Live from the Eclipse, Apr 19 - May 21, Sydney to Honolulu to Vancouver B3B in an Aqua Cabin

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

The Future Cruises rep is quite mistaken and there is no "luck" involved. We've only booked through a travel agent and when we have been eligible for the free loyalty one category upgrade, we've gotten it (we usually book FVs and they're not eligible). 

 

The loyalty upgrade is not an automatic thing as your TA has to remember to ask for it at the time of booking. If you choose to book online through Celebrity's website, the discount is not applied even when you supply your Captain's Club number, you have to call it in to get it (it shouldn't have to be like that). 

 

You may or may not recall us discussing the loyalty upgrade on this forum late last year. I believe that's when you found out about it. 

Thanks! I do remember the thread from last year. But like with everything as of late, I just wanted reconfirmation that was still the case based on what we heard the other day. 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

So great to follow you Ken😎🕺🏻

Really enjoying your trip. 
The weather looks great!

 

it’s still frosty nights…. And it snowed again on Monday🫣❄️🥶 luckily it didn’t stay. 

 

We drove from Oslo to Jektvik last evening and arriving now…. So crossing the article circle on the ferry this second😉

 

It was -6 on the coldest point during the nights drive. 
And lots of snow in the mountains and early spring. 
outside temperature is +6 and cold wind🥶🥶🥶 

So wool is gold🐑🐑🐑🥰

 

 

That sounds pretty cool!! 😂

[Ken the cruiser]

Thanks @firegoofy and @Silkroad, that’s exactly what we wanted to confirm! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

Remember the phrase “red sky in the morning, sailors take warning …” 

 

This was at 6:30 am. The sky isn’t “red”, but …

 

 

This was taken in the same direction at 8 am …

  

 
Here’s the current radar image at 8:20 am.

  

 
and here is our location at about the same time with the winds coming from the east.

 

 
Luckily we have 2 lectures, 3 shows and a transition meeting to keep us busy indoors today! 😁
 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! I do remember the thread from last year. But like with everything as of late, I just wanted reconfirmation that was still the case based on what we heard the other day. 

 

Yes, that is a smart idea.  You need to go back and retrain that Future Cruise consultant.

[Ken the cruiser]

Went to the B2B meeting today and it was very informative. First, no testing will be required! Yay!

 

Next, you don’t have to disembark the ship if you don’t want to on transition day. They still need to “zero out” the ship before they let the new passengers on, starting around 11 am. So if someone wants to stay on the ship, they just need to go to the designated meeting area by 8:30 am and they will check them out and then back in without leaving the ship. However, if anyone decides to subsequently leave the ship after that, they won’t be able to reboard the ship using their Transient Pass until after 11 am.

 
After the meeting, we headed to the theater for the morning lecture about Hawaii.

 

 
This afternoon we’re going to see the illusionist, James Cielen, in the theater followed by Part 2 of the Marilyn Monroe story.

 

 
This evening after dinner in Blu, we’ll be heading to the theater to watch a couple of new entertainers, David and Dawn!

  

 
Followed at 10 pm by a late night adults only comedy show with Fred Bevill. I’ve got to say the entertainment has been awesome on both legs of our cruise so far, and hope it continues on the next leg to Vancouver as well! 😁

 

 
Anf finally, the internet speeds, both upload as well as download, have been quite acceptable, even on the balcony with the sliding glass door closed! 😁

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Barwick Cruiser]

If Eddy Jenkins stays on for the next leg then the entertainment will likely be just as good as you’ve had so far! Really enjoying your reports and all the photos! 🥂🚢

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

If Eddy Jenkins stays on for the next leg then the entertainment will likely be just as good as you’ve had so far! Really enjoying your reports and all the photos! 🥂🚢

Thanks! Eddy definitely knows how to keep us happily entertained. That’s for sure! 😁

[zestyzorra]

Eddy sounds like an amazing cruise director! I have never done a b2b on the same ship before, but I will be doing the Edge 12 nights around New Zealand and 9 nights in Australia next year.  I was considering the following 2 cruises through to Hawaii and Vancouver but worried that the entertainment and food might become repetitive.  (I found a Princess cruise that does a similar itinerary but I've never sailed on Princess and I'm worried it will feel like a downgrade.... a discussion for another post.)

 

But Ken, are you feeling like there's enough variety? Is it the magic of Eddy or does Celebrity keep it fresh on long cruises, in general? 

[Ken the cruiser]

While standing in line waiting for Blu to open, I stepped out on the promenade to take a picture. Even though it’s not sunset yet, you can see it turned out to be a pretty day, even though there were some light swells along the way. But no rain storms so far! 

 

 

Then tonight after eating in Blu, we found our new favorite place to check for gluten-free desserts before heading up to the OVC, Cafe al Bacio! I know, who knew! Probably everyone except us. 😂

 

Then we were off to watch an awesome musician and dance team, David and Dawn Meyer. Dawn was the dancer with the light wands and David played the Xylosynth, a relatively new instrument that is a cross between a xylophone and a synthesizer and has a very unique sound. Bottom line, it was a very entertaining high octane musical show! 😁

 

 

 

At 10 we’ll be off again to watch the late night comedy show with Fred Bevill.

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, zestyzorra said:

Eddy sounds like an amazing cruise director! I have never done a b2b on the same ship before, but I will be doing the Edge 12 nights around New Zealand and 9 nights in Australia next year.  I was considering the following 2 cruises through to Hawaii and Vancouver but worried that the entertainment and food might become repetitive.  (I found a Princess cruise that does a similar itinerary but I've never sailed on Princess and I'm worried it will feel like a downgrade.... a discussion for another post.)

 

But Ken, are you feeling like there's enough variety? Is it the magic of Eddy or does Celebrity keep it fresh on long cruises, in general? 

I’ve got to think about this. 🤔 

 

First, the Edge cost over $1.25 billion, so that in itself should tell you it’s an awesome ship! We cruised on her in Aug 2021 on a 21-day B3B in the Caribbean and had a great time. You have 3 entertainment areas, the main theater, The Club, and Eden in the back of the ship. When combined, all 3 offer a wide variety of things to do in the evening and on sea days. 

 

Also, from our experience on this cruise so far, the entertainers do 2 full shows and maybe one variety show and they’re done, as you can see from the variety of the shows we’ve had so far. But check out the Daily’s I’ve been posting. They’ve offered quite the variety of things to do on sea days as well as in the evening.
 

When it comes to dining, they have 4 MDRs to choose from unless you’re in a suite or Blu, which have their own separate dining rooms. We have found on this cruise, the menus seem to cycle every 7 days and will recycle to the begging at the start of the cruise. For example, our first leg on this cruise was a 3-day cruise to nowhere. When we started the second leg, the one were on now, we saw the same menu we saw on tge first day of tge 3-day cruise. But no worries, the menu has options. 
 

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions if you’d like.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

@zestyzorra sorry for the above typos. We had to go to the late night comedy show before I was able to proof read what I wrote, evidence there is plenty to do on these longer Celebrity voyages and definitely not enough time to do them all, even on an 18-day transpacific cruise like the one we’re on now. 😂

 

As far as Princess goes, we enjoy their longer 3-5 week itineraries, and usually book a Reserve Collection mini-suite or VS when cruising with them as we like the anytime dining option that comes with those categories. As far as entertainment, they also offer quite the range of things to do on their longer cruises as well, similar to Celebrity.

 

As far as the dining menus go, they seem to differ each day on the longer cruises, but you’ll periodically see the same starters and entrees, but just not always in a given 7-day sequence on their longer single itinerary cruises. But I will say their portions are smaller than Celebrity’s, which usually means I’ll gain a few pounds on a Celebrity cruise where I usually don’t on a Princess cruise. 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 20 - May 7 - Last sea day

  

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

On 5/2/2023 at 11:39 PM, Redking said:

Stunning. Still 11 months until our TP but your report begins to make it feel real. Thank you.

 

Which TP are you on?

[Jim_Iain]

Ken -  What a wonderful Live Post.   I've spent the afternoon catching up.  Love the pictures and of course the information of the B2B procedure.  

[Ken the cruiser]

Good morning from day 5 on the high seas! 
  

 

Today we have another 3 lectures, 3 production shows and a game show to go to. There is definitely no shortage of things to do on our last day before reaching Lahaina, Maui tomorrow morning! 
 
The internet upload speed seems to be improving the farther north we cruise of the Equator. Must be a few more Starlink satellites in the area up here.

  

[Redking]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Which TP are you on?

The Edge. Are you on the Solstice Jim?

[yogini06]

1 hour ago, Redking said:

The Edge. Are you on the Solstice Jim?

We are also on Edge TP cruise 14 April 2024. 😊

[Ken the cruiser]

This morning we went to Eddy’s final talk on this leg of our cruise

 

 
followed by Tony’s final talk as well.

 

 
We also decided to pass on Nina’s final lecture on the Challenges of the 21st Century Whales and go to the Eclipse Talent Show at 2 pm.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

We’re getting closer and, yes, 5 days in a row at sea with all the entertainment we’ve seen has worn us out. It’s time for a few port days!

 

This BTW is the first sign of wildlife I’ve seen in 5 days!! 😂

 

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[JintyGirl]

Just caught up with your posts @Ken the cruiser. Love all the photos and updates on daily activities. You’ve put me in the mood for a trans ocean crossing now!! 😊

[zestyzorra]

Ken, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! I appreciate your insights and of course, your daily updates. Sounds like Starlink should allow me to zoom from sea, so a long TP is in the cards, whooo!

 

Enjoy Hawaii today 😀

[Ken the cruiser]

23 minutes ago, zestyzorra said:

Ken, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! I appreciate your insights and of course, your daily updates. Sounds like Starlink should allow me to zoom from sea, so a long TP is in the cards, whooo!

 

Enjoy Hawaii today 😀

No problem. If I might add one note. With Celebrity their All Included package (gratuities, Basic internet and Classic Beverage packages) currently runs about $85 pp/day. However, to upgrade the internet service to their Premium package, which you will probably require, will cost you another $12-15 per day depending on your loyalty status and whether you purchase it before the cruise or once you board. The Princess Plus Package OTOH runs $60 pp/day for gratuities, internet and their regular drinks package, and their Internet service is equivalent to Celebrity’s Premium Internet service.

 

Princess’ booking fares are also all with refundable deposits whereas Celebrity really pumps up the price if you want to book a cruise with a refundable deposit with them.

 

I just thought I’d point those two differences out, in case you were interested.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[zestyzorra]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

No problem. If I might add one note. With Celebrity their All Included package (gratuities, Basic internet and Classic Beverage packages) currently runs about $85 pp/day. However, to upgrade the internet service to their Premium package, which you will probably require, will cost you another $12-15 per day depending on your loyalty status and whether you purchase it before the cruise or once you board. The Princess Plus Package OTOH runs $60 pp/day for gratuities, internet and their regular drinks package, and their Internet service is equivalent to Celebrity’s Premium Internet service.

 

Princess’ booking fares are also all with refundable deposits whereas Celebrity really pumps up the price if you want to book a cruise with a refundable deposit with them.

 

I just thought I’d point those two differences out, in case you were interested.

Oh, I am definitely interested!  Thank you!

 

I did upgrade to Premium internet for our Edge journey the other day, but I'm very happy to hear Princess has comparable internet included.  I'd heard they haven't installed Starlink yet but hopefully that will happen on the Majestic princess before next April.  It sounds like it might be worth checking out both Celebrity and Princess on this upcoming TP adventure I'm planning,  rather than sticking to the Edge the whole way... the prices on Princess are way better, as you pointed out. Not excited about the smoking indoors... was that noticeable when you sailed Princess? 

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, zestyzorra said:

Oh, I am definitely interested!  Thank you!

 

I did upgrade to Premium internet for our Edge journey the other day, but I'm very happy to hear Princess has comparable internet included.  I'd heard they haven't installed Starlink yet but hopefully that will happen on the Majestic princess before next April.  It sounds like it might be worth checking out both Celebrity and Princess on this upcoming TP adventure I'm planning,  rather than sticking to the Edge the whole way... the prices on Princess are way better, as you pointed out. Not excited about the smoking indoors... was that noticeable when you sailed Princess? 

When we were on the Regal this past summer and the Caribbean Princess last May, there was a designated smoking area in the casino, and being an ex-smoker who quit 36 years ago, I can still smell it if I walk through there. But it wasn’t that noticeable outside the casino on either ship.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Ken the cruiser