Travel Thursdays - Our First Cruise

This is a long post and very picture heavy. Proceed if you dare!

Cruising wasn't something that Joe or I had ever done, along with most of the rest of my family. However, it was something my parents always wanted to do. So, for their 25th wedding anniversary in 2006, my sister, brother, Joe and I threw my parents an anniversary party and asked that everyone, in lieu of gifts, consider donating toward a cruise for them. The feedback was positive, and we were able to write my parents a nice check for a cruise of their choice. Their anniversary was two weeks before our August wedding, and they took the cruise in May 2007.



Come sail away with me!



Well, fast forward two years later (June of 2008), and we all decided to go on the same cruise they went on. When I say all, I mean all nine of us, including: Joe, Mom, Dad, Kayla, Derek, two friends, our friend Finney and me! It was all set, we decided to cruise on the Carnival Miracle for nine days (same exact cruise my parents did). We left from New York, which was driving distance for us, and we went to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Tortola.

Dad, Finney, Mom and I by the pool one morning. Notice there is no one else there.

Let me tell you, within minutes we were hooked. If you have never been on a cruise, you have got to try it. Envision drinks and food available all day, someone cleaning your room twice a day, napping as you please, getting lost in a good book, excellent food, going to Vegas-style shows every night, laying poolside and gorging yourself with soft-serve ice cream. It really is magical.

Waiters singing Mom and Kayla "Happy Birthday." They share a birthday, and my sister turned 21 on the cruise!

We got a balcony room, and I don't think I can cruise any other way. Think about it, a private balcony to read on while sailing the ocean. Can you smell the salt water right now?

Our ship in Puerto Rico.

There is much debate over Royal Caribbean versus Carnival, and honestly I can't give a real review because we have only cruised with Carnival. But, we have cruised with Carnival three times, and we love it. Does that say anything? Carnival is a fun ship; it is true. There are events that are a little corny (belly-flopping contest, etc.), but we just don't go to those. There also are jewelry sales, art shows, bar musicians, trivia games, casinos, bingo games and so much. If there is something that interests you, you can go. If you don't want to go, just don't. It is time for luxury and relaxation. Speaking of luxury, my sister and I always take advantage of the spa. I just realized I need a cruise right now.

Each port was unique. We had three sea days before reaching Puerto Rico, and let me tell you, we love sea days. We could wake up anytime we wanted and really relax. In Puerto Rico, my mom, dad, sister, brother, Joe, Finney and I did a tour of the island and went to the Bacardi Rum factory. Although the tour of the factory left much to be desired, we loved our free rum, and we got to take some great flavors home with us. On the tour, we saw where Roberto Clemente is buried and shopped in some of the markets near the port. We were there a good while (3-11 p.m.), which we really loved because it gave us a lot of time to enjoy the city. After dinner (we ate in the lido deck dining room on the ship), Joe and I went and sat on the top deck completely by ourselves, and I mean completely by ourselves. It was dark out, and we could look at the city with a gorgeous view. That was probably the best part of the trip for me. I think Joe would agree. That night, we had a Mexican buffet and dance party while our ship set sale for our next port, which was St. Thomas!

Kayla and me at Bacardi!

St. Thomas was gorgeous. I don't care what anyone says. We did a tour of the island again and stopped at Magens Bay. We had the whole beach to ourselves. Seriously, there were maybe two dozen people stretched along the beach. The water was crystal clear and just gorgeous. We loved it! For that excursion day, it was just my mom, dad, sister, brother, Joe and me. After the beach, we went to (what we call) tent city, and I got my very own Coach purse. Kayla got two purses. It was insanely hot, and I believe Joe was delirious when he told me to find a purse. I promise I didn't even ask for one. Finney went by himself that day, and he said Magens Bay was packed when he went. We really lucked out. Don't worry, that day we got free rum too.

St. Thomas

Joe, me, Derek and Kayla at St. Thomas

My sister at Magens Bay with no one in sight. Incredible.

Our third excursion day was Tortola, and it was the best excursion day. Kayla and I went swimming with dolphins. I thought we would be in a huge group and get very limited interaction. Boy was I wrong! The big excursion group broke into smaller groups, and our group was approximately seven or eight people, and we had two trainers and two dolphins. We got to feed them, pet them, ride them two times each and do tricks with them (getting them to speak and spit water). It was fantastic! I highly recommend the dolphin excursion in Tortola. We purchased a video and pictures at the end. It was hot, so when we got back to port, we only went shopping for a short while before heading back to the ship.

Joe and me on our balcony in Tortola.

While on the ship, we had two formal nights, which you don't have to attend, but I highly recommend them. It's fun to get dressed up once in a while, right? Carnival's dress code isn't too strict. The ladies wore anything from cocktail dresses to gowns, and the guys pretty much wore suits or at least dress shirts and ties. The first formal night (earlier in the trip) was what they call "Captain's Formal Night," where you get to listen to the ship band play music in the main theater, meet and shake hands with the captain and crew and indulge in free alcohol and appetizers. (Although food and drinks are included in the cost of cruising, there is a cost for alcohol.) My parents got to go to a special past cruisers event later in the cruise (which we got to attend in later cruises). Those are fun too!

Dancing with my baby brother one night!

Joe and I at our first formal night!

One of the highlights for our group was the piano player, Roger, in the piano bar. The piano bars on the ships are like a group sing-a-long, and they are a blast. Roger was a great entertainer, and we became regulars of that bar. It is bad, by the way, if you are regulars on a nine-day cruise.

Second formal night.

The second highlight for our group, was that Finney won bingo twice (totaling something like $800), and our other friend won. It was so cool. When Finney won the big bingo, he paid a round of drinks that night. It was a ball!

Our whole gang at dinner with our waiters on the last night. The picture is fuzzy, but it was a group shot.

Our dining room

Since that cruise was two-and-a-half years ago, I don't remember all of the details. But, I think I did pretty good.

I want a drink with an umbrella, a lounge chair in the sun and ocean as far as my eyes can see right about now.