Leeward Ho
(or Many a Long Walk)
09.26.2025 Down in the Banana Republics*
Hey Now! Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. Just small pauses for capital improvments. Hopefully these small inconveniences end soon. One more year. More or less. This is a combo trip. Sweet Ti went down to FLL a few days before me to spend the week with an old friend of hers, Marie François. Marie François met Ti at FLL and they drove to Marie Francois house in West West Palm Beach. I flew down on Friday the 26th and picked up a rental at FLL. you have to take a shuttle from Terminal 2 to the rental center. I rented thru Hertz and skipped the counter. I noticed they have upgraded my rental. it's a gigantic Ford Expedition XXL. I can't even figure out how to open the tailgate. Or find the keys. Screw this. I make the long hot walk back to the counter and sort it out.
Chicken Hawk
Seriously? From insult to injury. At least I found the keys. I fire up our Chicken Hawk and right away idiot light come on about this and that. About what I expect from a Willys. I brought my own EZPass and GPS. The GPS cant find any sats so I just follow my instincts leaving the airport. I stumble upon Griffin Rd. which was just the road I wanted. I'm headed for the Hollyrock Hard Rock. You know, the guitar shaped tower? Celebrity's Blue Chip Club has a nice perk that I qualified for by playing enough in their ship's casinos to have earned Sapphire, the uppity blue card. An Annual 3 night complimentary stay at either the Hollyrock or Tampa Seminole Hard Rock along with 300. in resort credit. No resort fees either. Easy enough to find the resort with a 450' instrument sticking up. This place is HUGE!
big ol' Box
I pick a random parking lot and proceed into the bowels of the resort. This place rivals anything I've seen in Vegas. And I've been to every casino there- at least those built before 2020. The casino is very smoky. But very open and spread out. I succeed in locating a front desk. There are 3 towers here and my comp is for the run of the house. With limits. I have booked an Oasis Tower room. Seemed like the quieter choice. I queue up and end up having to explain how this particular comp works. I got that sorted and he let me go ahead and check in even though it was early. So I set about yet another long walk. Very long walk. To the other end of the property. Found it!
Stretch
It's a beautiful room. I was hoping for something overlooking the pool complex, but alas all those rooms are suites which were all sold out. I made the long walk back to the Chicken Hawk and found another car park slightly closer and hauled my luggage aloft.
This is the entrance from the guitar tower valet. Pretty damned impressive.
Jim????
I called our Sweet Ti. Marie François is having AC issues and her house is steaming. I mean all of south Florida is always steaming, but it's worse inside. Someone is supposed to be working on it. I had a rather disappointing session in the casino and had a sandwich at Rise and called it a night. Great start to our Leeward Ho adventure.
09.27.2025 Down to the tropical sun
Hey Now! Not too much luck sleeping. I decide to take the Hawkster out for a chip run. There's a Seminole Classic Casino right down the street. Action shots!!
It's a long walk to the Lucky Street Garage.
Street puddy
Well, I guess Classic is as good a term as any for this joint. If the Hollyrock reminded me of Las Vegas, THIS place reminds me of North Las Vegas. So much smoke for so many years that it's penetrated everything. I bought a chip and was gone in a flash.
Tribal Po Po
I went back to the room and finished my sandwich. The game plan for today is to Head 60 miles north by northwest and pick up Sweet Ti and have a visit with Marie François and then later on go to Ziggy's in Boyton Beach. I was hoping to hear from Ziggy as to our plans but he hasn't touched base yet. So I make an executive decision to head on up north. It's still pretty early, but there's another chip run along the way. The gigantic guitar is actually situated in Davie on the west side. It couldn't be easier to get to the airport or the Turnpike from the property. I am headed for Coconut Creek Seminole Hard Rock Casino.
I'm impressed by this place. I thought it would be much smaller. It's really nice. Since there's not a hotel on the premises that's just more room for gaming and landscaping. I self pared within feet of the bridge to the casino. Lots of smoke. Seems to be really bad around here. They all do have non smoking slots- I never saw a non smoking pit. I headed for the cashier. So Ziggy and Bo's son Sebastian works the cage here. I ask for him but the nice boothling informs me that he won't be in till later. He works afternoons. We have a nice chat about the Tolczyenski clan. She knows them all bless her heart. She doesn't have any chips, so I thank her and proceed to the pit. Purchase said chip. Then various slots ate my lunch. And they were hungry too! I got a call from Ziggy and he wants us there at 3 pm. I kinda thought we would see them earlier, but that's cool. Then Sweet Ti calls and I give her the lowdown. The AC did get fixed so at least the house is cooler. She says to get my butt up there, Yes Ma'am!! Other than some construction on the turnpike, it was a pleasant drive. Everyone here says to take I 95 instead but with our EZ Pass I don't see the problem. And she lives pretty far out west. The neighborhood is straight out of the 70's playbook. Acre ranchettes for the most part.
Sisters from different Mothers
What a lovely person our Marie François is. I hadn't met her back when Sweet Ti and I went a'courtin' in Kendal around 2000. We have a tour of her shire and a lovely visit. Marie bought this place back in 1995. She is from Haiti. She has a couple of siblings living in south Florida. The girls went to have dinner with Marie's brother at his house a couple of days earlier. They used to work together at American Airlines. Alas too soon it was time for us to leave. Back on the road before too long the turnpike lives up to it's reputation. It's stop and go for miles. We had decided to go back to the room and take Ti's bags up so she could change for dinner. By the time we finally got back to the guitar, we only had 15 minutes to catch our breath from yet another long walk before it was time to head to Boynton Beach. This time the turnpike was clear ad we pulled up to their house right on time. Which is important if you know Ziggy.
This is our first time seeing their home in B.B. They followed their 2 sons here from Henderson NV. We went out there about 15 times to see them between 2004 and 2019. Good times. It's remarkable how similar their house here is to their old one in Vegas. 2 different locates with remarkably similar architecture in housing. They are doing well. Tomas, their younger son and his wife welcomed their 2nd child last winter. We tour the place and Zig puts out a bit of oatmeal for the local ducks. We share some wine and charcuterie. Then we head for SanTo's Buffet. Killer joint!. Everything from sushi and raw bar to a carving station with several types of freshly grilled meat and everything in between. Plus decadent desserts. Quite a lovely repast. We booped back to the Tocyznski's and hung out for a bit before bidding them adieu till our net trip down here in Jan. No traffic heading south. But we spot a problem right away in the Lucky Street Garage. There's some event going on here this evening. We went all the way to the uncovered top floor and still no spaces. We finally found one miles away from the elevators. Yet another long walk. Crash.
09.28.2025 Go the expatriated Americans
Hey Now! Are we having fun yet? There's a lovely coffee joint here named Constant Grind. Perfect for coffee Elizabeth.
Service JJ?
I was in line whenever they finally opened at 7 a.m. I scored a really nice coffee carrier that will absolutely make it's way onto the ship. I leave Sweet Ti's caffeine and carbs aloft and grab the keys to the Hawkster. Errand time. First stop is Aldi's for some of their best Fine Wine. Winkin' Owl Moscato. $3.95. Then Dollar Tree for some beauty supplies. Then one last stop for fuel. Drink up Chicken!
Sleepyhead Ti finally woke and we broke our fast. Today is all ours. No plans except to relax, look around the place and enjoy a lovely dinner at Abiaka. Here's a bunch more pics because there's just so much to this resort!
This is where the Jackpot Gents play.
We have dinner reservations at Abiaka. We get all gussied up and take the long walk. This place is great, overlooking the pool complex.
We were greeted and seated quickly. Good timing too, the place started filling up presently. We will be Emma's guests this evening. Emma is a jewel. She's from Canada. Eh? She hooks us up. I love the open kitchen concept. Raw Bar too.
yum!
A really tremendous dining experience. Of course the fact it's comped makes it all the better. Mt Sweet Ti is done for the evening so I put her to bed and descend for a last VP session. I really like the choices of VP machines they have here. Just hate the smoke.
Bit of a rally today but overall the bankroll took a right good hit here. We shall see if my limited play scares up some offers here.
09.29.2025 Go the expatriated Americans
Hey Now! Almost time to put out to sea. Meanwhile, Sweet Ti is having hip issues. ¡Pobrecita! The Hawk soares over to the nearest Wally World to stock up on Unguents and Potions to hopefully alleviate her hip pain. I stop by Constant Grind on the way back for some breakfast. I can't say enough about this coffee shop. Really friendly crew, nice food and beverage choices, and 1:1 comps. Beauty.
We shared a bagel and some pastries. Then we are ready to checkout. We have Prime Access boarding on the Reflection today, so we are shooting for arriving at Port Everglades around 11 a.m. We tried checking out using the TV but the figures weren't adding up. I have been keeping up- at least dollarwise, and we used maybe $10. over the $300. resort credit we started with. Fortunately there's a front desk on our way out. I attempt to explain the nuances of the annual Sapphire the uppity blue card benefit to the desk clerk. The manager gets his ass involved, and finally a verdict is rendered. We went $14. over $300. and the clerk deemed it a push. Works for me. I leave Sweet Ti and our gear at the Guitar Valet and take yet another long walk to retrieve the Chicken Hawk. Griffin to Perimeter Rd. Been driving here 3 days and know more than my GPS. Turned out that the rental return is on the far side of Perimeter Rd. So we made the Terminal Tour and finally end up at rental return. But the Hertz lot is really full. We are on the far side of the floor from the skybridge to the rideshare lot. One of the Hertz lot agents, Wes, walked up and directed us where to stop and park our vehicle. I explain to him about Sweet Ti's hip bothering her and the distance. Oh, and by the way- that Chicken Hawk you rental us has a light show going on the dash. Today's local, Wes was ever so handy and offered to take us to the skybridge. Or so I thought. I asked him how the rideshare I hadn't reserved one service was as in I hadn't reserved one ahead of time. So Wes drove right past the Hertz counter and skybridge and everything. He's taking us to Terminal 25. So Wes is originally from Haiti. He and his wife have 2 daughters who are in college in Orlando. He's been working for Hertz for 27 years. I took notes. Great dude. He brought us right up beside the ship. We tipped him most generously.
We actually saw Prime Access lines, but the Port crew were clueless as could be. It wasn't too crowded yet as it was right at 11 a.m. We made it to the ship in minutes. Another long walk up the stairs. I told Sweet Ti we could rent her a Rascal© but she demurs. First stop- muster. Second stop the long walk to the room to drop off our luggage. We are the next to last room before you get to the aft cabins in the starboard side. As far away as you can get from the elevators. Hump style veranda. V2. Luggage stowed, long walk. To El Bacon!!!
:HINT: On Boarding day Celebrity puts out trays of champagne out in various bars but it's usually just self serve. So we did.
makin' friends already!
so is Guest Services
The rooms were ready a bit after 1:30. Another long walk. We made ourselves at home and met our attendant, today's local Anjo. Anjo is from the Philippines and is a pistol. When I asked his name he told me "Call me handsome- since you and I are both handsome". Will do so Anjo became H2. But well you may ask who is H1? Why yours truly. Naturally.
Room 7354
09.30.2025 Hopin' to find some fun.
Sea day
Hey Now! Slept in and then Bacon Elizabeth. One of the other free perks other than Early boarding and luggage delivery, we get free room service. We ordered a full breakfast. Nice to hang in the room and feast. Especially with our sweet Ti's ailments. It's a 10 day cruise. Hopefully Ti can make it to the Solarium. I'm going to work on earning our fare. It's a new tier earning year so my points went from 22k back to 00. They have a few Super Star II machines. But it's 10. per point rather than 5. a point.
The Reflection is an S class ship. I took a solo 3 day cruise last July. Reflecting. Lots of quiet out of the way places.
10.01.2025 Some of them go for the sailing
Sea Day
Hey Now! Rabbit. Gotta say it's nice to have 2 sea days right at the beginning of the cruise. Get those pesky tier points out of the way. I hit up Guest Relations for more George Washingtons. I've already tipped out fifty of them at least. The over to Shore Excursions to cancel a couple of upcoming outings. Our Sweet Ti isn't up to them. That's fine with me. I just want her to be as comfortable as possible. One of them was in St. Lucia. We actually did this particular excursion- catamaran trip to see the Pitons- on our West Indies Sorcery trip. The other one was a boat ride in St. Kitts. No biggie. Cancellations in place and refunds issued, I make my way up to the Spa. I inquired about pain management treatments. Pamela from Zimbabwe assisted me. We set up a series of 3 treatments over the course of the rest of the cruise.
El Bacon dine in
Nap Central
10.02.1025 Caught by the lure of the sea
Tortola
Hey Now! Prime Access rocks. Not having to go up and fight the buffet crowds. I mean that everybody gets a continental breakfast, but we hit them up for a more or less full English every morning. We have coffee on the veranda as we pull into port.
So our Sweet Ti has her appointment with Pamela for her first treatment this morning so we head up and I drop her off. The Reflection is just a bit too big for my taste. A super-sized S class ship. She's a beaut. I have to admit it felt a bit crowded the last couple of days. I made my way down to the gangway. My objective is the same as it always is. Cheap swag. So off I go.
Road Town is the financial, business and municipal capital of the British Virgin Islands. But the swag inside the confines of Romney Pier Park really sucked. I refuse to pay $7. for a fridge mag. I even went around the fringes to find some out of the way kiosk. No luck. I'm contemplating going into town or biting the bullet when I hear a voice. "Santa!" I turn and see a dude carrying some food and smiling. I say Hey Now! and inquire as to procuring cheap swag. "I will take you there for free. It's a bit of a walk. I have a taxi". I guess that I kinda looked at him sideways and he said. "Don't worry Mon, I won't roll you". Sounds great. I told him it wouldn't net him much anyway as I've only got a few dollars on me. So we are walking along and instead of going straight ahead to where the busses and taxis are, he ducks thru an opening in a chain link fence and I follow him into what looks like a car junk yard. There's some cars missing parts and others with plants coming up thru the windscreen. "Here we are". Early 2010's Kia. The door handle is broke, no AC. There's one of those old style desk signs on the dash that says For Hire. What's your name my friend? "Gadget". Perfect. Off we go.
Gadget and Santa
Typical Caribbean town layout. Chaos. Narrow streets with parking seemingly random. We are chatting. Today's local, Gadget is truly a local. The village he was born in is right up the road. He has lived on many other islands around the area, but always came back home. He has a son in Puerto Rico. I ask if he is married. "Freelancing". Our first stop is at a quaint little shop known as Little Denmark. We park and walk around the corner to the front of the shop. Along the way we pass by a lady in the driver's seat of a car whom Gadget introduces me to as the proprietor of the shop. This place is perfect. Dirt cheap. And plenty of different choices. I got the entire swag spectrum covered for under $20. We head back to the taxi and I ask about a $20. island tour. "Money doesn't matter to me ". I like his philosophy. "I have to drop off this food and then go and pick up Samantha's sister. You can ride along". So we cruise around town and stop for food delivery. "Tortola Dash". Then we head up the mountainside to Samantha's. "I need to get the muffler fixed". As long as the brakes work.
We stopped along the way and picked up a wanderer and took him to the gap. No charge. Then we got to Samantha's. She yelled hello to Gadget. I yelled Hey Now to Samantha. "What's that white boy doing in your car Gadget??".
Sam's sister and niece
We dropped Sam's niece at daycare and our next stop is down the mountain to Samantha's sister's job and then to her Doctor's appointment.
Ahoy!
We finished our tasks and still no money changed hands. Well that will change. Gadget actually pulls up to the cruise terminal gate and gets us in. We pull up as close as possible to the pier. I generously tip our Gadget and he provides me with his direct number in case I need his services in the future. 5474036. Call him the next time you want to experience the local culture of beautiful Tortula, BVI.
Back on the Reflection I find my Sweet Ti in the Solarium well massaged and we go down to the room for lunch and a nap.
Sailaway
turn these damn things on already!!
What a run.
10.03.2025 Tryin' to find what is ailing
Antigua
Hey Now! Yet another fine room service breakfast. We watched from the veranda as we pulled into St. John's.
This is a great little town. We were here previously on our West Indies Sorcery trip. So swag has already been secured although additions to the collection are always welcome. I am venturing out solo once again. I do have a plan. First stop is to secure some of the local currency, the Eastern Caribbean Dollar. I head downtown to the local Western Union office.
Really iffy office.
Next stop the chemist. I'm looking for a remedy to help with our Sweet Ti's hip. Just down the street as it turns out. Small local joint. I enter and inquire . The clerk got the pharmacist who was very helpful. Instead of grabbing something off the shelf she recommended 500 mg. ibuprofen. She makes me a packet with enough to get us thru till we get home. 4. ECD. I also inquire as to a jewelry store. Ti left some jewelry at Marie Françoius' house - including the only necklace that she brought. The helpful pharmacist said to try Dylan's place a few doors down. Thanks!
Dylan showed me a couple of nice chains. They were stainless steel which is fine because Ti wears silver jewelry. I decide on a nice box chain one but it is too short. So he goes in the back and adds a few inches of chain to it. I think it's still too short so he adds a bit more. Perfect. He charged me $40. ECD. Which is around 15. USD. Great deal! Thanks! Next stop is for a bit of swag after all.
really cheap swag
I mean it's like a Dollar Tree for swag! Really nice people too. OK. Chores accomplished I know just where I'm headed.
Hey Now! Still with me? Here we go. 3:2 Blackjack. 6 decks. Favorable rules. 10. ECD min. I bought in for 50. Played heads up with the dealer as I was the only patron in the joint. I played for over an hour. But I did have to buy in for another 50. USD this time.
Quietest casino ever. Like a frillin' library.
We rendezvous and lunch at the Spa Cafe. Then it's time for a bit of afternoon delight- a nap. We have bigger and better plans for the evening. We have reservations at Tuscan Grille. One thing about these Celebrity ships during a voyage. It's like running a gauntlet of time share salesmen getting by the specialty restaurant salespeople nee servers every time you head for the buffet. Plus they will come by the table while you are eating if there's a hint of eye contact. It's always 30% off. We bit. Time to get puritied up.
We had the best table in the restaurant. Although it was a bit dark. We were Eli's customers and he made sure that we were well taken care of. We pretty much ordered most of the menu thinking that the portions would be rather on the smaller side. We couldn't have been more wronger. Absolutely. We enjoyed everything, but left just so much food on the table it was a shame. Fish food now!! As we were leaving one of the cruise photographers was set up at The Celestial Garden. We had promised the photog we would pose for her. And for the first and only time this entire trip, I have on long pants. Let's do this.
Yet another benny of Sapphire, the uppity blue card is 2 free digital pictures per cruise. We made the long walk back to the room and changed into our gaming attire for a bit of wagering.
only decent hit of the evening
10.04.2025 Livin in the land of the free
Barbados
Hey Now! Land of flying fish and potatoes. Once again, it's our second time being here. Hence limited swag patrol. Our Sweet Ti is still nursing her ailing hip. Her second massage is scheduled for tomorrow. She's gonna hit the Solarium hot tub while I go ashore.
The Bridgetown Cruise Port is fairly isolated at least as far as walking distance anywhere else. But then there's an enclosed kiosk mall just steps away from the Barbados sign and it's actually air conditioned. Which is a good thing since it's nasty hot and stormy out. I swagged judiciously and just made it back to the ship as the skies opened.
Lazy afternoon. Thunderstorms set the stage for serious nappage. One nice thing about having our room all the way at the end of a long walk to the stern of the ship is the quietness of the room. Plus being on Deck 7 gives us the sandwich effect of rooms above and below you for a couple of floors to dampen the possible noise pollution from various venues. Nothing but net. We make our way down to El Bacon . They hold a happy hour every afternoon for Elite Captain's Club members. Which we are not. Give us a couple of more years and we will though. We are due to leave at 5 p.m. Just ahead of that we hit the VP machines in the casino.There are only 6 VP machines here and one of them is on the fritz. And there are a good dozen serious VP players on this cruise and it's really tough to get on one. Our alert server, Johnny is on the spot and brings us a round. Sight unseen. The Reflection wait staff is second to none. Time to insert coin.
What a killer run!
Meanwhile in Sweet Ti land....
5058 tier points so far.
Sweet Ti and her pal Yogi
10.05.2025 Some of them are running from lovers
St. Lucia
Hey Now! Castires. Home of the Pitons. Lovely place. We were here before on our West Indies Sorcery adventure. We took a cruise up the coast to see the Pitons. We were booked for the same cruise again until Sweet Ti's hip interfeered. But we will be back.
Our Sweet Ti has her second massage treatment this morning and after a tasty breakfast I escorted her to the Spa. Pamela was waiting for her and gave us the grand tour of the place. We had no idea it was so spread out.
Enjoy your pampering my love!
Disembarking to the sounds of the Caribbean.
James???
Well that was a surprise. Not sure if it was the cruise line or the local chamber of commerce. There's the obligatory mess of kiosks around the port. The majority of them seem to be closed though.
still under construction
I was headed toward the harbor and the St. Lucia sign when I was accosted
approached by this nice lady shilling ferry rides.
7. round trip
I'll bite. There's really nothing else within walking distance. So Smiley leads me to the wharf and a rickety kiosk lady who scarfed up 7 Georges for a bracelet and pointed to an even more rickety boat pulled up to the dock.
Several people were already on the ferry when another boat pulls up beside us.
This one was taking touri to some beach. So the people who wanted to go to the beach had to climb from this boat to that boat. Be careful though, that's a piece of line holding the awning together. The rest of us are going downtown and as soon as there were enough of us we shove off. While we were waiting I made friends with a nice couple from Chicago. Here we go!
We docked and got out. Let the swagging begin! But what is this? Most of these kiosks are also closed. I stop by one of the few that were open and inquire as to why the shops weren't open. "It's Sunday- we are a Christian nation!"
Swaggified, I return to the ferry wharf.
Dick Shawn? Ti's Cafe???
Tardis??
Our Sweet Ti enjoyed a very long massage from today's local, Pamela. Pamela is from Zimbabwe. She went to school for massage therapy. But she had to move to South Africa to practice her trade because the women in Zimbabwe couldn't afford massages. There seemed to be more disposible income in South Africa. This is her first contract aboard a cruise ship. She's in her mid 20's. Nice young lady.
interesting display
We joined the lunch crowd. I'm kinda surprised it's this busy on a port day. Seems like a lot of the passengers stayed on the ship. The buffet on the Reflection is really nice. I love the layout on the S class ships. Lots of variety and plenty of crew too. The bartenders at El Bacon 2 made sure we had cold bottled green tea and cans of Gosling's ginger beer. Of course over- tipping always helps. We retire to our long walk and I actually find the Washington football game on the TV. And we won!!!!
Sailaway can only mean on thing.
Right Jimmy??
tough night!
10.06.2025 Leaving no forward address
St. Kitts
Hey Now! Basseterre. Our last stop. Beautiful cruise port, they have been fleecing
welcoming touri hereabouts forever. As you step onto the pier there's a shiny
shuttle bus waiting to whisk you the entire - oh I don't know - 300 ft. to land.
Free? I don't think so! I'll walk instead.
over 100 shops!
swagification achieved
Busted!
Ladies and Gentlemen may I present today's local, Officer Bradford. He works for the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Department. This fine gentleman is from just down the street from here. We got to chatting and I admitted that I was from VA. Turns out that he spent some time in VA during his youth. As a matter of fact he graduated from Norview High School in Norfolk. Too funny, my cousins went to school there. I grew up just across Hampton Roads Harbor from Norfolk myself. Small paradise.
no tables i.e., no chips
Yet another lazy afternoon enjoying life on a cruise ship. .
GAMBOL!!!!
that's more like it! 6k tier point running total.
10.07.2025 Some of them are running tons of ganja
Sea day
Hey Now! Gabrielle and Humberto left us alone, but the seas are still angry. Good thing we brought plenty of Bovine. I went to Future Cruise to put a deposit down on a- you guessed it- future cruise. I was waited on by a lovely associate by the name of Patience. As we were transacting our business I notices her name tag said that she was from Zimbabwe. I mentioned that we are using the services of Pamela who is also from there. Patience said that they are from the same village although they only met aboard this ship. They have dinner together almost every night. The way the Book Later thingy works is you put at least a hundy deposit down on any upcoming cruise and then have up to a year to actually book a cruise. You get the hundy credit toward the cruise you end up booking AND you get on board credit of at least $150. Can't beat it. Plus you get instant certificates for free cruises from the casino. Those 6k tier points will entitle us to either oceanview or veranda rooms on quite a variety of cruises for just the price of taxes and port fees. PLUS 750 . in free play. We ended up using ours for a 7 night Alaska cruise next year. We can't wait!
Our one and only venture into the main dining room. Lunch. The service was pretty good, but considering they really weren't all that busy is could have been better. I had the lamb chop which was excellent. It was nice to be waited on. Spent the afternoon- where else??
By the time we got to the casino he VP machines were all locked up. They remained that way. The slots were brutal. We spent the majority of the evening watching tv and doing some pre-packing. Room service for dinner yet again. 6870 tier points.
10.08.2025 Some are running from the IRS*
Sea Day
Hey Now! El Bacon and such. Those guys always start making my order before I even order it. Gotta love Celebrity service. After breakfast I accompanied Sweet Ti to her final Spa treatment and went on another walkabout.
I gather my well oiled Sweet Ti and we head for the Solarium and relax a bit. Then we hit the buffet. Hint: always hit the buffet on the last day of the cruise. They pull out all the stops.
skrimp bread
Beautiful- and tasty too!!!!
final 4OAKS of the journey
semi-final total
Heeeeerreeees Johnny!
final sunset
final buffet
final screenshot
7722 tier points
10.09.2025 And late at night you will see them *
Port Everglades
Hey Now! And our final morning on the Reflection. Prime Access rules. We luck out and find a table at El Bacon and watched the parade.
Then we made our way aft to the Tuscan Grille with the rest of the Prime suspects. Oh, and the b2b patrons. There seem to be plenty of both. They had a nice layout set up and the passengers helped themselves.
We waited until they finally had last call off the ship. I had called up an Uber and Marie showed up just abou the same time as we got to the Terminal 25 rideshare location. 10 minutes later she had us in front of Terminal 2 at FLL. The easiest place in the world to disembark. A few hours later we were back in VA. Everything went perfectly. What a lovely trip! Thanks for playing along.
Cheers!!
* Banana Republics, Steve Goodman
.
