cruise review day one

Background music: "Boat Drinks" bu Jimmy Buffett




This trip has its origins last winter, as I was shivering through another winter and longing for palm trees, sunny skies and warm sandy beaches. My birthday is February 18, and I have always celebrated it while wearing a heavy winter coat.



No, that’s not entirely true. I spent my 40th in Disneyworld with my kids, then ages 9 and 7. Loved it so much, I went back for my 41st. that’s when the pirate king and I were not on speaking terms, so where else would a single mother go with young children? If you’d told me 10 years ago that the king and I would get back together I would have told you that you are crazy.



So it’s October and we’re trying to decide on a trip. Just the two of us, leaving the kids at home. We briefly considered Disney – I‘ve been there so many times I could plan a trip there in my sleep. It would be a fun trip, but not particularly romantic. We briefly considered cancun, Acapulco or some Caribbean island. Then the king’s friend (a travel agent) suggested a cruise.



So we were off and running. Or rather, planning. We booked the Carnival valor, booked the fly aweigh program and booked shore excursions through carnival. THEN I signed up for cruise critic’s message boards, and realized all the things I could have done differently. Oh well.



Background music: "Changes in Lattitudues, Changes in Attitudes" by Jimmy Buffett



so it's Sunday, February 14. Valentine's Day.



All our bags packed, we headed out to JFK. Carnival has booked us on American Airlines to Miami. Curbside check in, we checked our bags and headed to the security gate. The AA terminal at JFK is huge, and our gate is the furthest from the entrance….by the time we get there we feel as though we’ve walked all the way to Newark. Little did we know.



Our flight was oversold….if I weren’t going on a cruise I would have taken the offer to be bumped to a later flight – the offer was $400. But no way are we going to miss our cruise!!!!

Aboard the flight to Miami I’ve got Jimmy Buffett on the ipod and a cold diet coke in my hands and I start to feel winter melting away. I AM ON VACATION and it feels so right.even spilling the diet coke doesn’t phase me.



If I thought the walk through JFK was interminable…OMG Miami airport is a killer. After a major hike – it felt like we walked all the way to ft Lauderdale – we collected our luggage and found the Carnival rep. Another long hike to the bus…and finally we were on our way.

so we're on a bus, driving through Miami, and the pirate king starts singing Allan sherman's "Streets of Miami" under his breath ("I'm going to the Fontainebleau, Partner, it's mod'ner") (did I mention the pirate king has a warped sense of humor?) while I am singing "Vacation" by the Go-Gos.



So finally we arrive in the Port of Miami. And we see not less than four cruise ships berthed there. and the pirate king, who has not seen a cruise ship up close and personal in 20 years, cannot believe the size of these ships.



Background music: "Under Pressure" by Queen



so here's where things get not-so-pretty.



The bus made two stops – first at the Glory then at the Valor. We unload the luggage, go through the check-in procedure, endure yet another long hike up the gangway. We board the ship just a few minutes before muster drill, so it’s a race to find our cabin (1397, ocean view, starboard and aft on the Riviera deck) and dump our carry-ons before reporting to our station. You will not find a “welcome aboard” photo of us in the gallery, the photographer stopped taking photos just before we boarded. After the drill we headed ove to the shore excursion desk to book the Behind the Fun tour (thank you Cruise Critic for letting me know that one exists!) Then songbird almost had meltdown – all I’d eaten that day was a bagel at JFK and I was so hungry I was ready to cry. We headed up to the Lido deck, and a couple of slices of pizza and some crazy umbrella drink later, and my mellow mood has been restored.

Background music:

"Come Sail Away" by Styx.



We found a spot on the veranda deck, port and aft, for sailaway. Got some great photos of Miami and Miami Beach (the pirate king pointed out a building that is feautred in a lot of background shots on CSI), but it was COLD out there. Had to come in to warm up.



Headed back to the cabin to nap and unpack. I liked our cabin -- it was large and comfortable, though the bathroom was understandably cramped. We did feel the motion of the ship at times, but not as much as we did on upper decks. there was noise below frequently, but it wasn't particularly intrusive -- you hear more noise in the average city apartment.

We watched the light from the ship reflect on the waves, we watched another cruise ship in the distance. Before long it was time for dinner. Our assignment is late seating, lower levelof the Washington dining room. We are seated at a table for 4 with another couple, also from NY. The pirate king loves shrimp, he ordered a shrimp cocktail and the sweet and sour shrimp. I asked for hearts of iceberg lettuce salad with thousand island dressing and the sweet and sour shrimp. The entrée turned out to be panko-breaded shrimp with a spicy dipping sauce, accompanied by rice noodles . Great food! Dessert was some decadent chocolate concoction, shaped like a heart in honor of Valentine’s day. The dining room staff serenaded us with “Let me call you sweetheart,” the first of many amusing performances.



The evening’s entertainment included a show in the Ivanhoe Theater featuring the Carnival singers and dancers, our cruise director Big Tex and the comedy of Happy Coleman. Great evening!