Eclipse 7 night Bermuda. NJ, CRUISING MISS LIBERTY, SEA, SEA, KINGS WHARF BERMUDA, SEA, NJ. CABIN Guarantee > 2126 S2 Cruise 104 105. Captain’s club points 3898. Celebrating 30 years cruising.
Captain, NIkolaos Christodoulakis; Staff Captain, Harris; Chief Engineer, Theo; Hotel Director, Tudor Soacat; F&B, Marius; CD Manuel Fragoso; Chief Housekeeper, Andreea; Xchef Collin Rodrigues; Retreat concierge, John & Jamie; Retreat Manager, Suzanne; Butler, Liam; stateroom attendant; Donnalyn; Captain club Andrea & Diana; Luminae Matre’D, Oscar; Restaurant Manager, Sam; Luminae Waiter, Fauzi; Luminae Asst, Marcus; Luminae Wine Stewart Jennifer; Retreat bartenders Rinaldo & Cranston.
DAY 1
This was an easy, no stress, morning. We got up after 6:30 and had an unusually leisurely morning since our car was scheduled for a 10 am pick up. After doing a few last minute things, Randi closed and strapped up the suitcase. Funny thing, when we picked it up to take it downstairs we realized she inadvertently strapped the suitcase to the luggage stand. We both cracked up.
The car came 15 minutes early at about 9:45. It did not take long to load up and we were on our way quickly.
We arrived at the port at about 1030. We found the Zenith porter and boarded right away, on our way to vacation. We saw Suzanne, the Suite manager along the way and John, the Retreat Concierge. By 11 am we felt like we were
back at home in the Retreat. We had a glass of Brut Rose Domaine Carneros, CA and while we relaxed Fauzi, a former waiter walked in. We were all smiles and asked him to please be our waiter again.
Soon enough we found we were assigned to him in Luminae. I had the prawn ceviche, bronzino and berry crumble and Whispering Angel Rose from France. Nice way to start. Randi had the bronzino also.
After that one bag was at our door and by the time it was unpacked the second arrived. Two bags rather than our normal four, equals no fuss. After we sailed away we sat on our
deck and watched as we left the pier. This monument, "The Teardrop" stands at the far end of the pier. It was a gift from Russia after 911, representing the heartache and tears shed over the largest US attack on American soil. We proceeded into NY Harbor
toward the Statue of Liberty. The Captain made two complete turns around Miss Liberty, then headed for open water.
We freshened up, toured the ship and made our way back to the Retreat for a pre show cocktail. The 7pm show was a comedic magician, Vinny Grosso. It was a fun show.
Dinner at Luminae was next. Randi had the Caesar salad and filet while I had the smoked tomato soup and tamarind glazed chicken breast. Delicious. After a beautiful first day we hit the hay.
DAY 2
After a comfortable sleep, we woke at 7:30. I showered and got us coffee. Then we went to see Fauzi for breakfast. Randi had her whole wheat egg white wrap while I had eggs Benedict with Avocado. Randi found her way to the
casino and I passed on officers trivia thinking it would involve Officers but it did not so I found a nice seat at the sunset bar, aft, and watched the wake of the ship. Had to make a call. What better way than watching the sea go by. Later we caught up and went to buy an embroidered Eclipse logo shirt. We looked yesterday and were told none were on board but someone in the elevator informed us otherwise.
At 11:45 we went to captain Nick’s toast and we were honored as Zeniths, but
Marcia, with over 15,000 points was the highest cruiser. Since she was traveling alone we invited her to join us for dinner if she would like. That didn’t happen but we had brief conversations.
Sushi on five was next. Randi got her double order of ginger gyoza and I had tuna aioli and salad. It was so delicious and relaxing eating while watching the waves.
After picking up my shirt from the shop and checking on our auto tips, we headed back to the cabin on our deck to get some fresh air and chill for a couple of hours.
We freshened up early and headed to the passport bar. Cranston had told me earlier that’s where I can get a Caribbean cobbler cocktail. It was good. It was different. I’m glad I tried it, but I decided to move on after that. Randi had a glass
of Elegance Pinot noir, and we went to the retreat to chill out in a quieter atmosphere. I decided since we were having duck for dinner, to buy a bottle of Belle Gloss Pinot Noir while we were in the Retreat. John brought it to our restaurant.
Meanwhile we went to see the show called ROCK. The Captain and the officers were introduced before the show. It is always nice to put the face with the name.
The Captain is very outgoing. He remembered me from cruising with him a long time ago.
The show ROCK was highly recommended on cruise critic and it had its moments when the voices blended in beautiful harmony. However, the female voices were very nasal in tone and the selection of songs could’ve been much more popular and better chosen. For dinner the duck was average, slightly tough, but the Belle Glos wine paired well with it. Tonight we changed the clocks one hour ahead to be on Bermuda time.
DAY 3
I was up early around 430 “new time” but fell back to sleep after about an hour. Got out of bed at 730. I showered and did a coffee run while Randi showered. We went to see our favorite waiter, Fauzi for breakfast.
Randi had an omelet and I had some grits. Randi went casino “shopping” for a win while I strolled to the Retreat, watched a Celebrity feature cruise presentation. Nothing new. We are waiting for release of new itineraries in the fall.
I spent some time chatting with John. They no longer publish officer's names so he provided the ones I did not have. Plus, he mentioned we had mutual friends, the Browns from Canada.
Next, we went to one of our favorite places-the lifeboat deck to relax and watch the waves. After lunch we took a nap to catch up on the time change. At about 530,
we went to Michael’s club for the officers soirée. We saw the captain again and met Tudor the hotel Director. It was a good time with a nice turn out. It seemed like a full house. We went to the 7 o’clock show to see OJ. He’s a singer performing R&B and other varieties. He was a good entertainer but not superior.
Then we enjoyed our Luminae dinner. There has never been a wait to get in and the food quality has been superior. To close the evening, went back to Michael’s club for a nightcap and then called it an evening.
DAY 4
The next day we woke up, docked in Bermuda at Kings Wharf. After breakfast, we got off the ship around 10 to be sure we got the 11 o’clock ferry. We were advised that the ferry just approaching was the one that would be
leaving immediately due to a technical problem on an earlier ferry. We got right on, deposited $5 each in the cash box and settled in for the 45 minute ride around the island to St. Georges.
The Town Crier was there to meet us. He rang his bell and pointed us in the right direction. We started down Water Street toward the square and popped into shops along the way.
We saw town hall and other historic sites during our tour of this charming little town. We happened upon a tourist shop and asked where we could find the perfumery. We were only a block away.
We found the perfumery on Queen Street but they no longer make up commercial scents from a book. That was disappointing but Randi found a bottle she liked called Calypso.
From there we visited a well manicured park, walked through the streets where
beautiful flowers followed the fence lines. During our walk we found an ice cream shop. It was very refreshing on a humid day. At 1pm,
the Town Crier rang the bell, to call all to witness the dunking of the wench.
I along with 4 others, were called upon to perform this feat.
I guess we dunked the old nag about 5 times. Back in the square, we listened to a guitar player/vocalist and bongo player, while sitting on a bench under a thatched roof. It was
enjoyable. But we ran out of things to do in St. George’s so even though it was 2pm we walked back to the 4 pm ferry. By 230 the boarding cue was rather large. When we asked, we found this was the lineup for the private NCL ferry. We decided to give it a try as stowaways as they were leaving at 3pm. When all were aboard I asked if they had room for two more and they let us on.
Well we wound up sitting across from 2 ladies from the “back woods” apparently, because some of stories we heard were bazaar. Not going to go into detail here, but we had to keep our “stowaway cover.” It was important to crew who let us on. We kept incognito for the 60 minute trip in a poorly air conditioned cabin. When we docked, we scurried back to
Eclipse and headed for the shower to revitalize. Since it was close to 5, we dressed and headed for cocktails. Cranston was in Mike’s, so he set up a Belle Gloss for Randi and for me a Woodford. When Rinaldo took over he poured Randi a Caymus, Napa. She did pretty well this night in Mike’s.
Dinner in Lumanae was next and it was great! Planned to casino tonight but the toil and humidity of the day took hold so we went back to the stateroom.
When we arrived we found this sign on the door from the crew. It was very nice. We enjoyed!
By the way, this time we were in an S2 cabin which was roomier and more comfortable than on Summit. There’s a counter that goes the length of he room with plenty of storage underneath. The room and bath were spacious and
there were two outlets on the counter rather than one. Contrary to talk on cruise critic, we did have footstools on our deck!
DAY 5
I was on and off sleeping last night and finally remained up at 6:15. We went to Luminae to start our day. Meet Marcus, our top notch assistant waiter in Luminae.
After breakfast, we returned to our stateroom to find more messages about our 30th year anniversary sailing Celebrity. This was setup from our stateroom team
Donnalyn and Liam. A beautiful table filled with love, Belle Gloss wine and more
congratulations.
Next on the agenda was the Persian Gardens where we spent some time on heated lounges, reading and looking at the beautiful views.
After about 45 minutes of heat we moved to the loungers in the indoor pool area.
Sushi on Five was the lunch choice restaurant, with dumplings being the obvious choice. Afterwards we found the comfortable loungers on lifeboat deck until Motown trivia time. Randi and I missed the top prize by one point. We had 24 and the winners had 25.
After freshening up, we went to Mike’s. Cranston was on duty. He poured Randi a pino noir from Oregon, called Montinore and also brought us a cheese and cold cut plate to munch on. At 6 o’clock, the shifts changed and Rolando took over. Chatted with him and John then left for the 7 PM show to see Comedian Jason Blanchard. He was halfway decent.
I could almost predict the evening was going to be wonderful. Tonight at Luminae, was my first beef meal this cruise.. New York strip was on the menu. I asked Fauzi for fillet. No problem! It was delicious. After dinner Randi went to feed the machines while I spent some time under the night sky at the Lawn Club. No stars since it was cloudy but comfortable temperatures and a
relaxing breeze. I checked on Randi and let her know I would be in Cellar Masters. When she was finished we went home to find this beautiful cake, another bottle of wine and one more beautiful anniversary poster in our room.
DAY 6
We seem to have gotten the 730 wake-up down pat. We got dressed and headed to Luminae for breakfast. Fauzi enjoyed our coconut creamer. We will leave him the rest at the end our cruise.
We grabbed our iPads and headed up to the indoor pool lounge. It was very quiet there with plenty of loungers around. Decided
to have lunch at Sushi on Five since we won’t have an opportunity tomorrow. We chilled out the rest of the day and later went to
Michael’s club at 5:15 for piano music. where we met Mike and Felice while we were having cocktails. He’s sent me an email to educate me about the process of selling one of my coins. We went to the 7 o’clock show. It was an
aerial acrobatic show starring Eric and Krista. They met on one of the ships; she’s from Canada. He’s from Brazil. It was an interesting experience.
My young bride looks so beautiful tonight! I escort her to dinner in Luminae Both Randi and I had the rack of lamb. Also had a nice Malbec wine, Alta Vista from Mendoza Argentina. After dinner, I headed to the sunset bar on the lawn. Randi made her contribution to the casino. We happened to meet in the casino and called it a night.
DAY 7
I made a morning coffee run to Café El Bacho. Then we went to Luminate for breakfast. A little casino for Randi while I took a walk on multiple interior decks of the ship.
At 11:45 at the Blu restaurant was the Zenith luncheon. A total of 7 Zeniths were on board. Many of the officers,
including a Captain and Hotel Director were there to greet us and toast us and then Suzanne, the Retreat manager and the guest relations assistant Director Aria were there to
host the wonderful lunch consisting of Burrata and tomato and cold cuts for appetizers and then a choice entrée. Randi and I had the Bronzino with Mer Sole Chardonnay. Toward the end of the luncheon we were presented a group
photo we took when we entered (above). Randi received a rose. Suzanne was so sweet to surprise us with Celebrity jewelry. It is a blue leather wristband featuring a silver X on top. It was very nice. Extra thought from her. We went back to the cabin afterwards to pack up, which was much easier with only two bags. Later at 5, we went back to
Michael’s club for mentalist Vinny Grosso. We were one of the first arriving and Cranston was there to bartend for us. Mike and Felice arrived shortly after and we met Felice’s sister and brother-in-law, Sue and John. The show was pretty fantastic and mind blowing. Afterwards we stayed for about an hour chatting with fellow guests then perhaps another hour chatting with the mentalist and his fiancé. Kathy Kelly, who reminded me of Courtney Kardashian. She has a ‘where to eat’ service in Las Vegas. They were supposed to be getting married on this cruise, but due to circumstances beyond their control and the cruising industry, they postponed it. It was lovely talking to them but before you know it. It was time for our last Luminae dinner. Always good, this was the special dinner that the executive chef was preparing for me, Butter Chicken. Absolutely delicious and spicy. After that, we rummaged around, went back for a nightcap at Michael’s then called it a night.
DAY 8
Even though we had a time change, Randi set a wake up call on the house phone and also her cell phone but her cell phone’s time had not changed back yet so it rang at 5:30. We laid in bed for a short time then got up. The regular wake up call finally rang at 6:30. After showering, we packed up, left our carry-ons and took the lift to breakfast. We said goodbye to the crew and to Fauzi who was excellent! We left him our remaining coffeemate. We grabbed our carry-ons and waited in Mike’s for almost an hour. We said goodbye to John and Suzanne and we left around 9am since our car was scheduled
for 9:30. Next time we’ll make the pick up time at 9. We got our luggage immediately and customs was even quicker. Now you walk to the line, facial recognition sees you and you walk through. So we waited outside on a beautiful day for about a half hour for our ride. 40 minutes later we were home. It was another amazing, peaceful, quiet and wonderful cruise.
Suggestions
It would be a very nice perk to notify passengers that the luggage has arrived at the stateroom on embarkation day via the app. This could be done in many ways, but the one that comes to mind is by a barcoded luggage tag with the coded information of the stateroom number. Once a piece is delivered, the barcode is scanned and a message is immediately sent to the passenger’s app. Once he or she receives the total number of messages equaling the total amount of bags, it is then time to unpack.
Would it be feasible to hire an independent ferry service to St. Georges or use the ships tenders? Since NCL does this, the island provided ferry service to St. Georges, has been cut back dramatically. We found ourselves waiting at the terminal to go back to the ship at 2 o’clock. The next scheduled service was 4 PM. Fortunately we stowed away on the 3 PM NCL ferry back to Kings wharf. NCL should not be showing up Celebrity in this regard. Please consider.
It starts from the top.
Captain, NIkolaos Christodoulakis was outstandingly visible and friendly.
Hotel Director, Tudor Soacat also seen in many locations was welcoming.
Retreat concierge John could not do enough for us.
Retreat manager, Suzanne was an outstanding host at the Zenith luncheon. Also she was able to find bracelets for us that we were not able to find on board for ourselves.
Butler, Liam and stateroom attendant, Donnalyn, were outstanding in keeping our room top-notch and one night surprising us with balloons, a cake and signage of our 30th year sailing, with Celebrity Cruises
Luminae Matre’D, Oscar handled many of our special requests smoothly and efficiently. Waiter, Fauzi, again made our cruise, memorable. He was our waiter in the past and we are so happy that he stopped into Michael’s club when we were
getting settled because I asked for him as our waiter for the length of the trip and he did not disappoint. He was the crew member with a smile, a joke, attention to detail as well as being an outstanding waiter. He was always there when we needed him and was always on
top of my wife’s dietary restrictions. He’s the best!
Assistant waiter, Marcus was one of the best we’ve had too. He always had a smile on his face because it really seems like he loves what he does. A good assistant anticipates what is needed and he made that
happen always. He will go far.
Retreat bartenders Rinaldo & Cranston were always on their game and because of that, we enjoyed coming back to Michael’s Club time and time again to chat with them.
One person I must mention also was Venice, a waiter in Luminae. Although he was not our waiter he always greeted us warmly and I can see by the way he operated in the restaurant that he was an outstanding waiter and did his job efficiently and well.
We’ve cruised many times in Suites, which places you in Luminae for meals. We had all of our breakfasts, dinners and as well as some lunches in Luminae. I have to say that the food in this Luminae restaurant has been some of the best we’ve ever had. It was consistently top-notch. Kudos to the executive chef and all his sous chef’s on board. Glad to see the huevos rancheros back on the breakfast menu.
I honestly do not remember one crewmember who did not acknowledge us either with a good morning, good evening or hello. Impressive!
Ship’s condition inside and outside is Xcellent.
To view all photos please click here:
Dinner at Luminae was next. Randi had the Caesar salad and filet while I had the smoked tomato soup and tamarind glazed chicken breast. Delicious. After a beautiful first day we hit the hay.
enjoyable. But we ran out of things to do in St. George’s so even though it was 2pm we walked back to the 4 pm ferry. By 230 the boarding cue was rather large. When we asked, we found this was the lineup for the private NCL ferry. We decided to give it a try as stowaways as they were leaving at 3pm. When all were aboard I asked if they had room for two more and they let us on.
Eclipse and headed for the shower to revitalize. Since it was close to 5, we dressed and headed for cocktails. Cranston was in Mike’s, so he set up a Belle Gloss for Randi and for me a Woodford. When Rinaldo took over he poured Randi a Caymus, Napa. She did pretty well this night in Mike’s. 
Dinner in Lumanae was next and it was great! Planned to casino tonight but the toil and humidity of the day took hold so we went back to the stateroom.
getting settled because I asked for him as our waiter for the length of the trip and he did not disappoint. He was the crew member with a smile, a joke, attention to detail as well as being an outstanding waiter. He was always there when we needed him and was always on 
top of my wife’s dietary restrictions. He’s the best!
happen always. He will go far.
