After a marvelous three days at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle resort, it was time to move on to the U.S. debut of Celebrity’s newest Solstice-class ship, the Eclipse.
We had a brief lunch with friends at downtown Miami’s Intercontinental Hotel (a wonderful choice; the Beef Wellington was excellent). The Intercontinental is a great spot to consider staying prior to your cruise, as it is only a 10-minute drive to the Port of Miami, the embarkation locale for the Celebrity Eclipse.
I am eagerly anticipating this voyage- based on my experience here, I am considering the Eclipse for a large family vacation in the near future. I can’t wait to see what this ship has to offer for passengers of all ages.
Checking In:
Check-in was relatively easy; we were through the line and on the vessel within 45 minutes.
In case you have not cruised lately, you receive an ID card that you need to keep with you at all times, it is also your credit card and you must also use this card to check out when you leave the ship. Chances to stow-away on a world class voyage have been dramatically reduced by technology.
My First Impression of Our Cabin:
Our cabin, 1504, is (literally) as far forward as possible on the 11th deck – from our lovely balcony we could see the captain and the ship’s navigational equipment over the bow of the ship.
Our accommodations were part the brand new “Aqua Class” of staterooms. As such, our cabin features floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, a sitting area with plush sofa, and two comfy beds, convertible to queen-size. I prefer a relaxing, unhurried pace, and this room was very tranquil; it also gave us unlimited access to many of the Aqua Spa amenities, and this cabin is just seconds to the Aqua Spa.
(Note: I adored the super-plush bathrobes and slippers!).
I can’t help but think my husband’s parents, George and Barbara, (both in their 80’s) would absolutely love the access to the Persian Garden and Relaxation Room. It is a wonderful place to be pampered and to just sit and soak in the atmosphere of a thermal spa with the scented showers while enjoying complimentary bottled water and teas.
When we take our family reunion on board the Celebrity Eclipse, we will surely want one of the suites on deck 11! The cabins I especially liked were the Penthouse Suite 1616, this one was fantastic, a hot tub on our extremely long and winding balcony, full dining room and wet bar. The Royal Suite 1614 was also very nice, smaller, yet room enough to entertain our family with the smaller dining room and again a lovely verandah.