mac_tlc

I have certainly heard many comments on the E-class chairs. Right now I am on my balcony and the chair is pretty good! The table is ridiculous but I’m comfortable staring out at the ocean and the HAL Nieuw Amsterdam. My wife’s major chair issue is that they are low. She has some lower back issues that are not fond of a low seat! I am here to report that the chairs at Cafe alBacio are wonderful 😂😂. mac_tlc

Still quite windy this morning. Seas were rocking a bit yesterday, we have never been bothered by it but you could definitely feel it. I met up with some friends we met on Beyond last year in the Retreat Lounge before sailaway. So nice to chat with folks we have met before! As I mentioned in an earlier post we like to eat early so at 5:30 we headed to the Retreat Lounge for a snack and a drink. It was fairly crowded as is to be expected on day 1 at that time. After a few minutes, I went to the bar to grab a drink . Woodford rye on the rocks. Good. Our usual snack has been the “homemade” chips and glazed nuts (usually vary every night). Here is the first minor noticeable cutback—- Those are Lays chips and Planters peanuts. We will see if the selection changes. The other items available were as it has been in the past. Next up - Dinner at Luminae Mac_tlc

Same as we had on Beyond last spring, except there was a lounger on Beyond. Although tbh, the lounger was sideways and not that useful unless you wanted to stare at the balcony divider. mac_tlc

I’ll take a closer look as we go along, but lunch today and tonight’s menu look the same as on the Beyond last spring.

Here is our balcony :

The lunch menu is different each day at Luminae. Lunch on embarkation day and sea days only. According to the app, lobster roll is at lunch on day 7.

Sailaway is 3:30. Here is the Celebrity Today for Day 1: Evening Chic nights are 2 & 6. mac_tlc

Excellent lunch at Luminae. Good to see Petre the maitre’d and Marianna the hostess .. Menu: I had the Luminae burger. Came out perfect and hot. And a couple of Bourbon and peaches..😏😏.

Well we made it on board! Waiting to head up to Luminae for lunch. Here is a timeline of our morning: Leave Orlando 6:45 At Terminal 25 10:08 Car return 10:16 Back at Terminal 25 10:36 Through Retreat entry doors10:49 A Retreat Lounge 10:50 Check in with agent 10:54 Onboard 11:01 Muster completed 11:11 mac_tlc

And here is the lovely young lady….. We should be leaving for PE in about 15 minutes. The obligatory Dunkin’ stop and onward we go. Next post —- onboard !! mac_tlc

Unfortunately we did not get the move-up😞. Ona brighter note. Here are some pic from last years Flower and Garden Festival.

We are not wine drinkers so the latest issue with pricing dome wines above the premium package limit does not directly affect us, although the idea of it bothers me. Happen to be at Sam’s club this afternoon and saw these. Sure doesn’t seem like a glass on Celebrity should cost more than a bottle. If I did drink it, I would certainly bring my own —— ahh that’s luxury!!! mac_tlc

I got my official “your move-up bid was unsuccessful” e-mails. We put in a “borderline strong” bid on a CS but no dice. When we put it in, there were 13 CS’s available. Was probably our best shot is actually stay in one, certainly can’t swing retail prices. mac_tlc

Thanks Charla! Food and Wine is definitely calling your name!!! We usually check out the Disney Food blog web site. www.Disneyfoodblog.com They have all the menus for the pop-up kitchens as soon as Disney releases them. mac_tlc

I absolutely love runway-facing hotel rooms !!!! mac_tlc

We have the “Pixie” pass which has weekends and major holidays blacked out, but it’s also the cheapest at about $429. mac_tlc

Well, the sailing date in the title is January 21st. You could have waited until that date to hop onboard. Anyway, good to have you here and the ship review will start about 11am tomorrow. mac_tlc

And so, we headed home after an enjoyable day at the International Festival of the Arts. As we were leaving at about 7, a ton of folks were just coming in. Festival Friday nights are quite popular! Lots of packing to do tomorrow and finishing our check in. Going to be “Florida-chilly” at a high of about 57. mac_tlc

It’s a cocktail, from Luminae although you can get it in the Lounge and maybe other places:

Just for kicks I priced out the train . If you go with the lower class of service it’s cheaper, but there are also other trains that are more expensive. Granted it’s only two days to travel day and if we were to do it we would reserve it a long time ago. Unfortunately they don’t include an Uber to the airport in Orlando like they do for many other places when you book the premium fare. mac_tlc

We thought about it, but since we are in Orlando for three days pre cruise and three days post cruise, we need a rental car anyway. Plus we have a wheelchair so having our own car is convenient. Plus the train would have been $600 round trip for the higher service option. mac_tlc

Welcome to a pre-cruise trip to Epcot!! Epcot has become the theme park of “Festivals”. what started out as the just the Food and Wine Festival in the Fall has grown to almost year round festivals. It starts with the International Festival of the Arts in January/February. Then beginning in March is the EPCOT Flower and Garden festival until early June. No festivals in the summer but then the granddaddy of them all, the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival takes over the fall, this year from late August until November, around Veterans Day. The year commences with the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays from just after Thanksgiving to December 30th. Lots of seasonal pop-up kitchens around World Showcase to sample the food and drink of the numerous countries. It’s a great time and a good way to leisurely wander around. If you happen to be able to go to any of them, the tip of the day is to stay away from the weekends…. It’s a food and drink madhouse. mac_tlc

While our choices may change based on nightly menus, here is our expected dining adventures. On all of our E-class sailings we have gone to Eden. This trip will be no exception. Eden is scheduled for night #2. For the first time, we will be trying the Rooftop Garden Grill. Why haven’t we tried it yet? Mainly because my DW is not fond of heat and humidity (didn’t you say you had a house in Orlando🤔🤔🤔). Also on Edge and Apex, many folks said it was very windy. On Beyond, the RGG seemed to be better designed plus it’s January so the weather should be more accommodating. We have also never been to Blu so we may try a night there if they can fit us in. We do tend to eat early (sorry @Jim_Iain 😂😂) but can be flexible is need be. Most nights we will stop in at the Retreat Lounge pre-dinner for a drink and maybe some warm almonds or walnuts! It has become somewhat of a traditional start to our night. We have had the good fortune of sailing on all of the E-class vessels in the Retreat. TBH, while we enjoy Luminae, the menu is becoming “predictable”. But I gotta have my Bourbon and Peaches!!!! There are a few dishes we like such as the braised short ribs so we will be there the other 4 nights. A few of the Luminae staff from the Beyond were going to go over to the Ascent so hopefully we will meet up with Petre the maitre’d, Marianna the hostess and Rozi, our wonderful waiter from our April sailing. It’s always nice to see familiar faces on board!!! mac_tlc

I’ll try, but I can’t promise they won’t run out of Woodford!!! mac_tlc

I did remember your earlier story about the genesis of your screen name 😂😂😂. I will definitely find you !!!! mac_tlc