Conventional wisdom advises the use of special eye protection when viewing an eclipse. But none of that was necessary for the thousands of individuals who lined the banks of Germany’s River Ems today to see Celebrity Eclipse embark on a fascinating adventure in cruising.
The third of five in Celebrity Cruises’ stylish, $3.7-billion Solstice Class fleet, Celebrity Eclipse yesterday made her first departure from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, to embark on what is very likely the most challenging ride of her life: an event known as the “conveyance.”
At the tightest points along the way, there are as few as two feet between each side of the 1,040-foot-long, 121-foot-wide Celebrity Eclipse and the locks. The depth of the river and the draft of the ship allow for mere inches – or less – beneath the ship. These factors and others led Celebrity Cruises and Meyer Werft to essentially create a science all their own, carefully monitoring the position of the moon and tidal conditions to identify the precise moment when the depth of the river is ideal for the ship to set sail from the shipyard.
“Cruise ship captains generally do not expect to encounter the challenges the conveyance presents,” said Celebrity Eclipse Captain Panagiotis Skylogiannis. “Although I am accustomed to docking in tight ports, I prefer to be chasing sunshine in the open sea. Celebrity Eclipse is only a few feet slimmer than the narrowest lock we have to navigate, which isn’t much room, particularly when the president of the company is onboard, keeping a close watch! But we’ve done this twice before, and I am entirely confident of another smooth and successful passage.”
LA Daily is reporting that a man accused of breaking into the medical supply area of Carnival Paradise has entered a plea of Not Guilty in Los Angeles on Monday.
Charges have been filed against Phillip John Struble, 30, for burglary involving controlled substances and possession of a controlled substance A Federal affidavit accuses Mr. Struble of broking into the medicine supply area of the Carnival Paradise on Valentine’s Day. A subsequent search of his cabin allegedly turned up the pilfered morphine as well as hundreds of Percocet tablets and drug known as Dilaudid, according to federal authorities. Vials of phenobarbital and Xanax pills were also reported missing after the break-in.
The ship’s captain called for a search of the entire vessel after the substances were reported stolen that morning. Stewards stated they had noticed the suspect near the medical center before the break-in. And the ship’s physician said he had given Struble painkillers after he complained of pain the evening before.
The suspect, who was traveling with his fiance on the Long Beach-to-Mexico cruise, was locked up in the ship’s brig for the rest of the trip.
Cunard Line has announced that the Queen Mary 2, will be based in Australia in 2012 for a history-making circumnavigation which will see her visit five states and the Northern Territory.
Queen Mary 2’s Royal Circumnavigation of Australia is a first for Cunard.
The largest ship ever to visit Australia, Queen Mary 2 will call at eight Australian ports during her time Down Under including Sydney, Fremantle, Adelaide and the Whitsundays, as well as maiden visits to Cairns (Yorkey’s Knob), Darwin, Melbourne and Brisbane. Her circumnavigation will also include a call at Bali.
Australians will be able to choose from three circumnavigation options – a 22-night voyage departing Sydney on 14 February 2012, a 20-night voyage departing Fremantle on 8 February 2012 and a 21-night voyage departing Adelaide on 11 February 2012.
In all, Queen Mary 2 will spend 28 nights in Australian waters, as she sails from Cape Town to Sydney via Fremantle and Adelaide, and then circumnavigates the country. As a result, Fremantle, Adelaide and Sydney will each enjoy two visits from the liner during her Australian season.
The Australian deployment will mark the longest period of time that Queen Mary 2 has been based in one country outside of her northern hemisphere home ports of Southampton and New York.
The Royal Circumnavigation of Australia will go on sale this spring as part of the announcement of the 2012 World Voyage programme.
This is the latest update from Tourismo Chile regarding the nation’s major airports:
Following the magnitude 8.8 quake that hit central Chile in the early morning hours of Saturday February 27, 2010, Santiago International Airport suffered structural damage to the passenger terminal. No damage was reported to the runways and taxiways. All incoming and departing flight operations were suspended until authorities evaluated the situation in order to guarantee maximum safety for passengers. Turismo Chile would like to communicate the latest update regarding operations at Santiago International Airport provided by the airport authority, SCL Aeropuerto de Santiago, on March 2, 2010 following a meeting with Chile’s National Civil Aviation Authority and airlines operating at the airport.
Flight operations will resume in two phases:
Phase 1 – March 2 to 5, 2010 – Domestic flights will gradually resume operations with a limited schedule between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and international flights also with a limited schedule will be operating between 8.pm and 8 a.m. A temporary makeshift terminal has been set up in tents in order to process departing passengers. All arriving international flights during this period will stopover in another Chilean city prior to landing in Santiago in order for passengers to clear Chilean customs and immigration formalities.
Phase 2 – March 5th onward – Domestic and international flights will be operating 24 hours. All domestic flight arrivals and departures will be operating out of a makeshift terminal set up in tents located to the east of the airport’s old terminal. International flight departures will move to the domestic flights sector of the current terminal. International arriving passengers will clear Chilean customs and immigration formalities in a makeshift facility set up in tents to the west of the current terminal.
All passengers should contact their airline for updated information on flight schedules and changes.
The world’s top-rated restaurants are often showplaces for art and design, and beginning April 26, in-the-know food followers can experience a new venue whose cuisine is an engaging combination of both. But they won’t find it through MapQuest, and their GPS will find it tough to track, too…since it’s moving. That’s because the new restaurant, “Qsine,” can be found only on Celebrity Eclipse
., the third of five ships in Celebrity Cruises’ stylish, $3.7-billion Solstice Class fleet.
The brainchild of Celebrity’s Vice President of Culinary Operations, Chef Jacques Van Staden, Qsine presents guests with an unexpected, modern approach to familiar dishes from around the world.
Van Staden says Qsine will further validate Celebrity’s leadership position in offering world-class dining experiences, as evidenced in the brand’s stunningly designed, guest-inspired Solstice Class specialty restaurants including Tuscan Grille, Blu, Murano and Silk Harvest, not to mention the series of intimate venues on Celebrity’s Millennium Class foursome. Qsine’s menu design alone – a large, backlit square filled with words and phrases designed to engage guests in the experience – implies that Qsine is an unusual place. And the cuisine makes it abundantly clear, with most of the selections so unique that nearly all of the dishes and plating have been designed exclusively for Celebrity.
Among the selections are spring rolls nestled in vertical springs, “Sushi Lollipops” (Nigiri sushi with soy center, wasabi mayonnaise and pickled ginger-radish salad), “Meatball Trilogy” (Kobe beef with cheddar and marinara sauce; veal with mushrooms and marsala sauce; and turkey with cranberry and sage gravy), “Chitinis” (Chinese selections served in martini glasses), “Tresviche” (tiger shrimp and bay scallops with lemon juice, tequila, cilantro, tomatoes and jalapeno oil), “Popcorn Fish & Chips” (Boddington’s-battered codfish and chips served with malt vinegar or aioli), “Slider Party” (mini-grilled Kobe beef patties with aged Wisconsin cheddar served on brioche buns with “Qsine’s original slider sauce” and garnishes), “Taco Royale” (Black Angus sirloin steak, homemade taco shells, caramelized onion-poblano, and do-it-yourself fresh guacamole, with a stone mortar and pestle), and “Lava Crab” (Alaskan King crab, sweet yellow corn and scallions with Hataifi and Old Bay sauce, served in glasses over heated red stones).
Libations to accompany the cuisine range from approximately 100 varieties of primarily organic, contemporary wines, to a vast array of creative cocktails.
And, for the first time on a Celebrity ship – just one week after announcing the hip, new “Celebrity iLounge” – Celebrity has designed a means for guests to capitalize on technology to easily review and order wines via the latest touch-screen devices. Even the uniforms of the wait staff illustrate the venue’s unique nature. Designed by Van Staden and custom-made exclusively for Celebrity, the jackets are decidedly asymmetrical and sport square buttons, and are intended to illustrate that the wait staff also are considered chefs, offering guests a highly interactive and personalized dining experience.
Capping the Qsine experience is a series of desserts whose menu is as sweet and surprising as its selections: A hinged, twistable cube presents options ranging from candied apples to popcorn to individual cookie jars.
Qsine will be open nightly on Celebrity Eclipse from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., for a cover charge of $30 per person. There are no age restrictions for dining in Qsine, and the dress code is smart casual and above.
Guests booked to sail on Celebrity Eclipse can plan their unique evening in Qsine right now, by making dining reservations on the Celebrity web site. Designed for cruisers who appreciate online options, the Celebrity site offers Celebrity Select Dining, the industry’s first pre-cruise, day-by-day flexible dining reservation system. The site also presents guests with the option to book pre-cruise AquaSpa reservations, specialty dining reservations, shore excursion bookings, and online documentation, or “e-docs.”
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