Pirate's LIVE Celebration Review...February 26-March 5, 2023

[d-lite-n-cruisin]

Count me in as well.  We did a spur of the moment cruise right before the Covid shutdown.  No excursions.  Just Cheers and the ship.  One of our best trips ever.  Hope yours is a truly relaxing and wonderful adventure!

 

Dan

[lennythenose]

47 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

I thought I was the only crazy cruiser booked out till 2025😂 and I'm still looking at other cruises.  Yikes!

I’m planning for 2025 but waiting for European cruises to open before I book. Although I do gave a 2024 NYE cruise booked that returns in 2025. Does that count😂?

[pirate4me2]

5 minutes ago, d-lite-n-cruisin said:

Count me in as well.  We did a spur of the moment cruise right before the Covid shutdown.  No excursions.  Just Cheers and the ship.  One of our best trips ever.  Hope yours is a truly relaxing and wonderful adventure!

 

Dan

Welcome aboard! I hope my trip will be just as awesome and relaxing. This week at work has me more than ready for a few Alchemy drinks! 

4 minutes ago, lennythenose said:

I’m planning for 2025 but waiting for European cruises to open before I book. Although I do gave a 2024 NYE cruise booked that returns in 2025. Does that count😂?

I'd say it does! 

[Knights on the Beach]

On 2/20/2023 at 10:20 AM, pirate4me2 said:

Who is sitting at home, chomping at the bit to get on a ship, but still has months left before their sail date? Well, I can’t pack you in my suitcase to join me onboard the Celebration, but how about the next best thing….you can sail along vicariously with this LIVE review!

 

Yay, can't wait for this one - loved your Mardi Gras live! 

 

 

 

[RenoNanaOz]

7 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

Yay, can't wait for this one - loved your Mardi Gras live! 

 

 

 

I'm in too, I have 73 more days!

[kelkel2]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

I thought I was the only crazy cruiser booked out till 2025😂 and I'm still looking at other cruises.  Yikes!

Nope, we just booked a 3/2025! 

[mlshum]

Yay!  Can’t wait to get started reading this one! We have to wait until Nov to board Celebration so I’m super excited to read your review!

[pirate4me2]

6 hours ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

Yay, can't wait for this one - loved your Mardi Gras live! 

 

 

 

Thank you! That was my first attempt at a live, I will try and make this one better! And not get as distracted by the Alchemy as I did on MG 😂

6 hours ago, RenoNanaOz said:

I'm in too, I have 73 more days!

Well c’mon aboard, I’ll try and at least help the next week go by faster! 

5 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

Nope, we just booked a 3/2025! 

Welcome to the Crazy Cruisers Club!! 

5 minutes ago, mlshum said:

Yay!  Can’t wait to get started reading this one! We have to wait until Nov to board Celebration so I’m super excited to read your review!

Any questions about the ship, just ask! I’ll try and get answers! 

[pirate4me2]

Pre-Cruise Hotel Info:

 

So…..let me just say upfront that I hate Miami. It’s a beautiful port to sail away from with that awesome skyline, but other than that, I despise it. I have already decided that this is our last time sailing from there, UNLESS a kick butt itinerary that I just cannot turn down opens up. With MG and Vista homeporting in Port Canaveral, which is way closer to us, we will be choosing sailings from there. Miami just makes me alcoholism kick into high gear. Day 1 of the cruise may be my “max out the Cheers package” day. 

 

ANYWAY…we have never really found a hotel we care about down in good old Miami. The closest we came was the Hampton Inn that we stayed at before our Vista B2B in 2017, they had excellent customer service, but the location left a lot to be desired. So, each cruise from there we have bounced to different hotels. This time around I had a hard time finding a hotel with a park & cruise package that had rooms available for our date needed…I guess because I kept procrastinating on looking for one. I finally found Hilton Miami Downtown, and although the price made me choke ($592) I booked it. Good gravy, that is 1.5 months worth of truck payments on Rammit! With prices like this, it’s no wonder I freaking hate Miami. The location may be cool tho, if we make good time on our travel day maybe we can walk around. We shall see! 

[JandPB]

9 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

Pre-Cruise Hotel Info:

 

So…..let me just say upfront that I hate Miami. It’s a beautiful port to sail away from with that awesome skyline, but other than that, I despise it. I have already decided that this is our last time sailing from there, UNLESS a kick butt itinerary that I just cannot turn down opens up. With MG and Vista homeporting in Port Canaveral, which is way closer to us, we will be choosing sailings from there. Miami just makes me alcoholism kick into high gear. Day 1 of the cruise may be my “max out the Cheers package” day. 

 

ANYWAY…we have never really found a hotel we care about down in good old Miami. The closest we came was the Hampton Inn that we stayed at before our Vista B2B in 2017, they had excellent customer service, but the location left a lot to be desired. So, each cruise from there we have bounced to different hotels. This time around I had a hard time finding a hotel with a park & cruise package that had rooms available for our date needed…I guess because I kept procrastinating on looking for one. I finally found Hilton Miami Downtown, and although the price made me choke ($592) I booked it. Good gravy, that is 1.5 months worth of truck payments on Rammit! With prices like this, it’s no wonder I freaking hate Miami. The location may be cool tho, if we make good time on our travel day maybe we can walk around. We shall see! 

We have always flown in day of when leaving from Miami but with flights so unpredictable now we will be needing a hotel for our next cruise. $592 makes me cringe. 

[Jamman54]

We've given up looking for reasonable hotels in Miami. We stay in Fort Lauderdale or Dania Beach for half the price and make the 20 minute drive to Miami on embarkation day. 😎

[pirate4me2]

21 minutes ago, JandPB said:

We have always flown in day of when leaving from Miami but with flights so unpredictable now we will be needing a hotel for our next cruise. $592 makes me cringe. 

Look in advance and maybe you can find it cheaper than I did. I just procrastinated and paid the price. Literally. 

2 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

We've given up looking for reasonable hotels in Miami. We stay in Fort Lauderdale or Dania Beach for half the price and make the 20 minute drive to Miami on embarkation day. 😎

That's a good idea....but then how much is parking at the port? Does it come out cheaper to pay that and hotel in those cities rather than stay in Miami? If I have to cruise from there in the future, maybe I will look into that! 

[Jamman54]

3 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

Look in advance and maybe you can find it cheaper than I did. I just procrastinated and paid the price. Literally. 

That's a good idea....but then how much is parking at the port? Does it come out cheaper to pay that and hotel in those cities rather than stay in Miami? If I have to cruise from there in the future, maybe I will look into that! 

Parking at the port is $22/day.

[pirate4me2]

Ok cool, thanks for the info Jeff! I will look into that next time/if we cruise from Miami again!

[Knights on the Beach]

14 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Thank you! That was my first attempt at a live, I will try and make this one better! And not get as distracted by the Alchemy as I did on MG 😂

 

Getting distracted by Alchemy (or RFT or wherever) is half the fun! 😍

 

1 hour ago, pirate4me2 said:

Pre-Cruise Hotel Info:

 

So…..let me just say upfront that I hate Miami. It’s a beautiful port to sail away from with that awesome skyline, but other than that, I despise it. I have already decided that this is our last time sailing from there, UNLESS a kick butt itinerary that I just cannot turn down opens up. With MG and Vista homeporting in Port Canaveral, which is way closer to us, we will be choosing sailings from there. Miami just makes me alcoholism kick into high gear. Day 1 of the cruise may be my “max out the Cheers package” day. 

 

SAME!! I'm not a Miami fan AT all (except for the Dolphins LOL). It's a beautiful port to cruise out of but can't stand all the other Miaminess of it. Others disagree, but I love Port Canaveral and I said we'll never cruise out of Miami unless it's something we can't pass up. We'll be on Celebration in December because it was over $700 cheaper than the same week on Mardi Gras. 🤦‍♀️ 

[pirate4me2]

38 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

Getting distracted by Alchemy (or RFT or wherever) is half the fun! 😍

 

 

SAME!! I'm not a Miami fan AT all (except for the Dolphins LOL). It's a beautiful port to cruise out of but can't stand all the other Miaminess of it. Others disagree, but I love Port Canaveral and I said we'll never cruise out of Miami unless it's something we can't pass up. We'll be on Celebration in December because it was over $700 cheaper than the same week on Mardi Gras. 🤦‍♀️ 

I am so glad I am not the only one feels this way. I was expecting to get flamed on here for saying that. I absolutly love Port Canaveral. 

[mom2tcdx2]

1 hour ago, pirate4me2 said:

Ok cool, thanks for the info Jeff! I will look into that next time/if we cruise from Miami again!

We never stay in Miami when we cruise out of there.  If flying we have stayed in Ft. Lauderdale, when we drive we choose to stay a couple hours away from Miami and drive the rest of the way into Miami the morning of the cruise.  Hotel prices are way too crazy and no way I would ever pay $592 for a hotel room.  

[pirate4me2]

17 minutes ago, mom2tcdx2 said:

We never stay in Miami when we cruise out of there.  If flying we have stayed in Ft. Lauderdale, when we drive we choose to stay a couple hours away from Miami and drive the rest of the way into Miami the morning of the cruise.  Hotel prices are way too crazy and no way I would ever pay $592 for a hotel room.  

This is a first paying that for sure. I'm having a hard time swallowing it. At least it includes parking our car there for the duration of the cruise and a 1 way shuttle to the port on embarkation day. Small consolation prize there. 

[RDDAILY]

Looking forward to your review!  I have to wait until July to sail on Celebration.  But I just booked Conquest for my birthday weekend (Memorial Weekend) to help me pass the time 😉  

[pirate4me2]

3 minutes ago, RDDAILY said:

Looking forward to your review!  I have to wait until July to sail on Celebration.  But I just booked Conquest for my birthday weekend (Memorial Weekend) to help me pass the time 😉  

Exciting! Birthday cruises are fun, I did one a few years ago and loved it. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

4 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Parking at the port is $22/day.

How many days were you charged for?  Some places (Port Canaveral) charge for the day you pick up your vehicle, creating double income for themselves on debarkation/embarkation days.  Does Miami do that?  Will we be charged for 4 days or 5 days for our four night cruise?

[Jamman54]

1 minute ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

How many days were you charged for?  Some places (Port Canaveral) charge for the day you pick up your vehicle, creating double income for themselves on debarkation/embarkation days.  Does Miami do that?  Will we be charged for 4 days or 5 days for our four night cruise?

We were charged $176 for our 8 day cruise so we paid for 8 days. On the Freedom out of Port Canaveral we were charged $110 for our 5 day cruise so we paid for 5 days. Never have we been charged for extra days when parking at the pier at either port. Don't know why that happened to you. 😎

[ZoeyVictoria]

19 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

We were charged $176 for our 8 day cruise so we paid for 8 days. On the Freedom out of Port Canaveral we were charged $110 for our 5 day cruise so we paid for 5 days. Never have we been charged for extra days when parking at the pier at either port. Don't know why that happened to you. 😎

Port Canaveral charges $17 per day for both the day of arrival and the day of departure. So does an off-site parking lot at that port (Park ‘n Cruise). We will arrive on April 16 for a six-night cruise, leaving in the 22nd, and will be charged for seven days. So they are collecting a daily parking fee for both the vehicle that is picked up at 8 a.m. and the one that is dropped off at 10 a.m.   I don’t think all ports do that.

[Jamman54]

21 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

Port Canaveral charges $17 per day for both the day of arrival and the day of departure. So does an off-site parking lot at that port (Park ‘n Cruise). We will arrive on April 16 for a six-night cruise, leaving in the 22nd, and will be charged for seven days. So they are collecting a daily parking fee for both the vehicle that is picked up at 8 a.m. and the one that is dropped off at 10 a.m.   I don’t think all ports do that.

 

I sit corrected. I just assumed it was $22 a day, so yes you are right. $17x6+tax =$110 so that's why I thought $22/day. In Miami it's a flat $22/day tax included.

[ZoeyVictoria]

1 minute ago, Jamman54 said:

 

I sit corrected. I just assumed it was $22 a day, so yes you are right. $17x6+tax =$110 so that's why I thought $22/day. In Miami it's a flat $22/day tax included.

I am happy to hear that Miami charges for only the nights parked and doesn’t have a separate tax charge  - thank you!