Are you a planner or spontaneous? I’m 90% planner, and this is mainly because I have a 7 seven soon to be an, 8-year-old autistic son. So even though I would like to pick and go whenever I desire, I must think about his school. I do some spontaneous travel sometimes, though, quick stay-cations, but my last trip for the year 2022 was undoubtedly spontaneous.
It was just a few days before the Christmas holidays began, and I realized I would be home again for the holidays. Thanks to covid, I was home base for the past two holiday seasons and did not want a three-peat. So, what did I do? I called my trusty travel agent and asked him if it was too late to book a cruise. He said No, and I said I wanted to spend Christmas day on a cruise with 2000 of my closest friends who didn’t know me. And this is precisely what I did. It was Wednesday, and I had to be ready to travel on Sunday. Fantastic. Spontaneous trips are some of the best, and now we are back to No covid testing or vaccine requirements; this makes the preparations just about the packing. I chose an 8-day Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Beyond, visiting about five destinations in a few days at sea. Although I had been to some of the destinations on the itinerary, that did not matter; I just wanted to be pampered for a few days. So, I was going to be stalking the spa.
I wanted to relax and have my son enjoy some fun as well. Well, the main reason was I wanted room service breakfast, a break from making my beds daily, and a break from cooking daily. Yes, I said it; I wanted a break from taking care of to be taken care of. Sometimes we need this, and your body tells you as well. So, listen to your body when it speaks to you; it’s for your good, so listen. You need that break. I had some workcations during the year but had not had a vacation where the emails and phone calls could wait. So, I required complete relaxation for a few days to be recharged for 2023.
Everything was in place by the Thursday before the travel date. I booked our flights to arrive in Fort Lauderdale early enough for a smooth day to check-in. I uploaded the app and checked us in, that was so easy, and I was excited.
Our flight arrived at 9:30 am. However, our bags were in a different terminal, so getting the bags took a minute. I was also in no hurry as I had time. Found our bags eventually, and then a short cab ride to Port Everglades, about 20 minutes got us in the terminal at about 11:00 am. The porter met us, and I handed my bags to him as I did not want to tug my luggage while looking for my cabin; plus, I had a change of clothing in my carry-on for my son and me.
We went upstairs and met an agent who verified all our documents and welcomed us on Celebrity Beyond—the quickest, smoothest check-in ever. Thanks to the App. We were about to cruise! My son was so excited; he loved traveling, the beach, and the pool.
I highly recommend using the app; I could check in, make dinner reservations and see what excursions were available in each port, it was just a matter of finding our cabins, but before that, we needed to eat.
We ran straight into Camp at Sea on our way to find our cabin. My son was so excited; he was smiling and jumping up. I registered him and was happy that the registration form asked all the pertinent questions since he was autistic. 
This made me feel very comfortable leaving him with the staff at the camp. They wanted to know everything about him to provide for him adequately. One of the reasons why I picked Celebrity Beyond was also because it was autistic-friendly. Eli was now registered, and we were going to explore the ship. After an hour, I finally decided to check out the cabin.
I was delighted with my room with our ocean-view cabin, which was very bright and colorful. My son loved it. He jumped on the bed and found his hiding place near the pothole. He loved watching the ocean.
We made ourselves comfortable and then took a short nap that lasted 3 hours. We missed the sail away party and woke up just in time for our first reserved dinner at 6 pm.
I made a reservation at Le Petit Chef, a specialty restaurant; I wanted Eli to have a great experience. 
I was looking forward to the Le Petit Chef experience, where the most miniature chef in the world cooks your meal in front of you with 3D projection mapping technology. It is very immersive and feels like you are watching the chef create your meal right in Infront of you; I figured my son would enjoy that.
I was so wrong about him. The entire experience was beautiful, following the story through the seasons and seeing the meal prep before you. Unfortunately, my son was having none of that; he did not want the meals prepared and had no interest in the story, so he had chicken nuggets and fries. Yes, I paid $60.00 for him to enjoy chicken nuggets and fries. I learned my lesson and canceled all the specialty dining I had on my reservation.
After dinner, Eli and I went walking to explore a little more the ship, but Eli wanted no more exploring. He was eager to visit Camp at Sea. All the grown-up stuff was boring, so I took him back to Camp at Sea. His little face was beaming when we arrived at Camp at Sea. I signed him in, and he was the happiest little boy in the room. He was there from 7:30 until 10:00 pm. I knew this would be an enjoyable eight days as Camp at Sea on Celebrity Beyond was the break I needed. I am already searching for another Christmas cruise. My keepsake from Celebrity will have me returning year after year.
