Eclipse 112314

Eclipse 11.23.14 14 night Exotic Southern Carib S2 Sky Suite 2118. Cruise #57, 58,59

Mia, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Mia, and five sea days. Captain Dimitrios Manetas; Hotel Dir.: Darren Tiller, GRM.: Alana Abrahams, Cruise Dir.: Ben Powney, Capt. Club.: Deborah Poortier, Butler: Alex, Room Steward: Karen Asst: Abi; Waiter: Ahmet; Asst, Waiter: various.

Day 1

We had what we remember as the earliest flight ever at 630am Southwest flight out of PHL to FLL, so getting up at 130 am was a little tough, even for us. But the car was right on time at 3 o’clock and we were on our way on vacation. We seemed to be the travelers who opened up the airport since almost no one else was there. We got breakfast at McDonalds, when it opened at 5am. PS there hotcakes were very good. Before you knew it we boarded, flew and arrived in Fort Lauderdale,

After gathering our luggage, I contacted SAS transportation. I previously reserved them because of great reviews on the boards. He was there in a flash, with a van and a luggage trailer, however when I returned to Randi, she was panicking because one of our carry-ons, the black one with the medicine in it, was missing, I immediately went into search and find mode but could not locate it. Then some lady asked Randi if this is your bag? Apparently her 4 year old son took it, perhaps playing, or thinking that it was his but meanwhile giving us a heart attack. Lesson learned: watch your bags!

SAS was great and I highly recommend them if you need to transfer from FLL to port of MIA. He was out there in minutes; made 3 other stops at hotels along the way to the port, and arrived at the ships in about 45 minutes.

Check in began around 10:45. That went smoothly and were shown to a Suite holding room until about 12:15 when we boarded. The delay was due to a heavy immigration and safety inspection after the transatlantic sailing. Eclipse looked great and was the third Solstice class ship we were on; the first two being Equinox, which we sailed solo and Silhouette, where we sailed from Bayonne with cousins Joanie and Gary.

On Eclipse, we started with Gail’s routine, and ate our welcome aboard meal in bistro on five. No crowds and space to put your bags. We dined by the window. I had the beef panni with the soup and Randi had the vegetable panni. Mmmm Mmmm good. But the fee has gone up to $7 per person. We found out later that prices in other venus have gone up also. By the end of the meal the rooms were announced, 'ready,' so we scooted up there to our sky suite.
Randi was very happy with the room's size and many times said that 'she loved the room.' It was spacious enough, with lots of desk and makeup space, nice deck I will guess at 6' by 14'; a good sized bathroom with tub shower and muti-shower heads.

After doing some of our setup chores, and a real easy unpack, and since we were wiped, we decided to have an early dinner in Blu. PS. on this ship the theme in Blu is green, not blue, see the glass, LOL. Each of us had the filet minion which was delicious. By now the bed was calling us and we hit the hay by 830.

DAY 2 -sea day 1. Breakfast in Blu where we tried out our new "Coffee-mate to Go" creamers. Rob and Michelle, take note. They have new 3oz "2-GO" in 3 concentrated flavors. We took 6 of them for 15 days and they seem to be working out well. After our delicious breakfast, we started working on our sun catching, by the pool, which was not overly crowded and we got two nice chairs by the pool.

 We didn’t overdo it in the sun and went to the Moonlight Sonata for lunch where I had a delicious cob salad and Randi had whole wheat pasta in butter parmesan sauce with artichokes.

After some shop strolling, we got some frosty Igloo drinks and watched the water go by from our deck.

Later that evening we tried the Captains Club 5-7pm cocktail party. We went to the sky lounge, but now you have to bring coupons and are limited to 3 drinks each. Capt. club hostess, Deborah says they are trying to combine the coupons on sea-pass card, which would be better. A new feature, you can present the coupons for drinks to approximately six of the lounges around the ship including the sky lounge which also serves bites.

Dinner in the Moonlight Sonata table 168 was a 6 seater, nice people and we had a nice dinner, even the Captain stopped by. All good, except the lady next to me talked with her mouth opened while chewing breadsticks. Needless to say, I was showered a few times with chewed breadsticks. So because of that and since we requested a table for 8, we moved to table 219. Meanwhile Randi found a new Savion Blanc called Wairau River that she enjoyed @ $42. ($17 at home)
 

After dinner this night we found piano player and comedian Perry Grant in the Cellar Masters (along with Judy Garland and her friend). He was one of the primary reasons we booked this cruise but found the venue was much too small for his talents. Seats

were hard to get especially after leaving 2nd seating dinner at 10pm or so but the music and the fun was still there as was his sidekick and our friend, Joyce from Canada. We spent many an evening singing along with everyone else well after midnight.
Day 3 Sea day 2. We had breakfast in the Captains club
daily special breakfast in the Tuscan Grill which was well attended and well presented on a buffet server. Salmon bagels, muffins, fruits, cheeses, meats and of course cappuccinos, lattes, expressos and morning cocktails were offered.
 

We spent a couple hours on the deck above and surrounding the pool. Since the buffet is right there we had lunch there. I had a nice salad, some chicken and a small slice of peperoni pizza. We strolled around after lunch and saw decorations for Christmas springing up around the ship.

Good thing we decided to go back to the cabin. It turned into a 3 hour nap for us. Feeling totally revitalized we dressed and tried our drink coupons in the passport lounge. Not so good as far as service. Randi was going to place our drink order while I left for a few minutes. Sorry to say, it took more than 15 minutes to get a drink. Meanwhile I went to talk to the Capt. club host about amenities for a newly booked cruise for us on Azamara Quest for thanksgiving 2016. They were offering ocean view verandahs for inside prices. We also booked the Summit repo in Spring 2016 that we have sailed the last few springs.

 

We had dinner at the new table for 8 but only one other couple showed; Patty and Ken from Baltimore. It was a lovely dinner and I enjoyed the pasta dish which I usually don’t order for dinner. Patty was a Loft clothes fan like Randi so I figured she and Randi would have something in common. Stay tuned.

 

 

Day 4 Aruba. Woke to have coffee and danish delivered to room. Got dressed and headed up to the buffet for breakfast. Took a leisurely stroll off the ship and made a right toward the Renaissance hotel. Along the way, we peeked into some shops; saw some real iguanas and some nice scenery. After a loop around and few hours of exercise and we were headed back to Eclipse.

 

This evening the other 2 couples showed for dinner and while we laughed, they didn't speak much English at all since they were from Managua.

 

Day 5 Curacao. Enjoyed an 8:45 breakfast in Blu then we are off to the Seaquarium. We hooked up with a van-taxi so it only cost us $10 rather than $20. The admission was ~ $20 per person. We saw the lovable dolphin show; a sea lion demonstration; feeding the flamingos and the many fish, sharks and stingrays in the various tanks. The cab driver was right on-time to pick us up and he dropped us near the swinging bridge near the shops in town. We picked up a couple shirts in the Carihou bamboo store and strolled back to the ship. After a quick bite of lunch we ended up on the top deck with the trade winds blowing. Soon enough, it was nap time.

Later that evening, we found the lady who was taking care of our drinks in the Ensemble lounge and gave her a tip. We learned earlier that with these new vouchers, they make 10 cents per drink rather than 15% of the regular drink price. This new system seems a bit odd and confusing, not only for the pax but for the crew too.

We both realized tonight that although Ken and Patty are nice, she is a lot of work. Nothing is ever right, the service is too slow and she keeps commenting on our many perks that we get for sailing Celebrity for 20+ years and almost 60 cruises. Because of that we decided to eat more in other venues other then the Moonlight Sonata.


Day 6 Bonaire. After sleeping til 9 and having our Tuscan Grille

breakfast, we headed for our first and probably only organized shore excursion on this cruise- the flamingoes and salt flats. It was a two hour fifteen minute bus ride around the island and from a distance we saw the pink feathered birds, mounds of salt, a couple of ospreys, and some of the most beautiful blue water we've ever seen.

Got a quick lunch upon returning and made ourselves comfy on the beds outside on the solstice deck where you are so high, we were about the tallest thing on the island.

 
That evening there was an announcement that the headline entertainer's flight was delayed and he didn't make the ship so Perry Grant performed his stage show in the Eclipse theater, earlier then scheduled to do so on the cruise He was so good, that people were throwing their undergarments on stage at the end.

Not really. He gave Joyce, Randi, me and others, these props to throw towards the end of his show. It was a great show especially since it was last minute performance and there was no rehearsal with the band.

Our dinner tonight was in the Tuscan Grill at 830. Everything was delicious. Randi had the Lobster with pasta in the alfredo sauce while I had the filet minion. After a wonderful meal, we called it a night.

Day 7 Sea day 3. We are sailing today to St. Lucia and totally relaxing by the pool along the way. Randi played a little in the casino. I closed my eyes in one of the public areas. While I write this from the sunset bar I am viewing just one more incredible Caribbean sunset.


It is formal night tonight. I am in my tux, Randi is looking wonderful in her black dress. Our tablemates in the Moonlight Sonata think it is casual night and they dressed that way! Plus Dinner is rushed and stressful because on past nights, they were served "too slow". We decided to dine in Blu again tomorrow; So much for meeting nice folks and finding good table conversation on a cruise.

Day 8 St. Lucia. Got up early to head into town and go to church. Nothing else open here on Sunday. Randi makes it easy by joining me. Mass is at 1030 and we are there before 10 to find many beggars on the street. One lady feels sad for us and asks us if we want to wait in the chapel. We spent 20 minutes there. At least it had A/C.

Mass start time was 15 minutes late. Island time man! Then the priest's homily had to be a half hour long. I decided to leave by around 1130 We walked back to the ship terminal where there were a few shops to walk through but nothing to buy.
 

Enjoyed a nice lunch at the bistro and left Randi on the lounge by the pool reading while I walked laps on the lifeboat deck on the shady side. Came back to find princess sleeping so I joined her.





We went to the heliport sail away. About 100 of us were invited. Saw Mary and Steve there as well the Chief Housekeeper. We talked a bit with Darren Tiler, the HD; Alana Abrahams, the GRM, and Vera the event coordinator.

It was a nice event with drinks served and another fabulous sunset.

Day 9 Barbados. Today was a local holiday; their independence day, so we stayed at the shops along the ship rather than go into town. We had the primary berth so it was just a short walk in, rather than take the shuttle in from the long pier.

It was an easy going day topped with an early 6pm dinner at Murano. Randi had the Lobster and I had the Lamb rack, along with superior service and food. We both mentioned that it was nice to dine early. It gave us time after dinner to relax.

Randi went to the casino and we met up at Perry's show- the first one that we saw from its start at 9:30. It was another good show that we once again closed shortly after midnight.

Day 10 Antigua. We got momentarily 'lost' when we got off the ship since we docked at a pier that we had never docked before. Randi finally smelled out the market place shops and got us back on track with a shirt purchase. After a restful sleep by the pool, we got ready for the evening. Dinner in Blu tonight at 7pm. Another exquisite meal and service.

Day 11 St Kitts. Staying on board today with the ship to ourselves. While we were in Blu for breakfast I noticed a ship in the next berth that looked like the Galaxy or Mercury. A crewmember informed me that it was in fact the Galaxy, now the Mein Schift, a TUI German line. Looks like they refurbished it somewhat; adding hammocks and other outdoor amenities. Good to see her again.

We had dinner tonight at Qsine. This time we didn’t order too much food but everything was delicious.

Day 12 St Martin. This was Randi's day. She was up before the wakeup call and we were in Blu before you knew it. I started tipping the many people in the restaurant like David, with whom we shared many songs together. His service made our cruise special.

We got off the ship and Randi spotted the old Horizon berthed behind us. We got a quick picture of me and our very first cruise ship. I picked up a new memory card for my camera at the terminal shops since I ran out of space on my first card.

We decided to do the 15 minute walk to town to burn off some calories and then walked up and down Front Street and the street behind, in search of perfume and especially the discontinued 'Notte' which we finally found in Caribbean Paradise. Turns out we found everything we needed to get and headed back for lunch and a restful afternoon.

We were invited to the Helipad once more with what seemed like ten times the amount of people than the last time but it was nice to see the Summit, the Horizon and the Eclipse all together tooting their foghorns at each other.

Met a nice new couple in Blu last night from northern Georgia, Bob and Cathy. We traded some stories alongside our tables including how we have been enjoying dining in Blu. We said our good-bys and meandered to Perry's show.

Tonight was my night to turn on Perry's ball and be interviewed. Boy it was scarier than I thought. He addressed me as Clark Gable and didn't know where Manalapan NJ was so he asked the audience if it was a wealthy area and on and on in good fun, in what seemed to be an eternity.

Day 13 Sea day 4. Another beautiful day on the water. Luckily, Blu was scheduled to stay open until 930 rather then 9, since we slept a little later than usual. Great breakfast then out to the pool for a couple hours, chillin’ in the sun. We saw this man wearing the latest in Celebrity garb.

We moved into the quiet solarium where we napped. After that a salad lunch on the lido, we went back to the cabin to pack a little. Later we went down to the coffee bar. Randi got a vanilla iglo, I got a mocha macchiato. I just so happened to have a free gelato coupon with me so we shared a pistachio.

Dinner was in the main dining room, the Moonlight Sonata. Everyone showed up except one person. Nice dinner with lobster tails but the conversation was strained and uncomfortable at times. We got through the 'new style' parade, without baked Alaska that is. Everyone else left as we finished our coffee, when Ahmet our waiter came over and apologized once again for the table situation. We assured him as we did previously with out Matre'd, Joseph, that it was not his fault or did not reflect on his excellent service in any way. More importantly, we had other dinner options.

We went to see Perry once again. Great show and he even stayed a little longer since we gained an hour tonight, but as we left, he also left quickly out the back door, quite upset about someone in the audience who was talking non stop through his show.

Day 14 Sea day 5. We were up early due to the time change, so we had breakfast, packed, and printed our boarding pass for tomorrow's 1130 am flight out of Mia. In the afternoon, Randi won the bingo jackpot.


Had our farewell dinner at Blu as well as our disembarkation breakfast.

Day 15 We were off the ship sometime after 8 and at Mia around 9 for a 1130 USair now AA flight to LGA. No issues along the way and we were home by about 4pm.

To Summarize,

Our cruise was excellent, mostly, and as always, because of the wonderful staff and the food. David the waiter in Blu was outstanding, but many others in Blu were a close second.

Karen, our room steward was one of the best with her assistant Abi.

Perry Grant is an outstanding entertainer in addition to a money making draw for Celebrity. I am sure he is well compensated for his talent and worth.

A few points worth mentioning.

Coupons. I understand they are being merged onto the sea pass card. Great idea since the coupons are cumbersome and annoying for the customers and staff.

We decided to eat at a minimum in the moonlight sonata restaurant for a few reasons. We had to change tables after the first night The women sitting next to me decided to eat breadsticks and talk with her mouth open causing a cascade of crumbs flying my way, many times. After the table change on the 1st formal night, I found myself in a tux and the gentleman, sitting next to me, was in a buttoned down casual shirt and jeans, His wife was complaining non stop about everything although nothing actually was wrong. The other people at the table primarily spoke Spanish. Needless to say, most of our other meals were in Blu which was fabulous, and the specialty restaurants. While this is certainly not Celebrity's fault, the MDR experience, something we always count on to meet and enjoy dinner with nice people, was stressful and uncomfortable for us.

One of the primary reasons that we booked this particular cruise was to see Perry Grant again. We saw him twice on Constellation in the past. While he was again the ultimate professional, we both thought that the Cellar Masters was not the most comfortable room for his audience nor for his act. On Constellation, he packed Michel's club, all evening long in a comfortable, cabaret style show. While that club is not an option any more, perhaps a more conducive room could be found to accommodate all.

Lastly, since most times Michel's club was mostly sparsely populated, would it be possible in the future to open it to all suite levels to make it look like it was really "the place to be?"


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Summit 042614

 

8 night repo cruise on Summit #55/56. Cabin 6138 Sky Suite.

San Juan 1 additional nite, St. M, St T, Tortola, Sea, Bermuda overnight, Sea and NJ. Captain Leonardos Palaiokrassas; Hotel Dir.: Raffaele Bernardini, GRM.: Cristian Comirla, Cruise Dir.: Lisa Richard, Capt. Club.: Raluca Rizescu, Butler: Dominik, Room Steward: Anthony, Asst: Johnathan; Waiter: Gwen; Asst, Waiter: Sophia.

We started off on a new airline for us- Jet Blue. We had an eight AM flight from Newark, non stop to San Juan Puerto Rico. Randi had the car pick us up at 430. I thought we got some pretty good airfare, $160 per person plus 1 bag free. Ooops, I almost forgot, we upgraded for $30, which got us additional leg room and security "easy on," which was pretty good. Jet blue was nice; no problems except for the TVs that didn't work but the people behind us were nice enough to switch with us.

Got to SJ on time. While we were getting our bags, Randi realized her phone wasn't working. After what seemed like hours on the phone with many Verizon reps, a girl got it going. "Girl power" I think was the phrase, Randi shouted when the girl at the other end got the phone going.. Turned out later that the phone had to be replaced when we got home due to the mouthpiece not working.

Headed to El Convento and dropped out bags off while we headed for lunch and cocktails at Marilyn's place, did some pocketbook shopping and started the beginning of a relaxation vacation.

We had dinner at the hotel's tappas bar and called it an early night. Little did we know what was going to happen next.

I woke up around 2am hearing the crackle of a plastic water bottle and the next thing I heard was a terrible thump. I called out to Randi but there was no answer. As I rushed to turn the light on to see what was going on, I found Randi on the tile floor, face down and unresponsive. As I grabbed her in my arms and shouted her name for what seemed to be an hour, it really was only about 10 or 15 seconds before she came around from a fainting spell. She thought she had made it back to the bed and didn't know why I was 'waking her up.' Soon thereafter, I realized she was bleeding from the mouth area. We surmise when she hit the floor with her face, she bit her lip, knocked her teeth, bruised a cheek and bumped her eye which turned colors. I cleaned her up and got her back to bed trying to keep her awake for a while to make sure she was OK. Very scary.

In the morning she realized that her teeth slightly shifted. I said that maybe we should go home but she said no, made an appointment with the dentist for when we got home, then proceeded to have some breakfast before leaving for the ship.





 
Once aboard, we met up with Roger and Cil, Gail, Jeff and Kevin. Had some lunch in the bistro on five and went to see our stateroom.

On the way we bumped into an old friend, Anita du Bruyn, the cruise sales manager from South Africa. She helped us book our next two cruises while on this cruise. She looked great and Randi looked fabulous!

We then arrived at the Royal Suite. It wasn't the original stateroom that we booked but we found that its price became comparable to our room so we upgraded ourselves. We had this suite once before. It has a large living room that combines with the dining room.

 

There is a separate bedroom and great bath with glass stall shower doors.

Randi mentioned that she didn't like to run through the hallway to get from the bedroom to the bathroom. We also had some great attendants to take care of us: Dominic the Butler who we have met before and Anthony and Johnathan.

The one nice thing about being in a Celebrity suite and above is that there is a Concierge to help with anything. His name was Cesar. He hosts Michael's club which is now exclusively a lounge for those suites with free drinks and snacks, most anytime of the day.

We spent most of our cocktail hours at the regular captains club cocktail hour in the Revelations Bar deck 11 fwd with many new and old friends like Paul and Christine, Frank and Marilyn, Larry and Nancy, Cil and Roger and our close friend Gail.

Our table in the Cosmopolitan Restaurant was 206, to the right of the Captains table. Each night we dined with Gail, Jeff and Kevin, Mike and Allison. It was a good cross mix to make lively dinner conversation. Gwen and Sophia turned out to be a good wait staff; Unfortunately, Celebrity removed the bar servers from the main restaurant so they have less time to interject with the passengers. There were other reductions in staff for a total I was told of about 50.

At our first port, St. Martin, Randi stopped in at Ultimate Jewelers and traded up a few old items and I got a thicker chain for my old one. We also ordered some liquor from Gulmohrs to take home with us.

That evening we were invited to the Captains table with Gail for Dinner. We never had this before but at this table, there was a different menu then at all the other tables and it consisted of many dishes from the other restaurants on the ship. Dinner and the company was a very nice time.


 
In St. Thomas we walked around the shops in Havensight near the cruise ship and got back on board.

In Tortola, BVI., 7 of us cabbed with a few more to Gail's favorite beach in the world, Cane Garden Bay. While we had a good time there, Gail was disappointed that the place she used to patronize, the Big Banana, was sold and not open and Judith, her favorite bartender was no longer there either, but Gail managed to have a "local" call her on their phone just to say hello.

Wednesday, Randi and I hosted a small get together in the Royal Suite with our table mates and our cocktail friends. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful spread with champagne, wine, cheeses, shrimp cocktail and grilled shrimp. We enjoyed until about 8:20.

That night Randi and I took Gail and the boys for a birthday dinner at Normandie restaurant. It turned out to be a very enjoyable evening which lasted from 830 to about midnight. Unfortunately they forgot to bring over the cheese cart but Jordan, the restaurant matre'd from NJ, made it good for us. He invited us another evening to enjoy wine and cheese, and we did, in the wine cellar room. A very nice aperitif before that evening's dinner.

As we sailed into Bermuda, Jeff & Kevin hosted a lunch at Bistro on Five for Gail, Randi and me which was very nice. We arrived in Bermuda at about 1pm. We waited for the next day to disembark, when we took the trolley to the shops with everyone including Roger.


Our last day at sea was a packing day but we were able to do that fairly quickly and still have almost the whole day to enjoy the ship.

Some notes:

There is a new alliance of Celebrity and Sin City Comedy. The show has been getting a preview on this cruise. Some say that it is too much on the ‘wild’ side and they didn’t like it. I have also heard that it has packed out on the scheduled nights and they have added one extra night to accommodate more audiences.

We had an additional scheduled formal on this cruise and we are not sure why. We've done this cruise for about the last 4 or 5 years and it has always been 2 formal nights which is what it is scheduled to be on an eight night cruise.

One disappointment was that the brunch in the main dining room was discontinued. This was a favorite event which we enjoyed attending in the past. Hopefully it will be restarted.

As I mentioned before there have been some personnel cuts for the crew, which have been impacting the crew to pax relationship. More would be detrimental, so my plea is for no more.

Captain Leo did a great job meeting and greeting all his passengers on this cruise. We need more outgoing Masters like him.



Lastly, sorry for little pictures on this cruise but my picture taking motivation simply was not there this cruise as we have done it may times before.

The disembarkation in Bayonne went really smoothly as we were suite VIPs and moved right though. Back in the house at 10:30 that Sunday morning. Another nice cruise!

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