Embarkation:
Got to port about 1ish and although the crowd looked
intimidating, the process went a lot faster than I thought it would... There
were many Carnival reps on hand and the lines moved quickly...We showed our
docs, ID's, and activated our sail and sign cards and were onboard in
probably 15 or 20 minutes...
Cabin and First Night:
Although we were hoping for an upgrade, the ship was sold out and alas, we had to deal with a Cat 1A cabin (upper and lower)... didn't matter to me
since I wasn't traveling with my hubby... We found our cabin easily and
unpacked right away... The cabin was bigger than I expected with LOTS of
storage room... Our S&S cards were waiting for us and the Funvision was
working just fine... Brought all our stuff in carry ons, so no waiting for
luggage... Started touring the ship, taking mostly the stairs as I wanted to
get SOME exercize... The ship is laid out in a manner that it is very easy to find anything and everything with no problem... Stopped at the Horizon for Pizza and Caesar salad... The lifeboat drill started late, as did sailing,
and it was HOT standing outside in those life jackets... Could have done
without all the stupid jokes as it took up lots of time... Went back in to
cool off, found the sushi bar and indulged... None of the sushi was raw and
they were all Maki Rolls, 4 choices and all delicious...Sake also available
but was not hot the first day (it was after that)...
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We had late seating dinner so we went to the Casino for a Rum Swizzle
party... It wasn't easy finding a server with a tray of drinks, but we did...
we also had our first encounter with the Video Diary team there... Played
some "face up 21" for a while and headed for dinner in the Pride dining
room... We had a table for 10, all women, ages 28 to 49... everyone seemed
cordial and we talked and got to know each other... dinner was a LONG ordeal
that first night and we were the last table to leave the dining room... went
to see part of the welcome aboard show, which was ok if you like that sort of
thing (doesn't thrill me) and then off to a lounge to see the Curveball
Brothers.. They play mostly 70s and 80s music and are pretty good, except..
one of the guys was distracted by some blonde wearing very little clothing,
and the other guy was trying to get people to buy him shots which he downed
one after another... Went to the late buffet, but I wasnt hungry so didnt eat
much of anything and then to bed... slept like a baby in the upper bunk!
Woke up the next morning REALLY feeling the movement of the ship, but did not
get sick... Thank God for Bonine!
Service:
Service in the dining room was not that great, in fact, the first night it was disastrous...Our waiter Rey was fine but very quiet and
reserved... Our Asst Waiter Matia, was a nervous wreck with no personality
and never a smile... It took forever to get a bottle of wine and even longer
to get it opened... My friend's bottle of wine was delivered to the wrong
table so hers took even longer... When the head waiter Leland came around to
check on us, we complained about the service and he assured us that it would
improve... It did the next day, a bit, but Leland also made promises he
didn't keep and never returned to the table till the last night, no doubt
looking for a tip, which he did not get from anyone at our table... The
Maitre D never showed his face at our table once.. no tip for him either...
Service on the Lido deck was fantastic... Look for Tomasz or Ali and tell em
Pamela says hi...
Our room steward, Ricky, was shy but friendly and efficient... Our room was always clean and we had 2 ice buckets always filled with fresh ice... We had a towel animal one night...
Food:
We ate breakfast in the dining room each day and it was nicely
presented and good... For lunch we did caesar salad and pizza nearly every
day.. it was fast, convenient and delicious.. try the goat cheese and
mushroom or the Napolitana (peppers, green and black olives, and
mushrooms)... We had dinner in the dining room each night except for the day
we were in Cozumel where we were otherwise occupied at Carlos and Charlies :
) The only thing I didn't like was the lobster, and I LOVE lobster... Mine
was mushy though and I returned it for Quail which was delicious... The Rack
of Lamb, Tilapia, and Prime rib were all wonderful as well and all prepared
as ordered (med rare) For appetizers, the wild mushroom ragout and hand cut
smoked salmon were great but the shrimp was just ok...
I am not a sweet eater, but I had to try some desserts as well and was
pleasantly surprised at how good the Grand Marnier souffle was (how do they
do that for all those people at once?) and the Cherries Jubilee was also very
yummy...
What We Did:
In Key West, we walked to town, about a mile or two and just
shopped and looked around... Went back to the ship, had some lunch and laid
in the sun... and then back for more sushi... This was formal night and
everyone looked like they took their time getting ready... We went to the
captain's cocktail party, had a few drinks, and went to dinner... took lots
of photos after dinner (none of which I bought) and had a few more drinks...
We wanted to see the comedian at 12:30 but were real tired from walking and
the sun so we figured we would nap a bit... I woke up at 1am... oh well...
The next day was Cozumel... we had breakfast, went to the shopping talk which
was horribly boring and hung by the pool for a while... had lunch before
leaving the ship, then took a taxi to Playa del Sol... Nice beach, free
chairs, restaurant, immaculate bathrooms and good Pina Coladas ($4)... After
nearly 3 hours in the scorching sun, I had my hair braided and then we took a taxi to town... Did some shopping and went to Carlos and Charlies for dinner
and drinks... By the time we got back to the ship, it was too late for sushi
: ( as they are only open from 5:30-8:30... went to the casino, hung out and
later went to the deck party... You could tell that night who was having a
good time for sure!
Our last day was at sea and we spent nearly all of it at the pool only taking
a break for the debarkation talk... took a little nap and back for more sushi
(of course)... At dinner we exchanged email addresses and said our final
farewells to our tablemates... went on deck for drinks and finished the night
by nearly closing the casino.. yeah.. it was late! In bed by 3am and for the
first time heard noises in the hallway at 4:30am... some kids (maybe between
18 and 20), were out in the hall making LOTS of noise... My friend opened the
door and asked them politely to keep it down... quiet for a minute, then
CRASH!!!! they had thrown something at our door... I was too tired to look,
but found out in the morning that it was a dinner plate that someone had left
out from room service.... Up at 6am to get ready to disembark... after a
little breakfast and closing up the cabin, we opted to wait on Lido deck...
got an extra hour of sun as the ship kept paging someone that refused to go
to immigration... We disembarked at about 11am... I did not see any dogs and
I did not see anyone being pulled aside at all to be checked.. everyone just
seemed to walk right out...
The average age of cruisers on this ship was probably 30-50, both couples and
singles, although it seemed like more women traveling alone than men
(darn!).. There were kids and teens onboard as well and were all well behaved
when we saw them and all seemed like they were having a good time... Our
cruise director was ok.. her name is Shawn Bussey... we rarely saw her...
Most of the support staff was very friendly, always smiling and saying
hello...
All in all, I had a FANTASTIC time and can't wait to go again.... Next
cruise, Ecstasy, this September, and hoping to book one for Dec with my kids
as well... 152 days and counting down... seems like so far away....
