Found our In-Transit instructions for Miami in our mailbox when I went to get coffee this morning. Hard to believe the first leg of our back-to-back was coming to a close.
St. Thomas is considered by a number of cruisers as a shopping mecca if the people returning to the ships with numerous large shopping bags in hand were any indication. Others spent quality time at Magen’s Bay. We’ve had fun in St. Thomas with both snorkeling excursions and island tours.
Today, we had another great day by the pool in the Summer Landing. It was interesting to watch the Carnival Sunshine dock right behind us. The Celebration towered over it.
Once we had enough of the sun and wind, we came back to the room to find that our Platinum reward “chocolate surprise” had been delivered.
Before dinner, we tried to get a seat at the Alchemy Bar but all the seats were taken. Seems like the secret was out. We went to the Latitudes Bar which was one deck down. We had their signature drink – The Sakura. Many guests just referred to it as “the bubble drink.” Loved sprinkling the petals to make a wish while bursting the fog bubble.
Next to the Latitude Bar, there was a spot for a musician(s). We always enjoyed the soloist. The trios were usually so loud you couldn’t carry on a conversation with the person sitting next to you.
We ate again in the main dining room. We both had the potato soup and steak. Afterwards, we were able to find seats in the Casino so that rounded out our evening.
We were in port today from 10:00 until 6:30. It was very cloudy and windy. We were docked beside the Norwegian Epic, the Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam, and a Royal Caribbean ship that I couldn’t see the name. There were a lot of people walking down the piers toward Old Town. We were not among them.
In the past we enjoyed touring Old Town on a Segway and hiking through the rainforest. I recommend both if you find yourself in San Juan.
Today, we had a leisurely breakfast in the main dining room. Then, we went to the gym, and we actually worked out! I was proud of us.
After the gym, we went back to the pool on the Summer Landing. We were only out there for about an hour before a heavy shower started. Passed the time under the awning chatting with a nice couple who lived just outside of Atlanta. The rain did not let up, so it was a good time to start getting ready for the evening.
We ate dinner tonight at Chibang. It is another restaurant that you can go free for the first time, but the next time is $8.00 per person. The restaurant features both Mexican and Chinese dishes. We both opted for Chinese food. I had a salad and Chuck had the chicken spring rolls. We both had the beef and broccoli for our main course. It came with Jasmine rice, but it just tasted like plain white rice to me. But we really did enjoy the food.
We were seated in front of a large window, but it was too dark to see anything outside except for the nude couple in their cabin in the ship docked next to us. I don’t know if they really didn’t know that you can see into a lighted cabin at night, or they didn’t care. But they never pulled their shades. Quite the show.
After dinner (and the show), we saw a new comedian at the Punchliner. He was okay. I liked the previous one better. Once the comedy show was over, we tried to go to the Casino.
However, the Casino was packed so we went to listen to two sets of the Backyard Band at the Pig and Anchor. They were a very good band. The first set was songs by Elvis, Little Richard, etc. The next set was Rock – Springsteen, Aerosmith, etc. We had a lot of fun.
Once the band was finished, Chuck went to play some cards. I called it a night.
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.
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.
The next 5 days passed quickly and the next letters we received were our disembarkation instructions. ☹
We chose the option for the cruise line to take our big luggage pieces and have them available for pick-up in the port area. We could have managed to take them off ourselves, but we didn’t need to leave as early as 7:00.
Once we finished the Sea Day brunch, our room steward had our room cleaned up. We could then start the packing process. Once we picked out what we were going to wear the next day, the packing really didn’t take long. Much of it just involved smooshing the dirty clothes bags into the suitcases. We were free to then enjoy the last day’s activities.
We called it an evening about 10:00. We put last minute items into the suitcases, took the embarkation tags off, tagged them with the provided luggage tags, and rolled them into the hallway. At some point during the night, they were whisked away.
Embarkation Luggage Tag – Yay!Disembarkation Luggage Tag – Bah Humbug!
If you do choose to let the cruise line take your suitcases, it is important to remember to keep out anything that you will need for the next morning – pills, toothbrush, hairbrush, clothes, etc. I have heard tales of people who had to disembark in their pajamas, or worse – a ship’s robe (au naturel sleepers), because they packed and sent out the luggage without remembering that they would not have access to their clothes until they actually disembarked the ship.
We were up at 6:00 a.m. and had a quick continental breakfast in the Lido. Once we were back in the room, we emptied the safe (very important step) and threw what remaining items we had into our backpacks. At a little before 8:00, we made our way to the Normandie Lounge (the main showroom) to wait for our number to be called. We were group 2.
When our group was called at 8:15 a.m., we were escorted to the gangway where the Cruise Director and other staff were saying good-bye and wishing us safe travels. They scanned our cards for the last time, and we made our way to the port area.
The first stop was the luggage area. They had it neatly organized into areas that matched your group number. We found our two pieces pretty quickly and got in line for Customs. If you needed help with your luggage, there were plenty of porters willing to help.
While you are in line waiting your turn at Customs, the officials are constantly reminding you to have your passport out, open to your picture page, and ready to show. I wish people would listen. Really bogs down the line when people are fumbling for their paperwork when they get to the official.
The Customs official gave our passports a perfunctory glance and said welcome back. We went through a set of doors and were outside the port. We followed the signs to the taxi area. I never did see a rideshare area.
The taxi ride to the airport was $35. It was very heavy traffic since we were caught up in morning rush hour on a Thursday morning, so I was a little apprehensive about the time. I was glad it was not raining which snarls traffic everywhere. However, we kept moving and he soon dropped us off at the Delta arrival area.
Delta does not have an outside bag check area at the Tampa airport. Delta and other airlines partner with a private company to check bags outside. We get free checked bags with Delta, but the company charged $3 a bag for their service. Fine. I did not want to deal with the crowds inside.
Instead of the security checkpoint being the gateway to all the gates, at the Tampa airport, we didn’t arrive at a security checkpoint until we entered the Gate area. Our Gate was E. But, you could not get to your assigned Gate number section until you went through security. I assume that design is meant to keep the main area from being so crowded.
Tampa also does not use CLEAR for expedited security, so I was glad that the regular line for security was not too long. However, just as we had placed our bags on the conveyor belt and were ready to go through the scanner, security brought a man in a wheelchair to go in front of us. The man had a brace on his leg.
Typically, I am certainly okay with anyone needing assistance to go in front. However, we recognized this particular person from the ship. He had worn his brace all week – walking everywhere and standing at the craps table. Now he needs a wheelchair? Hmmm.
So our backpacks had gone through the scanner, but we were still standing there waiting to go through the body scanner. The man had not emptied his pockets like instructed so they had to wand him also. I was hoping that all my belongings would still be at the end of the conveyor belt. I was relieved to find everything okay when we were allowed to go through the scanner and retrieve our backpacks.
When we got to the gate, I was surprised to see that it was only 9:30 a.m. It felt like it should have been later, but I guess everything went smoother than I fully realized. We bought a breakfast sandwich as the 6:00 a.m. fruit and pastry was long gone, and then we waited and read our books.
Our flight left Tampa at 12:23 p.m. and we were picking up our luggage in Atlanta at 2:20. Our shuttle was due to arrive at 3:15 but at 3:30 we got a text that said due to heavy traffic our shuttle was delayed. Sigh. Luckily, it arrived at 3:45.
I was happy that the traffic flowed smoothly all the way back, so we arrived at almost 6:00. We made it back home by 7:00. All was well.
As usual, Pumpkin gave us an earful. He looked healthy and well taken care of by the sitter as always. He was just mad that we hadn’t been here at his beck and call 24/7 as is his due as ruling household feline. 🙄
Time now to finish up Christmas shopping and count down to our next cruise. Happy Holidays to all!
All of a sudden it was Friday morning, and the disembarkation instructions were in the mailboxes outside the rooms. Sad day of packing up.
But not for us! In our mailbox, we had our back-to-back instructions. We were told to bring our passports and were given a time and place to meet so that we could get our new sail & sign cards for the next cruise.
Saturday morning, we got up about 7:00, retrieved our first cruise bill from the mailbox (I had already looked at in on the HUB app) and went to the Lido for some breakfast. We were already docked and while we were eating breakfast, the Cruise Director started calling tag numbers for people to disembark. After breakfast, we went back to our room to wait.
Wasn’t long after we got back that a steward knocked on our door and thought we hadn’t packed up yet to leave. He wasn’t Agus, our steward for the week, so we had to explain that we were on a B2B and they could leave our room cleaning until they were finished getting the other rooms ready for the new cruisers. He looked a little dubious, so he probably went to check with a supervisor to make sure we were not stowaways. 😁
At 9:00, we made our way to the designated area – the Piano Bar. A staff member checked our names off of the list and gave us our new room keys. There were about 25 of us who were continuing on for the next cruise. A staff member then took us off the ship and to the Customs area. An official looked at our passports, said welcome back, and then we all went back to the ship.
Some people got “in-transit cards” from the staff member. Those cards allowed them to get off the ship and then when they were ready to get back on, they could bypass the long line of new cruisers and just embark. They just had to be back by 3:00 p.m.
On some cruises we have taken, the cruise line offered excursions just for those cruisers who were staying on for the next cruise. I didn’t look to see if Carnival offered that option for our cruise.
Once we were back on the ship, we changed into our swimsuits and enjoyed the pool and hot tub while waiting for the next group of happy cruisers to board. Soon after 11:00 a.m., the first ones came trickling in and the music cranked up.
After we ate lunch, we got ready for sail-away and the evening’s activities. Before we headed up to the sail-away party, we had to go back by our muster station again, get checked off, and watch the life vest demonstration again. Cruise number 2 was about to begin.
As I mentioned in a previous post, later that evening, a staff member delivered a fruit basket and a bottle of champagne to our room to say “thank you” for doing the B2B. Nice gesture from Carnival.
If you are on Carnival Cruise, and you have Roatan as a port of call, you will more than likely dock at Mahogany Bay. Why? Because this area is owned by the Carnival Corporation. Once you make your way through the shopping area, before you can enter the beach area, you must show your ship ID card to the security guard, or you cannot enter. This port was our second stop on the second 5-day cruise, and we were there from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The beach area is very nice, and the swimming area is roped off. I’ve always seen the water very calm. If you want to snorkel, you can walk farther down the beach and walk out to the end of the boardwalk. Then, you use the ladder to go into the water and swim out to the reef.
The last time we snorkeled there, the reef still looked healthy, and the fish were plentiful. However, some people either don’t know or don’t care that you are not supposed to stand on coral. It will kill the reef and could cut/infect your skin. I don’t know if lifeguards still watch out for those who stand on the reef, but they did when we were there. I hope they do. It would be a shame if that coral gets killed.
This was the only place I have ever spotted a small seahorse. I was so excited. Of course, I didn’t have my underwater camera at the time. Sigh.
The area also has water sports equipment to rent such as canoes, floating mats, etc. There is an area that you can purchase a massage, and an area to play sand volleyball. There are also restaurants in the area. Some people think since Carnival owns the area, that the food and drink in this area are either complimentary like on the ship or you can charge them to your shipboard account. Nope. These restaurants are owned by vendors. Bring your cash or credit card.
There are three ways to reach the beach area from the ship – walk the sidewalk, walk the scenic shortcut, or take the sky lift (an upcharge). We usually walked the scenic shortcut, but it is a dirt path, and you have to watch for branches and roots.
I love this beach area, but you are not limited to staying in this area. If you want to explore the rest of Roatan, Carnival has plenty of tours and there are many independent vendors and taxi drivers who will be happy to show you around. You will access the independent operators outside the shopping area. Our first visit here, we took an island tour that included ziplining and holding monkeys. I think the tour includes holding baby sloths now too.
Whatever you do, I know you will have fun.
Fun times in Roatan:
These are the photos I took of the port this trip:
Shopping areaBeach area complexSwimming areaLocal tour operatorsNorwegian Ship in distance at the other Roatan port
Travel Trivia
Roatan, Honduras
Roatán is an island in the Caribbean, about 40 miles off the northern coast of Honduras and is only 40 miles long and three miles wide
The Indians of the Bay Islands are believed to have been related to either the Paya, the Maya, the Lenca or the Jicaque, which were the tribes present on the mainland.
The majority permanent population of Roatán originated from the Cayman Islands.
Roatan is home to the second largest coral reef in the world, the Mesoamerican Reef.
By the 17th Century, more than 5,000 pirates lived on the island of Roatan including Blackbeard, Van Horn, and Henry Morgan.
It is prohibited to build a building higher than 3 stories.
Many traditional beach homes on Roatan are built on stilts to protect from sand flies which can only fly a few feet vertically.
Mahogany Bay
In 2011, Carnival Corporation built Mahogany Bay at the cost of 62 million US dollars.
The port has a capacity to receive over 8,000 cruise passengers.
One of the most unusual attractions at the port is “fish therapy” where people soak their feet and dozens of tiny little fish eat all the dead skin cells.
The second stop on our first five days was Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Our time there was 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Grand Cayman is a tender port. Tendering means that there are no docks for the ships. They must remain at sea and have smaller boats transfer people back and forth to the port. Sometimes the ships use their own lifeboats. Other times, the port provides the tenders. Sometimes, both kinds of tenders are used. Carnival calls the tenders – “water shuttles.”
You will receive instructions on what tender you will get on to go to shore. If you are on a Carnival excursion, you will meet in a designated spot at a designated time and get on the same tender. If you are a priority member, you will get a letter giving you instructions on where to meet and you will be escorted to the next available tender.
If you are independent (not on a Carnival cruise) and not a priority member, you will get instructions on when and where to pick up a numbered tender ticket and must wait for that number to be called by the Cruise Director. Once your number is called, you can go to the tender. Usually, after a couple of hours, the tenders become less crowded so you can usually get on one without waiting in a long line or needing a ticket. You must know when the last tender is going to come back to the ship because there will be no pier for you to run on.
The tenders can hold a large number of people and you will be jammed together so they can seat as many people as a tender can hold at one time. Depending on how rough the water is, the tenders will bob up and down next to the ship and next to the pier, so you have to time your step into and out of the tender carefully.
The crew will assist you but if you are not steady on your feet you should seriously consider how badly you want to go to shore. If you are tall, also duck when entering the tender so that you don’t bump your head (it hurts, believe me).
Because of wind and rough water, in my experience, tender ports will get cancelled more than docked ports. The Captain will make the decision and that decision is non-negotiable. Complain all you want (and I’ve heard many – “this is dumb –the waves don’t look that badto me“) but you will still not be getting off the ship.
If a cancellation happens, normally, if you have a Carnival shore excursion booked, you will receive a refund of the cost to your onboard account. You will probably get the port taxes refunded to your account also.
If you had an independent excursion booked, hopefully you booked with an operator who refunds your money if the ship fails to arrive. Most reputable tour operators will. They don’t want to lose cruise ship business. I have also heard that there are some travel insurance companies that will pay you for a missed port if you file the claim. True or not, I don’t know.
Fun times in Grand Cayman:
Swimming with StingraysSubmarine rideVisiting HellVisiting Turtle FarmSnorkeling near Eden RockRelaxing on 7 Mile Beach
I had no photo from this port today, but you can see the lifeboats in this photo that can be used as tenders.
Travel Trivia
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea.
The 102-square-mile territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the south of Cuba and northeast of Honduras, between Jamaica and Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
The territory is a major world offshore financial center for international businesses and wealthy individuals, largely as a result of the state not charging taxes on any income earned or stored.
The first recorded permanent inhabitant of the Cayman Islands, Isaac Bodden, was born on Grand Cayman around 1661. He was the grandson of the original settler named Bodden who was probably one of Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers at the taking of Jamaica in 1655.
The national symbol of the Cayman Islands is the Green Sea Turtle.
Feature films that have been filmed in the Cayman Islands include: The Firm (1993), Haven (2001) and Zombie Driftwood (2010).
Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory’s capital, George Town.
The famous Seven Mile Beach is actually less than seven miles – about five and a half miles.
Unlike many other Caribbean islands, Grand Cayman is for the most part, flat.
Through breeding, the Grand Cayman Turtle farm produces upwards of 1800 green sea turtles a year. Between 1980 and 2006, the farm released approximately 30,600 turtles to the wild; because of a mark placed on each animal, the released turtles have been seen throughout the Caribbean.
There is a city named Hell in the Grand Cayman. You can send yourself a postcard from Hell and buy t-shirts that say “I’ve been to Hell and back”
There is no standing house on Grand Cayman that was built prior to 1912, thanks in part to the island’s history of hurricanes.
Scientists have released millions of genetically modified mosquitoes on the island of Grand Cayman in an effort to combat dengue fever, resulting in an 80% decrease in mosquito numbers.
