Eclipse: Rare and Unexpected

The balmy night air, thick with the scent of sea water, triggers warm sense memories of the northern Adriatic coast.

Beneath a bright moon shining in a black sky pin-pricked by stars, a globule of orange-hot molten glass gloms onto the end of the five foot pole as the lead artisan removes it from the 2150 degree furnace.

Young, lithe and decidedly female, none of the capable glassblowers who spin the long metal pipes to keep lava-like glass from dripping or assist the project's lead artisan with tongs to help shape the emerging art looks anything like the muscular, mustacheoed men you might expect to see performing such work on the isle of Murano near Venice.

Gently blowing into the long metal tube gradually adds shape, stretching the hot glass to new dimensions, not like Bazooka Bubble Gum rapidly blown and popped from the lips of a pre-teen girl but ever so slowly, so the delicate glass doesn't burst before the design has a chance to unfold.  

An assistant carefully opens the doors on the separate firing kiln as the lead artist plunges the partially blown glass back into searing heat to keep her evolving creation hot enough to continue stretching into her envisioned objet d'art.

While the grassy area surrounding the workplace might have been used for Bocce Ball that afternoon, bringing to mind a serene community park in northern Italy, the Lawn Club and Corning Museum of Glass working exhibit are actually 15 stories above sea level.

To be more specific, it is floating 15 stories above the sea aboard Celebrity Eclipse.

If that's not enough to intrigue you, beautiful acoustic rock wafts through the air from a small stage adjacent to the glass blowing demonstration.  The Bella River Duo renders a lovely soft rock song, with the bearded guitarist Rich carefully selecting notes on his guitar to provide the perfect accompaniment to the mellifluous vocals of Natalie.

The overriding theme throughout Eclipse, like an eclipse itself, is appropriately "Rare and Unexpected," played out not simply at the Corning Museum of Glass (one of only three such exhibits at sea, with the others being on sister Celebrity ships Equinox and Solstice) but also with an unusual array of photographic art totally unrelated to the sea and a living ficus tree growing from a brass orb suspended above the atrium with metal supports that serve as rivulets for water and nutrients.

The ship itself is a work of art, epitomizing Modern Luxury that truly feels futuristic in design and yet is always quite cozy, including white leather chairs in the futuristic Sky Observation Lounge that are more comfortable than any seating in my own living room back home.

The gorgeous dining room proudly serves culinary art, and in addition to lectures on art and history of the itinerary's region, there are cooking demonstrations on topics such as how to cook the perfect steak.

While it's not shocking that I loved the Filet Mignon and Beef Wellington or the seafood I often order while cruising, I discovered fried frog legs make delicious appetizers and that Chicken Cordon Bleu tastes even better with bananas, a dish Celebrity called Chicken Chiquita.

The alternative buffet, incidentally, has an outstanding layout, with diverse stations, such as Indian, Asian, Mexican, gourmet, fresh to-order pasta, salads, carvery and desserts at lunch, making it easier to assemble a cohesive meal rather than a hodgepodge on your plate.

And lest you think Eclipse sounds a bit too avant-garde for your tastes, rare and unexpected on the first night of the cruise meant the showroom theater stage was filled with balloons, with the left side being orange and the right side blue, because we embarked on Super Bowl Sunday.

Rather than the usual musical production, the featured entertainment that night was the big game.

At the front of the theater was a large screen, flanked by smaller screens to the sides for better viewing in some seat.  A dividing line down the middle allowed fans to choose to sit with the crowd cheering the Denver Broncos or Carolina Panthers.

Julie and I rooted for the Orange Crush, which proved to be too much that day for the remarkable Cam Newton.

Julie crushes it at Bocce Ball

Though we enjoyed a gourmet meal in the dining room before the game, we could have easily dined on the great tailgate menu of Buffalo wings, hot dogs, nachos and other fun fare.  Okay, we still had a few nibbles.

The football game was a great way to kick off the cruise.

Blown Glass Project