Sunday: At Sea

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Sunday was the first day we had that we could walk around and get a look at our new home. We were not disappointed. She is HUGE. Although, she is not the largest in the fleet she is largest ship that my beautiful bride and I have sailed on. Although the days had its ups and downs, some literally, we had a great day at sea.

The day started with a 9:30 AM muster drill. Required by law, this drill is designed to make sure everyone knows the emergency procedures in case of.,well….an emergency. When the alarms sound you go to your assigned muster station and are shown how to put on a life vest and how to keep your kids from drowning. It was apparent the some of the parents paid close attention while others just stared blankly into space. I’m sure they were delighted with the thoughts of the possibilities. The parents that paid attention had the quiet kids. Once we re all assured that there were plenty of lifeboats and no icebergs in the area the alarm sounded again and off we went to find FOOD.

With three thousand people all in two buffet lines it was a tad crowded. Of course that’s like saying Cuba is a tad communist. The muster drill had gotten everyone out of bed and they were all hungry. Since standing in line an hour for eggs and bacon is not on my vacation to-do list we opted for a danish, coffee, hot chocolate, and a bowl of fruit. The view of the ocean was great and my beautiful bride and I talked to each other. The conversation revolved mainly about the people we are missing and how we are glad to be away from them.

After lunch we headed to our favorite place onboard…. the casino. We will leave this conversation at JW down $9. We again shall not speak of my beautiful bride. She is perfect, so her losses are worth it just to be in her company. With lighter pockets we explored the ship and talked with some really nice people.

Next came the most important part of the day...the nap. Nothing exciting to report…unfortunately. However, after the nap we walked around the ship and took in the sites, played bingo, and people watched. It was very nice and very relaxing.

When we returned to our room it was clean. Which did not surprise me. The room stewards are awesome. Very friendly, they do all they can to make your visit fun and relaxing.

Our dinner had been assigned as a late seating. Although 8:15 PM is a little late for us we always enjoy the conversation and the food. Tonight…not so much. Being one of the two formal nights we dressed to the nines and left our cabin for our night on the town. I ordered prime rib, my beautiful bride ordered a chili thing. The one thing that stuck out was that Carnival had made some cut backs in the staff. The waiters and asst. waiters seemed to have way too many tables to attend. Another thing was the lack of drink order. Unless you were ordering from the bar or off the wine list they paid very little attention to whether your glass refilled. Water was always there. However, if wanted tea, soda, or coffee you had to ask. Overall the diner was OK at best. The conversation with the other two couples were the normal “Where are you from?” verity. We left dinner, two hours later, barely full and in need of a stimulating conversation. So we went to our cabin and watched TV. At 11 PM I was drifting off so I kissed my beautiful bride goodnight and closed shop.

Until next time

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