Im a 14 year old writing a cruise review...you may not want to read it because of
my age but I think my review is good because of the view it comes from.
Getting There
Well...Im from central Illinois. One of the biggest airlines here is Airtran so we
decided to take that to Orlando. My dad, brother, and I went for about $250. We
got up at about 3:30 and got on the plane at 6:30. We flew to Atlanta then
hopped on another flight to Orlando. We got to Orlando at about 11:00. Well our
cruise representative told us to go look for the Carnival bus, show them our
tickets, and pay for transfers to the port. It took us forever to find the busses.
When we did we had to wait another hour for the bus to come because they
wanted it to be full whenever they took us so they wouldnt have to come back
which is understandable. We got on the bus and had a 50 minute ride. I will have to
say though that the bus driver was very good. His name was Juan and he
entertained us and geared us up for the whole cruise. When we got to the port
we had to wait in line for about a half hour to an hour, which isnt that bad.
There were a lot of processes to go through to get on the ship but all in all it
moves pretty fast.
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Day 1 of the Cruise
Well we eventually got to our room on the M Deck. The room was really nice. It
had a big picture window, and plenty of space for us 3 to move around. My
brother was tired so he decided to sleep while my dad and I went up to the top
deck for some late lunch. For us being on this ship for the first time, it took us a
while to get to the top. We ate lunch which was pretty good and then just
walked around and looked at everything. Then came the life boat drill. It was horrible. I didnt see the long delay for it all. We first had to meet on the promenade deck, stand in military fashion, and stand there for 20 minutes. Then we had to go to the top deck and go on one of the little outer decks. We were all scrunched together for about 25-35 minutes. It was bad...but it was so our safety so I guess it was worth it. Later, we went to go get ready for
dinner which was early seating. My brother was STILL tired so he slept some
more and my dad I went to dinner. We got there and there was a family or four
sitting there and two older ladies in their 50's. Well my dad and I sat down and
said Hi to everyone. One of the two woman then asked us if we could move. We
thought this was a weird request so we asked her why. She said that she had
more people in her party. So we told her she should ask the Maitre'D. Well she
started freaking out and yelling at the other woman to give her a sea sickness
pill. I thought this was pretty funny and just laughed. They eventually got up
and were moved somewhere else. Im very happy they did because I didnt like
them that much. Well the other people at our table were from North Carolina. It was a husband and wife and they had two kids. One boy that was 16, Chase, and one girl that was 13, Taylor. After dinner, us three went to the arcade and hung out playing the games. Then we walked around the ship. One of the best parts is that they serve soft serve ice cream all the time! It was great! The pizza was also very good, as I have read from other reviews. I went to bed since we were going to Freeport in the Bahamas the next morning!
Day 2: Freeport
I got up kinda late...and eventually made it to breakfast with my dad and brother. We ate and then disembarked. We went and shopped around the straw market for a while. I like the stuff they sell but absolutely hate the sales people. I know it is the way they do it in the Bahamas to get us tourists to buy stuff but really, they annoy the crap out of you and pressure you to buy things. I hate that. So I usually have my dad shop for me, hehe. Well, we went to go stand in line for a taxi then to go down to the beach. It took a half hour and still no taxi. So I decided to go back on the boat because I was tired anyways while my dad and brother went to go ride scooters and stuff like they usually do. I went back on the ship, checked my mail, ate lunch, and tanned for a while. While I was tanning, I got to watch the Holiday pull into port. That was pretty cool I think. Everyone from both boats was waveing at each other. That night I was excited though because it was formal night and there were going to be a lot of pictures. I dressed my best and went down to dinner. It was fabulous! I had at least 6 different plates of things. (I eat lots and lots, especially when the food is good) I went and changed after dinner then and me and Taylor walked around. We took pictures at every single formal portrait stand. It was so much fun! Carnival does a good job with all the pictures and you have lots of backgrounds to choose from with them. We also karaoked this night. In one of the lounges, they have karaoke for about 2 hours every night. Its lots of fun, just sitting there gettting drinks and listening to everyone sing. Eventually later, I went to bed.
Day 3: Nassau, Bahamas
This is the second time that I have been here. The first time I went, I really didnt like it but this time we were going on a shore excursion. We went on the Athol Island Snorkeling Tour. We took a boat out to Athol Island, which is a little island right off the coast of Paradise Island. They stopped the boat and got to snorkel for 1 hour. I will say, the snorkeling was great! There were lots of fish.....and lots of marine plant and life. It was cold though I will warn you, probably because it was December and only 75 degrees with wind that day. We went back to the boat then and hung out for a while then went to dinner. As always, the food was wonderful and I went and ran around with Taylor. We karaoked again, went and danced in the dance club, and got chased by too many guys! ( A story I wont get into to, hehe) We went then and looked at our pictures from the night before. They were really funny! In a lot of them we made goofy faces and stuff. Well we went to bed very late again....but the next day is the day at sea!
Day 4: Fun Day at Sea!
This day was probably the best. It was rainy though because a tropical storm was forming so I didnt get to tan like I wanted to. That day I went around and took pictures of all my favorite places on the ship. I love that ship. The main atrium is probably the coolest. There are two glass elevators going up and down and it, and it has the funkiest decor designs. We took part in some activities that day. We went to a 60's dance lesson in the Universal Lounge which was fun. ( I still know the steps!!! ) We also played board games in the library and bought stuff in the gift shops. Later that night we took pictures, AGAIN! This time we met a guy from Philadelphia and we called him Philly. He took some pictures with us which was fun. We stayed up until 2:30 that night. We had a blast...all I know is that Ill never forget Taylor because she was such a good friend to me and I still talk to her.
Disembarkation:
Well.....that wasnt too bad. Considering I had only had about 5 hours of sleep, all I wanted was to get to the bus back to the airport and snooze my way there. Well we woke up and were told that we were suppose to meet on the Promenade deck. We headed up there and sat in the internet cafe. Well they had window booths, and being sleepy as I was I fell asleep on one. About an hour later I woke up in a puddle of drool. It was so nasty and everyone was looking at me. It was a little embarrassing, but I was tired so I didnt really care at the time. We got off really easy and took our bus back to the airport.
Overall:
The cruise was awesome. So so so much fun! Carnival did a great job on everything. Our room steward was fantastic, considering were probably the messiest three on the earth. The staff was very nice and always helpful, and the food of course was the best I have ever tasted. Our waiter was also very helpful and nice, I enjoyed him very much. All in all, Carnival I say is a good choice for anyone wanting to cruise anytime soon because there is something for everyone to do!!!
