Celebrity 2 day Taster Cruise 7-9th May 2015

[Mervyn and Trish]

But back to the original question and what a shame Qsine is booked up. We were disappointed with Celebrity but we did like Qsine (once they found our reservation!)

[Lynda and David]

We too prefer the size of Aurora and Arcadia and also Oriana.

We did the Baltic so it was all gangway disembarkation at ports and we found it no different to P&O's mid sized ships, even though we also have priority embarkation in that respect; it doesn't happen at ports unless you have a suite, I think. A delay on boarding in Southampton as the ship was being inspected but other than that no problems.

It may be tempting to visit Paris from Le Havre but you can easily do that from the UK for a longer stay and not the long trek from a ship's' tour.

Anyway, enjoy Eclipse, she is a great ship and we would sail on her again IF only Celebrity was more imaginative in their itineraries from Southampton. Good idea taking a taster cruise.

When you board see if there any cancellations for Qsine or Murano, worth a try, and very well worth a visit.

Thanks wolfie for the tip about Qsine or Murano we'll ask about any cancellations or if there is a waiting list for these restaurants as soon as we get on the ship.

We're actually visiting Le Havre this Saturday as we're off on a 3 day cruise with P&O on Arcadia with my cousins. Our plan is to have a good wander round the town then so that when we visit on Eclipse we can spend our time having a good look at her whilst the ship is quiet. We do love Paris but as we live in London it only takes us just over 3 hours from our house to Paris by Eurostar and we try to visit at least once a year for a couple of nights so it would be a waste of our time going in by coach with a cruise tour.

Lynda

[Lynda and David]

So much to do I have to make two posts:

http://www.muma-lehavre.fr/en
Maritime et Portuaire: http://www.lehavre.fr/node/247

And much much more: http://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/article ... 277-2.html

Hello Quizzical Bob, Thank you for the links you sent me I'm going to have a read of them tonight. Really handy as we are also going on a 3 night cruise this weekend with P&O on Arcadia and one of the stops is Le Havre our plan is to have a good wander round Le Havre. We've been on several short cruises with P&O but this is the first time the ship has docked at Le Havre so we're looking forward to the new port.

Lynda

[ItsmeAnnC]

Have a wonderful time - Eclipse is now one of my favourite ships, after decades of being a P&O anorak. I would have to disagree about Qsine though. It's a novelty but nothing more. We felt it was a waste of money, especially as two members of our party were ill afterwards. Each to his own. The food is far better in Murano and Tuscan grill. But I wouldn't be upset at being in the MDR for a night - you have to experience the food there to appreciate the quality, especially of the meat. Far better than P&O.

[Lynda and David]

Thank you AnnC we're really looking forward to trying a different cruise line. We've also managed to book a ship visit on Queen Mary 2 in May to see if we like the look of the Cunard ships.

Lynda

[wolfie]

Have a wonderful time - Eclipse is now one of my favourite ships, after decades of being a P&O anorak. I would have to disagree about Qsine though. It's a novelty but nothing more. We felt it was a waste of money, especially as two members of our party were ill afterwards. Each to his own. The food is far better in Murano and Tuscan grill. But I wouldn't be upset at being in the MDR for a night - you have to experience the food there to appreciate the quality, especially of the meat. Far better than P&O.

I agree, it IS a novelty and food is far better, if you are after a fine dining experience, (such as Rhodes once was on P&O), in Murano. But for a one off it is rather fun , the way that dishes are presented and the initial ordering, but I won't spoil that for those about to cruise on Eclipse.

The cover charge for both Qsine, but especially Murano, is well worth it.

[Boris+]

It seems that X aren't sending out printed luggage labels which you can stick around the handle of your cases any more. I'll start a thread about this.

Have a great cruise.

[GillD46]

We were on this 2 night taster and left with mixed feelings.

We found the service mostly excellent, although it must be said we didn't try all the venues. Qsine we thought excellent, very, very good food - although FAR too much of it for us - and superb service. Cafe Bacio delightful. The cabin we had booked was very good indeed and well appointed. We liked the interactive TV and the little extras provided. Michael's Club was very good, although depressingly dark, inclusive drinks in there a great perk. In fact much of the ship was dark and poorly lit we felt. The one show we watched was dire and the theatre was glacial.

Dining in Luminae was VERY disappointing. The choice was very limited generally, with no choice whatsoever for me as a vegetarian, despite having informed them well in advance - and again on entering. Service, while friendly and professional, was pitifully slow. We felt the restaurant itself lacked atmosphere and a large, extremely boisterous family party completely ruined dinner, with children climbing over seating everywhere, shouting and screaming, spilling drinks everywhere and the parents loud and obnoxious. Nobody had a word with them to ask them to tone it down.

I did think embarkation was terribly chaotic, but disembarkation was very slick.

So would we try Celebrity again? Perhaps. She's a beautiful ship - if a bit glitzy and brash - but the jury is out as to whether she's really for us. Worth a bargain weekend though.

[GillD46]

By the way, we had labels emailed AND sent by mail!

[Dancing Queen]

We were on this 2 night taster and left with mixed feelings.

We found the service mostly excellent, although it must be said we didn't try all the venues. Qsine we thought excellent, very, very good food - although FAR too much of it for us - and superb service. Cafe Bacio delightful. The cabin we had booked was very good indeed and well appointed. We liked the interactive TV and the little extras provided. Michael's Club was very good, although depressingly dark, inclusive drinks in there a great perk. In fact much of the ship was dark and poorly lit we felt. The one show we watched was dire and the theatre was glacial.

Dining in Luminae was VERY disappointing. The choice was very limited generally, with no choice whatsoever for me as a vegetarian, despite having informed them well in advance - and again on entering. Service, while friendly and professional, was pitifully slow. We felt the restaurant itself lacked atmosphere and a large, extremely boisterous family party completely ruined dinner, with children climbing over seating everywhere, shouting and screaming, spilling drinks everywhere and the parents loud and obnoxious. Nobody had a word with them to ask them to tone it down.

I did think embarkation was terribly chaotic, but disembarkation was very slick.

So would we try Celebrity again? Perhaps. She's a beautiful ship - if a bit glitzy and brash - but the jury is out as to whether she's really for us. Worth a bargain weekend though.

Cunard all the way then now Gill

We really enjoyed Eclipse but it was a longer cruise, having done a short cruise on QV last year had that been our one and only it would have been our last

Where I did think Celebrity excelled was definitely embarkation/disembarkation both for us were superb.

[GillD46]

Yes, I must admit that when we boarded QV and went to the QG for lunch, it was such a relief, a feeling of going home. And of course they look after us so very, very well in the restaurant. Although it must be said, I only twice asked for something off menu as the main menu - and the a la carte of course - were so fantastic.

What was noticeable was the improvement in evening entertainment, which was really excellent. We have three booked next year, one on QM2 and two on QV and I am very happy to continue that way.

[Boris+]

Hi Gill

I'm glad in a way that you are in a position of 'the jury is still out' and not dismissing X from your list. We haven't come across the sort of behaviour in Luminae that you mentioned from other passengers - maybe that was because it was a 2 nighter 'bargain weekend'. We have frequently had vegetarian preference people on tables next to ours, and they've always been attended to promptly. I think the entire Luminae situation for you may have been due to the brevity of the cruise.

eanwhile, yes, Qsine can be a minefield of choices, and we quite often order a bit too much. However, we are 'still learning' and are determined to do better in Qsine on our next cruise.

It's a case of horses for courses I suppose, but we quite like the dimmed lighting effect in some parts of the ship. We also like the ability to take whichever table is available when we walk into Luminae, instead of the almost rigid (as we always found it) sticking to the same table in the QG restaurant.

We've done one visit to the theatre on Eclipse, but it wasn't our 'cup of tea' - but I think that we just like being quiet in our suite and completely chilling out.

For you, going C is like 'going home' - for us ..... well, we wouldn't even get as far as actually completing the booking online! It is purely a personal preference - and I can't stress that enough. I can live with that - but I do hope you might just give X a chance on a longer outing. Who was your waiter in Luminae - we've always got on well with the waiters, especially 'Capt' Kirk - he never lets an opportunity to excel go by.

[GillD46]

I can't remember their names, three times we had a French girl from Lyon, and the others I really can't remember, though I do remember one man wore a business suit. They were very nice and professional, but service from the galley was REALLY REALLY slow. We waited almost an hour between Amuse Bouche and starter. Even after asking very politely if it would be much longer, we had profuse apologies but it still took almost an hour. Not acceptable. But the main gripe was the intransigence regarding a vegetarian diet. Yes perhaps it would be better on a longer cruise - I suspect it would - but would it offer enough choice?
I'm really not sure I am prepared to spend many thousands of pounds to find it doesn't.

We'll bear them in mind in future, but we certainly won't be rushing to book.

[towny44]

Gill, On CC they report that Luminae diners can also order anything from the MDR menu as well as their own menu, so that should give you improved choice. However I am surprised they did not meet your dietary needs, in the MDR on Eclipse those having special diets seem very well catered for with the Rest. manager or one of the head waiters providing very special service.

[GillD46]

I did ask about the main restaurant menu and was told sorry no! There was ONE vegetarian dish, so I managed, but there was no choice. Cunard offer three dishes on most nights, ALWAYS two. But even Tony was disappointed with such a limited menu - and he eats most things.

It may well have been reduced because it was a two nighter, but do we want to take that chance?

[Boris+]

Hi Gill,

I respect your opinions, and accept completely that you have reported things - as you found them on your 2 nighter. Initially when we first did a Celebrity cruise, I was busy doubting that the Luminae menu as displayed on X website was the way it would be, as it seemed so short, especially when compared to the volume that is provided in QG on Cunard. Our first knee-jerk reaction was almost 'shock horror', when we discovered the brevity of the actual Luminae menu - what was shown on the website is pretty much accurate. However, the menu for each day does change, and our experience is that as DH is a fussy eater they are more than happy to provide items from other venue menus.

The only time that we can say that the service was a bit slow was on our first dinner (embarkation day) on this recent cruise, but honestly and truthfully after that it got back to the usual nicely paced sort of situation.

So, now we've got used to the Luminae menu and quite often have a look at the various menus on display in Michael's when we are having a pre-dining drink to plan ahead what we'll order, and from which menu. We really like the other dining venues, and are truly looking forward to our next cruise with X. We also liked having afternoon tea in our suite - it's a personal thing, but after a long day ashore, it's nice to sit and download photos and completely relax with a nice afternoon tea away from the hustle and bustle and put our feet up.

Enjoy all your forthcoming cruises, go safely and return happy.

[GillD46]

To quote an old chestnut " you only get one chance to make a first impression" - but never say never.

[Boris+]

To quote an old chestnut " you only get one chance to make a first impression" - but never say never.

Hi Gill,

Well, how right you are - 'never say never'. I can remember all too clearly (and no, this is not a post which is C-bashing), our very first C cruise - and it was a lash-up in a saucepan from start to finish! I do know that when we left the ship at the end of our first C cruise I vowed never to sail with them again; and it took a lot of careful thought before we decided to proceed with the reservation which we already had in place for another C cruise.

The second outing was much better than the first, and we went on from there to continue to cruise with C. Then things changed, and now we book with other cruise lines. We are happily content to give other cruise lines more than one chance to make a first impression, simply because the experience of being on a ship can be influenced by so many factors, and some (like your unruly people in the dining room) are mostly beyond the control.

However, glad you didn't completely rule X out, but equally glad that you had a great time on your C cruise, and that you are safely home again.