BalticCruise review 22 May 2016

[Lynnwood]

Submitted this on the review pages,but i thought I would post on the main pages as well.

 

Celebrity Eclipse Baltic Cruise 22nd May 2016

 

Just back from this cruise and thought that others who are about to follow may find this of use.

We are a mature couple in our late 60`s and have cruised on 14 occasions previously.

 

We booked with Celebrity to try the “5 star experience” that fellow cruisers had commented upon during the many conversations we have had over the years. Overall we feel that the ship was generally in line with Royal Caribbean and Princess and P&O etc. Most of the ships we have sailed on are better in some areas than others. Some have better food, some have better entertainment, and some have cheaper on board prices! But if you take a median line they are generally all pretty good.

 

The one thing we did find better on Celebrity, was the staff and by that I mean consistently throughout the ship. We did not find any member of the crew who did not make you feel welcome at all times. The ship itself is very stable, well maintained, well equipped with plenty of sunbeds and comfortable seating areas on deck.

 

Despite this the ship had a problem with the dreaded Norovirus. Best described by a fellow cruise critic member to the forum, Kevinyorke who wrote in his post?

 

“We are currently on Eclipse now, the cruise before yours. The ship is in Code Red for Norovirus. Started about day 3 with additional instructions on hygiene etc then 2 days ago went into code red. Buffet food has to be served to you over the counters, buffet counters are fenced off with cling film to stop any passengers accessing food themselves drinks stations in the buffet are manned by staff, reduced offerings in the buffets to make serving easier, No menus, no salt and pepper pots, all soft furnishings have been taken away from the cabins for deep cleaning, all books in the library have been taken away, kettles and tea/coffee in the cabins has been removed for cleaning. Our wine waitress disappeared 2 days ago so may be ill, seen two instances of passengers being ill around the ship and 'ghost buster' teams being brought in for clean-up. We've been unofficially told it will remain in code red until the end of our cruise. Would not surprise me if they did a deep clean on turnaround day. I've often heard that the cruise after a code red cruise is one of the safest due to the extra cleaning so hope it doesn't affect you all on your cruise.”

 

That was a down side of the cruise. Because of this outbreak and extra workload placed on the crew, the buffet was rather limited and consequently it would be very unfair to comment on the standard and variety of food offered. I can say however that the standard experienced on the first 3 or 4 days was really good.

 

Staying on the subject of dining, the main restaurants were fabulous as are most ships; the included food experience is first rate with a good variety of menu and choices. There are plenty of choices to have an “occasion night” in the specialty venues, should you wish to pay an additional charge. We decided to use the select dining (any time) in order to eat at a time of our choosing, mainly because of the intensity of the port days.

 

The entertainment was not that good. The main shows of which there were 3 were well performed by the team within the limitations of the production. The shows were somewhat lacking in substance, storylines and very much underutilised the talents of the singers and dancers. To be blunt they were quite poor in comparison to other productions we have seen. We had many occasions to see the very same entertainment team throughout the cruise who displayed their talents better than the production shows.

 

The headliner shows were ok; but unfortunately for us we had seen most of them on previous cruises.

The Bar and lounges are plentiful and are well appointed, some with soft comfortable leather seating. Live entertainment is provided in most of the larger bars during the evenings. Again most of the bar entertainment was average with the exception of “Solitaire” who stood out amongst the crowd. Let’s break the cruise down into specific areas:

 

Embarkation:-

 

Not very good at all, but this was not the fault of celebrity I believe. The port was very busy on sail date with 4 large ships including the first commercial sailing of the Harmony which had occupied the city terminal, pushing celebrity out to the Ocean terminal. This appears to have taken precedence by AB parking who did not have sufficient drivers and staff to undertake the valet parking system. Resulting in our usual 45 to 60 min embarkation, to a hot and uncomfortable 2hrs 15 mins and we arrived at 11:00 so what occurred later I dread to think.

 

Stateroom:-

We had an obstructed view balcony on deck six which was ready and available as soon as we boarded. The cabins are well appointed and of a good standard. The obstructed view was not a problem at all as the offending obstruction were the lifeboat roofs which only came up to the level of the balcony floor.

Our Stateroom staff was very good as I previously stated all staff were excellent. The bathrooms are well appointed and of a modern design with plenty of space and a full shower.

Food:-

I think I adequately covered this above.

Itinery:-

 

Zeebrugge –

 

Complimentary port shuttle provided by the port, to get you to the gates where you could get a tram up and down the coast or go into Bruges. You could also use a shuttle bus to Blankenberge.10 Euros each from a booth on the dockside. Plenty of excursions provided by the ship should you wish. We stayed on board today to explore whilst the ship was quiet.

Tonight was “Chic Night”. We always like our formal nights on board ship. In our estimation we observed approx 20% of people that felt the same way. Most of those who chose differently were smartly dressed with jackets and evening dresses. The first of the production shows – “Topper”

 

Warnemunde –

 

You can easily walk into the town from the ship or take a boat trip from nearby. It is approximately 1 Kilometre each way. Again plenty of excursions available, including one to Berlin. It’s a long day though, with a 3 hour coach ride each way.

Tallinn:-

Shuttles are available, provided by celebrity, at a cost of $10 or 8 Euros. There is also a Hoho bus nearby the berths. The Hoho cost is 19 Euros with a 3 Euro reduction for children and the over 65`s.

 

St Petersburg:-

 

This is a wonderful place, with plenty to see and do. Going ashore can be a little daunting with strict passport controls and day visa issued. You need an excursion ticket to be allowed ashore. believe you can arrange a visa but this is a protracted affair and rather costly. We did a Panoramic tour of the city taking in most of the sights. Attended the ballet in the evening, at the Hermitage theatre to see a production of Swan Lake. A word of warning- the theatre is very small. I estimate that there is approx 350-400 seats. We had 5 coachloads going from the ship. I don’t believe there were any places available to purchase whilst on board. Great experience, where better to experience this than in the cultural capital of this art form? The 2nd day we saw the city by boat.

 

Helsinki:-

 

Shuttles are available at the cost of $12 or 10 Euros return into the city. We walked down the main street towards to harbour. Good day ashore. Hoho bus available in town 31 Euros. As with all of the ports we managed to use Euros but you should have a good amount of small bills and coins as they do not give change in anything other than local currency.

 

Stockholm:-

 

Again a Hoho bus is available right outside the ship. This is very busy and you would be advised to buy your tickets on board $39 adult $19 for children. Stockholm is a very striking city with plenty to see. Some cruise lines stay over here for two days and you can easily see why!

 

Copenhagen:-

 

Shuttle bus available at $18 and of course the Hoho bus again right outside the ship. Sorry forgotten the cost and cannot find the ticket! But it was in line with other port costs. Also if you are a fan of this method of transport, keep your tickets and present them at the next port Hoho. If it’s the same company you will receive a 10% reduction.

As you can see I have purposefully kept my port comments limited in order that you can find out for yourself how rich in architecture culture and history this region holds. Be aware that Scandinavia is a very expensive area so be wary of pushing the boat out without checking the prices first!

 

The second “Chic Night” was on the first Sea day after the last port. The numbers taking part raised to approximately 40% I think they must have been waiting to see how people were dressed on the first one!

 

Disembarkation went very smoothly and we were soon on our way home and thinking about our next cruise.

 

Despite my negativity on some points, we really enjoyed this cruise and it was understandable that the food was limited in order to deal with the outbreak and we truly believe that under normal circumstance our only direct criticism would be that of the entertainment. This is my first review and I apologise for the length and for any grammatical errors that may have crept in. The details are to the best of my recollection.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Lynnwood

[pjs678]

Thanks for the review. Sorry you dealt with the noro issue on board. By the way, the currency in Finland is the Euro - that's why it was so easily accepted :)

[Lynnwood]

Thanks for the review. Sorry you dealt with the noro issue on board. By the way, the currency in Finland is the Euro - that's why it was so easily accepted :)

 

Yes your right! My comment regarding the euro was general across the cruise,i should have seperated it out from the itinery.

[cbradley1209]

Thanks for your review. We leave on the 19th for the Baltic although we are on the Silhouette. Your review gave some info that will be helpful for the ports. chris

[TeaBag]

So sorry you had Noro on the cruise. No matter how hard the crew works, it does impair the cruise as you're afraid to touch anything in case you're the next victim.

 

We did this cruise last year and it was one of our best. Loved everything.

 

Thank you for your review.

[juliep99]

Thanks for your review. We are going on Eclipse on 19th June and the information you have given for the ports is really useful :)

[Tom Baker]

Thanks for your review Lynn, gives us some good ideas on transport. $10 for a shuttle to Blankenburg is a bit steep when you get get a tram ticket for about 3e!

 

I'm guessing the nationality split will be something like 40% British, 60% made up of US / Aus / Can passengers. That being the case, did you attend any quizzes on board? and were the questions just general knowledge and geared more towards North Americans rather than UK/AUS passengers.

 

(The reason for asking is that last year on Princess we had the same passenger split and the Ents team weren't allowed to ask questions on TV, pop music or culture because of the friction it allegedly creates between nationalities :eek:)

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[chemmo]

Thanks for the review, glad you still enjoyed despite the Noro issues.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[JulesAS]

Thank you for the review!

[Lynnwood]

Thanks for your review Lynn, gives us some good ideas on transport. $10 for a shuttle to Blankenburg is a bit steep when you get get a tram ticket for about 3e!

 

I'm guessing the nationality split will be something like 40% British, 60% made up of US / Aus / Can passengers. That being the case, did you attend any quizzes on board? and were the questions just general knowledge and geared more towards North Americans rather than UK/AUS passengers.

 

(The reason for asking is that last year on Princess we had the same passenger split and the Ents team weren't allowed to ask questions on TV, pop music or culture because of the friction it allegedly creates between nationalities :eek:)

 

Hi Tom,We did not attend quizes as such but we were often in the Sky lounge in the mornings when they held the progressive quiz. The passenger make up is difficult to quantify but i think that the brits were the dominant group on this cruise with the remainder being made up from North America.There were also a good percentage from the orient. There was a definate leaning towards North America but I think this is because the staff hosting the event hails from Canada as do a lot of the crew. However I do recollect instances of british tv /music questions etc. A tip though is that the Host is a big fan of the series "Mash"

Edited June 9, 2016 by Lynnwood

[Tom Baker]

Thanks Lynn, I'll keep that on my Radar and use my Hawkeye on Wikipedia ;) :D

[vegaszip]

We are cruising on the silhouette on June 19. Stockholm to Amsterdam. How was the weather on your cruise? Was it cool in the morning and hopefully warmer by midday. Any suggestions for what to pack? Thanks

[Lynnwood]

We are cruising on the silhouette on June 19. Stockholm to Amsterdam. How was the weather on your cruise? Was it cool in the morning and hopefully warmer by midday. Any suggestions for what to pack? Thanks

 

Hi VEGASZIP,Sorry for delay in reply. We were very lucky with the weather. First couple of days were dull and with drizzle in the mornings but better in the afternoons. The sun came out for the rest of the trip 24C most days, Cool breeze on the water, light jackets carried but rareley used except on the top of the Hoho`s. Hope this helps, have a great trip. I`m sure you will enjoy the itinery.