Another trip and this time, I am going to Jamaica. My flight to JFK from Boston was scheduled for 8 am, but I arrived at the airport around 6:30 am, which was good since the lines were ridiculously long. The bag drop off lines wound up and down alongside Dunkin Donuts without any chance of slowing down. Finally, I was able to drop off my bag and speed through Security thanks to the "Extra Leg Room" I purchased for my flight with JetBlue and it was definitely worth the extra money. I was convinced that Starbucks was only on one side of the terminal past Security and ended up walking all over the place only to find it on the way back and then another one right next to my gate. I got there just as they had almost finished boarding. Whew!
The flight to JFK was only about 45 minutes and then I had only a short time to wait before we boarded the second flight. Apparently I attract crazy because I had one crazy lady sitting next to me who insisted on putting her arm on the armrest the entire flight, hitting me with her arm and her bag throughout the entire flight. Normally, I would just lean into the window and ignore the person in the middle seat, but she was getting pushier throughout the flight so I stood my ground with my elbows on both arm rests. She then proceeded to take her shoes off and put her feet up on the seat in front of her. I won't ever grab something from the seat back pocket ever again without using Purell.
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| Sandals Lounge at Montego Bay airport |
Once we landed at Sangster International airport in Montego Bay, we had to wait to taxi to the terminal and then we were allowed to get off the plane. FWIW, there are no restrooms available right off the plane, which was a brutal discovery. I did, however, found one past the long ramp toward Customs under a "Do Not Enter" sign. I was fortunate to have Maurice from JTB (Jamaica Tourist Board) there to greet me and fast track me through Customs and Immigration as a courtesy. Make sure to have your passport and immigration form completed before you get off the plane. If you are flying to Jamaica, especially on the weekend, you can expect to wait in the line with everyone else before retrieving your bag. I am eternally grateful to JTB for doing the fast track for me as I was able to whiz past everyone on the plane and get out. I picked up my bag and then went to the Sandals Lounge to meet my travel partner for the week, Melissa from PA, who I was meeting in Jamaica. I have to admit it this is another wonderful perk by Sandals that they offer their clients because they can sit and wait in luxury, grab a Red Stripe beer, and relax before taking the complimentary shuttle to their resort.
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| Sangster International Airport (MBJ) |
We decided to take a taxi from the airport to the Holiday Inn Sunspree and Maurice accompanied us outside after arranging a taxi for us inside at the taxi desk. Once you step outside, expect to be repeatedly asked if you need a cab, which is why it is best to arrange it and then go outside. The Holiday Inn Sunspree resort is only a short 10 minute ride from the airport, but the total cab fare? $30 plus tip. People would flip in any large city to pay that price for such a short ride! Don't forget to tip your driver, ask for his or her card if you like them, and ask if they do tours. You could arrange a private tour to see whatever you like on the island in a timeframe that fits your exact schedule. Our driver was Nevel and he helped us with our bags in and out of the van and we then entered the resort to check in.
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| Front Lobby at the Holiday Inn Sunspree resort |
A few quick steps to the front desk and our bags were waiting for us and we were able to leisurely check in. Don't forget to have your passports and credit card handy upon check in and if you need change, do it now. Why change? Although you might be staying at an all-inclusive resort, with the exception of the luxury style resorts that prevent anyone from tipping, you'll see that it becomes a necessity at the typical all-inclusive resort. Find the drinks are watered down? Frequent the same bartender and tip him or her each time and you'll find your drinks increasingly become better. One of the servers brought us over a few drinks and it was time to explore after locating our room. One was a typical Rum Punch, but the other was this neon green drink that tasted green. Not natural green, but more like a leprechaun had met his unfortunate death in the drink blender kind of green. Howard escorted us up to our room and dropped off our luggage and gave us a few tips on the property.
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| Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort |
Our room was fairly large one with two queen size beds, a desk, a few chairs, a closet, dresser, large flat screen LG television, and a mini-fridge. The bathroom was on the small side, but was manageable. I do think it could be a tight squeeze with more than two people, especially a family. The closet is quite big so you would be able to unpack and hang your clothes as well as use the large dresser for storage, too. There is a safe in the closet and I do recommend using it while on property. The tile floor is far better, at least in my opinion, to carpeting, especially after spending the day at the beach with sandy feet. The color scheme and furnishings are dated, but the bed was manageably comfortable and sufficiently clean. My test for any hotel or resort is just how clean things are and this place does desperately need a thorough scrubbing. When I can't identify if the stain on the wall is dirt or some form of body fluids, it makes me want to go elsewhere, you know? Although the resort is dated and apparently was at its best 15 years ago, it is fairly clean and does offer free WiFi. Most resorts almost anywhere you go still charge $14.99 per day so to have this included at no additional cost is fantastic.
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| Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort |
The balcony is very, very basic with plastic chairs and a built-in rack to hang your wet bathing suits and towels. Overall, it serves its purpose, which is to give you a great view of the water. Our room overlooked the children's play area complete with swing set and play area. It also looked out onto the water, which was quite beautiful no matter what time of day it is. From this picture, you should be able to see that the property is definitely on the older side as upon closer inspection, you should be able to see how warped and crooked the top balconies are. Made me kind of scared and I definitely would be more nervous with children or with any kind of drinking up on those top balconies. Scary!
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| Jerk Hut |
By this time, we were hungry and thirsty and so we decided to change into our swimsuits and headed down to check out the water and amenities as well somewhere to eat. Just on the other side of the fence by the play area was the sports hut, the towel hut where you need to exchange your towel card for your towel, and a place to get nachos and snacks. Other restaurants on property include Sorrento Italian restaurant, De Terrace Jamaican restaurant, Sea Breeze seafood restaurant, Portside Buffet restaurant, and Barefoot Bar & Grill. The specialty restaurants require a reservation while the buffet restaurant and the Barefoot Bar & Grill don't.
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| Not so top shelf liquor |
One other place to eat on property is the Jerk Hut, which is where stopped for a drink and to grab a bite. They did have a small drink menu and I chose a Hurricane and Melissa tried some of the jerk pork and a Cool Runnings drink. As you can see, the alcohol isn't top shelf and the glasses are teeny-tiny in size, but guests seem to know how to get around this. They stop in the gift shop and pick up huge insulated drink glasses and mugs and then pour their drinks into them. I guess if volume is your thing, then this wouldn't bother you. As far as the food, Melissa said that the jerk pork was really good, but extremely hot. There was also hot sauces available, like Pickapeppa hot sauce, if you wanted to spice it up even more!
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| Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort |
If you don't care about the food or drinks, sit back and enjoy the one-half mile of white sandy beachfront at the Holiday Inn Sunspree resort. You can see in the picture the small island opposite the main pool area. Climb down a few stairs and you can walk right in the water and across to the island. Yes, you can walk to the island as the water is only a few inches deep so if you're not a swimmer, have no fear as you can take a leisurely stroll over to your lounge chair.
More information on dining, stores, and the resort casino in my next post. Then onto other resorts in Jamaica including a few Sandals resorts.
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| Occupy Amsterdam |
I was looking at some of my pictures of Amsterdam and came across some interesting pictures that I took over our trip on New Year's and had to post them here. No matter where you turn when you're traveling, you can find the most unusual and interesting things to photograph. We were walking along and I saw some tents on the side of the street and made the comment, "Bet it's Occupy Amsterdam." Funny thing was that it was Occupy Amsterdam! They had a whole little community set up and were working hard to maintain it. Don't believe me? You can see the live feed from Amsterdam here.
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| Chess game in Max Euweplein square |
Maybe you're feeling cerebral and perhaps a quick game of chess is what you're after. If you walk over to Max Euweplein, a square named after the first and only Dutch world chess champion, you will find a huge chess set. There are always people playing and others watching and maybe giving advice. Regardless, it is an interesting tourist attraction and it's free. After trying your hand at chess, you can always pop into the nearby Hard Rock Amsterdam to let everyone know just how much of a tourist you really are. If not, you can visit the chess club that is dedicated to Max Euweplein where enthusiasts can challenge each other and show off their fine chess moves. Aftwerwards, if the Hard Rock Cafe isn't your style, you're only a short walk to the Holland Casino, one of the biggest casinos in all of Europe. They do charge 5 euros per person admission and you will need to check your coat at the coat check. Don't expect a Las Vegas style casino, but you can still enjoy yourself and maybe even walk away a winner. If you can't get here you can always visit their other location at Schiphol Airport.
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| Groupon Amsterdam office |
On one of our many walks around Amsterdam, I spotted the offices of Groupon Amsterdam. I had to stop and take a picture and then promptly kick myself for not thinking about looking at their site prior to our arrival in Amsterdam. Granted, I don't speak any Dutch and I certainly can't read their website, but I started to imagine all of the great deals I missed. Darn!
You can call me a cheapskate, but I do like to watch my pennies. In fact, by doing so I can travel more often and to more places. At home I will check web sites for coupon codes for anything I buy, including travel, to save a little money. When I arrive at a location I will try to find out the best way to get the most bang for my buck, too. Sometimes that means that buying a 2-day pass is less expensive than a 1-day pass or combining multiple venues, like museums or other attractions, can save you money as well. Why not save money so you can enjoy more while traveling?
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| Interesting items you can purchase in Amsterdam |
As we walked through countless tourist shops and open air markets full of flowers of every kind imaginable, I did spot cannabis seeds for sale of all varieties. I had no idea that there were male and female seeds, but I guess there are. I would think that this is targeted toward tourists as I honestly didn't see locals buying this stuff. However, with the impending law change that will soon affect all of the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, foreign visitors might have some concerns. With the new law, only Dutch and foreign residents will be eligible for a "weed pass" that will allow them to buy marijuana in coffee shops. The law does not apply to carrying or consuming marijuana and coffee shops have vowed to ignore the law. The law went into effect in the south on May 1 and will be rolled out everywhere as of next year, including to the popular tourist destination of Amsterdam. The government insists that there has been an increase in criminality associated with the sale of cannabis, but the people of the Netherlands strongly disagree. We'll have to see how this story plays out over the next several months and watch how tourism is affected, if at all.
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| Death? Is that you? |
And now for depressing news... we spotted death. Yes, there was Death in Dam Square trying to talk to people, even children. And yes, in his hand was the biggest, fattest joint you would ever spot. So I guess you could say that Death was at least enjoying himself. We saw him trying to engage a child in a stroller and luckily, the child quickly looked away. Whew!
When visiting Amsterdam, Dam Square is definitely a place where tourists stop to take pictures and take in the street entertainment which includes among other things, clowns, musicians, and of course, Death. Beautiful architecture abounds including the Royal Palace, Nieuwe Kerk (a 15th century church), and the Madame Tussaud's building. I've probably covered this before, but I still don't see the appeal that Madame Tussaud's commands on the entire tourist community. Here is what is like when you go into a Madame Tussaud's, be it in Amsterdam, New York, or London: You stand in an incredibly long line for what seems like a lifetime and then you slowly meander through an overcrowded building staring at lifelike figures of famous people that may or may not like their human counterparts. Really? That's how you want to spend your day? Oh well, to each his/her own.
Do you like to take pictures of unusual things in the cities and countries you visit? What was the strangest picture you have ever taken?
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| Rainy Miami, FL |
Parting is such sweet sorrow and today is our last day on our ship, the Celebrity
Eclipse. We woke up to rain in the port of Miami at 7 am, I think a signal to return to reality. We had set our bags out the night
before prior to 11 pm as requested and so we only had our carry on bags to
concern ourselves with while scrambling around the cabin. We showered and dressed and my son and
husband walked up to the Oceanview Café for coffee and my son?s final omelets
aboard the Eclipse. The ship's crew had let everyone on board know that everyone had to be out of their cabins by 9 am because another group of passengers would soon board and begin their cruise. This next cruise is a transatlantic cruise and believe me, I considered stowing away for a new adventure.
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| View from the Tuscan Grille |
Usually the
ship?s buffet is chaotic the last morning of a cruise, but they reported that there
were few people grabbing breakfast. Our
luggage tags said we were to wait in the Eclipse Theater until it was time to
leave, but we decided to take advantage of the private departure lounge in the
Tuscan Grille for the Captain?s Club members. For some strange reason we were given two sets of luggage
tags, one for leaving at 7:40 am and the other for leaving at 9:10 am. Since we knew it wouldn?t take very
long to get to the airport from the port and we had an 11:40 am flight, I
always prefer waiting on the ship than waiting in an airport.
At about 9:10 am we walked over to the
gangway, which was located on deck 5 near the Gelateria. My husband had misplaced his SeaPass
card, I suspect he packed it in the luggage he put out the night before, and had
to show his passport to get off the ship.
If you want to avoid the crowds, consider getting off the ship in one of
the earlier groups or with self-disembarkation. Self-disembarkation means that you carry your own bags off and you can
leave the ship at your leisure. This is great if you have small or few bags, but if you have a couple or have difficulty getting around, you may want to leave your bags out the night before and pick them up inside the terminal.
Once off the ship you do have to go
through Customs and Immigration so do have your passport and immigration form
handy. So many people pack these away and hold the lines up. Complete your customs form in your cabin and have it ready along with your passport. It helps to have your passport open to your picture page as well. The faster you present it, the faster you can leave the cruise terminal. After you pass through
here, you then move onto collecting your luggage. Reference the number of your luggage tag to determine which
carousel your bags will be located. Sometimes bags are lined up, but in this cruise terminal they were on conveyor belts like at the airport and it was extremely easy for people to locate their luggage. We found ours relatively fast and then headed out to the street to get to the airport.
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| Miami taxicab rates |
Many, many, many people opt for the
cruise line?s transportation service to the airport. If you do this, inevitably you will end up in longer lines than an amusement park. Additionally, you'll have
to wait for the coach to be filled prior to departure. We simply exited the cruise port
terminal and turned left to get into the taxi line. At this point, you inform them how many people in your party
and they will tell you which taxi to jump into. As we walked over to get into our cab, a couple had jumped
the queue and stole our cab. I had
to walk back to speak with the dispatcher who put us in the next cab. The taxi fares from the airport to the
cruise port and from the cruise port to the airport are one set fee of $24
including all special charges.
While everyone else was still standing in those ridiculously long lines,
we were already headed to the airport and arrive there in no time at all.
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| Waiting for our flight home |
At the airport, we checked in at the
counter and as I had upgraded us online while still on the ship, we were able
to bypass the long lines once again and move straight to the First Class
counter. We didn?t need to have
our bags weighed and after printing our tickets, we were off to Security. After showing our tickets, we were
placed in a shorter line although the wait to get through was painfully
long. The only way to rectify a
long line in bare feet is by stopping at Starbuck?s before taking a seat near
the gate.
My fun filled vacation week draws to a
close as I board my flight to return to my normal life back home. Back to work, paying bills, cooking
dinner, and everyday life. What will
I do when I get home and no one cleans my room, brings me a drink, or presents
a menu at mealtime? I suspect the only way to deal with a mundane life is to plan another trip. Where am I off to next? You'll have to tune in again to find out!
Marian Krueger
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| Tourism Cares Pensacola |
Whether you travel often or only occasionally or if you work in travel, do you believe you have a responsibility to the world to leave it better than how it was before you arrived? Anyone who works in tourism, be it a cruise line, resort, CEO, hotel front desk clerk, travel agent, travel writer, or travel blogger is the face of travel to the general public. As such, I believe we have a certain amount of responsibility to the world to not only encourage travel, but to protect this very same world in which we live.
As someone who takes the idea of being "green" seriously, I try to practice what I preach. At home we follow the three R's of reduce, reuse, and recycle and are avid users (and givers) on Freecycle. We don't buy bottled water if we can avoid it and I am usually found in public with my black water bottle in hand. We compost, have solar panels on our home, and watch both our electricity and water usage. Every piece of paper is recycled in our home, every piece of plastic, every bottle, every can, etc. This entry isn't about being "green", but should shed a light on me as a person while at home.
While traveling, it always pains me to throw away paper, plastic, etc. and when I don't see a recycle bin, I shudder. Granted, not every business is there yet and certainly not every country is there either, but I do try to do my share, including taking paper with me and finding another place to deposit it instead of throwing it in the trash. I have learned to place a banana peel in a bin with only minimal guilt, but still I wish I had somewhere else to put it, don't you?
Having said that, is there more that we can do? Absolutely! I had the pleasure of meeting representatives of Tourism Cares last year at a travel conference. Of course, I was thrilled that they were also local to me as they are based out of Canton, MA. In a nutshell, Tourism Cares' mission is to preserve the travel experience for future generations. Tourism Cares was formed in 2005 by the merger of the National Tourism Foundation and the Travelers Conservation Foundation. Volunteers from the travel and tourism industry clean up and restore culturally significant, tourism-related sited needing care and rejuvenation. More than 2,000 volunteers have donated more than 20,000 hours at sites across North America including Ellis Island, Gettysburg, PA, Mystic Seaport, CT, and Pensacola, FL, among many others. Tourism Cares, a nonprofit organization, has awarded $101,000 in scholarships to 75 travel students in 2011 and awarded grants for conservation, preservation, and restoration of global natural, cultural and historic sites.
 Tourism Cares explains what they do on their web site:
Tourism Cares preserves the travel experience for the benefit of tomorrow's travelers.
We do it in three ways:
- We help to save sites that are important to travelers by giving financial assistance to tourism-related natural, cultural and historic sites around the world.
- We help to educate those who will be the future workforce of the largest industry in the world ? travel. We do this by giving scholarships to those who are studying travel and tourism, we mentor those who wish to learn to be the best, we foster internships so that those interested in the travel and tourism industry can learn hands-on. We also educate the traveling public on how to become more responsible travelers.
- We bring the tourism community together to volunteer and help clean up and restore important historic sites that are in need of care and rejuvenation.
I've wanted to get involved for some time, but scheduling conflicts, time, and life in general have gotten in my way in the past. But not this time. When I heard about Tourism Cares for Pensacola, I had to get involved. For a donation, I became a proud sponsor of the project along side big names like Marriott, Starwood, Margaritaville, Collette Vacations, Hertz, Lowe's, Viking River Cruises, and so many, many others.
On March 29 and 30, 2012, Tourism Cares for Pensacola made a huge impact in the area. Some of their key accomplishments included:
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| Can you spot the Travel Shop Girl logo? |
At the Pensacola Lighthouse:
- 4000ft of fence was painted
- 5000 pickets were repaired and painted
- 23 rooms covering almost 6000sq ft were painted
- Brush was cleared from an area covering 2400sq ft
- This brush was mulched and what could not be mulched filled a 25yd debris dumpster
- 660 jasmine were planted
- 48 azalea bushes were planted
- 2400 sq ft of flower beds were built
- 2 out buildings were painted
At Bayview Park, Bayou Texar:
- Planted 2,500 native salt marsh grasses along 600 feet of shoreline which will provide over 1/10th of an acre of lush intertidal estuarine habitat for a nearly uncountable number of marine organisms, while stabilizing the park shoreline and absorbing excess nutrients from rain runoff.
- Hand pulled 500-1000 lbs of root material from the invasive reed grass, Phragmites australis.
- Prepared an additional 500 square feet of intertidal area to be planted by removing Phragmites along the shoreline.
- Contributed nearly 200 hours of volunteer time
What can you do? Get involved by following Tourism Cares on FaceBook and Twitter to learn about their next project. There are so many different ways to get involved. You can volunteer, make a donation, become a sponsor or a corporate partner. In May Tourism Cares' project is Tourism Cares for Peru, their first Global Outreach initiative. I strongly encourage you to get involved and learn more about Tourism Cares. Give back travel people and do what you can to help improve those travel areas in the world that can benefit from the boost. You won't regret it and the pride you'll feel from your efforts will be worth every second and dollar you contributed.
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| Solstice Deck |
The last day of a cruise is one that I
consider is a transition day back to reality. You know you?ll need to pack your bags and settle up any
outstanding charges, but you try not to wait to do that until the very last second, if at
all possible. I wanted my last day on the Celebrity Eclipse to be a little different than what I typically do while cruising so I woke up
early and went up to the Solstice Deck on deck 15. A private deck with typical lounge chairs, it also has great
big wicker loungers with thick cushions that are super comfy. Since I was up and out of my cabin
before 7 am, I felt like the only one walking about the ship but for the
dedicated walkers traversing the jogging track at a furious pace. My husband helped me pull out the cushions for the lounger and you can see that mine was the only one set up. They break these down nightly and put them back together every morning along with all of the deck chairs. I got to watch the sun rise slowly over
the water as it ducked in and out of the clouds while I noshed on a banana and
my first cup of coffee for the day.
Since I was trying to keep up with my blog, it was a perfect outdoor
office space and I wished I could be so lucky back home.
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| Aqua Spa |
After a few hours of enjoying the
Solstice Deck all to myself, my husband and son found me and decided to join me
on the lounge chair. A certain someone's stomach started to growl and as such, my son then
ran off to grab a few omelets in the Oceanview Café. We were hungry as well and decided to drop our things off in
our cabin first. I got sidetracked
as I decided to stop by Aqua Spa to ask about my nails. One of my nails was chipping and I
wanted to fix it before returning home.
Natacia was kind enough to take me right at that second. In less than 10 minutes she not only fixed my nail,
but also applied oil to my cuticles. I just love the Aqua Spa and the employees as they are some of
the nicest spa employees I have ever encountered on any ship.
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| Meat station inside Oceanview Café |
We made our way over to the Oceanview
Café, which was now swamped with people.
A typical breakfast at the buffet usually has pecan rolls, waffles, French toast,
pancakes, eggs any style including eggs benedict, scrambled eggs, potatoes
(hash browns and Lyonnaise), breads, cheeses, sliced meat, fresh fruit, yogurt, muesli, cereal, and so much
more. I tried the sautéed bananas
that were next to the pancakes, but they were not to my liking because they had
a citrus sauce. I should have gone
with the apples instead, but next time, right? Instead I took some dark pumpernickel-type bread, tomatoes,
and cucumbers and made my version of a breakfast sandwich. That bread is too good for words! The coffee in the Oceanview Café varies
at times as some mornings it is good while other mornings it was extremely bitter. I preferred the coffee in the Tuscan Grille, especially when I can get a latte or a cappuccino, followed by the Moonlight Sonata Dining Room although the best on the ship was absolutely in Café al Bacio.
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| Main pool area |
After breakfast I was super focused on
spending time in the pool on the ship. So let's compare our choices. The first is the main pool area, which has two pools, four hot tubs, and is open to anyone, be it children or adults. This is where everyone goes to spend time in the sun and as such, it can get crowded. The pool toward the back in this picture is deeper at over 5' while the pool in the foreground is shallower at around 3' and is definitely a kid-friendly pool. Pool activities happen here as well such as the Officers vs. cruise guests volleyball game, men vs. women Olympic games, or how about the Sizzle Celebrity Life Sail-in Party? This dance party poolside with the Production Cast Dancers, musicians, and cruise director's staff is the best way to dance your way into San Juan.
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| Solarium |
Our other option on the opposite side of deck 12 is the Solarium near the Aqua Spa. This covered pool area is for adults
(anyone over 16) and is definitely far quieter than the open pool area on the
other side. It has a large pool
with a water depth range of 4?3? to 4?9? and the water is warm. At first I liked that the water was
warm, but if you move from the hot tub back to the pool, you almost wish it was
ice cold. But then you realize you are on a fantastic cruise ship and you make yourself stop saying negative things! There is equipment
adjacent to the pool that allows someone with a mobility issue to enter the
pool via a chair. The two hot tubs
are just outside the rows of chairs near the pool and usually were empty or had
maybe one or two people in them at any given time. We jumped in and talked with a couple from Virginia, Kai and
Mindy. It was her first cruise and
his second and although they enjoyed it, as a couple in their mid-30?s, they
found that there were fewer activities onboard than they would have liked. I?m glad they raised this point as it
is super important to not only understand a cruise line?s focus, but the
specific cruise ship on which you?ll be sailing. I wouldn?t recommend a cruise line primarily targeting older
adults for a honeymoon couple nor would I recommend a family cruise line to a
couple celebrating their first cruise post-retirement. I will definitely discuss this further
in a future blog post.
We were sad, shriveled messes from our
time in the pool and hot tub and as such, decided it was time to make our way out of the water. A quick trip back to our cabin and we
decided to part ways yet again. My
husband had really enjoyed the guest lecturer, Tom Eastwood, and was interested
in hearing his lecture that day.
We had made our final decision about our November cruise choice and so I
knew I had to return to the Future Cruise Sales office to book it with
Anna. Apparently, everyone on the
ship waited to do this as the office was packed and people were becoming
impatient. If you don?t get a
chance to visit the office before your last day onboard, look for the
reservation form that you can complete and they can then contact you. This way you won?t have to sit for any
time on your last cruise day.
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| Payout from Fortunes Casino |
Feeling strangely optimistic, I went to
Fortunes Casino one last time for this cruise.
I had taken advantage of the bonus points awarded during certain times
on the cruise and I wanted to turn them in so I could get something fun. The points are listed on the wall near the cashier if you are trying to determine what you can receive for your points. The variety is great as you can earn a dinner for two in Tuscan
Grille, a bottle of wine, a cruise in review DVD, or cold hard cash. Before turning in my points, I thought
I would play a few dollars on the Hangover slot machine. Can you believe I won nearly $500 in
one spin? I ended up leaving the
cruise with $680! That certainly
makes any cruise a fun one!
When I returned to my cabin, my husband
was already packing and so I decided to join him. I usually wait until the last minute to prolong the fun of the
cruise, but I thought, ?why not now?? I do have to say that packing in the afternoon
resulted in less stress than packing late at night after a full day of sun,
drinks, and everything else you try to squeeze in on your last day of your
cruise. Once again having my
packing cubes paid off as I could pull the cubes out as needed to try and
squeeze in one of my many pairs of shoes that I had lugged along. Our son returned from being out all day
with his cruise friends and had won another Celebrity medal. Despite worrying whether or not there would be enough people his age onboard, he made several friends that he intends to stay in touch with after the cruise.
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| Captain's Club Social Hour |
As it was our last chance to enjoy the Captain's Club Social Hour in the Sky Observation Lounge on Deck 14 forward, we decided to shower and get dressed and head up. By this point in the week on a cruise, we are wondering just how bad the damage would be to our onboard bill. Having an opportunity for a free drink because we are Elite members in the Captain's Club certainly makes it a whole lot less painful. The server's walk around with full trays full of cocktails, but you can order what you like off the Captain's Club lounge menu. I curiously asked one of the servers why they would want to work this event when no one is paying for drinks and as a result, the servers look as though they don't receive any tips. I learned that they get a percentage of the sales on the drinks we consume as a gratuity, which is probably why they were pushing multiple drinks on us at a time! Not sure if anyone else would have thought about this, but having worked many hours as a bartender and waitress, I'm always thinking about what they are doing and if they are being treated fairly when they wait on me. I'm glad that they certainly have the opportunity to make extra money on top of their regular hours in other areas on the ship.
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| Iana, the snack attendant in the Sky Lounge |
Lucky for us, we met up once again with our favorite server, Iana Galanzhina, the snack attendant in the Sky Lounge. Iana is from St. Petersburg, Russia and we thoroughly enjoyed chatting with her and learning about her experience on the Eclipse. Please remember that the crew is away from their families for over six months at a stretch, some longer (9 months or more) and connecting with passengers isn't just their job, but has to make their lives at sea more tolerable. Can you imagine being brand new on a ship as an employee and not knowing anyone? Cruise ship employees work incredibly long hours and try not to feel lonely or homesick. Remember that the next time you are feeling overlooked or ignored when you're on a cruise. Iana was passing the fresh hors d'oeuvres from the kitchen to all of the Captain's Club guests. The servers bring around are a variety of little appetizers that are always fresh and replenished for guests on a regular basis. Between the snacks, beverages, and view, you can't have a bad time during the Captain's Club Social Hour. We used it as alone time for the two of us to sit, relax, and chat, but there were many couples sitting together and laughing while enjoy a drink (or two!).
Taking a quick look at the time, we realized it was time to meet back up with our son and we walked down to dinner in the Moonlight Sonata Dining Room a little early instead of sitting in our cabin. I say walk because I am always surprised by how many people skip the stairs and use the elevators. Sometimes they are so packed and people are only going one or two decks down -- yes, down. If you aren't exercising and eating more than you normally do, consider taking the stairs as it may not be strenuous exercise, but at least your doing something. I try to take the stairs as often as I can unless, of course, I'm in heels in which case, I join the other sardines in the elevator. My husband hates the claustrophobic feeling of being in an elevator packed to the brim and will race me to wherever we are going with my son close behind him. The crazy husband of mine was sliding down the long bannisters and jumping off at the bottom to my delight, but to the horror of passengers waiting for elevators. They were probably thinking, "This man has lost his mind!" The hotel director even caught him and I tried to turn him in, but the hotel director just laughed it off. When we arrived for dinner, Jhona, the dining room hostess, played around with my husband who
was teasing me about showing up early and despite thinking they wouldn?t be
happy about our early arrival, they not only accommodated us, but they were
able to put us in Kevis? station again.
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| Asian Style Shrimp Summer Roll |
Can you guess what starter my son chose
for his final night on the ship? If you said the Baked French Onion soup, you
guessed right. I'll spare you yet another photo of the onion soup and instead, you can view his second starter. This dish was the Asian Style Shrimp Summer Roll and he did love both starters. Strangely enough, it wasn't rolled up into a roll like a spring roll, but was folded up like a neat little envelope instead. He loved the sweet chili sauce served with it and I would even go as far as to say that had he had this starter earlier in the cruise, he would have ordered it as often as the French onion soup. Did you know if you like a specific starter while cruising that you can often ask your server if they can make it for you? It might not always be available, but you might luck out and get that same dish each night if you play your cards right.
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| Caprese Salad |
For my starter, I chose the Tuscan Vegetable
Minestrone, which was some of the best minestrone I have ever had. On the menu was also a Porcini Mushroom Risotto as
well as a Creamed Spinach and Artichoke Gratinee, but according to the menu
symbols, neither was vegan or vegetarian.
I do like that the Celebrity menu indicates if an item is gluten free, vegan, vegetarian,
no sugar added, or lactose free, but I wish that they offered more menu options
for vegans and vegetarians. My husband decided to do the Chop Chop
Composed Salad as his first starter, but was disappointed. It was a basic salad with lettuce,
chopped carrots, and sliced radishes, a vegetable he truly despises.
It was a little underwhelming for his taste so he was appreciative to have chosen the Caprese Salad as his second starter.
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| Tikka Marsala Tofu |
As far as entrées, we both chose the vegetarian option, the Tikka
Marsala Tofu, and we were both seriously disappointed. Perhaps the addition of the word "marsala" to an otherwise Indian dish should have alerted me to a potential disaster, but at the time it didn't and I optimistically chose it hoping for a great Indian entrée. His entrée had four small pieces of
tofu while mine had three. It was
supposed to have spinach, green lentils, okra, and red pepper and is served
with paratha. Perhaps we didn't look hard enough, but we didn?t see any
spinach and there was absolutely no taste to the food whatsoever. The Indian food we had on the ship was
extremely mild in taste and underseasoned and I?m not sure if that?s what they
serve on the ship as an introduction to Indian food for cruise passengers, but it?s not the
bold tastes that we usually find when we eat Indian food.
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| Homestyle Pork Chops |
The proud carnivore in our group, my son, ordered the Homestyle Pork Chops
which was a double coated bone-in pork chop served with sweet marshmallow
potatoes, sautéed string beans, and zesty cider-raisin sauce. I knew it was going to be a problem
when I saw him performing surgery on the pork chop. There was so much extraneous fat on the pork chop that his
plate resembled a war scene.
Unfortunately, it was so fatty that the little bit of meat he ate didn?t make up for what could have been a better entrée. The sweet marshmallow potatoes were far from sweet and were
dry and gritty in taste. This, too, was a major disappointment.
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| Marzipan Amaretto Cake |
Everyone
opted for dessert as we wanted to move past the lackluster entrées as we knew it was turning out to be one of less favorite meals of our cruise. Dessert was significantly better as my husband
ordered the peanut butter ice cream, my son had the pina colada ice cream, and
I ordered the Marzipan Amaretto Cake.
This was an almond biscuit filled with mousseline cream and served with
dark cherry sauce. That more than
made up for the rest of dinner as it was delicious. The pina colada ice cream, however, tasted like vanilla ice
cream, but the peanut butter ice cream was very peanutty in taste. If you have a peanut allergy, stay clear of this super peanutty ice cream! Coffee, as always, was fantastic.
After dinner, we wanted to enjoy as much of the ship as we could knowing that our time left on the Celebrity Eclipse was soon coming to a close. We could choose from the evening show, "A Voyage to Remember," in the Eclipse Theatre to Jonny Mantra Live in Concert in Celebrity Central to the Farewell Dance Party with Southside in the Grand Foyer or we could choose to relax in one of the many bars or lounges or dance all night in Quasar or go up on deck and look over the ocean before returning to dry land. With so many options and so little time, how could we decide on just one?
Marian Krueger
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| Oceanview Café Outside Seating |
Sea days can be a blessing or a
curse. You either are a sun
worshipper who enjoys baking in the sun on the pool deck or you don?t. Since I had gotten crispy both on St.
John and in St. Maarten, I was thinking I might avoid the sun a little and
enjoy some of the indoor activities onboard. The guys decided they wanted a
bigger breakfast this morning and so we ran up to the Oceanview Café. My son loves the made to order omelets
and stood in an extremely short line to grab two. They also had quesadillas with eggs, meat, and cheese, but
my husband was happy to get one with eggs, cheese, and spinach. You won?t go hungry here with an
abundance of fresh breads, fruit, egg dishes, cereal, yogurt, sliced meats and
cheeses, and just about everything else you could ever want to eat. If you can't find a seat inside, walk to the aft (back) part of the restaurant for outside seating. There's nothing like eating breakfast, having a drink, or just relaxing with a view like no other overlooking the ocean. It's impressive to say the least! If you're not up for breakfast in the Oceanview Café, you can instead stop by the Moonlight Sonata dining room for brunch, which is served 10 am - 1 pm on deck 3.
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| Backstage Tour of the Eclipse Theater |
After breakfast we parted ways with our
son and we opted for some of the Captain?s Club activities. First up was the Backstage Tour and
question and answer session with a few of the dancers and the production
manager, Danielle Fullerton. We
were greeted by Aurora Niebla, the Concierge Club hostess, and given a choice of
either champagne or mimosas, which is always a great way to start the
afternoon. Yes, it was noon
and the day was still young.
The dancers audition and are hired through a private company, Poet, but
then become employees of Celebrity.
As Celebrity wants to be able to plan out shows in advance, the dancers
will know exactly which ships they will be on a few contracts in advance since
they will need certain dancers to fill certain spots. They will accommodate couples as well and there are many
couples who work together, including married couples. The lighting manager, who is 6?4? made me laugh when he
described his cabin and how crew cabins are nothing like guest cabins. He can lie down on his bed and shut the
lights off with his toes. Now
that?s small! They have shared
bathroom cabins, which mean they have a private cabin, but a shared
bathroom. If I remember correctly,
the bathroom was something like 4x6.
Small!
After the question and answer session,
we were then taken backstage to see the ?quick change room? where the dancers
change their costumes. Without
dressers onboard to assist them, the dancers are responsible for getting in and
out of their change of costumes on their own, but they do help one another. They are also responsible for doing
their own makeup and the cruise line does give them all their makeup and they
can do as they like, but for the ? Eclipse? show, which they have to follow
specific guidelines as is shown in the picture here. Next up was the ?green room? where production pieces for the
show are stored in between performances.
The ?garage? is where the larger pieces are kept as they are too big to
move. The large rock pieces are
made out of Styrofoam, but are still heavy and are kept hoisted above up off
the stage both stage left and right. It was nice to see how things went on backstage and it was great to hear from the performers firsthand.
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| Celebrity Central |
My husband wanted to listen to another one of the lectures from " Beyond the Podium Presents" by Tom
Eastwood in the Celebrity Central on deck four. A former FBI agent, Tom was onboard all
week doing lectures on things like "Spies and Espionage - Fact Versus Fiction," "What You Should Know About the IRS," "Interrogations and Polygraphs," and finally "Code Breaking During WWII." Celebrity Cruises brings on different lecturers to speak to cruise guests and my husband said that it was absolutely worth attending and that the room was always filled. In his
first talk he debunked the television and movie conceptions of espionage and
provided the realistic perspective of how spies are actually recruited and
captured. In his lecture on the policies of the IRS he provided an eye-opening
glimpse into how to avoid scams and potential prosecution from the agency. The interrogation & polygraph
lecture demonstrated the techniques used to be law enforcement extract confessions.
His final lecture was a history lesson on World War II with a focus on how the
Enigma code was deciphered. My husband said he left the lecture series reminded of how much he liked
attending great lectures from speakers with incredible insight. The " Beyond the
Podium Presents" series from Celebrity will be a highlight that I think he will most definitely look forward to on
future cruises.
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| Future Cruise Sales Office |
As I am always planning ahead, I chose instead to go to the Future Cruise Sales office and sit with Anna Duwel from Germany, a
future cruise consultant. I was
not about to pass up the opportunity to pay a reduced deposit and get an insane
amount of onboard credit for a future cruise. If you are considering booking a cruise while onboard
Celebrity or any other cruise line, go down as early as you can to grab one of
the cruise books with itineraries because by the end of the week they will
almost certainly vanish. As we
have specific times that we can travel while our son is in school, we are
limited with our choices. I hated
having to ask Anna to go through different itineraries so here is what you can
do. Even if you haven?t purchased
an internet package, you can go to the internet café onboard, on the Celebrity
Eclipse it is the iLounge on deck six, and click on free sites. You?ll be able to visit the cruise
line?s website and so that is how I was able to check out some of the possible
cruises for our family based on our criteria. I was also able to price them out to get an idea what would
be a great match for us without the pressure of doing it with the future cruise
consultant. If you booked through
your travel agent for your cruise, don?t worry as your booking onboard will
revert back to your travel agent for them to handle once you are back on dry
land.
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| Café al Bacio |
We met back up after our respective tasks and decided to sit down in Café al Bacio. This is probably one of my most favorite places as far as decor on the ship, but believe me, there is a lot of competition for this on the Celebrity Eclipse. You can sit, relax, and enjoy a beverage while reading or relaxing. The chairs are super plush and comfortable and at certain times of the day, this place is packed. I suspect that late risers like to visit here after a late night of partying if they just so happened to miss breakfast service. Smart people! On the far end by the mirrored wall is the Gelateria so if you don't want coffee, think gelato instead!
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| Soy Caramel Macchiato |
We were completely oblivious on the ordering process in Café al Bacio as there was a counter area with a register and a barista like what you would find in Starbuck's and so that's where we went. We quickly perused the printed menu of coffee and tea beverages which range in price from $3-$5. There isn't a wall menu, but you can find the menus both on the counter and on the tables. We then ordered with the barista who advised us to sit down at a table and our drinks would be brought over to us. It only took a moment to choose a table and almost immediately a server came over and asked if we wanted to order. When we told her that we had already ordered, she flipped our menu over to indicate that we were taken care of already, but when my husband asked about the items in the case, she said we could go up and order it. Clearly, she was not interested in waiting on us anymore and that was the first and only time I encountered a less than obliging server onboard. My husband waited for our drinks to be brought over and then asked that server about the bakery case and was told that baked goods are complimentary with your beverage order. He was happy about that almost as much as I was super ecstatic that they had soy milk! I ordered a soy caramel macchiato for myself and a double espresso for my husband. He then ordered a napoleon and a chocolate mousse pastry, both of which he was more than pleased to consume by himself. My coffee was absolutely excellent and I only wish I had tried it here earlier. Great drinks, not so great service, but perhaps they are trying to bring a true coffeehouse experience to cruising?
Our entertainment choices for the evening were certainly not limited by any stretch of the imagination. The Celebrity Showtime was "Ovations" in the Eclipse Theater with a 7 pm and 9 pm show. From Celebrity Today: "This dazzling production will take you on a whirlwind tour of the most famous shows of Broadway and London's West End." Not up for a musical production? You could listen to Uncommon Ground Live in Concert in Celebrity Central. "Join your A Cappella Quartet for a night of song and fun in this one-off show." Want to skip music altogether? How about late night comedy with Troy Thirdgill? There are more than enough entertainment options on Celebrity Eclipse, be it a musical number, sitting at a bar or lounge with a group of new cruise friends, or a night in the casino. Your cruise can be as entertaining as you would like it to be. Guest entertainers are brought on to change things up so although the main production numbers may remain the same, the guest entertainment will always be different.
 |
| Dragonfly served with liquid nitrogen - steamy! |
While we were out and about the ship, we received word that our Murano reservation had been confirmed. There had been one bar that I had somehow evaded me thus far on the cruise and that was the Molecular Bar on deck five near the
Galleria Boutiques. I had wanted
to try this all week, but it is one of the bars that doesn't open until 5 pm and I never seemed to be near it when I was looking for a cocktail. There are seats up at the counter so you can watch the bartenders at work or communal tables that are lighted from underneath where you can sit and chat with new and old friends alike. My husband had the Mr. B, which was Jack Daniel?s Whiskey, Domaine de
Canton Ginger Liqueur, Agave Nectar, Grilled Pineapple, Grilled Grapefruit, and
lemon juice. There were so many
choices so I asked the bartender to make a suggestion. She asked me what kind of drinks did I
usually drink and I told her more so sweet drinks. She suggested the Dragonfly, which comes to your table with
liquid nitrogen added for a steamy presentation. It has Russian Standard Vodka, Cointreau, Aloe Vera Juice,
Pink Grapefruit Juice, Raspberries, Lime, and Hibiscus Essence. Just be sure to let the liquid nitrogen
fade away completely before drinking! Both drinks were absolutely spectacular and delicious! I definitely recommend the Molecular Bar for at least a drink or two.
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| Murano specialty restaurant |
We then walked over to Murano for our
dinner, where the maître d' took our drinks and handed them over to a waiter who carried
them to our table for us. We were
seated and greeted by our server for the evening, Henrietta from Hungary, who
was attentive throughout our meal without being intrusive. The sommelier was Nikolina who had been
a sommelier for eight years. I had
to ask her some questions including how she decided to become a sommelier and
it turns out that her family is in the wine business so it seems like a natural
job choice. My husband asked her
about training to become a sommelier, which include taking classes and continuous education on wines as there are always new ones coming out. My last question was about the spoon
that I used to see sommeliers wearing and apparently, that is no longer required, which I
think is good since I never really thought it was that great of a look. :)
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| Creamy Maine Lobster Bisque |
Murano is a French specialty restaurant onboard the Celebrity Eclipse and does require reservations, which you can make online in advance of your cruise or
while onboard. Please note that reservations can be difficult to obtain once you are onboard, so I would highly advise making your reservations in advance. Price per person is
$40, which includes your entire meal, but not beverages. You can choose to do the fixed menu or dine á la carte. Our meal began with an amuse du jour with ours being a micro salad with asparagus and a balsamic dressing and our son had a small tuna dish. Both were delicious and a great way to commence our meals in Murano. My son then moved onto his first course, the Creamy Maine
Lobster Bisque with leek and shallot flan and a cognac cream and loved it, which surprised me as he usually avoids eating seafood in general. His second starter was the Diver Scallop Wellington Style baked in puff pastry with a black truffle emulsion and a spinach fondue. Another seafood choice and another surprise, but he loved it!
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| Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino |
For my appetizer I had the Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino with glazed shitake-spiced flan and a mushroom biscotti. The flan comes in a little glass that sat adjacent to the mushroom cappuccino and the biscotti. If you love mushrooms, then you will absolutely love this dish. My husband decided on the Warm Goat Cheese Souffle with smoked tomato coulis, parmesan cream, and basil pesto and enjoyed it although I think he preferred my appetizer. We had decided on trying multiple courses and I opted for the Heirloom Tomato & Buffalo Mozzarella Salad with Granny Smith Apple, Cantaloupe, micro basil & white balsamic emulsion, which was crispy, fresh, and delicious. I would never have paired tomatoes with apples and cantaloupe, but for some strange reason it worked. My husband had his turn with the Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino and was happy with his choice.
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| Vegetable Mélange |
One of the reasons we decided to eat in Murano was because there were vegetarian options available on the menu. Since we weren't going to eat in the Tuscan Grille, a more meat-centric restaurant, Murano and Qsine were definitely important for us to try out. For our entrees, my son ventured down the carnivorous path as always. He ordered Les Petits Filets which was a filet mignon trio with sauteed Honshimiji mushrooms, pea fricassée, port-braised shallots, chamonix potato, and beef jus. I opted for an entree on the opposite side of the spectrum, the Vegetable Mélange, which consisted of pea fricassée, potato souffle, Imam Biyaldi Quenelle, and carrot fondant. I was ecstatic to have the Imam Biyaldi, my favorite from our night at Qsine. My husband decided to be different and ordered the Porcini & Morel Risotto with vegetable paysanne, truffle foam, chervil, and garlic chips as his entree. I was already feeling quite full from our appetizers and picked at my meal, but it was so delicious. We watched other tables enjoy their meals immensely, including the table side lobster service.
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| Les VI Etoiles du Murano for Two |
Clearly having no room for another bite, what else was there to do, but to order dessert, right? The food in Murano is very good, but I love how their food presentation skills as much as the food itself. For dessert, I opted for the Les VI Etoiles du Murano for Two, which was a selection of favorite bite-sized desserts for two. I like to try dessert, but not necessarily eat an entire dessert so this was great for sampling. I will admit that the strawberries in port was a surprise and not being a tremendous fan of port, definitely not my favorite. However, I was able to sample all of them and then pass them along to both my husband and son. Flavors ranged from vanilla to chocolate and fruit and they were all rich, but extremely flavorful. Thank goodness my son skipped dessert as he was able to at least try some of mine and make me look less like a glutton. My husband ordered Les Perles Sucrees, a trio of warm croustilliant filled with chocolate hazlenut and lemon cream and served with vanilla ice cream and peach cocktail and we all enjoyed a fresh, hot cup of coffee.
Tomorrow is our last full day on the Celebrity Eclipse and our last day at sea. So much to do and so little time!
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