Itinerary		= ports at anchor
Saturday 27th June	-	Southampton, UK
Sunday	-	at sea
Monday	-	at sea
Tuesday	-	Reykjavik, Iceland
Wednesday	-	Reykjavik, Iceland
Thursday	-	Akureyri, Iceland
Friday	-	at sea
Saturday	-	Klaksvik, Faroe Islands
Sunday	-	at sea
Monday	-	Geiranger, Norway
Tuesday	-	Alesund, Norway
Wednesday	-	Olden, Norway
Thursday	-	Stavanger, Norway
Friday	-	at sea
Saturday 11th July	-	Southampton, UK

Olden, Norway: Celebrity Eclipse & Balmoral at anchor.

The photos of Celebrity Eclipse and all ports visited on this cruise can be found on my account at Captain Martini >>

A return to Celebrity Eclipse for just Andrew & me this time. A return also to Norway but this time with the bonus of new destinations, Iceland and the Faroes.

And with less than a month to go, we received another bonus in the form of an offer to upgrade to a Royal Suite at a price we couldn't refuse! So by the time we drove to Southampton, even horrendous traffic couldn't dampen our excitement, as we parked in the adjacent Terminal Car Park.... (right) Celebrity Eclipse at the City Cruise Terminal, from close to where we parked the car

				Saturday 27th June 2015 Embarkation in Southampton Although we were used to the advantages of "Priority Boarding", nothing had prepared us for what followed at Check-in. Instead of our boarding-cards, we received a card marked "VIP - To Be Escorted to Michael's Club Lounge" and before we knew it, we were being led away at great speed by Elaine, the Captain's Club Hostess, and ushered through to Michael's Club.

Michael's Club used to be a favourite of ours, especially for pre-dinner cocktails in the evening but recently it had been set aside as a "Concierge Lounge", exclusive to certain Suite Guests only. But even though we were often in a Sky Suite, we had been excluded from this privilege - until now! (right) Michael's Club - the Concierge Lounge, exclusive to Celebrity Suite Guests and above!

Here we were served with Champagne, sandwiches and cakes, while we waited to be introduced to Sylvia, our Michael's Club Concierge, who would prove to be highly efficient at organising lots of special events and "treats" throughout the cruise. Shortly, we were also introduced to Roger our suite Butler, who insisted on carrying our remaining hand-baggage, as he conducted us to our suite.

Royal Suite #1118 - Sky Deck (deck-10)
Occupying the space of 3 standard cabins or 590 sq.ft. (excl. balcony), the Royal Suite comprises a large living area with huge interactive TV, a dining table seating 6, a full-size wet bar and fridge stocked with complimentary soft drinks & mixers, as well as beers, 2 bottles of our choice of spirits and more Champagne! Coming complete with a complimentary Premium Drinks Package, we were certainly not going to run short of something to drink on this cruise!

RS-grade Royal Suite #1118 - Sky Deck (10) This is just the Living Area and Wet Bar		The Bedroom American "King" Bed		The Bathroom

The compact bedroom comes with a second TV and an American "King" Bed but surprisingly, unlike in Sky Suites and all other cabins, this cannot be divided into twin beds; but at over 6ft wide and nearly 7ft long, it's big enough for both parties to get quite lost! There's also a walk-in closet and marble bathroom with twin sinks, shower and jacuzzi bath. Although this wasn't as good as the one in our suite on Britannia, there was another jacuzzi on the 153 sq.ft. balcony. Sadly, the weather was too cold on this cruise for either of us to try it out!

With an additional Guest Cloakroom off the living area, entertaining would have been no problem; if only we had someone to entertain! At nearly 750 sq.ft. overall, this was the largest and grandest accommodation we had experienced. But even better was yet to come....

More photos of our Royal Suite on Celebrity Eclipse can be found on at Captain Martini >>

Saturday 27th June 2015
Departure from Southampton

Caribbean Princess 2004: 112,894grt, 3,080pass.		P&O's Britannia 2015: 143,739grt, 4,300pass.		Navigating the Solent, through yachts competing in the 2015 Round The Island Yacht Race

				After Boat Drill, we watched Caribbean Princess depart before we sailed next, past Britannia at the Ocean Terminal. Later, as we rounded Cowes, we encountered the impressive final stages of the "2015 Round the Island Yacht Race". I once took part in this very race, in June 2000, as one of the Knightsbridge Team back in my days at the Pru', when we crewed two 34-foot skippered yachts. It was quite an experience!

Hovercraft Island Express Southsea to Ryde, IOW		Yacht Swallow 27th div4c 9hrs 28min

Having missed lunch and had a lot of Champagne, we ordered sandwiches from Room Service to tide us over until Dinner. They were delivered by Roger the Butler, complete with cutlery and a proper table-cloth, which he set out on the dining table! We were going to enjoy our "Royal Suite"!

We were back in Michael's Club for pre-dinner drinks, where we met Vinay, our resident bar-tender, who would henceforth ensure that our favourite drinks were always at hand. Dinner followed....

Luminae Restaurant (Deck 3, starboard) The restaurant was installed during this year's April refit and is exclusively for "suite-class" passengers. Providing open-seating dining, it is well designed and with an attractive but neutral decor, allowing the cuisine to be the main feature. Seating is spacious and flexible, with booths for 4-6 as well as well-spaced tables for two and great sea views from windows all down one side.

The staff were excellent; overseen by the highly professional Maitre d', Marjan, who was also in overall charge of the ship's speciality restaurants, service was the perfect balance of efficiency and friendliness. The well chosen staff are clearly proud of their new restaurant and its cuisine and while tables are not pre-assigned, we found that we were nearly always seated at our "favourite" table and served by our familiar waiters who quickly learned our individual preferences.

A new, exclusive Menu		The Dessert Trolley at Brunch		The "Candy Cart" on Formal Nights		The effect on the Moonlight Sonata Restaurant

The simplicity of the new, exclusive Menu conceals a number of pleasant surprises and while there is not the extensive choice as in the main Moonlight Sonata Restaurant, we never had a problem finding something we liked. On sea-days, instead of Breakfast and Lunch served seperately, they serve Brunch and if the Dessert Trolley was a serious temptation, this was outshone by the "Candy Cart" which follows dinner on Formal Nights, offering a cornucopia of sweetmeats and delicacies.

But the new Luminae Restaurant comes at a price and my only regret is the effect of its installation on the lower level of the main Moonlight Sonata Restaurant, where a blank wall now interrupts the otherwise light and open symmetry of the main restaurant's original design.

More Photos of the Luminae Restaurant, the Menus and examples of the food can be found on at Luminae Restaurant >>

Alternatively, view just the Photos of the ship and all Ports visited on this cruise in this Album here:- Iceland 2015 Cruise >>

Cruise Mileage: 3,465 nautical miles
Total Mileage to date: 190,331 n miles