Jamman54

We are heading through the tunnel to the Port of Miami…… Once out the other side, we just follow the signs to the Carnival Celebration at Terminal “F”….. We pass the MSC Divina and the Carnival Horizon along the way….. Here is our home for the next seven days, the Carnival Celebration….. We pull over here to drop off our luggage….. That being done, we have to drive down to Parking Lot “G” to park our cars. That’s the Scarlet Lady down at the end…… The Grandeur OTS is docked at Terminal “G”….. We have made it to Parking Lot “G”…… To be continued……..

Day # 1 - (January 14th) - We board the Carnival Celebration! It’s cruise day! We were up at 5:30am to get ready for the day. It’s a cloudy 70 degree day with a chance of showers. We repacked our luggage and put the cruise tags on them. We then met up with Pat & Jim for some free Springhill Suites breakfast. Afterwards, Patti grabbed the camera and took these shots of the pool area that she had forgotten to take earlier. We can’t leave without doing that! We have a 9:30am to 10am check-in time at the pier, so we checked out of the hotel and met Pat & Jim by our cars at 8:15am. They would be following us down to Miami. And we’re off! This is the way to Miami……. After around twenty minutes of driving we are getting close….. Before we reach the tunnel, we can see some of the seven ships that are in port today. Here are the Scarlet Lady, Grandeur OTS, Celebration, and Horizon….. To be continued…..

Glad to have you aboard! We were so sad that you couldn't make it. Hopefully we'll get to cruise together some day in the near future!

Getting there. I have another Celebration review from last April in my signature that will answer your questions very quickly. Thanks for reading!

You're getting closer to cracking the code, but it's really in the subtle hand signals!

Aw geez Vic, you're making us blush! We love meeting people and we love cruising. Put them together and magic happens!

You were the star of the show my dear!

I thought that their home delivery service was called "Knockers". 😁

No problem Amy! This is the kind of stuff we love to see. There are so many back stories and we'd love to catch as many as we can! 😃

We stopped to gas the car up for tomorrow, and then made our way back to the hotel. Patti took a short trip over to the shopping center across the street, while I worked on the pictures. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Pat & Jim arrived at the hotel around 7:15pm, and once they got settled into their room, it was time to get some dinner. We wanted to go to Miller’s Ale House, but the wait for a table was crazy long. We settled on TGIF’s and were seated almost immediately. Here are Pat & Jim (Webecruzen) finally getting a chance to relax….. And here we are….. Dinner service was really slow but we didn’t care. We spent the time catching up and having a “few” drinks. Back at the hotel, we’re all ready to retire for the night, except for Patti, who was taking some late night pictures of the breakfast area and the lobby. These areas had been remodeled since we were last here in April….. Here are a few views of the Market by the Front Desk….. Patti’s checking out the Exercise Room…… Patti returns to the room and we crash for the night. Coming up next: We board the Carnival Celebration, and the fun begins!!

At 11am I made my move over to Hooters while Patti continued her walk. She would also spend some time browsing the various shops on the strip….. Patti joined me at Hooters around 12:30pm. What a nice view from up here….. It’s time for another round of drinks. Patti is having a Malibu bay breeze, while I’m drinking Blue Moon……. We order some boneless wings and fries for lunch…… About this time we get a text from Pat saying that they would be going on the cruise! Pat talked to her father’s doctor and he assured her that her father was going to be fine, and to go on the cruise. Her father’s wife would look after him while they were away. They had to pack and then they would be on their way. They are also staying at the Springhill Suites, so we will see them when they get here. ETA will be around 7pm. Our prayers have been answered!!! We left Hooters around 2pm, just as the skies clouded up and it appeared it may rain….. We’re going up and over the bridge again passing the ships at Port Everglades….. To be continued……

As we passed the Spazio Italian Bistro, I noticed that the bar was open, so I decided to hole up here until Hooters opened….. Patti continued walking along the beach…… Patti passes Bubba Gump’s…… To be continued……

We parked in a parking garage at Beach Place which was right behind the Hooters. The cost was $20 for the first three hours. This Hooters is up on the third floor…. I’m letting everybody know that Hooters is my #1 favorite Husband Daycare…. Hooters doesn’t open for another hour, so I will walk the strip with Patti until then. Here are some Fort Lauderdale Beach views….. Here are some of the shops, bars, and restaurants on the strip….. To be continued……

Here is my breakfast plate….. Patti is starting her day a bit more sensibly….. We left the hotel at 9:30am, and soon we were leaving Dania Beach…… The Fort Lauderdale Airport is only ten minutes away from the Springhill Suites…. A few minutes later we are passing the entrance to Port Everglades…… Princess has an office here….. We turn right onto A1A and we will cross this bridge that crosses the Intracoastal Waterway, and head to the Fort Lauderdale Beach….. While crossing the bridge, we can see that there are five ships in port today. They are the Sky Princess, Symphony OTS, Nieuw Amsterdam, Celebrity Ascent, and the Celebrity Reflection. It’s an impressive line up! To be continued…..

Pre-Cruise - (January 13th) - Our day in Fort Lauderdale. We were up at 7am to a warm and sunny day. Our plan for today is to head over to the Fort Lauderdale Beach and stroll along the beach and the strip. But our thoughts this morning are of our friends Pat & Jim (Webecruzen). We have cruised with them quite a few times since we met them aboard the Sunshine in 2016. They were the ones that had told us about the Tribe cruise, and as of now, they might not be able to cruise. Pat’s father had some recent health issues which resulted in him having surgery earlier this week. He seemed to be doing well, but then suffered a setback, and this morning he will be having a pacemaker implanted. How things go will determine whether Pat & Jim will be able to sail with us tomorrow. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Tribe Nation are with them. Before we leave the hotel this morning, we will partake of the free breakfast that they offer. Looking down from the balcony, it looks quite crowded. This hotel is quite popular with those people cruising out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. The hotel does offer a shuttle service to the piers…… Here are some views of the free breakfast provided by the Springhill Suites….. To be continued…..

Good to know! We'll be back down there in April. Probably a little early I guess.

Thanks Karen! It's locked in my brain now! 😀

Glad you enjoyed it. It's our go to place when cruising out of Fort Lauderdale or Miami! 😃

Yep, pumping your own gas is a treat for us Jersey guys! Glad to have you aboard! 😀

Hey Rich! Glad to have you aboard! You would have had a blast on this cruise. Just think about it, in 604 days we get to cruise together again! 😀

Glad to hear that your Dad is doing well! 👍👍👍

Wow! We knew that there was a lot of anticipation for this review, but the amount of responses has been amazing! This is why we do these reviews, and will continue to do them as long as we are able. Thanks to everyone who has jumped on board for the ride! Later this afternoon we'll post about our day in Fort Lauderdale, and then tomorrow we'll get you aboard the Celebration where the real fun will begin. Thanks again for your patience! 😃

Glad to have you back on board!

Hey Amy! It was such a pleasure to meet you! Tomorrow the plan is to show our day in Fort Lauderdale, and then on Thursday we will board the Celebration, and the fun really begins!

Hey Barb! Always glad to have you on board for the ride. This cruise was special indeed!