Spring 2023 – Day 6

Today is our second day at sea and when we woke up the sky was mostly sunny and it was finally WARM!!

We had slept in so we finally made it out to the pool deck at about 10:00am and it was a little cool but warmed up quickly.

At 12:30pm we went into the Ocenview Café for lunch and then back on the deck where it was very hot and very sunny. 

We might have stayed out a little too much as we were red when we came it.  But all-in-al it was wonderful to have great sun.

We knew the Casino Manager from previous cruises and she asked us to have coffee with her and so at  4:00pm we met her in the casino and then went to the to have a drink and relax.  She is from Venezuela and is very nice.

The show tonight was a piano player/singer who was quite good.

Afterwards in the casino Ed had a terrible run at a table alone and moved to another table and made it all back plus a nice profit.  Barb had a small loss at the slots.

Tomorrow is Carbo San Lucas and we have a food tour that should be fun.

Night from the Pacific Ocean and warm weather.

                                        Finallly - hot weather and it;s great to be out in it.

                                            With the Casino Manger -  Sol (which means sun)

                                                     Going out for the evening

                                        Tuna for dinner and it was very good

Spring 2023 – Day 5

This is our first day at sea and the good news is that we are heading south.  The bad new is that it is still not warm enough to be outside sunning ourselves in the warm weather.  It’s close but not close enough.

So, we slept in and eventually left the room at 11:30am.  After walking around for a bit, we went to the Ocenview Café for a relaxing lunch.  Can’t sit outside, might as well eat!!

In the afternoon there was a blackjack tournament where Ed came in 8^th to qualify for the tournament; however, they only took the top 7 to the finals.

While Barb played slots and didn’t do well, Ed won at Blackjack and while he was waiting for Barb won a nice amount at roulette

We then went back to our room to get ready for the evening which was the first Chic night.

As is our usual evening we:

Went to the lounge for drinks for a while before the show and then we went to the show which was a

theater production show called Broken Strings about friendships, laughter and music and it was very good.

We then had another great dinner in Luminae.  The quality of the food and service in this restaurant is certainly much better than the other restaurants on the ship.

Then finally we went to the casino where Barb lost a little and Ed had a very large win.

Night and tomorrow is another sea day and we hope for great weather.

                                            The morning view from our balcony

                                        Ready to go eat lunch

                            See the little pitcher -  the Butler refills it every day for Barb's Kahula drinks

                                Now that is exceptional service!!

                                            Ready for the  evening

                                            Halibut for dinner - it was very good

                                                            and finally desserts

 

 

Spring 2023 – Day 4

The good news is that when we woke up there was sun!!  Our first sun since we started our trip and a perfect time to start the good weather.  It was chilly enough that we need to wear a jacket for Ed and a cover-up for Barb but the sun felt really good.

After breakfast we took the tender to the town of Avelon on Catalina Island.

This island as an amazing history as in 1919, William Wrigley Jr (Cubs owner) bought the entire island.  From 1921 until 1951, the island was the spring training headquarters of the Chicago Cubs!!

The Wrigley’s donated the island to the Catalina Island Conservancy organization in 1975.

We walked up the hill a little to go to Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church at 9:00m.  A lovely little church that was built in 1951.

Catalina Island is a very small island of 76 square miles with only 4,000 permeant people.

After church we walked around the downtown area which surrounded the port.  Lots of boats and they also have shuttle boats that take people from Long Beach.

We then took the tender back to the ship, walked around the decks outside and then when in to the Ocenview Café for a late lunch.

The afternoon was uneventful and soon it was time to get ready for the evening.

We went to Michaels Club for a drink and then on to the show.  The show was a singer who sang Whitney Huston songs who was not very good.

Then it was time for dinner and we had a delightful time meeting 2 new couples

Of course, after dinner we went to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed lost a little.

For the next two days we will now be heading south almost 1,000 miles to Carbo San Lucas, Mexico before turning around and heading back.  It should be a fun, very relaxing next few days at sea.

Night from heading south.

                                                    Ready to go out to see the island

                                Mar the Retreat Concierge leading us to the tender to go ashore

             Built by the William Wrigley, Jr to hold the first theater to show talking motion pictures

                                        Church

                Our cabin is the corner witht he wraparound deck and porthold window on the 7th floor

                            Some after lunch desserts!!  It was Greek day in the Ocenview Cafe

                                        Time to go our for the evening

                                        Having late afternoon tea and a snack

                             Joseph our waiter brought Barb a special Crab Martini

Spring 2023 – Day 3 & 4

We woke to cold rainy skis; however, it cleared by 10:30am when our Uber came to take us to the ship.

Ed’s surprise for Barb was that he was able to upgrade us to a suite.

Our suite is on the back of the ship on the corner.  It is a very large room, with a bit porthole window on one wall and a set of sliding glass doors to a very big wrap-around balcony.

We have the normal stateroom attendant, Dinesh and then our Butler, Lloyd.  Basically Lloyd takes care of anything we need; however, we are not sure we will need him much.

We think that for every Celebrity ship we have ever been on, we have eaten lunch at the main Oceanview Café outside on the back of the ship.  Since it was way too cold to do so, we ate in the suites separate dining room, Luminae and wow are we really going to enjoy eating there. 

There is also a private area on the top deck for suite guests with it own free bar as well as a lounge called Michael’s Club inside the ship   This is going to be special.

After lunch and then looking at the casino, we went back to the cabin and unpacked and rested for just a bit.

Then we went to Michaels Club for a drink and then it was time to go to the show which was a comedian and he was just average funny.

After the show, we went to dinner in our dining room and it was very good.

Then we of course went to the casino where we each played in a free 1 minute slot tournament where neither of us won.  Later in the casino Barb lost a tiny bit and Ed had a nice win.

Several of the supervisors we have know from previous cruises so that is good.

The capacity of this ship is 2800 guests and there are only 1500 on board, so it is a quite ship.

Tomorrow is our first of 3 stops, Catalina Island and we are looking forward to it.

Night from the Pacific Ocean

                                            Leaving for the Celebrity Solstice

                                        Just waiting and relaxing

                                    The porthole window on one wall of our room

                                        Lunch a very good lobster roll

                                                            Chocolates for Ed

                                                    Lloyd our Butler

                                                        Going out for our first evening

                                            Snacks and a drink in the lounge for suite guests

                                                    Dinner in Luminae

                       Barb getting her slot machine ready for the slot tournament - it didn't work!

Spring 2023 – Day 2

When we went to bed the prediction was 100% rain so we slept in.  Ed was up at 7:30am to have breakfast but then came back and we both slept until 10:00am!!

We finally left the room at noon and when to a shopping area- looked around for more warm cloths and then had pizza and a salad at a California Pizza Kitchen.

After that we went to the Aquarium and it was a lot of fun ‘cause it was also inside and the rain was continuing.

We then took an Uber to Walgreens to pick up Ed’s soda and back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was at a restaurant called Parker’s Lighthouse and the meal was outstanding and the service was wonderful.   We had a huge shrimp cocktail and then the catch of the day which was mahi-mahi with roasted vegetables.

After dinner we re-packed for the cruise. 

Rain is predicted to continue for the night and maybe still in the morning.

As best we can remember, in all of our cruises we have never had rain on the first 2 days before the cruise.  It’s a record we don’t want to do again.  We still had a relaxing time in Long Beach and maybe someday we will be back to enjoy a sunny southern California.

Barb is getting a surprise when we get to our room – more tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be a wonderful day – we board our cruise ship and the season begins for the Cubs!!

Night from Long Beach.

For those who are Cardinals fans - GO CUBS!!

                                Going out for the day - 52 degrees and raining

                                                Barb making a new friend

                                                    Petting some interesting creatures of the sea

                                                    Now this one was interesting

                                            Dinner - our shrimp cocktail

                                                    These Jelly Fish were amazing to see

 

Spring 2023 – Day 1

The night before we left we were concerned about all of the flight cancellations because of the weather.  Then that night our plane came in from Atlanta so we were hopeful that the flight would go.

When we arrived at the airport, everything was on schedule.

The only problem was when we got to the gate, 5 minutes before boarding, the gate agent informed that there was going to be a delay as much as ½ hour because the plane refueler had overslept and was on his way from his home to fill the plane up!!  They rebooked us on a later flight in case we didn’t make our scheduled flight.

They decided to board the plane while waiting for him and the good news was that we took off right on time and arrived in Atlanta even a few minutes early.

We had time to go to the Delta Sky Lounge for a quick breakfast and then boarded the plane to Los Angeles, a 5 hour flight.

In Los Angeles, we took an Uber to Long Beach, about a 45-minute drive.

We are staying at the Marriott Residence Inn and they upgraded us to a very nice 1 bedroom suite on the 8^th floor overlooking the marina.  Two nice big rooms with a great view.

We unpacked and Ed did some work and finally we went to dinner early.

Dinner was at a nice seafood restaurant, a 5 minute walk and it was very good.  Sorry, we forgot to take any pictures.

Then we went back to the hotel as it was cold and windy out and we watched the University of Illinois defeat 20the ranked Northwestern by only a couple of points after being down by as many as 18 points.

Almost everyone who is reading this has some kind of extreme weather and Long Beach is no exception. 

We were hoping for great weather and instead it is 45 – 50, cold, windy and a chance of rain for the next couple of day.

This nice thing is that we are on a vacation and going on a cruise.

We are posting bigger pictures - hope you like them

Night for now.

                                                        Becker would like to go also!

                                                        In the Atlanta Delta Sky Lounge

                                                    The view from our toom

                                                            Going out for dinner

                          The Queen Mary just down from the hotel.  It is closed for renovations

                                      Our room at the Residence Inn, Long Beach Downtown