Carnival Cruise 2009

Arrangements were made, we’d paid for the cruise and we were ready to drive to New Orleans and embark on a week long cruise to the Caribbean. We drove to New Orleans, arriving around noon which would allow us plenty of time to go onboard. Unfortunately, we ended up in a traffic delay of three hours on the road along the New Orleans Convention Center. We couldn’t leave the line so we sat there and waited. We and many other travelers were highly irritated by this delay. Was it New Orleans or the cruise ship at fault? We finally checked in, found our balcony stateroom and relaxed for awhile. Fortunately, our luggage arrived in one piece as well – all travelers worry about their luggage, particularly onboard ships. Some of the other passengers did not receive their entire luggage. We were soon underway from New Orleans for Key West. We would have one day at sea before arriving at Key West.  The first night we settled, had an abandon ship drill and met the couple we would be sharing a dinning table for the remainder of the trip. Thank goodness they were nice. We liked them very much. Sunday, my wife and I spent roaming around the ship to see what it had to offer in the way of entertainment. Plenty of food, bars, exercise facilities and in the evening after dining a floorshow was available. That night we watched the floorshow. It was great.

When we were getting up the next morning, the ship was entering Key West. We had a splendid view of Key West and its harbor from our balcony. We had been to Key West before so rather than take a tour, we walked around town. It was a little hot, but pleasant. My wife posed for photos in front of some of the local statues such as one of Ernest Hemingway. We went back to the ship, had a drink, dinner and a floorshow. Not a bad day.

Next, we were underway at six o’clock for the city of Freeport in the Bahamas.  We arrived the next morning in beautiful weather and calm seas. We had registered for a boat tour along the coast. It was fun. Music, Macarena and limbo.  I took some film of the dancing. We caught a bus back to the ship after we were set ashore to shop – My wife went to extremes and purchased a refrigerator magnet. I read my book Vicksburg by Winston Groom while the ladies did more shopping. Freeport, as a port didn’t have a lot to offer, but like most places you have to be there for awhile and we hadn’t been. The boat tour was enjoyable, however.

Next port, Nassau. We arrived at Nassau after steaming all night. Nassau harbor was prettier than Freeport and was designed more for the tourist. The resort area, Atlantis is there with all its tourists’ attractions. We opted not to go there and just walked around the town and shopping areas. Next time we’ll go to Atlantis and see what it has to offer. I know it’s expensive. A friend paid four dollars for a coca cola! After walking around Nassau, it was back to the ship, dinner and the evening floorshow.  At five o’clock we were underway again for two days at sea; destination New Orleans.  Nothing of note happened during the two day transit to New Orleans. We ate, slept, read, gambled on the slot machines and did some last minute shopping in the ship stores. Not a bad schedule at all.

We arrived Saturday morning in New Orleans, disembarked with little difficult and then drove back home. All in all the trip was worth the cost – about $3500 for a balcony stateroom, auto parking, ticket insurance and shipboard expenses which includes drinks, tours, gratuities and anything else we spent with our charge card. Another added expense was the kennel where we left our dog before leaving home. Now, we are trying to figure out how to get another $3,500 for another cruise. We love it.  Life is good!