Los Lagos

Today was a day at sea as the Eclipse sailed from San Antonio to Puerto Montt. We explored the ship and attended some of the events on board.

Breakfast was a huge buffet with just about anything imaginable. Food on board is free and plentiful. The joke is that you come on as a passenger but leave as cargo.

We sat in on an art history lecture covering 30,000 years of art in 30 minutes. That was interesting and Gail stayed in the art gallery (yes, on board art gallery!) to listen to the art auction. We ate too much at the lunch buffet and walked the decks to explore the ship. We were out in open waters several miles offshore and the sea was a bit rough. The ship rocks, sometimes from side to side, other times aft to stern. The rock is noticeable but not too bad - more pronounced on the upper decks.

If you haven't been on a cruise, you can think of the boat as an upscale hotel for 3,000. The upper decks (of the 15) are for activities. There are several pools and half a dozen hot tubs, a complete spa and fitness center, and a putting green. Mingled with the state rooms on the middle decks are a library, card room, internet lounge, and photo gallery and studio. There is a full casino with slots, black jack, and hold 'em tables. There are a range of (very upscale) shops selling jewelry, perfume, watches, handbags, clothing, and much else. There are several liquor and wine shops. (There are many, seemingly hardcore drinkers on board and the cruise sells four drink purchase plans, since the drinks are not free, even such mundane beverages as seltzer water and soft drinks - water tea and coffee are free). The ship has two theaters - a large (500+-seat) stage theater for performances and a smaller movie theater. There is also a medical center. During the day and into the night there is live and DJ'd music at different locations by different types of bands and solo performers - from R&R to classical. Each evening, they put on a major show on the big stage. Tonight it is a multi-instrumentalist. Getting around the shop (up and down) is by means of six, central elevators plus four more up front. There are also two wide stairs.

I have an enormous appreciation of the complex logistics of putting together a cruise - getting all the passengers on and off; procuring, preparing and serving food to the captive audience and doing all this day-after-day at 10 different foreign ports. It's quite an operation which, for the most part, runs smoothly.

The weather got worse as afternoon turned to evening with rain squalls, wind and choppy seas. This made the swaying more pronounced, even when sitting down, but it still wasn't bad. We attended the performance, a Chilean rocker who led the house band in many well-known hits and really charged up the house. We know from a past cruise that they always have top talent for these shows. With an early morning port call tomorrow in Puerto Montt, we skipped the big, late dinner and settled for a light soup from the buffet.Read more