Pugs93

December 28, 2014. Celebrity Silhouette. Labadee.  Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis. Early afternoon the weather turned bad. Windy and increasing seas. We were on land and heard the ships horns blowing. Headed back to see the ship using thrusters to keep it on the dock and lines snapping. Many lines snapped. The crew were stoping passengers on the dock until they felt it was safe for the passengers to run under the lines to the gangway. Everyone made it back onboard. Later in the theater Captain Dimitrios stated that if it got any worse he planned on dropping lines and sending lifeboats/tenders back when the weather improved, if he couldn’t stay long enough to get everyone onboard. 

We walked off early, before most of the tours. I didn’t notice any shuttles or golf carts but I wasn’t looking for them. It is a fairly long walk to the port exit. They are constructing a new terminal building. The old one with the shops is no longer there so it shortens the walk a little bit. 

I was on the Edge and we stopped at Nassau on Friday. No form needed. Just walk off the ship as usual. 

In a previous career I occasionally rode pilot boats out to merchant vessels. The company I worked for bought a lot of cargo.  Our cargo required an entire ship. I was fairly high up in the company we would greet the ships as they arrived.  I will keep it short. It was fun/interesting to ride the pilot boat and climb the ladder. I would be escorted to the bridge where the Captain and officers would greet us in their dress whites. They would typically have tables with their best fruits, vegetables, and meats presented to us. I always thanked the captain for his generosity but not partake because I respected the crew. My wife preposed going on a cruise to me and obviously I was jaded. I was very resistant to the idea. Eventually I agreed to go on a cruise and agreed not to complain if I didn’t like it. My wife’s friend recommended celebrity. So off we went on the millennium.  My wife was right, as usual,  I fell in love with cruising. Now I am the the one who encourages us to book the next cruise. By the way, my wife is my best friend, so by saying she was right isn’t condescending, it is a complement. 

Siting on an S2 balcony sailing back to FLL.  I have sailed on celebrity in all current classes and didn’t know what to expect. Yes I miss the a cappella groups and the piano player at cove cafe.  Time moves on. I was pleasantly surprised. Our S2 is awesome. The bathroom is amazing. The crew is exceptional. There are things that I am not pleased with, no ship is perfect. The retreat is fantastic. Make your own judgement but we are having a wonderful time.  Booked apex April 2020 while on board. Jen it was great to meet you. 

4 minutes ago, Tall-Cruiser said:

 

Thanks for this info. So is the midport parking the one close to T25? Good that there is a free shuttle too.

 

How is Adventure, we will be on her next year for S. Caribbean?

My wife and I are celebrity fans. I know it is subjective, but we like Celebrity. We have 4 “boys”.  2 are adults and one will technically be an adult in March, but to us they will always be our boys.  We really enjoy Blu and Luminea, which we experienced for the first time aboard equinox this year. Anyway, that is a long way to say our boys like the lively atmosphere aboard Royal and we like the more laid back atmosphere of Celebrity. We have sailed all Oasis class and sailed Freedom. My wife found a low price for the Adveture of the Seas overt thanksgiving and we decided to do it without much thought. We knew nothing about this ship and when I looked into it, it appeared to be a smaller Freedom of the Seas. We don’t know why, but we both think freedom was our least favorite ship and cruise.  Even today driving to the port we couldn’t pin point anything specific but agreed it was our least favorite.  We boarded the Adventure of the Seas with an open mind and to our surprise we liked what we saw. We are in a balcony cabin and it certainly isn’t like the balconies we are use to. It has metal walls and metal that rises up about 18 inches from the floor so our view is not the same as on other ships.  However it has an intimate homey feeling, compared to Freedom. I have only been in the ship for a few hours and still prefer Celebrity. The crew so far is great. Happy, friendly, welcoming, just like their counterparts on Celebrity. Anyway hope this helps. 

Also should have said my typical routine is to drop off all my passengers, which is typically anywhere between 2 and 10, sometimes more. And then park the car. By the time the bags are with the porters I am meeting them at the entrance to the terminal. Usually quick and efficient. Today I dropped my family off at T29 at 10:30, I parked at midport garage, took the shuttle back, and we were all on the ship by 11:10. 

2 minutes ago, hcat said:

Pugs93..enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for the  pics..Awesome!

 

.We are using them to gauge if we can walk  to the terminal with luggage and carry ons  from the parking garage or if we will need to drop luggage off and circle back to park,..

I have departed from the previous T25 several times and it is an easy walk from the midpoint garage. I would guess 5 minutes. I am parked there now, but we left from the dreaded T29. The terminal is ok but getting there and parking is not ideal. 

4 minutes ago, Tall-Cruiser said:

Pugs93 - Thanks for sharing those great shots of T25. The Terminal looks great. Was that a big screen display at the upper corner of T25 showing the words EDGEand something else on the other photo? 

 

Enjoy your cruise on Adventure OTS. 

Yes, a the screen is similar to the ones you see in professional sports stadiums. Alternating between static displays and video. It appeared to be the ull height of the building minus the first floor. 

T25 Awaiting the arrival of Edge. Pictures Leaving port Everglades tonight 11/18/18 aboard Adventure of the Seas. Hopefully the pictures upload  the internet is super slow and I am getting messages that the upload failed  on Adveture of the seas. 

When in Cozumel I usually dive with Cristina. She is very accommodating and dives with small groups. She has never disappointed me. My 4 boys and I are certified and have varying levels of experience. She has always been patient with my children that are less experienced.

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I am pretty sure that Celebrity uses Red Sail. We were in Grand Cayman in November and used Divers Down. I was happy with Divers Down, but we are a advanced open water certified with various specialties so I am not sure how their discover scuba program is. If you can, I would recommend that you get certified for open water with a local dive shop because it is generally less expensive than doing a discover scuba and then getting certified.

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Unfortunately I don't know who RCI uses. However, I was there with my family this past December and dive with three of my children and one nephew. I booked buddy dive. I was concerned about getting back to the ship on time so I booked a boat dive, which isn't necessary in Bonaire. Bonaire is known for incredible shore dives. The benefit of booking the boat dive is that they dropped us off at the pier right next to the gangway. We were back a couple of hours before the ship sailed. Also, buddy dive picked us at the pier and took good care of us.

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The dive conditions in the gulf are fine for beginners and getting certified. I am from Marco Island, about an hour south of Cape Coral, and dive with my 4 boys (11,14, 16, and 19) frequently. We got our certifications at Scuba Marco. They are a great family run dive shop on Marco Island. There are many dive shops in southwest Florida that can help you out.

Gambee

Another excellent review. I really enjoyed sailing on X and can't wait to go on X again. I feel like I am on vacation when I read your reviews. Not to mention feeding my CC addiction.