Fort Lauderdale
We usually drive to the port the morning of the cruise but J. R. decided to get a hotel in Fort Lauderdale the night before this time. We drove down Sunday afternoon and stopped at Naked Taco, a Mexican restaurant we like near Fort Lauderdale. Janie got a cookie at a small shop nearby and then we went to the hotel to relax.
Embarkation
We only had a quick drive from our hotel to the port and we arrived just as they were letting guests in. We took the private elevator up to the Retreat lounge where we were checked in and had drinks and snacks. At 11, we were let onto the ship and headed for our muster station, which was not ready. So we went up to our room and dropped off our backpack and got our Seapass cards and came back down but they still were not ready. We went to the Retreat lunch in Luminae, which was very good, then finally were able to muster. We stopped by Future Cruise to book a cruise we had in mind for February and then explored the ship. Our first Celebrity cruise was on Reflection in 2019 and not much had changed, including the "Art or Furniture". We got our first martinis and our first stop in Michael's Club, the exclusive bar for Retreat guests and also stopped by World Class for a Double Piquant, one of Janie's favorite drinks. We met Putu at the martini bar and he said he was a server in Luminae so we ended up seated in his section and he was fantastic as a server all week. The evening ended with a magic show which was pretty funny and then a little silent disco.
Nassau
This was supposed to be our day at sea, but we docked in Nassau instead. We were enjoying our view at breakfast in Luminae when the Behemoth of the Seas pulled up next to us. After breakfast, we took advantage of our Elite perk and went to the Persian Garden for the day, where we relaxed on the hot stone loungers and enjoyed the saunas. We enjoyed having Michael's Club with the plentiful sodas and bar, but that was about the only Retreat perk we thought was worth any real value. J. R. tried the signature duck dish in Luminae one night and it was horribly dry. Not sure what that poor duck did to deserve that treatment. The evening show was Broadway Caberet. We enjoyed the wonderful singers but do wish Celebrity would add some more recent Broadway musicals to this show.
Perfect Day at Coco Cay
Our primary reason for booking this cruise was the stop at Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay. We had not been since before the dock was built and all of the "Perfect Day" attractions were added. We ate breakfast in the buffet and walked off the ship as soon as we could. We had a beach bed booked on Chill Island and after struggling to find the check in, we settled in for the day. Chill Island was an error on our part, as we really had a lagoon view instead of an ocean view and we should have booked a bed on the other side of the island. But still it was relaxing and we had a few Coco Locos before heading to the buffet for lunch. It was typical private island food. The burgers were overcooked and the buns were dry but the chicken and ribs were quite good. J. R. headed back to the ship around one and Janie stayed until close to three when rain was threatening. We had some martinis and went to Michael's Club for a reception. After dinner in Luminae, we decided to skip the comedy show in favor of relaxing in Michael's Club.
Day At Sea
Today was supposed to be our Bimini day, but we had not planned to leave the ship anyway so changing it to a day at sea did not change much for us. We went back to Luminae for breakfast and more banana pancakes. We were going to relax at the Lawn Club but they had it roped off so we walked around the ship to get some photos, even though not much had changed since 2019. We went to the Solarium for a while before lunch in Luminae and then we went to our room to open our complimentary $8 bottle of bubbly while we finished packing. It was not good. We had the World Wine Tour and were a little disappointed they no longer have you walk around from station to station but we chatted with a pair of teachers from Atlanta and had cheese and grapes as we learned about a variety of wines. Next we headed to World Class Bar, where we made three drinks and were glad to see it was back to the normal where you make the drinks yourself instead of waiting to go behind the bar. We closed out the night with "Feel the Funk" production show, which was not one of our favorites, but still entertaining and then had one last night in Luminae. J. R. was not feeling well so he headed to the room while Janie went to Michael's Club for a nightcap.
