We got up at 7:00 and soon the Cruise Director (CD) was making the announcement that guests were allowed to leave the ship for Amber Cove. Since we had no plans to disembark the ship here or at any of the ports, I went to get us coffee at Bar 820 and watched the people streaming off the ship.
We liked Amber Cove when we were here before, and I heard several people say they enjoyed just staying at the port area swimming and partying.
We decided to have breakfast at Shaq’s Big Chicken located on the aft of Deck 16. I had heard great things about the venue. I ordered the egg and bacon biscuit and Chuck ordered the chicken biscuit. I have to say they were not good. The biscuits were hard as a rock. My egg didn’t seem to be a real egg but more like some sort of weird egg white mixture. I could not eat any of it. Chuck liked the chicken on the biscuit and gave me some of it.
We decided to go up to Deck 18 and play some mini golf. It was a surprisingly challenging 9-hole course. During the morning, the ship conducted a crew drill. The sirens are always ear-splitting.
After we finished the round of golf (I won – as usual), we went to the Summer Landing area to get some sun. It was easy to get a lounge chair near the pool. Chuck actually got into the pool and said it was cold. I only stuck my feet in it. He was right.
Once we had enough of the pool, we had lunch at the Blue Iguana Cantina. I love their shrimp burritos. Afterwards, we played some corn hole and some indoor shuffleboard. My winning streak ended with the mini-golf. I got some soft-serve ice cream as a consolation.
Once we got back to the room, we found that the laundry had been delivered. Everything was clean and folded but it all needed pressing. The Celebration has some designated ironing rooms, but I just used some wrinkle-reducer on them.
Once we were cleaned up for the evening, we spent some time at our favorite bar - the Alchemy. It is always busy, and we always felt lucky whenever we could get a seat at the bar.
We made dinner reservations for the Italian restaurant – Cucina del Capitano. It is very popular, and the wait was over an hour. It is free the first time that you go for dinner and any time after that the meal is $8.00 per person. I had the veal marsala and Chuck had the chicken parmesan. The meals were very good, but the tables again were very close together, so we ended up talking with both people on each side of us.
I was too stuffed to enjoy the rest of the evening, but Chuck was ready to play cards. I never heard him come in.
We could hear a lot of distant cheering and yelling from the Pig and Anchor restaurant from two floors below. Many football fans on this cruise and they were all there watching play-off games in this sports bar area. Heard later that the good times almost got completely out of hand by a combination of overly-exuberant fans and much alcohol. Glad I just put in my earplugs and had a good night’s sleep. I did find the mattress much firmer than I am used to normally.
Was glad to see that we had left the drizzle back in Miami and we now had blue skies. The temperature was definitely getting warmer too. I went to Deck 6 to get some coffee at the JavaBlue Cafe. The line was very long. I saw a sign that said coffee was also available on the same Deck 6 at the Havana Bar and on Deck 8 at Bar 820. I went to Bar 820 and the line was very short. It would be my go-to coffee place for the rest of the cruise. By the third day, the Baristas knew what I was going to order and got it started before I made it to the front of the short line.
We signed up in the app for the Sea Day brunch in the main dining room. Even though the menu has been reduced, we enjoyed our selections. The wait at 8:30 was about 20 minutes. I noticed on the app about 10:00 it was an hour wait for a table. The tables are close together, so your conversations are definitely not private unless you talk low. I guess some people don’t realize that or just don’t care because low talkers they weren’t.
We spent some time in the packed Casino and then went to the Pig and Anchor Smokehouse for the ultimate Bloody Mary. Chuck went back to the Casino to play cards and I spent time on the lounger on our balcony enjoying my book, the breeze, and watching the wake. I may or may not have fallen asleep.
Finally pulled myself out of the lounger and got ready for the first dressy night. We decided to eat in the main dining room. The app said the wait was less than 20 minutes. It was more like 40 minutes before we were notified that our table was ready.
Chuck had the steak and short rib dinner and I had the shrimp and fishcake dinner. We split our meals so we both had surf and turf.
After dinner, we made our way to the Comedy Club. This ship is so large that they have one lounge for just family-friendly comedy and one lounge for adult comedy – nobody under 18 admitted. We went to at least one show of all the comedians. I preferred the comedians who actually had a comedy routine rather than the ones whose entire show was just interacting with the people on the front row.
Once the show was over, we called it a night. We could hear the distant cheering from the bar as the fans of Monday night football were in attendance and having another rowdy night. I felt bad for the staff who had to clean up after them.
My sleep app said I slept for 9 1/2 hours. Guess all those five hour nights finally caught up with me. We skipped the hotel breakfast, but we had to make two trips to the nearby Publix (a 3 minute walk) for some forgotten items. It was already humid and very cloudy. However, at home, 2 inches of snow was predicted. I’ll take humid.
We used Uber to get to the Port of Miami. It was a 10 – 15 minute drive and we arrived at exactly our check-in time. The on-board process was very quick. We never stopped walking and we were on the ship by 11:15. There were a number of Carnival staff members directing people to their muster stations. Ours was in the main dining room on Deck 7. They checked us in, and we watched the life vest demonstration. We would watch the safety video once we got to the room.
They were dissuading all passengers, even Diamond and Platinum passengers, from going to their rooms to drop off their luggage so I was glad all we had were our backpacks. We went to Deck 8 and got some Bar-B-Que at the outside kiosk of Pig & Anchor. We stayed on Deck 8 and sat in the shade in the Summer Landing zone.
At 1:30, the Cruise Director announced that the rooms were ready for occupancy. Our extended aft balcony, 10508, was just two floors up from the Summer Landing area. The room consisted of a king bed, one pull-out couch, a stool that had storage and fit under the desk. the balcony was large enough for a lounger, two chairs, and a small table. Nice view of the Summer Landing pool and the ocean.
Selfie from the room balcony
The outdoor sailaway was cancelled because of rain. The inside areas became very crowded very quickly. We found a seat in the Celebration Central Zone area and listened to the percussionist perform some Caribbean tunes on the steel drum.
Once we were in international waters, the Casino opened, and we played some slots until it got so crowded you couldn’t move around. We got a sandwich from the Deco Deli and called it an early night.
The alarm woke me up at 5:00. I was surprised. Typically, I don’t sleep that well prior to travel and I’m already up before the alarm goes off. Not today.
Pumpkin was ready for his breakfast. However, it wasn’t long before he realized that something was amiss in his kitty world. Mom wasn’t sitting in her recliner drinking coffee, and there was too much activity too early. When we wouldn’t let him outside, he scooted up under the chair and wedged himself against the wall to sulk.
We arrived at the airport shuttle office early. Unfortunately, the office restrooms were out-of-order, and I drank too much coffee this morning. Dang. It was going to be a long ride to the airport. However, before we got on the interstate, the driver stopped at a mini-mart for a quick bathroom and snack break. Disaster averted. We made two more stops to pick up passengers before we reached the airport. We arrived at the airport a little after 11:00.
This was our first time with TSA pre-check having received our Known Traveler Number a few weeks ago. We went to the TSA section and got in the CLEAR lane. The CLEAR lane is supposed to go faster than the regular lane by using biometrics, but they were updating their system. We had to review our information and take new photos. A few glitches with the CLEAR program and we were finally through Security. The TSA lane exits directly into Concourse T. We took the skytrain to Concourse A.
I also found out that we were eligible for Delta’s new Digital ID so we could have used that lane instead of CLEAR. Once it rolls out nationwide, we may drop the CLEAR membership. Right now, the Digital ID is only available in a few airports.
We had time to eat lunch at Chick-Fil-A at the terminal atrium. When we got to the gate, we found out that the flight was delayed 20 minutes and then it changed to 40 minutes delay. Sigh.
While we were waiting, the emergency lights started flashing and an announcement came over the speaker about a potential emergency and to stay alert for more messages. I started scanning for possible exits. About 20 minutes later, the “all clear” announcement was made. We never heard what triggered the alarm.
We took off about 2:20. I watched the Barbie movie and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.
Once we had retrieved our luggage, we found the Uber pick-up point. The traffic wasn’t too bad getting to the Downtown Miami Hilton. The hotel lobby was very busy. Seems the hotel was a MSC cruise preferred hotel as MSC had a representative that was helping a number of people. I had picked out a room on the 7th floor, but we ended up on the 11th floor. It was OK. The elevators were quick. They only worked with your room key.
We were not hungry for a big dinner, so we just had a couple of beers and some chicken wings at BAR 1601 in the lobby lounge. Four 16 oz beers and the wings – $52 before taxes and tips. Welcome to Miami.
Once we were back in the room, we got the bags tagged with the ship information and we were ready to call it a night.
Christmas is over and the decorations are stored away again. What now? My thoughts have turned to days of warmer climates. The Caribbean is calling. We must answer. Carnival take us away! (in a few weeks)
We haven’t sailed with Carnival since December 2022, and it was on one of their oldest and smallest ships – the Paradise (appr. 2100 passengers). This time we are sailing on one of their newest and largest ships – the Celebration (6600 passengers).
As a matter of fact, the Celebration will be the largest ship we have ever cruised on with any line. I have to admit I am a little apprehensive about being on a ship with so many people. But when you are offered a free cruise with an aft extended-balcony room – you don’t get to be too picky.
Carnival Celebration – Google Image
We are also sailing out of Miami this time and we have never sailed from there before. I hope the Carnival embarkation/disembarkation here is as smooth as we have experienced at Tampa and Port Canaveral.
Our first 7-day segment will be the Eastern Caribbean – Amber Cove, San Juan, and St. Thomas. Our second 7-day segment will be the Western Caribbean – Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, and Costa Maya. We have been to these ports several times. It remains to be seen if we actually get off the ship at any of these ports.
So, the countdown to embarkation has begun. Hoping for calm seas and sunny warm days.
We played some slots and then cashed out. We then went to dinner in the Lido. I had the lamb and beef kabobs with the spicy noodles again. Chuck had the roasted chicken. We each got a piece of carrot cake for dessert.
After dinner, we went to the first set of the Rolling Stone Rock Band and then went to the comedy show of Wayne Cotter in the BB King lounge. He was very funny.
We said good-bye to our stewards and favorite waitstaff and said we hoped to see them again in September when we plan to be back on the Rotterdam.
We then called it an early night. We made sure we had what we needed for the morning (don’t want to leave the ship in a bathrobe because you packed all your clothes), tagged the big bags and put them in the hall for pickup. We would see them again in the port terminal (fingers crossed).
I woke up before the 6:00 alarm. We were just pulling into the port. Last time, we were already docked when we woke up.
We went to the Lido for breakfast. It was crowded and there weren’t too many smiling faces.
At 7:30, the cruise director announced that the ship had been cleared for disembarkation. Our number was called at 8:00. According to our paperwork, we could have waited until 9:00 to leave if we wished, but we were ready to go.
Facial recognition was used to get off the ship and through customs. We found our bags in the terminal easily this time which is sometimes not the case.
There were many taxis lined up outside the terminal, and we were quickly at the airport since it is located so close to the port.
We used the outside baggage kiosk to check our bags. Inside, there was a CLEAR line for us to use but the general boarding line was not busy either.
We had to take our shoes off at security, but I could leave my laptop and Kindle in my backpack. Once we passed through security, our gate was right around the corner from it. All very different from the Atlanta airport.
From the time we left our room on the ship to the time we got to our gate – 30 minutes. Amazing.
The flight left on time, and I watched Disney’s Strange World mainly because it was one of the few movies that was less than two hours long. It was okay.
Once we collected our bags in Atlanta, it was about 2:10. I thought we would have a long wait until our 3:15 shuttle. However, we lucked out. The 2:15 shuttle was still at the airport, and he had room on it for us. Yay!
There was no issue getting back from the airport to the shuttle company main office, and after a quick stop at Krystal to pick up burgers for our dinner, we pulled into our driveway – home sweet home.
We were greeted by Pumpkin in his usual fashion after we have been away – a combination of love and disdain with a lot of loud meows.
Now, I’ve got 18 days to get ready for our next cruise. Until then:
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if we only seek them with our eyes open” – Jawarahal Nehru
We had an early dinner in the main dining room tonight as we knew it would be crowded. We were seated at a table for six with two couples from Canada. They were a lot of laughs. Wished we had met them earlier in the cruise. Tonight, I had the duck. Chuck had the tenderloin and shrimp.
We went to two sets of the Rolling Stone Rock Band and one set of the BB King Band. Another night of staying up until after midnight – a new record for us.
I got coffee from the Crow’s Nest at 8:00. We ate breakfast in the Lido. The tenders had just started for Half Moon Cay. On the first leg of the cruise, Half Moon Cay was the first stop after leaving Ft. Lauderdale. Today, it was the last stop before arriving at Ft. Lauderdale.
It was overcast and breezy today but still warm. We sat out on the Sea View and then had lunch at the Dive In.
The room stewards had provided the luggage mats, so we knew our next chore was getting everything packed up and tagged – a dreaded task. Finally finished by the time we pulled away from Half Moon Cay.
Tonight was the Orange Party to celebrate Holland America’s Dutch Heritage. This is our second one of the cruise because we attended the one during the first leg of this trip too. I think more people dressed in something orange this time than the last time.
We played some slots before dinner. Computers were down so all the bartenders were having to write down the drinks on receipts. Know Accounting will have a nightmare sorting it out as the bars were in full swing. The night before a sea day is always busy for the Casino and all the bars.
We ate in the Lido as they advertised a Dutch themed dinner. I had the Dutch pea soup and then a Dutch meatball with cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. The Dutch meatball tasted like any other meatball, just bigger. Chuck had bratwurst and pork loin with sauerkraut. We were disappointed that they weren’t serving bitterballen.
We decided to skip the party in the BB King as it was just as crowded as the last time – could not move at all on the dance floor. Instead, we stayed for all three sets of the Rolling Stone Rock Band. My favorite was the 1980’s set.
The waiter staff did come around bringing Dutch appetizers and desserts.
We were surprised to run into a couple we had met on a previous Carnival cruise. They are going to be on our upcoming Florida to Montreal cruise also.
We came back to the cabin and were shocked to see that it was after midnight. Look at us – party people.
Of course, staying up past midnight meant that we didn’t wake up until after 8:00. I went to the Crow’s Nest to get coffee and found the computers were still down and the baristas were filling out paper receipts. I just have to wonder if the computer system crashed because of the new facial recognition system they’ve recently started testing. I just know that the servers are frustrated.
It was a typical sea day for this cruise – breakfast in main dining room – a mile stroll around the promenade -some slot play – then relaxation on the balcony for me and poker for Chuck in the Casino.
The stewards delivered two Holland America tiles for us as a thank you for this leg of the cruise. They were the same design as the last leg.
Last sea day … time to get ready for the last dressy night.
Because of our late lunch, we had a late meal in the Lido after playing some slots. We both had the ribs with squash and asparagus. The ribs were okay but not as good as how Chuck makes them. Didn’t stop us from inhaling the whole meal before I thought to get a photo.
Chuck returned to the Casino, but I decided to go to the “Movie by the Pool.” Occasionally the ship will show family friendly movies on their big screen outside in the Lido pool area. Tonight, they were showing Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was a favorite of mine back in the day.
The NY Deli and Grill serves snacks on these movie nights, so I settled in with a Diet Coke and popcorn. Fun time.
We woke up at 7:00 so I went to the Grand Dutch Cafe for coffee. I never found another substitute excursion to replace the one that got cancelled for today so there was no reason to rush around.
At breakfast in the main dining room, we shared a table with four other people. We discovered that one couple has also signed up for the same 2024 June Alaska cruise as us. They are the not the only people that we’ve met who are planning for this cruise. It is a popular itinerary going to places in Alaska that most of the usual Alaska itineraries don’t include.
I spent the rest of the day sunning at the Sea View pool as I knew there will be no seat available tomorrow – the last sea day. It was very windy again today and there was more hat chasing.
The day went by quickly and it was soon time to get ready for dinner and the Orange Party.
Travel Trivia
St. Thomas / St. John, USVI
St. Thomas together with Saint John, and Saint Croix, form a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), located in the Caribbean Sea.
Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1493 on his second voyage to the New World.
The Dutch West India Company established a post on Saint Thomas in 1657.
In 1917, Saint Thomas was purchased (along with Saint John and Saint Croix) by the United States from the Dutch for $25 million in gold, as part of a defensive strategy to maintain control over the Caribbean and the Panama Canal during the First World War.
The actor Kelsey Grammar was born in St. Thomas.
The U.S. Virgin Islands is the only location in the United States where you drive on the left side of the road.
St. Thomas has more than 40 pristine white sand beaches with turquoise waters.
At 31 miles, St. John is the smallest of the three main US Virgin Islands
Since 1956, approximately 60% of St. John is protected as Virgin Islands National Park and administered by the US National Parks Service.
The main economic driver of Saint John used to be sugar cane. However, the island is now almost entirely reliant on tourism.
Before we left for the casino, the stewards delivered the laundry with a note that said the last time to send out laundry for this cruise was tomorrow by 2:00 pm. They’ve done a great job with the laundry this cruise.
Walking the halls, I could feel the wave action getting stronger. Took a Bonine to be on the safe side.
We chose to have dinner in the main dining room. Chuck had pasta with beef Bolognese. I had the mushroom and cheese fritters. We split a piece of dulce de leche cheesecake.
Went to the comedy and magic show of Fred Moore on the main stage. He had the same type of illusions as the last magicians did, but we enjoyed them anyway.
Woke up before the alarm went off. Breakfast was delivered at 7:30. I had time to prep our snorkeling gear since we didn’t have to meet the tour group until 9:45.
Today we repeated a snorkel tour that we did in December 2021 at St Kitts because it was so much fun then. I had high hopes that today would be just as fun.
The name of this HAL tour: St Kitts Snorkel Adventure.
The tour description: Enchanting, impressive and breathtaking — that’s a snorkel safari along the pristine Southeast Peninsula of St Kitts, where green vervet monkeys far outnumber human beings.
At Port Zante Marina, you will board a snorkel boat. Your snorkel stops will be at Shitten’s Bay and Ballast Bay — both teeming with tropical fish and coral life — turtles, eagle rays, stingrays, schools of salt water chub, snapper, angel, parrot fish, squirrel fish and sand sharks may be seen.
Take time to explore the many virgin reefs, and the extensive soft corals, fans and sponges that make up the reef life.
Notes:Non-alcoholic drinks and water will be provided. Wear your swimsuit; bring a towel, sunscreen and a hat. Guests with heart problems, epilepsy, diabetes or asthma are not allowed to participate. Waiver must be signed and medical conditions disclosed. Wildlife sightings are likely but are not guaranteed. All snorkel gear is provided. Life vests must be worn. Maximum weight is 300 lbs.
We met the group at 9:45 and we all walked to the smaller port area to board the tour boat. We left right at 10:00. I noticed that it was a different tour operator doing the tour today than we had in 2021. We also had more people on the excursion than the last time.
However, the snorkeling spots were the same and the fish were plentiful. The tour operator had plenty of gear for people to borrow and I used their fins. The sun was out, and the waves weren’t as strong as yesterday. And I didn’t embarrass myself jumping into the water.
This boat had a slide you could choose to slide down into the water from the upper deck if you didn’t want to jump or use the ladder. Not for me. I’ve seen enough AFV shows with adults on slides to know I didn’t want to end up on one of their episodes.
The only issue that people had was climbing back up into the boat after each snorkeling spot. The ladder didn’t go very far into the water. You had to bring your leg up pretty far to get it on the first rung, and then pull yourself up using the ropes provided. Then, you could climb the rest of the ladder.
You really needed some upper body strength to pull yourself out of the water. The tour operators in the water helped push if needed, but it was a struggle for some.
Even though the tour description didn’t mention any alcohol, there was plenty of local beer and rum punch provided on the sail back to the dock. There was plenty of non-alcoholic options too.
They turned the music up and we danced on the decks all the way back to the port. We passed close by some beach resorts and people waved. Good advertising for the tour company – “See what fun these people are having – you could too.”
However, the few pre-teens that were on this excursion with their families just looked mortified that they were surrounded by all the dancing adults. They did not join in. I could feel all the eye-rolling going on. 😁
We got back to the ship about 2:00 so we had a late, light lunch in the Lido. Spent the rest of the afternoon on the balcony until it was time to get ready for the evening. I did manage to stay awake today. I call that win.
Travel Trivia
Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis
In 1493, Christopher Columbus was allegedly so smitten with this volcanic island that he named it after St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers.
St. Kitts (shortened from St. Cristopher by British sailors) and sister isle Nevis were part of the British Empire until 1967, earning semi-independent status when they were named associated states of Great Britain.
In 1983, the 68-square-mile St. Kitts and Nevis became an independent, two-island nation with a parliamentary government headed by a prime minister.
The Green Vervet monkeys, found all over the island, originally arrived is St Kitts when the French occupied the island sporadically in the time frames of 1665 to 1690. They brought them as pets. Eventually the French were deported, and the monkeys were not allowed to enter the boats, so they were abandoned on the island. Today, there are 1.25 monkeys for every human on the island.
