Mark decided to surprise me with our celebration of our 20th Anniversary - we decided to go on a Carnival Cruise to Key West and The Bahamas since Betsy had never been to Florida and neither of us had been to The Bahamas. This was the first time Mark or I would be on a cruise. Very exciting but also a little nerve racking since Mark gets motion sickness so severely.
At first it didn't seem very real, but as the days got closer and as I started to make alternative plans for the kids - arranging transportation, menus etc… plus the thought of being away on a cruise to two beautiful and tropical destinations - I really started to get excited.
We decided to let Jessica take care of the other kids - this was a big leap of faith. She's just 18+, but very responsible and already knows our family expectations. Betsy prepared time schedules, menus and purchased all the food they'd need (except milk and fresh fruit) to prepare for while we would be gone. Okay - everything that needs to be done ahead of time is done - it's time to go.
Mark and I drove from Louisville to Jacksonville, FL in one day (12.5 hours). We found a nice hotel for the night. Check in for the cruise is between 12:00 - 2:30 p.m. so we had a leisurely breakfast and toured the Riverfront area of Jacksonville before reporting to the boat. The lines were outrageous and the wait long, but it was all worth it when we boarded the ship, found our lovely cabin and finally accepted reality that we were going on our first cruise together.
The ship was supposed to depart at 4:00, but it actually didn't leave the harbor until 5:15…we didn't mind because that gave us plenty of time to tour around the boat and explore our new home for the next five days. Once on board we changed into our swimsuits and found comfortable lounge chairs on the very top deck (12) and soaked up the suns rays, watched dolphins play near the boat and got used to the sway of the boat.
Our cabin was on the Upper deck (6) with a port hole window. It was very conveniently located to the main stairs and elevators. We always took the stairs - we never wanted to wait for the elevators plus we could use all the exercise we could get. The cabin itself is very nice but also small, resembling a college dorm room. It fit two twin beds (that had been made into a king size bed), a desk, dorm-style closet doors and two small chairs. There was a TV mounted on the wall opposite the bed. The bathroom was extremely small and made so that water was contained (I guess for the what-if situation). Even with the room being small, it didn't matter because we knew we didn't plan on being in the room much (or at all) during the day - that we would be out busy exploring the ship or enjoying one of it's many amenities. The ship had dining areas, most on the Lido (10) deck, but the formal dining rooms were on Deck 8. The ship also had a spa, workout room, jogging track, miniature golf course, pool, several hot tubs, three water slides, two show rooms, a comedy club, casino, and several bar/lounges for dancing or singing. I'm sure it had more that I just can't think of at the moment.
We enjoyed the top deck of the ship the most. We would go to the back of the boat where the slides were so we could cool off whenever we wanted. We found it strange that the boat only had one very small pool for the 2000+ passengers on board.
There weren't many people up top when we departed the harbor. Probably because they had early dining or were gambling in the casino. Mark and I had late dining at 8:15 pm every night in the Sensation Dining Room. We were matched up with a couple also from Louisville and a couple from Jacksonville FL.
This is the view as we left the harbor.
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| The pool area |
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| view from the balcony off the back of the deck |
Tuesday was our first full day on the boat, and it was considered a SEA Day, meaning the entire day is spent at sail . Mark and I had a fantastic day enjoying the beautiful sunshine, fun slides, cool water and company of each other.
We also enjoyed a fun game of miniature golf. The group that was playing one round before us was very slow - we eventually passed them and then came back to the hole we missed. Betsy started off with the lead, but Mark made a good come while Betsy's ball fell victim to the wind on the top deck.
For the most part, the ship is continuously in casual attire. As you go about the boat you see people in anything from swimsuits, to leisure attire, to sundresses or semiformal/business apparel.
Mark and I made it a point to work out every day, usually in the morning. Betsy would run 2-3 miles on the jogging track (very top of the ship) while Mark would do a workout in the gym. Betsy would join Mark after her run. Then we would enjoy a delicious omelet breakfast/brunch. The ship offered food round the clock - it's crazy the amount of food offered. We then would enjoy the afternoon sunning on the back top deck near the slides. We would stay there for several hours just enjoying the time together. Around 6:00/6:30 we would head in to clean up and prepare for dinner. Our dinner was at 8:15 every night in the formal dining room. Although you didn't have to dress up Mark and I would at least dress in dressy/casual attire. It just felt nice. The evenings were spent almost the same way every night. We'd start out being entertained in the Karaoke bar, then head to the "Diamonds are Forever" club where they played 70's and 80's music. Betsy had a blast dancing to the tunes of her time! It was so nice to have a place to dance without a ton of smoke.
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| 20 years and still in love! |
Mark decided to surprise me with our celebration of our 20th Anniversary - we decided to go on a Carnival Cruise to Key West and The Bahamas since Betsy had never been to Florida and neither of us had been to The Bahamas. This was the first time Mark or I would be on a cruise. Very exciting but also a little nerve racking since Mark gets motion sickness so severely. 
We decided to let Jessica take care of the other kids - this was a big leap of faith. She's just 18+, but very responsible and already knows our family expectations. Betsy prepared time schedules, menus and purchased all the food they'd need (except milk and fresh fruit) to prepare for while we would be gone. Okay - everything that needs to be done ahead of time is done - it's time to go.
Mark and I drove from Louisville to Jacksonville, FL in one day (12.5 hours). We found a nice hotel for the night. Check in for the cruise is between 12:00 - 2:30 p.m. so we had a leisurely breakfast and toured the Riverfront area of Jacksonville before reporting to the boat. The lines were outrageous and the wait long, but it was all worth it when we boarded the ship, found our lovely cabin and finally accepted reality that we were going on our first cruise together. 
Our cabin was on the Upper deck (6) with a port hole window. It was very conveniently located to the main stairs and elevators. We always took the stairs - we never wanted to wait for the elevators plus we could use all the exercise we could get. The cabin itself is very nice but also small, resembling a college dorm room. It fit two twin beds (that had been made into a king size bed), a desk, dorm-style closet doors and two small chairs. There was a TV mounted on the wall opposite the bed. The bathroom was extremely small and made so that water was contained (I guess for the what-if situation). Even with the room being small, it didn't matter because we knew we didn't plan on being in the room much (or at all) during the day - that we would be out busy exploring the ship or enjoying one of it's many amenities. The ship had dining areas, most on the Lido (10) deck, but the formal dining rooms were on Deck 8. The ship also had a spa, workout room, jogging track, miniature golf course, pool, several hot tubs, three water slides, two show rooms, a comedy club, casino, and several bar/lounges for dancing or singing. I'm sure it had more that I just can't think of at the moment. 
There weren't many people up top when we departed the harbor. Probably because they had early dining or were gambling in the casino. Mark and I had late dining at 8:15 pm every night in the Sensation Dining Room. We were matched up with a couple also from Louisville and a couple from Jacksonville FL. 
This is the view as we left the harbor.
Tuesday was our first full day on the boat, and it was considered a SEA Day, meaning the entire day is spent at sail . Mark and I had a fantastic day enjoying the beautiful sunshine, fun slides, cool water and company of each other. 
We also enjoyed a fun game of miniature golf. The group that was playing one round before us was very slow - we eventually passed them and then came back to the hole we missed. Betsy started off with the lead, but Mark made a good come while Betsy's ball fell victim to the wind on the top deck. 
For the most part, the ship is continuously in casual attire. As you go about the boat you see people in anything from swimsuits, to leisure attire, to sundresses or semiformal/business apparel. 
Mark and I made it a point to work out every day, usually in the morning. Betsy would run 2-3 miles on the jogging track (very top of the ship) while Mark would do a workout in the gym. Betsy would join Mark after her run. Then we would enjoy a delicious omelet breakfast/brunch. The ship offered food round the clock - it's crazy the amount of food offered. We then would enjoy the afternoon sunning on the back top deck near the slides. We would stay there for several hours just enjoying the time together. Around 6:00/6:30 we would head in to clean up and prepare for dinner. Our dinner was at 8:15 every night in the formal dining room. Although you didn't have to dress up Mark and I would at least dress in dressy/casual attire. It just felt nice. The evenings were spent almost the same way every night. We'd start out being entertained in the Karaoke bar, then head to the "Diamonds are Forever" club where they played 70's and 80's music. Betsy had a blast dancing to the tunes of her time! It was so nice to have a place to dance without a ton of smoke. 
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