Celebrity Eclipse Cruise - Part 2

Click here for Part 1.
On Tuesday we stopped at St. Maarten.  Two years ago we had gone on a zipline adventure tour and we loved it so much that was one of the reasons we chose this cruise - so we could do it again. After about a 30 min drive with a tour bus into the French side of the island we arrived at the Loterie Tree Farm  It was just as much fun the second time!  We're hoping to be able to do the extreme version next time :)






Tuesday was also Valentine's Day.  We enjoyed dinner at the Moonlight Sonata and each woman received a rose.  After walking the ship and the shops, we went to the theatre for a Cirque de Soleil style theatrical circus - it was quite impressive!





Wednesday was our final port of call day and was our first ever visit to St. Kitts.  We took the "Essential St. Kitts Tour" and enjoyed a stop at Romney Manor (home of Caribelle Batik) which had amazing gardens and this huge tree.





Our next stop was the Brimstone Hill Fortress.  As we were driving up to it, Nathan recognized it from a documentary he had seen - it's one of the top 10 most impenetrable fortresses of the world!  He's into history so he definitely appreciated being able to see this fort in person.

We got back to the ship for a late lunch and lay by the pool for the rest of the afternoon (with an ice cream break in between of course!).  Nathan actually ran on the treadmill 5 of the days we were onboard.  Running on the ship makes me nauseous, so I happily declined and simply vegged by the pool reading.

For dinner we had reservations at the Tuscan Grille - the Italian steakhouse onboard.  This was likely the best meal of the whole cruise for me!  I had a mushroom ravioli appetizer, chop chop salad and an incredible filet mignon (also with mushroom sauce) for the main entree.  Dessert was an incredible chocolate fondue with berries, bananas. melons, marshmallows and a brownie.

That night's show was an incredible performance by Antonio Salci.  I have my ARCT (performer's degree in piano) and I was impressed.  He's definitely one very talented performer/composer/arranger.  I found this on YouTube .....




Thursday was an at sea day and we spent the entire day by the main outdoor pool.  We got up around 8:30 which was just early enough to snag some decent poolside loungers before heading in for a quick breakfast buffet and back to enjoy the sun.  We ate a quick lunch inside at the lunch buffet as well (I ordered a turkey burger from the Mast Grille poolside and brought it indoors for a little break from the heat), and then went back outside for the rest of the afternoon.



That night was the second formal night on the cruise and we ate at the Moonlight Sonata.





Friday was our final at sea day.  Thursday we managed to both burn ourselves, so we spent the day lounging poolside - but in the glass enclosed Solarium this time.  All the benefits of the sun with none of the cons. :)  Once again we ate breakfast and lunch at the buffet (turkey burger for me again!).  We had one final dinner at the Moonlight Sonata and thoroughly enjoyed the evening show which was encore acts from the best performer's of the week (and a performance by the Karoeke X Idol winner).

Saturday we got up for our final breakfast at the Oceanview Cafe, then read for a bit in the dining room while waiting for our turn to disembark the ship.  This is one of the few times our flights have left late enough in the day that we're not in a rush to get off the vessel.  Because of that, the crowds were definitely higher and we waited longer than ever before to get a taxi to the airport.  We had lots of time to eat (Chili's!) before boarding our flight back to Winnipeg (with a connecting flight in Chicago).

Sunday Nathan took Jacob to Sophia's hockey game while I took Emma & Olivia to church (not Sunday School though, we slept in!) - and it almost felt like we were never gone.  Was it all just a dream?!

The good thing is though, that because we've been on so many cruises by now, we had a similar feeling when we first got onboard - it immediately felt like we had been there for a few days already.

Can't wait till next year - already got my eye on 1 or 2 options! :)