My First Review, Celebration B2B May 5th to 18th

[LaRue1975]

2 hours ago, Stallion said:

Fabulous pictures

Thank you! It was so gorgeous almost the whole time, hard to take a bad pic! 😜

[LaRue1975]

2 hours ago, Stallion said:

I've got a Deck 15 Aft Extended Balcony on the Jubilee coming up-so now even more interested 

You will love it! We have a B2B on the Jubilee in November and have a 14th deck Aft Extended balcony. I really can’t wait now that we have been on the Celebration. Interesting inside tips on the 15th deck aft balconies coming up the second week! 

Edited June 11 by LaRue1975

[LaRue1975]

I’ll get back to the review in the morning. It’s actually been a little easier than I expected. Less words, more pics appears to be the way to go. Thanks to those that are following along! 😎🛳️😎

[LaRue1975]

I forgot to mention we had Guys burgers for lunch and ate them at the table in the Red Frog. We were starving as always after boarding and I don’t think there is anything better for that situation than fresh Guys burgers! 😋 We loved the location and size of Guys, it is huge and a complete restaurant with plenty of covered seating, a full beverage station and swirls ice cream. It’s adjacent to the upper deck Red Frog too which is perfect. So much better than the clogged area on the lido deck, well done Carnival, you fixed it! I don’t have any other pics from Opening Day so I think we must have been settling in and resting after our long travel day. 🤣🤣 I remember it took a long time to get our luggage and we went to Pig & Anchor for dinner.
 

We were confused at first because it works different on the Exel ships. There is no fee unless you order prime rib, a full rack of ribs or a special dessert, can’t remember what that was. It’s $20 for the prime rib and ribs. There are slips of paper on the table like they have at JiJi’s and the Cocina at lunch. You check an appetizer, entree and dessert and it is not the full menu they have on the other ships. I think it is basically what’s on the lunch buffet plus the salmon which is perfect for me. If salmon is on the menu I will order it every time. Hubby ordered the prime rib which he was satisfied with, so much better what they serve in the MDR. The server offered to bring us sampler sized sizes of the desserts which were all good. I think it was banana cream pie, apple cobbler and a mud pie. Overall we were very satisfied with dinner. 

[LaRue1975]

Hubby woke up early and was on deck at 6 for his morning walk, I slept until he came back and grabbed our cups to get coffee from the buffet. We have been doing this the last few cruises and it works best for us even though I can get free specialty coffee with my drink package. I bring instant Starbucks and powdered creamer to add to my cup. Drinking my coffee while relaxing on my balcony lounger every morning was wonderful, best coffee spot so far! 😎☕️😎

 

After breakfast burritos from Blue Iguana we grabbed loungers above the lido deck across from the big screen. This was our deck spot and we never had issues grabbing a good one. The loungers didn’t start filling up until the afternoon which surprised me with so many passengers on board. From our spot we could watch the lido deck activities and grab drinks from the Red Frog On Top. It was overcast and soon the rain drops started to fall and then a down pour. Hubby grabbed our stuff and ran for nearby cover while I went to see the Red Frog about some drinks. Arya was our favorite bartender at the pub, he took good care of us all 13 days. I always tip with cash, usually $2 per drink and was surprised to see very few people doing the same on the Celebration.🤷‍♀️ By the time I got back with the drinks the rain had stopped and hubby was moving back into our seats. The sun came back out for awhile and then the clouds and rain returned. It was rinse and repeat all morning for at least two more rounds of drinks, cheers! 😎🌧️🍹😎 The sun finally came out for good and all the people followed but we had a ton of fun running from the rain. 

 

 

[LaRue1975]

It was elegant night and we didn’t want to go to the MDR so decided to try Chibang. I ordered the sweet and sour shrimp and hubby the beef broccoli for our entrees but I don’t remember the sides or desserts. I should have taken pics, next time! I do remember that the shrimp was absolutely delicious and the hubby thought the beef broccoli was the worst thing he has ever eaten on a cruise ship. He seemed traumatized by it! 🤣🤣🤣

We went to the Steakhouse bar after dinner so I could get my favorite Carnival drink, a watermelon martini. The bar is in front of the restaurant and across from the glass staircase so a great place for people watching too. We loved it and spent quite of few nights there hanging out with Yesenia and Harta, they became friends. I had many watermelon martinis and started with two tonight, cheers! 🍸🍸 We went to the Comedy Club after, first time I was able to talk hubby into going. It was 18++ and hilarious plus we had great seats close to the stage but not too close, hubby made sure of that! 😜 

 

Up next Amber Cove. 
 

Edited June 11 by LaRue1975

[LaRue1975]

I almost forgot. We also stopped at Latitudes and I got the first of many Sakuras, it’s the bubble drink. It is super delicious, strong and so fun! 

[#Bluesea]

Enjoying your review! We are doing our first B2B on the Celebration in October! We loved the Celebration this past January. Thank you for posting!

[ARcruisin2]

Enjoying your review... great job...keep it coming! 🙂

[LaRue1975]

Sorry, my three year old granddaughter showed up and that was the end of my review for a few hours. 💕

 

We pulled into Amber Cove on time and got off around 8. The pier is long and pedi cabs were available but we felt like walking. I booked a pool cabana as soon as I booked the cruise because of Jamman54. He always books one and posts Patty’s beautiful photos in his review so I knew I had to have one too. Luckily there was one available and it was before they raised the price so I got it for $349. I was so looking forward to it and I thought the hubby would enjoy it too. 

 

We checked in at the booth in front and were assigned Cabana 4 which turned out to be the one we would have picked for sure. It was on the end so would get sun first and the main area of the pool was right in front of us. We were greeted by the guy in charge of the cabanas and I can’t remember his name so I’ll call him Cabana Boy. He was great so I feel bad I forgot his name.  Cabana Boy showed us around the pool area explaining everything and then led us up the stairs to our cabana. It was just like Patty’s pics, hubby was impressed, thanks Jamman54 and Patty!  

 

Cabana Boy asked if we needed anything before he left and the answer of course was cocktails please! He said he’d send someone right over and our server showed up right away. Darn it, I can’t remember his name either so let’s just call him Cocktail Cowboy. I ordered a mimosa and hubby got a Bloody Mary which we enjoyed while relaxing on our deck. We watched all the people roll into the pool area and the zipliners started zipping by overhead. After we finished our drinks it was getting warm so we headed down to the pool. We had pool side deck chairs reserved for us in front of the cabana. 

 

Cocktail Cowboy appeared as soon as we got to our chairs. No Mai Tais or Painkillers on the menu so he suggested Bahama Mamas. We asked for dark rum floaters on top and premium rum. Writing this I realize that might have been a little aggressive for 10 AM but we needed to celebrate our return to the Caribbean, cheers! 🥳🍹🥳 Mine was super strong so I asked for orange juice and turned it into two drinks. Hubby thought his was perfect, lol! Soon we were in the pool and it was so much fun, we had a ball. 

 

Carnival people sure know how to do a pool party, they were very entertaining. The music was pumping and the drinks were flowing, happy faces and sunburns all around! The DJ organized a dance contest which was hilarious. One guy was a very good dancer and was definitely leading until the chubby dude was pushed out of the pool by his friends. He was so funny and an obvious ringer, chubby dude for the win! We met a nice couple in the pool that were our kids age and hung out together for quite awhile. They were so nice and I wish I could remember their names and where they were from. I’m blaming it on the rum brain! 😜

 

We had great service from Cocktail Cowboy.  He had custom cocktails made for me using orange juice instead of the sweeter stuff. He was very busy and working his butt off but always right there when we needed another round. Cabana Boy stopped by often and made sure we were well taken care of. After a few hours in the pool we went back to our cabana and relaxed on the deck, putting our umbrella up for shade. We are sun worshipers so rarely do that but even we have our limits. Around 3 we were done and started gathering our stuff and headed back down. Our bill was $157, I’m not sure how many drinks it was but we never ordered food. We tipped Cocktail Boy $40 in cash and gave Cabana Boy $20 or $30, not sure. 

 

I think we left around 3:00 and walked around the shopping area before heading back to the ship. On the way back it started to rain lightly so we moved faster and got back just before the skies opened up, whew! We headed to our balcony and watched the masses getting drenched. It was prime return time with long lines and it rained until we were sailing away. It must have been miserable, we lucked out again! We had a wonderful day filled with sun, fun and lots of good cheers. Thanks Amber Cove, we’ll see you next week! 

[LaRue1975]

Our pup Roxie, the lady that keeps her sends me pics daily so it’s almost like she cruises with us. The hubby misses her terribly when we are gone.

[LaRue1975]

I have no idea where we went to dinner or what we did after but according to the few pics in my phone there was at least one bubble drink involved. I am enjoying putting this review together so I will definitely take notes and more pics next cruise. San Juan is up next, should have time to work on it tonight. 

[LaRue1975]

I booked the Vivo Beach Club Escape in San Juan. We met in the terminal and were escorted to the buses, it was a 15 minute ride to the resort. There was a  pool area and beach and my first impression was wow, this place is really nice!😎 We made a beeline for the beach and snagged front row loungers. They had servers to get your drinks and one approached us as soon as we were settled. The menu was limited but the drinks were high quality. The hubby ordered Margaritas and I got Mango Mojitos that were yummy and not too sweet. The beach reminded me a lot of the beaches near us in Southern California. There were real waves and the beach was fairly flat with easy entry. The water was a heck of a lot warmer than SoCal for sure, the Pacific is freezing year round! 🥶🥶 The waves weren’t big so it was easy to get past the breakers where it was calm and the water was clear. The water was fairly deep too, definitely over my waist so the hubby and I stayed out there quite awhile every time we went in, it was heavenly. The beach was pretty too and you could see the city in the distance. 

 

Our server was great, sure wish I could remember her name.🤦🏼‍♀️ We visited the store which was expensive but they had top of the line merchandise. Hubby bought a real nice backpack to replace his well worn one and was as happy as a clam, it made his day. We must have had three round of drinks and asked for the check with the last one. It was $75 which I paid with a card and gave her $20 cash. We took our drinks up to the pool, grabbing pool side loungers that were next to the beach and spent the rest of our time there. The pool was fantastic, I stayed in it most of the time until we had to load back on the bus. It was a super relaxing beautiful day so I highly recommended this excursion. You can also buy the same excursion that includes a lunch buffet. The ladies next to us on the beach did and said it was good. 

 

On the way back the bus driver kept raving about the CVS across the street from the ship. Hubby had blown out his flip flop this morning so we went over there to see if we could get him another pair. Oh my, that CVS was so big and packed, it was just like the one on the Vegas strip with three times as many people inside. They had everything you could imagine, especially snacks and soft drinks. He did find a cheap pair of rubber flip flops he could at least walk in. On the walk back to the ship they had a little flea market where I was able to pick up a Christmas ornament. Not sure we will ever get back to San Juan so I happy to find one. 

 

Edited June 12 by LaRue1975

[LaRue1975]

Once back on board we had a late lunch, Hubby got another burger and I got a chicken sandwich from Shaq’s. You can’t go wrong with those two! 😋😋 We took a much needed nap and then relaxed on our balcony.  While out there we were blessed with this gorgeous sunset! 😎

Edited June 12 by LaRue1975

[LaRue1975]

This must also be the night we went to Deal Or No Deal. It is in Grand Central instead of the showroom and we were able to snag a ring side table on the top deck. It is much better than in the showroom. The hubby really liked it and Deal Or No Deal is his deal, we never miss it. His number was picked to play the game last October on the Panorama and he won $5, poor hubby! 😜 Tonight his luck was much better. He won $200 on his card, take that Mr. Banker! Time to head to the room, we have a big day tomorrow. When we get to St.Thomas we are heading straight to St. John, our absolute favorite place in the whole wide world. My goal is to be the first two off the ship at 7 AM, we better get to bed early and wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed! 

[LaRue1975]

10 hours ago, #Bluesea said:

Enjoying your review! We are doing our first B2B on the Celebration in October! We loved the Celebration this past January. Thank you for posting!

Thank you for following along! We loved the Celebration too, think we are sold on the Exel ships now. I hope you enjoy the rest of our adventure. 😎

[LaRue1975]

9 hours ago, ARcruisin2 said:

Enjoying your review... great job...keep it coming! 🙂

Thank you! I think we are about half way, lots more to come! 😎

[jimbo5544]

5 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

Once back on board we had a late lunch, Hubby got another burger and I got a chicken sandwich from Shaq’s. You can’t go wrong with those two! 😋😋 We took a much needed nap and then relaxed on our balcony.  While out there we were blessed with this gorgeous sunset! 😎

Great sunset pic

[LaRue1975]

We’re up bright and early as the sun rises over St Thomas. Sail in from our balcony was inspiring and I was chomping at the bit to get ashore. We first visited St. Thomas on the Norwegian Sky in 2000. Before sailing I read a magazine article on the 10 best beaches in the world. Trunk Bay, St. John was #1 so I knew we had to go there during our stop on St. Thomas. The morning we arrived I was so excited I couldn’t sleep the night before and we were the first ones off the ship at 7 AM. When we got back on the ship I told hubby we’ve found our island and we only cruised two more times in the next 24 years. We rented villas in St John for our 25th, 30th and 35th anniversaries plus an extra trip in 2013 with our BFFs. So it’s been 11 years since we visited our Happy Place and I didn’t sleep much last night, some things never change! 😜

 

We got downstairs early and there was only a family waiting ahead of us for the door to open. We enjoyed visiting with them and when the doors opened they went to the right and I scampered to the left and skipped down the gangway ahead of them, first again! There was a guy next to the ship wrangling for the taxis. I told him we wanted to go to Red Hook and he said wait over there and turned to the next person. I must have been way too excited because I started questioning how long we would have to wait and couldn’t we just go out to the gate and grab a taxi. He yelled at me that no one was getting a taxi without going through him! Seriously? I think we went back and forth a little bit more and hubby said whatever you want to do so we started walking towards the port. 
 

It was a ways away and completely deserted so I started to worry that I screwed up and was not sure I could handle going back to the taxi guy with my tail tucked between my legs. 🤦🏼‍♀️ When we finally got to the gate there was a group of men standing around. I asked where we could get a taxi and he said right here, whew! There was another couple coming up behind us and he led us to a taxi van. There were already two people in the van. We started to leave but the taxi driver said we had to go to the ship first. I heard her arguing with someone saying why do we have to go way over there? We are ready to go! Oh, I think I know why….thankfully I was in the back of the van and slinking low into my seat. 🤣🤣🤣 Two more people got in and we were off to Red Hook to catch the ferry to St. John. 

 

Edited June 12 by LaRue1975

[LaRue1975]

We arrived at the terminal at 7:45, the fare was $15 per person so I gave our driver $40, she was great! I thought there was a ferry at 8 but it was 7:30 and 8:30, then 9 and every hour on the hour after that. Because we were so early we decided to see if the bar was open and it was so we got our first Painkillers of the trip. Now are drinking before 8, yikes, I mean cheers! We rode over on the top deck. It was still overcast and I knew the sun would be out on the way back so I didn’t bother taking pics. When we got off the ferry there was another taxi wrangler. I obediently and silently walked to the taxi he directed us to, lol! 
 

They have large open air taxis in St. John and ours was almost full when we boarded so soon we were off to Trunk Bay. It felt like home as we passed the different beaches and zoomed up and down the hills and sharp turns. The driver was wasting no time getting us there so it was a bit like Mr. Toads wild ride, I loved it! It took 10 to 15 minutes, the fare was $9 per person so I gave him a $20. When we got to the gate they said it was $5 to get in but they only take credit cards and the power was off so just go in. If the power came back on before we left we could pay then. Trunk Bay was as spectacular as we remembered even without full sun. We swam and relaxed on the beach for an hour and a half before heading back to Cruz Bay. We wanted time to shop and eat lunch there and we also wanted to have some time in St. Thomas. Back on board was 3:30 so time was more precious than money today. 

[Drazil65]

Your pix are great and bringing back some great memories for us as well!  Love Trunk Bay and its been a few years since our last trip but you are certainly giving off "gotta go" vibes with these pix.  Hmmmm...

[LaRue1975]

We left Trunk Bay which turned out to be free because the power was still out. They were still able to sell drinks at the bar but you had to pay in cash and there was no food. We didn’t wait too long for the next taxi, maybe 10 minutes. The first thing we did when we got off the taxi was head to Woody’s. We were happy to see was it was still there but it must not open until later. We wandered through town and did some light shopping. Hubby was happy to find a nice pair of flip flops so that was taken care of. We marveled at how much it had changed around the waterfront. We were last there before the 2017 hurricane and they have done a beautiful job with the redevelopment. We had a hard time finding the Beach Bar, they have built a small boutique looking hotel around it. I saw an opening through the hotel and headed through it while hubby was arguing that this was a hotel and not the beach bar. We walked through and the Beach Bar was right there. I love it when I’m right because it doesn’t happen often! 😜

 

I was happy to see it wasn’t too busy, we were starving and in desperate need of a Painkiller. The food and drinks are the best here and I had been looking forward to this since the day I booked the cruise. As soon as we sat down the bartender said the power is out so we don’t have food but I can make you drinks and you have to pay in cash. Ok, two Painkillers please! It was mostly locals at the bar and a cute young couple was sitting next to us. We had a great visit with them. They were staying at Blackbeards on St. Thomas and this was their first time in the Virgin Islands. They want to stay on St John next time so I gave them some advice and tips. We stayed about an hour, had two or three Painkillers each and we each bought a t-shirt. Thank goodness we brought enough cash! 

 

 

[LaRue1975]

The ferry ride back was breathtaking so I took a lot of pics. Good bye St John but we’ll see you in two years. This visit cemented my plan to return for our 50th so now the villa I have my eye on for years is booked! ❤️😎❤️

[Jamman54]

21 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

Sorry, my three year old granddaughter showed up and that was the end of my review for a few hours. 💕

 

We pulled into Amber Cove on time and got off around 8. The pier is long and pedi cabs were available but we felt like walking. I booked a pool cabana as soon as I booked the cruise because of Jamman54. He always books one and posts Patty’s beautiful photos in his review so I knew I had to have one too. Luckily there was one available and it was before they raised the price so I got it for $349. I was so looking forward to it and I thought the hubby would enjoy it too. 

 

We checked in at the booth in front and were assigned Cabana 4 which turned out to be the one we would have picked for sure. It was on the end so would get sun first and the main area of the pool was right in front of us. We were greeted by the guy in charge of the cabanas and I can’t remember his name so I’ll call him Cabana Boy. He was great so I feel bad I forgot his name.  Cabana Boy showed us around the pool area explaining everything and then led us up the stairs to our cabana. It was just like Patty’s pics, hubby was impressed, thanks Jamman54 and Patty!  

 

Cabana Boy asked if we needed anything before he left and the answer of course was cocktails please! He said he’d send someone right over and our server showed up right away. Darn it, I can’t remember his name either so let’s just call him Cocktail Cowboy. I ordered a mimosa and hubby got a Bloody Mary which we enjoyed while relaxing on our deck. We watched all the people roll into the pool area and the zipliners started zipping by overhead. After we finished our drinks it was getting warm so we headed down to the pool. We had pool side deck chairs reserved for us in front of the cabana. 

 

Cocktail Cowboy appeared as soon as we got to our chairs. No Mai Tais or Painkillers on the menu so he suggested Bahama Mamas. We asked for dark rum floaters on top and premium rum. Writing this I realize that might have been a little aggressive for 10 AM but we needed to celebrate our return to the Caribbean, cheers! 🥳🍹🥳 Mine was super strong so I asked for orange juice and turned it into two drinks. Hubby thought his was perfect, lol! Soon we were in the pool and it was so much fun, we had a ball. 

 

Carnival people sure know how to do a pool party, they were very entertaining. The music was pumping and the drinks were flowing, happy faces and sunburns all around! The DJ organized a dance contest which was hilarious. One guy was a very good dancer and was definitely leading until the chubby dude was pushed out of the pool by his friends. He was so funny and an obvious ringer, chubby dude for the win! We met a nice couple in the pool that were our kids age and hung out together for quite awhile. They were so nice and I wish I could remember their names and where they were from. I’m blaming it on the rum brain! 😜

 

We had great service from Cocktail Cowboy.  He had custom cocktails made for me using orange juice instead of the sweeter stuff. He was very busy and working his butt off but always right there when we needed another round. Cabana Boy stopped by often and made sure we were well taken care of. After a few hours in the pool we went back to our cabana and relaxed on the deck, putting our umbrella up for shade. We are sun worshipers so rarely do that but even we have our limits. Around 3 we were done and started gathering our stuff and headed back down. Our bill was $157, I’m not sure how many drinks it was but we never ordered food. We tipped Cocktail Boy $40 in cash and gave Cabana Boy $20 or $30, not sure. 

 

I think we left around 3:00 and walked around the shopping area before heading back to the ship. On the way back it started to rain lightly so we moved faster and got back just before the skies opened up, whew! We headed to our balcony and watched the masses getting drenched. It was prime return time with long lines and it rained until we were sailing away. It must have been miserable, we lucked out again! We had a wonderful day filled with sun, fun and lots of good cheers. Thanks Amber Cove, we’ll see you next week! 

Glad that you enjoyed the cabana! 😃

[LaRue1975]

There were taxis waiting in Red Hook and ours filled up fast and we were on our way. Soon our ship was in our sight. There is always a little breath of relief in that even if you’re comfortable going off on your own. Top priority is lunch and then I am set on taking the gondola to the top of the mountain and shopping. My first plan was to find a locals spot but we walked past the gondola and couldn’t find anything that looked like a viable option. The taxi driver told us the power had been out all day here too but the gondola was running via a very large and loud generator. I asked the gal in the booth about going up and she said I wouldn’t. Yeah, probably not a good idea. If the generator goes out we could be waving from the top as our ship sails away. 
 

We went into the port and the brewery was the first thing we saw so we went in there even though hubby was arguing they wouldn’t have food. It wasn’t a restaurant but you could order burgers at the bar so we grabbed seats. That’s two in a row for me, I should hit the casino tonight! We ordered the burgers and drinks. I don’t think they had Painkillers so not sure what we got, maybe a beer? 😜 It was nice and cool in there, they must have had a good generator. Good thing too because it took at least an hour to get our burgers. They looked really good but I inhaled mine so fast who knows? 🤣🤣. We shopped a bit, hubby got the obligatory t-shirt or two and we headed back to the ship. We sailed away at 4, it was gorgeous from our balcony. Time for a nap!