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

  

New Years 2023 Videos - Celebrity Apex

 

                                                A quick shower and a beautiful rainbow

                                                    The rock show on the main stage

                                                            Breakfast on the Apex

                                                    Jessie Hamilton Jr in the showroom

New Year’s 2023 – Day 10

This is our last day of the cruise and the morning was spent at sea.

At noon we landed in Nassau and 90% of the people got off the ship.

Since we have been here so many times and have seen everything, we decided to stay on the ship and simply relax and sit in the sun.

Of course, at 1:30pm, went to the Oceanview Café as it our custom and had lunch with our friends and sat around and talked for a bit.

Then it was back to the room to pack – ugh!!

After packing we cleaned up and went out on the ship to people watch and listen to music.

The show tonight was a cast production number called Rockumentary which was a fast-paced concert reliving decade after decade of rock music and it was very good. We have seen it before and it was certainly worth seeing again.

As usual, after the show was dinner at 8:30pm and we all had fun talking about the cruise and our future cruises together.

Then finally we went to the casino where Ed won and Barb lost a little.

As we were saying our goodbyes to the casino management staff, a person from Mexico who we had played with on an entire cruise pre-covid came over to say hi. He had seen us from across the tables and recognized us. What fun.

This is our list night on the ship and we will be home.

Currently we are leaving the ship at 7:30am, the flight to Atlanta is at 9:30am. Then we fly home leaving Atlanta at 2:02pm and arriving at the airport at 2:50pm

Everyone is well and it has been a fun cruise but now we are ready to come home.

Thanks for following along with our journey.

Nite




 

                                                                  Pool side on the top deck





                                 

                                                   We did get a tan!!
        

                      
 

                                          Craig the Casino Manager - our third trip with him.

 

                                                            Our friend from Mexico

 

                       Galvin the Assistant Casino Manager - our third trip with him also.

                                                                  Going out for the last evening

 

                                 Irinqnka - we last cruised with her in 2018 and she is a Casino Supervisor

                            

New Year’s 2023 – Day 9

New Year’s 2023 – Day 9

It was our second to last day of the cruise and today we are at sea all day.

We reserved deck chairs for us and Jeff and Vera early and it was a good thing because the decks were very busy.

It sprinkled on us for just a minute and for the most part it was a beautiful sunny day with a few clouds. It was also raining in the distance and we saw a wonderful rainbow that lasted for a long time. We could see the rainbow looking like it was over the ship from the sea on each side.

Of course, at 1:30pm, we to the Oceanview Café as it our custom and had lunch with our friends and sat around and talked for a bit.

We then went to the casino to play in the slot tournament. Barb didn’t quality and Ed was in it until the last round when he was bumped out; however, our friend John did make it to the finals and he came in third. That was no good as they only paid 2 places!! But it was fun yelling and cheering on each other.

We went down early and played a session with our friends and Ed won and Barb lost a little.

Tonight, is the second evening chic night and we sat in the atrium watching all the people until it was time to go to dinner. We did not first go to the show as we had seen the pianist/singer before.

The dinner was very good and Barb was surprised with a birthday cake from the ship and of course the waiters singing happy birthday. She was surprised.

Then we went to the theater to see the late-night comedy show of the female comedian that we heard on the first night of the cruise. She was really very funny,

Then finally at 11:30am we went to the casino where Ed won and Barb did not play.

We set the clocks back one hour tonight so that will help with the sleep.

After tonight, one more night and we will be home.

Miss everyone – Nite.




The rainbow which was a total one





Vera giving Barb her present





Out for the afternoon





Waiting for the slot tournament to begin





Going out for the evening





One great hand





The staff celebratng Barbs birthday





and of course the birthday cake

New Year’s 2023 – Day 8

We had docked at the island of Tortola when we woke up. Once again it is forecast to be clear and in the 80’s.

This is a beautiful island very popular with sailboats and yachts and a great island to snorkel which we have done before.

Today, we just walked into town to look around and not really finding anywhere or anyghing of interest, we walked down to the waterfront in town.

Lots and lots of sailboats were tied up on the many piers in the harbor.

After walking around for a couple of hours, we went back to the ship and up on the deck to be in the sun.

We met everyone at 1:45pm on the back of the ship and spend a couple hours with them just relaxing.

The entertainment tonight a production show that we had seen before called The Tree of Life and since we had seen it several times and didn’t really like it so we skipped it and instead went the casino early where Ed broke even and Barb lost a little.

Then it was time to eat and we had an enjoyable dinner with our friends before going to a show in the entertainment venue called The Club which was smaller and more intimate. The show there tonight was the singer from a few nights ago, Jessie Hamilton Jr who was very, very good.

Then it was back to the casino, Ed won and Barb lost a little

Tomorrow is our last day at sea and it promises to be a very relaxing day.

It is also Barb’s birthday.

Nite and we will be home soon.


Going walking in Tortola





Dozens and dozens of yachts like this and bigger





The inside swimming pool








Time for an evening of music, eating and gambling - life is good!!