Live Blog. October 28th, Mexican Rivera on Eclipse. A cruise of many firsts.....

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but did OV used to serve cottage cheese at breakfast?  If so, its no longer. 

 

You are not wrong.  I have had the cottage cheese with fruit in OVC at breakfast but it was many years ago. 

 

[calicakes]

41 minutes ago, hcat said:

hope it is worth it..take a taxi or uber!

look forward to your next live from!

We have our own car. We drove to the port and parked a Doubletree.( park and stay package). 

 

Our next Live will be from Sydney, Edge Feb 2024.

[calicakes]

We went to lunch at 12:30 in OV.  It took at least 10 min of walking around the find a seat.  It seemed like everyone is having lunch at the same time.  So crowded.  They were serving a lot of French Cheese,  Sadly, the only cracker they have is a saltine.  Shameful.  I did bring some crackers from home.  I made myself a cheese plate to have in the afternoon.  This is the FIRST time that goat cheese has shown up in OV.  Will post pics later. 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, calicakes said:

Thank you.  Maybe you can talk Iian into Galapagos for 2025.  We booked for October.

I would would like to do Machu Picchu but that is not an option.  Iain doesn't handle high elevations well so that's off the table.    I'm pushing for an Africa Cruise on SilverSeas -   Africa has been on my bucket lists a LONG TIME.    

[hcat]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

We went to lunch at 12:30 in OV.  It took at least 10 min of walking around the find a seat.  It seemed like everyone is having lunch at the same time.  So crowded.  They were serving a lot of French Cheese,  Sadly, the only cracker they have is a saltine.  Shameful.  I did bring some crackers from home.  I made myself a cheese plate to have in the afternoon.  This is the FIRST time that goat cheese has shown up in OV.  Will post pics later. 

 

we also bring our own crackers..stales saltines just do not work!

Edited November 4, 2023 by hcat

[LaCal]

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

We went to lunch at 12:30 in OV.  It took at least 10 min of walking around the find a seat.  It seemed like everyone is having lunch at the same time.  So crowded.  They were serving a lot of French Cheese,  Sadly, the only cracker they have is a saltine.  Shameful.  I did bring some crackers from home.  I made myself a cheese plate to have in the afternoon.  This is the FIRST time that goat cheese has shown up in OV.  Will post pics later. 

Good to hear we’re not the only ones who bring our own crackers 

 

How was the French cheese?   Looking forward to your photos 

 

Thanks 

[calicakes]

1 hour ago, LaCal said:

Good to hear we’re not the only ones who bring our own crackers 

 

How was the French cheese?   Looking forward to your photos 

 

Thanks 

Ok. Not the best quality. Compte, blue, goat, bri and some American cheese.

[calicakes]

Lobster last night. There are 2 on my plate. I asked for the berries. 

[CulverCityCruisers]

8 hours ago, calicakes said:

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but did OV used to serve cottage cheese at breakfast?  If so, its no longer. 

Yep!!  As you said NO LONGER!!  And how about NO SOUFFLE on Chic night  Gone Too

[bjahil47]

Enjoyed reading your live blog!  Safe travels home!

[calicakes]

Dinner last night. My chicken was dry. Julie had the fried pork chop. It was a special. Swung by the OV to get a pic of cheeses. There was much more variety at lunch. We skipped dessert. 

[39august]

Saltines just don't cut it with a cheese plate. They used to have much better assorted crackers. Now I usually get some lavash or bread sticks for my cheese. 

[calicakes]

Wrapping up.

 

Service was amazing.  There was one time at the pool that we waited about 45 min for our beverages.   The last morning, I asked for a poached egg WHITE as I can't eat runny yolks.  That was super confusing for the crew member taking orders.  She said no, then said she'd ask the chef.  The chef ended up making it for me.  

 

Food quality was better than I expected.  The chicken I had on the first night was not dry, other chicken dishes were super dry.   My wife said the flank steak was probably the best steak she's had on a ship. 

 

I heard a lot of complaints regarding the shore excursions.  We didn't book any as they didn't appeal to us.  I think Celebrity should have provided a shuttle into Mazatlán.  

 

Our room was bigger than expected and our room attendant was good.  See on in February for our Great Barrier Reef cruise on Edge. 

[MattnTricia]

Thank you for your trip report - We look forward to being on this ship in just 11 days 🙂

[Von & John]

On 11/3/2023 at 3:09 PM, Jim_Iain said:

I hate to say it but I really like the Ocean Spray Canned -   You know the one where you cut both ends off and serve it with the ripples showing.   As they say you can take the Boy out of the country, but not the Country out of the Boy.

 

 

 

LOL - every year @ Thanksgiving/Christmas I think of the cranberries Mom used to serve...

Some holidays she served Ocean Spray & some years she cooked the cranberries from scratch.

Not sure how old I was when I asked her about the mold she used to create the round cranberries w/ the design...

All the adults just laughed & laughed at me 😏

After dinner Mom pulled the can out of the trash to show me her mold ❤️ 

I've never been a cranberry sauce lover - but that memory has stuck w/ me for life...

 

Now if you want to talk about Cranberry / Gran Marnier / Orange fruit relish/dip or High Bush Cranberry Bread, Jelly, BBQ Sauce or Icecream or White Chocolate Craisin Cookies or Craisins whole or, or, or...

I'm all over it 🙂

[Von & John]

Thanks for a Fantabulous Review!

Feeling a little jealous on the Galapagos Cruise - 2 of my siblings have done the Galapagos separately from each other - maybe someday...

 

[Holida Gal]

Do they supply the paddles for pickleball and arrange times? Or did Julie bring her own paddle?

[arizonaperson]

@calicakes

 You posted a picture of somebody wearing shorts on board in line for the main dining room. Was that breakfast or lunch? If it was ,it’s usually OK at that time. But I guess if it was dinner on the first day like another poster said maybe they just didn’t have any luggage yet 

[arizonaperson]

@calicakes

 What an ingenious product -that washing machine that you to brought on board. Is it battery operated or electric? 

[calicakes]

Just now, arizonaperson said:

@calicakes

 What an ingenious product -that washing machine that you to brought on board. Is it battery operated or electric? 

Its electric.  I bought it on Temu.  I paid about 12 bucks.  I waited until it dropped in price, they are now ranging from 25-35.  I know people knock Temu, but I've only had good luck.  I do NOT HAVE THE APP.  I only order from their website. 

[calicakes]

28 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

@calicakes

 You posted a picture of somebody wearing shorts on board in line for the main dining room. Was that breakfast or lunch? If it was ,it’s usually OK at that time. But I guess if it was dinner on the first day like another poster said maybe they just didn’t have any luggage yet 

It was dinner on the first night.  Apparently, its ok on the FIRST AND LAST night.  Although, we saw people wearing shorts and flip flops and they were NOT turned away. 

[calicakes]

2 hours ago, Holida Gal said:

Do they supply the paddles for pickleball and arrange times? Or did Julie bring her own paddle?

They had a couple, but Julie did bring her own.  They had "Free play" times listed in the daily schedule.  

[arizonaperson]

2 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Its electric.  I bought it on Temu.  I paid about 12 bucks.  I waited until it dropped in price, they are now ranging from 25-35.  I know people knock Temu, but I've only had good luck.  I do NOT HAVE THE APP.  I only order from their website. 

 Well it looks like a very cool machine. Didn’t know that they allowed that type of electrical product on the ship. I’ve never even heard of Temu.

 Thanks.

[calicakes]

1 minute ago, arizonaperson said:

 Well it looks like a very cool machine. Didn’t know that they allowed that type of electrical product on the ship. I’ve never even heard of Temu.

 Thanks.

Its also on amazon for 50.00.  It took awhile to get the last piece of luggage.  Maybe they were trying to figure out what it was. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Mini-Washer-Underwear-Apartments/dp/B0C4953YFH/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=36JBQAPEXCT1W&keywords=portable%2Bwashing%2Bmachine&qid=1699822053&sprefix=portable%2Bwashing%2B%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

[luckiest1cruise]

@calicakes Do all the regular balcony rooms have fridges or do you have to request them?  I am impressed with all you brought from home!  Did you pack the American cheese and your iced coffee in coke bottles in your checked luggage or in your carry on?   We are on the 12/1 sailing and are flying into LA from Ontario, Canada, but we have a day in between where we can purchase food or non-alcoholic beverages to bring with us (as I have multiple dietary requirements).  I just don't know what I can bring successfully on board with me.  Thanks!