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

[josieallen]

18 hours ago, willdra said:

Sorry I didn't post today, but I will continue on tomorrow y'all. A and I went to see Beyonce on Monday, then W and I went to the Bengals/Falcons pre-season game tonight, so I am slightly behind schedule. Here are some of the pics from this week tho. 

 

 

This is the regular everyday (not on a cruise) me 😃

 

 

 

 

 

OMG A is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!  I love your hair style. It’s beautiful 

[willdra]

On 8/18/2023 at 6:26 PM, Crusin Karen said:

Yes!! Thank God for pirates. And Chris Columbus too! What a gorgeous ship.  I wish she’d come up to my home port of NY. The seven seas cocktail: is it available at any

of the other bars ? 

 

I didn't see the Seven Seas at any other bar, but the steakhouse bar is out in front of the steakhouse, so you could totes get it without having dinner at the steakhouse. 🤗

[willdra]

3 hours ago, josieallen said:

OMG A is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!  I love your hair style. It’s beautiful 

 

Thank you!!!! 😍😍

[willdra]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:52 AM, pirate4me2 said:

Oh sheesh.....reading your experience at Cucina had my PTSD from our Cucina experience on Celebration in February pop up! It was a nightmare. We actually had someone fall asleep at our table because service took so long, and Chris (my DH) had to refill our waters. It was a total, epic failure.

 

I love Cornelius at Alchemy! We were not sure about him at first, but as we got to know him throughout the week I really started to like him. 

 

LOL, I can for real understand people falling asleep waiting on that cold molasses slow service at Cucina! IDK what their deal is, but they should get that resolved with the quickness. 🫠🫠

[Tssweety]

I love your reviews Wildra!! Thanks so much for doing them. I look forward

to reading every time!!

 

[willdra]

On 8/18/2023 at 11:53 AM, mamiamjo said:

I order the same exact thing as you did at the steakhouse 🙂

Now I'm hungry 😉

 

On 8/18/2023 at 6:24 PM, Crusin Karen said:

I did too!!! That chocolate sphere….omg….

 

It's always sheer perfection! It's also a good deal, especially if you go on the first night and get the free wine. 🥰🥰

[willdra]

20 hours ago, starstruck05 said:

I'm waiting until the day of to try and grab cheap seats for Bey here in NOLA. I'm seeing Drake, a few days before here too. I'm normally silent on reviews but I had to pop in for this. 😉

 

Thanks so much for jumping in! I've heard that Drake puts on a great show too. I've never thought about trying to get tickets the day of the show. That sounds like a brilliant plan if they're less expensive, especially for Renaissance! Please let me know if it works out. That will be my new move if it's successful!  ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[willdra]

9 hours ago, Indiansbaseball said:

Oh Yay! Willdra is back! We are headed out soon for a B2B on Celebration ! Just enough to be even more excited but not so much to spoil the surprise! 
As usual, love your story telling style ! 
Jen 

 

Thank you and that Back to Back is gonna be amazing! Wow, I wouldn't even know how to act on a Celebration (or any) B2B. That must be an outstanding feeling! 🤗🤗

[willdra]

8 hours ago, Rulers Mom said:

Just caught up, great review so far! Looking forward to the rest. Love your look for Beyonce.  

 

Thank you so much! 😍

[willdra]

15 minutes ago, Tssweety said:

I love your reviews Wildra!! Thanks so much for doing them. I look forward

to reading every time!!

 

 

Thank you for reading along! 😘

[willdra]

St. Maarten

 

On St. Maarten day, we didn’t have an excursion, so the plan was to go out and find a spot (with lots of shade and cocktails) on the beach for the day. That shouldn't be too hard to find. Right? 

 

W said that he wanted to eat Emeril’s for breakfast, which closed at 10:30. We got up at 9, and we were out the door by 9:30. I sent a message to T and K telling them where we would be. They were meeting us so that we could all go out together.

 

The ship had been cleared for debark by the time we got down there. Traffic was at a minimum. We were able to get an elevator quickly.

 

T and K walked up right as we got to Emeril’s. There was only one young lady in line in front of us. When they swiped her card, it declined. Then she went to get someone else’s card, and that didn’t work out either. She came back and told them to cancel the order. I felt really bad for her, and I wasn't thinking fast, or I would’ve paid for it for her. She said that something happened with her bank card, and her credit card, so her bank was declining the charges. Whatever the situation, it was awful and it hurt my heart to watch.

 

When it was our turn, we placed our orders quickly since we knew what we wanted. I got the Sweet Potato Waffle and W got the Shrimp Creole Omelette. We also ordered a Latte for me and an Americano for W. When they brought the coffee, W looked at his, and was disappointed with the lack of coffee in the cup. He told the server and he took it back. Uh oh. Y’all already know it’s now gonna be overcompensation time. He brought W back the biggest cup he could find full of pure espresso. W won’t be able to blink for a month. Perfect. Right when the server brought it, W said “ I forgot, I shouldn’t have said anything”. You think? Nevertheless he was ecstatic that he got a lot more coffee. I just laughed and shook my head.

 

Our food arrived shortly afterwards, and it was everything that we wanted to be. And more.

We took our time eating while T and K went to get their bags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WhiteOptima]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:52 AM, pirate4me2 said:

Oh sheesh.....reading your experience at Cucina had my PTSD from our Cucina experience on Celebration in February pop up! It was a nightmare. We actually had someone fall asleep at our table because service took so long, and Chris (my DH) had to refill our waters. It was a total, epic failure.

 

I love Cornelius at Alchemy! We were not sure about him at first, but as we got to know him throughout the week I really started to like him. 

For us lunch they messed up everything like there were 2 of us and we ordered 1 mozzarella sticks and got 4!  Pasta was mixed up too.  Did one dinner and got chicken parm with no sides.  At that point just gave up asking for my pasta.

[willdra]

When T and K returned, we all walked out together. Gladys Knight and The Pips were together again. Yippee.

 

We debarked then walked down to take the water taxi. We got in the line for the first booth. One of their employees told everyone waiting to walk down and buy the tickets by the pier. She said there were 2 booths down there. Ok. We walked down and stopped at the first booth cuz we didn’t see the second one. Then another lady came by and told us that we needed to go further down to the actual pier. What? Why is this so difficult? With no other choice, we walked further and there was no line at that booth. W purchased our tickets which were $7 for all day rides back and forth. We missed the first boat, but another one pulled right up. We boarded that one and got moving. It’s only like a 5 minute ride in total. It is very close.

 

 

After the short boat ride, we debarked then turned left to find a place to sit for the day. We found a decent spot not too far down the road. That was good cuz we thought we would have to walk awhile to find decent seating. We paid $30 for 2 chairs and an umbrella.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

The water there is so beautiful. We wasted no time getting settled so we could take pictures. There were several bars behind us offering beer, water, cocktails, and some had food. We started with a rum punch which was $7. The Caribbean Blue Bar had them for $6 so we got one there next. While we were sitting and sipping, a singer came out and started singing right behind us. He was singing on the sidewalk and living his whole best life. It was funny when he tried to get people walking by to dance and sing with him. I was there for all of the Shenanigans too. He wasn’t a bad singer. He kept us entertained the whole day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

I was drinking my water minding my biz when I noticed a little girl getting her hair braided a few chairs down from us. I started talking to my crew, then when I looked back over, the little girl was crying. Not just silent tears falling, but I mean hyperventilating and looking like she was about to pass out. You know the type of cry that looks excruciating cuz no sound is coming out? Yeah dats it. My first thought was "Uh oh, she's not gonna make it. The way that lady is gripping her scalp and braiding her brain is not for the weak". Some of these braiders will reach in and snatch your whole soul in dem cornrows. Whooo. I felt for her, but I couldn’t even watch it. Looking at that was so painful, I had to put a finger on my left eye to keep it from twitching. I unfortunately have been in that predicament before, and it is not anywhere I’m trying to revisit. Sure enough about 5 minutes later, her mom rescued her and told her that she didn't have to continue. It was unfortunate because A. she still had to pay for part of the pain, and 2. only 1 little section of hair was finished. I don't know what the little girl was gonna do with that, but I suppose she didn’t care, because she ran and dunked her head in the water. I hope that helped. I doubt it tho. 

 

Shortly after that “situation” we also had the pleasure of watching someone get a massage right there in their lounge chair on the beach. It would’ve been ok except the “masseuse” was going very much below the belt. She was determined to go where nobody’s been. That massage was so deep I could feel it in my Sha-nah-nah from 10 chairs away (I didn’t want to tho). After an activity like that, surely they were engaged. Y'all can't tell me that wasn't a marriage proposal. When those ladies were walking up and down the beach trying to get customers, I was under the impression that the massage would happen in one of the pop up tents. Not out in the open where everyone could see your business. Ew. Disturbing doesn’t even come close to describing it. Does anyone have any eye bleach that I can borrow? I turned to the other side and prayed that it didn’t give me nightmares later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

All around us there was natural entertainment. We were never bored. T and K packed it up and left around 1:45. They’d had enough of the peep shows. W and I stayed out until around 2:15 when I got sleepy and hungry. I also had to use the facilities but I didn’t see any viable options out there.

 

We had to wait maybe 10-15 minutes for a water taxi. It was a popular time to go back. Since there were two large ships in port, we expected delays. It wasn’t too bad tho. When the boat pulled up, we all piled on and went back to the Celebration. I must say that sailing on a ship as large as Celebration is a good feeling. Our girl was holding her own next to the WOTS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

W and I walked back to the ship, then went and dropped off our bags. I didn’t buy one single souvenir in any port and I’m still shocked about it. This was very strange indeed. W on the other hand, was thrilled. He couldn’t believe it. Wonders never cease.

 

We got Time Fries first, then went to GBJ. It was heated back there. We got our food, then just like the Autobots, we rolled out. We opted to eat in the Lido Marketplace. It was easily 20 degrees cooler in there. We ate quickly, then went back to take a nap. I was so sleepy, I couldn’t wait to get in that cool bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

I woke up at 7, W woke up before me as usual. He went to Serenity, where he said there wasn’t that many people. I got ready quickly and we went to dinner at 7:30. As soon as W checked us in, our table was ready. T and K were already there when we got there. That’s another good thing about traveling with them. They will get there early and make sure we don’t lose the table. Love them.

 

We looked at the menu beforehand so we knew what we wanted. Dinner was slow tho. We didn’t get out until right at 9. I had the Shrimp Cocktail, Lasagna, and Apple Pie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

T and K wanted to do Deal or No Deal after dinner. W and I went to the Punchliner to see one of the new comedians that they brought onboard. It was a refrigerator in there! Bring a sweater, winter coat, hat, scarf, and gloves. I looked around to see if I could find the meat that they were hanging. Surely there was a reason that I could see my breath. Brrrrrr

 

The comedian was Tim Young and he was good. We laughed, not at everything, but we did laugh a little which is a win for us. Especially since the laughter helped warm us up a little.

 

The Motown Showdown was next. It was held in the Center Stage area. DJ Cue got the party started and it got better from there. Right when W and I found a good table, T and K sent us a message to see where we were. They’d forgotten about the Motown Showdown. We’d saved seats for them just in case, so it worked out perfectly. They came down and sat with us and we had a ball. It was a lot of fun dancing off some of those calories that we consumed at dinner.

 

Lee and DJ Cue work very well together. The dancers were great and they picked a good singer from the audience also. Oh and the little girl that they brought up was the most precious baby ever. Kinda made me look forward to the day when our adult offspring make us glam parents. Y’all know those babies are gonna be spoiled rotten.

 

After that phenomenal show I felt like I’d gotten all my moneys worth. Carnival didn’t owe me anything else, but a ride back to Miami, and a few more meals.

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

There was a late night comedy showcase at 11:30 but we didn’t go to it. I got my hot water for tea since we were right by Javablue, then I went back to the cabin. W went to the casino. He was trying to finesse my free play from me, but I told him I wanted to use it. Maybe I will maybe I won’t. We shall see.

 

In the cabin I finished up my daily notes, and got my stuff together for an early start the next day. I was going to get up and go to Serenity early again. I liked not having to fight for a seat on Monday, so hopefully I would be able to repeat that.

 

Before I fell asleep, I said a prayer thanking God for Motown. Where in the world would we be without the music that brings all kinds of people together? Music that spans decades and will continue on long after we are gone. Good job Barry Gordy, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and the countless others who paved the way for artists today. Good job.

 

 

 

 

[Jamman54]

7 hours ago, WhiteOptima said:

For us lunch they messed up everything like there were 2 of us and we ordered 1 mozzarella sticks and got 4!  Pasta was mixed up too.  Did one dinner and got chicken parm with no sides.  At that point just gave up asking for my pasta.

We had the same experience on the Mardi Gras, so when we were on the Celebration we didn't even go there. Sounds like we made the right decision. 😎

[Jamman54]

6 hours ago, willdra said:

There was a late night comedy showcase at 11:30 but we didn’t go to it. I got my hot water for tea since we were right by Javablue, then I went back to the cabin. W went to the casino. He was trying to finesse my free play from me, but I told him I wanted to use it. Maybe I will maybe I won’t. We shall see.

 

In the cabin I finished up my daily notes, and got my stuff together for an early start the next day. I was going to get up and go to Serenity early again. I liked not having to fight for a seat on Monday, so hopefully I would be able to repeat that.

 

Before I fell asleep, I said a prayer thanking God for Motown. Where in the world would we be without the music that brings all kinds of people together? Music that spans decades and will continue on long after we are gone. Good job Barry Gordy, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and the countless others who paved the way for artists today. Good job.

 

 

 

 

Another great read Willdra! We will be in St. Maarten in October, and were planning to do exactly what you did, except for maybe the X rated massage. Great minds think alike! 😁