CARNIVAL FANTASY - FIRST DAY AT SEA

FIRST DAY AT SEA: Woke up. I sleep my best on cruises. I don't know if it's the movement of the boat or that there's no schedule to keep, all the junk in my head goingon, having to switch the laundry, clean this, clean that, work, etc, etc. The stuff of life slows way down or goes away for just a few days.  Kev went to take pictures of the sunrise and make new friends. I like to sleep past 6:15 on vacation so I turned my alarms off and rolled over as Kev left the room.

HERE IT COMES

YOU CAN JUST SEE IT

ALMOST...

AND IT'S UP, LET'S START THE DAY!

He came back from his morning walk. I dressed and we went to breakfast. We love to sit at the back of the boat and watch the ocean especially when we're at sea because it's so peaceful. We've never eaten in the dining room at breakfast. We plan to try that, one morning on this cruise. 

After breakfast we found a seat. One with an umbrella. I brought a small black umbrella just in case. I didn't want to get overheated. Been there done that. I started making notes for my Blogs of this trip. Kev always brings books he wants to read. We are also people watchers. I love to see ladies outfits.

Could Rain be coming...not on vacation

Kev loves to read in the sun

Most of the day is spent watching the water, drinking iced tea and a nap here and there. Did I mention I love cruising.

Met Arielle and Jaron for lunch then back to my umbrella and ocean.

About 6:00 we got a piece of pizza then we made an ice cream cone. It's fun to watch people make their own cones. On a couple of our cruises we sat and graded the people making cones. You can tell those that worked at Dairy Queen, McDonalds or had an ice cream machine at college. There's are always beautiful. Everyone else's are can I say, "works of art". Once we saw a kid probably 10. He made a small cone walked off came back made another small cone and then again. Okay we had to ask, "Are all those for you?" He said, "Yes, I make one eat it while I walk around the ship and then come back." Pretty smart walk off what you're eating before getting another. We sat and ate ours. After all we were on vacation.

Time for a nap. Our dinner time is 8:15pm.

Nothing could be better...cool room, nap time and my favorite cartoon
LIFE IS GOOD!

I love to dress up for dinner. As a kid, I was a tomboy, but after I got my first pair of stilettos, that changed. I love to dress up. Kev, not so much but he will do it for me.

Dinner on a Cruise

Have a Blessed Day,
Mama D

Genesis 1:1-3 (NIRV)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth didn't have any shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. God said, "Let there be light." And there was light.

"And God saw that the light was good"

CARNIVAL FANTASY: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

Charleston is a beautiful place. As a former architectural draftsman I love the homes and buildings. They are amazing. As we drove around we saw areas that reminded us of Richmond and New Orleans. The painted ladies reminded us of San Francisco. But Charleston I would say is a place to see, for itself even if you haven't been to Richmond, New Orleans or San Francisco.  Because Charleston has spanish moss. Its like taking areas from other places and kicking them up a notch. I love spanish moss. Charleston was where we met our ship, now it will have to be a vacation of its own one day!

And so the next phase of our adventure began, we drove around the town and found the Cruise Terminal. Drove around some more and found the best way from the hotel. We planned to leave the car at the terminal for the week. If you know someone that lives near the terminal or you are coming from the airport there's a separate line for you and your luggage to be dropped off.

The next morning we saw signs that read "Cruise Traffic" that weren't there the day before. We had our cruise papers ready, well after Jaron jumped out and got our backpack out of the back of the truck. Best laid plans sometimes have a few glitches.

There's the ship! Look close.

Like I've told my husband for years, vacation starts when work ends. He used to think vacation started when we got to our destination. That made for a stressful day of packing and travel. Now that it's all part of vacation it allows us to roll with the punches. (This took years of saying, "We're on vacation. It's okay!")

So when we realized the papers when in the back - we all laughed. Jaron jumped out and got the back pack and we were back on course.

As we were going along the path created with orange cones, one lady was all business, no smile, no chit chat, just here's your information. That's okay, she wasn't ugly. She was doing her job, and she kept the line moving.

The four of us were discussing if we were in the correct line to leave our truck. Kev asked the next person which made sure we were in the correct line. The truck was going to be parked in a huge building for the week. Now that was reassuring. Not that we were going to leave anything valuable in the truck but it was still reassuring.

Another person told us where to drop off our luggage before getting to the building. We dropped our luggage off at a tent. Kev and Jaron got out to unload the luggage. If you read my"Vacation Packing Checklist" Blog you know we had TRAVEL BAGS and CRUISE BAGS". This is where the guys had organized the back of the truck and knew where the CRUISE BAGS were. You may have heard, "Too many cooks in the kitchen ..." Well, in my opinion, too many people packing and unpacking a vehicle can cause much stress. Maybe in your family the wife likes to do the packing and unpacking of the vehicle "That's Okay". In my family, we let the men do it.

When we got to the building there was a person to show us where to park. We got out, took our carryon bags and papers then proceeded to the terminal. We talked to people along the way. (Because That is the Moen way! "There are no strangers, only friends we haven't met yet!" That took this shy girl from the county years to learn.)

Some groups had matching T-shirts. I loved the Bridal party that had black shirts with rhinestone words that read "Bride's Entourage". Arielle is not fond of matching T-Shirts, but I love them.

It was amazing how fast the line went.

CRUISE TIP: When two couples are traveling together - when you get to the end of the line in the terminal and the person asks, "How many in your party?"  tell him two. Unless of course, you live at the same address. This will get you out at about the same time.

The person at the checkin took our papers, looked to see if we checked that we had a runny nose, scratchy throat in the last few days. Our daughter marked yes. Ragweed had bloomed and her allergies had gone crazy. The lady behind the desk walked away. When she came back she said allergies don't count. She took our pictures for our Sail and Sign cards then sent us on our way.

After leaving the checkin we were directed to the gangway. We walked up and around., we passed a few people that had stopped for a minute. And then, There it was CARNIVAL FANTASY! I love a cruise!

 We put our  "Sail and Sign" card into the machine. We took off our hats and sunglasses. The crew member checked to make sure we matched the picture on the card and we were on. Next step put our carryon through an X-ray machine. Our water was checked very closely. We learned later that water bottles may not be allowed much longer - the tea drinker that I am never thought about putting something stronger in my water bottles. That's okay, I can take or buy a cup w/ a lid to put water in to carry with me.

We were cleared! Now we were free to explore the ship. Lunch was ready on the Lido deck. But first we wanted to see if our rooms were ready.

One of my first jobs was working at Fort Caswell Baptist Assembly, in North Carolina. I cleaned the  Driftwood Hotel, and worked in the kitchen and the Drift Inn store. Knowing just a few hours ago this ship was full of other guests amazes me how quickly they can roll over the ship.

Because we were told our room would be ready by 1:30 and it was close to that, we went to check on our rooms. They were ready and we put our carryon luggage down and proceeded to the Lido Deck.

We ate our lunch. I may have been on vacation but I decided not to blow the eating plan completely. I made a salad and had chicken. Most of the potions on the ship were small. So to get a dessert on the Lido Deck is not like an eighth of a cake it a small square, there's jello squares, tiny cupcakes, etc. There small but you can have whatever you want. And of course, ice cream all the time.

We sat on the outside deck. A man several tables down started to feed the sea gulls. Arielle said loud enough for him to hear her. PLEASE DON'T! WE ARE TRYING TO EAT AND IF YOU FEED THAT ONE IT WON'T BE LONG BEFORE 50 SHOW UP! He was kind enough to stop.

He looks so sweet but.....Please don't feed the seagulls!

After we finished lunch we took our plates in. You can leave them on the table, a crewman will clean it up shortly but that wouldn't' have been fair to those coming out after us. Seagulls are not a problem once out to sea, just at the ports. If you don't want to clean off your table, lay the cloth napkin over the leftovers. This may not stop them but it will delay the inevitable.

Next was the Emergency Evacuation Meeting at our  muster station. The "Sail and Sign" cards had our location on them. This is mandatory. It is also reassuring to those like me that love the water but can't swim well. Its good to know they have a plan. Several people showed how the life vests worked. Then we went to where our life boat was. Soon a horn blew and we were on our way.

Lastly, one of our favorite things is going to the front and watching the ship leave the port. For someone that's not a great swimmer, I do LOVE a Cruise!

This was from a cruise where we had a balcony.

Have a Blessed Day,
Mama D

Hebrews 4:10 (NIRV)
God rested from His work. Those who enjoy God's rest also rest from their work.

Vacation Packing Checklist

THE WEEK BEFORE VACATION

The week before vacation: start pulling clothes from the closet and the clothes basket. This can be a chair or an open suitcase. 

I like to make a list of each day. I've looked at the lists on Pinterest. They are a good starting point. I give each day a label, this helps me make my plan:

                     - Travel Day

                     - Sightseeing Day

                     - Pool/ or Beach Day

I don't know about you but my husband says several times before the trip, "I don't want to overpack this trip".

This is understandable because he is the one to carry, wheel, pack the car, unpack the car, wheel the suitcases into the hotel, airport, etc. So I try very hard to not overpack.

Pre Trip NIGHT: Thursday; Daughter's house (After work and stopping by church) - Sleep Clothes

DAY 1: Friday; TRAVEL DAY - Clothes to ride in   {Tooth brush, tooth paste, vitamins, make up, make up remover, deodorant, small bottle of polish remover, clear polish, SUNSCREEN, head bands, hair clamps, hat, whatever you use to put your hair up in the sun or wind, etc. THESE ARE FOR EACH DAY}

NIGHT 1: Friday night; HOTEL - Take in TRAVEL BAG - Sleep clothes (Clothes for hotels before and after cruise)

folding and stacking clothes to use from suitcase

DAY 2: Saturday, TRAVEL DAY - Clothes for the Cruise Port and the 1st day on the ship

Leave the travel bag in the vehicle and take the VACATION BAGS - Clothes for the cruise

NIGHT 2: Saturday; Dinner clothes for the Dining Room (Dressy)

DAY 3: Sunday: ALL DAY AT SEA - Bathing Suit, Cover up, Skort and Blouse, undies

NIGHT 3: Sunday: Dinner on the Cruise Ship (Dress Up Night) Back long dress, heels, jewelry   

using pants hanger for 5 outfits

attaching store hangers to one another

DAY 4: Skort and Blouse, undies, bathing suit
NIGHT 4: Monday: Dinner on the Cruise Ship (I like to dress up, no jeans) It is my opinion, if you don't want to dress up maybe eat somewhere besides the Dining room. Let's face it, it's getting harder and harder to go out to eat a nice dinner like on a date without someone sitting next to you in jeans. I know you have the right to wear jeans but why make everything in life that's affordable casual. Why can't some things that are affordable stay special. Not everyone can afford to go to $100.00 dinners. End of my rant.

DAY 5: EXCURSION DAY: Skort and tank top., undies, ( You may have noticed I don't wear shorts very often. I've noticed on me one side rides up and that makes me self conscience.) 

        We don't always take excursions but Kev found one in a glass bottom submarine. The brochure said approximately 2 hours. 

NIGHT 5: Dinner on the Cruise Ship- Cotton long dress, sandles, jewelry 

DAY 6: DAY AT PORT: Skort and TankTop SUNSCREEN!, Bathing suit and cover up, on the ship after going to shore for alittle shopping.

NIGHT 6: Dinner on Cruise Ship- Cotton long dress, jewelry 

DAY 7: DAY AT SEA: Bathing suit and cover up, Skort and blouse, undies, if raining or no sun

NIGHT 7: Dinner on the Cruise Ship, long cotton dress ( can wear one from another night)

           Pack up suit cases to put in the hall for pick up. Save clothes to wear tomorrow to get off the ship and travel. 

           Last time we caught a plane home so we chose to have our suitcases taken from the ship to the airport. We filled out the necessary form. We sat our suitcases outside our room and the next time we saw them was at the Richmond airport. That was cool!

DAY 8: TRAVEL DAY- Skort and Tank Top, undies - Pack up toiletries and anything  else that wasn't put in the bags last night. (we ended up buying a cheap beach bag to carry on shore and to carry souvenirs to car.)

NIGHT 8: HOTEL - Bathing suit, clothes for dinner, slacks and a pink blouse and pink and white long sleeve blouse, Sleep clothes, jewelry  

DAY 9: HOTEL - Reuse Skort with clean red, white and blue plaid blouse, bathing suit

NIGHT 9: Grey pants, teal blouse, sleep clothes

DAY 10: TRAVEL DAY: Skort and tank top, undies

HOME SWEET HOME: As good as Vacation is it's always good to get home!  

A FEW LAST MINUTE TIPS:

         1.) During your trip, if you will empty one suitcase into the drawers, use that suitcase for dirty clothes. This way when you get home that suitcase goes to the laundry room. I use most all my clothes at least once so the ones that don't stink or have a stain on them stay in the clean pile until I get home. 

         2) When we go to the beach for a few days or a week we will stay in a house with a washing machine. I take the laundry sheets or pods and wash them before I leave.