I'm back! I survived a Caribbean cruise with my two older brothers! It was fantastic (of course). It was actually my 3rd cruise with Carnival... once with my family the summer before 8th grade, once with my high school senior class, and this time with Karl, his girlfriend Kristen, and Kevin. We even got to go to a cocktail party (open bar) for repeat cruisers, which was pretty exciting.
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| We still believe in Spring Break! |
I didn't sleep the night before departure because I was A) too excited and B) partying in my hometown with the return-for-Easter crowd.
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| Hometown Glory |
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| Party All Nighters from South Carolina |
My wonderful parents volunteered to watch my dogs, so I started my vacation early. My 5:30 am flight out of the world's smallest and most ridiculous airport (near my hometown) wasn't fun, but a small price to pay for excellent (free) dog boarding and a ride to the runway before dawn. I've been to nicer airports in countries lacking safe drinking water. I'm just saying.... Anyway my connection in Charlotte was a breeze despite the gloomy skies.
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| Perhaps I should have at least taken a nap? |
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| Bye Bye, cold & rainy! |
The icky weather caused my brothers' flight to be canceled and they had to drive almost 3 hours to make it to their connection, but everyone arrived on board in Tampa with plenty of time to spare.
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| Karl, Kristen, & Kevin....Enjoying our first frosty beverages of the cruise |
Thankfully I remembered that it takes forever to gain access to your cabin & have your luggage delivered, so in my carry on I stashed a toothbrush, swimsuit, sunscreen, book, and sunglasses. I was able to relax by the pool for a few hours before the rest of my crew arrived.
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| Downside to cruising with 2,000+ people |
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| There were lots of little brats. Lots. |
Before I knew it, we were bidding Tampa farewell and it was time to let the overeating (& drinking) begin.
Even though being herded like cattle and playing the part of the typical tourist isn't really my style, I'm not the type to turn down an opportunity to travel, especially at sea. On the ship there were shows, trivia, tons of live music, gambling, dancing, magicians, comedy, even bingo. I was pretty excited to see they even had a resident break dancer.
Our cabin was tiny and had a curtain with no window, but who cares? I was barely in there.
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| I've had apartments worse than this. PLEASE! |
Here are some pictures of life on the ship... I'll do separate posts for the ports of Grand Cayman and Cozumel!
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| up to the highest height |
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| true... true... |
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| drinks with Kevin |
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| I love all the colors of the ocean! YAY! |
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| pretty close to heaven. |
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| Amazing AND vegetarian... |
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| OMG Karl in a tie! |
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| showtime |
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| atrium |
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| Somehow I like this deck better at night |
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| blackmail! |
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| le disko! |
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| awesomely bad. |
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| Texas Hold Em Fanatics |
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| Karl & Kristen |
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| makes me want to live on a ship forever. |
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| what's a cruise without line dancing? |
I learned to do the Wobble. Very exciting. Click
here if you want to see the music video and
here if you want to learn step by step. I also learned a country line dance, but I have zero memory of it. That's all I'm saying.
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| Kevin in need of sun worship |
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| Yes I like Pina Coladas... |
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| obligatory towel animal photo |
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| Carnival Inspiration |
Stay tuned for the shore excursions!
