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Showing posts with label cruise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cruise. Show all posts

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Cruise Review

One of the fun parts of being on a cruise, is that each night they make a towel animal.
I'm sure it's way fun for kids, but honestly, I get a kick out of them too!!
Although I can't always figure out exactly what it is...
Crab?
Dog?
Gorilla?
My husband punched this one
{jokingly}
not realizing I was taking pictures, like a big dork, every night!
So I'm not sure what it was supposed to be!
A bird of sorts??
A rabbit
For the rabbit!
I have no clue.
Help?
Since the boat was semi new, 2009 I believe, things were in good condition.
Here is the Serenity Deck--NO KIDS allowed.


 The Lido Deck
aka where a lot of people hang out
 View on our balcony room
 Our room:
It was decent.
Cleaned twice a day.
No complaints here.
 With the balcony room you get two chairs out on a little balcony.
 We were on Deck 7, and below us there was a deck you could walk/eat on.
We weren't used to that, as we usually like to leave our door open and hear/smell the ocean.
However, when you have people walking around below, you hear them.
I didn't love that.
 Drinks were good...
Mango & the Miami Vice
As with any cruise, they can add up quickly.
Dining room
You could definitely feel the boat a rockin down there at night!
 Our waiter busted his bottom.
Francis worked hard to please all twenty of us and even sang while doing so.
 My sis got up and danced with him!
 The girls laying out on our last day

 Mango Swirls!
 Hubs & the boys played basketball then hopped into the pool.
There were 2 pools and I thought they were kind of small.
There were 2 water slides too, but I didn't go on them.

So my humble and quick opinion:
I don't believe my husband and I will ever go Carnival again.
Maybe it's because I had been on 3 Royal Caribbean Cruises prior to this trip and loved them,
but I honestly just wasn't all that impressed.
I felt that the food lacked, the service was slower, and just because it was a bigger boat did NOT
mean that there was more to do.
I think it just held more people.
I also think I need a break from cruises, since we went on one last year too..
I just feel like we get a little taste of each island and I want to see more!
The cruise itself was also one I wouldn't pick again, as there were too many days at sea.
I love stopping at the islands, not being stuck on a boat.
I'm happy to have had the time with my family and the most important part was my sister's wedding.
However, if I were to give advice, if you want to do a destination wedding, maybe stay on an island.
I think you'd get to experience more of the culture and not feel so rushed that way.
If you love drinking, eating, gambling, and laying out in the sun, and don't care so much about 
the culture or island life, then sure, a cruise would be perfect for you!
I must say that I think Carnival did a good job when dealing with an emergency.
We were supposed to be heading back to Florida, when something happened to a person....
So many rumors, a heart attack, appendix, not real sure...
but we had to turn around and back track towards Puerto Rico so that a coast guard
could come in and do a helicopter rescue.
It put us back a few hours, but I hope everyone is okay.
My step-brother took a video:

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Sint Maarten/St Martin

Bonjour!! 
 Our last island on the cruise was the beautiful 
Sint Maarten/St Martin.
There is a Dutch side {where the port is}
and a French side, oui oui!!
I of course love love love the French side.
We stopped here on a cruise last year, and knew exactly what we wanted to do.
Rent Dune Buggies & Stop at Paradise View Restaurant/Bar
Look how cute the decor is
{and my lil bro}
The views


Hubs sippin on some bubbl-ay
{I'm obsessed with these champagne flutes. I have not bought any flutes because I want these so badly.
Sadly, they're made in France and are like 80 Euros for one or something crazy.
Aren't they beautiful though???}

LynDz
moi
Je t'aime!!
Lyndz & Tyler's ride


It was hot and a bit on the rugged side, but we were safe.

Cute little boutiques
And after that we went to Orient Beach...
on the way my battery died and I didn't get any more pictures.
We ate at a little french restaurant on the beach that had the BEST pizza
seriously tasted like we were over in Europe.
Thin.
Crispy yet a nice chew to it.
Perfect amount of oregano.
Cheese.
Heaven.
Even mr picky pizza eater enjoyed it!! 
Lyndz and I laid out on the beach while the boys surfed the waves on rented jet skis.
It's probably ok my camera died, since Orient Beach is topless/half nude.
I wouldn't want to be that creeper paparazzi with all the tanned bubbies and butts hangin out!
We made our way back slowly to the cruise ship and sadly got back on.
We so badly wanted to just stay on the island.
That night we did have a nice fancy dinner at the Chef's restaurant.
You have to pay $30 extra per person (all meals are usually included)
and you get an upscale menu with fancy foods.
I gave the service and food a 6.5 
since I'm a chef and all.
: )
Being in the sun all day, it got me. I got a little burned on my chest/arms.

And one purchase that was made was my very first Michael Kors Watch.
I love that when I wear it/look at it, I'll always be reminded of our beautiful day
on Sint Maarten
I thought I wanted the rose gold, 
but after I saw this beauty, I was in love.
It has rose gold accents around the face.
 The last two days of the cruise we were stuck at sea, so I'll share more pictures of the ship
and what I thought of our overall experience using carnival. 
Oh, I'll be sharing an emergency medical helicopter mission that happened on board.
I hope you're having a wonderful day!
I've already made homemade sauce, eggplant parm casserole for lunch and beer bread.
I'm excited to get some gardening tips from my friend Jill, so I can get out front and beautify our gardens!
It's also my husband's last evening off until June 18. 
His annual tent sale starts Thursday and he works 9-9+ every.single.day.
He loves it though, 
so I'm a good wifey and make him food and keep him company when he's not too busy.
Have a beautiful Tuesday!!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Days 3 & 4: Pre-wedding & Wedding Day!

The day before the wedding a few of us decided to get our hair done, 
since there weren't enough openings in the morning. 
I wasn't thoroughly impressed with the girl who curled my hair...she used a tiny curling iron.
I think my hair curls best with a straightener, but it was what it was
 and the I knew the windy beach and the saltwater 
would destroy any hairdo within the next 24 hours.
I tried to dress it up a bit with a colorful flower that night.
Pardon our messy room!
Mrs & Mr to be getting ready for dinner the night before they said
I DO
my love
Ty Ty
Parading my sis around the ship as the bride-to-beeeeee
funky shot.
She got her favorite drink:
Miami Vice
Pina colada & a strawberry Daiquiri mixed
We then attempted to play mini golf on the top of the ship...

Bad idea with my newly curled hair & lots of wind!!
Silly Bride
Serious wind action.
We then continued the fun down in the arcade...

It was fun acting like a bunch of kids.


 Riding with a maxi on a motorcycle--not very elegant!
 I think she beat me that time?!
We went to bed on the early side, since the next morning 
she'd be getting married!
Her & one of her bridesmaids enjoying mimosas
 Wedding Hair
 Pretty side up-do



 We got off the ship as fast as we could and hopped into a van,
traveled over to Sapphire Beach.
 Views were amazing.
 Extra wedding guest
 Bridesmaids
 Yup. Hubs wore swim trunks and a polo to the wedding.
 Bride's dressing room...


 Hubs with his in-laws

 another guest.
 After the wedding we all climbed aboard a catamaran.
 We could swim, snorkel, and lounge in the sun.
 Pretty cool idea for a reception, eh?
 Step-bruh
 Food/Drinks on boat
 Sea Turtles!!
 Joe & I swam to that beach and lounged on the sand for awhile.

 Such a gorgeous day!
 Groom's dad being silly
 A slow, relaxing, ride back to our ship...



 Look who got to drive the boat??!!
 None of us wanted to get back on that ship...
it was a beautiful day and everything went beautifully.
Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs!!!
Tomorrow's festivities: 
St. Martin.
My favorite island of all.