Thursday, March 11, 2010

What's Cruise Diva Doing In Germany?

For a change of pace, I’m not at sea. Not exactly, that is.

I’ve gone to Germany, Papenburg to be exact, to the Meyer Werft shipyard to board Celebrity Eclipse for the “Conveyance.” This milestone event marks the first time this sophisticated, new Solstice Class ship sets sail from Meyer Werft shipyard and cruises—backward!—down the River Ems, with tens of thousands of area residents lining the riverbanks to watch and cheer her on.

Not your typical “river cruise,” the conveyance promises to be quite an experience. While Celebrity Eclipse hasn't been completely fitted out, and still has sea trials ahead of her after reaching Emshaven, Netherlands, I'll be reporting my impressions.

Also on board will be the ten winners of Celebrity’s “Eclipse of a Lifetime” sweepstakes, which drew more than 200,000 entrants. Our Celebrity Cruises hosts scheduled to be on hand include President & CEO Dan Hanrahan and VP of Culinary Operations Jacques Van Staden, who is sure to talk about Qsine, the new dining venue on Celebrity Eclipse.

I have my camera in hand, so check back for updates. Depending on the weather, we'll either stay onboard Celebrity Eclipse tomorrow or disembark and head to Amsterdam.

4 comments:

Blondie said...

Have a blast!

Anonymous said...

Again, what the hell is a conveyance?

Linda Coffman, AKA Cruise Diva said...

Thank you! I did :)

Linda Coffman, AKA Cruise Diva said...

When Meyer Werft delivers a ship from their Papenburg shipyard, it has to be conveyed up the River Ems to the North Sea where sea trials commence. Hence, a conveyance of the river. Look at the photos I posted on Friday, March 12 for a better idea of why it's such a big deal.