Our second new arrival of 2010 came on the 20th April. I don't count MSC Magnifica because she was a caller. However the brand new, 122,000grt Celebrity Eclipse was doing her maiden season from here and was due to return in 2011. The third in the series, it was a big day for Southampton. We'd missed having a glimpse of Solstice but had Equinox doing two cruises the previous year. Unlike then, there would be no middle of the night arrival for this little lady. A grand entrance for 9am which was much better. She left Hamburg on the 18th at 9am and was going rather too fast, reaching Dover at 10pm the night before coming here. By 4am she was off Selsey, despite not picking up the pilot until 6.15am so spent two hours off there. We caught the 6.55am bus to Hythe, picked up some breakfast and a drink for me from Martins then headed to the marina. A few people were waiting, one since 5.30am. She was relieved when we told her the ship WAS coming because she was on the verge of going home. Also a nice couple, one doing photos and the other video. Sadly not many people came. Perhaps they didn't know since may go by the provisional cruise schedule rather than movements. Late the night before, Celebrity announced the two night jolly on the 22nd was cancelled. Instead, at the request of tour operators, the ship would be going to Bilbao at 6pm to pick up tourists stranded due to the volcanic ash closing airspace since the 15th. She would return sometime on the 23rd in time for her naming on the 24th. It was quite mild and hazy, the morning sun in your eyes. At 7.37am we saw her off Calshot beach - hooray! As she passed Fawley, the lady with the video had been told by a man she had been diverted to Spain. She soon corrected him.
|