My LONG Celebration Story - 11/26/23 to 12/03/23

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4 hours ago, ItsADryHumor said:

Those are the WORST. Hope you healed up quickly! 

Thanks so much!  I hope to get another installment up tomorrow.

[mlshum]

Thursday, November 30th – Roatan

 

(There are no pictures for the first part of this segment.  Sorry!)

 

As morning dawned, I was SO ready to go to the doctor and get this fixed.  Can you please fix me quickly, doc?  We must have had breakfast as we usually do.  To be honest, I don't remember going and didn't have anything unusual in my notes, so I guess it was fine.

 

We had scheduled a Discover Scuba class on this day, but it was readily apparent that I would not be able to dive.  I could barely walk.  One thing I've learned about scuba diving is that it takes concentration.  For someone who is experienced and proficient that might not be the case.  For me, I have to work at it.  I wasn't even sad to miss it at that point.  All I wanted to do was to go to the doctor and get something to stop the pain.  The medical center didn’t open until 8am but the shore excursion desk opened at 7am and that needed to be our first stop anyway.

 

We went to Carnival Adventures on our way down to the medical center.  Ron explained the circumstances and they immediately agreed to refund our Discover Scuba.  They made it very easy, and I appreciated that so much!  This shore excursion sold out pretty quickly, so I imagine they were able to resale it.  I hope so at least!

 

While we were talking to the crew member at the shore excursion desk another couple came in to cancel their excursion.  The gentleman had apparently booked a two-tank certified dive but had never been diving before and, of course, was not certified.  (Prior diving experience WHILE becoming certified is required!)   Now I'm very impressed with the level of confidence that it takes to plan a certified dive when you've never tried it before AND still be angry when they won't let you dive!   Ron offered him our spots in the Discover Scuba class because it was sold out and he wouldn't be able to dive otherwise, but he wasn't having it.  He was going to dive in the certified group, or he wasn't going to dive at all!  I have only managed one successful dive in three tries.  Ron did it all three times.  I loved it but it's somewhat terrifying to me.  It is complicated.....and rightfully so!  If you don't get it right, there's a real possibility of drowning.  I have a healthy respect for learning to do it correctly!  I will try it again in the future for sure. 

 

After that, we went down to Deck 3 to the Medical Center and were there when they opened at 8am.   

 

The Medical Center looked exactly like any doctor’s office or ER that one would visit on land.  It was very neat and modern.  I signed in at the front desk and was greeted by a nurse who asked why I was there.  I explained my symptoms and history and she agreed that I needed to see a doctor immediately.  I was given paperwork to fill out.  As soon as I finished the paperwork, another nurse came and took me into what looked like a small ER.  I followed the second nurse into an examination room.  She started getting my vitals when the first nurse came back in and said, "Hey, you stole my patient!"  The current nurse just smiled and continued what she was doing.  I guess they don't stay very busy and may get bored, which is a very good thing!

 

There were four hospital beds with a variety of machines and monitors.  She took my blood pressure, which was surprisingly good given the circumstances, and took a sample to be tested.  She instructed me to get into one of the beds and told me that the doctor would be in shortly.  She was right.  He was there almost immediately after she left.  

 

He did an examination, asked a lot of questions, especially about my history, and looked at the test results.  He concluded that I was correct.   I had a very bad UTI, and it was necessary to begin treatment immediately.  He said he had two antibiotics on hand that he could give me and felt that it was best to use the strongest option.   He gave me an antibiotic, prescription strength Tylenol and another OTC (Azo Standard) to alleviate the symptoms.  He gave me instructions about coming back if certain symptoms occurred.  After about 30 minutes, it was finished, and I was headed back to my room.  The entire staff and facilities were totally professional, and I appreciated them so very much.  I had always heard how expensive onboard medical services were but in this case, my entire visit was less than $250 and that included all of my medications.  That was much cheaper than I expected!  (I'm self-employed and have to buy my own medical insurance so I am used to things being very expensive.)  I was also able to submit the bill to my insurance company when I got home.  Although I don't wish a visit to the doctor on anyone, I can certainly say that if you need it, they will make it as easy and pleasant as possible, given the circumstances.

 

My first duck find occurred on the way to the medical center.  It was a cute little duck with a cowboy hat.  I sent a picture to Liz who immediately named it Woody because Toy Story is her favorite movie and Woody is her favorite character.  It wasn’t labeled so I have no idea who had hidden it.  It was in a stairwell.  God knew I needed a little "pick-me-up" on this morning.

 

A duck named Woody

 

 

I was exhausted from that little bit of effort....and from being up all night.  We went back up to the room and I took my medicines.  After just a little while, the pain started to ease. Azo is good stuff and I use it on land anytime I have a need.   I laid down in the cabin and took a long nap.  When I awakened, I was already feeling much better.  Ron never left my side the entire time.  He's such a good guy!

 

 

I woke up and was feeling much better already.  The sharp pain had subsided some.  By that time, it was late morning.  I told Ron I wanted to get off the ship and at least visit the port area.  I can’t be docked at a port and NOT get off the ship for at least a little while!  He didn't love the idea but agreed to go with me, so we headed down and went into the port area.  I had to stop and rest several times.  I underestimated how sick and tired I was because after only a little bit, I was ready to go back.  We were able to pick up our magnet and t-shirts, but that was it.  We started back toward the ship. 

 

Spirit was also docked on this day.  We will sail Spirit to Alaska in 2025 for our 40th anniversay

 

Proof of life...and gumption!

 

Port Area

 

Port Area

 

Port Area

 

Port Area

 

 

The further we went the more I struggled to keep going.  Ron helped me along.  Finally, I made it back onboard and up to Deck 8.  I had to stop at that point.  He got us a piece of pizza and something to drink while I was gaining some strength to keep going.  After that rest, I made it back to the cabin and eventually to a deck chair.  I spent the rest of the day in that deck chair.  I read some and often napped.  I kept falling asleep pretty much every few minutes.  I love to read in a deck chair, although I usually don't fall asleep.  There are too many interesting things happening around me.

 

   Ron never left me unless it was to get me water or something to eat.  He’s definitely a keeper.  This was certainly not the day we had planned but it may have been a day that we needed.  I tried to have a good attitude and not bog us down too badly.  Hopefully it will never happen again.

 

Resting a bit

 

I'll never ever get tired of that view!

 

One of the things I had heard about on this cruise and wanted to see was the Time Journey in the windows at Latitude bar.  It was neat!  I like that area of the ship a lot.  It has such attractive decor...all travel themed.  This was a perfect way to rest for a few minutes but still be able to do something I wanted to do.

 

Latitudes and the windows where the "show" would appear

 

I love the decor of the Latitudes area!

 

Let the show begin

 

They start back in time....way back in time!

 

The marquee over the bar tells the year....sometimes

 

See??? We successfully arrived in 2165!

 

Shortly after sailing away from Roatan, I was beginning to feel MUCH better.  We decided to go to Guy’s Pig and Anchor for dinner.  I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I still enjoyed dinner.  My dessert, however, left much to be desired.  I had the Mississippi Mud Pie.  It simply wasn’t good. I took one bite and decided I’d get some ice cream later, but I wasn’t finishing that pie.  I’ve had it before and really liked it.  Not this time!  Ron had the apple pie and declared that it was the best dessert he’d had on the cruise.  I think it trumped the lemon torte from the night before.

 

When dinner was finished and I was still feeling OK, we went to watch Deal or No Deal.  I got a card and found a good seat on the main floor on Deck 6.  Ron went to get a milkshake and I stayed put to save our seats.  There were three chairs and our small table.  While I was there, a lady came by and asked me if she could have the third chair.  I told her “Of course, please join us!” and we proceeded to begin a conversation.  She asked where we were from, as one does, and I told her.  She immediately made a comment about my accent.  I DO have an accent.  Not as heavy as some people, heavier than others, but I firmly believe that EVERYONE has an accent.  She was from LA.  To me, SHE had an accent.  Before I had a chance to state that opinion, Ron came back with his milkshake.  I introduced him and when he spoke, she immediately went with “his accent is worse than yours”.  It really isn’t.  We’re about the same.  He gave her a strange look and informed her that he believed everyone had an accent…..exactly what I had been getting ready to say earlier.  She countered that she absolutely did NOT have an accent and then said that he also sounded like a “senator”.  Where did THAT come from???   What does that even mean??  I’m not exactly sure how one can identify a senator simply by listening to them talk.  Anyway, we both sort of shrugged, chuckled and settled in for the game.  I don’t know why but it seems that there are a lot of West Virginia haters on this cruise.  Two, at least!  That did NOT stop some of the musicians from playing "County Roads", including Misso.

 

Looking down into Celebration Central.  I would snag a couple of chairs down there

 

My view for the game.  Very acceptable!

 

My card...not as acceptable.  Pretty terrible, actually!

 

Waiting for the game to start

 

As the game started, it became clear that our tablemate didn’t understand how to play her cards.  I explained as the game progressed.  She was doing pretty well, actually.  She had three cards and won three Bingo packages and a casino package.  I, on the other hand, did terrible.  I couldn’t make a single match, much less win anything!  I would say the law of averages should dictate that I make at least one match on something over the course of two games, but that was not the case.   Oh, well!

 

When the game was finished, I wanted dessert.  I hadn’t had anything with dinner, and I guarantee that I will splurge with my calorie count on cruises and not pass up dessert, so we headed up to Lido to see what was available.  I think the dessert options on Carnival is one area where they are really lacking.  I’ve already mentioned that I really missed the Lido lunch cakes.  I wish there were more options in the dining rooms, too.  Surely it wouldn’t be that complicated to have a couple more options!  I'm glad they have a sugar free option finally.  That's a good addition to the menu.

 

Anyway, we found some cookies on Lido so that satisfied my sweet tooth.  We went on deck for just a little while, but I was quickly wearing down again.  I felt completely drained by this point.  All I wanted to do was lie down and go to sleep.  Ron suggested that we go back to our room.  I really appreciated that.  He is so understanding and always looking out for me.  We did go back to our room, and I pretty immediately fell asleep again.  Hopefully, tomorrow would be better.

 

I know, I know….I’m pretty boring on this cruise!  I'll make up for it tomorrow if I can!

 

[jimbo5544]

Keep it coming

[mlshum]

12 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Keep it coming

You’ve got it!

[mlshum]

Friday, December 1st – Costa Maya

 

Morning finally dawned again, as it usually does, and I immediately sensed a change.  I was feeling much better!  Finally!  Thank you, doctor, for saving the rest of my cruise!  I was moving a little slower than usual and I got tired more quickly but that was acceptable.  I will take it!  I jumped in the shower, and we headed up to Lido for a quick breakfast.  We stopped by the cabin for my backpack and headed off the ship.  Let’s do this!

 

Today I had booked a snorkeling/catamaran excursion through a private company.  I was pretty excited about this one.  It was a private experience, and the captain was going to give us a sailing lesson in addition to taking us to a good snorkeling site.  I had really been looking forward to this!

 

We headed off the ship, down the gangway and started the long walk down the pier.  It IS a rather long pier.  Normally I might not have noticed it, but I was moving just a little slower than normal.  We got all the way to just inside the port area when I realized something.  I had forgotten my snorkel gear.  Really?!?!  I had a quick internal debate about whether or not to go back and decided that I would.  I have a very small head.  It’s weird.  It doesn’t look abnormally small or anything, but I can wear the child sized Dora the Explorer bike helmet, so snorkel gear has always been challenging for me to the point where I usually just take my own.  Most operators don’t have a lot of child sized gear.  

 

It's a long pier!

 

I turned and made the long trek back to the ship and up twelve decks.  I grabbed the forgotten snorkel gear, ditched my hat (which wouldn't stay on my head due to wind) and headed back out.  We had plenty of time since our excursion wasn’t until 11 and it wasn’t even 9am at that point.  Still, this was a new port for me, and I wanted time to look around.

 

We did the whole pier thing again and that time it “stuck”.  We began to explore the port area.  The port at Costa Maya is very nice.  There are lots of little shops.  They are all clean and have all of the normal things you expect….t-shirt shops, jewelry, alcohol, food, etc.  The most aggressive vendors seemed to be the ones selling facial lotions and Botox treatments.  Definitely not!  I’ve gotten this far without Botox and I’m going to finish it out without Botox!  I haven't even dyed my hair yet!  I plan to just go ahead and grow old without fighting the "look" too much.   I typically don’t like spa type things…..I don’t like massages, I don’t like pedicures or manicures, I endure regular haircuts.  I just don’t like it!  The whole facial thing held absolutely no appeal for me.  I would walk by as quickly as possible, not making eye contact, saying, "No, thank you.  No, thank you."

 

Entering the port area

 

Photo ops

 

More photo ops

 

Lots of small shops

 

We wandered through several shops and got our t-shirts and magnets.  We heard that the Papantla Flyers were getting ready to start their show so we headed to that area to find a spot where we could see.

 

I have read about the Mayan Flyers, which we learned were more properly known as Papantla Flyers.  There are four men who perform a ceremony which involves climbing a very tall pole, attaching a rope to their ankle and spinning in a circle as they slowly circle to the ground while hanging upside down.  One of the most interesting things is that some of them played a small horn and a drum the entire time.  It was very interesting!  They seem to do this ceremony pretty often in the port area.  It’s free although they do appreciate donations.  If you have a chance to see them, I highly recommend it!  They're pretty easy to find because you can see them over the rest of the buildings and hear their music.

Climbing the pole

 

 

 

They pull these ropes up to attach to their feet

 

They "fly" in circles, playing music all the way to the ground

 

 

It was time to find a cab and go to Nohoch Kay where we’d meet our shore excursion.  Just outside the port area is the taxi area.  There were plenty of people available and it wasn’t necessary to wait at all.  The cab ride was short and only cost $4 each.

 

When we arrived at Nohoch Kay, we checked in and were informed that the water was too rough to sail the catamaran that day but they were still planning to take us out for snorkeling.  We agreed that was fine.  I had originally found the excursion on Viator and when I booked it, it was through Costa Maya Excursions.  We had paid half of the money up front and the other half was due when we arrived.  We paid for the snorkel excursion, which was the same price as the catamaran, and we were then shown to two beach loungers and an umbrella.  It even had our name on it!  The whole process was very well organized and pleasant.  We settled in to wait the 20 minutes until it was time to snorkel.  The beach is very pretty although there are some “things” out in the water that stick up.  I have no idea what they are.  I didn’t walk out to them.  It appeared to be very shallow for quite a distance from the shore because someone was wading and fishing out in the distance.  You could see where the water was very choppy beyond the shallow area.  There must be a sharp drop off in that area.

 

Check-in area and restaurant

 

Bike path

 

Looking out into the water

 

What are these things?!?

 

Our reserved area

 

Beach area

 

This was SUPPOSED to be our ride for the day

 

After just a little while, the gentleman who had checked us in came to our chair and told us that the water was too rough to snorkel as well.  He offered us the all day all-inclusive beach package or a full refund.  We opted for the refund.  The all-inclusive package included alcohol and since we don’t drink, it seemed a little high for a shallow beach, two chairs and lunch. 

 

We walked back up to the desk where he processed our refund.  He was apologizing profusely but we assured him that we had still had a very pleasant experience and would definitely be coming back to Nohoch Kay when we returned to Costa Maya in September.  At that point, he gave me his card and asked me to book directly through him.  Apparently, Costa Maya Excursions takes a portion of the fee for exactly the same experience.  Good to know!  In addition to the catamaran and snorkeling private experience, which was only $60 for a PRIVATE excursion of up to four people, they also offered the Beach Break, a private ruins tour for $69 per person and their premier excursion, which was a private fishing charter for four for $399.  ($100 each).  I’ve never seen a private charter for 4 for that cheap!  They will add up to two additional people for an additional $100 each.  The tour includes cooking whatever you catch.  The prices were great, the facilities were nice, the people were fantastic…..It’s a great value if you want to do any of those things.  The name of the establishment is Nohoch Kay Tours.  I’m not sure I can share a website here but you can PM me if you want the website, email address or phone number.  We’re planning to go back next September on our Mardi Gras cruise!

 

Since we weren’t going to get to do any of our planned water activities that day, we took our refund, and the staff called a cab for us.  They took us back to the port area, and again it was $4 per person.

 

Back at the port area, we weren’t quite ready to get back onboard so we decided to walk the bridges over the port area.  It’s an interesting walk.  You go through multiple bird houses (watch your head for bird bombs!), across the pool, across the dolphin area and out to a viewpoint where you have a great view of the ship and the ocean.  I really enjoyed it.  I believe the cost to walk the bridges was $14 per person.  Be aware, the bridges are “springy” and do bounce a little and there is no way to avoid the bird houses in case you aren't a fan of birds.

Part of walkway over port area

These guys were so cute!

This one is just posing for the camera because he knows how cute he is

 

The perfect flamingo pose

 

The pool....and a really great pic of my fingers

 

Pool deck

Dolphin shore excursion

More dolphins

 

Great view of the ship

 

You can see how choppy the water was in this pic

 

On the walkway

 

So many pretty flowers

 

Birdhouse and walkway over dolphins

 

It seemed a shame to leave Costa Maya without going swimming, so we spent some time in the pool.  This is a very nice pool.  It has a swim up bar and an area where the water sprays out from overhead.  It’s pretty large and meanders a bit.  I think it was about four feet deep.   It was pretty crowded, probably partly because a lot of the water activities had been cancelled due to the choppy water conditions.

 

Three ports….three cancelled shore excursions….and I STILL didn’t get to do any swimming in the ocean!  On our February cruise the first port was cancelled, and the second port was too cold to swim.  That part is disappointing to me.  I love to swim.  I love to snorkel.  I guess the only thing to do is to book another cruise!

 

Back to the ship!  We were hungry and decided to stop at Deco Deli on the way up to our room.  We opted to eat outside since we were both still drippy from the pool.  Ron ordered a Cubano and I had the grilled ham and cheese.  Ron also had a hot dog.  We very much enjoyed it.

Grilled ham and cheese

 

Cubano

 

Hot dog

 

We observed that we were already wet and already wearing our bathing suits.  What to do?  Seems like an excellent time to try out the water slides!

 

Celebration has three water slides.  The blue slide requires you to lie headfirst on a mat.  The yellow is a regular type of body slide and the orange has the floor that drops out from underneath.  That sounds terrifying, so of course, Ron had to do that one. 

 

We climbed the stairs.  We had already climbed all the way up the interior stairs to Lido deck.  By the time I got to the top of the water slide, I was worn out.  I opted for the blue slide.  Important to know…you get your mat at the BOTTOM of the stairs BEFORE you climb or else you have to climb back down and back up again.  I learned this the hard way on Mardi Gras, having made that mistake once!  We both did the blue slide.  Like I said earlier, Ron went back up to try the orange slide.  When he was being sealed in for the “Drop of Doom” he asked the crew member if there was an age limit.  He, however, meant an upper age limit.  They laughed and assured him that 60 wasn’t too old to do it.  I got a picture at the bottom, but you really couldn’t tell much about it.  I looked at the stairs and decided that I didn’t to climb back up to do the yellow slide.  I was ready to relax a little.

 

Water Works

Orange slide was conquered

 

At this point we were STILL wet and STILL drippy, so we opted to do something that we’d never done before….get into a swimming pool on the ship.  The Lido pool, Tides pool and Serenity pool were all pretty full, so we went to the Summer Landing pool on Deck 8.  It was fairly “peoply” but not quite as bad as the others, so we got in for a bit.  There were too many people to actually swim, and the water was relatively cold, so we didn’t stay long.  We got out, grabbed our Kindles and headed to our super-secret spot on Deck 8 to relax and dry off a bit.  I was ready for a break!

 

A couple of hours went by, and it was time for sail away.  It was also time to go get cleaned up for dinner.  This was our second Elegant Night, so we were going to the main dining room, Festivale, again.  Ron checked us in on the app.  It was about a 15-minute wait.  Not bad at all.

 

Question…..is it pronounced “Festi-vale” or “Festival”?  Also, is the other restaurant pronounced “Carni-vale” or “Carnival”?  For that matter, is the Tropicale bar pronounced “Tropi-cale” or “Tropical”?  I honestly don’t know but I’d love to know the official answer!

How do you pronounce this?

 

After dinner, I was ready to listen to some music.  We went to the Golden Jubilee where the violin trio was playing.  They were playing disco tunes!  I really enjoyed them. One performer in particular seemed to really be enjoying himself.  We had decided that we wanted to go watch “Color My World” in the Grand Spectrum Theatre.  I made a quick restroom stop on the way and found a cell phone.  Oops!  I’ll bet someone is missing that!  I took it to Guest Services immediately.  I was just a few minutes late for the start of “Color My World” but it was worth it.  I later learned in our Facebook group that someone had claimed the phone.  Excellent news!  Losing a phone can be pretty devastating!

 

Violin trio....they were excellent and I enjoyed the disco tunes!

 

Golden Jubilee

 

Color My World was pretty good!  I don’t think I’ve seen this particular show before.  It had a bit of a story line which I won’t spoil for you.  The lead Playlist singer, Cody, is amazing!   This was in the Grand Spectrum Theatre which was a much better setting, in my opinion.

 

Color My World

 

Still in a musical mood, we headed to the piano bar to sing along with Misso for a while.  We were there most evenings of the cruise.  This is probably the most time I’ve ever spent in the piano bar.  We usually go a time or two, but this time we were regulars.

 

After an hour or so I wanted to get an ice cream, so we dropped by Hero’s Lounge and then walked out onto Deck 8 for a few minutes.  The temperature was very nice but it had been raining a little again, so we didn’t stay.  I was tired.  It had been a full day.  Time for bed!

[purpleally]

You could have swam in the ocean.  I would not have rushed back to the tourist port area. You had already paid the taxi, an exploration of the Malecon (aka “bike path”) would have been fun and there would have been a beach you could have used. 
much more interesting than the port that was created for tourists. Next time. 

 

 

[mlshum]

1 hour ago, purpleally said:

You could have swam in the ocean.  I would not have rushed back to the tourist port area. You had already paid the taxi, an exploration of the Malecon (aka “bike path”) would have been fun and there would have been a beach you could have used. 
much more interesting than the port that was created for tourists. Next time. 

 

 

Yes, that is all true, but the water was very shallow and where it became deeper it was very rough.  I didn’t wade out in the shallow part, I just didn’t swim.

[mlshum]

Saturday, December 2nd – Final Sea Day

 

Our last sea day.  How is this possible?  Didn’t we board yesterday?  It’s always surprising to me how quickly time goes when you’re on board as opposed to how slow it goes when you’re WAITING to board.  The days had flown by, and we were down to our last day. 

 

We went to Lido and opted for Big Chicken this morning.  I like the chicken at Big Chicken but I’ll confess, I’m not a fan of the biscuits.  I’m pretty spoiled, being from West Virginia and having Tudor’s biscuits.  Big Chicken biscuits just aren’t the right consistency for me, and they are too sweet.  I’m glad I tried it…again….but it still is a “no” for me.

 

After breakfast we went to Limelight to do our last trivia of this cruise.  We always enjoy the trivia.  Ron is usually much better than me but I’d had a very respectable showing on this trip.  We each won a round this time.  One thing we noticed on this cruise is that there was no shortage of solid gold plastic ships on a stick.  For the last few cruises, they were either sparse or non-existent.  Not this time!  It was kind of like Oprah, “You get a ship on a stick, and YOU get a ship on a stick…”   This would be the most we had ever won on any cruise; a grand total of 6.  We gave some away, we kept a  couple, we brought one to Liz….there seemed to be plenty to go around.

 

The "get off our ship heart" had already shown up

 

Both of our trivia games were won by tie-breaker this time.  Ron came up with a numerical answer that was closer that the other person in his round.  I wound up doing rock/paper/scissors.  We tied about six times before I finally won and Jareel just gave both of us a ship on a stick at that point.  I gave mine to a little girl and a little green duck that we had found to her sister.  They had been in the trivia game with us all morning and were SO good!  I doubt my boys would have ever been that good for that long!

 

A little green duck that we gave away during trivia

 

After trivia we stopped by Pixels to order some pictures and then headed straight to the Havana bar to play a Carnival history digital scavenger hunt.  I'd never done one of the scavenger hunts before and wanted to try it out.

 

Celebration is absolutely covered up in Carnival history.  I’ve already mentioned several things including the car from Ecstasy and the pictures from Victory, but there were other mentions, even if there weren’t specific items, from all of the ships.  Right outside Golden Jubilee bar there are a series of coins in the floor telling which year each ship began sailing.  I think it’s kind of like the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  There are the portholes dedicated to the various decades and other things that are harder to find that I won’t mention in case someone else wants to play the game and I accidentally spoil it for them.  This was our first scavenger hunt.  There were a total of 14 items to find in 25 minutes.  We found 11 of them and finally had to head back.  We were two minutes late getting back so we were docked two points for that.  That put us in a tie with the next highest team at 9 points each.  The host seemed to think those were pretty good scores so I felt good about it.   It helped that I had already been all over the ship the first day when I was getting my ship pictures.  This was a lot of fun and I’m glad we did it.  I may have to do that again in the future. 

 

An upside down picture of one of the coins in the floor

 

After all of that was finished, we went to Guy’s Pig and Anchor for lunch.  We had planned to go to our super secret reading spot after lunch so that’s exactly what we did.  They are very close together and the temperature was perfect.

 

Relaxing in our spot after lunch

 

 

One of the things we really enjoyed on Mardi Gras was Carnival Kitchen.  We did the pasta class on Mardi Gras.  These classes seem to be really popular!  I’m kind of surprised they don’t offer more of them but as far as I can tell, they offer each class only once per cruise.  I may be mistaken about that. Some of them were offered on port days and some on sea days.  Since I always want to go into port, that left three options and we chose the Bake Shop and Pie Town class.

 

We were in the Carnival Kitchen at 2:30.  The class was sold out and we shared stations, which was fine for us.  We would be making an apple pie this day.  Usually when you finish the Carnival Kitchen class you can sit down and eat whatever you have made.  The pie class is a little different.  Due to the relatively long bake time, the chef takes all of the pies at the end of class, bakes them and they are delivered to the rooms by 7pm that night.  I’m not a huge apple pie fan.  I prefer some other flavors more. I enjoyed the crust more than the filling.  We had SUCH a good time doing this class!  I’ll certainly make the crust again at home.  I will just use a different filling next time.  Everyone in the class and also the chef seemed to be having a good time.  It was a fun afternoon.

 

Carnival Kitchen

 

All ingredients are ready

 

Getting ready to start

 

Ron's pie is ready to be baked

 

I tried for a Christmas wreath

 

 

The finished products were delivered to our room later

 

 

After class I was tired, so we went up to Serenity to one last time to doze and relax in their nice puffy loungers.  We still had our Kindles with us, so I read a bit, too.  It was a very nice, relaxing day.  The sea was beautiful and glassy.

 

It was time to get ready for dinner one last time.  We opted to go back to Festivale.  We both had the jerk pork and baked Alaska.  It was good, as always.  The waiters sang the “Leaving on a Fun Ship” song.  We had purposefully went to dinner as soon as the dining room opened so we could finish quickly and get to Celebration Central in time to get good seats (hopefully!) for the last showing of the circus show.  This time, it worked, and we got very good seats on the floor level.

 

We enjoyed this show very much.  It seemed a little slow getting started but they made up for it with the aerial acts as the show progressed.  I can see the logic of having this show in Celebration Central simply because of the aerial acts.  I was glad we were finally able to watch Most Magnificent Circus.

 

 

Afterwards we got our free drinks…Ron opted for milkshake, and I got a lemon slushy (basically a lemon daiquiri with no alcohol LOL) and we went to sing with Misso one last time.  This time we sat on the other side of the room, which was close to the bar.  Now I don’t mind when people congregate and talk.  I do it, too, but I DO mind when they do it very loudly while a performance is happening in close proximity.  I always try to be respectful of whoever is performing.  If you want to have a conversation, it’s perfectly acceptable to step outside and carry on the conversation there OR, conversely, to talk quietly so as not to distract the performer or the spectators.  In this case, there were multiple people, probably 8 – 10, and they continued this loud conversation for the entire time we were there in the piano bar.  Finally, about 10pm, we gave up and went back to our room to pack.  It was time to go home. 

 

Sunday, December 3rd - Debarkation and Final Thoughts

 

We were up pretty early and, due to a relatively early flight from FLL, we opted for self debarkation.  The whole process went pretty easily.  Ron found a couple of ducks on the way down which we gave to a little boy.  Debarkation is always much less exciting than embarkation.  At that point we're tired, broke and facing the return to work.

 

We walked through customs pretty much without stopping.  Love that facial recognition technology!  We walked out of the terminal and immediately boarded a shuttle to the airport.  Vacation was over.

 

Our traditional "now the cruise is over and we're pouting" picture

 

At this point, our next cruise is on Mardi Gras in September with a bunch of our friends....basically the same group that traveled together on Sunshine in February.  I'm really looking forward to that!  We have exactly the same itinerary as this cruise, so I hope to make up for some of the things I missed this time around.  September seems like a long time to wait......

 

I DID overhear an elf whisper to a reindeer that I might be receiving a quick cruise on Elation out of Jacksonville this spring as a Christmas gift.  I've been an angel all year after all (I see you cracking up, Ron and Liz!), but you know how unreliable elf intel can be so...who knows?

 

Until I DO see you again, I'll be reading all of your awesome posts here on Cruise Critic.  Merry Christmas, my friends, and have a Blessed New Year!

 

 

 

[nwcruiselover]

I enjoyed your review and pictures very much.  Merry Christmas to you as well, and Happy New Year!

[mlshum]

16 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

I enjoyed your review and pictures very much.  Merry Christmas to you as well, and Happy New Year!

Thank you so much and thank you for taking the time to read!

[Indiansbaseball]

Another fun review. So glad you recovered quickly ! 
Merry Christmas 🎄 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Indiansbaseball

[LuvCruiSun]

Love your reviews and positive attitude. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

[princess76021]

Thanks for taking the time to do this!!

Loved the commentary , loved loved love the pictures

Hugs from Texas

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks for the review! So did you take those pies home with you? Apple is probably my least favourite pie, also.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 🎄 Hope the elf and reindeer deliver another cruise for you. 😀

[ninjacat123]

Great review and pics!! Thanks for writing it all!

[mlshum]

1 hour ago, Indiansbaseball said:

Another fun review. So glad you recovered quickly ! 
Merry Christmas 🎄 

Thank you so much and thanks for taking time to read.  Merry Christmas!

[mlshum]

1 hour ago, LuvCruiSun said:

Love your reviews and positive attitude. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Thank you so much and thanks for taking time to read!

[mlshum]

47 minutes ago, princess76021 said:

Thanks for taking the time to do this!!

Loved the commentary , loved loved love the pictures

Hugs from Texas

Hugs back at you!  Thanks for taking time to read and for the kind words!

[mlshum]

40 minutes ago, SenatorsFan said:

Thanks for the review! So did you take those pies home with you? Apple is probably my least favourite pie, also.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 🎄 Hope the elf and reindeer deliver another cruise for you. 😀

LOL  Thank you!  Fingers are crossed!  Santa knows what needs to happen here.   LOL

 

We did not attempt to take the pies home with us.  We figured in the unlikely event that we were allowed to get through customs with them that TSA would frown on it.  LOL  It wasn't a huge loss since it was apple.  We ate a piece before going to bed and that was it.  I think that was the downside to having our class on the last day and not being able to eat it immediately after class.  I'm looking forward to taking more of the Carnival Kitchen classes.  The pasta class is still my favorite of the two I've done.

[mlshum]

29 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Great review and pics!! Thanks for writing it all!

Thank you and thanks so much for taking time to read along!  Merry Christmas!

[WhiteOptima]

I did the Pasta Class and make the pasta and sauce now all the time.  I normally make homemade pasta but this recipe has egg in it and I normally don’t add egg.

my DH did ice cream and BBQ class and enjoyed both.

 

Now I want to do the pie class but do a B2B and take on the first leg so I have time to eat it.

[mlshum]

1 hour ago, WhiteOptima said:

I did the Pasta Class and make the pasta and sauce now all the time.  I normally make homemade pasta but this recipe has egg in it and I normally don’t add egg.

my DH did ice cream and BBQ class and enjoyed both.

 

Now I want to do the pie class but do a B2B and take on the first leg so I have time to eat it.

That sounds like a great idea.  I think I’d like to do the ice cream class…maybe Sept.

Thanks for reading along!

 

 

 

[tradewinds traveler]

Love your review. Stay healthy & have a wonderful Holiday & Happy New Year. Safe travels.

[erstreet2017]

On 12/16/2023 at 2:48 PM, TravelBluebird said:

 

That was your hubby!  We were on this cruise as well, and at the Welcome Aboard Show.   I did a (mostly) LIVE Blog from the cruise. Having some down time today so I’m curling up with your report!

Oh good, someone who can confirm this really happened! I’m Michelle’s “unbiological” daughter Liz- and I also happen to be the only human back home who was allowed to see the video. When Michelle and I first started getting close, Ron seemed pretty quiet. I now know that’s NOT the case, but he still surprises me sometimes and his, um… performance, at the show was definitely one of those times lol

[mlshum]

1 hour ago, tradewinds traveler said:

Love your review. Stay healthy & have a wonderful Holiday & Happy New Year. Safe travels.

Thank you so much and thank you for reading along!  Merry Christmas!