Celebrity Eclipse showcase voyage to Cork - Review

Review by Jason Peters (Director Creative Cruises)

The sparkling new jewel in the crown of the Celebrity Cruises fleet, the Eclipse arrived in Southampton, to not only a fanfare for its arrival but also on a mission to rescue from the clutches of the Ash Cloud stranded Brits in Spain. This was followed by a lavish naming ceremony in the port of Southampton where the Great and Good of the Cruise industry celebrated another addition to the Fleet of the finest cruise line afloat.

So once the day for the launch Voyage came, the Eclipse had already made her mark on the expectant passengers about to board her, to marvel at its grand interiors and enjoy the elegant and attentive service of its officers and crew.

The 4-day Cork cruise offers agents the chance to not only introduce new to cruise clients to cruising, but also new to brand for those hardy cruisers used to sailing with the other major lines from Southampton. With the finest ship afloat, a task easily achieved.

Our group aboard consisted of 68 clients some new to cruise and with this in mind I set about a ships tour to familiarize all with the vessel. There were gasps of pleasure followed with abject amazement of the standard of the vessel!

We sailed at 5pm and then the true nature of the vessel came to life, with all its array of entertainment and dining options tempting the fellow cruiser. The one thing that strikes me with this vessel is the varied array of live music aboard with jazz bands and Lounge singers, to classical groups and a great Orchestra to accompany the excellent loud and proud production shows in the theatre.

Dining has further been enhanced with the addition of a new eatery Qsine; a stunning fusion of tastes served in a very unique way and a must for all fellow cruisers.

The usual array of staterooms are provided with attention to detail that the finest land-based hotels would find hard to match.

Our arrival into Cork provided a great backdrop to the ship in the town of Cohb for our overnight stay.

The overall impression from our clients was of just amazement of the vessel and its service standard, and the real need to re-book on the product again for longer voyages.

This above all else is a message for agents really, as although revenue can be small on these showcase voyages, the future sales that are generated can be great, especially if you take the time to escort the trip yourself, as you have a captive audience and can provide that personal touch to your clients experience aboard with parties and a contact for new to cruise passengers to feel comfortable with..

Eclipse will be wowing guests from Southampton this season and returns next year for another season, so I would encourage all agents to look at the brand and enjoy!

Viking Spirit on the Seine - April 2010

By Peter Ruck, GM of Baldwins Travel and ACE Ambassador.

While the skies over Europe were closed I had a window of opportunity to take my wife away while her parents were in respite. With Kim in Viking River Cruises reservations’ help, we suddenly found ourselves on a very late cruise down the Seine. Eurostar was very busy and quite expensive, but we made it. A guy with a Viking Cruises sign at the Gare Du Nord was a welcome sight and we were quickly transferred to the Spirit – our home for the next week. It spends the first and last night of the trip in Paris enabling you to see the usual sights of Paris or on one of their special (extra price) excursions to The Louvre at the beginning or Palace of Versailles at the end of the cruise. The British have all excursions (6 on this cruise) apart from these two included in the cost.

Cabins on board are sufficiently furnished with more wardrobe and drawer space than a lot of ocean cruises. The lower deck cabins having a closed picture window as it is only cms above the water line. The other decks having picture windows that can be opened. If you arrive too early to occupy your cabin, luggage may be left and you do your own thing ashore or enjoy the simple soup and sandwich selection provided. As there were a vast number of U.S. passengers stuck in the States, and others who could not fly out, Viking, very generously allowed some to stay on board and enjoy the cruise again – quite something, compared with stories from other River Cruise companies I’ve heard!

Meals on board are as you’d expect from an ocean cruise: Early mini-breakfast followed by a full buffet and service breakfast, buffet and service lunch, afternoon tea with pastries and then full service dinner. The British on board benefited by the number of Americans who had wine included with lunch and dinner, so it was just easier to include it for everybody. I took advantage of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage (Silver Spirit) package which covers all drinks on board, together with a bottle of champagne, and assorted gifts for an inclusive price. This differs depending upon the length of cruise.

We were blessed with good weather visiting Rouen, where Joan of Arc met her end at the hands of the English, the Normandy landings beaches, Les Andelys with its castle built by Richard the Lionheart, Conflans with its floating bargees homes and the delightful Vernon home to Giverny and Monet’s famous gardens – absolutely beautiful.
En-route we were given the opportunity to taste fresh French cuisine, scrumptious macaroons, take a watercolour painting class and discover the history of and taste French cheeses. Entertainment is low key with one performer mainly on key-board, although he sang and also played the alto-sax and a mean guitar! The quiz night on board went down well – we won!

This type of holiday is perfect for coach tour clients – except they only unpack once; mainstream cruisers as long as they don’t want to dress up on board, (these are very informal cruises) and they’ll like the shore excursions; city break visitors and it gives them all they need and more. The crew on board are really helpful and friendly. The standard of food and service is excellent as well. An all round thoroughly enjoyable experience.