Miami, FL - Sunday, December 11, 2016 (Celebrity Eclipse Cruise)

Our hotel package included transportation from the hotel to the Miami Cruise Port and so we were on the 9:15 a.m. shuttle, arrived at the port sometime after 10:00 a.m. (in between the downpours) and were boarding the Celebrity Eclipse by 10:50 a.m. after a short wait in the exclusive Concierge lounge.  As is typical of Celebrity, we were greeted with a glass of Champagne, Mimosa, or Orange Juice.  Here are some photos of the Port of Miami:






A new benefit for Concierge class is a welcome luncheon in the main dining room the first day.  This was worth Concierge class alone.  We have always hated fighting the lines and finding a table at that first lunch in the chaos of the buffet, especially since you are carting around all of your carry on luggage.  Our waiter was Gama who was incredible.  Knowing I had allergies, he found me a fruit plate for dessert without me even asking.

After lunch, I enjoyed my first drink from the Martini  Bar, my favorite bar of the ship.  As part of a promotion, we received the classic beverage package.  For $10 a day, I upgraded to the premium beverage package so that I could enjoy unlimited martinis from the Martini Bar and wines beyond the house wines.  Buying the entire premium package would not be worth it for me at around $65/day, but the upgrade of $10 was more than worth it.  It was also nice that on Celebrity, both people in a stateroom do not have to have the same beverage package, as is the case on many other cruise lines.  (My husband doesn’t drink so it is a waste of money for him to buy a beverage package.)

We were able to get into our rooms around 1:00 p.m.  

We had the standard mustard drill, except Celebrity doesn’t make you go out to the lifeboat stations.  Instead we were assigned to the Eclipse Theater for roll call and a video.  This was much more comfortable than when we were assigned to a lounge on the Summit with standing room only.

Here are some photos of our departure:













Dinner was excellent, although our waiter doesn’t look too promising.  After dinner, we listened to some music which was not that great by Jessica and Luke: Acoustic Duo in one of the lounges.  

The show was a variety show with a taste of Peter Rossetti (pianist/singer), Rich Aronovitch (comedian), and the house band.  We enjoyed it.