PRE-CRUISE: Our trip began on May 8th with a 6:00 a.m. American flight from Tallahassee to Honolulu with a stop in Dallas. Flying time was 10.5 hours and we arrived in Honolulu at 3:45 p.m. On the 8-hour flighty from Dallas to Honolulu, they only served a light snack, so I recommend that you take some food with you on the flight. We arrived in Honolulu the day before the cruise and stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort. Taxi fare from the airport to hotel was $62. The Marriott is a luxury hotel ($430/night) in a great location in downtown Honolulu. The hotel was about 2 blocks from Waikiki Beach and shopping and restaurants were nearby. We explored Honolulu in the afternoon and had a great mahi mahi sandwich at Cheeseburger in Paradise. ABC stores seem to be on every corner; these are a great place for snacks and souvenirs.

EMBARKATION: Celebrity had assigned us a 1:00 p.m. terminal arrival time (Pier 2), so we arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 11:30 a.m. After the 10 minute taxi ride ($32) to the port, we dropped our bags off curb side and began the boarding process. Have your boarding pass and passport in hand as each will be checked several times during the process. The requirement for trans-ocean pre-cruise Covid testing had been discontinued about 8 weeks before this cruise. The check-in process was the most efficient we have ever experienced and we were on the ship in 10 minutes.

We went directly to our room to pick up our sea pass card and drop off our carryon luggage. We reviewed the short muster video on the App in our room and then stopped by our assigned muster station to be checked off before heading to the Oceanview Cafe for lunch. Read more