Tag: Caribbean

Aruba

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Before I started getting ready for our first dressy night of the cruise, I got the laundry sorted so the stewards could pick it up this evening. Free laundry is one of the best perks about being a 4-star HAL mariner.

Played some slots and then went to the main dining room. I expected to get another pager since the dining room is usually very busy on the dressy nights. However, we were escorted right to a table for two. We made it easy on the waiter. Chuck and I each had the crab and avocado dip, the tomato and carrot soup, and the sole. Excellent dinner.

I was surprised we were able to get a seat at the comedy show of Sean Kent. When the comedy shows are held in the BB King lounge, most all seats are taken. Tonight, the staff had to bring in more chairs to set up on the dance floor. We were able to get one of those seats. Not as comfortable as the regular lounge chairs but the show is only 45 minutes. He had some good jokes. Little more risqué than most HAL shows.

Went to Cantare’s show at the main stage. The organization has been with HAL for 10 years. The show consists of 4 men who perform a variety of songs with no back-up band. Each group of men we have ever seen always harmonize well. Tonight, was no exception.

Once it was over, we called it a night. Came back to our cabin to find the dreaded “clocks move forward one hour tonight” notice. We are getting a jump on daylight savings time.

Since I didn’t wake up until 8:00, I went to the Crow’s Nest to pick up the coffee instead of the Dutch Cafe. It was much less crowded than the DC. They even had plenty of large To Go cups. The main dining room closes at 9:00 for breakfast on port days and we got in about 8:50.

Once breakfast was finished, I went to the Future Cruise desk to see if I could get a printout of one of the cruises I saw in the presentation. Lots of printouts available for Caribbean and Alaska cruises but not the one I was wanting. Decided I will have to sign up for an appointment with the consultants.

Went to Shore Excursions desk to check on our excursion in St Marteen that had disappeared off my list in the Navigator app. It was what I had feared- canceled. The usual explanation – “operational reasons” – a catch-all phrase that could mean anything from not enough interest from the passengers to the tour operator went out of business. I usually get an email when that happens but not this time – just the disappearance from the app. The attendant said he thought it would be refunded during the next leg of this cruise. We’ll see.

Also, the Barbados tour is still listed. I’ll have to keep checking to be sure it gets refunded since I did get notified that the port has been cancelled. My email said that any excursion for this port would automatically be cancelled and refunded but it obviously has not been. Annoying.

We walked 1.5 miles on the Promenade deck and then played some slots. When we got back, the stewards had finished the room and left us a towel animal and chocolate. They usually are delivered on dressy nights. Better late than never.

I’m frustrated with my laptop. I can’t get any of my Office apps to sync. The error message is vague and unhelpful. But the bottom line is that I can’t go back and forth between my phone and laptop when using the apps. I’ll try to see if I can work on it when we get back to Ft Lauderdale and I can use my phone as a hotspot.

We docked early in Aruba and people were able to get off at 1:30 instead of 2:00. Nobody needed to be in a rush because all aboard time is 11:30 pm. Most rushed out anyway.

Our view today of Aruba from the balcony:

We’ve been here several times – walked around the port area, been snorkeling, and taken an island tour on a Segway. Today, we opted to stay on board and relax, spending the day in the relatively empty Sea View pool.

Previous Aruba visits:

One example of beautiful city artwork
Fort Zoutman
California Lighthouse

One thing I discovered today was that their blended juices are included in the drink package. I had the carrot, apple, and parsley blend. Excellent. I plan to try them all before the cruise is over.

It was soon time to get ready for our dinner at the Tamarind.

Travel Trivia

Oranjestad, Aruba

Alonso de Ojeda became the first European to land on the island in 1499.

Aruba was declared a useless island because of its absence of natural resources, including precious metals.

Fort Zoutman is Aruba’s oldest building. It was built in 1798 to protect Oranjestad from pirates.

Oranjestad became the capital city of the island in 1824. It was named after the first King William I of the Netherlands.

The oil industry discovered Aruba in 1924. 

Eighteen percent of Aruba’s land area lies within Arikok National Park.

Every year in June, Aruba hosts the Hi-Winds Amateur World Challenge windsurfing tournament.

Flamingoes can be seen on the island. However, they are not native to Aruba.

*Trivia provided by Wikipedia

Sea Day #1

Friday, March 10, 2023

I had resigned myself to having to stand in the Guest Services line to find out the details of our vow renewal. But before we left the room this evening, Arnold, the event planner, called me. He asked a few questions and then said that he would talk with the Captain and get back to me on the day and time. Would probably be a sea day in the evening. Works for us.

Played some slots and blackjack before attending the Mariner reception at 7:00. On other ships, it has been held in Crow’s Nest. Tonight, it was held by the pool in the Lido area. Three, four, five and President Club members receive invitations for this reception, and you are supposed to show your invitation or keycard to enter. In truth, nobody was checking either the invitation or keycard so you could just walk right through the area and enjoy the wine being served.

After the reception we went to dinner. The dining room was very busy, so we had to get a pager and wait out in the lobby area. I wish they would copy Carnival’s app that allows you to request a table through the app and then get a message when the table is ready – no matter where you are on the ship. Beats standing around in the lobby.

Eventually, we were escorted to a table in the upstairs dining room. That dining room is typically reserved for the early (5:00) and 8:00 (late) set dining people. I guess they had some empty tables because maybe people were eating in one of the upcharge restaurants that night.

I had the chicken and chorizo soup, and the Parmesan crusted chicken.

Chuck had the seafood deviled eggs, Boston lettuce salad, and salmon.

We had seen the Humanity show on the main stage, so we stopped to listen to the Rolling Stone Rock band before calling it an evening.

Woke up at a 7:00. Went back to the Dutch Cafe for coffee. They had already run out of large to go cups. Geez.

Gorgeous day today. Got an alert on the HAL Navigator app about not saving deck chairs. People get up early and throw a flip flop on a chair and then go about their business. When they come back, a few hours later, they expect the chair to still be ready for them. Rude.

We ate in the main dining room for breakfast again. Today we shared a table with two ladies from Canada. Nice conversation.

I then went to the Future Cruise presentation. Chuck had not yet decided about whether he was going to the Sea View pool or the Casino.

There were two cruises in 2025 I thought were interesting:

The Amazon Explorer – round trip Ft. Lauderdale – 28 days

Coral Triangle, Volcanos & Great Barrier Reef -roundtrip Singapore – 28 days

After the presentation, I decided to go to the Sea View deck for some sun. It was not to be. There was no seat to be had out there so I went up to the 10th deck.

The sun was so intense and there was no breeze that I only lasted an hour. Decided to spend the rest of afternoon in the shade on the balcony. That’s where Chuck found me after his session in the Casino.

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Didn’t really feel like getting dressed up for the main dining room. Instead, we ate in Lido as they were featuring their NY strip steak. I’m not doing well this trip with food photos, but the steaks were very good.

Played some slots and blackjack and then went to the main stage show Alans in Cahoots. We both thought it was a very good magic and mentalist show.

Afterwards the day had caught up with us and we called it a night.

Didn’t have a great night. Our lotion dispenser in the bathroom sprung a leak and dripped lotion all over one of the hand towels that was on the sink. Was a slippery surprise when I picked the towel up to dry my hands. Glad it hadn’t dripped on the floor as that would have caused a nasty fall.

In addition to that issue, Chuck knocked over both of his water cans during the night off of his bed side table. The carpet was damp. I understand not selling plastic water bottles anymore but I don’t understand why the drink package includes the water in cans but not the water in the aluminum bottles.

At 7:00, I went to the Crow’s Nest to get coffee which is what I typically do in the mornings on HAL ships. When I got there, I was surprised they weren’t open. I then looked at my information and discovered that the Dutch Café opened at 6:30 and was serving coffee. The Crow’s Nest would not open until 8:00.

The Dutch Cafe is only available on the three Pinnacle Class ships, so it was an honest mistake, but I should have checked my information instead of assuming I knew what I was doing.

We chose to eat breakfast in the main dining room and was seated at a table for 2 by a window. I like to eat here on a sea day or a port day if we have no plans. But if we have an excursion, we order room service or grab something in the Lido.

We are at Half Moon Cay today and the large tender boats started at 7:00. Slightly overcast day. HMC has a beautiful beach and we’ve been over there several times for snorkeling, parasailing (they don’t offer it anymore), and just sunning on the beach but we’ve opted to just enjoy the ship today while most people are over there. The island can get quite crowded when there is more than one Carnival Corporation ship here but today, we are the only one.

The day went by quickly. We walked a mile around ship on the outside Promenade deck. We spent a couple of hours at the pool and then a late lunch in Lido.

After lunch, we relaxed in the shade of our balcony until time to get ready for the evening.

Travel Trivia

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Carnival Corporation’s private island)

Located in the Bahamas approximately 100 miles southeast of Nassau.

The 2400-acre island official name is Little San Salvador.

It was purchased by Holland America (Carnival’s subsidiary line) in 1996 for $6 million. It was acquired by Carnival Corporation when the Corporation purchased the Holland American line.

It features a 2-mile-long stretch of a white sandy beach curved outwards on each end forming a half moon shape, hence its name.

It is a wild bird preserve designated by the Bahamian National Trust

*Travel trivia provided by Wikipedia

Embarkation Day!

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Slept soundly last night but had weird dreams. I blame it on the Philly cheesesteak.

Woke up to two notifications on my phone – Our state tax refund had been deposited. Yay! We have another medical bill to pay. Boo!

After eating the Hampton free breakfast, we took an UberXL to the port. We were assigned Group A for check-in which is supposed to be the earliest check-in group. We arrived at exactly the assigned time. On the last few cruises, except the South America one, the port made the cruisers who had arrived earlier than their appointed time wait outside until their check-in time. Not today. We entered the building to find a huge crowd of people already inside waiting. Wouldn’t be such chaos if people would do what they are supposed to do, and the port would enforce its own rules. Sigh.

Though the lines were long, we went through them pretty effortlessly until the scanning of the passports. Chuck’s passport wasn’t scanning correctly so we had to go to another section so it could be entered again. At that station, it scanned just fine. I don’t think the woman at the camera station was aligning it correctly.

We were then directed to the upstairs seating, but it was just as crowded as downstairs. Had to run the gauntlet of carry-ons to even find a seat. However, all in all, it took 25 minutes from the time we were dropped off until we could sit down. Not terrible.

The ship hadn’t started boarding yet. Other passengers said our boarding was delayed because of a medical emergency on board. Paramedics were there. Not sure if it was a passenger or crew member that needed the attention. Hope all turned out well.

Boarding started at 11:35. We went straight to our room and found we had no keys. An officer saw us standing there and went to track down our room steward. He brought the keys.

Once we opened the door, we found a tray of dirty dishes on the desk. We found the steward again and he removed it and sanitized the desktop. He apologized and said Room Service was supposed to have already come for the tray. Not the typical Holland America (HAL) experience. But, in their defense, it must be extremely hard to get all the cabins ready for occupants in 2 or 3 hours. The rest of the room was spotless.

We specifically asked for this cabin again since we liked it so much the first time. We will also have it on our upcoming cruise in the Fall.

We are also having some difficulty with Chuck’s account. He got stopped again at the ship entrance and had to show ID. His information is also not showing up on the electronic statement. I had to send a text message to Guest Services. Trying to avoid standing in the long line that has already formed. Will go tomorrow if needed.

For our anniversary, we’ll be doing a vow renewal on the cruise. HAL offers a nice package for this occasion and I was able to use HAL points to purchase it.

Our floral arrangement was in our room as promised. However, they had scheduled our complimentary Pinnacle Grill dinner for tonight at 5:00. Uh no. We didn’t want to get dressed up tonight and did not want to eat at 5:00. We got the reservation changed to March 12 at 7:00. I need to contact Guest Services to see when the actual ceremony will be.

Had lunch in the main dining room instead of battling the crowds in the Lido. The service takes longer but the lunch is relaxing. I had the roasted cauliflower and tomato bisque. I also had the half club sandwich and Chuck had the veal croquette. We had already inhaled them before I thought about a photo.

After lunch, we went to our muster station to check-in and then back to the room. We found that my suitcase had arrived but not Chuck’s suitcase. We know they were both loaded onto the same cart outside of the port. Disconcerting.

We relaxed on the balcony looking at the state park and the boats zipping back and forth until time for sail away.

Sail away on the Sea View deck was fun. Loud music. Prizes. Drinks were flowing.

So much different than our cruise on this ship in 2021. At that time, we were still masked up and social distancing was strongly encouraged which wasn’t hard because the ship was less than half full. I understand it is near or at capacity now. We did receive a letter in the cabin about the continuing health protocols.

Returned to the room to find Chuck’s suitcase had arrived. We were relieved. Now we could unpack and start truly enjoying our vacation.

Travel Trivia

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Known as the Venice of America due to its extensive canal system.

Fort Lauderdale was originally not one, but three forts during the Second Seminole War. The forts took their name from Major William Lauderdale (1782–1838. He was the commander of the detachment of soldiers who built the first fort. Development of the city did not begin until 50 years after the forts were abandoned at the end of the conflict.

After the war, the Stranahan House, Fort Lauderdale’s oldest building, was built in the 1890s. The house served as a trading post for the area and quickly developed into the city center along the New River.

Fort Lauderdale was featured in a popular 1960s movie, “Where the Boys Are,”about a college spring break. Soon college students flocked to the area en masse for a sun and sand filled getaway and still do today.

Just offshore, following the 24 miles of beach, is a coral reef tract. These coral reefs are a part of the Florida Reef Tract that run from Dry Tortugas to St Lucie Inlet (360 miles), the third longest barrier reef system in the world.

Fort Lauderdale is a major manufacturing and maintenance center for yachts. The boating industry is responsible for over 109,000 jobs in the county. With its many canals, and proximity to the Bahamas and Caribbean, it is also a popular yachting vacation stop, and home port for 42,000 boats, and approximately 100 marinas and boatyards. Additionally, the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the world’s largest boat show, brings over 125,000 people to the city each year.

*Trivia provided by Wikipedia

Back to Sun & Fun in the Caribbean

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

For our 30th wedding anniversary, we decided it would be nice to celebrate it in the warm, sunny Caribbean. Swimsuits and snorkel gear packed, we were ready to head to Ft. Lauderdale to board the elegant Holland America Rotterdam – the line’s newest ship.

Pumpkin knew something was up this morning and went under the couch to sulk. Poor baby. I know he feels like he is being punished. He just doesn’t understand we’re trying to keep him safe.

Our shuttle left for the airport at 8:00. The traffic was heavy as usual, but we made it to the airport by a little after 10:00. Delta had many outside baggage check-in kiosks open. Really love that convenience.

Went through the Clear line and attendant said I had been randomly selected for verification. Had to show my ID to the TSA agent. Glad it wasn’t a big deal. No problem getting through the rest of security. At the gate by 10:40.

Ate some lunch from McDonalds before we boarded the plane. Much cheaper than the $62 hamburger meal we had at one of the airport restaurants before our flight to Chile in January.

Flight took off on time and landed 15 minutes early. I watched 4 episodes of The Good Place. Beautiful weather when we left. Beautiful weather here.

I called the Hampton Inn Cruiseport North for a pickup and the driver got there in about 20 minutes. We have stayed here before. The last time we were here they were remodeling. It turned out well. New floors, new color scheme, and new furniture and fixtures.

I had checked in with the app and selected the digital key, but it didn’t work. Went down to the front desk and had 2 keys made. The locked clicked and turned green but we had trouble opening the door. Had to really push hard to get it open. After another trip to the front desk, we found out you had to lift the door handle up, not push it down. Not a natural movement.

For dinner, we went across the street to Slackers Bar and Grill. There were several couples already seated that I felt were also cruisers. There were quite a few other people who had shown up for the Bingo hour to win free prizes from the restaurant.

We’ve eaten here before too, but they had updated their menu since the last time we were here. Couple of beers and a Philly cheesesteak for me and “Mom’s pot roast” for Chuck and we were ready to go back to the hotel, watch some TV, and say good-night.

Travel Trivia

Florida – The Sunshine State

Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region La Florida ([la floˈɾiða] for its lush greenery and the Easter season (Pascua Florida in Spanish).

Florida became the first area in the continental U.S. to be permanently settled by Europeans, with the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city.

On March 3, 1845, only one day before the end of President John Tyler’s term in office, Florida became the 27th state.

About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands.

Florida’s is the only state besides Hawaii to have a tropical climate and is the only continental state with both a tropical climate (at the lower tip of the peninsula) and a coral reef.

Florida has several unique ecosystems, most notably Everglades National Park, the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S. and among the largest in the Americas. Unique wildlife includes the American alligator, American crocodile, American flamingo, Roseate spoonbill, Florida panther, bottlenose dolphin, and manatee.

Central Florida is the lightning capital of the USA.

Florida’s Venice Beach is the shark tooth capital of the world.

If you’re ever in Tampa Bay, you should take a walk alongside downtown Tampa. The Bayshore Boulevard is the world’s longest continuous sidewalk being a stretch of 4.5 miles.

The Walt Disney World Resort is in Florida. It is the planet’s most visited and biggest recreational resort. It was established in 1971 and is about the same size as San Francisco, California.

The U.S. state of Florida is also home to the world’s most dangerous tree – the Manchineel tree. All parts of the tree contain strong toxins. Mere contact with the sap from this tree can cause blisters on the skin. The tree is also known as “the beach apple” and “little apple of death.

Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida. It is also the third largest freshwater lake (after Lake Michigan and Alaska’s Iliamna Lake) located completely within the United States.

*trivia provided by Wikipedia

Carnival B2B: Beverages

Are you a Coke person or a Pepsi person? If you travel on Carnival, I hope you are a Pepsi person. They do not offer Coke products. But not all is lost. If you want sodas other than Pepsi products or just prefer not to purchase sodas onboard, the current Carnival beverage policy states “Bringing Liquor and Beverages On Board – Embarkation

Guests are prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages that are packaged in glass or plastic bottles.

On embarkation day, a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, energy drinks, juice, and milk), packaged in cans or cartons, may be brought on board and must be in the guest’s carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12-ounces/354-ml each or less, per person.”

On embarkation day, we saw many guests carrying a 12-pack of different sodas and energy drinks. Just remember, Carnival could change this policy at any time so you may want to check its website before you purchase beverages to bring on board.

We purchased the Cheers! Beverage package for both cruises. The package allows you to get unlimited non-alcoholic beverages and up to 15 alcoholic beverages a day as long as the beverages are under $20. Most drinks we saw were under $20 except some high-end whiskeys. We purchased the package online before the cruise and saved some money.

We always started the morning at the Coffee Bar with an order of a large Americano coffee for Chuck and a large vanilla latte for me. They were very good.

I usually got there about 8:00 and the line would be long. Typically they had two or three people working behind the counter. If everyone ordered off the menu with just simple changes like soy milk instead of whole, the line moved quickly.

But, when people started ordering complicated creations and used abbreviations (ex. Frap instead of Frappuccino) inevitably the line slowed down and more often than not, the order wouldn’t be correct, and the barista would have to start over. Sigh.

You could also get hot chocolate, alcoholic coffees, bottled water, energy drinks, and milkshakes. I stuck with the lattes.

In the afternoons, they would display delicious looking donuts, cupcakes, and large cookies. All for an up-charge. In the past, I have also seen cakes that could be purchased by the slice, but I didn’t see any this time.

For non-alcoholic beverages, since I couldn’t get a Diet Coke, I usually chose ginger ale, diet Mountain Dew, or bottled water.

For alcoholic beverages, I typically ordered a cape cod made with Titos. However, I did branch out and order other drinks on occasion. I love the fruity frozen drinks, but I am mindful of the sugar and calories, so I tried hard to limit them. Chuck’s preference was Blue Moon, Jameson’s, or Murphy Goode Cabernet Sauvignon. There was also a merlot that he liked that could only be found in the dining room, but I can’t remember the brand.

I had to be particularly careful on port days if I was drinking a frozen drink outside. There would be yellow jackets flying around. Once, a yellow jacket kept landing on the rim of my glass no matter how many times I swatted him away. We battled until I just gave up and set it on a counter. He could crawl on it and in it to his heart’s content. Little Jerk.

Carnival has not offered any plastic straws for frozen drinks for a while now as part of the effort to reduce plastic waste onboard. They give you a straw that I was told is edible. The first time I used one of those straws, it disintegrated into the drink. I didn’t consider it edible. I purchased a set of their metal straws and now bring those with me any time we cruise. Just don’t forget and leave one behind in your drink.

I always tried to remember when I ordered a frozen drink to tell the server not to bother with the straw. Half the time I forgot to do so. Sigh.

Different Adult Beverages Consumed:

self-explanatory 😀
Spicy Chipotle Pineapple Martini
Sex on the Beach
Kiss on the Lips
Miami Vice
Mocha Chocolate Getaway
Twilight Zone
Frozen Margarita
Chocolate Martini

Outside on Sea Days, the bar servers came around the pool area frequently to take your order. Not so much on a port day. On a port day, if there was more than one server coming around the pool area, you were lucky. But it is understandable because there are not as many customers outside on port days.

If you weren’t sure what you wanted, the servers carried bar menus. The bars also had paper menus and QR codes you could scan. If there was a special drink of the day, it would be listed on the menu board or the server would know.

If you had a particular bar you wanted to frequent, the HUB app would tell you what time its hours of operation were each day. The times were also listed in the paper daily program that you could pick up at the Coffee Bar or Guest Services.

In the Lido, you could always get coffee, tea, water, and some juices for no cost. Small cartons of milk were available in the mornings. I am not sure if it was available later in the day.

Just like food, a beverage on the cruise ship was never really hard to find.

Carnival B2B: Food – Part 2

We ate breakfast in the main dining room and in the Lido buffet. We preferred the dining room because the Lido was always crowded, and the lines were long if you wanted anything other than a continental breakfast or cereal. However, the dining room service was a slow pace so if you had to be somewhere at a certain time like an excursion, the dining room probably was not your best option.

On Sea Days, the dining room sponsored a Sea Day brunch that usually started about 9:00 and ended at noon. We typically went for the breakfast items. Chuck always ordered the steak and eggs meal with a side order of corned beef hash. One time he tried a side order of grits, but he thought they were too runny. Grits must be thick enough to eat with a fork.

I usually had two eggs, bacon, and hash browns although one time I got breakfast potatoes instead of hash browns. I should have stuck with the hash browns. I would also order wheat toast, but I always thought the bread was just warmed rather than toasted. I wasn’t a fan of the coffee in the dining room, but I thought the juices were good. You could order fresh squeezed juices for $5 a glass but we never did. I liked the regular juices just fine.

The other option for breakfast was the Blue Iguana cafe which offered a breakfast burrito. Chuck got it once when he didn’t want to stand in line for the hot breakfast items in the buffet. He said it was good.

Room service is another option. They offer a free continental breakfast. I heard the other items are an upcharge. We never ordered room service so I can’t comment on the food, prices, or service.

For lunch (and in some cases dinner too), the options were Blue Iguana Cafe, Guy’s Burgers, the Lido buffet, the Deli, the Sushi Bar (an upcharge), Room Service items, and the Pizza place. We tried them all except the Sushi Bar and Room Service.

My favorite was the shrimp burrito at the Blue Iguana Cafe and my least favorite was the pizza. I thought it should have been named a pepperoni cracker the crust was so thin and hard.

Lido lunch items:

Blue Iguana Lunch Items:

Soft beef tacos
Shrimp burrito

Guy’s Burger Items:

Cheeseburger and fries

Deli item:

The #5 – Cuban Mixto

Pizza Place item:

Pepperoni cracker

For dessert, I tried the key lime pie (not as tart as I prefer), the chocolate chip cookies (could have eaten every cookie in the whole serving bowl but I didn’t want to be a pig, so I only took five), and the soft serve ice cream – I preferred the vanilla over the chocolate.

Carnival recently changed its rules about 24/7 soft serve availability. I think the hours on the Paradise were 11:00 a.m to 11:00 p.m. I heard some grumbling about the change but not much. Probably would be a mutiny if they changed the hours of the pizza place however. It stayed open until 4:00 a.m. every morning. I never saw the late-night line for pizza, but I heard it was always crazy long.

I did appreciate how hard the staff worked to remove dirty plates, clean off tables, and sweep the floors so people could find clean places to sit both inside and outside. They were also quick to help anyone who seemed to be having difficulty taking their plates to their tables. The dining managers were constantly circulating and checking with customers to be sure all was well.

The buffet was primarily self-serve except a staff member at the carvery area would slice the meat for you and a staff member at the dessert area would slice pieces of cake for you. I always kept wet sanitizing wipes in my purse to use after handling all those serving utensils.

At the other venues, staff made your sandwiches, etc. and handed you the plate.

One challenge to remember on embarkation days. If you choose to eat outside, watch your plate because the local gulls will swoop and grab if you are not vigilant. From what I could see, they consumed many french fries from the lunches from Guy’s Burgers.

Scanning for fries

Carnival B2B: Food – Part 1

You know you are on a cruise when the topic at breakfast is what will you have for dinner. We always ate dinner in the Elation Dining room. We chose any time dining instead of the scheduled dining, so dinner is served in that room. The two scheduled dining times were held in the Destiny Dining room.

I really like how Carnival does the anytime dining. Once you are ready to eat, you use the Carnival HUB app and request a table. You can request a table just for your party or select the “share a table with others” option. If you don’t have the app, you can go to the maître de and he/she will seat you when a table is available.

The app will tell you approximately how long a wait for your table will be and then announce when your table is ready. If you change your mind about the time, you can cancel your request.

Once the app has announced that your table is ready, you have 10 minutes to go to the dining room or they will give your table away. Only once did we have a wait for a table that was longer than 15 minutes. We like the flexibility of going to dinner when we want to go.

The menu for the dinners is also on the app, or the waiter will give you a paper copy on request.

I know food is subjective and what I thought tasted good, others might not, but we were pleased with our dinners in the main dining room.

I did hear people complaining. Typically, the complaints I heard centered around the small portion sizes. Also, people were complaining that you had to pay $5 for every entree you ordered over two. Personally, I thought the portion sizes were fine. I did witness some people ordering more than one entree. However, they usually didn’t finish either entree, so food waste was an issue. With food costs continuing to rise, I can see why cruise lines are trying to find solutions to waste.

Because we had anytime dining, we were seated in various sections of the dining room over the course of the cruise. We only had the same servers once or twice. I thought they were all very friendly and did their jobs as fast as possible. I don’t know how they carried so many dishes back and forth to the kitchen without dropping them especially the nights the ship was really rocking.

If you want the same table every night or the same servers and you have anytime dining, you can make the request to the maître de, but he/she may or may not be able to grant the request or you might have to wait for it longer than normal when you are ready to eat.

In addition to all the work the waiters do to serve the guests, periodically the lights dim and the waiters are called upon to perform. I don’t know if the performance happens every night, but we saw it on two different occasions.

The dinner menus repeated themselves on the two cruises, so I was able to choose different meals. The only meal that I repeated was the pork chop dinner. It was so good the first week, I wanted it the next week too.

I only received one meal that I didn’t order, and it was on the last night of the cruise. I could have sent it back, but it had been my second choice on the menu, so I kept it and enjoyed it.

The Paradise doesn’t have a separate Steak House like some of the other ships, but you could order some selected “Steak House” items for an upcharge – lobster tail, lamb chops, or steak. We didn’t order any of these items so I can’t comment on their taste.

Various appetizers we ate:

Shrimp Cocktail (I had it most nights)
Fried oysters
Spinach salad
Broccoli and Cheese soup
Bar-b-que chicken flatbread
Fried Calamari rings
Beef Quesadilla
Caprese salad

Various Entrees we ate:

Beef brisket
Grilled Mahi Mahi
Garlic Shrimp
Grilled Sea Bass
Chicken Supreme (stuffed with cheese and spinach)
Jerk pork
Black bean enchiladas
Chicken Parmigiana
Grilled Pork Chop
Lasagna

Most nights we skipped the dessert offerings, but we did order the cheese plate a couple of times and I ordered the grilled pineapple twice:

Cruise attire is a hot button issue with some cruisers. Every cruise line we have traveled so far publishes their information on clothing. Some ships adhere to their information. Others do not.

The suggested attire for the evenings is found on the Carnival website and the daily program (either paper or on the app) will let you know what type of night it is – casual or dressy. I can tell you that I saw all types of attire, except swimwear and obvious sleepwear, in the dining room every night.

For casual nights, we both wore shorts and a shirt. For dressy night, I wore a sundress and Chuck wore khaki slacks and a sports shirt. The most interesting attire I saw was a large group who came in one night dressed in hippie clothing – bell bottoms, stacked shoes, long flowing shirts, fringed vests, mini dresses, maxi dresses, and lots of beads. All the men in the group had long, flowing obvious wigs. They were having a good time.

The only other change I noticed in the dining room was that there were no tablecloths on dressy night. They used to have tablecloths every night. Then they changed it to only on dressy nights. Not sure if they have been eliminated completely or just on the short cruises like these were. Know it must save on laundry time and costs not to have the tablecloths.

Carnival B2B: Embarkation and our Cabin

After a surprisingly restful night’s sleep, I was up at 6:30 on Monday excited for another cruise. The Hyatt had a nice selection of hot and cold breakfast items, and they were serving Starbucks coffee. It was also 70 degrees and sunny with a forecast of a high of 80 degrees. Nice start to embarkation day.

Our check-in time at the port was scheduled for 10:30 – 11:00. The hotel shuttle was going to charge $30 to ride in their van. We decided to get an UberXL and it arrived in less than 5 minutes after the request. The cost for it was $20.

The port is about 6 miles from the hotel. Only problem I had with the Uber app is that I wasn’t able to find which dock the Paradise was berthed. If it was listed on any paperwork that I had, I never saw it. I chose berth 2 but the ship was actually at berth 3. I offered to change it on the app for the driver, but he said it was no problem. I was glad they weren’t too far away from each other.

We arrived promptly at 10:30 and were allowed to enter the port facility. I was glad to see that they had aisles roped off according to check-in time so if you arrived early for your appointed time, you were directed to your appropriate aisle. Keeps the crowds down. There are a lot of restaurants and even an aquarium around the port so if you have to arrive early, you can drop off your luggage and go have a look around. You don’t have to just stand in the aisle if you don’t want to.

We were through security and seated in our section by 10:40. We were the second section allowed to board. It was 11:15.

Our first stop was our Muster station which was the Leonardo Lounge. The person in-charge scanned our boarding passes and then we watched the life jacket demonstration. It was very easy. We were then instructed to watch the safety video on our room television and then dismissed. It is a very easy process and should be done as soon as you board. However, the cruise director had to make several announcements throughout the afternoon requesting people to go to their station. The ship is not supposed to sail unless everyone has checked in. If they have to track you down and you refuse, you can be disembarked.

As Platinum Carnival cruisers, we could have gone straight to the cabin and dropped off our backpacks. However, we know that the crew is working hard to get the rooms ready, so we waited until the 1:30 announcement said the rooms were finished. When we arrived, our room keys and luggage were there. Plenty of time to unpack before sail-away. Staff were bringing in the luggage by the cartful as quickly as they could.

For this cruise, we had an inside cabin. When our Carnival consultant booked it for us, he made sure that we had a room that we could keep for both cruises. Otherwise, we would have had to pack up the room at the end of the first five days and take it all to another room. I don’t mind inside rooms for short cruises.

Our cabin, M163 on the fifth floor (Main), was in a nice location – midship around the corner from the mid-elevators. It was sparsely furnished – king-size bed, desk with mirror and shelves and a stool, one bedside table, a small refrigerator, a safe, and a large mounted flatscreen TV. There were two closets and a number of shelves. We had one outlet and 4 USB ports.

Bed with luggage mat for unpacking

However, I didn’t realize that this particular room was an adjoining room. Adjoining rooms are great if you have family or close friends next to you. They can be problematic if there are strangers next to you. The first thing I discovered was that the door between the rooms was unlocked so we had to immediately tell our room steward and he called Security. He came promptly and locked the door. Most of the time we have found that unless a person is yelling in the next cabin or has the TV on at full volume, the sound is muffled between the rooms. However, in an adjoining room, the sound leeches through the door and you can hear normal conversations.

We met the guys who had the room adjoining us. They were part of a group of 8 who were excited to be on this cruise as their boss had given them the trip as a “thank you” for all their hard work and dedication. We just gave them a “heads up” that we would be able to hear each other’s conversations. We wished them a fun cruise.

The first night, we were awakened by one of the guys who was mad that his roommate woke him up coming in the room. Think it was about 2 a.m. Next afternoon, we heard that same guy say (I assume to himself) that he was glad he now had the room to himself. That evening, he was talking to his girlfriend and saying he hated the ship, all the guys were drunks and had no class, and he wished he was with her on the ship. The next night was the worse one. He and his girlfriend were calling each other and arguing. He would tell her to stop calling and then would call her. Went off and on all night. We could have gone over there and asked him to lower his voice or called Guest Services, but we didn’t. We felt sorry for him. He was not having a good cruise. He had a falling out with his work buddies and now fighting with his girlfriend. He would have been better off with a bonus check from his boss.

I hope they were using WhatsApp or something with all the phone calls because he may have found himself with a huge phone bill when he got home. Our service provider said it would be $3 a minute to phone from the ship. I assume it might be the same with other carriers. We didn’t hear anything out of him on Thursday night. However, on Friday night, he left the TV on all night which was more annoying than the arguing. He was up and gone early on Saturday. I assume he took advantage of self-disembarkation and took off as soon as they allowed. I hope he and his girlfriend made up, but they sure said some harsh things to each other. We could hear parts of her conversation on that night, so we assume she was yelling into the phone.

We held our breath for the next week. However, we heard nothing the whole week from the new occupants. In fact, if we hadn’t seen the snooze sign on the room doorknob periodically, we would not have known anyone was even in the room. I hope that person(s) wasn’t annoyed with us.

The bathroom had only a shower which was fine with us. I was glad that it had good pressure and had plenty of hot water. Each shower is equipped with shampoo and bath gel. You need to remember to take your own conditioner. The shampoo might have conditioner in it, but my hair felt better when I used my conditioner too.

We had plenty of room to store our stuff and we could put the luggage under the bed. The room can also be set up with the beds separated.

The only issue is that I thought the room was on the warm side. Unlike newer ships, the Paradise didn’t have a thermostat, and you could only adjust the vent at the top of the room. I was glad that I had brought my small fan. It cooled me off enough to sleep.

Our room steward for the first week was Agus. At the end of the week, he was getting to go on a well-earned vacation. So the next week, Japhet took care of us. They were both efficient and friendly. They cleaned the room once a day, always provided us with ice, and left a cute towel animal. We tried not to be messy. As we walked down the hall, if the room door was open, we could see some rooms looked like hurricanes had hit them.

Some of our towel animals during the 10 days:

Once we got the room organized, we were ready for sail-away from Tampa. The music was playing, and the cruisers were dancing. Fun times.

Travel Trivia

Tampa, Florida

After purchasing Florida from Spain in 1821, the United States built forts and trading posts in the new territory. Fort Brooke was established in January 1824 at the mouth of the Hillsborough River on Tampa Bay.

When the pioneer community living near Fort Brooke was incorporated in 1849, it was called “Tampa Town” and the name was shortened to simply “Tampa” in 1855. 

During the first few decades of the 20th century, the cigar-making industry was the backbone of Tampa’s economy. The factories in Ybor City and West Tampa made an enormous number of cigars—in the peak year of 1929, over 500 million cigars were hand rolled in the city.

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders sailed from Tampa to fight in the Spanish-American War.

The University of South Florida was established in North Tampa in 1956.

Downtown Tampa’s Bayshore Blvd, at 4.5 miles long, earns the title of “the world’s longest continuous sidewalk.” It is lined with palm trees and features views of the bay.

The Gasparilla Pirate Festival, a large festival celebrating the legend of pirate Jose Gaspar, dates back over 100 years. 

Movies filmed in Tampa include Edward Scissorhands (1990), Goodfellows (1990), and Magic Mike (2012).

In April 1919, during a spring training game of the Red Sox vs. the NY Giants in Tampa, Babe Ruth hit a record breaking 587-foot homer.

Trivia provided by Wikipedia and Tampa tourist literature

Carnival B2B: Traveling to Florida

In early 2021, Carnival offered Chuck a 10-day free casino cruise that ultimately got cancelled. However, we were given future cruise credit (FCC) for the booking amount plus generous onboard credit (OBC) because of the cancellation.

The deadline to use the FCC or lose it was the end of 2022. Even though we have been to the ports several times before: two back-to-back (B2B) 5-day cruises leaving out of Tampa worked in our schedule, so we booked them as the replacement.

This cruise was a different one for us as we made the decision not to get off the ship at the ports unless absolutely necessary and just treat the ship as a floating resort. For my blogs, I typically discuss each day and its activities – some days are busier than others. Because each day of these two cruises were planned as eat, drink, and be merry, I am going to organize this blog more by topic rather than by date.

Left the house at a little before 7:00 a.m. to catch our 8:00 shuttle to the airport. Our flight was not until 2:00 but since it is the Sunday after Thanksgiving (the busiest travel day of the year according to some reports), the shuttle service said we had to go this early to ensure we made the flight in case the traffic was slow. Okay.

We typically drive to Tampa but the last time we drove home from there, it took 11 hours because the traffic in Tampa and Atlanta was so heavy. Flying can be a hassle, but I was hoping we could get to Florida without being so stressed and achy in case the drive down was again 11 hours instead of the 9 it is supposed to be.

We left right on time and did not have to make any of the auxiliary stops that the shuttle company sometimes has to do. The traffic was heavy, but the shuttle driver was able to take all the HOV and Express lanes and got us to the airport a little before 10:00. The traffic did slow to a crawl as we neared the drop off point at the airport.

Again, from all the news reports, I expected to see long lines of aggravated people waiting to get through security. The CLEAR line was long, but it moved quickly. We were through security by 10:20 and at the gate by 10:30. Way earlier than I expected and easier than some other airport experiences we’ve had.

We had a McDonald’s breakfast at the food court and then settled in with our books until the flight started boarding at 1:15.

Was a bumpy take off but a smooth quick flight. I could not finish the movie before we landed. 75 degrees and sunny in Tampa.

The Tampa airport was easy to navigate and once we got our luggage, we called the hotel for a pickup. I had a digital key, so we were in our room by 4:15. It was nice not to be exhausted upon arrival.

I like this Hyatt Place. Not only is it near the airport, it is near Olive Garden, Longhorn, and Ruth Chris restaurants. The shuttle will also take you to the nearby International Plaza mall. It also has a small bar and does offer some sandwiches and salads for sale. Today, it is somewhat decorated for Christmas.

We had intended to walk down the street to see if we could find the sports bar we’ve visited before. But before we got started, we heard thunder, and the sky looked threatening. We decided to stay close and walk to Longhorn’s.

When we got near it, we spotted a small Mexican restaurant called Lolis and decided to try it instead. The food was fine and filling but nothing exceptional. I had the vegetarian quesadilla which was mostly cheese and Chuck had the carne asada quesadilla. Washed down with Dos XX beer. They didn’t have very many eat-in customers but seemed to do a brisk take-out business.

I was glad we stayed close as the skies opened up and it poured while we ate. But, as Florida does, it soon became just a drizzle allowing us to get back to the hotel relatively dry. We were in for the evening. Looking forward to embarkation.

Travel Trivia

Florida – The Sunshine State

Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region La Florida ([la floˈɾiða] for its lush greenery and the Easter season (Pascua Florida in Spanish).

Florida became the first area in the continental U.S. to be permanently settled by Europeans, with the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city.

On March 3, 1845, only one day before the end of President John Tyler’s term in office, Florida became the 27th state.

About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands.

Florida’s is the only state besides Hawaii to have a tropical climate and is the only continental state with both a tropical climate (at the lower tip of the peninsula) and a coral reef.

Florida has several unique ecosystems, most notably Everglades National Park, the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S. and among the largest in the Americas. Unique wildlife includes the American alligator, American crocodile, American flamingo, Roseate spoonbill, Florida panther, bottlenose dolphin, and manatee.

Central Florida is the lightning capital of the USA.

Florida’s Venice Beach is the shark tooth capital of the world.

The Walt Disney World Resort is in Florida. It is the planet’s most visited and biggest recreational resort. It was established in 1971 and is about the same size as San Francisco, California.

The U.S. state of Florida is also home to the world’s most dangerous tree – the Manchineel tree. All parts of the tree contain strong toxins. Mere contact with the sap from this tree can cause blisters on the skin. The tree is also known as “the beach apple” and “little apple of death.

Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida. It is also the third largest freshwater lake (after Lake Michigan and Alaska’s Iliamna Lake) located completely within the United States.

Trivia provided by Wikipedia and Florida tourist information.