51: Celebrity Eclipse 2014
Transatlantic, Broadway & Beaches
9th - 23rd November 2014

After hot chocolate and cheesecake (courtesy of Lesley!) in a local cafe full of students from nearby Columbia University all using the wi-fi, we re-boarded the bus for the rest of the "Uptown Loop".

In contrast to the Cathedral, Riverside Church was conceived by John D. Rockefeller Jr as an interdenominational church and was built 1927-1930. It's tower is the tallest in the United States and holds a famous carillon of 74 bells, while the church today has established a reputation for open-minded teaching and liberal thinking, and is a stronghold of activism and political debate.

Saint John The Divine Still incomplete after 122 years!		Riverside Church Tower 392ft (119m)	Grant's Tomb (1897) Resting place of Ulysses S Grant			Guggenheim Museum (Gerry's Photo)

It stands opposite Grant's Tomb, the final resting-place of General Ulysses S Grant (1822-85) and his wife. Completed in 1897, it stands in Riverside Park and is a National Memorial.

On the other side of Central Park, we passed the Guggenheim Museum, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and opened in 1959. Although modest by today's standards and examples, it was quite revolutionary at the time.

On top of the bus, it was bitterly cold but retreating inside, it was crowded and stifflingly hot. Moreover, having waited ¾-hour for a bus at St John The Divine, the chronic traffic made progress very slow and the remaining "Uptown Loop" took another 1½-hours, so we were too late back at Times Square to consider getting into a Theatre Matinee. Cold and frustrated, and with a splitting headache from the heat of the bus, I was in a bad mood as most of us went back to the ship.

		Times Square & the "Naked Cowboy" (Gerry's photos right & left) My bad mood served me right though, because if I had stayed behind with Gerry, I would also have seen the "Naked Cowboy", unbelievably still "strutting his stuff" in sub-zero conditions!

		While Gerry stayed to do some last minute shopping, the rest of us took the shuttle back to the ship. Andrew & I got back to our suite around 3.15pm and were met by Butler Lorenzo (bless him!) who had been keeping an eye open for us, so we were able to have Afternoon Tea in the comfort of our suite! Sally & Frank meanwhile, had done the same "Uptown Loop" as us but, even allowing for our stop at St John The Divine, it had taken them an hour less than us and they still had time for a delicious lobster lunch!

Big Promises but a Pretty Poor Show!
During the crossing, the Captain kept saying how he was going to give us extra time in New York but when it came down to it, the ship departed at 8pm instead of 6pm. Having lost our original theatre bookings because of the re-scheduling, and with Bermuda cancelled, we were all still feeling cheated but with 3 days to get to Florida, he could easily have stayed in New York until midnight, giving people another full evening ashore, but instead, the additional 2 hours proved to be of no value at all for any of us!

Thursday 20th - Friday 21st November 2014 2 Days at Sea - Heading South!

Finally heading for Florida and the weather began to improve and we had two relaxing days to recover. However, Lesley visited the ship's Doctor and was diagnosed with a kidney infection, no doubt brought on by her under-dressing in New York!

Cabañas on the Lido & "Sleep Pods" in the AquaSpa				The Captain's Quiz in our Suite Lorenzo does us proud on the catering front

		Tonight was my "Captain's Quiz", held in our suite and for which Butler Lorenzo catered lavishly. Peter & Frank won with 18/24 but Sally had swotted-up on Bermuda in the belief that there would be questions and she was not happy! Formal Dinner followed, with the usual farewell "hullabaloo"! (left) Our waiters Yashvin & (Jesus) Castro

The Hullabaloo Napkins at the ready!		"Eclipse - The Show" Circus-style acrobatics				Perry Grant on the big stage

After dinner, we had the 3rd production show, "Eclipse - The Show"; having seen it a number of times before, it was well preformed, with lots of circus-style aerial work, acrobatics and colourful costumes but the music was not for those who can't stand the sound of jungle drums!

On the second day, we had a matinee performance by entertainment favourite Perry Grant, who showed that he could still work a full theatre audience just as successfully as that in a crowded cabaret club, although to be honest, his style is more suited to the latter. Great fun though!

Saturday 22nd November 2014 Port Canaveral, Florida, USA

Expanded in the 1980's to cater for cruise ships, Port Canaveral is about 180 miles north of Miami and about 50 miles east of the theme-parks of Orlando, so it is no surprise that Disney Cruise Line built their own Terminal here, specifically for their own fleet of ships. Also, as its name suggests, it is close to the Kennedy Space Center and US Air-Force Station at Cape Canaveral.

The Disney Cruise Line Terminal & Disney Fantasy (2012: 129,690grt; 2,500 passengers)				Carnival Sunshine (2008: 102,853grt; 3,000pax)

There was a great deal of "faffing around" at 4am, which felt like the ship was station-keeping waiting for the pilot, having arrived early. This didn't surprise me because, at the 16 knots we had been doing for 2 days, we had still covered the distance of 830 miles in less than 52 hours. If we had left New York at midnight, with barely an increase in speed, we would still have arrived by 7am. Clearly, with our Madeira "detour" having added around 230 miles to our cruise, the Captain was economising on fuel!

As it was, we were alongside by about 6.00am and Andrew was up at 6.45am blowing-up balloons; it was Frank's birthday today and we had a surprise for him! But first, we had a tour to do.

		Everglades Wildlife Adventure Our "adventure" began in drab weather with a quiet cruise among the inner islands of the Banana River. There was plenty of bird life and our guide was very good but while we saw one or two Manatees near the surface, our only glimpse of promised Dolphins was distant and all too brief.

Male Anhinga Bird		Blue Heron		Brown Pelicans		Black Vulture		Osprey (Fish Eagle)

Lone Cabbage Airboats An experience you won't forget!		Andrew & Gerry in waterproofs!	Exhilarating? Flat and Uninspiring!			Everglades wildlife Cattle?!

Our "adventure" continued at "Lone Cabbage Airboats" in the Everglades proper, where we took what one might describe as "an exhilarating ride" in the rain looking for "gators"! Not only did we not see any but we all had to wear ear-defenders it was so noisy, the scenery was uninspring and we all got drenched! My camera was ruined; permanently! (right) The only "Gators" were on the counter, stuffed, at the Airboat Center Café (Gerry's Photo)

An Expensive Washout
All I knew at the time was that my camera had got wet and stopped working, so when I got home, I took it to the Canon workshop to be repaired, expecting a hefty bill. What they told me was that the camera had been damaged "beyond economic repair" and they declined to repair it! So not only was that Airboat ride a "washout" from the point of view of the weather, the scenery and the (lack of) wildlife, but it cost me a new camera too. What you call "An Expensive Washout"!

		Birthday Surprise(s) Back at the ship, we went for late lunch at Bistro on 5 to celebrate Frank's Birthday. His presents were a John Wayne poster and a t-shirt reading "Old Guys Rule - Shed Happens!" the irony of which raised a few smiles! (left) Birthday Lunch at Bistro on 5 and Frank unwraps one of his birthday presents (Gerry's Photo)

However, the surprises were not over because I had arranged a special Quiz for Sally, with all the questions on Bermuda. Having swotted-up specially for our Quiz the other evening, you might have expected her to do well but, as with many who try to "beat the system", she hadn't anticipated the questions I would ask, so she didn't do very well. But everyone joined in and it was all good fun!

However, with it being the last day of our cruise, there was also the stress of packing to be dealt with - easier said than done, as we had to figure-out how to deal with a hot day in Miami, followed by an 8-hr flight and an arrival in the UK on a cold November morning!

Our final dinner aboard featured a menu we hadn't seen before, with recipes from a reality tv cookery show, popular on American TV since 2006. I chose the Flank Steak, accompanied by Cauliflower Cheese and preceded by Escargots à la Bourguignonne & French Onion Soup, all off the Favorites Menu! It was all extremely good but I still managed the special recipe Strawberries & Cream for dessert! Favorites Dinner Menu >> and "Top Chef" Dessert Menu >>

There was one slight problem. Amidst giving the waiters their "goodbye" tips, I had to quietly remind Castro that he had forgotten Frank's "surprise" birthday cake. Needless to say, Castro was mortified and a lovely chocolate cake appeared moments later!

		Post Script Transatlantic - Throughout this cruise, I was haunted by the twin disappointments of not visiting Bermuda (where I had planned to meet resident and famous maritime artist Stephen Card) and not being able to use our tickets for the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. Although it was really all down to the weather, I found it hard to forgive Celebrity Cruises for their handling of our situation.

To cap it all, on a disappointing Florida air-boat ride, my camera was ruined! This was not a cruise I was keen to remember fondly! But in writing it up some 7 months later, perhaps it wasn't so bad after all; it did have some pretty spectacular moments!

Cruise Mileage: 5,098 nautical miles
Total Mileage to date: 186,606 n miles