As I boarded the Celebrity Eclipse in Southampton two words reverberated from the British passengers around me. Brilliant and stylish. The wow factor is exactly what Celebrity Cruises is striving for on Eclipse. But before the line’s newest ship carried any paying passengers it was called to carry out a mission like no other.

To the rescue

Eclipse didn’t set out to be a hero ship on its first cruise with passengers, but that’s just what happened right after it left the shipyard. The vessel’s late April inaugural celebrations were put on hold to participate in a unique and unprecedented rescue mission. Eclipse sailed to Bilbao, Spain to pick up more than 2,000 British tourists stranded by the shutdown of European airspace following the Icelandic volcano eruption.

Simon Weir, Eclipse’s hotel director noted that a party at that time was frivolous. “We had a window of opportunity to do something extraordinary – we had to help out.” And, boy did they. Rescued tourists traveled back to England in the lap of luxury onboard the 122,000-ton, 2,850-passenger Eclipse. Weir said many rescued travelers told him Eclipse was far better than the land-based vacation they had in Spain and were sold on sailing the ship for their next vacation.

Eclipse is easy on the eyes

The line hit a homerun with the launch of Celebrity Solstice two years ago and Eclipse carries on the captivating qualities. Like its two sister ships (Solstice and Equinox) the big appeal is the seamless blending of differing characters throughout the ship. Passengers who have been on the aforementioned sister ships will find themselves in familiar territory. Eclipse offers The Lawn Club, with real, growing grass; The Hot Glass Show, a glassblowing show and studio developed with The Corning Museum of Glass; 10 dining venues, along with vast entertainment offerings including shows with breathtaking aerial acts. But there are some interesting new additions and changes.

There are some cosmetic differences with the interior color scheme, artwork, and various refinements that make the ship even smarter and improve the overall guest experience. One very welcomed change is the modification of the entrance area to the AquaSpa that separates the spa reception area from the entrance to the gym. The previous design had guests funneling through the spa reception area to get to the gym.

Tweaks in the design aside, it’s the new offerings onboard that are making this ship better than its predecessors. The most unique addition is Qsine, a new restaurant by Jacques Van Staden, Celebrity’s vice president of culinary operations. Qsine turns the dining experience upside down—literally. The quirky venue is enveloped in avant garde décor, furniture, and large table lamps hanging upside down from the ceiling. Even the menu presentation is gimmicky – diners are given Apple iPads with descriptions of the main menu offerings and the desert menu is a paper cube that you unfold to find the selections. The menu features childhood favorites with contemporary touches served in small portions. It’s all-you-can-eat for the $30 cover charge.

The food was delicious and a lot of fun. The menu selection called Crunchy Munchies is an assortment of fried items presented in a paper cone. Sushi lollipops are served on a stick. Spring rolls are presented in vertical springs. An assortment of three cold soups is served in test tubes with a straw. Popcorn fish and chips were served in a red-and-white popcorn box. Other options include Kobe sliders, ceviche, tacos, and lobster and escargot fritters.

Another new feature on Eclipse is the Celebrity iLounge, a hip computer center stocked with Apple products, including 26 MacBook Pros. The ship also is authorized to sell Apple products as well as offer classes on how to use them. The iPhone/iTouch classes onboard were standing room only. Clearly a big hit.

Celebrity targets landlubbers

Weir tells me that Celebrity no longer competes with other cruise lines but with the great hotels of the world like the Bellagio. “We’re not just an American product, but an International one and we will adapt to sailing in differing regions,” added Weir.

Celebrity is targeting the cosmopolitan, upscale resort crowd and the Solstice-class ships like Eclipse are the perfect bait. It’s a large ship with a lot of passengers, abundant space, yet it’s still intimate and rarely feels hectic or crowded. Best of all it manages to be two things that many cruise ships aren’t these days — to be exhilarating and classy at the same time.

If you go:

Celebrity Eclipse cruises its inaugural season with sailings from Southampton with various cruises ranging from 14-night Baltic and Mediterranean sailings that begin at $1,913 per person. On October 31, the ship will sail a transatlantic voyage to Miami, Florida, where it will begin a series of alternating 7- night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages through April 2011. Prices begin at $649 per person. All aforementioned prices are based on inside staterooms, double occupancy. Visit Celebrity Cruises Web site for more details.

What would Christopher Columbus think of all the hoopla surrounding the recent dual launch of the Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica in his hometown of Genoa, Italy? Both cruise ships were christened in grand Italian fashion that included airplane acrobats, lasers, music, and enough confetti to paper the entire region of Liguria. One thing is certain — ocean travel has come a long way since the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

Costa Pacifica
The sister ship of the Costa Concordia and of the Costa Serena, the Costa Pacifica also weighs in at 114,500-tons. Likewise Pacifica accommodates 3,780 guests in 1,504 well-appointed staterooms, including 70 suites and 99 Samsara Spa cabins and suites, which have private spa access.

The ship was designed with the winter Mediterranean season in mind – hence the two covered pools and the spa solarium, which allow guests to enjoy sunny skies on days that can get chilly. Like its sister ships, Pacifica was designed by Joe Farcus, the Miami-based architect who for many years has designed Carnival Cruise Lines’ “Fun Ships,” which show off his distinctive style of glitz and glamour. Dubbed the “ship of music,” Pacifica is musically themed throughout with artwork and special lighting. The theme extends beyond interior design with a specially commissioned soundtrack by composer Mauro Pagani to a recording studio and music lessons. The ship even has a ‘maestro di musica’ in addition to a cruise director.

Among the ship’s amenities are: Samsara Spa, at 23,000 square feet the largest spa-and-fitness center at sea; three swimming pools, two with their own retractable glass dome roofs; a giant movie screen; five Jacuzzis; a Grand Prix race-car driving simulator; a chocolate bar that offers nine kinds of fruit dipped in a chocolate fountain; Playstation World; and menus created by the Italian culinary innovator and Michelin-starred chef Ettore Bocchia. As on other Costa ships, you’ll find a towering atrium and theater, Internet café and library, shopping promenade, kids club and pool and 13 bars that are always thronged with guests.

The ship’s two main dining rooms, My Way Restaurant and New York New York Restaurant, serve dinners in the traditional manner, with assigned times and assigned tables (breakfasts and lunches are open seating). The dinner menus play up Mediterranean fare, with a different region of Europe highlighted each night, and they are accompanied by an excellent selection of wines.

La Paloma Restaurant, the ship’s casual buffet restaurant, is arranged into several serving stations, which are sometimes devoted to different ethnic cuisines; it also houses a pizzeria, pasta station and ice-cream machines. Club Blue Moon is Pacifica’s pay-as-you-go specialty restaurant where for €25 guests can dine on Ettore Bocchia’s “molecular cuisine.” Another dining option is the Samsara Restaurant, reserved exclusively for passengers in Samsara Spa cabins, where guests can dine on health-conscious fare.

One really cool technical innovation stood out during the Pacifica launch – it’s called a Totem. The Totem is a large high-definition touch screen kiosk that enables guests to book all onboard activities from shore excursions to specialty restaurant reservations– and that means no long lines or waiting on the phone. There are nine Totems around the Pacifica and Luminosa. Costa President Gianni Onorato said if all goes well, kiosks will be installed on Costa’s other ships by the end of this year.

Costa Luminosa
Smaller than the Pacifica, the 92,600-ton Costa Luminosa carries 2,826 guests in 1,130 staterooms – including 52 Samsara, 718 veranda cabins, 50 suites and four Samsara suites inside the spa area. Costa calls Luminosa the “ship of light” and its contemporary interior design was conceived by Farcus who utilized rich materials and amazing light affects to bring out the ship’s incredible features. Public areas are fashioned with mother of pearl, 11,000 square feet of ebony and ivory, 20 different kinds of marble, 10,000 feet of innovative LED lights, and 120 Murano glass chandeliers.

The ship is also filled with amazing art offering some 288 original works and over 4,700 copies. The highlight is “Reclining Woman 2004”, a 2,000 pound bronze sculpture by Fernando Botero, which is the focal point of the spectacular central atrium.

Luminosa is not just the ship of light and entertainment, but also sport, wellness and outstanding cuisine that is spread over four restaurants and eleven bars. On board guests can go jogging or skating on the roller-skating track or take advantage of the state-of-the-art fitness center, featuring innovative gym equipment that includes the first at sea Kinesis circuit designed to improve fitness and muscle tone. Afterwards, guests can relax and indulge in many treatments in the 11,000 square foot Samsara Spa.

There are a host of leading-edge innovations on board including a 20-seat 4D cinema that takes guests on a wild sensory ride, a golf and Grand Prix simulator, Playstation World, and the aforementioned Totem kiosks.

If you’re planning on cruising in Europe or the Middle East, Costa’s two new editions are hard to beat. Both combine the very best of line’s innovative product: wellness, entertainment, exclusive itineraries, art, fine food and wine, relaxation, and great fun Italian atmosphere.

If you go:
Costa Pacifica will be sailing this summer and fall round-trip from Civitavecchia, Italy (Rome’s homeport) with 7-day voyages around the Western Mediterranean. Fares start at $899. In January 2010 the Pacifica will offer 12-day voyages from Civitavecchia, Italy to Greece, Israel and Egypt – fares start at $1,129.

Costa Luminosa will be sailing this summer round-trip from Amsterdam offering Norway and Baltic cruises lasting between 11 and 14 days. Fares start at $1,799. Starting in late fall the ship will offer 7-day cruises of the Arabic Gulf from Dubai – fares start at $899. All aforementioned prices are based on inside stateroom, double occupancy. Visit Costa Cruises Web site for more details.

In a few hours I’ll be taking off to Europe to test out shore excursions with Disney Cruise Line management. The Disney Magic returns to Europe next summer and is sailing the Mediterranean and and for the first time the Baltic region. Over the next eight days I’ll be visiting Tunis, Tunisia, Florence, Italy, and St. Petersburg, Russia. Disney has some amazing tours planned for guests next summer and I’ll be blogging about the experiences on the fly (literally).

What does Disney have in store? A lot! A princess ball in a real Russian palace, a treasure hunt in a Tunisian Souk, and for adults cooking school in Tuscany — these are just a few of the offerings. Stay tuned!

After the Disney trip I am staying in Italy for Costa Cruises dual inaugural of the Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica – it’s going to be a jammed packed two weeks. Post your thoughts or questions in the blog, I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

Best,
Anita