Day at Sea

Monday – Day at Sea

The kids never made it up for breakfast, but the rest of us went to the Lido deck which was very crowded. I didn’t even attempt to get the hot food and just grabbed some Danish and yogurt which didn’t have a line. One complaint (besides the long lines) I had with the breakfast buffet was that they put the butter on the line with the hot food. Who wants to wait in a long line just for a pat of butter?

Not sure what all we did that day, but do know Bob ran about a 5K on the outside running track. We did make it down the slide (a goal for me since I had never made it on a slide on previous cruises) and lounged around. Bob and the kids played some shuffleboard and I managed to get to the laundry room to iron their dress shirts…handy because it was located very close to our cabin on the Upper Deck.

I was surprised, but the kids decided they would like to have lunch in the dining room rather than on the Lido deck. It meant changing out of their swimsuits, but it was nice being away from the crowds and long lines. Lunch time was open seating in the Pacific dining room but we were lead back to the same area where our regular table was located. We had lunch and breakfast in the dining room several times throughout the week and each time we were seated in this same place. Since we had 7 people seated at a table for 8, the waiters would always seat a single person with us. It was nice to meet the people, but also awkward at the same time since our family was involved in our own discussions. We tried our best to make conversation with whoever was with us, but it just felt weird.

Later in the afternoon I couldn’t interest anyone else in attending “tea time” so went by myself and thoroughly enjoyed it. The event was held in the Ionian Lounge which by night was the cigar bar (no smell that I could detect however.) A string trio was playing and I was served tiny sandwiches and small desserts. A waiter came by with a wooden box filled with different kinds of tea bags and then brought me a pot of hot water. There were only about a dozen people attending. The atmosphere was somewhat spoiled for me because people were walking through the lounge to reach the Internet stations…many wearing just a bathing suit. It just didn’t seem right to listen to the classical music while sipping my tea and see some guy with a beer belly walk by in his swim trunks.

I worried that my kids would balk at getting dressed for formal night, but at the end of the week youngest son said it was one of his favorite things! The two older boys both had suits, but youngest wore the tux that we bought off Ebay for his prom in the spring. (I knew he could use it on the cruise so it made sense to buy instead of rent…and the tux looked great by the way!) The Captains party was held in the Adriatic Lounge and cruise director Steve Knisley was there in his kilt welcoming us. 

The free drinks were appreciated as we enjoyed the jazz trio that performed. Following dinner we attended the first of the production shows called “Livin’ in America”…good show and even the kids enjoyed it. After that it was back to the cabin for the “old folks” to prepare for the next day’s tours…I’m sure the kids were out and about the ship till much later….

We learned later that the Pharaoh often showed up late at night. 

(Side note about the sleeping arrangement.) After attempting to use the love seat the first night, my sister decided it just wasn’t going to work. Instead, Maila, the room steward, brought in a roll away bed. Comfort-wise it wasn’t too bad, but it did cause the room to be very crowded. When it was made out at night our room had literally no floor space left. The beds were pushed all the way up against the patio door, then the cot, then the couch, then the wall. There was about a 6” space between my bed and sister’s cot that we could squeeze out at night if one had to use the bathroom. There was a small convertible-height table in the room that at night had to be put up on the couch to make room for the cot.

During the day the cot was folded up, but still left in the room and it was always in the way. It blocked one end of the small couch so that it could only be used by one person. After a couple of nights, we left a note for the steward to leave the bed folded up even when she made up the room in the evening…we would unfold it ourselves just before going to bed. Otherwise trying to be in the room after dinner just didn’t work for 3 people. I was thrilled to be upgraded to the balcony room for the price of an ocean view guarantee so I couldn’t complain too much. In the future however I think I would probably make sure I had a room that was designed to be a triple and not take a chance.

Leaving on the Victory!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 - Departure Day!

  

The seven of us went to the hotel restaurant Sunday morning with our “free” breakfast coupons in hand. I showed them to the hostess at the door and we were seated at two tables. We helped ourselves to the buffet…a nice selection, but nothing outstanding. After eating a waitress came by and presented me with a bill for around $65 for our table of five. I showed her the breakfast coupons we had and she told me that we were only supposed to have gotten a “continental” breakfast. I explained that I had shown the coupons to the hostess and nothing was said…and that the coupons were printed with “continental breakfast buffet”. She came back a short while later and said everything was taken care of…no charge for breakfast. Like I said…the food was OK, but not worth $13 per person in my book!

There were several cabs out front when we left the hotel around 10:30 or so, but no vans so we took two cabs. One of the drivers insisted that we could fit in his car and we did but it was VERY tight AND we had to hold some of our luggage that wouldn’t fit in the trunk. Luckily it isn’t a very long trip to the port. There is a lot of construction going on around the port and we entered the area differently than we did last summer. The cost of our cab was about $10. My sister, oldest son & wife were in the other cab and said their driver never turned on the meter and insisted the fare was $15…they didn’t know better so they paid it.

A porter was waiting to take our bags and immediately started giving us the speech about how he would be the one taking care of the luggage till we saw it again on the ship (which really isn’t true) and we should be giving him a tip. Nothing like a little blackmail to get a tip. 😒

  

Right inside the door of the terminal we entered one of several short lines to check in. My sister took care of getting her shipboard charges put on her own credit card at that time (she was to share a room with Bob and I.) After getting checked in, we went through the security check and entered the larger room that was set up with several roped off winding queues leading up to the main check-in desks ( this is where we checked in for our previous cruises.) The first section was full so we were directed to the front of the next set of lines. It was around 11 a.m. at that time. No one was working at these desks and people were just left standing with no explanation why. Off to the left of where we stood was a window that looked through to an escalator. There was a slow but steady stream of people coming down from the upper level the entire time we were there. Turns out they were passengers from the previous week still disembarking. 

Eventually a few Carnival employees started showing up but they just wandered about visiting with each other…no announcements were made explaining why we were all just standing there. One of the employees was standing near us (since we were in the front) and I asked her what was causing the hold up. She said that customs officials had not cleared the ship so no one was allowed to go upstairs to the main waiting room. As we were waiting, I turned around to see someone waving at me…it was Eric who I had met on the Roll Call board! We had exchanged pictures via email and he had recognized our family. We saw each other off and on throughout the week, but never did really find time to sit down and talk. Still it was sort of fun to meet someone I had corresponded with!

I think it was around 12:30 or a little later that they finally began letting people go past the main desks and go upstairs. The huge waiting room full of chairs was empty while we were left to stand for almost 2 hours! The line snaked through another long set of winding queues and eventually we got our pictures taken for the Sail & Sign cards and then we boarded the ship shortly after 1:00. I wanted to drop off our carry on bags before going to lunch, but the hallway to our cabin was blocked off so we headed up to the Lido deck and got something to eat.

After lunch we went to check out our cabins. I had booked two inside guarantee cabins for the kids and an ocean view cabin for Bob, my sister and I. A couple of months prior to the cruise I pretended to purchase gifts through Carnival.com and found our cabins had been assigned. The kids were upgraded to inside cabins on the Upper deck (6299 & 6303). The cabins were located between two other sets of inside cabins along a third hallway through the deck. Looking at the deck layout online, I realized that these cabins were more square-shaped than the normal cabins. I was worried that they might be smaller but actually the opposite was true. The layout was different from most cabins in that the closets were not right by the door, but on the side wall by the beds. The desk area was at the foot of the bed. The actual square footage may not have been different, but the room just felt bigger.

I had originally booked the ocean view cabin for the three of us since it is 220 square feet compared to an inside which is 185 square feet. Besides being larger, many of the ocean view cabins have convertible couches which we preferred over having an upper bunk. My guess is that once Carnival put the kids on the Upper deck, then they upgraded us to that deck as well. The bad news was that we were put into a cabin that was not designed to be a triple…the good news was that we had a balcony! Our cabin (6371) was just a short distance from the kids which was handy when coordinating plans throughout the week.

I had requested the 6:15 dinner time which we had found to be convenient on our past cruises…instead we were assigned to eat at 5:45. I was ready to go talk to the maitre‘d to request a change but decided to first check out the location of our table in the Pacific Dining Room. Turns out we had a round table in the corner at the rear of the ship surrounded by floor to ceiling windows…to me this was ideal so I didn’t even attempt to change. Had we been given the 6:15 time, we would have eaten in the Atlantic Dining room which I didn’t think was as pretty…nor did it have the views that we did.

The kids had taken off on their own and my sister had gone back to the cabin so Bob and I went to the spa tour…something we had never done on previous cruises. They had several passengers serving as “models” for the various services that were offered…not sure I would want that job though. Most were gooped up with all sorts of stuff and just left to lay on a table while people paraded through gawking at them. The tour did give Bob a chance to check out the gym and shower area which he used throughout the week.

We had left the kids with instructions to make sure they showed up at the muster drill on time. When the alarm sounded, I didn’t see them, but they assured me later that they had been there. They had tried to take a nap, but the “rude alarms” kept waking them up. The drill was hot and awful as usual, but we survived. The kids said there was a toddler near them. He was fussing cause the life jacket had his head all scrunched up and about then someone bumped into him and knocked him flat. They had to endure his screams for the rest of the drill (can you blame him though?)

I finally caught up to the kids after the drill and told them I had a “secret” place for us to go for the sail away. We all walked to the front of the ship on our deck (Deck 6) and we went out an unmarked door that led to an open deck at the very front. No one else was there…it was like being on our own private cruise ship as we sailed out of Miami!

By dinner time the kids had received all of their luggage and we didn’t have any yet! I had packed an outfit in my carry-on bag, but Bob went to dinner in his shorts. The two younger sons were late for dinner cause they got lost on the ship…they had wandered around for over a half an hour trying to find the dining room! It was very confusing because you couldn’t go from front to back on decks 3 or 4 and they couldn’t figure out how to get to the dining room! Eventually they learned to go all the way to the rear of the ship and take the elevators down to deck 3…but not before they were late several other nights.

Our waiters for the week were Babelito from the Philippines and Barbara from Hungary…both were excellent. All three boys are big eaters (especially youngest who is actually the “biggest” of the 3 kids) but Babelito never even flinched when they ordered several different entrees each night. The kids called him “Fun Bobby”. (Note: Five years later we ran into Babelito on our 2nd family cruise on the Carnival Legend in 2010!) We got a kick out of another waiter at a table next to ours. He was always singing happy birthday to someone, but would do it at the top of his lungs and out of tune. Barbara said he did it because he was old and wanted attention! 

After dinner we went back to our cabin to finally find our luggage…and see a beautiful sunset. We have never had a balcony cabin before and now I realize what we had been missing!

Our oldest son is a musician and loves to perform so we all headed to the Adriatic Lounge for karaoke. All three boys and Bob ended up taking their turns at the mike…how funny! I appreciated the fact that the lounge was smoke free. The “Welcome Aboard show was held at 10:30 and we left in time to see that.

Earlier in the evening we had met our room steward, Maila who seemed surprised that we had three people in our cabin. She said she could bring in a cot or since sister is fairly short she could try sleeping on the couch (which was really more the size of a love seat). When we got back to the cabin, Maila had the arms of the couch removed and it was made up with sheets and a blanket. Sister tried sleeping on it, but even though she is only 5 feet tall…it was still too short.

Although the sleeping arrangement was less than perfect, there was enough storage in the cabin for the three of us…lots of drawers and two closets. The luggage fit under the bed. Having the balcony also gave us a little separate space when we started to feel too much togetherness!

Family Cruise!

This cruise report was originally posted on the Cruise Critic website forums (without photos.)

After enjoying our two cruises on the Carnival Paradise we realized we had been bitten (quite badly) by the cruise bug!  After many not-so-subtle hints from the kids, we decided cruise #3 would be with the whole family. This crew included the two of us (both within weeks of turning 50 years old!); our oldest son (24) and his wife (21); our middle son (21) and the baby...our 17 year old son. Also traveling with us would be my sister from St. Louis (40+). The cruise took place the week of August 14th to 21st, 2005 to the western Caribbean on the Carnival Victory.

On August 12th we (Bob, myself and two younger sons who were living at home) drove the 3 ½ hours to Minneapolis where we met up with our oldest son and his wife. I had booked a night at the Microtel Inn & Suites in Eagan that offered a park 'n fly package enabling us to leave our cars there for the week.

On Saturday morning our group took the hotel shuttle to the Minneapolis airport for our non-stop flight on Northwest Airlines to Miami. Although my sister lives in St. Louis, she actually booked a flight to Miami that connected in Minneapolis which put us all on the same flight. Sounds weird, but it worked. It was one of the cheapest options for her and kept her from traveling alone. After waiting in very long lines in the airport, we met up with her at the gate.

Bob (the pack mule) attempting to get too much luggage up the escalator!

The youngest son had been dating the high school exchange student from Brazil all summer and as luck would have it, she was also at the airport. Her flight from the previous night had been cancelled so #3 son got one last chance to see her before she took off for South America! A special time for them both!

A short flight later and we were in Miami!!

After arriving in Miami, the 7 of us took two cabs to the Holiday Inn Port of Miami...one car taxi and one van taxi. With all of our luggage it was still a tight fit. Cost for each cab was around $21 before tip. I had booked the “Sail Away Package” at the HI that was to include free breakfast and a choice of a sightseeing cruise on Biscayne Bay or drinks at Bayside Marketplace for two people per room. The cost of the package was $99/room. The website said that additional people were $15 each, but after making several calls ahead of time, I was assured that the $99 room cost was for up to 4 people.

When we checked in we were given the coupons good for the options mentioned above…but only two per room. I inquired about purchasing additional coupons for $15 per person, but the people working the desk were clueless. Eventually they called out a supervisor (who also knew nothing.) I had printed out the hotel web page that mentioned that additional people were $15 so she said they would honor it. The sightseeing cruise alone would have cost $13 per person so I figured $15 for the cruise AND breakfast wasn’t too bad. She printed out the extra 3 coupons that we needed and said she would put the $45 charge on my credit card. (Note: The extra charges never did show up on my credit card.) Had I booked the room without the Sail Away Package, it would have cost over $100 so it turned out to be a good deal.  Our rooms were side by side on the 7th floor overlooking the Port of Miami with a great view of the cruise ships docked there. The four “kids” were in one room and Bob, my sister and I in the other. The Holiday Inn is directly across the street from Bayside Marketplace…an outdoor shopping complex with various shops and restaurants. 

View from our hotel window.

Dark clouds were forming so we decided to first have some dinner and then check about the cruise on the Island Queen later on. There is a food court on the upper level at Bayside that has many, many different ethnic food offerings. After wandering around the whole food court (and getting many samples along the way) we all chose different types of food and sat on the outdoor patio to eat. By the time we shopped our way back to where the Island Queen boat was docked, it was nearly 8:00.   

It never did rain, and in hindsight we would have been much better off taking an earlier cruise. Apparently the evening cruises are booked more as “party cruises” and the music was blaring so loud that we all came home with headaches! The music was turned off temporarily while we cruised past the million dollar homes and the guide told us all about who lived where. Unfortunately by then it was so dark that we couldn’t really see any of the homes. (Oldest son said the cruise made him feel like a stalker…)   

This is about all we could see of the mansions along the waterfront.

Bridge over Biscayne Bay in Miami

Back at the hotel we could hear (plain and clear) an outdoor rap concert that was going on across the street in a grassy area by Bayside. The kids decided to go over and check it out while the old folks went to bed. They didn’t pay to get “inside” to see the concert but said it was Jay Z and Kanye West. An advantage to staying at the HI is the closeness to Bayside, but that’s also a disadvantage. The rap music and huge amount of traffic following the concert made it really hard to get to sleep. Also during the night I was awakened by the people in the next room who obviously had a little too much to drink. Finally at 4:30 a.m. I called the desk to complain and eventually someone came to quiet them down.

Good Bye Paradise!

Sunday, June 20 – Back to Miami

After the confusion with the clocks on Friday night, I never did get around to turning back the one I had by the bed. When I awoke on Sunday morning I “thought” it was around 6:30 a.m. which meant I could just lay there for another hour before I had to get up and face going home. I debated about looking out the window to see if we truly were in Miami but nixed that idea. The sound of the anchor being lowered several hours earlier was enough to confirm that fact. I was just drifting back to sleep when the phone rang with our wake-up call. That was when reality hit…it was really an hour later and it “was” time to get up!

Kent and Laurel joined us for breakfast in the Paris restaurant. As we sat there talking we all agreed we had a fantastic week. A cruise is a great vacation regardless but we decided it was even more fun when you share it with friends.

We made one last stop in the cabin to grab what luggage we had left. The flying fish was still laying in the porthole window in Kent and Laurel’s room just waiting on the new passengers to board and join him for another cruise!

The four of us went to the casino to wait our turn to debark. Finally a little after 9:30 our color was the last to be called and we got off the ship. Luckily our luggage was in the correct section and it didn’t take long to find it all. Once outside the terminal we assumed we would need two cabs to get to the airport (too much luggage for all four of us to fit in one together.) A cab driver approached us and said he had a van and could take us all. It was a “very” tight fit, but he eventually crammed all of the suitcases into the vehicle and off we went.

Kent and Laurel were on a different airline for their flight back to Nashville so we said our good-byes on the sidewalk outside the airport. Our flight didn’t leave until 1:30 which gave us plenty of time…in fact it was a long boring wait. I had debated about trying to bring some room service sandwiches off the ship to eat while waiting but was scared I would get in trouble going through customs. We opted for Pizza Hut inside the airport, but it just wasn’t the same as the Paradise pizza!! I chuckled when I overheard a couple sitting next to us in the airport…they had also just gotten off the Paradise and he was already missing the ice cream machine!!

Good-bye Miami.

Our flight was on-time and other than waiting an extremely long time to pick up our luggage when we arrived back in Minneapolis, all went well. After a quick call to the hotel, the shuttle from the Wyndham was there in no time to get us and return us to our car. Driving home from Minneapolis took just about the same time as it did to fly all of the way from Miami…a long day.

Doing two cruises on the smoke-free Paradise has probably spoiled us. I think we will cruise again in the future, but Bob and Kent are already talking about the possibility of doing a week somewhere that they could scuba dive. I’m sure we will be looking into all-inclusive resorts. Bob and I are also Disney fans and it’s been four years since we were at Disney World…I’m thinking maybe a trip to see “the Mouse” might be a possibility too! Who knows!

Sea Day #2

Saturday, June 19 – Day at Sea

Breakfast was open seating in the Elation dining room. Kent, Bob and I ordered the eggs benedict…something that wasn’t available at the buffet in the Paris restaurant. I don’t know that the food was that much better in the dining room, but it was nice to be served instead of getting the food yourself. I was also able to enjoy a cappuccino...another item not offered at the buffet.

  

On the last day, there is a big sale on Carnival t-shirts…two for $20. I knew from my experience on the last cruise that to get a good selection, you must shop in the morning. We each picked out a couple of shirts and then Laurel went to take one last look at the tanzanite rings in the gift shop. I found a big display of costume jewelry rings for sale…two for $39.99. Laurel never did end up getting a ring on the cruise, but I came away with two of the rings I found that day!

  

The debarkation talk was taking place in the Normandie Lounge which is located right by the gift shops. We stepped inside and listened for a bit but decided we could catch the talk on TV later in the day. Laurel’s main objective was to spend some time in the sun and we headed back to the cabin to change into our swim suits.

  

I am a fair-skinned redhead and had been very cautious all week about not over-doing it in the sun. I did not want my cruise ruined by a bad sunburn. Before the cruise I had spent several weeks visiting a tanning booth but still was only able to get a slight tan. Being it was the last day I decided to relax a bit and enjoy the sun with everyone else.

Finding four chairs together by the pool was hopeless, but we did find some one deck higher that overlooked the pool area. Being on this deck was actually more comfortable anyway…there was a bit of a breeze…and we could still see all of the activities taking place on the Lido deck. After an hour I started to worry that maybe sitting in the sun was sort of like suicide for me so I convinced Bob to join me on the outer part of the promenade deck. Once again we dragged lounge chairs out to sit in the shade of the lifeboats.

  

Around 1:00 hunger was starting to set in and Bob and I headed to the buffet. I’ve lost track what we ate when, but I “think” this was the day I tried one of the calzones from the Pizzeria. It takes about 10 minutes for them to make, but combined with the Caesar salad, it made a great lunch! Kent showed up while we were eating, but Laurel chose to stay and worship the sun gods!

That afternoon I knew it was time to start the dreaded job of packing. I switched on the TV and listened to the cruise director go through the debarkation talk as I worked. Bob left around 3:00 to go hear the Summer Trio perform and came back with one of their CD’s that he had purchased.

Dinner that night was enjoyable, but a little sad at the same time knowing it would be our last meal in the dining room. We made an effort to get to the Normandie Lounge early to snag good seats for the evening show. Steve Athearn, a juggler, opened the show and this guy was truly amazing!! At one point he “solved” a Rubik’s cube in a minute while balancing a ball on a long pole sitting on his forehead (meaning he couldn’t watch the cube while he was working on it!) Another astonishing feat was when he juggled a bowling ball, a softball and a doll sitting in a baby carrier!! Following the juggling, comic Jim Brick came onstage. Before he was done, Bob and Kent were both in tears from laughing so hard! What a funny guy!!

Steve, the juggler, was standing around after the show and we started talking with him. He said he and Jim Brick had flown to Grand Cayman to meet up with another Carnival ship (the Conquest I’m sure) and then transferred to the Paradise when we were docked together in Cozumel. Laurel was particularly interested in some of his routines. Her daughter is a world champion baton twirler and has mastered twirling four and five batons at once…very similar to juggling in many ways.

Both of us still had packing to finish up before bed because the bags had to be placed in the hallway by midnight. I had forgotten about the talent show or I would have made more of an effort to get the packing finished in the afternoon. After we were done and had the bags outside the cabin, we went for one last walk through the ship. We walked by the Normandie Lounge as the last performer was finishing up in the talent show and I was sorry we had missed it.

Last minute packing.

The four of us filled our big mugs on the Lido deck and went out to the seating area at the rear of the ship. Off in the distance you could see lightening in the clouds which was awesome to see in the dark night. Overall the weather had been perfect the whole week. There was one morning where we had a brief rain, but it was over quickly and had I not been up early I wouldn’t have even realized it happened.

As we walked back through the Paris restaurant, they were just preparing for the midnight buffet. None of us were really hungry, but the buffet was all crepes and I just couldn’t resist trying one or two. One side of the buffet had savory fillings, but I opted for the fresh fruit and whipped cream on the other side. Yummmm!!! The couple standing in line ahead of us were wearing their Carnival bathrobes. I’m not sure if they forgot to leave out clothes when they put their luggage in the hallway or just thought that was an appropriate way to dress for the last night of the cruise!