We recently did something that we never thought we would
do. We went on a three-day cruise to the
Bahamas. The idea of dining every
evening with a group of strangers, the crowds of people and no way to escape
was kind of intimidating; but after our trip to Yellowstone last year we
decided that we needed to try new things.
And since a trip to Alaska would be easier seeing it from a cruise ship,
we decided that a three-day cruise would give us a chance to try ship
life. And we loved it!
We drove to Port Canaveral on Wednesday, May 3, and spent
the night at a Hampton Inn that offered parking during the cruise and a shuttle
to take us to the cruise terminal. We
had a great room with a view in the distance of the Atlantic Ocean. After breakfast the next morning, we boarded
the shuttle and were dropped off at the terminal where porters took our luggage
which was already tagged and disappeared with it.
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| Taken from our balcony at the Hampton Inn |
We checked in with passports and tickets and received our
combination room key and debit card. (No
money is exchanged on the ship.) After
going through a security screening we made our way up a winding “tunnel” onto
the ship. Since the ship had just docked
that morning from a four-day cruise to the Bahamas, the rooms were not going to
be ready until 1:30 PM. We headed to the
Lido Deck where numerous options for food were located. We had heard a lot about Guy Fieri’s
Hamburgers so that is what we ordered for lunch. They were well-deserving of their good
reputation. Great burgers and delicious
fries!
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| Balcony on ship before leaving port |
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| Already catching on to cruise life |
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| On our way |
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| Yep, that's us trying to use the selfie stick! 😎 |
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| Finally got it figured out!! |
We got into our room around 1:30 as expected. It was immaculate and felt so clean. I was pleasantly surprised having heard about
the quick turnaround in getting ready for the next cruise. We reported for the emergency “muster” drill
as the specified time, which turned out to be the most unpleasant part of the
trip. Everyone had to report to their
pre-assigned life boat station where we had to line up three deep down the side
of the ship. The point of this was very
confusing and it was hot. The lady
behind us fainted and as I helped lower her to the floor I remember thinking, “For
once, it wasn’t me!) Afterwards we had
some ice cream which is available at several locations. We sat on our balcony and watched the ship
depart the dock and we were on our way.
I was sitting on the balcony and called Bubba out to see that it looked
like we were stirring up mud. Yep, that
big old ship had drifted into water too shallow and was working hard to get off
the bottom. (I checked with my friend
who is a cruise expert and found that had never happened to them.) Soon the problem was rectified and we were on
our way again.
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| Bubba couldn't pick just one dessert. |
We went to the formal dining room and ordered from a menu
for dinner rather than opting for a buffet.
True to his word our Carnival Cruise Consultant Vince had arranged for
us to have a table for two just as he promised.
We had three people who served us each night. The head waiter was from the Philippines. The
waiter who actually placed the food on the table was from Peru and the young
lady who ensured that we never ran out of something to drink was from Thailand. Bubba chose fried calamari, a steak with a
baked potato and chocolate lava cake with ice cream for dessert. I chose a smoked chicken quesadilla, beef
brisket with roasted root vegetables and creamed spinach and also ordered the
chocolate lava cake with ice cream for dessert.
It was all delicious! I’ve never
experienced service like this in a restaurant.
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| A picture with the mascot |
After dinner we looked around some and then enjoyed watching
the sunset from our balcony. We hung our
order for room service the next morning requesting a lot of coffee, hot
chocolate and sweet rolls to be delivered at 6:30. It was and we enjoyed the sunrise from our
balcony while we enjoyed our goodies.
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| Sunset |
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| Sunrise |
Later we enjoyed a second breakfast from the buffet. It, too, was excellent. Everything was fresh looking and good. The ship was docked at Nassau on this day but
we elected not to get off. We were
really not interested in any of the excursions offered and we had a good view
from our balcony. We explored the ship
some more and spent a lot of time outside near the pool. We really enjoyed people watching. There were families with children, a few
college age looking people, older people with walkers, even one toodling around
on a scooter. Everyone we encountered
was friendly and courteous.
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| Second breakfast of the day |
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| My second breakfast |
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| Nassau behind us |
Lunch was pizza which was very good. (I only got two pieces. I regret that.) We had key lime pie for dessert and went back
to our room for a nap. Feeling a little
hungry later on we went back and had a Guy Fieri hamburger and fries for a
snack. I also ordered a drink
recommended to me by a friend, “A Kiss on the Lips” and it was delicious.
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| A Kiss on the Lips |
Friday night was the “formal” night in the dining room. This is a concept no longer strictly observed
as in the past on cruise ships. We did
see a few men in suits, but that was about as formal as it got. There was a man in faded jeans and a polo
shirt, but for the most part everyone was dressed a little nicer than an
ordinary night. The tables were
elegantly set with plenty of silverware and various glasses. We had the same servers every night and set
at the same table every night. Bubba had
broiled sea scallops, prime rib with a baked potato and ice cream. I had cream of asparagus soup, prime rib with
a baked potato and cream Brulee for dessert.
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| Only formal night picture |
After dinner we went to a huge auditorium area where a show
of singing and dancing from the movies, “Flick”, was to take place. We sat through about two numbers which were
from recent movies (James Bond) and the music was too loud and there were
lights flashing so we got up and left – just not our cup of tea. I was hoping for performances from old
movies, but I guess Carnival Cruises have the younger audience in mind. I must mention that there was a class on back
pain and posture and getting a flatter stomach that might have been more for
our generation but we passed on them this time around.
The next day was our day at sea. We enjoyed the views from the balcony for
hours at a time. Room service brought
our early breakfast and then later we visited the breakfast buffet. There were a lot of people around the pool
although the weather was actually windy and a little cold. We got beach towels and used them as
blankets. It was fun just watching
people. (They probably were watching us
as well.) There was a group of girls who
were apparently having the bride’s bachelorette party as a cruise. They were all wearing ship captain hats and
the bride’s had a veil hanging from the back of hers. They started drinking before the ship left
port and stayed inebriated throughout the cruise. They were silly and giggly, but not really
bothering anyone with it. We passed
through our hallway at one point and the bride had shut the door somehow on her
big toe and had peeled back her toenail producing a large amount of blood. She won’t be dancing at her wedding! (I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t have much
sympathy for her. At least she was
numbed up enough to not feel much pain.)
There was a lot of drinking on the ship. A group of women about my age were ordering
one drink after another, but not getting obnoxious or loud. I only saw one man who appeared to be in a
haze but he finally stumbled to a chair and sat down not bothering anyone.
I have also realized that I have more body image issues that
other women do. I saw all types of women dressed in all manner of clothing and
just having a good time. Good for them!
We went to look at our pictures from the night before taken
by the professional photographer only to discover that there was not a single
picture where we both had our eyes open.
(Shoot! We were looking good otherwise.)
That afternoon was a Chocolate Extravaganza with any kind of
dessert you could name made of chocolate.
We both had a plate of assorted desserts. Yummy!
That night was the last night in the formal dining
room. We both had spring rolls and a
Greek salad. Bubba chose grilled salmon
with broccoli, carrots and potatoes with ice cream for dessert. I selected the veal Parmesan with broccoli
and a passion fruit flan for dessert. Bubba tipped our servers although there is a
tip already added to the final bill, but we had visited with them each evening
and wanted to do something extra for them.
The waiter from the Philippines is the father of three children. He, like all the other staff, signs up for
seven months at a time. He misses his
family very much but as he said, “You do what you need to do to provide for your
family.” The young woman from Thailand
was so appreciative of her tip that you would have thought it was a million
dollars. She kept bowing and thanking
us.
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| Formal Dining Room |
The young man who kept our cabin immaculate was from
Taiwan. He, too, was appreciative of the
extra tip. Everyone that served us
called us by name and were eager to supply anything we needed.
Our final morning, we had our room service breakfast and
enjoyed the last views from the balcony.
We dressed and enjoyed our second breakfast in the dining room rather
than the buffet. Then we awaited
instructions on when we were to disembark.
They called groups according to the letters that were on our luggage
tags. The luggage was left outside the
room that night. What we actually needed
we kept in a small bag that we carried.
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| Cruising into Port Canaveral |
When we disembarked, we were greeted by a porter who got our
luggage for us and guided us through customs and to the location where our
shuttle would pick us up. As we were
waiting, and black woman wanted us to board ahead of her because as she said, “I
know how you old people are treated nowadays and it’s just not right!”
The drive home was long and boring. I unpacked immediately upon arrival. I’ve learned that if I do that, I don’t have
to dread it as long.
We both enjoyed the cruise experience. We had pills for seasickness, but I don’t
think we would have been bothered with it anyway. There were a couple of times you could feel a
slight rolling of the ship and we did take a pill as a precaution, but it wasn’t
bad. The food was perfect. Fruit was perfectly ripe and fresh. Hand sanitizer was available all over the
ship and even more so in areas where food was served. The public restrooms were immaculate. They even provided a tissue dispenser at the
door so that you could open it with the tissue and drop it in the trash. There were not paper plates, plastic utensils
or paper napkins. There were a lot of
things we could have done that we didn’t.
I wanted to do a tour of the ship, but Bubba didn’t think I should push
it with my knee giving me trouble. They
also offered demonstrations of ice carvings, lots of games, comedy shows,
etc. Next time I would like to do more
of that, but this time we really wanted to experience the ship itself. Our favorite thing about the cruise was the
balcony. (Now we won’t cruise without a
balcony room.) and the food which was always delicious.
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| Mark 4:39 (KJV)And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.It is still beautiful from our balcony but it is windy and the sea is much rougher. This verse came to my mind. If He can calm the winds and the seas just imagine the peace he can bring to the turmoil in our lives. |
So what’s next? I’ve
already started looking at Alaskan cruises.
I’ve got some research to do. I
don’t know whether it’s better to go in May or September. I do know that we’re going and that we will
fly to Seattle and leave from there. I
can’t wait until those reservations are made.
In the meantime, a trip to visit Glacier National Park in
Montana is in the making. Reservations
are made and now there are just a few details to tweak. Loving this life!! 😊😊
