Willdra’s Celestial Carnival Celebration May 28-June 4 Cruise Review

[willdra]

I love you baby like a flower loves the spring

And I love you baby just like Tina loves to sing

And I love you baby like a school boy loves his pet

And I love you baby, river deep, mountain high

Oh yeah you've gotta believe me

River deep, mountain high

Do I love you my oh my, oh baby

River deep, mountain high

If I lost you would I cry

Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby

~Tina Turner

 

Hey y’all! Welcome to Willdra’s Celestial Carnival Celebration May 28-June 4 Cruise Review. In this installment of “Where in the world is Willdra?”, W (a man who married me, and makes it impossible for me to unbig my back) and I are cruising on the sensational Carnival Celebration!

 

Before we begin, please know that I am thrilled that you are here. If this is your first time reading my review, it will be excessive, it will contain way too many (misspelled) words, you will lose blocks of time, and you will see a lot of pictures. You will also be my cruise cousin. Deposits are nonrefundable, and results are not typical.

 

Still here? Excellent. Let’s get into it!

[willdra]

Travel Day

 

My first wake up goal was 4:00am. The universe definitely had other plans. Thanks universe! Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, we had company arrive at our house the night before. One of W’s sisters lives in Augusta (Not AG), and he has a brother in Louisville, who’s softball team was playing in Atlanta that weekend. So W and I were elected to house this small impromptu family gathering. Great. The only problem (not a problem for us) was that we were leaving Saturday morning to drive to Daytona.

 

Since these two siblings are anti planning (not recommended), we didn’t really know when (if) they were coming. At around 9:00 pm I got a text from his sister asking if we were home.

Me: Uh yes we were waiting to see what y’all were doing.

SIL: Oh I’ve been sitting in your driveway cuz I thought y’all were gone for the cruise already. I was trying to take a nap, but it ain’t happening.

Me: Huh? How long?

SIL: Maybe about an hour.

Me: Why? Never mind, get in here!

(Some of the words in this text exchange have been edited to make it suitable for general audiences)

 

So she comes in and we find out their brother was now driving instead of flying, and he was stuck in traffic somewhere on I75. We chitchatted while we waited for him. He arrived around 11pm. 11pm y’all. Right when he pulled up, I mentally adjusted my wake up time from 4am sharp to “hopefully sometime before noon”. Family. Ughhh. I love these two tho, and we had a good short time together.

 

At around 11:45 BIL stated that he had business in ATL that he had to conduct right then. Say what? What kind of business does one conduct after midnight in downtown Atlanta? On second thought, I don’t want to know. It’s giving 24 hour bail bondsman, not showering for 3 days, and legal fees. Yikes.

 

 I sent a quick text to A and Z (our adult offspring and her husband) to see if they were awake in case BIL wanted to stop by. The reply was: Crickets. I wasn’t surprised either, cuz they go to sleep early for young people.  SIL volunteered to drive BIL and they left around 12:30. Before they left, W gave them the spare key and garage code so they could come and go over the weekend. We were slightly bummed that we weren’t going to be there with them, but it was cruise time and it’s hard to beat that.

 

After a couple of tiny hours of sleep, we left our house by 6:30 am which was still decent. The plan is ALWAYS to get down to and thru Atlanta in as little time as possible. Traffic was very light and we didn’t even need to use the Peachpass lanes. 

[willdra]

We drove (by ”we” I mean W drove, I occupied a seat) a few hours then W was hungry/tired so we stopped at an iHop in Warner Robins. I got my normal 2x2x2 which was a whopping $8.49. I asked for extra cheddar in my eggs just for kicks. I had no high hopes or aspirations. I really wasn’t even that hungry.

 

When the server brought out my food I was instantly transported to that part of heaven where cheese overflows and doesn’t cause high cholesterol, remorse, or weight gain. Those scrambled eggs with cheese were cheesing y’all. I think those were the best iHop eggs that I’ve ever had.

 

We knew our food was gonna be bomb when we walked in. There was an extra 5-6 employees in there just sitting around waiting for their shift. That’s always a good sign. Like they were eager to make these eggs and pancakes. Ok iHop, y’all got people people? Bet.

 

Whatever the reason, they delivered and then some. I ate half of my food and boxed the rest up for breakfast the next day. At least that was my intention.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

With full bellies, we rolled out of there, stopped for gas at Kroger, then got back on the highway towards Daytona. Why were we driving to Daytona? I’m glad you asked. My brother T and sister in law K (from my very first review) recently bought a home in the Margaritaville Latitudes community there. This will be their retirement home in 2 years when they retire, but until then it’s a vacation home (must be nice). Since I’m such an amazing sister (not really), T and K have given W and I unlimited full access to the house and amenities, so we can stay there whenever we want. Swoon. They’re the best.

 

However, on this expedition T and K were spending the summer there, so we were staying with them one night before the four of us board the Celebration on Sunday. Typically we don’t drive to Miami, but since we wanted to see the new house, and we would break up the trip a lot by stopping in Daytona, we decided to ride down. No cap, W asked me lots of times(too many)  if it was too late to bail on the drive, and just fly.  After I told him how much the flights were, he stopped asking. That’s another thing about W. Telling him the price of expensive stuff usually changes his mind. I’m the opposite. For me it just means I will have to work it into the budget, or at least convince W that I did (which is all that matters).

 

Alright back to the trip. W and I talked so much on the way down I forgot to start my notes. I started frantically getting caught up as we were about 15 minutes away from the spot. I was excited to see it. I could already tell how fancy it was before we even left GA. They sent us a permanent guest pass for the gates, which we could add to our Apple Wallets. I added it right away and had W do the same so that he wasn’t messing around trying to find it when we got there. Y’all know how much I love that! I don’t. 

 

We pulled into the complex around 1:30. It’s a 6 hour drive but we lost a whole hour (no regrets) at iHop. It was easy to get in since we were prepared for the extra security. There is a guest entrance with a scanner at the gate. W scanned our guest pass and we were in. Once we drove thru we found their house quickly. They were standing outside waiting for us cuz it is a little tricky to see the house numbers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

The house was very nice. It even smelled brand new which added to the wow factor. We were ecstatic to get to experience this with them. We took a tour of the property inside and out. Then we went down to the community area where the pool, gym, courts, and other adult play areas were. It was jumping with people down there! There’s a cool bar/restaurant area, gym, theater, exercise rooms, several outdoor courts, and a big stage where they have concerts and other entertainment. There was a pool party in progress, so the pool was full full. This was the move.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

[mkcurran]

Thank you! I need this review.

[willdra]

We hung out and talked to a few people there then we went to find food. T and K had scoped out a good restaurant for us so we went there to eat. It was called Hull's Seafood. In addition to the restaurant there is also a seafood market. I could tell it was legit when I smelled Old Bay walking in. That smell told me they might know what they’re doing. Bonus if I actually sneeze when I smell the seasoning. Then it’s gonna drop kick my tastebuds. In a good way.

 

K and I started with the Strawberry Mango Sangria. It was top notch and it was only $5! Score! After the drinks, I got the Buffalo Shrimp and Fish and Chips. All of the food was excellent and very well priced! W and I were impressed so far. After we ate W wanted to look in the seafood market. That meant we were prolly coming back there to get seafood before we drove home after the cruise. 

 

W and I found some really good prices and a wide selection of stuff to purchase to take back to Ga. As much as I love where we live, it doesn’t stand a chance against FL seafood. It’s hard to beat the freshness and the prices in FL. Most of the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

After our self guided tour of the seafood market we went down to the Margaritaville Beach Club. One of the many amenities of living in the Margaritaville Latitudes Community, is that residents have a dedicated beach club to use when they want to spend time on the beach. It's super secured and gated, and you must either have the guest pass or resident fob to get in. There’s a shuttle that takes them back and forth. They just have to schedule the rides in advance. The beach club was very nice and it reminded us of some of the beach clubs that we’ve visited on shore excursions before. It wasn’t that crowded because the surf was active, most of the residents were at the pool party, and it was a tiny bit windy. I would’ve loved sitting out there in the not hot, but we had other territory to conquer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jamman54]

Yippee! We're along for the ride once again! 😁

[willdra]

We went back to the house after that tour to get ready for the party at the outdoor stage area. A live band was scheduled to play at 7.  K and I washed up then chillaxed while T and W went to setup our chairs so that we would get good spots. We were taking the golf cart that they bought when they got there. It sounded like fun. I guess.

 

We left around 6:45. T and W helped K and I get on the back and strapped us in. OMG. We felt every single bump in the road! It was giving Jane stop this crazy thing! K and I had to really concentrate on not falling off. We tested the limits of those seatbelts. They put in some work. Thank God they did their job and kept us alive. 

 

In order to live in Margaritaville Latitudes, one of the home owners must be at least 55 years old. When we arrived and started looking around, we felt like fetuses. Well I did. W is old enough to purchase a home there. He blended in. These were his peoples. Of course I didn’t waste the opportunity to point that out. He was not amused. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Shortly after we got settled in, the band arrived and lots of people got up to dance. Some of them prolly shouldn’t have, but hey, do you. Just don’t be upset when we can’t tell the difference between a dance move and a distress signal.

 

When the band played The Electric Slide tho, we all got up. It’s almost an obligation for me to dance to that song for so many reasons. Nostalgia. The band did a good job mixing old, new, pop, rock, and even country. W and I also danced when they covered Dua Lipa’s “Levitating”. We stayed up for a couple of Motown hits and of course the tribute to the late great Tina Turner. I still can’t believe she’s gone. Rest Easy Queen.

 

We danced, sipped, and laughed until 10 (not a young crowd). We got drinks with the coupons that T and K pre-purchased.  I even got a rum punch in this cute little pouch that looked like liquor luggage. I had to keep it. After we waited the "polite" amount of time, K and I used W’s drink tickets too cuz he was enjoying the free beer tent. When it was time to go, T and W loaded K and I onto the back of the golf cart again, and we zipped back to the house.

 

One thing is absolutely certain. That golf cart was not of the Lord, or heaven, or anything remotely holy. In fact I’m convinced it came straight from hades. It is not for the fragile or delicate. This is a Ruff Rider. I’m talking “Stop, Drop, Shut em down open up shop”!

 

Back at the house we wound down (tried to) then turned in.

 

Before I went to sleep I said a prayer thanking God for Old Bay and for cooks who know how to use it. I’m convinced that the Heavenly Chefs keep Old Bay stocked up in God’s kitchen. They have ALL of the best seasonings, and I am grateful they share them with us! Amen.  

 

[willdra]

27 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Yippee! We're along for the ride once again! 😁

 

Yay!!!! Now it's a party!!!! Thanks for the support, my brother from another mother! 🥰😃

[willdra]

43 minutes ago, mkcurran said:

Thank you! I need this review.

 

LOL 🤣, thanks for the love!!! ❤️

[rwest898]

Thank you so much for posting the link.  I'm already enjoying your review!!

[ItsADryHumor]

6 hours ago, willdra said:

I love you baby like a flower loves the spring

And I love you baby just like Tina loves to sing

And I love you baby like a school boy loves his pet

And I love you baby, river deep, mountain high

Oh yeah you've gotta believe me

River deep, mountain high

Do I love you my oh my, oh baby

River deep, mountain high

If I lost you would I cry

Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby

~Tina Turner

 

Hey y’all! Welcome to Willdra’s Celestial Carnival Celebration May 28-June 4 Cruise Review. In this installment of “Where in the world is Willdra?”, W (a man who married me, and makes it impossible for me to unbig my back) and I are cruising on the sensational Carnival Celebration!

 

Before we begin, please know that I am thrilled that you are here. If this is your first time reading my review, it will be excessive, it will contain way too many (misspelled) words, you will lose blocks of time, and you will see a lot of pictures. You will also be my cruise cousin. Deposits are nonrefundable, and results are not typical.

 

Still here? Excellent. Let’s get into it!

Awesome! I’ve been waiting on this review. I’m the super awkward human who recognized you on the pier in Amber Cove. 🤣 Interested to see what you thought of the ship/ cruise! 

[edspec]

Thank-you for this.  I've now spent an hour looking at floor plans at the various Margaritaville communities 🙂

[princess76021]

I'm so glad that you invited us on your trip!  

Between DH not doing well and this ungodly heat I needed this!

Hugs from the oven better known as Texas!

[SummerRoze]

I'm excited to be following from the beginning! I really enjoy your writing style, so thank you for the review. Also, Old Bay is life!

[crazy4themouse]

WoooooHoo!! Another Wildra review! My weekend is looking up now! 😊

 

Love all the pics from Margaritaville. My aunt moved to that one a year ago, and is having the time of her life. You should see all the events and such that go on there -- Every day is seriously like a cruise ship on land. Hubs and I would move there in a heartbeat if we could, but I think either death or a lottery win will be our retirement. 😄

 

We'll be on Jubilee in March, so definitely looking forward to your review of an Excel class ship!

 

[DebOinKC]

I absolutely love your reviews! Thanks for taking on your trip 🙂 

[meskel503]

I have been waiting for you to do another review.  They are aways entertaining, funny and informative.  Love all of your reviews.

[markmbsc]

So happy for another review !!! I needed it, still 97 days until my B2B on the Horizon.

[maxandmolly]

Looking forward to another Willdra review!

[Cherries Jubilee]

Woohoo I’m so excited for this!