mcclarke1

Here are some photos Brian ( @bnurick ) sent me from the sail away yesterday.  Wish I could be there!

Photos from around the ship.

Lemon Tartlets from Cafe Al Bacio.  Didn’t see them until Day 5.  They were always gone quick in the afternoons.

I think we missed Night 4 of Luminae.  I ordered the French onion soup (classics menu), peppered tuna and apple pie with ice cream (also on the classics menu).  I can’t remember what Brian ordered other than the chocolate tart for dessert.  We also tried the Raspberry Pistachio Vacherin for dessert from the Daniel Boulud Signatures Menu.

54 minutes ago, ew101 said:

Lovely review, food and port photos.  The Four Seasons on Nevis looks lovely.  Did you see people dancing in any of the onboard venues?  Based on your daily programs, it looks possible?

Yes!  Lots of dancing!

14 hours ago, pd7277 said:

What was the name of the catamaran company?  A google search of One Love Antigua does not provide any hits.  Thank you for your report.

The name on the boat was Mystic Cruises.

I think we missed this photo one night.  It is the Veal Cannelloni from Luminae on Night 3.  It was pretty good. 

Will post some random photos we missed.  First is our excursion in St. Kitts and Nevis.  We were on the Fan-Ta-Sea excursion that went to Nevis.  We enjoyed the boat ride and took a walk to the Four Seasons at Nevis during the beach time.    Very peaceful at the Dunes outdoor restaurant/bar there.  I think we will work on a water taxi to Nevis next time so we have more time.

Our first Liars Club

We laughed so hard!

Participants were Comedian Ralph Harris, Cruise Director Louis and Captain Tasos.

I colored in the word in the photo so other cruisers can be surprised when they see the show.

Photos from our day in Antigua on the Catamaran and Lobster Lunch sail. Lobster was grilled on the back of the boat.  Usually a catamaran bar only has a few drink choices.  This one had many, many choices (red wine, white wine, prosecco, beer, rum punch, pina colada-ish drink, water, sodas, and maybe a couple more and all were free.  One of our favorite excursions and Antigua is beautiful.

Found a Cruise Duck!☺️

1 hour ago, bnurick said:

Barbados Excursion: Today was a beach day. First, you have to bus from the ship to the port area. Second, the staging area for all ship excursions makes this our least favorite port to book through Celebrity.  Today we got in a bus and had a short ride to Carlisle Bay Beach. You show your wristband, get a free drink and head to any white umbrella and two chairs. It’s well controlled and not a fight for a certain spot. The lunch was a ham type sandwich Cameron ate, I did not. After 2.5 to 3 hours you bus back and then van to the ship. We agreed, for $20 a taxi ride, we would do this on our own next year. No pictures today, think, well, a beach 🏝️. Cheers!

   

I have a photo of part of the beach.😊

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I was just salivating when I say your shout out.    They definitely are one of my favorites.  

 

I as surprised the Luminae burger was served with the fries on the side as oppose to the little metal cups that are used on other ships.  Wonder if it's an E-Class kinda thing.

You’re right, they were served on the side on embarkation day.  Brian ordered the Luminae burger on Day 3 and the fries were in the metal container then.  Not sure why that was different on the first day.

I know this post will be out of order with Brian’s, but the Slow Roasted Turkey Gyros for lunch today at Luminae were really good.  Thanks for the recommendation @Jim_Iain.

Retreat Sundeck Treats-Mango Sorbet 

This looks like some serious relaxation @bnurick. Celebrity Edge, The Retreat Sundeck

Warming the Grand Marnier.😊

Boarding the Celebrity Edge today!!  Our dinner last night at Il Mulino in Sunny Isles was just as great as it is at the Il Mulino in NYC.  Because of traffic, it took an 1 hour and 20 minutes Uber drive to get there from the Conrad in Ft. Lauderdale.  Only took 33 minutes to go back.  Il Mulino is located in the stunning Acqualina resort in Sunny Isles.  The servers brought the usual starters of parmigiana, fried zucchini, salami and bruschetta.  That could have been a meal by itself.  Next we ordered the porcini mushroom ravioli with a champagne truffle cream sauce to share as an appetizer and it’s one of the best dishes we have ever eaten.  Entrees were spicy lobster arrabbiata and  rack of lamb in a mustard sauce followed by an old off menu item for dessert, the grand marnier oranges.  At the conclusion of our meal, they brought out their leche grappa.  It really was one of the best meals and we would brave the long traffic to go again.  Photos are below.  Brian may add more about the meal later.  He’s been working before we board the ship.

Next up, Celebrity Edge!!!

Got a late start to the day.  The weather is wonderful here in Ft. Lauderdale, so we took a 90 minute walk along the beach.  Returned to our room at the Conrad and enjoying the view until it’s time to get ready for dinner.  We will have dinner tonight at Il Mulino in Sunny Isles.

All clear at home.  Not hearing of any major reports of damage.  Always have some worry when we travel.  I love to travel, but leaving the kids at home makes me a little sad.  They are 19 and 16 yrs old and I know they are fine,  but wish I could always bring them with me.  However. they love when we travel without them and leave them at home.😊  Back to last night, we dined at Takato in the Conrad, which is a Japanese Korean style restaurant and the food was amazing. We had the Duck Bao Buns, Kimchi Short Rib Tacos, Kimchi Fried Rice and a Kimchi Tuna Sushi Roll.  My favorite dishes were the tacos and fried rice.  Forgot to take photos.  I did take a photo of my cocktail that was a Shikoku Margarita.  I don’t like a tart margarita and I don’t like really sweet drinks..  The bartender warned me it’s not sweet, but it does have agave and I really enjoyed it.  Photo of the drink below.

Looking forward to your trip review!!  Brian and I haven’t sailed the Silhouette yet, but really want to.  We leave on a Southern Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Edge on Friday and are currently in Ft. Lauderdale.  Yesterday was not a fun travel day, but thankful to have made it here. @bnurick

Just checked in at home to find out our children are taking shelter in a tornado warning and an earthquake hit 30 miles south of our home.  They didn’t feel the earthquake. Checked the rotation in the storm and looks like it will miss our kids.  Many prayers to everyone in the path.🙏

Made it to Ft.Lauderdale.  First flight was delayed longer, so we missed our connection in Atlanta.  Originally, the app only showed rebooking options for early the next day and panic was starting to set in, but after several refreshes of the app, Brian was able to rebook us on the next flight to FLL.  Seems many people were missing Atlanta connections yesterday.  Landed in FLL and sat on the tarmac for 50 minutes because of a problem with the plane that hadn’t left our gate yet.  It was definitely a day of needing patience.  Finally arrived at the Conrad on the beach, sat at the outdoor bar for the restaurant and had a great meal.  It was a bit of a party scene and I was not blending in with my Mickey Mouse hoodie and yoga pants, but for the most part everyone was kind and asking us where we were from.  The Conrad is a very nice hotel and the staff has been very helpful.  Looking forward to some walking and a day at the beach.

Boarding our flights today for Ft.Lauderdale.  We’ve had some hiccups with the FAA issues this morning, but so far seems to be minor for us.  Flying Delta from Cincinnati and connecting in Atlanta.  Hope all goes well for the rest of the day.

Can’t wait!  I’ve been on 3 Disney cruises since our last Celebrity cruise on the Summit in June.  Looking forward to a change of pace!