Semi-Live from Eclipse, 12/7-23

[asnaleah]

Good morning from the beautiful Eclipse! We are onboard until Valparaiso 12/23. We are fortunate to be in a Celebrity Suite. The crew has been very good, especially in Luminae. I am newly gluten-free and so far, every member of the wait staff has known it and made sure I have lots of choices. No need to order my food ahead of time. I had a few concerns before boarding because Eclipse has not been through the revolutionizing process, but our suite is in excellent condition. I think others have posted menus and food pictures, so I won’t duplicate their efforts unless any of you have any questions or want to know something specific. 
 

DH and I have recently moved into a new home, so we are primarily on this cruise to relax and recharge our batteries. Lots of spa time in our plans!

[kathynorth]

Best wishes for you both in your new home! I hope you enjoy your cruise.

[someguyfl]

I'll be boarding Eclipse on the 23rd in Valparaiso and doing B2B on the Buenos Aires to Antartica cruise afterwards. 

I suspect there are a lot of people doing B2B or B2B2B on this set of itineraries.

 

Would you mind asking the Retreat host if they know how many B2B they are getting on the next two legs?

[asnaleah]

I will ask today. From the roll call, it seems like quite a few. 

[asnaleah]

I have yet to see a wine list but suspect it is close to useless anyway. No Oregon Pinot Noir available at Luminae last night. I will try to find a list at a bar, although I don’t want to aggravate myself.

 

However, for the first time in our 15 year cruising history, the items I requested from the shoreside concierge were actually transmitted to the ship, and our Butler checked them off with me!! Woo Hoo!

[Beachlover1989]

Enjoy! We were on an Antarctica cruise on Celebrity in February and it was truly amazing!

[JaneStarr]

10 hours ago, asnaleah said:

I have yet to see a wine list but suspect it is close to useless anyway. No Oregon Pinot Noir available at Luminae last night. I will try to find a list at a bar, although I don’t want to aggravate myself.

 

However, for the first time in our 15 year cruising history, the items I requested from the shoreside concierge were actually transmitted to the ship, and our Butler checked them off with me!! Woo Hoo!

Thanks for doing this! We will be in a CS for the 2 March 24 sailing (Buenos Aires to Valparaiso)
How long before the cruise were you contacted by the shoreside concierge? Was it by email or phone.
Enjoy your cruise!

[lovecruzin]

12 hours ago, asnaleah said:

I have yet to see a wine list but suspect it is close to useless anyway. No Oregon Pinot Noir available at Luminae last night. I will try to find a list at a bar, although I don’t want to aggravate myself.

 

However, for the first time in our 15 year cruising history, the items I requested from the shoreside concierge were actually transmitted to the ship, and our Butler checked them off with me!! Woo Hoo!

Is Jerry still the Somm in Luminae? He is one of the better ones, made an effort to find wines we like.

[robbinsca]

If you want a treat in the level of service find Samantha from Zimbabwe. We had her as an Asst Waiter in the MDR, but also enjoyed her service and smile each morning on the fantail behind the buffet. Friendliest Cruise Staff member we have ever had!

[asnaleah]

@JaneStarr, it was by email, about 3-4 weeks before. @lovecruzin, yes, we have Jerry as our sommelier! @robbinsca, we have not met Samantha, but Pratiwi is an awesome assistant waiter!

 

Didn't get to Michael’s Club to ask about the B2B numbers. Will try tomorrow. I will say Luminae is not at all busy.

[lovecruzin]

13 hours ago, asnaleah said:

@JaneStarr, it was by email, about 3-4 weeks before. @lovecruzin, yes, we have Jerry as our sommelier! @robbinsca, we have not met Samantha, but Pratiwi is an awesome assistant waiter!

 

Didn't get to Michael’s Club to ask about the B2B numbers. Will try tomorrow. I will say Luminae is not at all busy.

Tell Jerry the Wilson’s say hello and oooh lala 😃 

Edited December 10, 2023 by lovecruzin

[asnaleah]

Jerry says ooh lala back @lovecruzin! He’s terrific. 

I checked with the Michael’s Club concierge (Chris) today and as I suspected, the ship is not at all full, however, they are expecting it to be full for the next leg, Valparaiso to Buenos Aires. Chris reports not too many B2B. This is our first repositioning cruise, and I am really liking the laidback vibe. We needed this rest, so the few ports and short in port times are fine with us. By next week, I’ll be ready for some tours in Peru.

 

Luminae continues to be very good. Some fun new menu items, see @Jim_Iain’s fantastic live-from for menus and photos. He and Iain were a bit disappointed in the lamb, but I just had superb lamb chops for lunch. Tender, and perfectly cooked. The staff, especially Fauzi and Pratiwi, has been amazingly helpful with my gluten free diet. I have not had to choose my meals ahead of time, although it would be fine with me. Perhaps that’s due to the lower passenger count. They made a nut crust for the ricotta cheesecake so I could enjoy it. Tomorrow will be our first time at the buffet, so I will report back.

 

Any questions, ask away!

 

[sandbug2]

Thank you for the almost live information!  I join the ship on Jan 6, first time in Aquaclass.  Wondering if the beef will be better as they are stocking the kitchen from Argentina? I was interested also in knowing who your Cruise Director is, and if they are staying on for January.  Many thanks,

Sandy

[MamaFej]

On 12/9/2023 at 7:51 PM, robbinsca said:

If you want a treat in the level of service find Samantha from Zimbabwe. We had her as an Asst Waiter in the MDR, but also enjoyed her service and smile each morning on the fantail behind the buffet. Friendliest Cruise Staff member we have ever had!

We were on the Eclipse for 5 cruises earlier this year. Samantha was in Blu. She is an absolute delight!

 

Two of those cruises were in suites, and our waiter was Nitin, who was also wonderful. Our sommelier there was Bonny, who also says, "Oo la la!"

[someguyfl]

7 hours ago, asnaleah said:

I checked with the Michael’s Club concierge (Chris) today and as I suspected, the ship is not at all full, however, they are expecting it to be full for the next leg, Valparaiso to Buenos Aires. Chris reports not too many B2B.

 

Thanks for checking!

 

That's unfortunate about not too many B2B. As you said, the Valparaiso to Buenos Aires leg is basically sold out (and I'll be joining the ship there) ... That port is tiny and Eclipse is by far the largest ship that will visit the port in all of 2023, so I was hoping that there would be enough people doing B2B to take some pressure off the port.

I guess I will just have to be prepared for the madhouse 😉

[asnaleah]

@sandbug2, we have had excellent beef and lamb and we left from LA. The lamb chops in Luminae yesterday were outstanding, cooked perfectly for me and very tender. DH had short ribs a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed them. I had a New York strip that was excellent. My only disappointment so far was the chicken. The fish has been very good too.

 

The cruise director is Manuel Fragoso. I will try to find out how long he will be onboard.

[asnaleah]

With so many sea days (love!), I have been to the spa and fitness center a few times. Very expensive spa services, and not any better than I can get at home. But it’s vacation time, so I’m happy. It continues to be a struggle to get the Elite+ discount, but I persevere. Trying the laundry today…

 

On some other threads, I have read about Retreat passengers having difficulty getting waters and other soft drinks delivered to the suite by the Butler. This has not been our experience. As soon as we made our preferences known, our Butler has taken good care to be sure we are fully stocked. Also, he traded in the champagne for wine with no problem.

 

Bonus! Luminae is open for lunch today! We are in port (Huatulco), but leaving at 1:30 pm. So I will check the buffet tomorrow.

[39august]

Has the 4 oz. filet returned to the children's menu, please?  A few months ago it  was replaced by a strip steak. But one or two people in Luminae on different ships have recently said the filet was back. What category suite are you in? Interested since you report good service from the "butler". BTW, glad to hear your strip steak was  good. 

Edited December 12, 2023 by 39august

[Norwaylady]

Enjoy your cruise❤️💃🏻🕺🏻

seems like your off to a good start❤️🙌🏻

[asnaleah]

We are in a Celebrity Suite. I will ask if the 4 oz filet is available regularly. I did see someone in Luminae have it last night.

[JaneStarr]

2 hours ago, asnaleah said:

 

{{{Snip}}}

On some other threads, I have read about Retreat passengers having difficulty getting waters and other soft drinks delivered to the suite by the Butler. This has not been our experience. As soon as we made our preferences known, our Butler has taken good care to be sure we are fully stocked. Also, he traded in the champagne for wine with no problem...

This is because the changes to butler (vs renamed stateroom attendent/Retreat Host & team) service only apply to Sky Suite level, including Aqua Ski suites.

Thus far, the dedicated butler service is still provided to those in CS and above.

[maggie.1008]

We were on the Eclipse last week in a CS and Ronald was our Butler. Wonderful service!

[CruisinShips]

56 minutes ago, maggie.1008 said:

We were on the Eclipse last week in a CS and Ronald was our Butler. Wonderful service!

We had Ronald (in a CS) in early October and he was very accommodating as well.

[asnaleah]

We had a medical evacuation at sea the day before yesterday. The Mexican Coast Guard came along side our ship. And it was dark. I don’t know about the condition of the person, but will try to find out. So scary! And yesterday at Huatulco, someone was taken off to an ambulance. Prayers for all involved!

[asnaleah]

I have decided I will no longer book a cabin without a separate shower. I am too short and not as young as I used to be. Climbing into the tub during rough seas is just not for me. I will try to sit downwind from others tonight 😂