Eclipse Tour Days 2&3: Into The Mystic

Smell the sea and feel the sky—Van Morrison

After shopping for those things we were sure we lost in the Great Bag Caper, we went back to the hotel, claimed our remaining luggage, and jumped in a cab. And there she was! The Sun Princess. This is a Sphere Class vessel, built in 2024, with 21 decks, 1,133 feel long and serves about 4300 guests and 1600 crew members, for a 2.7 to 1 ratio. Easily the largest ship we’ve ever been on. She has 30 restaurants and bars, so we won’t be hungry or thirsty. The embarkation process was slick, and our room was ready within the hour. Our room is 14619, way up on deck 14 toward aft, and is a mini suite. We booked through Costco during a sale and will receive a $1200 gift card when the sailing is done. The benefit of the mini suite is size, with a sofa and more storage space. Our cabin attendant is Mary who is very efficient and makes sure we have lots of ice. We had some things we wanted to do once we got on board. We thought a couples massage would a good reward for getting through the lost luggage episode, and we had already booked 2 week passes to the Spa for daily use of the large hot tub, sauna, steam room, and heated day beds. In addition, we wanted to get reservations to two of the newest restaurants on Princess: the Umai Hot Pot and Umai Teppanyaki. We waited in line for a short while and got all the dinner reservations we wanted. Things were looking up!

Once our stateroom opened, we unpacked, stuffed our bags under the bed, and went out to explore the ship. During the unpacking, we realized that Bob’s two brand new bathing suits and t-shirts were in the missing bag. That will never do, so we went to the Princess shops. We wouldn’t normally buy too much on board as their prices are pretty high end, but we’re saving all receipts for the lost luggage insurance. We found two nice bathing suits for Papa, so all is well. We may continue to find lost items as we go.

It was getting close to dinner and tonight I had booked a reservation at The Catch by Rudi. This is one of the new ones for Princess and was created by Rudi Sodamin, Master Chef. Since we got the Princess Premier package, we have access to all the specialty restaurants without a charge, so we wanted to take advantage. The Premier package offers each person 14 specialty drinks per day (includes all alcohol, specialty coffees, smoothies and other beverages). In addition to the food benefits, it covers all the tips, 4 devices on the internet, any photos, reserve seating at shows and a shore excursion credit. We would never drink enough alcohol or make that benefit worthwhile, but when I priced out all the other things on a piecemeal basis, we actually made out on the package during the Costco sale.

I had read great reviews of The Catch, and it did not disappoint. Brizeida from Peru and Dixon from India were our servers, and they were fantastic. Personable, well informed about the food choices, and providing exemplary service, they recommended the giant prawns and an entire Dover Sole. We ordered them both. Brizeda expertly deboned Bob’s sole at the table, and my prawns were huge! We felt very pampered and decided to end the day in the hot tub at the spa. On our less than 4 hours sleep for the past two days, it didn’t take much bubbling water to convince us to head back to the cabin for a good sleep. And it was. A 9 hour sleep makes everything seem great.

We had a couples massage booked at 1 so we went to the coffee specialty shop and ordered a flat white and a caramel mocha, along with a blueberry muffin. We met a couple from New Zealand, which was one of our favorite travel adventures and talked with them while finishing our breakfast. Then on to the spa.

Our massage therapists were Primrose and Aicheel. Back in Norfolk, I have a world class massage therapist, Czarina, from whom I have been getting monthly massages for years. And I would put Primrose in her class. I like a very gentle pressure massage, and I often fall asleep during the session. Bob wanted deep tissue and he pronounced his massage from Aicheel as the best he had even received. He had been complaining of low back pain since our long trip getting to Barcelona and dragging luggage all over while we waited only to be told that our bag would not be joining us on the cruise. He told Aicheel to concentrate on his lower back, and she did, but she also found numerous areas of tension is his upper back and neck and worked those out as well. He has never been much of a fan of massage, but after they offered us a good deal on another one, he jumped on the chance, if he could get Aicheel again. So, we are looking forward to that. We also took advantage of the huge hot tub in the spa and if it hadn’t been for our dinner reservation, we probably would have stayed there all night.

The next dinner was scheduled in the Crown Grill. This is a specialty restaurant, but not a new one to Princess and we have always enjoyed it. It’s a steak restaurant and they have done a great job on other Princess cruises. Bob had a ribeye medium well and I went with the Filet medium rare. Both were cooked perfectly and were delicious. Bob started with a lobster bisque, and I had black and blue onion soup. I will say that eating cheesy onion soup out of a crock requires a deftness I do not possess. I always think they should serve it with scissors since the cheese is almost impossible to cut into bite size pieces. But I made it through with only minor use of my fingers and minimal slurping. We had desserts—something chocolate for Bob and pecan pie for me. Then we retired to our cabin and watched the sun set. Two perfect sea days in a row and our frustration was completely forgotten. I do amuse myself by checking in with the luggage tag in Barcelona, just to see if the bag has moved, and it has not. And we have not been contacted by anyone from lost and found in Barcelona.

Have I mentioned how comfy the bed is? It is wonderful. We are sleeping soundly covered by a thick comforter, and I have made a mental note to find out where to get one of those.