Cruise Vacation
I'm back from my cruise. We had a lot of fun. Right now I'm trying to recuporate. I've got that post-cruise syndrome (or whatever it's called). Those of you who've cruised know what I'm talking about. It's this feeling like you are still moving. When I got home yesterday I took a short nap and it felt like I was in the bed on the ship. It is better today. Thankfully this usually doesn't last long.
Here's the lowdown on how my cruise went. On the cruise there was 8 of us total. Me, my mom, my Aunt Jenny, my cousins Christy, David, and Jennifer, and Jennifer's children Jackson (age 8) and Shelby (age 5). Our rooms were a few doors down from
each other. We departed on Thursday afternoon. When we arrived at the terminal entrance we couldn't drive up at first. We had to wait for the people who were heading home to be picked up. That meant we were lined up in a parking area across the street from the terminal. We also had to stand in line to get checked in once we finally got in the terminal. Once on board the ship The first place we headed to was the buffet. The food here was good, but not as good as what we would be eating for dinner in our dining room. After lunch we all headed to our staterooms to drop off our carry-ons.
That's the view I had from my stateroom while docked in Mobile. Things looked a little hazy/overcast. I took other pictures from room, but they are on my camera's card. This pic was from my phone. Btw, our rooms were on the Riviera Deck which is the first level of staterooms.
We all then headed up to the Lido Deck to relax a little before the infamous lifeboat drill (or as Carnival calls it the "safety briefing"). While sitting out by the pool I enjoyed a "fun ship", which was the drink of the day.
At 3:30pm it was time for the lifeboat drill. On Carnival ships they no longer require you to wear the life vests to the drill. This was nice because we didn't have to go back to the cabin before the drill or drag those big vests around.
After the drill I walked around a little bit to watch the sights as we left Mobile. Really not to much to see unless you like looking at shipyards. Jackson and Shelby played in the pool and hot tub. My mom and aunt sat at a table and talked.
Our dining time was 6pm in the Jubilee Dining Room. We waited outside while Jennifer and the kids went and got cleaned up. Then it was time to eat! Our head server was Florence. She was from India, I think. I thought that's what I read on her name tag. She looked more Filipino to me, though. Anyway, she was the best! Very good with the kids and she called us all by our first names. This overall dining experience was so much better than what it was on our first Carnival cruise.
Here's my main course from each night:
Thurs--tilapia
Fri--game hen
Sat--sweet and sour shrimp
Sun--veal parmigiana
After dinner me, Christy, Jennifer, and the kids went to karoeke. Shelby sang "Beat It" (with a little help from her mom). I sang "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" (from Grease). Unfortunatly, there were no songs from Wicked because I could have totally brought down the house with "Defying Gravity" (lol!). Jennifer did a song too, but I don't remember the name. Shelby was the one that stole the show. We also did kareoke on Saturday night. This time I did "Dancing Queen".
I went to the little show that they had in the Universe Lounge. They had a ventriloquist. He was alright. I called it a night after this and I went back to the room and ordered room service.
The next day was our first day of two sea days. Me, Jennifer, Christy, and the kids hung out by the pool. Aunt Jenny and David were out there for a bit as well. My mom was sick so she stayed in the room. Of course, my shoulders got sunburned. It seems I failed to put sunscreen on them. It still hurts now, but it does feel better.
After dinner me and Christy went to the show. It was a tribute to The Beatles. I walked around the ship a while before going back to the room. I ordered room service again. The ship has got the best ham and cheese sandwich.
Saturday was Cozumel, Mexico. Me and my cousins went to the beach while "the moms" did a little shopping. They also took a horse and buggy ride through the city.
To get to Paradise Beach we rented a van taxi. Paradise Beach is amazing. For $12 you can enjoy the floating mats, kayakes, snorkeling, and inflatable slides as much as you want. I got in the kayake and floated on the mat. I wasn't brave enough to try anything else. After a few hours of fun at the beach we headed back to the peir area for some shopping. I didn't buy a whole lot. I would have liked some jewelry, but it's too much more than I would like to pay. The most interesting shop I found was one that sold all sorts of medications, prescription and non-prescription. I thought it was quite something to see Zoloft, Glucophage, Coumadin, Paxil, and various other drugs just sitting on the shelf.
After dinner tonight and when kareoke was through we mostly just sat out on the Lido Deck. There was a late night Mexican buffet so of course we took part in that.
The next day (Sunday) was another sea day. I sat out by the water slide area, but I didn't put my bathing suit on since my shoulders were hurting. We were going to play mini golf, but right after we got up to that deck it started raining. It had also been real windy up there. Every time we seemed to go up on the higher outdoor decks it was so windy. It felt like we might get blown away a few times. The rest of the afternoon I sat out on the Lido with the "moms" and Christy. I did explore the ship a little more as well.
This night was our last night and our dining room servers sang a farewell song to us. Everyone at our table teared up a little. Especially Shelby. Florence (our head waitress) picked her up and gave her a hug.
Me and Christy went to the show. Tonight's was called "Nightclub Express". It was a salute to various types of music. After the show I played BINGO. Before going back to the room I stopped by the buffet for pizza and a hot dog.
That's all for this entry. I'll do a debarkation day entry later and will post a few more pics.
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
Here's the lowdown on how my cruise went. On the cruise there was 8 of us total. Me, my mom, my Aunt Jenny, my cousins Christy, David, and Jennifer, and Jennifer's children Jackson (age 8) and Shelby (age 5). Our rooms were a few doors down from
each other. We departed on Thursday afternoon. When we arrived at the terminal entrance we couldn't drive up at first. We had to wait for the people who were heading home to be picked up. That meant we were lined up in a parking area across the street from the terminal. We also had to stand in line to get checked in once we finally got in the terminal. Once on board the ship The first place we headed to was the buffet. The food here was good, but not as good as what we would be eating for dinner in our dining room. After lunch we all headed to our staterooms to drop off our carry-ons.
That's the view I had from my stateroom while docked in Mobile. Things looked a little hazy/overcast. I took other pictures from room, but they are on my camera's card. This pic was from my phone. Btw, our rooms were on the Riviera Deck which is the first level of staterooms.
We all then headed up to the Lido Deck to relax a little before the infamous lifeboat drill (or as Carnival calls it the "safety briefing"). While sitting out by the pool I enjoyed a "fun ship", which was the drink of the day.
At 3:30pm it was time for the lifeboat drill. On Carnival ships they no longer require you to wear the life vests to the drill. This was nice because we didn't have to go back to the cabin before the drill or drag those big vests around.
After the drill I walked around a little bit to watch the sights as we left Mobile. Really not to much to see unless you like looking at shipyards. Jackson and Shelby played in the pool and hot tub. My mom and aunt sat at a table and talked.
Our dining time was 6pm in the Jubilee Dining Room. We waited outside while Jennifer and the kids went and got cleaned up. Then it was time to eat! Our head server was Florence. She was from India, I think. I thought that's what I read on her name tag. She looked more Filipino to me, though. Anyway, she was the best! Very good with the kids and she called us all by our first names. This overall dining experience was so much better than what it was on our first Carnival cruise.
Here's my main course from each night:
Thurs--tilapia
Fri--game hen
Sat--sweet and sour shrimp
Sun--veal parmigiana
After dinner me, Christy, Jennifer, and the kids went to karoeke. Shelby sang "Beat It" (with a little help from her mom). I sang "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" (from Grease). Unfortunatly, there were no songs from Wicked because I could have totally brought down the house with "Defying Gravity" (lol!). Jennifer did a song too, but I don't remember the name. Shelby was the one that stole the show. We also did kareoke on Saturday night. This time I did "Dancing Queen".
I went to the little show that they had in the Universe Lounge. They had a ventriloquist. He was alright. I called it a night after this and I went back to the room and ordered room service.
The next day was our first day of two sea days. Me, Jennifer, Christy, and the kids hung out by the pool. Aunt Jenny and David were out there for a bit as well. My mom was sick so she stayed in the room. Of course, my shoulders got sunburned. It seems I failed to put sunscreen on them. It still hurts now, but it does feel better.
After dinner me and Christy went to the show. It was a tribute to The Beatles. I walked around the ship a while before going back to the room. I ordered room service again. The ship has got the best ham and cheese sandwich.
Saturday was Cozumel, Mexico. Me and my cousins went to the beach while "the moms" did a little shopping. They also took a horse and buggy ride through the city.
To get to Paradise Beach we rented a van taxi. Paradise Beach is amazing. For $12 you can enjoy the floating mats, kayakes, snorkeling, and inflatable slides as much as you want. I got in the kayake and floated on the mat. I wasn't brave enough to try anything else. After a few hours of fun at the beach we headed back to the peir area for some shopping. I didn't buy a whole lot. I would have liked some jewelry, but it's too much more than I would like to pay. The most interesting shop I found was one that sold all sorts of medications, prescription and non-prescription. I thought it was quite something to see Zoloft, Glucophage, Coumadin, Paxil, and various other drugs just sitting on the shelf.
After dinner tonight and when kareoke was through we mostly just sat out on the Lido Deck. There was a late night Mexican buffet so of course we took part in that.
The next day (Sunday) was another sea day. I sat out by the water slide area, but I didn't put my bathing suit on since my shoulders were hurting. We were going to play mini golf, but right after we got up to that deck it started raining. It had also been real windy up there. Every time we seemed to go up on the higher outdoor decks it was so windy. It felt like we might get blown away a few times. The rest of the afternoon I sat out on the Lido with the "moms" and Christy. I did explore the ship a little more as well.
This night was our last night and our dining room servers sang a farewell song to us. Everyone at our table teared up a little. Especially Shelby. Florence (our head waitress) picked her up and gave her a hug.
Me and Christy went to the show. Tonight's was called "Nightclub Express". It was a salute to various types of music. After the show I played BINGO. Before going back to the room I stopped by the buffet for pizza and a hot dog.
That's all for this entry. I'll do a debarkation day entry later and will post a few more pics.
Posted via LiveJournal.app.