Jamman54

I'm now 6' 5". I shrunk an inch or two over the years!

We have been to Halifax many times, and have seen just about everything. Our children loved the play area as well when they were growing up, although the playground equipment there has changed drastically. There were not many kids at all for our sailing. We've never sailed Costa. Looking at our pictures, what do you think?

We will be on the Canada leg with you. That will be the second half of a B2B for us. The first half is a seven day cruise to Bermuda. See you on board!

Thanks for reading! Enjoy! 😃

Yep, it wasn't crowded at all, probably because we were the only ship in port that day. 😎

Don't think I didn't notice how everyone had my back. The mods did as well. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I decided to take the high road and not let it escalate any more. Now we can move on. I'll be posting a little later this afternoon. Stay tuned! ❤

I was in bed at 8. It's halftime. 😁

Are you sure that your stewards name isn't Edy? 😁

Your monkey is getting a lot of air time. Are you not concerned?

This is the summary from our Celebration cruise review from last April. I hope this helps you. Patti and I really enjoyed our cruise on the Celebration. The ship is nearly identical in almost every way to the Mardi Gras, which we also enjoyed. I think we liked The Gateway concept on the Celebration over the Mardi Gras French Quarter. No real reasons, just personal preference. Once again, we never ate in the MDR except for the Diamond Brunch. There are just so many dining options there is no need to. There were a couple of days where we just wanted a quick meal up at the Marketplace. We had no problem finding something that we liked, and most of what was on the dining room menu that day, was available here. We have to say that even with over 6,000 passengers on board we really didn’t run into many crowding issues, other than embarkation day where everyone heads to the Lido Deck. Yes, you had to line up for the 18+ comedy shows at the Punchliner, but the PG comedy shows at the Limelight Lounge were no problem. If you want a good seat at the Grand Spectrum Theater, get there a half hour early. Now the Center Stage is a different animal. There aren’t many seats on any deck that give you a clear view of any show. If you want one of those, get there an hour early. Patti being hearing impaired likes to sit as close as possible, so you’ll find us down on the floor amongst the props and set pieces. It’s pretty cool to sit down there, but even down there you can’t see everything. With the huge video screens, you feel like you’re “inside” the show, and during some of the shows the cast will interact with you. Pretty cool. Just one thing to know that if you sit down there, you can’t leave once the show starts. Well, you can, but there is a procedure that the crew will explain to you before the show. Our favorite shows this week were Celestial Strings, The Most Magnificent Circus, and We are One. Our ports of call worked perfectly for us as we are cabana and all-inclusive people. We’ve been to these ports so many times that all we’re looking for is relaxation. Paradise Beach in Cozumel was A++, having a beach cabana at Mahogany Bay was A+, and the day at Costa Maya just walking around and having some cocktails, was the perfect day in between. That being said, with ships this size, there aren’t many port options in the Western Caribbean. There are too many passengers to go to any tender ports such as Grand Cayman or Belize. The Eastern & Southern Caribbean itineraries allow for a few more options. We love the cabins on this class of ships, even if the bathrooms are a little smaller. On all three of our XL cruises, we had extended balconies on the “hump”. I believe that these are the only balconies on the ship that you can look down directly to the water. We have another one of these cabins when we are back on the Celebration in January. As far as embarkation and debarkation went, it was as almost perfect as it could possibly be. I would highly recommend that you get passports if you haven’t already. Though not needed to travel on these cruises, getting through customs is a breeze if you have one. Step up to the facial recognition and you’re out of there. If not, you’ll have to wait in what could be a lengthy line to see an agent. Your choice. Patti and I are not crazy about sailing from Miami anymore. For us, Port Canaveral is much easier, since most of the time we drive to Florida, and can save about eight hours of driving by cruising from there. I also know that it’s much easier to fly to Miami to board a ship, than it is to fly to Orlando for PC departures. Whatever works best for you.

No problem. Enjoy your cruises! 😃

The seas look pretty calm to me. 😃

Good morning Cruise Critic and Tribe families! Even though there is no football today, I will still be drinking beers with friends. Therefore I will not be posting any pages today. Tomorrow I will get you into Amber Cove and some more Tribe shenanigans. Have a great Sunday everyone! 😃

It looks like a snail to me. What did you think it was? 😁

Chef Nino makes the fried rice. Yummy!!! Chef Nino is grilling the veggies. The shrimp on the left are appetizers for everyone…. The salmon, beef, and lobster are on the grill….. I have the beef and lobster combo, and Patti has the Teriyaki salmon….. For dessert everyone gets a bento box….. As usual, the meal here is fantastic, and well worth the $42 /pp. We are all in a food coma so we all head back to our cabins for the night. We do have an early morning in Amber Cove tomorrow. Here is today’s Cheers tally. Patti (4), Jeff (6), for a total of (10). That’s (-2) for the day, but we’re still (+3) for the cruise. Linda at the Diamond lunch killed any chance of us finishing in the black today. Lol. There’s always tomorrow! Coming up next: The beer is flowing in Amber Cove, and Family Feud After Hours. Can the Prissy Pink Cousins pull it off?

I meet Patti and the rest of the gang at Bonsai Teppanyaki. This is my place setting….. Chef Nino takes everybody’s entrée order…… We have our first drinks. Patti has the wine and I have the sake sangria….. Everybody is given these appetizers. White shrimp (served later on), pork belly Yakitori, spicy tuna on the rocks, and miso soup….. Chef Nino fires up the grill…… Here’s a little egg magic….. To be continued…..

Pat & Jim had made a reservation for the four of us at Bonsai Teppanyaki at 7:15pm. After getting ready Patti left the cabin early to go and get pictures of the Captain’s Welcome Toast at Celebration Central. Celebration Central is set for Celestial Strings later tonight….. The Senior Staff is lined up for introductions...... Cruise Director Lee introduces Captain Rino Costanzo….. The Captain introduces the Senior Officers and brings them onstage….. Marcela and her fellow Fun Squad members look nice on Elegant Night….. To be continued…..

The Venezia has four tables, the XL Class has just the three. Seems backwards to me.

For the life of me I can't understand why people just don't get it done as soon as they board. The simple solution is to not allow any charges unless you have completed your muster. 😎

Yep, that was going to be your spot. Hopefully you can get there sometime in the near future. 😎

It was our pleasure! 😃

Here are some more Suess-A-Palooza views….. At 3pm I made my way down to the Grand Spectrum Theater to meet Patti, Pat, and Jim for the Family Feud Live Audition Finals…… We are there to root for Megan’s team to win a slot in tomorrow night’s Family Feud Live After Hours show…… We are being told how the finals were being done, and that only the captains of each team would play. We were also told that picture taking was not allowed….. When it was all said and done, Megan’s team had made it to the show! Afterwards, we went back to the cabin to relax. We found our first towel animal of the cruise….. To be continued…..

Linda kept the drinks coming. We made sure to take good care of her….. We were there for an hour and a half, and we all had a fabulous time. Great food, great drinks, great friends! Afterwards, Pat & Jim and Patti & I went to the casino cashier to pick up our $25 each in free play. The casino is packed now because it’s an Elite cruise, so we’ll hold off until Friday before playing. I went up to the Red Frog Tiki Bar but it was jam packed, so I went back to the Tides Bar to have some cruisers with I Made. Vic joined me for a while. Patti went to take some pictures of the Suess-A-Palooza….. To be continued……

Bar waiter Linda comes over and we take all the drinks on her tray, and order another round. She will take excellent care of us today, and remember, these drinks don’t count against Cheers! This is today’s lunch menu. This is a new one for us….. Our server takes our orders….. Patti takes some shots of the surrounding tables. There are quite a few Diamonds on board this week….. This is a shot of our table….. Cruise Director Lee makes some remarks and then introduces the Senior Officers and Captain and they parade through the Restaurant….. It’s time to eat! Here are some of the menu items. We start off with some cranberry bread….. Citrus-cured salmon….. Teriyaki pork bites….. Grilled jumbo shrimp….. Artichoke blue cheese fettuccine…. Fruit plate….. Chocolate crema….. To be continued…….

“The Wave” concludes….. Patti takes a picture with Lee…. Here are a couple of group shots. I think you know all these people by now….. Next up is the Diamond Lunch….. Jim, Pat, Patti, and I are all Diamonds. Since we are each allowed to bring a guest to this event, we decided to ask the “Live” reviewers Sid, Megan, and Brian if they would like to attend. We were happy that they all agreed! The lunch would take place in the Carnivale Restaurant….. While we were waiting in line to go in, Patti caught Sid working on his “Live”…… While entering, you run the gauntlet of all the Senior Officers and Managers….. The wait staff are waiting and eager to serve us….. To be continued……