Last Sea Day

Yesterday was our final sea day on the Carnival Panorama. We still had a few things left on our "ship list" that we wanted to do. Our original plan was to play the final round of LCR. The captain, cruise director and other crew had warned that the day would be rainy and cold. Either the weather system had a different path or the navigator was able to find a better one. Whatever the case, it ended up being sunny and warm - about 21°C. Instead we decided to have a relaxing morning and enjoy the view from our balcony.  

About Noon we decided it was time for lunch. We hadn't been to the Italian restaurant yet so today was the day. At night this is a specialty restaurant with an upcharge. But at lunch, it is complimentary. You can make your own pasta bowl, choosing your pasta, sauce and other ingredients. They also have short rib lasagna, Caesar salad and freshly made focaccia. I went with farfalle pasta with Bolognese along with eggplant, Italian sausage, mushrooms and onions. Very tasty! And the lasagna was some of the best I have had. A few things layers of pasta with savory short rib and Bolognese!! And of course cheese!

After lunch we headed to the Pig & Anchor bar for their famous bloody mary. They infuse Tito's vodka with all kinds of vegetables including peppers, celery, onions and olives. So the vodka is already well seasoned. Then they use a bloody Mary mix that is almost as good as the the Tres Agaves brand on Princess. It is called "Filthy". I have never seen it in a store. It is really tasty with rich tomato flavor and clean spices. And then in addition to the usual condiments of celery and citrus, they add a huge mound of bacon!! The definition of Flavortown!!

After that it was time for afternoon tea. This is something Carnival has on the last sea day. Many people forget they have it since they are usually thinking about packing. Also, Carnival lists it as a dining option and I think most expect it to be listed as an event so it is harder to find in the daily schedule. It wasn't crowded. We both had a cup of tea along with scones, macarons and a cucumber sandwich.  

We had a mandatory rest period before getting ready for dinner. This was also the time we packed our larger suitcase so it would be ready to put in the hallway later. We then stopped by Pig & Anchor and ordered two of their starters. At night, this place has an a la carte food menu. The Dragon Chili fries and Honey BBQ wings. Both very good. The Dragon Chili fries had some bits of burnt ends along with a spicy chili and of course cheddar cheese. 

 The wings had been smoked and then fried, before being tossed in the smokey BBQ sauce. 

After our snack, we headed to the Havana Bar. We hadn't yet seen the Latin band play so we stayed for a few songs in their instrumental set.  

It was then time for dinner. The menu wasn't my favorite. I had a Greek soup, shrimp cocktail and short ribs which were more like a pot roast. Not my favorite. These definitely weren't the short ribs from today's lasagna.  

After dinner we were going to the Celestial Strings production show. It uses the violin trio that performs around the ship as the centerpiece for each song. Lots of modern songs from Cold Play, Rhianna, Snow Patrol and Sia. We had seen this before on other ships, most recently the Carnival Celebration. On the Celebration we felt it was a lot of interpretive dance and not enough substance. They also used a smaller stage area. On Panorama they used the main theater which improved the show a little. Still large amounts of interpretive dance. And two of the lead singers were just screaming some songs when they couldn't quite reach the right note. I did enjoy the violin trio.  

After we headed to Pig & Anchor one last time to say goodbye to Andrei and Danni. Until next time.  

Today we'll pack up the rest of our luggage, have a light breakfast and disembark the ship. It's been a wonderful cruise. Far exceeded my expectations. Wonderful crew, very good food and good live music.  

Cabo San Lucas

 

Yesterday was a stop at Cabo San Lucas, a tender port.  The tenders started at about 7 and the last one would be at 2PM.  We've been here a couple of times for whale watching so this time we stayed on the ship. 

 

Angie had some voiceovers to finish for a video so I had a light breakfast in the buffet (a pancake and an eggs Benedict). The towel animals were out on all the deck chairs!!  

Mazatlan

 

Yesterday we stopped in Mazatlan. We were going to stay on the ship.  Angie had some work to finish up which I went and got some Huevos Rancheros from Blue Iguana.  I then went up to Deck 15 Forward which is where the Serenity deck is located.  This is an adults only area with loungers, couches, clamshells, hot tubs and it's own bar!!    On sea days they have a salad bar available for lunch.  It was very quiet up there since most of the guests decided to head into port.  I found a secluded spot and listened to some pod casts.   I may have even had a nap!!

 

Sea Day #2

 

Yesterday we skipped breakfast and headed to another game of LCR (Left Right Center).  I came in second place in the first game.  So close!!  After the game we headed to SeaDay Brunch.   I had a delicious cheese danish, Flamin' Tomato Soup and Mac and cheese. Angie had the same soup and a salmon Caesar salad.  All very good.

After brunch we played Actor's Trash Trivia.  This is where they give you three items you might find in an actors trash can. And you name the actor.  For example:. A volleyball, a toy cowboy hat and a box of chocolates. Answer below.

After that we headed to the casino.  We played a couple of the "piggy bank" machines where the pig just keeps getting bigger as certain combinations come up on the reels.   My machine kept hitting for $25 and $30 and I won a mini jackpot. Angie's machine had some smaller payouts but wasn't participating as much in the fun.  I won about $90 and I think between us we won $10.  A very fun hour of playing.

We then went up to the buffet to get some ice cream.  They have a very large toppings bar.  We noticed we were passing Cabo San Lucas which we could see off the port side.  Since our cabin is on the port side we headed there to watch from our balcony.  We spotted several whales and even saw one breach.

It was then time of a mandatory rest period. After a nap, we got ready for an early dinner.  Tonight we'd be having dinner with our friends Bill and Ruth and JiJis which is an Asian themed specialty restaurant.  We got ready and were planning to meet them at karaoke before dinner. We didn't expect a 5PM karaoke session to be so popular!!  At 4:40 they already had 25 people signed up.  So there would be no karaoke tonight. 

We headed to Pig & Anchor and tried the White Stout beer.   It was unlike any stout I have had.  Smooth and sweet like most stouts, but a bit fruity. And higher alcohol than most at 10%.

It was time to head to dinner.  JiJis has a large menu of starters and mains.  The plates are for sharing so you collaborate with your table mates on what you want to eat.    My favorite dishes are the mung beans with pork, the Chinese broccoli and a stewed pork dish with housin sauce.  All so good.

 

We then headed to the production show called "Rock Revolution".  This was titled as a showcase of the rock songs from 1969. Let's just say that title was very misleading.  Not only were many of the songs not even from 1969 (the Beatles Sgt Pepper came out in 1967), many weren't even from that genre.  Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Sound of Silence" may be great songs - but they aren't rock songs.  And not from 1969 (they are from 1964 and 1970 respectively).   And there were no songs from the Rolling Stones or The Who, certainty both iconic rock bands from 1969..  Even focusing on  just the songs they did include, the show wasn't fun to watch and it didn't look like the performers were having fun. 

After the disappointing show, we went to watch the string trio in Ocean Plaza. 

They played contemporary songs from Bruno Mars and Michael Jackson. Always interesting to hear modern songs played on strings!!  After that we watched a game show where guests had to act out certain scenes from movies such as Titanic and Jurassic Park..  It was fun to watch. We then headed to bed since we had  a big day planned in Puerto Vallarta.  We have a site visit to the Dreams resort.  Angie will do some filming and then we'll purchase a day pass for the rest of the day.  We have a late departure today (9PM) so will have several hours to enjoy the pool and other amenities.

Sea Day

 

Yesterday was our first sea day. We had a late breakfast at 9:30 at Blue Iguana. Their Huevos Rancheros is the best quick service breakfast at sea.

 

I had joined a Facebook group for this cruise. They had set up an event to play a game called Left Right Center. It is a dice game where each die has circlea, a stars, left or right. You start with three dollars. You roll as many dice as you have dollars. No dollars, no dice. The dice tell you what to do on your turn. A circle means you keep your dollar. Star means you put it into the pot in the middle of the table. Left and right means you pass money to your left or right. You keep playing until there is only one person left with money. And they get whatever is in the pot. It was my first time playing and it was very fun. Angie came in second place in our first game. You don't have to play with money, but it makes it more competitive and fun.

 

We met many nice people including Mike and Susie from Arizona. He had recently retired so we had some things in common. We'll be playing another game today.

 

After the games, Angie and I went to Fresh Creations which is a salad bar at the adults only Serenity area. You choose your greens and a large variety of proteins and other items. They crew make it for you which keeps the line moving. The salads were delicious.

 

After lunch we played some movie quote trivia. We got 18 out of 20. Got stumped by Cool Runnings and Wedding Crashers. Then we listened to Ed the acoustic guitar player in Ocean Plaza. He has a good set of crowd favorites including Bad, Bad Leroy Brown and Ring of Fire. It was then time for an afternoon nap. No Nap. No Power. 

 

Angie finished up some work and then we got ready for a pre-dinner cocktail at Pig & Anchor. Andrei made us some very good Bombay Sapphire G&T's. And Danni showed us several card tricks. Some great use of distraction.

 

It was then time for dinner. Tonight was formal night so the menu was a bit elevated. I went with studded mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, four season salad and filet mignon. The mudrooms had a terrific romesco sauce. And the filet exceeded my expectations. I had asked for rare, but the medium rare preparation was very tasty. Dessert was a very tasty key lime mousse. It did have some strange gelatih cubes which were tasteless. 

 

After dinner we listened to the band Cruise Control I'm Ocean Plaza. We had also seen them the prior night. They are a very good band. And so diverse. The lead singers were from Wales and Mexico , the guitariats were from Argentina and Brazil and the drummer also from Argentina. Although they had several repeated songs so I think they need to work on their set list. I understand they have have crowd or personal favorites. But they need to work on their variety. 

 

Today is another sea day. We have LRC at 10AM. Then we'll head to SeaDay Brunch. The afternoon is open at the moment but there will be trivias and live music. Tomorrow we'll be in Puerto Vallarta.

12/10/22 - 12/19/22 Carnival Celebration

 

12/10

We had a slight delay in disembarkation, but we would have made it to the airport in time for the 10 am flight. After dropping off the parents, day date began.

 We headed to a nearby Panera for breakfast sandwiches and an hour and a half of work. We went to see Wakonda Forever at the local IMAX theater in Aventura - just north of where I used to live. The movie was good, but got a bit muddy in the middle. Glenn found Reunion Kitchn Bar for a late lunch. It was delicious. It was all small plates. We got the email our room was ready and we headed to Atwell Suites I. Downtown Miami. It's a 24 floor building. We are on the 21st floor. We got upgraded from a studio to a really nice one bedroom.

March 2022: Carnival Freedom

 March 12, 2022 

We disembarked the Ruby Princess and headed to the testing Guest Services told us would be there. We were denied because the testing was only for foreign passports. We scrambled. We figured out there was free COVID testing at the Port of Miami. We registered and hopped in a taxi. Luckily, we got the nicest taxi driver in Miami because it turned out it was drive thru only testing. We got our test done and headed to the port to wait for the results. The results came quickly and we started the boarding process. When we checked in at the counter, we were flagged for secondary screening. At first, no one would tell us what was going on. Then, a woman explained we had to see the doctor because there was an issue with our health questionnaire. We waited about 45 minutes for the doctor. He asks, "What seems to be problem?" We answer, "We have no idea why we are here." He redid our health questionnaire and we were allowed to board. 

We were very happy to get on board. We headed to our ocean view cabin 2312. We were pleasantly surprised by the size. I forgot how big the ocean view cabins are on these older ships. 

We have a couch, a chair, and a vanity. We headed up to the Blue Iguana for burritos for lunch. Then, we explored the ship. We stumbled upon the Red Frog Pub half price happy hour so we enjoyed the Parched Pig IPA and a Ting and Gin drink called the Ting-A-Ling. We headed down to the cabin to unpack. Then, we headed up on deck for the Sailaway deck party. It was a little rainy and windy, but it was still a lot of fun. We had dinner in the dining room since it was vegetable lasagna night.  We enjoyed the Poblano and Corn Soup, fried calamari, and lasagan. After dinner, we headed back to the cabin. 

March 13, 2022 - Half Moon Cay 

Yesterday was Half Moon Cay - Carnival's private island in the Bahamas. We had a leisurely start and headed over to the island around 10:30 am. It's a tender port. We walked around the island and had lunch at the BBQ buffet. The jerk chicken was pretty good. We had a beer at the pirate ship bar and swam. It was cool and windy. After we got back, we took a nap. It was formal night. We went to the buffet for dinner. It was nice to have a big salad. We headed down to the Red Frog Pub to try two of the new beers - an Imperial Red Ale and a Golden Ale for Carnival's 50th birthday. The guitar player was great. He played a harmonica while he played guitar. Glenn sang a little. We also went to the Atrium bar to hear the band. They are also good. 

March 14, 2022 - Grand Turk 

We had a lovely day in Grand Turk. It was warm and slightly windy. We docked later - 11:35 am so I worked in the morning. We walked down to Jack's Shack for jerk chicken and conch fritters. Then, we paid $20 for 2 chairs and an umbrella and enjoyed the beautiful water. 

We came back to happy hour at Red Frog Pub and lost st sports trivia. Dinner was the buffet and we called it an early night after Glenn sang kaoreke. 

March 15, 2022 - Sea Day 

Easy Sea Day yesterday. I worked most of the morning. The big excitement was the ship rocked and the pool overflowed sending a wave about an inch deep across the pool deck. Glenn and I spent the day on the pool deck playing cribbage. They had a DJ and the steel drum guy play. It was fun. 

We had dinner at the buffet. The fried chicken was pretty good. We quickly spent our $25 of free play. We tried to listen to the band, but it was too loud so we headed to bed early. 

March 16, 2022 - Aruba 

We headed out to visit RIU Palace Antillas, RIU Palace Aruba, Divi Aruba, and Tamarijn all inclusive resorts. The driver was great and all the appointments went well. They are good moderate resorts who updated the rooms over COVID. It was great to get a peek.

 We got back onboard and headed to Red Frog Pub. We love the guitar player. We ended the night peering out our cabin window at the crew and passengers running back to the ship. 

We came back to the ship for lunch at the buffet. Then, we headed down to trivia. We won US trivia and Slogans. Since all aboard wasn't until 9:30 pm, we headed back out. Glenn found a sushi restaurant not too far from the airport. Glenn blogged about it.

We got back onboard and headed to Red Frog Pub. We love the guitar player. We ended the night peering out our cabin window at the crew and passengers running back to the ship with our new parrot friend. 

March 17, 2022 - Bonaire 

We had a great day in Bonaire. At the last minute, we decided to switch our excursion. Carnival was so accommodating. We switched from a larger snorkel tour to one on a sailing boat with only 12 people. It was great. We sailed to a great area with so many fish. It was some of the best snorkeling I've done. A huge angel fish swam right towards my face and turned at the last minute. I saw large parrot fish, trumpet fish, and so many different colors. It was great. Then, we sailed back. I really enjoyed it. Glenn had fun hanging out on the boat with the Captain. We had lunch at Guy's burgers and then lost at trivia. We had a good time sitting outside watching everyone return to port. One lady's hat blew off into the water and a water rescue was executed. The Cruise Director and two Fun Squad staff set up a speaker and waved Welcome back signs. It was fun. We watched sail away and then headed to the Red Frog pub. We had a nice chat with a couple from New York - Tony and Michelle. We lost at Sports trivia. We headed to the buffet for dinner. The ribs were good. We ended the night at Red Frog with our favorite guitar player. 

March 18, 2022 - Sea Day

I worked in the morning. We lost at classic TV Shows theme trivia because we missed Starsky and Hutch. We went to Sea Day brunch and then played cribbage on deck. Another couple asked if we wanted to play with them so we learned partners trivia. It was really fun. We had dinner at the buffet. They had turkey which was really good. We hung out at Red Frog Pub. 

March 19, 2022 Sea Day 

Our last Sea Day was relaxing. We played Mind Games trivia and went to the Platinum Party. James Love is a very fun cruise director. He had live music and made up some awards like Spring Chicken for the youngest platinum cruiser and Most Spontaneous for the person who booked closest to sailing.  We tried the deli sandwiches and played  games in the Red Frog Pub. Dinner was the buffet and then we went to the deck party. A fun end to the cruise. 

March 20, 2022 Heading Home 

We had an easy disembarkation - a little line, but they were using facial recognition so it went fast. We headed to the airport to catch the RedCoach and off we went. We hit some traffic on the way home, but make it home safely. 

Glenn's Thoughts on the Carnival Mardi Gras

 I am on the 12/11/2021 sailing.  For reference, this is my 55th overall cruise and 17th on Carnival.  First impressions of the experience:

The food has been great.  Big Chicken really met and  exceeded all the hype.  And great fries as well. Also had some very good meals at Chibang and Le Cucina del Capitano. Those are still complimentary. 

December 2021: Carnival Mardi Gras

December 11, 2021 

We finally got to sail on the Carnival Mardi Gras! We had been booked on the European Inaugural and the Port Canaveral inaugural. Then, everything changed and changed again. It was very exciting to finally board. 

We had an easy drive to the port. We arrived around 10:30 a.m. getting through checking and security was super easy. We were on board by 11:10 a.m. . We tried big chicken for lunch. The chicken sandwiches were really good. We toured around the ship trying the different bars. Our favorite was a bar that reminds us of New Orleans: Brass Magnolia. 

August 2021: Carnival Magic

 We took advantage of a great deal ($119 per person for a balcony cabin) and headed out on the Carnival Magic departing August 30th. 

Before we left, we decided we would stay on the ship as not to complicate our hopeful entry into Greece a week later. 

We had a great time enjoying the Alchemy Bar at night and the Tides bar during the day. 

We were also pretty excited to see the Caribbean Wheat in cans. It's been so much to watch Carnival's beer program evolve since our first chat with Colin Presby during the inaugural season of the Carnival Vista's onboard brewery. I recall him saying he had no way to serve beer outside the brewery Now these recipes are being canned and delivered to ships fleetwide. 

SeaDay brunch is always a favorite meal because I love their Salmon superfoods entree. 

We had a bit of delay in Amber Cove. The Health authorities did not clear the ship for disembarkation until after 2:30 pm. Then, only vaccinated passengers could disembark and they had to stay in the port area. We did spot some overwater cabanas we may want to try out on a future visit since we did not get off the ship. 

During out stop in Bimini, we found a great spot to relax on deck and enjoy the view. 

We finally won a ship on stick trophy during one of the last trivia - Trash Can Trivia  - on the last night. 

Overall, a great cruise. 

February 8, 2020 John Heald Cruise on Carnival Conquest

We follow John Heald - the brand ambassador for Carnival Cruise Lines on social media. Once a year, he hosts a cruise. You sign up to have access to special events with him including Q&As, karaoke, or Cigars under the Stars. 

Glenn asked a question that got a good response. I asked about question about adding more vegetarian dishes that match the crew's nationalities and the room went bananas. It became a long standing joke for mean people - Don't Take My Meat. 

We also went to the Chef's Table and it was so delicious. 

The ports of call were Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Cozumel. We went to Mahogany Beach on Roatan. We like the beach bar there. 

Onboard, we were pretty excited to win trophy at trivia. 

Our go to drink this cruise was the leftover Pumpkin beers from Parched Pig. They had the big bottles on special. 

 

5.24.18 Carnival Horizon

We headed to New York to board the brand new Carnival Horizon. Glenn spent the morning working while I explored New York. I tried to get into the Today Show plaza (FAIL) and then hung out in Central Park. 

Then we boarded the Carnival Horizon. The ship is great!!! Some of the highlights from the ship were:

5.23.17 - 5.30.17 Carnival Legend Alaska Cruise

This cruise was a special cruise with Brand ambassador John Heald. This means we had special question and answer sessions with him and special events. It was wonderful cruising Alaska again. The highlights of the trip were:
- Cruising Glacier Bay. They set up a special area on the top deck for the John Heald cruisers with soup and hot chocolate.
- A rainforest hike and float down the river in Skagway
- A good crab lunch in Ketchikan
- Winning trivia
- John Heald's reaction when he saw the shirts we made.

The weather was amazing. The good and service on Carnival were great!

January 2014: Carnival Paradise Cruise

For MLK Day weekend, we took off on a 4 night Cruise on the Carnival Paradise. This cruise was complimentary since I am travel agent.  This cruise is tough to review. The big memory we will have from this cruise is that Glenn got food poisoning on the first night and we spent all the first day at Sea in the cabin. Luckily, he was feeling better by dinner, but we ended up heading to bed early every night since he wasn't 100%. I also felt a little crappy due to the food so it definitely wasn't one of our best cruises. It's a shame because we loved the ship and spent the first several hours talking about how great the ship was and we should take this cruise more often. There were a couple highlights: 

December 1st 6 night Cruise on the Carnival Breeze

Our friends Tom and Margaret flew in the Friday after Thanksgiving. We went to the famous Columbia restaurant for lunch and then hung out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. I started making dinner,  caught the cooktop on fire, and then decided I should probably just hang out by the pool. 

On Saturday, we started a leisurely drive to Miami. We took the back roads through the Everglades stopping in Everglades City for lunch and at Clyde Butcher’s Gallery. Butcher’s black and white portraits of the Everglades are really incredible. We were lucky enough to meet him and he signed a couple prints we purchased. 

The Carnival Inspiration to Cozumel 12/10/09

Carnival Inspiration 12/10/09 – 12/14/09
I think the best recap of our December 10th cruise to Cozumel is Glenn's review of the trip that he posted on Cruise Critic.

Cruise Information:
Cruise Director: Josh Waitzman Cabin: R108 OceanView Mardi Gras Dining Room – Late Seating Waiters: Mohammed (Philippines) and Milan (Croatia) Maitre D’: George the Greek Travellers: Glenn and Angie
Embarkation:
Living in Tampa, makes that port a great choice for cruises since you can look for deals, knowing you won’t have to also look for suitable airfare. We live about a 20 minute drive from the port and parked the car in the nearby garage by 12:15, expecting we would be onboard by 2PM. As we were headed to the parking garage elevators, we met a couple who told us that the ship wasn’t even in port yet and there was no boarding estimate. They were checking people in so we headed inside to do that. Checked our bags with a curbside porter and by 1:30 we had made it to the desk. However, no Sail and Sign cards were issued since the previous cruise hadn’t arrived yet. We were told to come back around 4PM and they would probably be boarding. We headed to Bennigan’s which is located in the Channelside shopping area. That place was crowded from many other passengers being in the same situation. They didn’t have adequate staff because normally the lunchtime crowd on a cruise day isn’t that big. Luckily my wife had brought the cribbage board, so we had a nice lunch , played cards and had a few beers. At 4:30, we headed over to the port and encountered a long line which wasn’t moving – plus it was cold and rainy. I checked with one of the Carnival staff who said they would begin the boarding process by 5PM. We headed back to Channelside to stay dry, and when we came back at 5PM the line was starting to move. Took awhile, but we were onboard by 6:30 with Sign and Sail cards. They handed out a letter to passengers at this time indicating the situation and that we would get a $15 on board credit since we had to buy our own lunch. I really didn’t expect anything, so I thought this was a nice gesture by Carnival since they didn’t have to give us anything. When we got onboard, they handed out cards indicating that the Mardi Gras dining room would be open seating starting at 8PM. We unpacked a little in our cabin and then headed to the dining room.
Thursday Night:I guess we technically had “Your Time” dining the first night – as did the entire ship. And it worked fine. We were seated at a “10 round” with other couples. The highlight of the meal was the smoked duck appetizer. It had some Thai-style noodles. Deliciousness. After dinner, we headed to the Welcome Aboard show. The singers and dancers were not very good. Kenny Miller was the comedian and he wasn’t very funny. Afterwards, we headed to the piano bar (Rhapsody in Blue). Barry is the piano guy – and we didn’t like his style. He didn’t play the piano much spending more time playing music from his CD player and changing hats. Plus, why is the piano bar the smokiest public lounge on the ship? There has to be better equipment for “eating” smoke. Hurt our eyes after awhile so by midnight, we were tired (and smoky) and headed to our cabin.
Friday - First Sea Day/Formal Night
We left out the room service breakfast card the night before and our breakfast and coffee were delivered by 8AM as we had asked. Very delicious smoked salmon, cream cheese and bagels. Did this every morning except debarkation and it worked perfectly. After a leisurely morning, we headed to the Safety Briefing which for us was the Paris Lounge. I can confirm they have changed the procedure. You no longer have to bring your lifejacket. It lasted about 30 minutes. Then to the Violins bar to catch the daily special of mimosas and bloody marys ($4.75) and then something called “Match Game” which was similar to the 70’s game show. The “contestant” they picked had some strange answers - but it was fun. Then we headed up by the pool to catch some deck games. It was a twist on musical chairs with a scavenger hunt which I hadn’t seen before. Started with 10 contestants and nine chairs. The assistant cruise director Matt would call out an item that they had to find and then return back to the chairs. Such things as a baby’s picture and a piece of fruit. And some more spicy items like three bikini tops and men’s swim trunks. It was funny to see how quickly men and women were willing to provide these!! I think this is like the “Quest” game they have on longer cruises. Later they had the Hairy Chest contest which was entertaining.
3PM we headed to the Love and Marriage show which was funny. My only complaint is that I wish they would mix up the questions. On Freedom, Valor and Inspiration they had 90% of the exact same questions. Now, they can lead to funny and unexpected responses, however I think they should be a little more creative. Mix it up a little and have the audience submit some questions. After this we headed to one of our favorite sea day activities: Afternoon Tea. And it was really great. We thought that the pastry quality had been greatly improved since our last trip on Inspiration and Valor. Prior to dinner they had the Captain’s Celebration along the Promenade. We only overheard the introduction in the Atrium so can’t provide much feedback on the actual event. A meet and greet with the Captain isn’t a reason I go on a cruise. They did announce $1.00 off all drinks from 5PM – 8PM. It was formal dinner tonight. And we met our great tablemates. Best we have ever had. Both first-time cruisers and my wife and I enjoyed helping them “learn the ropes”. Prime Rib and lobster were on the menu and that is what I ordered. It was very tasty and had great service from the waiters. After dinner we went to the late night comedy show with Kenny Miller. It was worse than the PG-rated on Thursday. Kenny told the audience he has been doing this for 17+ years. It might be time for a career change. We didn’t go to the main show “Shout” as it conflicted with the comedy. A little time at the casino and it was off to our cabin.
Saturday – Cozumel
We had a late morning excursion called the Amazing Race, so we enjoyed our leisurely room service breakfast then went to the pier. My wife and I were going through every thing we needed to leave the ship: Sail and Sign, photo id, money, credit card and water. We met with the excursion representatives on the pier and the first thing they ask us? Do you have your tickets? Guess what? We didn’t. But it was easily remedied by the Carnival excursion representative who straightened it out. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who wants to take this excursion. All I will say is that if you are a fan of the show, it pays great homage to it. Interesting clues and you definitely spend a good bit of time going back and forth around downtown Cozumel. Afterwards, we had a nice leisurely lunch of beef and pork tacos along with some delicious Cerveza Special (dark beer). So cheap – it was $25 US for both of us. Six tacos and six beers. And the best guacamole I have had. Did a little more shopping and picked up a nice bottle of white tequila. We kept looking for a special almond tequila we had found last time we were in Cozumel. We found one that was very close but more than we wanted to spend. So a taxi back to the International Pier, a little more shopping and browsing and then walked back to the ship. We went to the pool to cool off before getting ready for dinner. Before dinner, we tried the sushi and it was very good. After dinner, we went to the Variety Show with our tablemates. A marginally talented magician named Mark Miller and a very funny comedian named Diane Ford. Then to karaoke. Very fun and both of the men were great singers. I sang “Leroy Brown” pretty well – it is always a crowd pleaser.
Sunday – Sea DayOnce again, room service breakfast. It really spoils you but a great way to start the day rather than fighting the crowds at the buffet. We were told there was a “mandatory” Debarkation talk at 11AM. Normally, we wouldn’t go, but they said some of the rules in Tampa had changed – so we decided we best go. Well, it was a complete waste of time. The first 20 minutes were about today’s events, comment cards and gratuities. The cruise director spent a lot of time talking about how important it was to mark “Exceeded Expectations”. Then finally about 5 minutes on customs forms – and SURPRISE - there was nothing new from what we had seen on past cruises. This will be the last debarkation talk we go to. Needing a drink, we headed to Violins bar for the daily mimosa and bloody mary special. Then to the pool for something called the Extreme Lido Challenge. I originally thought this was going to be like something they had on Valor called Survivor challenge, but it ended up being some TV show music trivia. We arrived a little late, so maybe they had to cancel the original activity. We stayed poolside for the rest of the afternoon, then headed to the Fun Farewell Party at 5PM. This is the “replacement” for the captain’s cocktail hour. And we liked it a lot. They had the regular show band playing with a great singer we hadn’t seen before. It was too bad they didn’t play other places around the ship. The free cocktails were flowing and the waiters would automatically bring you another cocktail when your first was getting low - at least for the first 20 minutes. After that, our row seemed to get skipped and we had to ask the waiters to come. But it didn’t detract from the event. We enjoyed it. It wasn’t very crowded. Dinner tonight was “American”. Had the two best entrees of the cruise: Veal Parm and Short Ribs. We went with our tablemates again to karaoke. Didn’t sing this time as all the slots were full by the time we got there. And that rolled into the 11:15PM late night comedy with Diane Ford who was extremely funny. She had some great jokes – unfortunately nothing I can post in a public review. Had a drink at the Violins bar and then headed to the cabin.
Monday – Debarkation dayOur expected arrival was 7:15AM. During the night my wife and I were awoken by a loud clanking noise, but went back to sleep. Later, I looked out our window about 6AM and couldn’t see anything it was so foggy. And we weren’t moving. We had programmed the phone for a 7AM wakeup call so I went back to sleep. Then at 7AM looked out again and it was the same – foggy and we weren’t moving. It was clear we had been fogged in and that the loud noise we heard during the night was probably the anchor being dropped. There were no announcements or anything on the TV channels confirming, but it was obvious that we were going to have a late arrival. Just a matter of how late. We had planned to go to the dining room today so that is where we headed. Around 8AM, the cruise director confirmed that we were stopped because the port of Tampa had been closed due to heavy fog. So now we got to experience both sides of this kind of delay. We weren’t given any ETAs so we had a leisurely breakfast of eggs benedict. Tasty – but next time I will remember to get the hollandaise on the side since it was a bit crusted when it was brought to the table. We headed back to the cabin to get everything packed so we’d be ready if we had to vacate the cabins and wait elsewhere. Around 10AM, another accouncement was made that the port was still closed, and that once we did head into port, it would take approximately 4 hours to get there. Shortly afterwards, I looked at the TV screen “ship” channel and saw that the speed was increasing. 0.2 knots, 0.4 knots, 1 knot. Yeah!! We were moving. We decided to head up towards the Violins bar and play some cribbage while we waited. And they would be serving lunch in Lido starting at 11AM. So after a couple of games, we grabbed some lunch, then headed back to Violins for more cribbage. At 12:30, they asked everyone to vacate their cabins by 1:30. So my wife stayed to hold our prime window seat location, and I went to grab our luggage from the cabin. Then we got a new ETA of 3PM to be docked. We did self disembark and were off the ship and through customs by 4:30. Home by 5PM. Overall, Carnival handled this very well. The cruise director had continual updates throughout. The only thing I would have changed is to have more updates on the TV. They have about 5 channels dedicated to the cruise. You would think one of them could have a screen indicating the status of the ship instead of replaying the Hairy Chest contest.
Overall Rating: B+ Dining Room: A Food Quality: A+ Musical Shows: D Musical Entertainment Around Ship: B Comedians/Variety: B- Value: A