In order to drum up sales and make people aware that cruising is safe again, Celebrity Cruise Lines offered all AAA employees a "free" cruise! The offer wasn't just for travel agents, but for any employee of AAA. Our office staff jumped on that offer immediately!! Everyone in our office participated, each scheduling a different week so the office could still be properly staffed.
I put the word "free" in quotes because we had to pay for our own airfare, taxes and fees, and excursions. Plus I had to buy some cruise clothes and supplies!! Still, it was an excellent deal and one my wandering heart could not pass up!
We flew down to Fort Lauderdale to leave out of Port Everglades. Even though I knew cruise ships were huge, our mouths were agape at the size of the ship!!
We were greeted cordially at the dock, where they took our suitcases to whisk up to our cabins. After going through a very easy process, we were invited onboard. And here we had the first indication of the amazing customer service provided by our cruise crew. We were offered cold, lemon-scented cloths to freshen up with as we entered the ship! And the sincere greeting we heard from every crew member.... Welcome Aboard!!
We were invited to go to our cabin and drop off our carry-on bags, freshen up if we wanted to, and explore the ship. There was so much to explore!!
Our room was quite spacious, with king size bed, sofa, bureau, desk and closet. We also had a nice bathroom with full-size shower.
We were lucky enough to be given an "Aqua Class" room - the highest class besides Suites. That gave us a beautiful balcony with floor to ceiling window that opened to the sea air.
The "hub" of the ship was the pool. Luckily for us, the ship usually holds over 3000 guests and 1500 crew. For this cruise, we had 1613 guests and 1004 crew. So it was very easy to move around the ship, sit by the pool, and get restaurant reservations.
There were also two big "champagne glasses" that were hot tubs.
Every day the activities team had things to do around the pool. Volleyball games, water aerobics (which I thought was a blast!), bingo, question of the day (that's how I know how many guests and staff were on the ship), competitions for the crew to participate in........etc. It made for a fun and interesting time! There was music playing all the time, either with a DJ or a live band.
If you weren't into noise and sun, there was another pool in the Solarium. This was an adults-only area. It had some very comfy, cushioned lounge chairs, the pool and another hot tub, and was covered with a roof that let in the light but not the heat of the sun. It played quiet background music and was meant to be a place to relax. I totally preferred the hopping, noisy pool out in the sun!
There were so many other wonderful places to go on the ship......I'll tell you about some more of them tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment