Our stay came with a transfer to the airport. We loaded up all of our luggage into a little trailer and then got into a mini van with several other guests who were also headed to the port.
Not all the guests were taking the same cruise line though, so we had to make a couple of other stops before we got to our boat, the Celebrity Reflection. It was fun chatting with the other passengers and hearing about their upcoming cruises.
When we arrived at the pier we saw many guests who had just disembarked from the last cruise waiting for transportation back to the airport. They looked exhausted and sad to be going home. I was happy to be going to other way, but I know that the week will go by fast
We arrived the terminal around 11:00pm and there weren't very many other passengers waiting to board there, yet. Grandma Trudy's back was bothering her so she found a wheel chair to use. Ross started pushing her when a Celebrity employee rushed over and said that passengers weren't allowed to push the Celebrity owned wheel chairs for liability reasons. He pushed her for a bit until he found another employee to help us.
We quickly went through security and check-in and were seated in a waiting area with some of the other disabled passengers and their families. We were given an early edition of the Celebrity Today, which was very exciting to read. We couldn't wait to get on board!
The Celebrity staff was exceptionally friendly. However, I will note something that I found a little odd. They often told us what we wanted to hear even if it wasn't true. Either they were intentionally being misleading (to what purpose? Bigger tips? To avoid conflict?) or they were just surprising uninformed. For example, when the woman at check-in gave us our Sea Pass cards, I asked her for a lanyard so I could wear it around my neck. I have always just been given one on other cruises. ⚓️
She said, "Oh, you get those once you get on the ship." I asked if I had to go to the gift shop to buy them or if they gave them out.
"I think they will give them to you." she said. Well, maybe that is true, but if so, we haven't been able to locate them yet.
Also, while we were waiting to board, one of the attendants told Grandma Trudy that someone would be coming to take us to our stateroom shortly. I said, "I didn't think the staterooms would be ready till later?" The attendant said, "Oh, I think yours is ready." This is my fourth cruise and I've never had the cabins be ready so early, but I didn't argue. Of course as soon as this attendant handed Grandma Trudy off to another employee, she told us that the cabins weren't ready yet so they were going to take us to the Ocean View Cafe (the buffet) instead. The inaccurate information was just... strange.
On our way to the buffet, we stopped for the traditional embarkation photos.
And then we we're taken to a great table right by the window in the Ocean View Cafe. Here is the beautiful view of Miami our seat.
Yea! Our cruise has officially started!
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