar. The guy poured vodka and tomato juice over ice and handed it to me. I asked for tabasco, celery stick, or lime. He said he had none. I was staring at all three. What the heck? I politely and hygienically reached accross and got celery and tabasco.

 

Peter, in the Martini bar, mixed amazing tasting drinks and put on a good show. When he was not there, the drinks were not as good.

 

I'm sure this will improve with each week, and it did not ruin the cruise for me in any way!

[BamaD]

Now I feel the need to mention a few amazing things. Bistro-on-Five = Fabulous. Order your crepe and then order a Banana/Nutella/Pistashio crepe for the table. I don't like any of those ingredients alone, but the combination almost made me weep.

 

Murano - perfection.

 

Coffee Bar and its pastries, always a treat and a great location to watch people!

 

Ava's Thai massage.

 

Relaxation room - open to all - front of deck 11.

 

Those heated tile loungers in the Persian Gardens.

 

MIL hurt her leg and could not go into port. Sitting in the Sky Lounge, sipping a Bloody Mary, was great. St kitts looked like a giant postcard stretched out before you. We even planned our walk through town from that vantage point.

[kicker]

Thanks for the informative review. We are looking forward to our Jan 15th cruise on the Eclipse (1st time on Celebrity) and I'm absorbing everything I can about the ship, food and experience.

 

A couple of questions:

1. Just wondering if you did any shore excursions? Or was it just fun enough to walk around the port cities?

 

2. During days when the ship is in port are both the buffet and main dining room open for lunch?

 

Like others, I can't wait to see your pictures of the menus and food!!

 

Str0nac: I see you're new to posting on here - welcome! I'm new to Celebrity personally, but I'll be on the same cruise with you (along with at least 46 people who have signed up for a Celebrity Connections get-together on board). Check out this link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1229837

 

There's a number of people on that thread who are veteran Celeb cruisers, and even several who have already cruised Eclipse - they can give you lots of good info.

 

Also, when you learn how to use the "search" feature on here, you'll find answers to your questions. So stop by our thread and say hello.

[Infi]

Thanks for the informative review. We are looking forward to our Jan 15th cruise on the Eclipse (1st time on Celebrity) and I'm absorbing everything I can about the ship, food and experience.

 

A couple of questions:

1. Just wondering if you did any shore excursions? Or was it just fun enough to walk around the port cities?

 

2. During days when the ship is in port are both the buffet and main dining room open for lunch?

 

Now I don't want to start a heated discussion about tipping (as I saw a thread earlier on where things became a bit nasty :(), but just wondering if it is customary or expected to tip the wait staff at the specialty restaurants or if they are included in the "auto tip". Again, I'm just trying to figure out the "norm" here.

 

Like others, I can't wait to see your pictures of the menus and food!!

 

 

Str0nac, I'll try to answer your questions with my experiences. Apologies, this will probably be long!

 

1. We didn't do any shore excursions through Celebrity, but we found things on our own.

San Juan: there are plenty of taxis (actually mini buses) available for island tours on the pier. The drivers all speak English and will negotiate with you for a tour, I believe it was $10 for 1 hour and $20 for two hours. IMHO, there is not much to see landmark wise in San Juan, the forts are the real draw and wandering the streets of Old San Juan too. You can walk to all of those (El Morro, San Cristobal, and Old San Juan) from the pier in about 15-20min if you want.

St. Maarten: I read recommendations on the St. Maarten board on CC (check our the Ports of Call - Caribbean section) and chose a tour with Bernard's tours. He was waiting for us on the pier, and the tour took most of the day to go around both sides of the island. It was alright, not the best or the worst. Honestly, I was a little disappointed after all the raves on CC. If not touring, you can easily walk to downtown or take a water taxi there ($4 or $5) for shopping and wandering. Or, catch a cab to one of the beaches, like Orient or Maho beach.

St. Kitts: Ditto St. Maarten - lots of great recommendations on the ports of call boards on CC. We chose a tour with Thenford Grey and I was VERY impressed. Thenford was very knowledgeable, professional, and friendly. We got to see parts of the island we had never seen on previous visits and it was fantastic. He really made our day in St. Kitts. Highly recommend! St. Kitts has a huge shopping area right on the pier, one of the best I've seen. If you get past it, there's a local craft market and the actual downtown, both of which are fun to wander. I bought some great painted wooden boxes at the craft market when we last visited, and was sad we didn't make it there this time.

 

2. On port days, the MDR is closed for lunch so the staff can have some time off. The Oceanview Cafe (buffet) is open, as is the AquaSpa cafe (light fare like chicken and salmon, along with some delicious marinated fruit), room service, or Bistro on 5 (crepes and paninis, $5pp but more than worth it! Bistro is one of the best kept secrets onboard, give it a try at least once.)

 

3. Tipping: this is a personal decision, and the threads on here do get pretty nasty about it. Tipping is not required in the specialty restaurants. I'm sure many don't tip, and that's fine. However, we have always (with one exception) felt our servers went above and beyond in the specialty restaurants, and have tipped accordingly. There's a line on the bill for a gratuity, so it's easy to add. I'm not really sure of the norm - no one here is, honestly - but if I had to guess (and not based just on what you read here on CC), I would say most people probably throw in a little tip, if only perhaps because of the line on the bill. Like I said, it's up to you, but if you feel the service quality merits an extra tip, go for it.

 

I will second the suggestion above to use the search feature, poke around the Celebrity board. So much helpful info here from experienced X cruisers, we all learn a lot. There's lots of threads on Eclipse, and you'll pick up a lot of ship specific info from those. Ignore the endless debates on dress code and tipping etc. - the ship will not be like that, so don't let it scare you off! Focus on the must have dishes, the helpful tips, and the positives and you'll be more than prepared to enjoy your first Celebrity cruise. :)

[Illinisue]

We're on the Eclipse in March. Do you remember who the Cruise Director and Captain are?

 

Thanks!

[Lois R]

We're on the Eclipse in March. Do you remember who the Cruise Director and Captain are?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi,:) the Cruise Director was John Grantham although depending on

when his contract started he might not be on there in March.

[Infi]

We're on the Eclipse in March. Do you remember who the Cruise Director and Captain are?

 

Thanks!

 

Lois has the CD question covered. :) The Captain was Capt. Panagiotis Skyllogiannis, but, like John Grantham, not sure when his contract is up/if he'll be on in March either.