Jamman54

Nice try Jeff! You think it's going to be that easy?

We'll be following along as well! I would love to do a cruise to the Greek Islands, but Patti for some reason, not so much. She's more about England, Holland, Norway, and the Baltic. Looking forward to all your pics! 😀

As is ours! 😃

I see it now, it's still there!

Some random thoughts and our plans for the future. On my very last post of the review, I noticed that I neglected to post the photos from our last dinner of this trip. Not wanting to leave anything on the table, let’s get these posted. Once we’re settled in, we head over to Chili’s for some dinner….. Patti had a Caesar salad and the potato soup….. I had some southwest rolls and boneless wings….. I feel better now! 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. My mind has gone blank, so if you have any questions at all we’ll be more than happy to answer them for you. If I think of anything else, I’ll be sure to post it. And now for our future cruise plans. On September 23rd we will be boarding the Carnival Venezia from our homeport of New York for B2B cruises. The first cruise is a 6 day cruise to New England and Canada, and the second cruise is a 15 day Journeys cruise to the Eastern & Southern Caribbean. 21 days on the same ship is a record for us and seeing the early pictures from several “live” reviewers here on the TA has us really excited! On January 14th 2024, we will be on the Celebration from Miami again for a 7 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. This will be even more special as its “The Tribe” cruise, so we’ll be meeting up with a whole bunch of the Cruise Critic Family. Can’t wait! On April 14th 2024, we will be back in Port Canaveral for B2B cruises on the Vista to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. We have the same Havana inside cabin booked for both legs. Two weeks of the “Havana Experience”. Sweet! Finally, on September 8th 2024, we will be boarding the Pride in Baltimore for a 14 day Journeys cruise to Greenland and Canada. This will be our 6th time on the Pride, and to all ports that will be new to us. The Pride, just out of dry dock is looking good! We haven’t booked anything for 2025 yet, as we are waiting for the Europe and Med itineraries to be posted. Also in the works is a mega road trip that may include Galveston, New Orleans, and/or Mobile. Stay tuned for that! Will any of you be sailing with us? If not, we’ll be bringing the cruise to you! Before I end this, I have to thank my wife Patti. I couldn’t do these adventures, or these reviews, without her. She is my best friend, my rock, and a heck of a photographer! Speaking of photography, the photos you see on these reviews are only a small portion of all the photos Patti takes during our cruises. If you would like to see the whole package, there is a link in my signature for our Cruise and Vacation albums. Feel free to check them out if you are so inclined. So, until next time, may you have blue skies and calm seas!!!

Looks like they got rid of the Green Thunder water slide.

You can't beat those seats! 😁

Same for us.

Yes, and it can be annoying. People tend to walk in and out without holding the door and they slam. Most people realize this after the first couple of times, but then some never get it.😖

I first stopped here when we used to drive down to Florida for Spring break back in the 70's. It was a dump even then. My son Ryan loved to get his fireworks here when we drove to our father/son cruises. 😎

Loving your review! The Home2Suites / Hampton Inn is our go to spot now when cruising out of PC. Great hotel(s), Great location!

That looks like sauteed mushrooms, not stuffed.

That meal looked fantastic! Glad we booked it on both legs of our B2B!

Once we’re settled in, we head over to Chili’s for some dinner….. Patti had a Caesar salad and the potato soup….. I had some southwest rolls and boneless wings….. We stopped at Dippin’ Dots which was right next to the hotel before heading back to the room and crashing for the night. We were up at 6am for our final push home. We got our stuff together, and then enjoyed the free hotel breakfast….. We were on the road by 8am. It was a mostly uneventful drive back to New Jersey. We always hit traffic in northern Virginia before we reached the Capital Beltway, and today is no different. The rest of the way was smooth sailing. Going through Baltimore we passed the Cruise Maryland Terminal. There were no ships in port today…. Two and a half hours later we were pulling into our driveway, another cruise, and another visit to Orlando completed. The End. Coming up next: A few random thoughts and plans for the future.

Now that we have that out of our system, we continue north on I-95 for a couple of hours until we reach Wilson, North Carolina, where we will spend the night. We will be staying at the Country Inn & Suites located off Exit 121….. We are given Room # 304….. Here are a couple of Lobby views….. Here are some views of the indoor pool and exercise room….. To be continued…..

In case you haven’t had enough, here is one more page of Patti’s picture tour of South of the Border….. This last picture kind of sums it up…… To be continued……

Patti’s picture tour of South of the Border continues….. To be continued….

I want to apologize for the delay in getting this review finished. I had planned to be done on Saturday, but all those GREAT Live Reviews currently on Cruise Critic have kept me distracted! Tonight, I’m going to knuckle down and get this done! Thanks for your patience! Post Cruise - (4/28 & 4/29/2023) Heading home to New Jersey. We were up at 3:45am to get ready for our drive home. Yes, you read that correctly, 3:45am. You don’t want to be leaving once rush hour starts, so our plan was to finish loading the car, check out, gas up, and be on the road at 5am. Mission accomplished! By 7:30am we were out of Florida, so we stopped for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Kingsland, Georgia….. We were back on the road heading north at 8:30am. We did make a pit / gas stop in northern Georgia. A little after noon we were approaching “that” place….. Now Patti has asked me quite a few times to stop so she could look around, and I was able to fend her off, but since I would be needing to stop for gas soon anyway, I decided to indulge her. She’s happy! I consider what’s to follow a public service. If someone that you know wants to stop here, just point them to this review, show them these pictures, and the urge to visit here will vanish. I let Patti do a complete picture tour. The first thing that you will notice is the lack of people. Exactly! Nothing more needs to be said….. To be continued…….

Love those pain reliefs! 😁

Try tapping on the top 3 to 5 times before you open it.

Cruise money! 😁

Leaving for work in 15 minutes. 😎

Does that mean B can't go ashore now? 😁

You know they weren't going to call it "Bad Coffee". 😁

We're both working today. I have to get Patti up at 2am. 😀