Sunday, October 29 through Sunday, November 12: Celebrity Eclipse and the Atlantic Ocean

I signed up for twelve organized Canyon Ranch gym activities: Spinning, Body Contour, and Boot Camp. Unfortunately, this Celebrity ship does not have a Zumba dance options. My first spinning class was at 8:30 am. 

Many people missed the event because during the night, Great Brittain got off of daylight savings time and all of our electronic equipment still showed an hour earlier. Fortunately, Barbara asked why I was not getting ready for spinning. She still uses a watch. I was only a few minutes late to the class.

After spinning, I grabbed some scrambled eggs at Ocean View Terrace (the large buffet restaurant). Then, I met up with Barbara at a Cruise Critic get together in the Sky Lounge. Our Greek captain was in attendance as well.

The 11:00 am speaker, in the Eclipse Theater, had a program all about Broadway Musicals. His first lecture began in the 1940s. The speaker also had a great singing voice and sang a lot of familiar Broadway tunes.

I have friends who are professional cruise speakers. Richard and I met Harry and Debby on a Panama Canal cruise in 1999. After retirement, Harry and Debbie decided to become cruise speakers. Harry's niche is Hollywood. Debby crafted all of the presentation graphics. 

The last time I saw them was on another transatlantic cruise two years ago. We heard all of Harry's material then. And, they said that it has not been modified.

For lunch and dinner, Barbara and I took advantage of the private dining room for suite guests --- Luminae. All meals are made to order. The regular dining room and the buffet restaurant have to be organized differently --- as they have to serve 3,000 people.
The private lounge, Michael's Club, serves high tea every afternoon from 3-4:00 pm. We stopped by there for a few tea sandwiches and cakes.

Sunday night was the first "Chic Dress" evening. Formal attire is no longer active on a majority of cruise lines.

After dinner, we went to the Eclipse Theater and watched the 9:00 p.m. show. It was a comedian/singer and her name was Jayne Curry. She was delightful!

Monday morning, I woke up in time to head over the spinning class. All of the people who signed up were there.

On these sea days, Barbara and I set-up a daily pattern of programs and activities. After breakfast, Barbara attends Progressive Trivia. She teamed up with a group of five people who like trivia as well.

At 11:00 a.m., we like to attend the Broadway musical presentations of Steve Friedman. Then, for lunch, we often dine in the private dining room, Luminae.

Another speaker who caught our eye was Gig Pool. He is a comedian and his presentations cover various topics about famous comedians and his own experience in the field.

Before dinner, we enjoyed martinis in Michael's Club.

On Tuesday, we decided to visit the Future Cruise Vacations Office. As we did two years ago, booking a cruise on the ship gives you additional perks and price advantages. Australia is on my bucket list. They have a 10-night cruise --- Great Barrier Reef. Barbara and I each put a $100.00 deposit on two Sky suites for a 2018 cruise. But this is just a placeholder. The 2019 cruise we want to take is not yet open for booking. We will follow-up in early December!

Halloween on the ship was fun. There were many Halloween props scattered all over the ship --- carved pumpkins, spider webs, ghosts, and goblins. 

Many of the crew members dressed accordingly. Barbara and I dressed in black. I was a black cat and Barbara wore a Halloween tee-shirt and a pumpkin necklace.

That night, we also played in the Casino. We like the penny slot machines. I bet twenty dollars and lost everything except $.30!!!

I skipped Spinning in the morning and instead took an afternoon Total Body Conditioning class. The instructor was George from Bulgaria. He is very good and very energetic. He has three rules in the various classes he conducts: no sleeping, no quitting, and must smile.

The weather was very nice. Barbara and I walked the jogging path on deck 14. It was great! Many people who have made this Northern Atlantic crossing have commented that it is one of the calmest seas they have ever experienced.

Our Sky Suite is lovely. It is spacious and we enjoy many perks. There is the usual cabin attendant and the butler. Our butler delivers latte coffees and fresh fruit every morning.

We also do enjoy the large balcony at one end of the cabin.

Cruise Critic is a group that Barbara is actively involved with. It is an informal group of people who cruise often. They have a special blog and share information and activities on the cruising ship. One activity that we participated in was a Wednesday dinner at the specialty restaurant, Qsine. It was a different experience, as the food is presented family style and you do not order off a menu.

Another Cruise Critic activity was the Cabin Crawl. Seven or eight cabins are selected for viewing. There were about thirty people seeing some of the cabins --- a nice looky-loo.

I brought with me some of Richard's ashes. He was the one who really wanted to book this Transatlantic cruise two years ago. So, it seemed fitting that I share the experience with him. I found an isolated place on Deck 5 to spread some of his ashes into the sea. Then, I brought the bag back up to our balcony for a photo opportunity.

Barbara and I are convinced that Richard helped make the crossing so easy --- no rough seas at all. Thank you, Richard!

In the afternoon, we were surprised by a delivery of beautiful flowers and a bottle of wine. It was a gift presented to us by our butler and the two Michael's Club concierges.

There is a nice couple we have met on the crossing. Melissa and Barry have a home in Albuquerque and a home in Mexico. Barry is a recovering attorney. It has been fun getting to know them.

Thursday evening was another Chic dress night. Barbara and I had a drink or two in Michael's Club before heading to Luminae for dinner.

I am trying to stay fit by taking the spinning classes and several total body conditioning classes. There is a fee for these classes, but so worth it!

Barbara is now attending two trivia activities --- one at 10:15 a.m. and one at 11:30 a.m. I am still enjoying the 11:00 a.m. speaker, Steven Friedman, who talks and sings about Broadway Musicals.

On Friday, our last day crossing the Atlantic, Barbara and I had high tea in Michael's Club. It is terribly proper 😁😁! One of the entertainers is the delightful Jayne Curry. The Michael's Club concierge staff brought her to the club where she sang several songs just for us!

Barbara and I were not very hungry, so we decided to see the 7 p.m. show in the Eclipse Theater. It was Jayne's final performance on the ship.

On Saturday, we arrived in Boston at around 7:00 a.m. The entire ship had to go through Immigration. The United States passport holders had an easier process. But, one-half of the ship is non-American.

The ship was cleared at about 8:30 a.m. Barbara and I were meeting Barbara's first cousin, Karen. She was going to pick us up at the Cruise Ship terminal. There she was --- ready to sweep us away to historic Boston at 10:00 a.m. It was a beautiful day!

We parked Karen's car in a parking lot near the wharf and started walking toward the Hard Rock Cafe shop. It was time for Barbara to buy another item.

After the purchase, we walked to the highlights of the Freedom Trail --- Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, the Old North Church, etc. 

We even met up with a Red Coat for a photo opportunity.

At about 2:00 p.m., we were ready for a Lobster Roll lunch. We had this delicacy in the Union Oyster House Restaurant --- the oldest continuously operating eatery in the United States.

Look at the delight on my face!

We toured a few more places before Karen dropped us off --- back at the ship.

That day, we had a great fitbit showing with almost 18,000 steps!

We set sail for New York City at about 5:30 p.m. Barbara was exhausted with all of the walking and missed the Eclipse Theater program. I did attend the 7:00 p.m. show. It was all about Broadway songs.

We did not get to New York City until about 3:00 p.m. the following afternoon. The weather was cloudy and moist --- but Lady Liberty was still in her element.

Barbara and I left the ship at about 4:00 p.m. We walked up to Times Square and the Hard Rock Cafe shop. The New York Marathon took place earlier in the day. Many of the Marathon runners were sighted in and around Broadway.

Times Square and Broadway was very crowded with tourists, locals, and Marathon runners. But, it was fun for 30 minutes or so.

Barbara had made arrangements for us to meet Fallon Buckelew and another one of her cousins. Fallon is the daughter of Alan Buckelew --- our friend who lost his wife February, 2016. Alan is the Chief Operating Officer of Carnival Cruise line. Fallon has lived in NYC for several years.

The restaurant we met at was Italian --- Il Melograno. It was very close to our ship. Sheila, Barbara's cousin on her father's side, joined us for a cocktail. I met her last year in Honolulu.

The next morning, we joined some of the Cruise Critic people to walk to the nearby Metro. Half of the group was going to Ground Zero and the 9-11 Memorial and Museum. Half of the group was going to the Statue of Liberty. We had tickets to the 9-11 Museum.

The 9-11 Memorial and Museum has been on my bucket-list. After scoping out the museum location, we walked to a nearby mall and had coffee and breakfast. The museum was not opening until 9:00 a.m.

Pre-arranged was a visit by our friend, Catherine Lepone. Catherine moved from Los Angeles to New York in 2010. She is originally from New York.

Catherine also had a ticket to the museum. We entered the museum a little after 9:00 a.m. Wow! It is a beautiful tribute to the tragedy of that date.

We also pre-arranged to meet Francesco Giganti, my Italian foreign exchange son. He and his dad, Bernardo, ran in the New York Marathon. Francesco flew in from London. Bernardo flew in from Milan. It was a fluke that we all happened to be in New York City at the same time. We surprised Bernardo! It was a short, but a fun reunion!

 Barbara, Catherine, and I walked along the Hudson River for about an hour. Then, we selected an Italian restaurant in Soho. Lunch was pasta --- served in a sauce pan. It was delicious!

Catherine started back with us on the metro. But, she left us at 42nd Street. She went off to Penn Station to catch a train. We continued on the metro and got off at 50th Street.

Our Eclipse cruise ship departed New York City at about 5:00 p.m. Daylight savings ended early Sunday morning, so the skies were dark as we sailed out the mouth of the Hudson River. 

At about 6:00 p.m., Barbara and I met up with four members of her trivia team. They enjoy cocktails before dinner in the Casino Bar Lounge. All four trivia folks are British. Liz, 

Steve, Rita, and Ted are a fun group of people. 

Tuesday was another sea day. We were on our way to Bermuda. The weather was beautiful and many of the ship's guests enjoyed sunning themselves by the outdoor pool. 

I had another spinning class. Barbara and I also walked a mile on the walking track. In the evening, I was able to capture a lovely sunset on the starboard side. 

We then had dinner at Luminae. After dinner, we went back to the casino to play the penny slots. I played better than the first time. We had to purchase $50.00 worth of credits, so I defined the casino play as entertainment.

We did not get to Bermuda until 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Because of the size of the Eclipse, we docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard --- the western end of Bermuda. The weather 
was so good that our butler, Bojan, set up our latte coffee and fresh fruit on our balcony.

Barbara and I joined a private tour with two couples --- one from Arvada, Colorado, and one from San Diego. Our driver was Harold. He was a native of Bermuda and was quite 
informative. The first stop was a small beach where we fed bread to a number of shore fish and one duck.

The next stop was the Crystal Caves --- near the eastern end of the island. 
It was an interesting, naturally formed place. It was discovered by two teenagers over a hundred years ago.

Our driver, Harold, also took us to the Bahama Aquarium Museum and Zoo. Barbara and I walked around the nearby shore and marina. We also enjoyed a neat pool display of four 
live Green Turtles.

We spent about 45 minutes driving through the capital city of Hamilton. When I was 15 years old, my family and I stayed at the Princess Hotel in Hamilton. The city certainly had 
grown since that time! 

A highlight was having a late lunch at the Pickled Onion restaurant. It was located right on Front Street and we took advantage of the free WiFi. Tom accidentally phoned me on my Whatsapp. It was nice chatting with him briefly. I liked the 76 degrees in Bermuda. In Williams, Tom woke up to 34 degrees and heavy frost!

After lunch, we took the local ferry across to where our ship was docked. It was about a fifteen minute ride. It had been a long day. Barbara and I had some wine and stopped off at 
the Ocean View restaurant for dinner. We brought our food back to our cabin and picnicked while watching television.

The next morning, we again enjoyed latte coffee and fruit on our balcony. Then, at 8:00 a.m., Barbara and I departed the ship and walked all around the dockyard. We tried to walk to the nearest parish town, but the sidewalk disappeared and we turned around. The Bermuda roads are very narrow and this British colony drives on the left --- like the United 
Kingdom.

All of the ship's guests had to be back onboard by 11:30 a.m. The Eclipse departed at noon. Next stop, Nassau, Bahamas. 

Friday was our last full sea day. I had my final spinning class.

Later, Barbara and I went to the last day of trivia. 

We were fortunate to have been invited to two special events --- a private tour of the ship's Engine Control Room. The engineering officers explained how a staff of 70 men and women take care of all the motors, moving parts, water processing, thrusters, etc.

And then several hours later, we visited the ship's Navigation Bridge. It was there that we met with the Ship Captain, Michael Sympouras. He prepared a nice presentation of many of the navigational tools.

Our final "Chic dress" night arrived. We dined in Luminae with lobster on the menu!

We arrived in Nassau, Bahamas, at 8:00 a.m. We were the first ship that docked at the marina. Barbara and I had no concrete plans for the day --- except going to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was amazing. In two hours, four other large ships docked at Nassau. Can you say "crowded with 10,000 passengers roaming the city?"

We walked off the ship and headed to Nassau at about 11:00 a.m. It was crazy in the hub of the town with so many tourists. But, we did get to the Hard Rock Cafe.

We did walk further away from the port and the crowds dissipated. But, Barbara and I agreed that this was our least favorite port. 

When I was a freshman in college, I joined my family for a vacation on Paradise Island in Nassau. It was a sleepy resort area. But now, the huge Atlantis Complex resides on that island.

We only viewed Atlantis from across the water.

That night, we had dinner is the Toscana Grille. It was a two-for-one special. And, the next morning, the Celebrity Eclipse cruised into Miami Harbor early in the morning. It was time to say good-bye.

Arrangements had been made to have Tom pick us up at Terminal G. It had been a grand vacation!

The three of us had brunch at The Foxy Brown Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.

Tom and I dropped Barbara off at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport and we drove west to Ft Myers. Tom's mother and sister live there, and we are spending four nights before heading back to Northern Arizona.