Eclipsing Northern Europe by cruise : Basic black , and Baltic blues

[bengaltiger1]

We were in Bruges yesterday. A fellow traveller organised a taxi for eight people. It was €25 per couple. Off the ship on to the free shuttle bus to the port entrance. The taxi was waiting for us. We were in Bruges by 8:30. It was very quiet and nowhere was open. The advantage was we were able to stand back and admire the buildings without crowds. The Tourist Information centre does not open until 10:00 am and this seemed to be a common theme. Easy place to walk around and we enjoyed the boat ride. The return taxi wax booked for 13:30. He was waiting for us and after what seemed a very quick journey we were back at the port entrance. Same process in reverse as getting off.

 

 

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[scubacruiserx2]

glad to find you latest review!!!

How fun to take your grandson. did he like it? Was this his first cruise?

 

And we're glad that you found us and how have you been ?

 

This was Tyler's 3rd cruise with the others being in the Caribbean on NCL and Carnival , which are a little more kid friendly . The original plan was for Alaska but we still had time on our Russian Visas and we thought that this would be good for his education and world view . He did enjoy himself , but acting cool at age 13 is also very important . :cool:

Edited July 5, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

We were in Bruges yesterday. A fellow traveller organised a taxi for eight people. It was €25 per couple. Off the ship on to the free shuttle bus to the port entrance. The taxi was waiting for us. We were in Bruges by 8:30. It was very quiet and nowhere was open. The advantage was we were able to stand back and admire the buildings without crowds. The Tourist Information centre does not open until 10:00 am and this seemed to be a common theme. Easy place to walk around and we enjoyed the boat ride. The return taxi wax booked for 13:30. He was waiting for us and after what seemed a very quick journey we were back at the port entrance. Same process in reverse as getting off.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

That sounds like a great plan and the way to go ! And thank you for taking the time from your cruise to share it with us . We hope that you have great weather and a great cruise . :) :D

 

Can you also share with us which taxi service that you used ?

[Gracie115]

I'm here for the duration.....we enjoyed the Beatles show on Reflection too this past April...what fun!!! I think your "John" was more fun than ours though!!:)

[scubacruiserx2]

I'm here for the duration.....we enjoyed the Beatles show on Reflection too this past April...what fun!!! I think your "John" was more fun than ours though!!:)

 

Great Gracie , but as you and Norris both know - our cruises can get pretty long sometimes ! :rolleyes:

 

And our John when seated at the piano , bore a resemblance to another John - Elton !

 

 

 

I found a couple of things a little strange though . John was playing piano on Hey Jude which was clearly played by McCarthy in life . And a right - handed , base playing McCarthy might be anathema to a Beatles purist ! :eek:

[scubacruiserx2]

After our Beatles show we noticed that it was still daylight and the weather clear . And so we hustled down for a clothing and camera change . On one of the upper decks we caught this sunset .

 

 

 

 

And on the way back we passed by the Martini Bar we noticed that they were loading up for a Martini flight .

 

 

 

The Celebrity Today for our first day at sea .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bengaltiger1]

That sounds like a great plan and the way to go ! And thank you for taking the time from your cruise to share it with us . We hope that you have great weather and a great cruise . :) :D

 

 

 

Can you also share with us which taxi service that you used ?

 

 

martinstaxi@skynet.be. They were very professional.

 

 

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[jenseib]

And we're glad that you found us and how have you been ?

 

This was Tyler's 3rd cruise with the others being in the Caribbean on NCL and Carnival , which are a little more kid friendly . The original plan was for Alaska but we still had time on our Russian Visas and we thought that this would be good for his education and world view . He did enjoy himself , but acting cool at age 13 is also very important . :cool:

 

Both cruise options sound wonderful, but this one probably is something no one he knows has ever done.

I can remember being about 13 and going away with my grandparents and I had to keep up my "coolness" too. LOL.

[Bimmer09]

Great Gracie , but as you and Norris both know - our cruises can get pretty long sometimes ! :rolleyes:

 

And our John when seated at the piano , bore a resemblance to another John - Elton !

 

 

 

I found a couple of things a little strange though . John was playing piano on Hey Jude which was clearly played by McCarthy in life . And a right - handed , base playing McCarthy might be anathema to a Beatles purist ! :eek:

 

Beatles purist checking in here, Joe! Have to chide you for calling Sir Paul "McCarthy" as there are no tribute bands to him! LOL.

 

I've only seen one tribute band and that was on the Silhouette where Paul played left handed. I guess it's a bit much to ask that he look like Paul, sing like Paul and happen to be left handed and capable of playing the bass. Paul McCartney put the bass guitar on the map in a big way-so inventive.

 

The illusion is of course shattered, or was for me, when the bare stage was missing the iconic Ludwig drums and Vox amplifiers of yore but that's a logistics issue for cruise bands. I enjoyed hearing the songs though in a live setting and on a ship no less. Wigs and appropriate stage suits can help but the voices are hard to replicate. There's a great amateur on Youtube called Galleazzo Frudua who breaks down the intimate harmonies of the Beatles songs....

 

[YOUTUBE]FQSPJAcqkW8[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

There's a posse of Beatles tribute bands on Youtube

 

That music lives on.

 

Norris

 

[scubacruiserx2]

martinstaxi@skynet.be. They were very professional.

 

 

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Thank you , we appreciate that . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Both cruise options sound wonderful, but this one probably is something no one he knows has ever done.

I can remember being about 13 and going away with my grandparents and I had to keep up my "coolness" too. LOL.

 

 

He was so funny sometimes often doting on and protective of Pat when I had wandered off to take photos . But when he's around friends , we like to give him some space and room to grow . He's a great kid and both he and we learned a lot from the trip and each other . :) :D

[perfect match]

I guess I haven't been paying close attention lately because I've only just found you. I will try to keep up from now on, or at least get back as quickly as possible when my attention wanders. :p

 

Great cabin choice for the 3 of you! I'm sure you all enjoyed having the extra space. The layout of the cabin looked to be very functional. :cool:

 

I enjoyed your tour of Brugges. Looks like a beautiful place to visit. Even the caattle boat tour looked like fun, but you really had me at the chocolate shop! :eek:

 

Now, off to get some chocolate! It may not be Belgian chocolate, but for now it will have to do. :D

[scorchestra]

Following!! :) :):)

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

I found a couple of things a little strange though . John was playing piano on Hey Jude which was clearly played by McCarthy in life . And a right - handed , base playing McCarthy might be anathema to a Beatles purist ! :eek:

 

 

Having seen several excellent Beatles tribute shows including Beatlemania and Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles we had high hopes for this venue . This clip shows what we had hoped to see :

 

 

 

But having attending this show , we found kevinyork's fine thread , Celebrity Eclipse - New production Shows , Oh Dear to be spot on .

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2364785

 

And while there was a lot that we loved about this cruise , we don't think that Celebrity's entertainment was it's finest hour .

[scubacruiserx2]

I guess I haven't been paying close attention lately because I've only just found you. I will try to keep up from now on, or at least get back as quickly as possible when my attention wanders. :p

 

Great cabin choice for the 3 of you! I'm sure you all enjoyed having the extra space. The layout of the cabin looked to be very functional. :cool:

 

I enjoyed your tour of Brugges. Looks like a beautiful place to visit. Even the caattle boat tour looked like fun, but you really had me at the chocolate shop! :eek:

 

Now, off to get some chocolate! It may not be Belgian chocolate, but for now it will have to do. :D

 

 

Welcome aboard Nancy we're glad that you made it on the ship and didn't get left behind on the pier ! We hope that you enjoyed your last cruise and we're really thrilled to see that you have several scheduled . :) :D

Edited July 6, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Following!! :) :):)

 

Great , welcome aboard and we hope that you enjoy "our" cruise . ;)

[Gracie115]

Having seen several excellent Beatles tribute shows including Beatlemania and Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles we had high hopes for this venue . This clip shows what we had hoped to see :

 

 

 

But having attending this show , we found kevinyork's fine thread , Celebrity Eclipse - New production Shows , Oh Dear to be spot on .

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2364785

 

And while there was a lot that we loved about this cruise , we don't think that Celebrity's entertainment was it's finest hour .

 

 

Oh boy.....couldn't agree more.....we were very dismayed at the quality(or lack of it) of the production shows on Reflection this past April....about the only thing I could complain about....but they were really bad.... we stopped even bothering about half way through...

 

You mention "Rain- A tribute to the Beatles" ... we saw that here a couple years ago and it was wonderful!!!!:) We enjoyed the Beatles show on Reflection, but Rain was just great, would love to see it again.

[scubacruiserx2]

It was nice to have a day at sea and to sleep in . But when we woke up , the weather had changed dramatically from the previous day .

 

 

 

I went on deck for a photo while Patty got ready for breakfast in the MDR .

 

 

 

 

Our favorite off - day routine was to sleep in a little , get a good cup of coffee at Cafe al Bacio and take it to the MDR , where the coffee wasn't as good . We do enjoy the MDR for a good breakfast and some us time with each other . Tyler really enjoyed sleeping in and if he was still sleeping , we would change and head out to the Persian Garden .

 

 

 

A little later that morning we would be meeting with the Cruise Critic " Connections " group .

 

 

 

It was a much smaller group than our TA group which had met in the much larger Sky Observation Lounge . This meeting is a nice way in which Celebrity demonstrates their interest for the passengers in general and CC members in particular . The Master of the ship , CD , Head Chef and a number of other officers attended and spoke .

 

It was also a change to show our appreciation to them and all of the hard work that they do for us . And they did take questions also .

 

 

 

 

It's a also a place to meet others and place a face with a name from CC . This is Joyce and John from Alaska . They were on the same excursion in Bruges and it was nice to sit down with them and get to know them .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Oh boy.....couldn't agree more.....we were very dismayed at the quality(or lack of it) of the production shows on Reflection this past April....about the only thing I could complain about....but they were really bad.... we stopped even bothering about half way through...

 

You mention "Rain- A tribute to the Beatles" ... we saw that here a couple years ago and it was wonderful!!!!:) We enjoyed the Beatles show on Reflection, but Rain was just great, would love to see it again.

 

 

We would see them again if they came around and we liked how they used a multi media format and incorporated the historical and cultural context which surrounded the Beatles and Beatlemania .

[scubacruiserx2]

We had booked dinner on a Casual Chic night at Qsine and so the restaurant was rather empty . It's a casual , interactive place were they seem to encourage you to play with your food . It begins with an ipad menu and you also use it to order dinner .

 

 

The window seating here , like the Tuscan Grille , is for 2 .

 

 

Our first course was the Sushi Lollypops

 

 

 

 

And the Disco Shrimp which is a twist on a shrimp cocktail and comes with a flashing cube , giving it it's name . And Tyler of course , found another way to put it to use .

 

 

 

This was our next course

 

 

 

Ty had been reluctant to try Escargot in the MDR , but when found out that it was lobster , he was all in , including the brioche cones .

 

 

[Gracie115]

Qsine is especially fun with more than just a couple so I'm sure your grandson had a good time with all the quirky presentations. It's a fun place!!

 

Wondering how the motion was in your forward cabin on a windy sea day...if you had any of those....

[Bimmer09]

Joe, I am happy to see your Qsine experience as I missed it on the Silly and mean to enjoy it on the Reflection.

 

As it was sparsely populated were you able to get a discount in advance?

 

On our sailing it was selling for $30 pp at the table outside the buffet on our last night but we had decided to try the MDR for the first time.

 

Don't stint on the pics! (as if...)

 

Norris

[warm47]

Enjoying your review! We're on a variation of this cruise which goes btb with the Fjords in August. Interesting to read about the passport issue since we will need them in STP! :)

[perfect match]

Welcome aboard Nancy we're glad that you made it on the ship and didn't get left behind on the pier ! We hope that you enjoyed your last cruise and we're really thrilled to see that you have several scheduled . :) :D

 

Thank you for the welcome. I am glad to be safely on board for this cruise. I don't EVER want to be a pier runner - even on a virtual cruise! :eek:

 

I am looking forward to sailing along with you on the rest of this cruise. :cool:

[upwarduk]

----- Interesting to read about the passport issue since we will need them in STP! :)

 

You will have your passports returned well before St Pete!