ALL FOR FUN; FUN FOR ALL: CRUISE 1

Posted by Jessica Passman ,
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Coming from the lost world under the sea, Andres and I decided to voyage from a different standpoint-- Over it.

We booked our first cruise during a week in June of 2009 between breaks in school.

Before ever sailing the seas, I find it safe to say that everyone has some sort of apprehension in regards to sea-sickeness, claustrophobia, or checking in with family and friends back at home. After multiple cruises, I have found ways to ward off all anxiety and put forth the real meaning of "Feeling hot, hot, hot."

 After mulling over different cruise sites, I found VacationsToGo to be the most helpful regarding my needs. Booking with a travel agent on this particular website, allows you to bargain prices, inquire about on-board credit, and even warrants you for free upgrades. 

Vacations To Go- Cruising

 When booking a cruise, keep a few things in mind:

1. The time of the year in which you are traveling. Summer, Spring breaks, and New Year's cruises are generally the most pricey. Random weeks during January or February always tend to offer better deals because the weather is colder, even in the Caribbean. Thanksgiving cruises are always the cheapest. 
2. Deals are always offered. Make sure to inquire if you are a veteran or senior of 55+. Depending what state you are residing in, there are usually resident deals for a lot of the cruises.
3. On-board Credit. Always, always ask your travel agent about free on-board credit. Depending on the cruise and time of the year, VacationsToGo can offer up to a few hundred dollars for you to spend at your own leisure aboard the cruise. Tip: Upon receiving your on-board credit, make sure to have some sort of documented verification. Upon our last cruise, it was never written on paper and we had a hard time contacting our travel agent from the ship.
4. Bring your own alcohol. You are entitled to bring one bottle of wine or champagne in your luggage, however, hypothetically speaking, there are tricks to the trade. You could try simply wrapping a bottle of vodka inside your clothes at the bottom of your suitcase. Transferring your liquor into a mouthwash bottle could do the trick as well. A little green or blue food coloring would guarantee no issues. Liquor aboard the ship is extremely expensive, and bringing your own could save you a lot of money. Only one time did our bottle get caught upon bag search, and was confiscated until the end of the vacation. It was well worth the risk! 
5. Take out more cash than you need before your vacation. On-board ATM fees are extremely expensive and you do not not want to prohibit yourself to any activities both on and off ship.
6. Look into Motion Sickness Bracelets. They are tiny gray bracelets that you wear on both wrists with a ball on each cuff sticking into your vein. The pressure point triggers the vein in which causes motion sickness (acupuncture.) You can wear them your entire cruise, even in the water. I much prefer wearing the bracelets over taking Dramamine or wearing the ear patches-- no medication is involved. (Bracelets cost around 10 dollars. Put them on before the ship sails.)
7. If you are claustrophobic, I highly urge you to spend a little more money for an ocean-vew cabin. In the inside cabins, there are no windows facing the ocean and no light coming through. You would need to schedule a phone-call from the lobby to be woken up at a certain time. Outside cabins provide one with a beautiful view of the ocean and plenty of light to know when morning has come. Balcony rooms are typically the most expensive rooms. They have a beautiful balcony at the back of your room facing the ocean, allowing you to order in breakfast and watch the sun rise from the comfort of your own room.



 Here is a photograph of Andres and I aboard Carnival Liberty. The color-changing chandelier always makes a great photo-opt. Usually, about 2 nights out of the week is formal dinner. Men must be dressed with a jacket and nice slacks, and women in a nice dress or pants-suit. During the Captains Dinner, unlimited lobster is served. Upon booking your cruise, you will be asked if you want early or late dinner. Even though we are late-eaters, I highly recommend doing early dinner, considering most of the adult comedy and game shows are at night, and we found that it was interfering with late dinner. Upon most of the cruise lines, same-seating arrangements are required for dinner. Instead of being seated at a two-seater alone, Andres and I always requested to eat with a large group, in order to meet people. Tip: Have the chocolate molten cake every night of your stay.



 Even though the cruise says to originally board around 4 o clock, you can actually get there around lunch-time. Food is already served and music is playing. People are already there dancing and having a good time. Alcohol and casino games are not available until around 30 minutes after the ship has sailed away. Here is a photograph of our ship before we sailed away from Miami. Carnival cruises always encourage their audiences to get up, dance, and participate in the ship's activities. The floor levels are broken up into three different teams: The blue, white, and the red. Throughout your entire vacation, points are awarded throughout game shows and contests and it is always family-fun to participate in the on-going competition, until on the last day, one team is awarded winner. 




 Here are photographs of Miami Beach, Florida. I resided in Boca Raton, Florida my entire life, and have always taken for granted this spectacular scene just 45 minutes from my house. It costed me a cruise to appreciate my hometown.



 Here is a picture of Andres and I leaving the port of Miami. (30 minutes must have been up, considering drinks were already in hand.) Cash is not used aboard the ship; you are provided a card before boarding and must fill the card with money. Tip: Put more money on the card then you think you will need, because the lines to refill your card at customer service are always long and stressful. You can cash out whatever money is left on the card anytime you wish to.



 Here is a photograph of Andres and I on the ship. Do not let the slide in the background deceive you; I do not encourage families with children to sail with Carnival. Carnival cruise lines have the reputation of being the "Party-Cruise" and do not cater to children's needs. There are no kid-pools or many children activities. Carnival cruise lines are for ages 18-anyone that enjoys a good time. 



 A nice shot of the lobby. There are elevators, as well as stairs, so elderly and handicap should not worry.




Here is Andres standing on the stairwell leading to the bar in the lobby. Drinks range from 7 dollars+. If you are going to purchase one beer, it will save you a couple bucks to buy the bucket of four. 



 Have anxiety about missing a game? Worry no longer! Here is Andres catching up on a soccer game at the sport's bar aboard ship.



 Another nice photograph displaying the ships different levels. There are around 12 floors on the cruise. 

 Fun-Facts: Passenger capacity -2,974 Total Crew -1,160
Officer's nationality - Italian
Ship Size - Large
Tonnage - 110,000
Ship Length -952 feet
Registry - Panama


Here is a photograph of the Venetian Palace. The two-level seating seats a very large audience. Family shows are held during the day, while adult shows are held at night. Tip: Some of the must-see shows are Hypnosis, Adult Hypnosis,  Adult Comedy, Marital Game Show, (any kind of) Trivia, Magic, Battle of the Sexes, and the Quest. Itineraries are available in the lobby providing a list of shows and times.


Here I am participating in a movie game-show. I was asked questions such as theme songs and character names. I ended up winning a mini-cruise trophy and points added to my team color. 


Here is Andres (in the middle) also participating in a different game show. He ended up winning a trophy as well and more points added to our team.


Here is Andres standing in my favorite part of the whole ship. It is a long corridor with color-changing chandeliers and large windows to look out and view the ocean. To the left, is a bar and casino-- areas in which we have become familiarized with throughout our stay. 



Here are some fun-featured daily activities aboard the ship. Mini-golf, basketball, racquetball, chess, and pingpong are some of the games in which you can participate in during your stay.


The casino is where the magic happened. The automated poker-table formed both money and friendships, as every night, we would encounter the same group of people to meet up and play together. After 7 days on the same ship at the same table with the same faces, we all became a little family. However, we were not that close or friendly enough to take each other's money! I won over 700 dollars in one hand. We eventually all starting eating together and participating in activities together.


From left to right, here are Leanne, Steven, Andres, me, Jason, Caitie, Jody, and Larry at the late-night comedy show. 


Here is the group, now with Hans and Ali, at one of our many poker games. Notice me to the right with my bottle of wine. 


Here is the group again, now with Holly and Corey, at a show called the Quest. This is a Rated-R show and instantly became a group favorite. I highly recommend participating, only if you are not easily offended under any circumstances.


For example, here is Holly and Corey during the Quest. Throughout the game show, the first team to participate in something outrageous wins points. We just won points here for having the first boy and girl team members to switch clothes on the spot. Winner of the game-show wins champagne bottles. I did not win my first Quest until my third cruise once I had mastered it.


Here are some of our group members on the top deck at night. We were playing some drinking games. On the top deck, an unlimited pizza bar is located offering pizza 247. It was nice to look out the window at the black sea, knowing that you are in the middle of the oceans, hundreds of miles from home.

In the end, Andres and I had managed to conquer another successful vacation together, learning new things along the way, and forming new, lasting friendships. I never ended up getting sea-sick, and I ended up checking-up on family on shore. Internet is provided, however, over 6 dollars a minute, are Facebook status updates really worth it? Many of the destination stops along the way offer free internet, where one can easily log on and send or receive an any emails. I have danced a mile-long conga line, drank pina coladas and ate chocolate molten cake for a week straight, and I have had the opportunity to explore crystal clear waters and white sand with enjoyable company.

What bucket list?


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