LIVE BLOG! ECLIPSE 11/10 -12/09/18 Med and TA

[h20cruzer]

Wednesday Dec 5 sailing into Rio!!!!!!!!!!

yesterday was another quiet day at sea, with the usual meals, chit chat etc.

afternoon entertainment was  phenomenal,  we saw all 3 singers together, Rietta   

Austin, Mark O’Malley and Ben Mills, WOW, WOW, WOW. Best entertianment I have ever seen on a cruise ship.

I am up at 5:30am to see the sail into Rio, breakfast and then a city highlights tour. It’s supposed to be hot IMO 90 plus degrees, ugh.

More later.

Norma

[h20cruzer]

[giovanaq]

Thank you so much for sharing!

by any chance, do you know who the Onboard Marketing Manager is?

[h20cruzer]

Thursday December 6 San Paulo known as Santos

we had a good day yesterday in Rio.  Took a tour to Sugarloaf. Traffic as in a large cities was  awful, but we had a nice time on the bus and it was air-conditioned of course.  There was some issue with support and the ship could knock dock at the expected peer they had to provide shuttle buses to get us to the terminal which caused a delay no fault of the ship in my opinion. So are tour got started late and we got back to the ship later than expected.   Because of the delays the ship extended our time and port by an hour which was very nice. It was very warm in Rio so it felt great to take a shower when I got back to the cabin and I moved onto the world class bar for a cocktail and dinner Lisa stayed in the cabin and ordered room service. Pictures to follow today we are in Santos I don’t have any tours plans but may take the shuttle into the terminal to see what’s what. I have heard that there are in a xceds of 10,000 passengers in port today.

[h20cruzer]

[h20cruzer]

[h20cruzer]

[h20cruzer]

Friday Dec 7 at sea

yesterday we were in Santos, it was not as hot as Rio thank goodness. I saw an MSC ship the sea view I think and an old ship of RCCL  Sovereign of the seas which now belongs to Pullmantur. I cruised on the Sovereign many times. To get to the terminal you had to take a shuttle bus. Again a very industrial port. From the terminal you could take a shuttle to a shopping center for $15.00 round trip. If you had a tour the meeting place was in the terminal. I did ride the shuttle but never got off at the terminal, just came back to the ship. 

We celebrated my birthday last night with our friends Dan and Judy hBing dinner in Blu.

Celebrity also brought a Samba Dance group on to perform, the pool area was packed, you could not stand still listening to the music!!!!

Edited December 7, 2018 by h20cruzer
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[h20cruzer]

[Jim_Iain]

Happy Birthday!

 

[JennAngel9]

Caught up the whole thread just in time to wish you a happy (belated) birthday!

 

Thank you so much for sharing your travel experiences.  We board the eclipse in a few weeks and you have provided so much useful information and interesting tidbits.  If you have a moment, I have two questions:

(1) Do you recall if the show with the acrobats at what appeared to be large kites would be appropriate for children? It looked like something my kids would be very excited about but I know some of the cirque-de-soleil type shows can be frightening or risque.

(2) I recall you mentioned they had started decorating the Eclipse for Christmas. Is it very festive or more understated.  Please let me know if you see any giant structures made out of gingerbread. 🙂 

Thank you again for sharing your cruise(s) with us and I hope you have a lovely rest of your trip!

[h20cruzer]

Saturday Dec 8, at sea, last day:(:(:

Not so sure how 29 days at sea could go by so quickly. I have had a fabulous time.

Last night the  passenger choir performed and then the officers joined to sing Christmas carols. It was very enjoyable. Dinner in Blu was Lobster it was delicious. Finished in Cafe Al Bacio for dessert. On to the  Martini Bar, all of a sudden the lights came on people were hooting  and Hollering, me included, and the bar staff and guests started singing Happy Birthday TO ME. I was so surprised, a little embarrassed, but I have to admit I did enjoy it. Along with the singing came a  Chocolate Martini, it sure made my day!!!!!

Today we are packing, going to the sunset bar on last time, saying good bye to new friends and looking forward to the next cruise. 

We will be in Buenos Aires for 3 days and not sure of the internet. I will,do a summary of Buenos Aires and the cruise when I get home.

I do want to name some standout employees, Laster out waiter, Roni our assistant waiter, Steve our Wine steward,  Katherine in Cafe AlBacio a real STAR. Marko was also excellent. All the Martini Bar staff, Putu S, Gede, Roni, Wayan, Wayan yes two Wayan. If course our room steward Melvyn.

Last but not least Koray the wine steward in Murano, I have known him fro almost 10 years and he is the best of the best!!

Norma

Edited December 8, 2018 by h20cruzer
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[DavietheScot]

On 12/1/2018 at 11:23 AM, h20cruzer said:

Here’s to Davie Mackie and his wife.

Lol  I had forgot you took that pic Norma, it truly was a great cruise met some lovely people onboard including you  and had a ball, we stayed on in South America visiting Bueno Aires,  Iguazu Fall and then back to Rio sadly it's all over and we are back in wintery Scotland but countdown starts now for our Carribean cruise on the Silhouette in Feb 2019.

[h20cruzer]

Finally home. We had a fabulous time on the cruise and our 3 days in Buenos Aires.

I thought disembarkation crazy. A crane holding up the gangway, what were they thinking. The incline was so steep people in wheelchairs, scooters and mobility issues were unsafe in leaving the ship this way IMO, Shame on you Celebrity. 

To all the new friends I hope you all made it home safely.

In Buenos Aires we stayed at the Hotel Madero, I would highly recommend this hotel.

We did a 3 hour private tour of Buenos Aires, it was great and we covered all the highlights of the city. We also did a dinner Tango show. The food was excellent and the show was wonderful.

My flight on United was delayed 1 hr in Buenos Aires which meant I would miss my connection in Houston, which of course happened. I was able to get a flight 2 1/2 hrs later.  Unfortunately my friend Liesa had major issues going to Newark on United. Ultimately the flight was cancelled and she spend another day in Buenos Aires. She had many issues as United did not appear to be concerned about handicapped people.  The hotel they were at had steps, which neither she or the other people who were disabled were able to access the breakfast area (20 steps). Also could not provide a non smoking room ( she has emphysema). Another guess agreed to change rooms with her. United was very very slow to respond it these important issues. She is home safe and sound. 

She has taken up the issue with United Airlines.

All in all we had a great trip 29 days on a ship, who could complain. Liesa will be doing the Anthem the end of January and I will be doing the Equinox with my family 2/16/19.

Norma

[h20cruzer]

[h20cruzer]

[h20cruzer]

[h20cruzer]

[h20cruzer]

On 12/7/2018 at 11:39 PM, JennAngel9 said:

Caught up the whole thread just in time to wish you a happy (belated) birthday!

 

Thank you so much for sharing your travel experiences.  We board the eclipse in a few weeks and you have provided so much useful information and interesting tidbits.  If you have a moment, I have two questions:

(1) Do you recall if the show with the acrobats at what appeared to be large kites would be appropriate for children? It looked like something my kids would be very excited about but I know some of the cirque-de-soleil type shows can be frightening or risque.

(2) I recall you mentioned they had started decorating the Eclipse for Christmas. Is it very festive or more understated.  Please let me know if you see any giant structures made out of gingerbread. 🙂 

Thank you again for sharing your cruise(s) with us and I hope you have a lovely rest of your trip!

I would certainly let my 9 yo grand daughter attend. I didn’t feel risqué but that’s my opinion. I will attach a couple of pics.

chrismas decorations are understated and there are not any decorations that have a  gingerbread theme.

sorry it took so long to get back to you. Norma

[ptrpanpens]

Norma

 

thanks for taking me along on the trip I booked but had to cancel. I loved Buenos Aires when I took the South America cruise but unfortunately there are often problems with flights to and from South America. I only travel in business class these days which lessens the stress somewhat but it is still not a good experience. At least you and Liesa are home safe and sound with great memories.

 

maybe we will meet on a future cruise. Happy holidays to you and your family.

 

anne

[abbydancer2003]

Thanks for the great review from BA.  I have a couple of questions.

First, which tango show did you go to?

 

Second, tell me how the Star Alliance lounge was not as good as a United Club.  I think we'll be there for several hours.

 

And we're flying back to Newark and on to San Francisco.  At least if there's a delay there are lots of flights.

 

 

[JennAngel9]

Norma, thank you so much for responding and for the additional information and photos.  I am planning to let my daughter attend.  Nothing worse than what she's seen at the opera. 😉

 

I'm glad you had a safe trip and are home safely.  Thank you again for sharing your experiences and insights with us.

 

And I echo Abby's interest in where you saw the tango show and what tours you felt were best in Buenos Aires. 

[Luckynana]

I only started reading your blog yesterday, Norma.  I enjoyed it immensely.  So glad to read about  your many experiences, as well as seeing your beautiful pictures! Thank you for a job well done!!😄

[lienf]

Great job with this blog Norma. We followed along from the beginning.  My wife and I did the TA with you and loved the cruise as well as our 2 days in Buenos Aires. For anyone interested I believe the Silhouette is scheduled to do this same cruise in 2020. 

 

Neil

[h20cruzer]

On 12/17/2018 at 2:52 PM, abbydancer said:

Thanks for the great review from BA.  I have a couple of questions.

First, which tango show did you go to?

 

Second, tell me how the Star Alliance lounge was not as good as a United Club.  I think we'll be there for several hours.

 

And we're flying back to Newark and on to San Francisco.  At least if there's a delay there are lots of flights.

 

 

here is the link https://www.cafedelosangelitos.com/

We had a 3 course dinner, red or white wine, soda or juice. All 3 of us ordered steak, I thought it was good, not the best I have ever had but for feeding that many people it was good. Our server was excellent. We booked through our hotel we had transportation to and from the show and the dinner it was $110.00 per person. Somehow we had no peso's so taking a cab was impossible. It was very convenient.