Anyone at all familiar with Carnival Cruise Line (yes, this is correct,
there is no “s” at the end of “Line.”) will know how they market the brand with
liberal uses of the word “fun.” Their ships are referred to as the “Fun Ships,”
as evidenced by this
80’s vintage commercial with Kathie Lee Gifford I found on YouTube. (I still think it’s a pretty catchy tune, by the way.) The
loyalty program refers to past guests as “VIFP,” for “Very Important Fun
Person.” One of Carnival’s signature drinks is “The Fun Ship.” Their onboard
daily newsletter is called the “Fun Times.” Sea days on a given itinerary are
called a “Fun Day at Sea.” And the best part? I pretty much agree with their
philosophy.
Cindy and I have cruised on only
one other cruise line besides Carnival. There’s no need to mention the name
here, as they are a good cruise line as well. The food was wonderful, the staff
gracious and helpful and the ship was clean and in good condition. They just
weren’t as fun as Carnival, at least not to me. Yeah, I know, “different
clientele,” and all that, but fun is fun, right? Don’t get me wrong, we did have fun on the other line, just not
the same type of fun as we routinely have on Carnival.
Leaving out of Galveston, you can
expect to have at least one sea day, if not two, before reaching any ports,
depending upon the itinerary. As with any cruise, port days and sea days have
their unique qualities. Sea days will normally have more organized activities
on deck, and you can sleep a little later in the morning. Port days generally
mean getting up a little earlier to go on an excursion. The ship is much less
crowded on port days, and even the popular eating venues will have shorter
lines. I honestly can’t say that I have a favorite between the two. I enjoy sea
days every bit as much as I enjoy port days.
Taken from the aft Lido deck
We have our routine down quite
well now. On our first sea day, and sometimes on our second sea day, we’ll have
room service deliver coffee and pastries to our cabin. While we make it a point
to NOT wake up early, we also don’t want to sleep half our day away. We’ll set
an alarm for around 8 or 9, depending on when we go to bed. Carnival provides
these room service cards that one can fill out and hang on their door knob
before retiring for the night. There’s a place to designate delivery time for
your continental breakfast. I’ll set the alarm for about 15 minutes earlier
than the delivery time, as sometimes they are early. It’s a bummer when you
hear a knock at the door and have to scramble to get dressed in a hurry just so
you won’t keep the room service person waiting too long. Breakfast in bed sets
the stage for full vacation mode.
This morning room service was
right on time and we enjoyed coffee and a couple of muffins while watching the
map screen on the TV. That’s another thing I’m particular about. While the
cabin TV carries many regular network channels, I make it a point to NOT watch
any network TV. I don’t buy an internet package, either. I want to be as
unplugged as I possibly can be. Besides the network channels, Carnival also
provides several of their own channels, including a constantly updated map
location (with outside weather) as well as a front view camera and Lido camera.
I’ll rotate between those three pretty much exclusively.
After a leisurely breakfast
snack, we headed up to the Lido buffet to look for Barbara and Keith. We found
them easily enough and joined them at their table while they finished their
breakfast. The weather on this whole cruise was fantastic, so after looking
over the Fun Times for the day, we decided to go back to our cabins and change
into swimwear to hang out on Lido. You’ll see in this blog, and subsequent
blogs, how we’ll be in and out the cabin multiple times per day. That’s one of
the reasons we book the less expensive interior cabins….we’re hardly ever
there.
We chose the aft pool this time,
as it was less crowded than the midships pool. The aft pool is a bit more
“sedate” than the midships pool as well, so this was the best location for us
for now. I’ve spent almost my whole life on the Texas Gulf coast, and being
fair skinned I know how critical sunscreen is for me. My late brother could
spend hours in the sun and develop a nice, dark tan. After half an hour in the
sun I’ll end up sunburned if I don’t have adequate coverage. I can tan,
gradually, but I have to be very careful doing this. You can probably see where
this is going, right?
Aft Lido pool
Sure enough, after spending time
in and out of the pool, and in the sun, I didn’t reapply my sunscreen as I
should have. I thought about it from time to time, but inevitably one of the
Lido bar staff would walk by and I’d order a refreshing beverage for either
Cindy or me. When my shoulders started feeling a bit warm, I knew it was going
to be too late. I got confirmation of this when some nice gentleman in a Green
Bay Packers t-shirt offered me some sunscreen. “Sir, it looks like you need
some sunscreen. I have some if you need it.” Uh ohhhh…
Actually, it wasn’t too bad. We
always bring some aloe after sun, and I used this aggressively over the next
few days. We’ll just call it a “near miss” and use it as a reminder to
frequently reapply sunscreen…..as I already know I should (and still ignore form time to time). We just
moved into the shade and started to consider what we wanted for lunch. Both of
my preferred places, Guy’s Burgers and the Blue Iguana were packed, as was the
pizza place. We could’ve gone down to deck 5 for the “Seaside BBQ” on the
Lanai, but that would mean giving up our prime shady spots. Hhhhmmmm…..what to
do? I guess it’s back to the Tandoor Grill for a bite to eat.
We hung out on Lido for another
couple of hours after lunch, taking the occasional dip in the pool, before
heading back to the cabin to shower and freshen up. Usually, the first formal
night falls on the first sea day, and this was no exception. Dinner was still a
few hours away, so we spent some time on Promenade deck (deck 5) exploring and
having a drink at the RFP. It’s amazing how quickly time passes on the ship! By
my calculation, time doubles when cruising, compared to work. Maybe it’s just
me, but my guess is others are affected by this quantum shift in time as well.
Cindy and I always enjoy eating
at a large table so we can meet new people. I’m glad that Keith and Barbara are
the same way. We were originally assigned to a table for four, so after dinner
the first night, we spoke to the Maitre ‘d about switching to a larger table.
Thankfully he was able to do this for us, and our new table was a 10-top, with
a great view out the back. We met our new tablemates and immediately knew it was
going to be a fun table. As soon as I saw the menu selections, especially the
appetizer, I knew it was going to be good! Aren’t they all, though? From
previous cruises, I learned to order TWO servings of the appetizer, as it is
one of my faves.
Appetizer: Tart with braised kale, blackened pork tenderloin and citrus cream – DIVINE
Main: Spaghetti carbonara – rich and creamy
Dessert: Rainbow
sherbet – light and refreshing
Another Carnival tradition is on
that first formal night, the senior ship’s officers will be on Promenade deck
to meet the passengers and pose for photos. This was Barbara’s first time
sailing with Carnival, and I encouraged her and Keith to pose with Captain
Alcara. I think she enjoyed meeting the Captain.
Keith, Captain Alcara & Barbara
I mentioned earlier how we are
always in and out of our cabin. Some people prefer to stay dressed in their
formal clothes after dinner, but we prefer more comfortable wear. We quickly
changed out of our formal clothes and into our “comfy clothes” for the rest of
the evening. Besides, we’ll need our formal clothes once more this cruise, and
I don’t want mine to be overly wrinkled, or spill a drink or food on them.
Remember me writing about the fun
in Fun Ship? Carnival has two comedians on the ship at a time, switching them
mid cruise. They do both a family show and an adults only show. The family show
is definitely family friendly and the adults only show is clearly indicated as
appropriate for adults only. This is mentioned not only in the Fun Times, but
is emphasized by the Comedy Club manager prior to the comedian performing. It
amazes me how some people will complain about the language during the adults
only shows. Really? Seriously? What part of “adults only” do you not
understand? We listened to Mark
Sweeney’s family show and enjoyed it.
After Mark’s show, naturally the
next place to go was the piano bar. This is a favorite nighttime hangout for Cindy
and me, especially when the Piano Bar Entertainer (“PBE”) is good. Admittedly,
my absolute favorite PBE is Ben Gentry.
He’s a phenomenal entertainer, and always packs the piano bar. He even provides
props and different hats for everyone to use. Check out this YouTube video of Ben in
action. This is pretty typical of what he does in the piano bar. He even makes
getting a tip entertaining. Some people say they would book a cruise for a
specific cruise director. Cindy and I would book a cruise, if feasible, if Ben
was the PBE.
That being said, though, we found
another PBE on this cruise who’s every bit as entertaining as Ben. This was our
first experience with Christine
Hetfield, and it was fan-freakin-tastic! Christine? Who the #@%& is Christine?? Some will get this, others won't. I'll just let y'all find out on your own. Trust me, it'll be worth it. She’s definitely talented and I
can tell we’ll spend lots of time in the piano bar if she’s there. Not only
does Christine play the piano, but plays the violin as well. We've enjoyed other PBEs on the ships as well, but in my very humble opinion, Ben and Christine are tops for me.
Multi-talented Christine
We hung out in a packed piano bar
until almost midnight then decided to call it a day. Tomorrow’s breakfast will
be brunch in the MDR.
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