FireFishII

After taking a nap today and decompressing a little i am coming to realize you are correct.  To many hours and no decompression time.  I have done Thanksgiving on Norwegian and Royal, and their Thanksgiving is turkey and ham but no pumpkin pie.  They were prepared like a chief trying to be fancy and not trying to be as good as moms Thanksgiving meal.  I am hoping Celebrity does a better job.

Summary:  Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda
I am not going to talk much about the ship tonight because I have not had time to explore and experience.  What I will talk about and show pictures is my cabin.  I have got to spend time in my cabin and get a good nap this afternoon.  I have an Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda.  For a solo cabin it is very big.  The only thing it does not have is a couch.  I do have a balcony in the room that opens the room up.  Celebrity is an upscale cruise line, and you can tell that by the cabin.  I have 2 USB plugs next to my bed.  At the desk is a box with 3 different power plugs and 2 USB plugs.  The bed is nice and sleep well.  I want to take the pillows home.  They are big enough and are schrunchable.  Later in the cruise I will be creating a Cabin Review Video and will share it with you.
Note:  The nap helped, and I am starting to realize my funk is caused by being overworked.  I have done 6 months of 60-hour work weeks and the last 3 months with 25 to 30 hours of Water Polo coaching on top of that.  I think I am just tired and need this cruise to decompress.


 

Summary:  Not a bad day and great cruise port
I checked before I went to sleep and the Lift from my hotel to the cruise port was only $8 and the shuttle was $15.  I set my alarm for 10 am to give me an hour to clean up before checkout time.  Now I did something every experienced cruiser knows not to do but I did it anyway.  I packed my bag in packing cubes and did not leave cloths for my second day easy to get to.  All of my shirts were in packing cubes at the bottom of the suitcase.  I got to unpack everything to get one shirt that I could wear to the port.  I scheduled my Lyft ride, and it showed up in 5 minutes (I picked the discount for waiting) and it was a very nice car and great driver.  It took us about 10 minutes to get from the airport area to the Port Everglades port.  At the port entrance we got in a line that was very slow.  When we got the person at the gate we were asked for ID.  The driver showed him his ID and I showed him my sea pass.  that was not enough for him.  I had to get in the car trunk and get my passport out of my backpack.  Once at the Celebrity Cruise terminal 18 (the Ascent had 25) everything went really smooth.  The people working the terminal were great and very polite and helpful.  I got there at 11:30 am and almost was able to walk on.  We just had a 5-to-10-minute wait in the main waiting room.  Something I thought about... I think the workers are very polite because most of them are retired and do not have the stress of working life and enjoy what they are doing.

Summary:  No sleep but great trip
It took all night Monday night, but I got packed.  it was the heaviest suitcase I have had so far on any of my trips.  it is a small, checked bag and it was 42 lbs.  I pretty much packed everything I own that can be worn in public that my 27-year-old would approve.  The flight and transportation were the best of any trip so far.  the only issue is my sons new Camero.  It is a brand new 2024 Camero and he wants to drive it everywhere.  The trunk is big but has a small opening.  The bag just barely fit in.  When I got to the airport there were no lines anywhere.  Once on the airplane I was in Main Plus seats, and I had a 3rd grader in my middle seat.  That gave me lots of room and gave me someone that I could talk to (I coach elementary and high school water polo).  On the second part of my flight, I had the Main Plus seat and there were only 2 of us in the row of 3 seats.  At the Fort Lauderdale airport I got my bag and as soon as I walked out the door to see where to find my hotel ride; to my surprise the van was right there with the hotel name on it.  I got to the hotel about 10 pm and got to sleep for the first time in two days.

I too am an northerner (New Englander), who just does not know what to do with my winter coat/gloves/hat.  We once traveled to FL from PA (after visiting my sister).  We had left all of our winter gear in the car.  The plan was for my husband to get the car from the parking lot while I watched our three very young kids.  
Go figure - Philly got dumped with snow.  Over 12 inches.  Poor hubby had to clear off the now with his bare hands to get the car door open.  While the car was warming up, he bundled up in his VERY COLD winter gear and got busy clearing the rest of the snow.  45 minutes later, he was driving up in a warm car to pick us up.
Moral of the story - bring along 1 set of warm weather gear for the person who is responsible for getting the car.  LOL  

Get your family involved.  They can remind you to take the pictures or provide you with their pictures.  They could also do a write up of a meal or activity for you. I bet a few of them would get a kick out of it. 

Stop, drop, and pass the rolls! My family told me to stop telling Thanksgiving jokes, but I said I couldn't quit cold turkey.

Oceanview cafe! 😜 

And what does the WJ serve?  (Asking for @Lovetocruise2002)

It doesn't count if I'm a freeloader! 😁

I thought you were never leaving Royal? lol!

It looks it... WJ jokes aside, b/c my wife is picky and the wok/pasta station was always her WJ go-to, we could easily have dinner there every night and be content.

Well, this has had a bad effect on me. I just booked the Ascent for 2025. I won't be super fancy because the type of room I prefer are aft rooms and a chunk of the retreat rooms were midship. I was able to do the math and the drinks and Wi-Fi add-on was a very good deal. So you can count me as a defector. 😂😉

If he wants company and you have an open tub...

Definitely better quality..Royal would probably charge $19.99/person for this buffet.

They also have the Rooftop Garden Grill where we have dinner scheduled tonight.

They leave these invitations in the room for your scheduled dining with the time on the back. We have gotten them for all of our meals.

Another unique feature is the Rooftop Garden.

Subtle brand advertising..

They had pickleball going on while I was on my walkabout. 

Plants, plants, and plants...

Aft of the ship has the Sunset Bar with those aft views.

We are at self-service pool towels pricing.

Ping pong hidden away..

Drinking fountain..

And doorway to entitlement 🤩

The jogging track is interesting on this ship. It winds around and has inclines and weaves around the ship.

For booking research 

i am devestato. 😭😭😭
if you can, please visit an establishment serving champagne… for science.