July 2015 Baltic on Eclipse - Photos

[texasgirl29]

Day 12

Copenhagen

 

A very nice lady at the ticket office explained a little more above Tivoli. We bought four entrances and two "all ride" tickets for our daughters.

 

 

The gardens and walkways are so beautiful -- I wish we could have stayed after dark to see the lights. (Technically we could have but we can only take so much fun in one day.)

 

 

 

 

 

[texasgirl29]

Day 12

Copenhagen

 

The first thing they wanted to ride was this thing with the swings. I've been on something like this before but much, much, much lower to the ground.

 

 

Even Stephanie, who loves the fastest and steepest rides at Six Flags, said, "Mom, it was kinda scary. You're just sitting on these little plastic seats with a little bar holding you in." Here's what it looks like up close up.

 

 

 

 

 

The lines were pretty long, so after three rides they decided they had had enough and we headed out of the park to get the bus.

 

I had read we could get a bus outside of the park to take us back to the ship, or close to it. Before going to the park, we stopped at an ATM in a bank and got enough kroner to get bus tickets. At the bus stop, we met up with two men from the crew -- one was a casino dealer and the other worked the art auctions.

 

The bus driver spoke English -- we told him we needed to go to the Celebrity ship and he told us where to get off. It was a short walk to the ship, but before we got to the ship, we saw the OTHER mermaid statue.

 

 

We were really dragging by the time we got back to the ship. We had dinner in the Oceanview Cafe and then Stephanie and I went to see the show that evening. It was Peter Cutler, a versatile singer, but mostly a crooner style. He sang "Would you like to swing on a star?", "Gentle on my mind", "Empty Chairs" from Les Mis, and "New York, NY".

 

Since we didn't leave port until later, Paul and I got a drink from the bar and sat on our balcony, facing an apartment building and wondered what it would be like to live there.

 

Of all the cities, I liked Copenhagen the best and I definitely think I could live there!

[mycruise2000]

Great photos and liked your report. Thanks.

[texasgirl29]

Day 13

At Sea

 

We had two sea days left to enjoy the ship. I got up early and had a quiet breakfast alone in the Oceanview Cafe.

 

 

 

Here's Wilmar, who's always cheerful so early in the morning:

 

 

You can get coffee, tea, cocoa, juice and water here, or the waiter will bring it to you. Paul and I were very spoiled with fresh squeezed OJ, a latte and a bottle of water on the Classic beverage package.

 

 

One of the best places on the ship!

 

 

[texasgirl29]

Day 13

At Sea

 

Later, the Sky Lounge would be filled with trivia and music, but for now, it's a very quiet place if you want some solitude with your coffee.

 

 

 

 

The promenade deck is mostly obscured by the lifeboats. Here's one of the open areas. But the ship has such large windows everywhere I didn't feel deprived of places to look out on the ocean.

 

 

Back inside, the art auction area is directly adjacent to the fancy new World Class bar. The bar doesn't get much traffic, so the art tends to spill over into it.

 

 

[texasgirl29]

Day 13

At Sea

 

Continuing my trek around the ship before everyone else is up:

 

 

 

 

The shopping area was quiet now, but within hours would be a frenzy of almost-last minute shopping for off-brand watches and Russian knickknacks.

 

 

I hadn't been in the casino before -- seems like a huge space -- I guess it must be a money maker to devote so much real estate to it.

 

 

The famous martini bar. We hadn't really had an occasion to go there since we had the classic package.

 

 

What I really took away from my photo tour of the Eclipse is how many seating areas there are to suit all sorts of gatherings. Although many of the seating areas are open to the central atrium, the setting still have an intimate feeling.

[texasgirl29]

Day 13

At Sea

 

The family soon gathered at the buffet for breakfast and I joined them with another latte, then I scurried off to Celebrity Central to hear cruise director Sue Denning give a talk. I was confused because I thought the central area outside of the main theater was Celebrity Central but lo and behold there is a small opening leading to a very small theater space where Sue was about a third of the way through her Q&A talk. I think I may have mentioned this before, but I'm so impressed by Sue. Friendly, funny, fabulous shoes, striking white hair and she's absolutely everywhere. I ran into once and told her that, as a first time cruiser on Celebrity, she seemed to me to be a gracious hostess welcoming me to her home. She said the job was a bit more than that but she understood what I meant.

 

Here's Sue in all her formal night glory:

 

 

The next to take the stage was Celebrity Executive Chef Paul and a few other chefs to talk about "how to cook the perfect steak" -- they spend at least 30 minutes on how to choose the right cut of meat. Chef Paul is from Ireland and made some funny references to his mother's cooking, so we could really relate to him as a person.

 

After lunch, Stephanie and I went to the Sky Lounge to play Disney Trivia. We did pretty well with that one. Rachel and her band of merry friends were there as was another group of high school age kids, but no riots or anything broke out (for all those "Oh no, kids on a cruise!" concerns).

 

The matinee was Peng Fei Su, a young magician we had seen already with the "Eclipse" show. He did some card tricks and told some Asian themed jokes ("You all look alike to me!") which Stephanie liked.

 

 

As I mentioned before, there was a genealogy conference aboard and I met some of the participants who had come a long way to join. I think the afternoon lecture was geared to them, What is the origin of your name? Only, don't ask him specifically. There wasn't a lot of new info in his talk, at least not for me.

 

Tonight was the last formal night, and Rachel had invited her new friends to our cabin so they could take photos together. I took a couple in the atrium with about 7 different iPhones, and I saw they had later gone around the ship and taken different settings. All very nice, well behaved young women.

 

[texasgirl29]

Day 13

At Sea

 

For the last formal night, I had:

 

Blue cheese soufflé

 

 

Onion soup

 

Beef Wellington

 

 

Baked Alaska

 

 

Sue Denning appeared on the stairs to introduce the dining and food officers and the waiters did the napkin thing. Since our table for 8 was sandwiched in between the curving stairs and the kitchen door, we could only hear and not see the parade of chefs. But we did see the napkin-waving parade of waiters. (I thought I had read on CC they didn't do this on Celebrity...)

 

Our waiters didn't seem to mind it too much:

 

 

At dinner, we all discussed what we had seen over the past few weeks and what was our favorite. We agreed that St. Petersburg was in a class by itself, so putting that aside, I said I most liked Copenhagen--bike lanes, canals, modern architecture, historic buildings. Rachel liked meeting new friends. I think Uncle Dale liked dinner every night with different kinds of beef which he said he didn't get at home. We agreed it had been a grand adventure, and we were very grateful to my MIL and FIL for making it possible.

[texasgirl29]

Day 13

At Sea

 

The show for after dinner was the much anticipated Beatles tribute. I am 59 years old, and have a very clear memory of being 8 years old and seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan on our Black and White TV. So, I felt the same thrill when the curtain was raised, and the announcer said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Beatles!"

 

 

They sang a lot of songs from the early days, then a costume change, a few solos.

 

 

 

They ended the show with the crowd singing "Hey Jude" -- the only thing missing were lighters. The crowd danced in the aisles and while the four lads may not have nailed the Beatles' sound, it was pretty good, and our imaginations filled in the rest. Obviously they had studied the Ed Sullivan videos and had the motions down perfectly.

 

As we left the theater, my 18 year old daughter said she only knew two of the songs, and I realized I should have been playing Rubber Soul and the White Album CDs instead of Mickey's clubhouse when she was going to daycare and to cheerleading practice....

 

We stopped at Cafe al Bacio after the show for a specialty coffee for me (Angel Kiss?) and Stephanie finally got to try Tea Over Ice which was a pretty cool presentation.

 

 

[texasgirl29]

Day 13

At Sea

 

I've been trying to find a place in my story to put this photo because I think it would be useful for someone who's got four people in their veranda cabin and wondering how that works.

 

Admittedly, it's tight, but Rachel was out most nights with the teen club until 1 a.m. and would creep into the trundle bed while the rest of us were asleep.

 

[texasgirl29]

Day 14

At Sea

 

Is there anything sadder than the last day of the cruise? Everyone kept repeating, "Rock til we Dock!".

 

It was our last leisurely Oceanview Cafe breakfast. Each morning Paul and I had an omelette, made to order. We usually were not together but off getting whatever we wanted at the various stations. But I guess we were together enough because Raul, the omelette chef, asked Paul, "Where is JoAnn this morning?"

 

 

I also spoke to one of our regular waiters, I won't say which one, but he said he planned to leave at the end of his contract and move his family to Germany. He said there wasn't much work in his home country and it was too hard to be without his family. I asked what kind of work, and he said he could take anything, anything at all. I told him with his command of English, he could probably do well as a waiter in a high end hotel restaurant. I wish him the best.

 

Stephanie, Paul and I went to a talk from one of the Bridge officers about navigation, then stayed for the Top Chef Competition in the morning after breakfast. It was MC'd by Sue Denning and Chef Paul:

 

 

 

For dinner that evening, we went rogue and wore our green family T-shirts. After all the bruhaha on Cruise Critic I was afraid we would be thrown out of the MDR but several crew members as well as passengers seemed delighted although some asked if we were a club.

 

[texasgirl29]

Day 13

Sea Day

 

I'll end this last full day with -- what else -- food! I didn't write these down, but I'm pretty sure this was the last meal I had in the MDR>

 

Mediterranean salad

 

 

Roast chicken

 

 

Apple pie

 

 

We went to see the comedian Mark Palmer in the theater. Sue introduced him, saying he was new to Celebrity. He was pretty funny, but the highlight was when Sue began singing, "Stand by me," off stage and a few other songs. She has an incredible voice.

[texasgirl29]

Day 15

Southampton and beyond

 

We walked off the ship after our last breakfast in the buffet. I'm gonna miss that place!

 

Disembarking was very easy -- just walked down the ramp to the waiting area.

 

We had reservations with International Friends for a bus tour of Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor, ending up at our hotel at Heathrow.

 

After some of the problems we had upon landing in England and with the National Express (see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2241340) I was a little worried. But our guide, Antonio, arrived right on time and proceeded to call out our names. As he called each family forward, the driver put their luggage under the bus. The order was determined by the drop off route for the hotels.

 

We were all present and accounted for, and left 15 minutes early. Antonio kept up a running commentary on everything, including the fiasco his last tour was, and fortunately, ours was nothing like that.

 

Our first stop was Salisbury.

 

 

The cathedral is massive. We were a little too early for the opening, but Antonio asked if we could enter the cloisters and get something at the cafe/gift shop. (It was very cold and windy).

 

 

I would have liked to have gone into the church but we were really there for a photo op. Someday I'll come back.

 

They are celebrating the Magna Carta, as they have one of the original copies.

 

 

There is some wonderful community art around the celebration.

 

 

I liked the blend of the old and the new.

 

 

[upwarduk]

Thank you for all your pictures. We were on the following sailing and the Beatles tribute band had stayed on the ship and we had them as our first formal night act.

I thought they were far, far better than another tribute act we had seen earlier in the year. They certainly got the audience on their feet and dancing in the aisles!

[texasgirl29]

Day 15

Stonehenge

 

We were back on the bus and on our way to Stonehenge. It was still fairly early when we got there, our driver expertly parked the bus in the parking lot and Antonio went to the group ticket sales window to get our tickets (we had prepaid everything online).

 

We walked to the visitor's center which Antonio told us was new. He said the World Heritage Center people told the Stonehenge organization they really needed to upgrade their facilities if they wanted to be world-class.

 

 

At the center, we boarded a bus that took us to the actual Stonehenge site. Antonio said it was to give the stones a more authentic feel without the parking lot right next to them.

 

 

 

We circled around the stones on the path, taking photos from all angles and many selfies.

 

 

As we left Stonehenge, we could see the highway coming south towards the site with miles and miles and miles of backed up traffic. I don't know if our driver was earlier or just knew a better way to get there but I was glad we were not in that mess.

[texasgirl29]

Day 15

Windsor

 

Our last stop on the tour, and indeed our last stop on our Baltic and British adventure, was Windsor.

 

Again, our driver expertly parked the bus, backing it in with one swift motion into a narrow, angled space.

 

Antonio herded us through the parking lot and up to the train station. I couldn't help but think this train station had a Harry Potter-esque feeling to it.

 

 

 

I guess I didn't really know what to expect from Windsor -- maybe just a castle on its own -- but there is a village around it, and many many tourists -- you definitely get a Disneyland feeling at least until you enter the castle walls.

 

 

 

 

Antonio advised us to skip the long line for the doll house and go to the state apartments. Unfortunately, there were no cameras allowed. The rooms were just as majestic as those we had seen in Germany and Russia. I wondered why the monarchy had failed in those countries and thrives in Britain. However much it takes to support the monarchy, it generates much more revenue than it costs, according to Antonio.

 

Well, this brings me to the end of our journey. Our driver delivered us safely to our hotel at the airport, and it was time to go home.

 

If you've managed to read all the way to the end of my review, I thank you very much!

 

JoAnn

[Bimmer09]

This is such a good read-thanks for sharing with us.

 

I know how much work goes into this and appreciate all your efforts.

 

Thanks for being so generous with the photos.

 

Looking forward to your next cruise!

 

Norris

[texasgirl29]

Thank you for all your pictures. We were on the following sailing and the Beatles tribute band had stayed on the ship and we had them as our first formal night act.

 

I thought they were far, far better than another tribute act we had seen earlier in the year. They certainly got the audience on their feet and dancing in the aisles!

 

 

They were, as they say, fab! I think was was the best show on the cruise.

[texasgirl29]

This is such a good read-thanks for sharing with us.

 

 

 

I know how much work goes into this and appreciate all your efforts.

 

 

 

Thanks for being so generous with the photos.

 

 

 

Looking forward to your next cruise!

 

 

 

Norris

 

 

Thanks, Norris. I think it's going to be a while before the next one. I'll just have to live vicariously through my fellow Cruise Critic travelers.

JoAnn

[Harley57]

Thank you for your review and many pictures. Enjoy the memories.

[cormike1]

Thank you so much for your review and wonderful pictures. We did the same cruise a few years ago and it brought back so many great memories. We would do it again in a heartbeat! Thanks again.

[warm47]

Truly enjoyed every word and every picture. Sorry it is over! I have almost as bad a withdrawal from a good review as I do from my cruises!!!!!! Thanks for sharing with us at home. It has made next August seem a little closer! :)

[texasgirl29]

Thank you so much for your review and wonderful pictures. We did the same cruise a few years ago and it brought back so many great memories. We would do it again in a heartbeat! Thanks again.

 

Thank you -- it was a grand adventure. I see you did the Panama Canal on the Island Princess. We did that on a Christmas cruise -- one of my favorites.

 

JoAnn

[texasgirl29]

Truly enjoyed every word and every picture. Sorry it is over! I have almost as bad a withdrawal from a good review as I do from my cruises!!!!!! Thanks for sharing with us at home. It has made next August seem a little closer! :)

 

Thank you for your kind words. Doing the report does help to ease me back into my regular work-a-day world! Looking forward to your report next summer!

 

JoAnn

[rosepetals]

Was on this cruise and am enjoying your review

 

For me the best way to get to Bruges is to organise a taxi - takes 8, costs 50 euros each way, and takes you direct to the marker square. They pick you up at the same spot. Took the worry out of it and maximised the time in Bruges itslef

 

We will be porting in Zeebruges next June and will share a taxi into Bruges. Who did you use as taxi service? Thanks.