LIVE from Silhouette and Eclipse. OUR HOLIDAY ADVENTURE!!! Dec 14 to Jan 4th

[chicagopaul]

sailing on the NYE silhouette cruise coming up so good to know since I'm always cold.

 

 

 

great posts btw!

 

 

 

what were your general impressions of the weather in the ports? warm enough for tanks/shorts? or warm but breezy? can you feel humidity?

 

 

 

i'm definitely looking at weather reports for when we'll be there but it would be nice to hear an on the ground impression.

 

 

 

enjoy your next cruise :)

 

 

Weather was good. It was between 78 and 86. Weather was quite breezy in Jamaica but it was plenty warm. Outside of sail away shorts and t shirts should be fine. Though the a/c was cranked up on the ship so if you're not a big fan of the cold being a sweater or plan to wear longer shirts inside in the evenings. But this is of course subjective.

 

 

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[SPF 350Z]

Thanks for the great review! Really enjoying it!

Say hello to Bruce in Future Cruises for me! We will see him soon! We will be boarding on Jan 4th! Looking forward to your posts over the next two weeks!

Cheers!

[cruisinskier]

Hi Paul. We didn't get a chance to connect but we are just home today from sailing on the Silhouette as well. Enjoy the rest of your journey and I look forward to following along with the rest of your review. Safe travels!

Jerry

[stevesing121]

Hi Paul. Enjoying reading up on your journey. My partner and I are doing the Reflection and Connie in January B2B. What was the cost of a cab from FLL to MIA? I am considering shuttle options as well but don't want to be held to stricter timeframes or waiting for a bus to fill. :)

 

Thanks!

Stephen

[CrusieToy]

Liquid Lounge Pool Party Video in the Solarium.

 

 

 

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We did a 14 day in 2012 on the Eclipse. Great ship.

 

Thanks for sharing and enjoy!

Edited December 22, 2014 by CrusieToy

[BACON227]

PLEASE DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME...........LOL

 

 

Have a great cruise........cruises......lol. My wife and I will be on the Reflection Jan 24. We have the classic beverage package and are trying to find out if there are any by the glass Riesling or Moscato wine that would work with the package......if you could post a by the glass wine menu/price list it would be much appreciated or specifically info on the Reisling and Moscato by the glass prices.........have a great time.

[Project_gal]

Thank you for your continuing review. I am loving it and really looking forward to hearing about your experience on Eclipse over the holidays.

 

I should be interested in what you feel about the temperature on Eclipse after Silhouette. We have been on Eclipse twice and I always found the temperature perfect [unlike M-class ships which I always find cold]. We have just booked Equinox for the holidays in 2016/17 and I am wondering if all the S-class ship are a similar temperature of if it is just Eclipse I will find comfortable.

[goldfish1111]

Thanks Paul for finding out about future cruise desk. I am really enjoying your review and videos.

[csg0325]

PLEASE DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME...........LOL

 

 

Have a great cruise........cruises......lol. My wife and I will be on the Reflection Jan 24. We have the classic beverage package and are trying to find out if there are any by the glass Riesling or Moscato wine that would work with the package......if you could post a by the glass wine menu/price list it would be much appreciated or specifically info on the Reisling and Moscato by the glass prices.........have a great time.

 

While I can't remember the specific wineries, they did have a $9 Reisling which would be included in the classic beverage package. I found they had quite a number of options for classic packages and was pleased with the selection.

 

And I WANT to say a Moscato was included as well for classic, but please don't hold me to it!

[Sandy1975]

PLEASE DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME...........LOL

 

 

Have a great cruise........cruises......lol. My wife and I will be on the Reflection Jan 24. We have the classic beverage package and are trying to find out if there are any by the glass Riesling or Moscato wine that would work with the package......if you could post a by the glass wine menu/price list it would be much appreciated or specifically info on the Reisling and Moscato by the glass prices.........have a great time.

 

This was the wine list from my equinox sailing on Nov 21. See posts 67 an 68 (or 65 and 66)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2130004&page=4

 

It should be similar.

[BACON227]

While I can't remember the specific wineries, they did have a $9 Reisling which would be included in the classic beverage package. I found they had quite a number of options for classic packages and was pleased with the selection.

 

And I WANT to say a Moscato was included as well for classic, but please don't hold me to it!

 

Excellent........thank u.

[BACON227]

This was the wine list from my equinox sailing on Nov 21. See posts 67 an 68 (or 65 and 66)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2130004&page=4

 

It should be similar.

 

Thanks so much for the info.

[chicagopaul]

Some quick updates while I have spotty wifi in Aruba. Regarding the wines there is a $9 Riesling. I will get the name for you. Moscato I have not seen at all on either ship. I ran into someone who drinks it and she said that they occasionally have a couple bottles but will run out. She brought her own just in case. I will look into it though.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

I will check out Cellar Masters and get an updated list. So far the cruise is great. The crew on the eclipse is very good. Our stateroom attendant made our last one look subpar even though he was very good too. We a currently in Aruba. I'm sitting at a bar on Palm Beach looking at the beautiful water. It's roughly 85 and sunny, with a very light breeze. It does not get any better than this. A more comprehensive post to come shortly.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

So we have been on the eclipse a few days now. Here are my thoughts thus far.

 

The Silhouette had more holiday decorations than the eclipse, believe it or not! However, everything on the eclipse is very tasteful. The crowd is from all over. Many UK and a good. Handful of Spanish. The Martini bar is packed every night. And I mean packed! We are usually lucky to get a seat early and hang out for a couple of hours before dinner then a couple hours after dinner. They have 4 bartenders working when it is crowded so it helps keep up with drink orders but you may have to wait a bit.

 

There are a fair amount of children on board, but also many in the 18 to 25 range too. Wide range and mix of people.

 

Chair hogs. If you do not get to the pool by 8:30am you're literally out of luck. One person from each family saves massive amounts of chairs. We will complain about this on board and this should not be acceptable. When I mean they're saving a massive amount, I mean they're saving 14 at a time for their giant family. Really?

 

We are in cabin 1529 which is Aqua. It is a beautiful cabin! Blu has been fantastic each night. We have Kirk as our waiter and his assistant Julianna is an absolute sweetheart, we love her.

 

 

 

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[drychi]

Thanks for the reviews to date. Will be boarding Eclipse on January 4, 2015 and we will also be in Aqua Class. Your reviews and videos are helping get through a dreary cold, rainy day!

[Eloise4Ever]

We are in cabin 1529 which is Aqua. It is a beautiful cabin! Blu has been fantastic each night. We have Kirk as our waiter and his assistant Julianna is an absolute sweetheart, we love her

 

Enjoying your review, thanks for doing it. Given that Blu is open seating, I'm curious that you imply you have the same waiter every night. When we sailed in Aqua on Eclipse in November 2013 we were seated in a different area of Blu most nights, even though we always requested a particular section. It has to be said we did find the Blu hostess on that cruise lacking in customer service skills. This was in marked contrast to our April 2011 Eclipse experience in Blu, where the hostess was probably the best member of staff we've met on any of our cruises to date. We enjoyed our Blu experience so much we felt we could only cruise in Aqua in the future. However, we were so disappointed in our Blu experience on our Nov '13 cruise that we are now going back to a regular balcony on our next cruise on Celebrity. We'd rather take our chances with Select dining in the MDR.

 

I hope you do have a word with the powers that be about the chair hogs, it sounds like they are really overdoing it. 14 chairs??? :eek:

 

Merry Christmas!

[BACON227]

Some quick updates while I have spotty wifi in Aruba. Regarding the wines there is a $9 Riesling. I will get the name for you. Moscato I have not seen at all on either ship. I ran into someone who drinks it and she said that they occasionally have a couple bottles but will run out. She brought her own just in case. I will look into it though.

 

 

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That's great.......thanks. Enjoy the rest of the cruise and Merry Christmas.

[Project_gal]

Happy Christmas! Have a fabulous day!

[chicagopaul]

It is currently Christmas Eve, yet this will be posted when I'm back with wifi on Christmas Day.

 

Let's back track a bit here and let me catch you up on everything that has been happening the past few days. We boarded the eclipse on the 21st as you know. We then had two sea days. We had good weather for both. The first sea day had the best weather. Around 82degrees I would say. The second sea day it was quite windy and the boat was definitely moving. Nothing too dramatic, but you definitely felt it when you walked.

 

We have dined in Blu each night and everything has been excellent. The first night the quail appetizer was superb. Edward and I both had the filet mignon on the first night. I requested medium rare and it was a true medium rare (deep red warm center). The quality of the meat was pretty good, but not great. It was a little chewy. I think next time if I order it I will get it medium (which I think is a sin against beef but oh well) as this will make it easier to eat.

 

Last night, I really enjoyed the carpaccio, lump crab cocktail (lots of crab!) and the duck.

 

Our sommelier in Blu is excellent. I forget her name but I will get it for certain! She is very energetic, definitely loves wine, and her pairings have been spot on. She knows we have the premium package and we simply tell her what we are eating and she brings out the appropriate I wine at the appropriate times. Can we take her home with us?

 

Our waiter is Kirk, known as Captain Kirk. He hails from Jamaica. He can get busy at times, but his demeanor is excellent and once we order the food comes out in perfect timing, always hot and warm (or cold when it is suppose to be!). Our assistant waitress is Julianna. She reminds me of someone from a Disney movie. The sweetest voice and personality. She takes care of us very well. Our water glasses are always full and her desert recommendations are excellent. We asked her for some beach recommendations for Aruba and she took the time to explain the different beaches, what bars to go to, etc. She is our new official tour guide!

 

Today in Aruba we went to Palm Beach. There are many hotels on this beach including Radisson Blu, RUI, among others. So the beaches are crowded, but they are fully public. While it was busy the waters were beautiful. I will try to post some video and photos. There were plenty of bars and food nearby and all the water sports you could want.

 

We laid in the sun for a couple of hours then hit a bar with intermittent wifi, hence my sporadic posts yesterday. The bar was right on the water. We had a few drinks and then walked the entire length of Palm Beach and caught a cab back to the ship. We got back on around 3pm and had a small late lunch and sat in the solarium napping and ready. Ahhh the life right?

 

Our evenings have been relatively consistent. It is 5:45 right now and Edward is in the shower. We will listen to some music as we are getting ready and drink some tea. We will then head to the martini bar around 6:30 and typically have two Martinis each (kettle one, up with olives). We nurture these though and chat with our new friends. We've met several great couples and feel very lucky to be spending the holidays we such great people. We then head to dinner around 8:15/8:30. After dinner we either see a show or head back to the martini bar or the molecular bar. We browse the shopping and look at watches every night. Our earliest night in has been midnight. Our latest night in has been 2:30. We have yet to order room service on this cruise but I have a feeling we will very soon.

 

Well now I must run and jump in the shower. Our martini bar awaits our arrival. I will post this tomorrow while in Curaçao and hopefully will have strong enough wifi to upload some videos again.

 

Tomorrow I will have time as well while on the beach with hopefully good wifi, to catalog all of your questions and start posting proper answers to all of you.

 

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[chicagopaul]

Merry Christmas from Curaçao. It is a beautiful day here and we are using the islands free wifi which is not bad. Many stores are open. I don't know if we are going to the beach or just going to spend time in town once restaurants start to open. It is quite charming.

 

 

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[C 2 C]

PLEASE DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME...........LOL

 

 

Have a great cruise........cruises......lol. My wife and I will be on the Reflection Jan 24. We have the classic beverage package and are trying to find out if there are any by the glass Riesling or Moscato wine that would work with the package....

 

Riesling was available on Reflection. We did not see any Moscato on the list.

 

See you onboard....

[chicagopaul]

Sorry for the poor quality. This is officers singing Christmas carols

 

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

There was a great holiday show last night. It was very well done. Christmas songs, good dancing but all nice and simple and focused on the music. Perry Grant even did s couple of songs.

 

 

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[chamima]

Liquid Lounge Pool Party Video in the Solarium.

 

 

 

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We have yet to see the Sin City comedy show. They had it again last night but we missed it. Hopefully they have it once more and we will get to see it. They had the Liquid show in the Solarium the other night. I have plenty of photos but can't upload them now, once we switch ships I will upload the photos for you. We met a couple that has RCI as a client so they has VIP status. They were kind enough to get us into the VIP area of the liquid party which was just a little roped off area but it was nice of them and it was nice to meet the Michaels Club host. Anka? Definitely spelling it wrong. Maybe Inka? Anyway, she is a ball of fun with loads of energy.

 

The live bands continue throughout the ship. I didn't notice the y the pool yesterday at all but it was a port day. The DJ with a sax is by the martini bar in the evenings and the house band soul has been playing in the atrium in the early evening. I wish they played just a bit more!

 

 

 

 

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Hi Paul

Thanks for taking the time out of your vacation to post your review.

Could you tell me a little more about "Liquid".

Is there a charge?

When is it performed and what is involved?

Thanks!