Jenny's Travel Diary: Baltic Cruise

11 July - 25 July 2015

The ship (the Celebrity Eclipse) is HUGE - it's as long as the Eiffel Tower is high (over 1000 feet long). It is carrying about 2800 passengers, but with crew it comes to about 5000 people in total. There are 15 bars on the ship, along with numerous restaurants and eateries, and three pools - one an indoor heated one, called the Solarium. The loungers around this pool became one of Andy's favourite places to lie back and relax during sea-days.

Celebrity Eclipse

Eclipse on the left

Solarium

Our cabin was very nice and spacious and the balcony is much appreciated and used.

Our one criticism is that although the waiters etc are very friendly, they are also very pushy, trying to get you to upgrade to a beverage package or similar. Despite the cost of the cruise, they are still very keen to wring as much extra money out of you as possible. Nothing is cheap on board - a Diet Coke costs US$4.

Most nights we ate in the formal restaurant, where there was a four course dinner provided (though I could rarely manage the dessert). It was very nice, but by the end of the fortnight I was wishing for something simpler, like a grilled chop (with no sauce all over it). The servings were also often very big - when I ordered chicken or duck I got a half a bird each time!

Andy went and watched a lot of the shows, though since I was attended the genealogy lectures I saw far fewer. I did see the Beatles show one night, which was fantastic, and Andy says was the highlight of the shows for him. The four guys who were performing really got the mannerisms of the Beatles down pat, and it was also lovely to hear the music.

At one stage we had five shore days (with tours) in a row, which became a bit tiring, though interesting. Reports of all the shore tours will follow, and reports of the genealogy talks (for those who are interested) will be in my genealogy blog.