Eclipse TA Review - Boston, Broadway, Bermuda, Bahamas, - 28th Oct - 12th Nov

[4774Papa]

If you are doing murder mystery again on the cruise, we would love to join. We had one at work when we got off the ship last month and it was so much fun. The had 80 people. Ironically the theme was a murder on a cruise ship.

Our MM also involved a murder on a cruise ship. I don't think we will do it again, since this cruise is more port intensive. We are planning to do it on the Explorer of the Seas Transpacific Sydney to Seattle in April/May 2018.

 

We had great fun with the MM on the Transatlantic in Oct/Nov, but running the event was very time consuming and we had many persons that dropped out of the event, even after I asked for a commitment. I did find substitutes, but it was a pain in the butt.

[peteukmcr]

Boston - part 2

 

We had great tour guide who went above and beyond IMHO by adding extra stops to the tour to ensure we got as much as possible out of our limited time in Boston.

 

Harvard and Cambridge were fascinating as well as seeing MIT and being dropped off at Quincy market where we caught a shuttle back to the ship after shopping for a few bits.

 

Btw Celebrity sold return shuttle thickets for $15 or $8 one way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again a short stop on a cruise makes us want to go back and discover more as we've done in the past. Luckily we have direct flights from Manchester to Boston. Or maybe the next time we get to New York we head up to Boston and come home from there.

 

Next stop what we considered to be the highlight of the trip for us, sailing past the Statue of Liberty.

 

Here's the blog entry for Boston though

 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/2017/11/04/boston/

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[peteukmcr]

New York - 5th November

 

We approached New York and picked up the pilot at Sandy Hook whilst travelling at low speed due to regulations regarding migrating whales in the area.

 

Although warmer than yesterday in Boston, the weather in New York was drizzly and as a result the views were hazy.

 

Lots of people gathered on deck to experience the ship going under the Verrazano Narrows bridge at around 12:15 before sailing up the Hudson to our dock in Manhattan, passing the Statue of Liberty at 12:30.

 

 

 

Having never experienced this before, you could feel the anticipation of many of our fellow sailors as we approached Manhattan.

 

I have to say it is a magical experience passing the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island in the distance and the Manhattan skyline off the starboard side. Unfortunately the iconic buildings of the Freedom Tower and Empire State Building were not visible due to the mist and rain.

 

What made it more iconic was the passing of a Staten Island Ferry in front of the Statue of Liberty on the port side.

 

 

We finally docked at Pier 90 next to NCL Breakaway and Seven Seas Mariner in between us and USS Intrepid.

 

We decided to disembark and catch a cab to Macys, hopefully heading in the opposite direction of the end of the New York marathon which was heading for Central Park where the race ended. Although still drizzling it was a great ride through Times Square with the bright neon lights of the advertising hoardings lighting up the grey sky.

 

 

After a spot of shopping we headed back to the ship to change and head for our twilight Hudson River cruise from Pier 84.

 

The mist had lifted to a degree and we enjoyed one of the most educational and spectacular river excursion we'd ever had on the Hudson.

 

Upon return we headed off towards Hells Kitchen for a cocktail at a bar we'd visited when last in New York in 2016 (well we couldn't get liquor on the ship) and then onto a Mexican Restaurant I'd chosen, called 'Hell's Kitchen'. Great choice, in our opinion.

 

After dinner we headed back taking the street one block south of the restaurant (W50th) and headed straight down to the ship.

 

On the way back we passed groups of very excited crew heading into the city. Seeing none we allowed off the ship in Boston it was great to see that they were going to be able to enjoy down time in Manhattan.

 

We headed for the Sky Lounge and relaxed with some wine enjoying the views and lights of Manhattan which I don't think you get the chance to see from so close a vantage point.

 

 

Todays blog

 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/2017/11/07/new-york-day-one/

Edited December 7, 2017 by peteukmcr

[peteukmcr]

Some more photos from our first day in Manhattan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[peteukmcr]

New York - day 2

 

Today we decided that we would head off the ship for breakfast, back to the 'Comfort Diner' which we discovered during our visit in 2016. A traditional diner that we really enjoyed.

 

Afterwards we walked to the Empire State Building where I'd booked tickets to go to the viewing platform as we didn't visit during 2016 (we did the Freedom Tower and Top of the Rock last time).

 

 

Although it was still misty and cloudy the views weren't the best and it was a little chilly up there and after all these years I think I've developed vertigo! Never bothered me before but earlier this year was up the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and I didn't enjoy that experience. Maybe as I've got older, it's got worse.

 

 

Anyway, after that we headed off to do some shopping and walked through Times Square and back to the ship.

 

 

Although we don't have to be back onboard until 4pm, we've done enough walking and sightseeing for today and enjoy the quiet of the ship.

 

As we had lunch, NCL Breakaway departed followed later by Seven Seas Mariner which then enabled us to see the Intrepid with Concorde on her top deck.

 

 

 

Shortly after 5 Eclipse departs from Pier 90 and as we're on the port side we have a wonderful view of Manhattan all lit up as we head down the Hudson. The mist has cleared and the Empire State is resplendent illuminated for all to see, as is the Freedom Tower as we pass by. We celebrate leaving New York with the 2nd of our bottles of champagne we brought onboard in Southampton. It's been chilling for a while!

 

I head up to the pool deck to get some night shots of the Statue of Liberty and later we pass under the Verrazano Narrows bridge again as we head for our next port of call - Bermuda.

 

Tonight we dined in Murano again and then off to another Silent Disco.

 

Great 2 days in NYC, loved this part of the itinerary. Next stop overnight Bermuda. Looking forward to that too as never had the fortune to visit there yet.

 

Todays blog link

 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/2017/11/07/new-york-day-two/

Edited December 11, 2017 by peteukmcr

[peteukmcr]

More from our sail away from NYC

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[peteukmcr]

November 7th - at sea

 

Another day at sea as we head for Bermuda. Our usual routine of our eating, drinking, gym, Hot Glass Show, photographing the ship and enjoying the best sunset we'd experienced on this trip, especially from the Sunset Bar now that the weather is that bit warmer!

 

 

 

 

Today's blog

 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/2017/11/09/bermuda-bound-another-day-at-sea/

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[peteukmcr]

Sorry not completed this review but with the holiday period I completely forgot! Also we were away at Christmas on a short break to the Costa Del Sol in Spain so a lot of things were let slide!

 

Anyway we had a great 1.5 days (due to early departure on day 2 from Bermuda.

 

Upon arrival we headed over to Hamilton by ferry and had a good look around and I purchased some authentic Bermuda shorts.

 

My view of Bermuda is that it is expensive, so that explains why it's popular for cruise ships to dock for a couple of nights where guests can eat and drink on board.

 

The highlight for us was a sunset catamaran cruise on the first day.

 

The blog for days 1 & 2 are here

 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/2017/11/10/the-devils-isle-day-one/

 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/2017/11/11/devils-isle-day-two/

[peteukmcr]

After Bermuda we have our final day at sea in order to reach Nassau.

 

We decide to start organising the packing which has to be done some day!

 

Tonight is the final Evening Chic so it's time for the tuxes to be worn again and we had a great evening.

 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/2017/11/12/final-day-at-sea/

[peteukmcr]

Nassau - final port stop

 

We arrived into Nassau first and was then joined by Norwegian Sky, Carnival Elation and Victory and Disney Dream.

 

It was going to be a busy day.

 

We'd booked a day pass at the Hilton British Colonial that we've visited before. Nothing changes, this hotel has the slowest check in and check out procedure we've ever experienced. All done with a smile, but really slow! The benefit of this hotel is it's proximity to the port, no cabs required and the food's good.

 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/2017/11/12/nassau-bahamas/

 

We arrived the next day into Miami and we waited to disembark and catch our shuttle to the day room Celebrity had booked for us at the Sheraton Miami Airport.

 

All was going well until there was a fire alarm in the terminal building. As a result the terminal had to be cleared and so disembarkation was suspended for around 1 hour. Not a problem for us as we had the luxury of waiting on board in the Moonlight Sonata dining room. Unfortunately for those who had disembarked but not collected their bags, they had to evacuate the terminal and then be allowed back in to claim their bags.

 

Once we were allowed to disembark, it was a fairly smooth transit through immigration but then the chaos of the transfers delayed the process even more.

 

As there was a delay due to the earlier evacuation, then it would appear the whole transfer process had been held up and there wasn't enough buses for some transfers and the staff were rushing around to find available transport.

 

We arrived at the hotel and managed to check in rapidly and reached the room by just gone midday. Unfortunately this curtailed our shopping plans as we now only had a couple of hours before we'd have to catch the hotel shuttle to the airport as we needed to check in by 3:30 pm.

 

We headed off the the Dolphin Mall and grabbed some lunch and basically ran around getting some of the shopping we'd planned.

 

Then it was back to the hotel, then off to the airport for our flight back to the UK.

 

That's all there is, but we consider this TA one of the best we've done. It was a combination of the itinerary, the ship, the staff and the weather that made it for us.

 

If you have possibly 20 minutes to spare, here's a video presentation of the sailing.

 

https://youtu.be/qvDTQb_paSw