chicagopaul Posted November 24, 2014 #1 Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) We sail in 3 weeks, yay! Our favorite part of the cruise, besides the warm weather of course (since we're coming from Chicago) are the wonderful bartenders. On each cruise we always find ourselves befriending a couple bartenders and we never forget them. It is always a joy to see them before and after dinner, or by the pool on sea days and tell them about our day and hear about theirs. Here at home we have the regular bars we frequent. We are very much (well at least I am) creatures of habit and one of the reasons we frequent the bars and restaurants we do are because of the amazing staff that we get to know. So....I thought I would start a thread where we could share stories of our favorite bartenders! We are headed on the Silhouette and Eclipse next month and we are very eager to see if any of our favorites will be on our sailings. Martini Bar: Hector, Ricardo and Agus! They were absolutely fantastic! We remember them from our Med cruise on the Reflection last October. I hear Hector is now on the Silhouette but not sure about the others. Molecular Bar: Irena (Irina? sp) was our favorite from the Molecular bar on the Reflection in February of 2013. She was suppose to be on our sailing on the Reflection last year but I heard they switched her contract to the Equinox. Bar Managers: Mariana (sp?) was our favorite bar manager. She was on both of our Reflection sailings and managed bars throughout the ship. She was always working and always busy, but always stopped by to say hi and talk to us. She even remembered us from a past sailing and remembered our favorite bars as well. So who are your favorites? Edited November 24, 2014 by chicagopaul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloop-JohnB Posted November 24, 2014 #2 Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Errol Finn (likes to joke and call himself Errol Flynn) from Jamaica. Has worked the Royal / Celebrity Fleet for "a few decades". Age will therefore remain a secret, although he celebrated a milestone Birthday with us January 2012. Last seen working the Passport Bar on The Solstice. Intuitive... Learns your name & preferences quickly. Always friendly & helpful. Says Hi when he sees you around the ship. Can catch you out of the corner of his eye heading to the bar when he is busy... And has your favourite Beer poured before you hit the bar. Makes a mean "Pyrat Alexander". Hope we someday see him again... Great Bartender... Consummate professional. Definitely made our first Clebrity Cruise one to remember (X Modern Luxury = Bartender who delivers personal service) Cheers! Edited November 24, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maligator Posted November 24, 2014 #3 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Donovan at the Pool Bar on Summit has been the most personable. I can't remember his name, but the best drinks came from the Passport Bar on Eclipse by a bartender we heard also tends in the crew bar. Or did back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCGirl3211 Posted November 24, 2014 #4 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Hector at the Martini Bar is the absolute best bartender and person. My DH and I have sailed on several Celebrity ships where Hector was the bartender. He is talented, approachable, funny, and loves to put on a show. He always remembers our names and what we like to drink and loves to engage with customers. Hector is the Man!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovecruzin Posted November 24, 2014 #5 Share Posted November 24, 2014 On our recent Summit cruise, Ramil the head barista at Al Bacio made great martinis! The ingredients were limited in comparison to what they have at the martini bar but we enjoyed having him create something new for us each night after dinner! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kampinguru Posted November 24, 2014 #6 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Our favorite was on the Century in 2004. His name was Mahmat. He was fantastic. Made a mean frozen golden Margarita. Always remembered your name and your libation of choice. Had a smile on his face and always seemed to enjoy his work. Also had a good one on the Eclipse named Joaquin. He was on top of his game too. Drinks always seemed to have a little more kick when he made them. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken1359 Posted November 25, 2014 #7 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Errol Finn (likes to joke and call himself Errol Flynn) from Jamaica. Has worked the Royal / Celebrity Fleet for "a few decades". Age will therefore remain a secret, although he celebrated a milestone Birthday with us January 2012. Last seen working the Passport Bar on The Solstice. Intuitive... Learns your name & preferences quickly. Always friendly & helpful. Says Hi when he sees you around the ship. Can catch you out of the corner of his eye heading to the bar when he is busy... And has your favourite Beer poured before you hit the bar. Makes a mean "Pyrat Alexander". Hope we someday see him again... Great Bartender... Consummate professional. Definitely made our first Clebrity Cruise one to remember (X Modern Luxury = Bartender who delivers personal service) Cheers! Errol always remembers me.....4 cruises on the Equinox. Calls me by name first night and asks whether I'll be having the same drink as the last time he served me. What a treasure. Was working the Passport bar last cruise, but did the Ensemble Lounge on my previous trips. Errol is one of the many reasons I cruise Celebrity. I hope they appreciate him as much as I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloop-JohnB Posted November 25, 2014 #8 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Errol always remembers me.....4 cruises on the Equinox. Calls me by name first night and asks whether I'll be having the same drink as the last time he served me. What a treasure. Was working the Passport bar last cruise, but did the Ensemble Lounge on my previous trips. Errol is one of the many reasons I cruise Celebrity. I hope they appreciate him as much as I do. Hi Ken1359, Thanks for your post.. Glad to know there are others who appreciate this AMAZING Celebrity Bartender. When we last saw Errol in 2012 on the Solstice he was about to go on leave as we Disembarked... Going home to see family in Jamaica after a long contact. Was not sure where he would end up after that (Celebrity / RCCL move crew around dependent on needs) Happy to hear he is still around and others are enjoying his top drawer service. Lol, I may have to book a cruise on The Equinox just to catch up with him again. He definitely makes every Customer feel like a valued CELEBRITY !! Real asset to the company Cheers! Edited November 25, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilli Posted November 25, 2014 #9 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Celebrity Infinity last summer had the best bar tenders! Adrian and Christian would pour flights of up to 12 martinis at a time. They would put on a show! And flip bottles behind their backs. They tried to teach my husband how to do these tricks, too. If you see them, tell them "Virginia" says hello. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabear Posted November 25, 2014 #10 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Sudi, who was in the martini bar on M class ships in the early 2000's. He retired to his home in Bali and has a bartender school there, training many who now work for X. He was pleasant & great showman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbuenger Posted November 25, 2014 #11 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) On our 2012 Honeymoon Cruise on Solstice, we had the pleasure of having Cranston as our Pool Bartender and he always made sure to take excellent care of us.... Fast forward to our 2104 cruise on Silhouette to celebrate DW's 40th Birthday; as we walked into the Suite Lounge (Michaels Club) to wait for our Suite to be ready, we hear a voice from behind the bar say "Welcome Mr. Robert and Ms. Kate, I have been waiting for you" As we look up, we see Cranston and his huge smile, pushing our drinks of choice across the bar... a Strawberry Daiquiri for DW and a Capt. Morgan and Coke for myself! We were in total shock that he remembered us, including our beverage choices, and how he knew the exact moment we would be entering the Lounge for the 1st time! We later found out that the MC's Host is radioed from downstairs when Suite Members are boarding and heading to the club, so that explained that but I can't tell you what a fantastic feeling we had in seeing Cranston again.... He made sure we had every need tended to the week we were on board, it will never be forgotten! Edited November 25, 2014 by rbuenger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestLakeGirl Posted November 26, 2014 #12 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Randy who used to be on Eclipse, not sure where he is now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted November 26, 2014 Author #13 Share Posted November 26, 2014 On our 2012 Honeymoon Cruise on Solstice, we had the pleasure of having Cranston as our Pool Bartender and he always made sure to take excellent care of us.... Fast forward to our 2104 cruise on Silhouette to celebrate DW's 40th Birthday; as we walked into the Suite Lounge (Michaels Club) to wait for our Suite to be ready, we hear a voice from behind the bar say "Welcome Mr. Robert and Ms. Kate, I have been waiting for you" As we look up, we see Cranston and his huge smile, pushing our drinks of choice across the bar... a Strawberry Daiquiri for DW and a Capt. Morgan and Coke for myself! We were in total shock that he remembered us, including our beverage choices, and how he knew the exact moment we would be entering the Lounge for the 1st time! We later found out that the MC's Host is radioed from downstairs when Suite Members are boarding and heading to the club, so that explained that but I can't tell you what a fantastic feeling we had in seeing Cranston again.... He made sure we had every need tended to the week we were on board, it will never be forgotten! Now that is a great story! We board the Silhouette in a couple of weeks and we will need to keep an eye out for him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisestitch Posted November 26, 2014 #14 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I also vote for Randy. He is a kind, caring, funny guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
england1 Posted November 26, 2014 #15 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I also vote for Randy. He is a kind, caring, funny guy! Q Was Randy from the Phillipines? If so, he was in the Martini Bar on the Infinity in 2013 I agree, he is a funny guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h20cruzer Posted November 26, 2014 #16 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Met Errol on a cruise from Hawaii to Vancouver BC. Then bumped into him again on a Southern Caribbean cruise. Santo is probably my favorite, but there are several others Christian, Bekir who I met in Alaska last year it was his very first cruise with Celebrity. Then they is Peter and Putu So many so little time. I dont think I have ever had bad service from a bartender. Also one gal Keisha, she was so much fun!!!!!!! Norma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danish Posted November 27, 2014 #17 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Well only done one Celebrity cruise so far, but Marko in Martini Bar at Constellation was amazing :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted November 27, 2014 Author #18 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Well only done one Celebrity cruise so far, but Marko in Martini Bar at Constellation was amazing :) I forgot to mention Marko! Yes, he was great! He was our favorite on our 5 day Connie cruise in February Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lois R Posted November 27, 2014 #19 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Errol......I have known him since my first Celebrity cruise.....maybe I will get lucky and see him next year on Sosltice......sailing her in May. I see him every so often but it has been awhile. And yes, he is the type of bartender who could work at any 5 or 6 star restaurant. Remembers your drink everytime and your name. He is awesome:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hart10 Posted November 28, 2014 #20 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Jelania was on Eclipse last year. Molecular Bar ! Great bartender first class Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macdl Posted November 28, 2014 #21 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Jelania was on Eclipse last year. Molecular Bar ! Great bartender first class Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Jelenia was on The Silhouette last Feb ... She was fantastic... Does anyone know where she is now?? Hoping she will be on The Equinox next April!! Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GITC Posted November 30, 2014 #22 Share Posted November 30, 2014 On our back to back Mediterranean cruises in October we got to frequent pretty much all of the bars regularly and have nothing but good things to say about Nestor (mostly at the Casino bar) and Rade (all over the ship), some excellent waiters and waitresses (Tijana, Ivana, Georgiana) and the happiest guy on the ship, Egbert. All of them got to know what I was drinking and, in several instances, had it ready for me when they saw me coming. Impeccable service. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinkaGrl01 Posted November 30, 2014 #23 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Just getting home from our cruise on the Reflection this past week and I'm already missing our before and after dinner drinks by Marius and Valentin from the Molecular Bar! I could use a Black Mamba right about now. Marius and Valentin were awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Pennstatedj Posted November 30, 2014 #24 Share Posted November 30, 2014 We met Sudi on our first cruise on X. He was the best and as has been said before he has returned to his home country and is now responsible for hiring many of the martini bartenders and many other fellow x crew members. After Sudi came Peter then Togi(now in Kusadasi and owns a great restaurant on the harbor front named Victorias, great restaurant if your going to Kusadasi), and now Hector. We were just 30 days on Silhouette and it was just as much fun as our first. I have found this to be the best bar at sea no matter what ship on X that you are on. I just wish they would play different music. I like when you can hear the live music no mater the genre. Great fun either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Pennstatedj Posted November 30, 2014 #25 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Forgot to add that Peter is the trainer for all the new S class ships as they were commissioned. So thank him when you see him. He trained all the bartenders that you have been talking about. I think his is on the Equinox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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