Inside Celebrity Eclipse - - talking with the Captain, Hotel Director and Jacques Van Staden

This week we take an inside look at Celebrity Eclipse. Eclipse is Celebrity Cruises latest ship, entering service late last April. She is the third os Celebrity’s critically acclaimed Solstice class ships. These are large ships (122,000 gross tons) but carry only 2,800 passengers. (A mass market ship of the same size would probably carry a thousand more guests). This means that there is more room per passenger and more room for luxurious features and detailing.

It is a firmly held belief of Beyondships that regardless of the physical beauty of a ship and regardless of its features, the quality of a cruise experience depends to a great extent on the people who actually operate the vessel. Accordingly, the site presents interviews with ship’s officers, management and cruise line executives so that you can read what these people have to say about what they are doing with their ships.

To that end, this week the site features three new interviews with key players on Celebrity Eclipse.

First, there is a conversation with the master of Celebrity Eclipse Captain Panagiotis Skylogiannis. Captain Skylogiannis was responsible for bringing not only Eclipse into service but also the first ship in the class Celebrity Solstice into service. He takes great pride in both ships but Eclipse is his personal favorite. My conversation with him is at: http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Eclipse-art-captain.html

Second, Hotel Director Simon Weir is in charge of practically all of the services that touch but the guests’ cruise experience from the accommodations to the entertainment to the dining. He has brought out all three of the Solstice class ships and is able to discuss how the product has evolved. In his view, Eclipse does not really compete with other cruise ships but is comparable to luxury hotels on shore and he seeks to ensure that Eclipse does not come out second best. My conversation with Mr. Weir is at: http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Eclipse-art-HD.html

Third, Jacques Van Staden is the celebrity chef who in 2007 left that world in order to become Vice President of Food and Beverage Operations for Celebrity Cruises. In that position he not only oversees the restaurants on the existing Celebrity ships but develops new ideas for dining venues. Celebrity Eclipse debuted the latest of his ideas, a revolutionary restaurant called Qsine. This dining venue differs from all other cruise ship specialty restaurants in its menu, presentation and décor, combining the familiar with the unexpected. Chef Van Staden talks about Qsine at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Eclipse-art-VanStaden.html

Interview with Celebrity Solstice Hotel Director

When I was on Celebrity Solstice, I had the opportunity to talk with Simon Weir, who is the Hotel Director that brought the ship into service. The hotel director on a ship is one of three senior officers that reports directly to the captain. He is in charge of the ship’s hotel operation - - essentially everything that has to do with the guests including food, accommodations and entertainment.

I was particularly fortunate that Mr. Weir was the one who brought the ship into service because the atmosphere and character of a ship is influenced by its original senior officers long after they have moved on. They establish the way things are done and while that evolves over time, the direction is set by the original officers. Since Solstice is the first ship in a class of five, she will also serve as the model for her later sisters.

Accordingly, I asked Mr. Weir about the thinking underlying Solstice. She is bigger than anything Celebrity Cruises has done before with more space for passengers and for amenities. Weir was clear that the new ship will not simply be a bigger version of what Celebrity has done before.

I also asked Weir about how they brought Solstice into service. As he explained, this is a process that starts when the ship is still in the shipyard and is a lesson in team building.

My interview with Simon Weir is at http://beyondships.com/Celebrity-Solstice-art-weir.html.

For those interested in military ships, I have put together a photo gallery on the Canadian Navy. http://www.beyondships.com/Naval-photo-Canada.html This includes photos of ships that I have come across in recent years and I believe the ships shown represent all the classes of ships now in that navy. Similarly, I have put together a photo gallery that shows some of the frigates in the Royal Dutch Navy.