Willdra’s Celestial Carnival Celebration May 28-June 4 Cruise Review

[ninjacat123]

5 minutes ago, willdra said:

That’s smart! I didn’t know that the Carnival Digital Gift Cards could go in the Apple Wallet. I need to get some of those. We usually get Carnival Cards from Kroger when they have 4xFuel Points so we are paying for the cruise and saving on gas. I like that AARP 10% off deal tho! I’m all for anything to keep the costs down. 🤑🤑🤑

And you don't have to be 50 or over to be an AARP member, but you do need to be a member to get the special deals.  This deal is going on now, I believe for membership.

https://join.aarp.org/mem/nextjs-modular?component=offer-3_cta-pyp_valcopy-y_logo-1_btf-dbr&sequence=shm&testid=326&variation=b&jkc1=ULGE2022&jkc2=ULGE2023&rkc1=ULGE2022&rkc2=ULGE2023&s3=377684680&pubval=3we&cmp=EMC-MIV-ACQ-3wt-3P-pros-ctrl-a-join-2023-520021&tc_tm_meth=MAN&tc_hpc=info.aarp.org&tc_tm_xg=lgemail&tc_campaign=LGEMAIL&tc_channel=LeadGen&tc_vendor=LGemail&tc_tm_uid=AARP64E39DF089B91&tc_tm_visitid=AARP64E39DF089B96&tc_hpc=info.aarp.org

[princess76021]

16 hours ago, willdra said:

 

Thank you! Hopefully that oven will start cooling down soon! 🥰

From your mouth to God's ear! 

So far it looks like we will be baking at least for the next ten days 😬😬

Hugs from the oven!!

[Hogladyrider]

@willdra...you and W are the best looking couple!  Sounds like T & K are great traveling companions.  Those are the ones where you do not need to be in each other's business 24/7!

 

Sorry she got ill, never a fun thing on a cruise for sure, been there done that several times.

 

I purchase gift cards on AARP all the time, saved over $700 on our upcoming cruise to Hawaii using gift cards to pay down the balance..gotta get em while they are in stock!

[MistyRo76]

On 8/19/2023 at 11:12 PM, willdra said:

 

Thanks so much for jumping in! I've heard that Drake puts on a great show too. I've never thought about trying to get tickets the day of the show. That sounds like a brilliant plan if they're less expensive, especially for Renaissance! Please let me know if it works out. That will be my new move if it's successful!  ❤️❤️❤️❤️

When I was in my 20's (several decades ago!), my friends and I went to ALOT of concerts! We learned that the venue/artists hold tickets at each location for friends and family and any unused tickets would be released the evening of the show. If it was an artist we'd already seen, we would just go to the venue about 2 hours before the show started and inquire about best available seats at the ticket window. We would keep coming back every 5-10 minutes until we got the seats we wanted. Most times we ended up getting in the first 10 rows on the floor and the cost was face value! Not necessarily cheaper tickets - but good bang for your buck, for sure! Scalpers will also usually lower prices for un-bought tickets once the shows start. So that's another route to go! 

[willdra]

3 hours ago, princess76021 said:

From your mouth to God's ear! 

So far it looks like we will be baking at least for the next ten days 😬😬

Hugs from the oven!!

 

LOL, that just reminded me of this meme that I saw earlier:

 

[willdra]

5 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

And you don't have to be 50 or over to be an AARP member, but you do need to be a member to get the special deals.  This deal is going on now, I believe for membership.

https://join.aarp.org/mem/nextjs-modular?component=offer-3_cta-pyp_valcopy-y_logo-1_btf-dbr&sequence=shm&testid=326&variation=b&jkc1=ULGE2022&jkc2=ULGE2023&rkc1=ULGE2022&rkc2=ULGE2023&s3=377684680&pubval=3we&cmp=EMC-MIV-ACQ-3wt-3P-pros-ctrl-a-join-2023-520021&tc_tm_meth=MAN&tc_hpc=info.aarp.org&tc_tm_xg=lgemail&tc_campaign=LGEMAIL&tc_channel=LeadGen&tc_vendor=LGemail&tc_tm_uid=AARP64E39DF089B91&tc_tm_visitid=AARP64E39DF089B96&tc_hpc=info.aarp.org

 

3 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

@willdra...you and W are the best looking couple!  Sounds like T & K are great traveling companions.  Those are the ones where you do not need to be in each other's business 24/7!

 

Sorry she got ill, never a fun thing on a cruise for sure, been there done that several times.

 

I purchase gift cards on AARP all the time, saved over $700 on our upcoming cruise to Hawaii using gift cards to pay down the balance..gotta get em while they are in stock!

 

This is wonderful, y'all just taught me something new! I'm going to sign W up for AARP ASAP! Thank you for dropping this 4-1-1!!! 😘❤️

 

 

[willdra]

3 hours ago, MistyRo76 said:

When I was in my 20's (several decades ago!), my friends and I went to ALOT of concerts! We learned that the venue/artists hold tickets at each location for friends and family and any unused tickets would be released the evening of the show. If it was an artist we'd already seen, we would just go to the venue about 2 hours before the show started and inquire about best available seats at the ticket window. We would keep coming back every 5-10 minutes until we got the seats we wanted. Most times we ended up getting in the first 10 rows on the floor and the cost was face value! Not necessarily cheaper tickets - but good bang for your buck, for sure! Scalpers will also usually lower prices for un-bought tickets once the shows start. So that's another route to go! 

 

This sounds like an awesome way to see some fabulous shows! A and I thought we were doing something when we got into the pre-sale, but wait until I tell her about this!! Even if we save 25%, that's still huge savings that we can use for gas, hotel, or another show! 😍😍

[willdra]

Final Sea Day

 

 

I got up at 7:30 and got ready as quick as I could. I left the cabin a little after 8, since I really wasn’t in too much of a hurry. I knew that I could still get decent seats on deck. #Wisdom.

 

There were a few more peeps out in Serenity than the previous days. I guess everyone was trying to get the most out of the last cruise day. I was able to secure a couple of loungers on the starboard side under the awning. I figured the sun would pass over us and we would have shade all day.

 

Before that could happen tho, we sailed into an angry group of clouds. The wind picked up quickly, and it got very dark even faster. I could see and smell the rain coming. I looked around for the best option to wait it out, and decided to stay under the awning. That did the trick and kept me dry. It was just really chilly out with the wind blowing. The rain seemed relentless, and I was about to abandon ship, until I looked forward and I could see that we were sailing into clearer skies. This shower would be over soon. And just like that, somebody turned off the rain and the sun come out.

 

 

I dried off the wet spots from our chairs, and got back in to wait for the fam. I really hope they appreciate alladis cuz I don’t know if I’m gonna be repeating this getting up early business in the future. It’s low key for the birds. W wandered up around 9:46. He asked about T and K. Since I hadn’t heard from them yet, I sent them a message. T said he was in the gym but he would come to Serenity afterwards. W was occupying their sun bed just in case. If they decided not to come, we would give it up.

 

 

 

[willdra]

I was hungry but W wasn’t. I know right! What’s up with that? I only had about 30 minutes before Emeril’s closed, so I ran down there. First I made a pit stop at the cabin of convenience. Then I went down to Deck 6. It was buzzing with energy. Lots of bodies were out and about. I tried my best to dodge the spa gang, when I saw them posted up. No matter how I ducked and dodged them, one eventually caught me at the end of the hall and shoved a pamphlet in my hands. That’s some hostile gang related activity.

 

Our cabin comes with the use of the Thermal Suite, and some other benefits, but we had not taken advantage of any of it. Maybe we would pass thru later. Or not. It isn’t  that we were super busy, it’s that the location of the spa was off. The spa was well hidden on Celebration, and I honestly don’t even remember seeing it. Sounds like a conspiracy to me. Did they hide it on purpose so we wouldn’t use it to redeem our amenities? If so, well played Carnival. Well played.

 

When I got in line to order at Emeril's, this lady ahead of me asked for orange juice. The server stated that Emeril's didn’t have that, but they had the specialty juices on the menu. She glanced at the menu, then said “But it’s for the kids”. The server apologized and said “I’m sorry but we don’t have orange juice”. She says “Not even for my kids?” This lady(and I) was in disbelief. Surely by saying that it was for some kids, would make that oj magically appear, and Emeril's would suddenly have an abundance of it. No. There are lots of places to eat on the ship. Just because we choose to eat at a certain place, doesn’t mean that they must accommodate us by providing food or drinks from other venues. It’s like going to Chick Fil A and being upset because they won’t serve you a Whopper Jr with cheese, and no ketchup. It ain’t happening. Whatever she thought this was, this ain't that.

 

After a humongous eyeroll, I ordered, and I got my Latte and Shrimp and Grits quickly. I decided to stay there and finish the Latte since it arrived first. I didn’t want to have to carry both all the way back up to Serenity. I downed the Latte, then I went back up to join (relieve) W. He’d decided that he wanted to go to Lido for breakfast. T came back from the gym, and took up residence in the sun bed next to us. K would join us later.

 

I can't remember if I shared this already, and I'm too lazy to look so here it is (again maybe):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

I read my book while W went to eat. He wasn’t gone long at all. He returned saying he really wasn’t that hungry. He also said that he was looking forward to an early lunch. Now that’s more like it.

 

 While we were laying around, a couple passed by and told us that we were in “their spot”. Ooookkkkkkk. I didn’t really know what to do with that info. I mean do you want to have a dance battle for it? Were we supposed to say ”oh I’m sorry, you can have it”?  I was so confused as to why they felt the need to declare that. So W and I just looked at them. 

And blinked. They got the message and moved on, leaving W and I to stare at the air some more.

 

Later, I walked around a little, then when I came back, K was there. She looked better, and proclaimed that she was back to normal. She was able to eat and keep it down, so we counted that as a win.

 

Everything was peaceful, then suddenly, there was a disturbance in the force. I looked around for the offender, and I noticed this guy talking to a couple on one of the sun beds. He was talking very loud and we could actually hear him down on our end. It also looked like he was holding the couple hostage. He wouldn’t leave, nor stop talking. After about an hour of him assaulting us with his voice, T and K left to go back to their cabin. They couldn’t take it anymore. Good for them. Where W and I were sitting, we couldn’t hear what he was saying, we could just hear him talking, otherwise we would’ve bumped out too, or at least put our AirPods in.

 

For the remainder of the day, W and I sat around in our half clamshell. That middle section was active all afternoon with people talking, laughing, and yelling over each other. It didn’t really bother us cuz we couldn’t really hear one person over another. It was all just noise.

 

 

 

[willdra]

I had my last burger of the cruise from GBJ for a late lunch. As always, the line was lengthy, but it moved pretty fast so I didn’t wait long. I took the food back to Serenity to eat. I walked back down thru Lido on my way back and I saw the luggage tag stand. The lowest number left was in the 20’s. If you have to get those tags, get them early if you want a low number, looks like they go quickly. 

 

After I returned, we read a little, then I fell asleep. Outside. On the half clamshell. I forgot about the Diamond/Platinum Party all together. W didn’t want to wake me up, so he went without me. T and K also went. From what they told me, there was wine, beer, and rum punch that they could get at the entrance. They also had water and Mountain Dew. W brought me back some rum punch, so I was glad. T and K got beer for W since neither one of them were drinking. We were happy campers.

 

Our shade started to disappear around 5, so W and I wrapped up and went back to the cabin. It was time to pack and get ready for dinner. We were going to attempt Guy’s Pig and Anchor that night. I’ve heard that the wait time can go either way, so prayerfully it would be quick.

 

[willdra]

We got ready, then went down there to see what the wait was doing. Quickly we realized that we would have no such luck on getting in and out. We checked in at the hostess station and were given a buzzer. Sweet. We knew that meant at least a 20 minute wait. We sat in the American Heroes area with the buzzer. There are comfy couches and chairs over there. We really didn’t wait that long, or maybe it felt like it went fast, cuz I was reading.

 

They buzzed about 5 parties all at once. Then people just bombarded the little hostess stand. Skipping and cutting the line. Nobody, but W, paid attention to the young couple that was already there waiting before us. We got in line behind them. The hostess took us in order of who was actually in line. Thank God. They didn’t just take the buzzers that were shoved in their faces by the line cutters. I appreciated that.

 

When it was our turn, we were led to a table in the back. They gave us a paper menu to check the items that we wanted. I selected the 18 Hour Brisket, Collard Greens, Mac Daddy Mac and Cheese, and the Bourbon Banana Pie. I also got the Southern Peach Cocktail. W got the Blue Ribbon Chicken, Smoked Pulled Pork Butt, Mac and Cheese, and Mississippi Mud Pie. We thoroughly enjoyed all of our food and we were glad that we went there on the last night.

 

One thing about the Southern Peach Cocktail tho, it wasn't really sweet at all. W said it tasted like a seltzer and he hit it dead on. I couldn’t figure out what it reminded me of until he said that. If you like seltzers, it’s your jam. If you don’t, skip it.

 

When the bar bill came out, and it was zero for the Southern Peach Cocktail, I remembered the free drink credit that we get on Celebration and Mardi Gras for the abbreviated Diamond/Platinum VIFP Party. W used his card to pay for it, so I could still get another free drink. Whoop whoop!

 

It was loud in there with everyone talking, cuz there isn’t any buffer for the sound. Then the band started playing and it was impossible to hear anything. Luckily we were almost done by then.

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

After dinner, I wanted my free drink from Alchemy, so we went there next. I got a Painkiller, and it was double delish. Because free. They also had Alchemy Bar cocktail shakers and glass in a set for $12. We got 2 of them (one was for A and Z) since I hadn’t bought 1 souvenir that whole cruise.

We sat down there for a little bit watching those screens over the Latitudes Bar change scenes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

After that we rode back up to 17 to change our clothes and throw the last items in our bags. We were going to the Comedy Show in Center Stage at 9:45. We had an hour before that, which we filled by reading (W), and talking to y’all (me). At least that was the plan. K text us at 9:06 saying the line was already stupid long and we should come on down if we could. We could, so we did. She wasn’t wrong. The lines were backed up on 6 and 7. Once we got out of the elevator on 7, there was nowhere to go. We were confused as to where T was, so we went down to 6, didn’t see him, then back up to 7. We just got in the line from there and we figured we would see him when we got inside. Once the doors opened, there were plenty of seats available. We found T and life was wonderful again.

 

The comedian was Percy Crews 2, and he was funny. We laughed out loud quite a bit and the 30 minutes was over way too soon. When it ended, we walked through the casino to check the line at the cashier. W had some chips to cash in, but the line was longer than we wanted to wait. We went back up to Deck 17 and W went back to the casino awhile later. Since there was nothing left to do but read and go to sleep, that’s what we did.

 

Before I fell asleep I said prayer thanking God for Emeril Lagasse. That man changed the game for our tastebuds. He was tired of eating food that tastes like SPF40 and humidity. He wanted something better for all of us, so he opened a restaurant and perfected a version of Creole Cajun Cuisine that is unmatched to this day. His food is so anointed, NASA asked him to send recipes up to the International Space Station to combat the tastelessness that can happen in space. They cook his food in space y'all. I know that Emeril has a whole section in Jesus' cookbook, and I am very thankful that we can enjoy his food here on Earth too. God has good taste. Amen.

 

 

My towel animal collection from the week

 

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Willdra, do you do your hair in colors when you cruise so W can find you in a crowd (but never does)?  EM

[TravelGirlinDallas]

13 hours ago, willdra said:

I mean do you want to have a dance battle for it?

YESSSS! This needs to happen. 😂

[ninjacat123]

7 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

YESSSS! This needs to happen. 😂

With pics!!💃🕺🤣

[willdra]

You don’t have to go home, but you gotta get the heck off of our ship!

 

Eviction day arrived, regardless of our feelings. It was time to go. Wahhh. We got up around 6:30 am. We received instructions, the night before, to go to the Diamond/Platinum waiting area at the Center Stage Lounge by 8am for express debark. T and K would meet us down there.

 

We couldn’t hear the announcements in the cabin, so we had no idea what they were saying, and what they were doing. We didn’t feel like doing the old "stand halfway in the hall with the cabin door open every time they announced something" move. We were just going to get ready, then go down there. Cuz this shouldn’t be that difficult.

 

W and I left the cabin around 7:20. It took awhile to get an elevator going down with enough room for us. At around 7:37, we got a message from T and K saying the lounge was empty already. The Diamond/Platinum Guests had already debarked. T and K were told to get in the line to leave. W and I were in another line at Javablue when we got that text, cuz we thought we were early. We decided to forego our morning caffeine, and just kick rocks. We walked back into the lounge area and there was now a Carnival Rep there. He said we were cleared to leave, so he made a space, and merged us in line. Cool.

 

We got our luggage and made it out of customs and into the parking garage by 7:55. When we got to the car, we realized T and K were still in the line behind us. We thought they'd left when the lounge was cleared, but they said they went to the back of the gen pop line. It took them maybe another 15-20 minutes after us  to get out. That little bit of line makes a huge difference. Thank God we weren't in a hurry. 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the random pics that I take to use as a timestamp

[willdra]

Once they made it out we loaded up and slid out. There was another very long line to exit the parking garage so I had W get his ticket and credit card ready. Miraculously, it helps the line move faster when drivers are ready. Go figure.

 

Not 5 minutes after we exited the garage, K said she needed to stop to go potty. I felt bad for her cuz her stomach was still upset, otherwise she would’ve gotten a big hefty serving of side eye. Just kidding. I didn’t want whatever that was inside of her, in my car, so I told W to put the pedal to the metal! Unfortunately we were still trying to get out of downtown Miami, so it was trafficy and our options were not cute. W stopped at the first gas station that he could. True to his norm, it was super shady with lots of questionable characters hanging around outside on that random Sunday morning. I guess miscreants and ne'er-do-wells don't even take Sunday off. That's the type of dedication that I need. After W located a semi-safe parking spot, they got out. T went to get some Pepto while K went to utilize the facilities. W and I stayed in the car. We didn’t feel comfortable leaving it, and that says it.

 

T and K made it back alive and we carried on. Daytona is only about 3 1/2 hours from Miami. We stopped 2 more times for K to “go”. The next stop was a McDonalds/Chevron combo. It wasn’t much better than that first place that we went to. Especially since someone had broken the glass front door, and the owners replaced it with a wooden house door. I have no idea why I didn’t take a picture of it other than the fact that I was trying to make sure that I left unscathed. I was successful.

 

The last stop before Daytona was much better. All of the gas station’s doors and windows were in tact, so all of us got out and went in. By this time we were running behind schedule. We opted not to go to the Buc-ee’s in Daytona. We would stop at another one down the road. When we got to Latitudes, we didn’t just stop, drop, and roll. We went in for a few minutes. T and K were thrilled to see that their porch had been screened in while they were gone. Since the workers could do it outside without entering the home, they took care of it while they were away. Now that’s great service! That also meant that T would spend the rest of the day putting the patio furniture together, and installing a ceiling fan out there. W and I quickly said our goodbyes, cuz we are allergic to work while we are on PTO. Ick. 

[willdra]

In the car I reminded W that he wanted to go to Hull’s to buy seafood to take home. He even had his empty cooler that we could fill with ice to keep the food fresh for the drive back. I wasn't sure if he still wanted to go, but as soon as I mentioned it, he didn’t hesitate to enter the address into Waze to get us there.

 

We arrived swiftly, we weren't that far away. As soon as I walked in, I realized there was only one problem with going to a seafood market like that. I want to buy EVERYTHING. Since I didn’t really buy anything on the trip, seafood could be my souvenirs! W loves all food, so he didn’t even need to be convinced. We pretty much stocked up on everything. When we had all that we could carry, we left, only regretting that we didn’t have time to eat in the restaurant. We also didn’t want to risk W falling into a food coma after a large, well seasoned with Old Bay, meal there. He was in charge of getting us back to GA (without running into a ditch). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

We got back on the highway then stopped at the Buc-ee’s pass Jacksonville. It wasn’t too crowded, and this time I was indeed not in and out. I loaded up on all of the good snacks to take back to my team. They love the Beaver Nuggets, so I get those in all of the flavors.

 

Nothing else happened after that. It was a long boring drive back to A Town. We made it home, unpacked, and immediately started dreading our return to work.

 

Before I fell asleep, I said a prayer thanking God that K did not, I repeat, did not have a biological “accident” in our car. I don’t care how clean we were able to get it, I would’ve just had to throw the whole car away and start over. Every time I put a foot in that car after that, I know the ghost of ”upchuck and bottom blow out” past would forever haunt me. If her insides had chosen violence, that car would never be the same, and I would just have to chuck the deuces. I would’ve even died a little inside, as I was walking home, cuz who in their right minds would ride in it. This is yet another example of how much God loves me. He prevented and shielded me from a radioactive nuclear biohazard, and the shame of not handling it well. Good looking out, big guy.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

Bonus: I got the Welcome Aboard FunTimes for the next cruise.

[willdra]

14 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

YESSSS! This needs to happen. 😂

 

14 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

With pics!!💃🕺🤣

 

LOL😂😆!!! I kinda want it to happen too, so next time, It's ON!!! 😜

[willdra]

On 8/21/2023 at 10:12 PM, Essiesmom said:

Willdra, do you do your hair in colors when you cruise so W can find you in a crowd (but never does)?  EM

 

I'm starting to think that he has a rare form of "hair color blindness". Where he is only color blind when it comes to hair color. Or maybe just my hair color. Hmmm. Does anyone know if there's a test for that, and more importantly can this qualify for some sort of compensation? (Asking for W). 🤪😎