Everything is relative, right? My experience on Scenic Eclipse II is based on other experiences I’ve had, so it might be helpful to know something about me and my husband, travel-wise.

I haven’t counted, but am quite certain that we’ve been on more than 40 cruises in the last 38 years. When traveling with our children, we sailed on Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and the like. We used to love Renaissance in their rather short life (very port intensive, high end experience.) Later we came to love Windstar, Oceania, and have most recently spent quite a bit of time on Celebrity Edge class (suite), Viking (penthouse verandah) ships and Atlas Ocean Voyages. (We have NOT sailed Silversea, Regent, or Seabourn, mostly because I’d read some pretty rough reviews here on Cruise Critic.)

Anyway, based on the dead sexy look of the Eclipse (!) coupled with a positive experience on one of their river cruises, we booked a trip to the Norwegian fjords and on to the Arctic, and here we finally are. Read more