Day 1- Embarkation Day (Southampton)

We live only 2 hours drive away so drove down to Southampton and parked at the port which was easy and got mini buses to the terminal. Embarkation was fast and well organised by Celebrity. When we got onboard we were guided to go to our stateroom we had two Oceanview staterooms with connecting doors between the four of us. The rooms were very clean and modern as the Eclipse is a newish ship (Spring 2010). The stateroom bathrooms are much bigger than those of other cruise ships. After this we had a walk around the ship with the kids and had lunch at the grill on the open decks as it was a nice day in Southampton. At around 3pm they had the mandatory Muster drill before we left the port unlike many cruises we did not have to wear our life jackets during the muster drill and was well organised by the crew. On deck 15 is the Lawn Club which is an area with real grass at the back of the ship and has a nice bar we decided we would watch the ship sail from this point which was nice. We had early seating dinner at 6pm and sat on a table of 8 with another family of 4 from Scotland the meals were fantastic and always cooked to perfection. The menu had plenty to offer and if nothing suited you then there was also some dishes which were always on the menu such as Sirloin Steak. After dinner the kids went off to The X Club (teens) and The Fun Factory (Children) both of these facilities were excellent and the staff were really enthusiastic and got involved in the activities. Celebrity Cruises has a fantastic youth programme and beats Royal Caribbeans by far. When the kids were enjoying themselves we went to watch the evenings show and had a few drinks.

Day 2- At Sea Read more