Sailing the high seas....

*** Sea Day – January 18, 2011 ***

We slept in this morning and then headed up to the Celebration Dining Room for breakfast. Eric had the Carnival’s version of the Western Ommelet and I had the eggs benedict. We then headed out to the Fun Aboard, Fun Ashore show. Our Cruise Director is still MIA. We hear her, however she seems to send her Assistant out to do everything, which is totally fine with me as he is excellent at what he does. Afterward, we went to explore the ship some more. We attempted to play some mini golf, however it was way too windy. Technically I won since I got a hole in one on the first hole. Lol.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

We decided to find some seating on the Lido deck and ended up doing some people watching. Always a hoot. The weather is definitely warmer today, but still very windy. There aren’t too many on board activities that interest us today so we are just meandering around and finding our own fun. Tonight is the Captain’s Celebration as well as cruise elegant night.

The menu tonight featured my favorite Strawberry bisque. I could literally have them put this in a super big gulp and be content. Lol. This is also the one night that I usually double up on entrée's as they feature their shrimp and lobster combo. I ordered this along with a very tasty fish dish (unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the fish…) however it was a white fish and very good. Eric doubled up on the shrimp and lobster and was very happy. Prior to dinner we went to the Nightclub Express show. There were some good moments during the show, but for the most part it was very cheesy. I know, I know….it is what it is, but sometimes you just want that WOW factor. After dinner we went to the Game of Love show. This is a crowd favorite and always very funny. After the show we wandered around the ship, went up to the sundeck to enjoy the now warmer weather and to just catch a breath of fresh air. We decided to then head down to the disco to people watch, but there wasn’t much action going on there. We found ourselves at the casino and had a good time just watching people make their donations to the “electric bill” and playing a few hands ourselves (well, really just Eric…I play a good cheerleader). ;) After a quick stop for our midnight cheeseburger, we are calling it a night and looking forward to docking in Freeport in the morning.


Some highlights from around the ship.

Watching the wake from Serenity Deck.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

Ldio deck at night.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

Chess anyone?!?

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

Sailing away on our Fantasy...

*** Monday, January 17, 2011 Embarkation – Charleston, South Carolina ***

We woke up to overcast skies this morning but we were not going to let that damper our moods. We had shuttle service booked for 11am and it could not come fast enough. Finally the shuttle arrived and we made the journey to the port. Our shuttle driver seemed more than confused as to where he was supposed to go, but eventually got us to the right place. The embarkation process in Charleston is so much different than the experience we had at Port Canaveral. Our passports were checked before we were even allowed into the passenger drop off area. You are then dropped off in what looks like a rental car return area and you leave your bags. You then proceed to another queue to board a bus for a roughly 2 minute ride to the terminal. You then go through security screening, fill out your health form and then stand in another line for the actual check in process. The process alone once we were inside the terminal took about 10 mins. After our embarkation photo and then our picture for our sail and sign cards we were on the ship. The whole process probably took no more than 20 mins.

Our first view of the ship.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

Our first order of business was to secure reservations for the Chef’s Table. We had originally requested this through John Heald’s (Senior Cruise Director) blog, however we never received confirmation of the reservation. We were told that there would be a table to sign up at so we waited what seemed like forever, but was only 15 mins. During this time we also had our first Carnival Funship Special. This is the most popular drink on embarkation day.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

With Chef’s Table confirmation in hand, we headed up a couple of decks to meet a couple from our roll call and then on to Lido deck to secure some lunch. It was a mad house. We found some food and then the hunt for a table was on. We finally found a table and enjoyed our lunch in the chilly weather.


Our view of historic Charleston during lunch.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

After we ate, we headed down to check on our cabin and was happy to see that it was ready for us. We dropped off our carry-on’s and then headed out to explore the ship. While the Fantasy is a much smaller class then the Dream we actually found ourselves getting more turned around then we ever did on the Dream. Luckily we had the portable deck plan to carry with us.

During our exploring we decided to take a break and participate in the Sound Clips Trivia in the 21st Century Bar. We had some pretty strong competition but sadly did not come away with the Ship on a stick. We continued on with our exploring and then headed up to the Lido deck to wait for our muster drill. Sail away was very cold and dreary, but we found ourselves cheering as we saw the pier moving further and further away.

Waiting for sail away to start.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

After the sail away we headed down to our cabin to freshen up for dinner and made our way to the Celebration dining room for our first dinner of the cruise. Eric started with the shrimp cocktail and I had the Cream of Sun Ripened Tomato soup (fancy name for tomato soup). It was very delicious. For our entrees Eric had the Flat Iron Steak and I had the Linguini with sausage, peppers and tomatoes. It was not as good as I remembered it being on the Dream, but still delicious. Dessert is always my favorite as I get to have the amazing Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. Love that stuff.

After dinner we went to the Casino as they were offering lessons on some of the games. Unfortunately they weren’t offering a lesson on the game Eric was interested in so we ventured on. We explored some more of the ship and then headed to the Universe Lounge (theater) to wait for the Welcome Aboard Show. We did participate in Name That Face while waiting and watched the Game Show Mania show. After much waiting, the Welcome Aboard Show finally began.

It left much to be desired in my opinion. It was presented by the Assistant Cruise Director and we have heard, but have not seen the Cruise Director for this sailing. Best Part of the Welcome Aboard show was an audience participation segment that Eric was a part of. What a hoot.

A quick stop at the midnight buffet and we are all tuckered out. We have a full day at sea tomorrow and here’s hoping that we have some calmer seas.

Some shots from our exploration of the ship.

Cat's Lounge.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

Cleopatra's Piano Bar

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

(more to come...)

Southern Charm...Northern weather

*** Sunday, January 16, 2011 ***


We arrived in Charleston, SC on Saturday and got settled into our hotel and then headed to King Street to meet a friend of Eric’s for dinner. We met up at Basil Thai and had some amazing Thai food. Since we’ve moved to Blacksburg we don’t have a lot of the ethnic type restaurants that we’ve come to love. So when we travel now, we try and scope out some of our favorite foods we’ve come to love.

We strolled along King Street for a bit and ended up at Cupcake as I had recently learned about them in my search for places to eat and things to do in Charleston.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

I found that they had a “fan” page on Facebook and joined their page. They recently started a birthday club and knowing that I wasn’t going to be here for my birthday I thought I’d inquire as to whether I could get my birthday cupcake early or not. They were so awesome in allowing me to do so, so we popped in and I got a black & white. Not as big as the ones I’ve grown accustom to at Bubblecake or Crumbs, but very moist and the perfect dessert.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

This morning we woke up and met up with Kim for breakfast in Mt. Pleasant which is just over the river from Charleston. We went to Page’s Okra Grill.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

I got a low country favorite of Shrimp and Grits with an Andouille Sausage gravy. It was INCREDIBLE!!!! Eric got the seafood omelets, which was made of crab, shrimp and grouper with onions, tomatoes and pepperjack cheese. Everything was so delicious and well prepared.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

Charleston currently has their restaurant week going on and we’ll be going to Old Village Post House for dinner. The Old Village Post House is a beautiful old home which has been converted into a restaurant. There are several small dining rooms and we dined right outside of the open kitchen. For restaurant week they have 3 courses for $30.00. You choose an appetizer, entrée and dessert. I had the smoked fish dip for an appetizer and it was wonderful. They smoke the fish in-house and it was just right. For my entrée I had the salmon with a mustard glaze and garlic mash and chocolate cake for dessert. The dessert was just….okay. Eric and our friend both had the steak for dinner. We headed down to Shem’s Creek to take some pictures and hung out for a bit and then decided we needed more dessert. We ended up at Crave which is a very cool little place in Mt. Pleasant. I had the tempura French toast bites and Eric had blueberry cobbler.

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC

All in all it was a good day and a nice little introduction to Charleston.

Tomorrow we sail…

We shall sail again....

Who would have thought that we could become cruise junkies?!? lol.

We are setting sail for the Bahamas out of Charleston, SC on the Carnival Fantasy in 4 long and cold days.

We will see you soon Fantasy. Can't wait to step aboard.

From Are we there yet?!?!

Help us...help you...

to cruise with us again.

** October 15, 2010 - Sea Day **

Our final day at sea and our final day on board the beautiful Carnival Dream. We didn't do a lot today (again, I sadly cannot remember much of our sea days).

I remember not feeling well today, partly due to a late night on Thursday, sadness from our dream coming to an end and slightly rougher seas.

We dined as usual in the main dining room with our friends. It was an amazing night and the perfect way to end an awesome week.

We had such an amazing waitstaff. Here is Eric and I with 2 of our servers. Nazan, our head server who is from Turkey. Miroslav, who was the 2nd server who is from Croatia.

From Carnival Dream 2010

Here is our 3rd server, Sudarma and I. Sudarma is from Singapore.

From Carnival Dream 2010

After dinner we went back to our room to change, pack and get our luggage set out for the morning. After we were all packed we headed down to meet up with Janie and David for drinks at our favorite place, Ocean's Plaza and the Lanai.

From Carnival Dream 2010

From Carnival Dream 2010

After awhile we said good night as it was getting late and tomorrow would come sooner than we wanted.

Morning arrived and I was able to catch this picture of the Norwegian Cruise Line's ship the Sun.

From Carnival Dream 2010

We disembarked from the ship somewhere around 8am. Grabbed a shuttle to pick up our rental car and then returned to where we started our trip for breakfast. We had such a great breakfast that first day of our cruise at Simply Delicious that we decided to return. We mentioned to our server that we would see her next year and told her that we had just returned from a cruise. She gave us a little goodie bag for our travels home. So sweet of her.

We were so not ready to leave Port Canaveral or our Dream behind. We circled into port for a final glimpse at her before heading to Orlando.

From Carnival Dream 2010

There is nothing like cruising. Nothing at all. From being able to see God's beautiful work first thing in the morning. To the beautiful Atlantis resort in Nassau at Sunrise, the amazing clear blue waters of St. Thomas to the breathtaking views of St. Martin. To be able to pay one price and visit anywhere from 2 - 6 or more ports of calls (countries) in as little as 5 - 7 days. I feel blessed to have been able to experience this and look forward to many cruises in the future.

To close out this series, here are a few of my favorite memories.

From Carnival Dream 2010

From Carnival Dream 2010

From Carnival Dream 2010

From Carnival Dream 2010

From Carnival Dream 2010

From Carnival Dream 2010

Live, laugh, love. Make the most of it.

xoxo

It is a sunny daya.

** October 14, 2010 - A FUN day at sea **

I have to take a minute here and say that I absolutely looked forward to the daily announcements from our Captain (Carlo Queirolo). The Italians have a funny way in putting an A after a lot of their words. On our first full sea day (Monday), Eric and I were at a shopping seminar and Captain Queirolo came across the PA system to give us our position, weather, etc. To this day, Eric and I still giggle and announce sunny days the way Captain Queirolo would. He was giving us the current weather and continues with it is a.....then has this long pause like he is literally looking out the window and trying to determine if it is dark because of the tinted windows or if it is truly overcast and then he says...a sunny daya. We just laughed and laughed and it just tickled us.

It's the little things you take away from the cruise or any vacation for that matter that makes it truly memorable.

So back to the day at hand.

I am thinking I really need to journal while on the ship because I truly can't remember most of our sea days. I have strong memories of our days in port because it's well photographed and the experiences we had were truly unforgettable.

If I remember correctly, today is the day that Eric and I had a couples massage done. It was heavenly. I could so do without them hammering us at the end by trying to get us to purchase their spa products as that truly deflates the bubble of bliss you are currently floating in.

Sea days are very much days of nothingness. Time to wander the ship and find hidden gems to later share with your friends on Cruise Critic. The perfect time to take advantage of on board activities (trivia, ice carving demonstrations). The perfect time to just grab a book and find a little slice of heaven out on the deck to just lay back and soak it all in.

Sea days are also Tea Party days. And what's a tea party without your royal family.

From Carnival Dream 2010

Sadly I cannot remember the name of the lady to my left (when looking at the picture), however to my right is my dear friend Sheryl and behind us is the ever fabulous and amazing Jw. All of us met through our roll call on Cruise Critic and we are so blessed to have them as friends.

We opted to not dine in the main dining room tonight as we had made reservations prior to the cruise to Chef's Art Steakhouse. We were very much looking forward to this as all of the reviews we had read said that the food was absolutely amazing. We made our way past the whale tail and around to the aft section of the ship.

From Carnival Dream 2010

While we usually take reviews from others with a grain of salt, all of the reviews about the food were spot on. It was amazing.

From Carnival Dream 2010

The service however was less than stellar. We received better service in the main dining room where it is a faster pace than in the steakhouse where it is more intimate. It was very disappointing and we made sure to let everyone know who we felt needed to know (employee wise). The jury is still out as to whether we will do the steakhouse again as you do pay extra for the privilege to dine there. We did not let it completely damper our spirits though.

From Carnival Dream 2010

After dinner, we headed down to the promenade area and had some professional pictures of us taken. Sadly none of these turned out very well as the photographers pose you and we looked so uncomfortable and unnatural. We opted not to purchase any.

We headed back to our cabin to change into some more comfortable clothes and headed down to the comedy club to meet up with our friends. We saw two comedians again tonight and hands down we all felt that Michael Macy was the best. He had us in tears from laughter. As we had every other night for the comedy shows, we sat in the front row and while most people tend to steer away from the front we loved it and loved that the comedians would use us as material (in a good way).

Here's Eric and I with Michael Macy.

From Carnival Dream 2010

We ended the night as most in Ocean's Plaza with our dear friends Janie and David. After a couple of drinks, we headed to Dreamland and rested up for our final day at sea and aboard the Carnival Dream.

Please take me away....

to some place called Maho Beach.

** October 13, 2010 - St. Maarten **

As morning approaches, I no longer feel like I am on vacation, but more like I have settled nicely into life and am truly enjoying this sense of peace that follows me around. We woke this morning and ventured outside to say good morning to the beautiful island of St. Maarten. Once we were settled into port we made our way down to the first deck of the ship to meet up with our crew for our tour of St. Maarten.

Our first stop was at a small pull off with amazing views of the French side of the island which is St. Martin.

From Carnival Dream 2010

After a few photo ops and just being able to take in the beauty that is St. Martin we boarded back on to the bus and headed for Orient Beach. For those who do not know, Orient Beach is a clothing optional beach. Nudity is permitted on the French side of the island, however if you bare it all on the Dutch side, you will be taken to jail....as is. So make sure you know which side of the island you are on. Lol.

Here's Eric and I at Orient Beach...fully clothed. ;)

From Carnival Dream 2010

Most of us in our group were under the impression that we were only going to be at Orient Beach for a short time, however our driver had a different agenda and had us in nude paradise for 2 hours. After much grumbling and discussion amongst the crew, we voted to wrap things up and head back to the Dutch side and the much anticipated Maho Beach.

Maho Beach was what made Eric and I decide to take this tour. Ever since we heard about this little slice of heaven we have wanted to visit. For those of you who have not seen the youtube videos or are aware of what Maho Beach is, I highly recommend this video:



There is a surf board that has all the days flights so you know when they are arriving and departing.

From Carnival Dream 2010

You will also see when people riding the fence when planes take off. We had a few in our group do that.

We saw a few puddle jumpers arrive while we were there but were extremely disappointed to find out that the 747's arrived while we were at Orient Beach and then right after we left.

However, this picture pretty much sums up the whole cruising experience.

From Carnival Dream 2010

We eventually made it back to the port area and did a little shopping and then headed back to ship.

From Carnival Dream 2010

We had dinner in the main dining room and opted to just dine alone tonight. It was nice to just be with Eric and reconnect after such a long day.

We called it an early night and retreated to our cabin for some peace and quiet. Nothing but relaxation from here on out as we have 2 sea days before we return to Port Canaveral and reality.