Eclipse - Expectations & Reality

[Jane2357]

This will be a rambling account of my Feb. 8th, 14 night cruise onboard Eclipse. As the moving van will be showing up at my home in 2 days for our big move and I'm sick (caught it on the ship - more on that drama later) - my life is pretty much in shambles but I want to get the info out there if it can be of help to anyone, so with no regard to spelling and punctuation here is my account.

 

I sailed with my dh for our 20th Anniversary celebration, dh is 60 and I like to consider myself his much younger wife -lol - I'm 56. I realize that 20 yrs of marriage for folks of our age isn't that long but this wasn't our first rodeo :o We splurged on an S1 Aft wrap cabin #1663 - port side.

 

This was our 1st cruise over 7 nights and 1st suite on Celebrity. Yes I realize that there are are of those of you who don't consider an Sky Suite a REAL suite - well I have nothing to compare it to but I will say that we were treated so well that I can't think of what more they could have done had we been in the Penthouse - the service was that amazing. More of that later though. Let's get through the horror of Embarkation Day. A day that I always despise.

 

We currently live in Ft Myers and we would be driving to port the morning of the cruise, we had dropped off the pets to the sitter the evening before. It was a short night as the excitement was keeping me from sleep so we woke early, closed up the house and set off for the drive. We had made arrangements for the Park N Go in Ft Lauderdale. The drive went much quicker than we thought it would even with some detour around 595 - we arrived at the parking lot WAY to early.

 

The whole set up there is so easy and quick. We pulled right in and parked under a tent where the staff came to unload our luggage into the van. This is where I must admit that I over packed :(:eek: BADLY. The look on the drivers face as the luggage just kept coming out of our SUV was - well he might have said something nasty but I think he bit his tongue thinking of the massive tip he would be getting for hefting so much. Can you be sued for causing a hernia?

 

We hopped on the van thinking that we would wait for other passengers as the van was empty save for us. The driver took right off and as we were so early that I told him we were happy to wait for others - he said "Miss - we can't - where would their luggage go?" - oops.

 

We were dropped at the ship where we stood in line and got to chat with other passengers - we could still see people dis-embarking from the previous cruise behind us. Really the waiting in line wasn't too bad but I did see some of the more elderly having a bit of a problem. It would be nice if they would let you check in early and then put you in the waiting areas with the chairs. On the way onto the ship we walked pass them but apparently they don't use them.

 

I've cruised often enough to know what I should and should not be trying to get onboard - and this trip I made a mistake - gasp. I had packed in the carryon my wine opener but not the one I usually take. Hey - it is 14 nights, our anniversary to boot and I knew there would be some drinking going on so I brought one that was a bit more sturdy as I didn't want to suffer the horror of not being able to open my vino.

 

Well the very efficient screening man took exception with my wine opener and we were pulled out of line for them to confiscate it. :mad: This wouldn't have been to bad but they took my carry on with all of my valuable jewelry in it and just started spreading it out on a very small table with masses of people streaming past and I wasn't allowed to touch anything. I was afraid of something falling and getting lost but the lady looking for my wine opener / weapon had no such concern as she dug and tossed my things about. She was pretty rude and it wasn't sitting well with me.

 

At this point I was getting pretty upset and a bit grumpy but the offending item was finally found and we just pitched it in the trash and on to check in we went. I will admit that the opener had a very small foil cutter on it - this was what caused the problem and I will not make the same mistake twice. While I was at fault and I admit it, I feel the process was not handled very well. They should take you to a private area where your valuables are not at risk.

 

Check in at the suite desk went smoothly and we breezed onboard and up to Bistro on 5 - where a glass of wine calmed my nerves.

 

TBC

 

[Cindy]

Well the very efficient screening man took exception with my wine opener and we were pulled out of line for them to confiscate it. :mad: This wouldn't have been to bad but they took my carry on with all of my valuable jewelry in it and just started spreading it out on a very small table with masses of people streaming past and I wasn't allowed to touch anything. I was afraid of something falling and getting lost but the lady looking for my wine opener / weapon had no such concern as she dug and tossed my things about. She was pretty rude and it wasn't sitting well with me.

 

At this point I was getting pretty upset and a bit grumpy but the offending item was finally found and we just pitched it in the trash and on to check in we went. I will admit that the opener had a very small foil cutter on it - this was what caused the problem and I will not make the same mistake twice. While I was at fault and I admit it, I feel the process was not handled very well. They should take you to a private area where your valuables are not at risk.

 

 

I had the same thing happen to me at Seattle airport, for the same offending item -- that had inadvertently been left in my carry-on and forgotten. All my camera equipment and jewelry was spread all over the place, and I was practically in tears. It took 2 TSA agents to locate the item. The first guy was very nice and understanding, but the second guy who came over to help was hideous...yelling at me and accusing me of being a liar.:mad: I know how you felt -- it was very stressful.

[Chitown12562]

Happy Anniversary Jane, to you and the hubby. Looking forward to your review, especially on Blu.

 

Anyway you can post a picture of the wine opener that almost got you locked away? We might bring some wine aboard and I'd like to know what wine openers they allow.

[Jane2357]

I'm sorry but I do not have a photo of my lethal wine opener. I usually take a 2 piece, plastic thing where the screw inserts into the handle - about $2.00 bucks at any store. This time I took a folding metal opener with a very small foil cutter - apparently they consider it a tiny knife. I won't make that mistake again.

[Jane2357]

So we are now at Bistro and this is where we had arranged to try to meet up with anyone from our roll call who could make it. We were only the 3rd party in the place but others soon started to trickle in. We had arranged to wear beads and or tiaras as a way to locate others. It worked so well as people would walk up and say "I think I might know you". Those not in the loop probably just thought we were nuts :cool:

 

I enjoyed my wine and a very yummy bowl of tomato soup - I was too excited to eat so I never tried the crepes. Sadly we never made it back so it is on my list of things to try again.

 

We had all of our carry on with us and for the ladies I want to mention that I hand carried on my formals gowns and dh's tux and dinner jacket. I had read about some people's luggage getting lost and that the liability is only $300.00 :eek: per bag which wouldn't cover the cost of 1 dress - I wasn't willing to chance it and so had a smaller, wheeled garment bag. It worked really well and I was able to quickly get them hung once in the cabin so no wrinkles.

 

I'm going to give a disclaimer here - take it or leave it. People are always saying things like "I purchased this or that, did this or that" - and if you have the same interest, not knowing the actual price really doesn't help much - so I'll be talking at times about actual $$$$. IF THIS OFFENDS YOU then just move on pass it.

 

When we left Bistro we knew the cabins would be ready shortly so we headed up to deck 11 - the Penthouse deck to await the announcement.

 

TBC

 

[Jane2357]

We arrived to deck 11 to wait for the announcement that the cabins were ready. We stood facing the glass balcony where we could see down several levels or up to deck 12. We had only been there a moment when I noticed a uniformed employee escorting a couple to their higher end suite past the closed hallway doors - the lady was carrying her white rose. Nice touch!

 

Shortly the employee returned and approached us, introducing himself as the Assistant Hotel Manager - asking how things were going and then asked us what cabin we were in. He then escorted us to our cabin - what a nice thing as we were in the low end suite and are of no high level in the Captain's Club.

 

He showed us the cabin and stated the aft wraps were some of his personal favorites. He asked if there was anything he could do and seeing the wine bottle from our T.A. - I did ask if the butler would have a wine opener - of course was the answer.

 

S1 #1663 - first impressions - the room is large and bright - love the round window but there is not much storage and there is too much wasted space. The closet was small - with double doors with the hanging space and a shelf above that was full of life jackets (we had all but 2 of them removed). Another single door had the cabin safe and shelving. There was a long wall of wasted space that accommodated a rolling garment hanger that was brought in so that I could hang all of our clothes - YES - I over packed and have learned my lesson. :o

 

I had read about bringing magnetized hooks and dh had ordered 4 - 40lb. This was a most useful tip and I won't sail again without them. My evening gowns had a home and were up and out of the way.

 

The bar area was nice and within the next hour our bar set-up arrived - a pre ordered bottle of vodka and gin. We carried on our two bottles of wine, there was the complimentary champagne and a bottle of wine from the TA. We looked like alcoholics! With my carried on Diet Tonic water - I was in business!

 

The bathroom was very nice but I'm almost 5'2 - the tub is a good step up and then the rain shower head is hung - perfect for me but you wouldn't have to be very tall for this to be a problem. Good storage in the bathroom.

 

The balcony is amazing - good sized table, 2 chairs and foot stools. The first half of the cruise the balcony was sopping wet every a.m. - we aren't sure why but it stopped at mid-point. The balcony while awesome is VERY windy - so that I spent less time on it than I would have thought but that view - wow. You get a great view from the bed of the angle portion - I loved star watching at night.

 

I booked this cabin on Oct. 25, 2012 for the Feb. 8, 2014 sailing. We did not get the 1,2,3 promo but we had extra OBC from X and our TA to ease our pain. Had we have not attended the hot glass auction on the last day (and purchased) we would have had a bill of almost nothing.

 

This was my first time being aft and there is A LOT more movement in the aft - I loved it - it was like being rocked in a hammock. Dh wasn't loving that part as much as I did.

 

TBC

 

[jerseygirl3]

While reading your review, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Your title leads one to believe this was a less than fulfilling cruise experience. I hope that's not the case, because up to this point, everything sounds wonderful. The confiscation of your wine opener (which I don't understand; it's not like you were taking it on an airplane, and there are plenty of knives all over the ship, so why were you not allowed to bring on a wine opener with a foil cutter???). But having said that, I don't think that can be attributed to Celebrity (not that you were blaming Celebrity, from what I can gather).

 

Anxiously awaiting the rest of your review.

 

BTW, you mention a move. The only way I would move from Ft. Myers would be if it was to Marco Island, or the like!!!LOL

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

Do hope you are feeling better. I have read other posts you have made on other threads and enjoy your refreshing candour. Am looking forward to reading your thoughts on your cruise.

[middlehaitch]

Not to worry Jane (Jane2357),

We have lost so many wine openers and 2in swiss army knives to security agencies we find it hard to count. Your treatment was, unfortunately, the same as we always get going through the USA security system. We think the personel are not allowed to smile; every other border we have crossed has been friendly. The best was when flying out of London Heathrow and DH was stopped because we had a silly manneken- pis corkskrew. Once it was located they actually let me run back to check-in to put it in our luggage, then VIPed me back through the secuity line up.

 

The public ransacking of hand luggage is something I am prepared for, it has happened for no reason, and no longer get upset at as it ruins part of my journey otherwise.

 

We do longer cruises, and are following you on the 22 March. Did you find it a different atmosphere than shorter cruises?

 

I too have seen you throughout the forum, enjoy your posts, and am looking forward to reading the rest of your story.

 

 

Cheers, h.

Get well soon and happy moving.

[drarill]

Jane, welcome back. Hope you are feeling better… looking forward to the rest of your review.

[debshomespun]

Looking forward to the rest of your review as I had a friend on this cruise. She ahould be home now, but I haven't talked to her yet.

[Jane2357]

Roughly 10 minutes after the hotel director had left - our doorbell rang (love the doorbell) it was our butler with a wine opener which was loaned to us for the length of the cruise. Talk about customer service! I was blown away that the Assistant Hotel Director had taken care of my problem so quickly. :D

 

Many of you may remember that I was pretty much flamed on my own thread for talking about my preference for a male Butler. I got my wish and hit the jackpot with Manuel. This man was a treasure. I have often heard of people talking about a staff member and I've never understood it. How could you remember someone from years ago - well NOW I GET IT.

 

Sea day #1 - I mentioned to him and our cabin stewards - Sheldon & Leslie that on sea day #2 we would be part of a cabin crawl with 25-30 people ending up in our cabin. I asked if they could please make sure that the cabin was in excellent order and done early in the day. Manuel took it upon himself to approach his supervisor who approved champagne and mimosas (fresh orange juice) - complimentary of Celebrity to be served in our cabin. Wow! They had animal towels large and small to decorate - it was truly special.

 

Manuel did everything for us - room service was Manuel. Floral delivery to the room - Manuel. Want to deliver something to another cabin - Manuel. Can't get the bow tie to lie properly - Manuel. Confirm specialty dinning - Manuel. Always with a smile - many times with a laugh as the quicker he talked the less I could understand him.

 

Every single morning he delivered coffee and / or a full breakfast to our cabin - always calling ahead to say he was on the way. Every day around 3:00 came our cheese and cracker plate. Then later - ding dong - Manuel again thinking we might want some sweets or shrimp - we finally had to tell him - no more food please.

 

Later I'll tell the story about something else special he did for us that did not turn out as well - but I adored him so much that I would NEVER have told him, he would have been crushed. We'll call it the Lingerie Heist - or where have all my bras gone.

 

Our room stewards were always visible and did their jobs with a smile. We were always greeted by name and every request was met.

 

The service was WAY above expectations.

 

TBC

 

[Jane2357]

We had Select dining, quickly found a server we really liked and never waited more than 5 minutes for a table in his section. We had a shared table 1 night, most nights were a table for 2 (really romantic) and 3 nights we dined with new friends.

 

After we refused the bread basket on the first night - they knew not to bring one - except when we were with others, when we went missing in the specialty dining - they wondered where we were. If you get Gusti & Made on Eclipse - you'll be well served.

 

The wine sommelier - Robert was also excellent. We had pre-purchased the 7 bottle premium wine package - after a chat when he realized given my taste that there might not be something on the list that I would love - he off listed to find me the perfect wine. Was is less than what was on the list or more - I have no idea but I loved it and appreciated his knowledge. He always sought us out at any event to make sure we were being taken care of.

 

I had also wanted to do the Riedel wine seminar and we had Robert sell it to us. There after - even before we attended the seminar - we were always served in the Riedel glasses.

 

TBC

[SkystheLimit]

Jane,

 

You are so kind to post this review while you are not feeling well.

 

We were originally booked on this cruise and had to cancel because of a family illness. Looking forward to the remainder of the review. How did the shore excursions work out that everyone on the roll call planned?

 

MJ

[Chitown12562]

Loving the review.

 

I also read in another thread that you were sick. Hope you are feeling better.

[chicagopaul]

Loving the review Jane! We absolutely love the Reflection. Can't wait to read more of your review and I hope you feel better and have a good move!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Can't wait to read more.

 

Mary Lou

[ClaudiaB]

Hope you feel better soon. I got bronchitis on a cruise once and I had been sooooo careful... I thought... bummer.

 

We've been in 1663 on both Eclipse and Equinox and it's the first cabin we book if we can. Love love love it!!! Interesting how different people are, because we find there is MORE than enough room to hang our clothes and MORE than enough drawer space for us. I double hang pants with a blouse and I wear bottoms several times and do double duty on things so perhaps we pack less. And I take a lot of the Traveler's type clothes that can be folded. I always have to ask for more hangers but that double-sized closet is wonderful and if I recall we usually have a drawer or two that really isn't even needed. I have learned to pack much lighter, it makes it so easy. Love the space in that room! And you're right, the view!!!

 

We always eat in Blu - hope you got to eat there too.

 

Interesting the magnetic hooks, but I'm not sure what we'd hang on them except maybe totes or a purse, a camera bag? We kind of like things put away and out of sight, nothing cluttering up the room so not sure I'd be happy with my things hanging on the wall. What did you hang on them? You said your gowns? Ah! I don't typically bring a gown. I think I might pack them for our TA in Oct. in 1663 on Equinox. Same room, different ship.

 

We've never had our butler do a party for us. Sounds like a fun idea!!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review but I'm sure you're busy with movers by now.

[TeaBag]

We enjoyed Eclipse very much and we had Sheldon and Leslie too but we were not in a suite so we didn't get to meet the amazing Manuel.

 

I hope you feel better really quickly. With a move in front of you, you need to be feeling on top and then some.

[Jane2357]

Blu - I may as well get right to it. We ate breakfast there twice and dinner once. Breakfast I thought was very good with good service. No waiting to get in.

 

Dinner - we had stopped by early on to inquire which night and time might work best for us to give Blu a try and were told to "come any night at any time". Hmm - I know it is space available so that can't make Aqua people very happy.

 

We ate there with friends of ours who are in Aqua and had a very nice time. There was no wait when we arrived at 7:35 but shortly there was a line. I had risotto as did dh and it wasn't cooked fully. Dessert was nothing special.

 

Service while friendly seemed spread thin. Our friends stated that they felt the entire cruise that the food came out very slowly and they thought they didn't have enough kitchen staff.

 

They love Aqua - good thing we are all different :) Blu is not for us. I don't care for it's location - as it feels like you are shoved back out of the way, I felt like I was missing all the action of the main dining room.

[Jane2357]

I'm not sure when we'll be losing our cable so I better stop with all the details and just get to some main points. Oh and yes we are moving out of our Ft Myers home (sold) into a rental (Port Charlotte) while our new home is being built (Punta Gorda). No wonder I'm bonkers :p

 

Celebrity threw us a very nice Cruise Critic party where we got to meet Captain Skylogiannis, a charming man who was seen all about the ship.

 

We were also invited to the Anniversary and Honeymoon party hosted by Sue Denning. What a Cruise Director - we ran into her EVERY WHERE - how does she have that kind of energy. We sent her some special chocolates (Norman Love made in Ft Myers) for Valentine's Day and she mentioned us on her morning TV show. How sweet!

 

Dining Room food was the best we have had. Only 1 evening did it not arrive piping hot. The creme brûlée was my go to dessert - very nice!!! I've already discussed the service.

 

Murano- we dined there on Valentine's Day - our Anniversary. Dh had the rack of lamb and was a little bit disappointed, I had the lobster made table side and it was to die for!!!! I find service in Murano confusing - excellent but confusing, we had no fewer then 6 different people all doing something different. I couldn't tell who was the actual waiter. Tuscan - I had the filet and it was the best meat that I've ever had on a ship. Dh has the sea bass and deemed it O.K. Service was more relaxed that Murano so I enjoyed it more.

 

Being from Florida we didn't spend much time by the pool so I have no comments about any of that.

 

[u]Bar service[/u] - we didn't have the package, the Martini bar was of course busy in the evenings but we never had to wait for more than 5 minutes to get served.

 

Reserved seating in the Theater - this was a nice perk for those in suites. On the 3 formal nights you would meet your butler outside of the Theater near the little intertwinement lobby. They would then take you by the arm and escort you to a revered area that was roped off. For all of those that get mad about this - the seats were not the front rows but about 1/3 the way back but in a stepped section where the viewing was very good. Seriously - the butler loved doing this - it was like a special treat for him and I got the feeling that he would have been disappointed to not have his guests come to the show. They did release any untaken seats before show time.

 

 

TBC

 

 

 

 

 

[Maligator]

I've been waiting to hear your account since your questions in my review thread. Glad to hear about Sheldon and Leslie carrying on their excellent service. I'll be following your review for more.

 

Sent from my SCH-I915 using Tapatalk

[Chitown12562]

Thanks for the review of Blu. It's funny how some people love it (like we do), some people don't care for it, and others are begging to get in and wondering why they can't get access.

 

Blu could never disappoint me in regards to risotto, can't stand the stuff, and while I've tried escargot and it was ok, I will be fine never eating it again. Everything else works for me.

 

Do you have any pictures from your cruise?

 

Hope the move goes well and thanks again for sharing.

[Jane2357]

Guess I'm losing cable tomorrow so I am going to try to wrap this up - while taking a break from packing.

 

Perry Grant - I had never seen his act and I'm not ashamed to say that I adore him. I realize that he is not everyone's cup of tea - but I appreciated his talent and his sense of humor. I found his fans nearly as entertaining. As I got sick mid-cruise I didn't get a chance to see him the 2nd half but should I ever come upon him on another sailing - it would be a bonus.

 

Pre illness I was taking Ron's Zumba class and it was so great to have a fun way to exercise on the cruise - classes were at 9:00 and again at 4:00. By 4:00 I'm having a cocktail so I never made it to those later classes. I found the gym just ok.

 

Cabin Crawl - was very interesting to see some of the different cabin types. Re-confirmed my suspicion that I could not travel in an inside cabin. At a minimum I need to be able to at least see outside.

 

Hot glass show and auction - show was not running for several days at the beginning of the cruise, disappointing as I love to watch. We are never lucky enough to win a piece so we budgeted to try to purchase one at the auction. We were lucky enough to get 2!!!! One that I was lucky enough to see being made, the other was their "Breast Cancer" piece - whose price is donated to research. They do NOT ship - so you have to be able to hand carry an item home. Prices went from $200.00 for a smallish vase to $1,300.00 for a large piece. Nerve racking trying to get it off the ship in one piece, in the Park N Go van and to our vehicle but we did it. :D

 

Dress code - Formal nights were VERY dressy! Men were looking very dashing in their tuxedos, dinner jackets and suits. They out numbered the men in sports coats. Many of us ladies were in long formals each of the 3 formal nights. I personally saw only a handful of people who didn't try very hard. This isn't the cruise to try to flaunt the rules - you'll be feeling odd man out if you do.

 

I had very high expectations before this cruise - the reality is that even with me getting sick on day 8 with a mystery lung infection (which is getting better now that I'm home) - THIS CRUISE EXCEEDED my expectations and I have to say it was to due to the staff being exceptional. I don't see myself on another line in the near future but hope to try Azamara at some point.

 

Sadly - our cruise planned for March, 2015 - a full transit of the Panama Canal will be postponed to a later date as I can see we are in for some cost over runs on the new house build. We may still be able to make the December, 2014 sailing for 5 nights on Connie - time will tell.

 

I do have some cruise photos but I'm not the person that photos the food or empty shots around the ship. My photos are of us having the time of our lives and nobody would be interested in those - lol. I'll answer any questions if I can.

 

 

 

[wpgcycler]

Really enjoyed this and so glad you were able to enjoy your cruise despite the illness. Thanks and hope you're feeling better soon if not now. Good luck with the build!

 

(only 5 more sleeps till my VERY FIRST!)