richbum
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Here are a few pix from around the ship.
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Back in Tampa- We had originally planned on going to the aquarium when we got off the ship, as our flight wasn't until 2:15. So we decided to do self assist disembark. We didn't realize that the aquarium didn't open until 9:30 and our car was picking us up at 11....so we wouldn't have enough time to enjoy it. We were out of our room by 7:30 so that Eko could do his thing and get ready for the next group of cruisers. Now for those of you cruising with little kids...in Tampa, you need to have a carseat for your child. No big deal when we landed because we rented a car for the time we were there. We had flown into/out of Tampa/St. Pete, and none of the Carnival shuttles go there...Ubers/taxi's won't take you without a carseat...so we had to call a car service. We used Amber Limousine. I called them just before we left Tampa the day we boarded the ship to reserve our spot. When we got back to port, I called to tell them that we were early and to see if they could come early to get us since we weren't doing the aquarium. They didn't get the message because the office was closed...but Orlando, our driver showed up early, knowing how fast Carnival gets people off the ship. He was amazing! Its about a 20 to 25 min ride to Tampa/St.Pete airport and Orlando was a lot of fun on the drive. Super friendly and not reckless at all with his driving (He is originally from New York...haha) I couldn't fit my granddaughter sombrero in my bag without crushing it....so I wore it on the plane (It is for a 5 year old...hence the size). Hubby couldn't stop laughing at me! We liked going into Tampa/St Pete. It is a small airport...barely any wait. TSA was a breeze, and there was a play area near our gate for J to get some energy out before we boarded for our 3 hour flight home. When we landed in Bangor, an ice storm had just started....and Krissy and Marks ride (who had their 4wd vehicle) didn't come to get them....so we stayed at the airport hotel. Hubby rode home with our friends and brought the jeep us to get us in the morning (roads were worse at this point)...At this point I think all of us regretted not taking Frankies advise and hiding out in the life boat during disembarkation!!! Then home to make a big pot of chili, and cornbread and get some wood in the woodstove.
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It was a great experience. I think we also had a lot of diamonds, and FTTF guests on board this cruise....so they would always stop the line when any of them came...that along with the fact that only 1 x-ray machine was open for quite a wile probably didn't help...We were fine sitting outside in the Florida sunshine waiting anyway...I hope you have fun...The cruise after you is a nude cruise according to Frankie!
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Our final night was dinner and the farewell show which they couldn't dance for in the Taj Mahal. we just walked around, hit the onboard shops after that...then went to the room to back our belongings. We loved spending every night in the dining room. Our 3 waiters, Nikko the "shot guy" was awesome every night...and J's friend who wasn't part of our wait team...but always made an effort to see him are all top notch! Also, Eko was our room steward and he was amazing. From day 1 they always called us by name and treated us like we were their only guests.
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This morning was our last day on the ship. It was bittersweet for sure. We had such an amazing time on the ship and all 5 ports (3 new to us). The ship was still rocking and rolling, so some events were cancelled. We did go to the Dr. Seuss breakfast, towel animal takeover on the lido, Ice carving, bingo, and daughter went to the Harry Potter trivia (missed by 2 points). During Bingo, I started to feel a little seasick, so Mark went up to my room to grab the patches for me and for Krissy. I leaned on Charlie while he played. After Bingo, I went to the room to have a nap. When I woke up, I felt good enough to go to the dining room to say farewell to our amazing dinging team.
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Its now Friday night and the ship is rocking!!! We had dinner in the dining room and then went to the love and marriage show. You could really feel the movement on the 2nd floor where the Taj Mahal is! The show was funny....but the newlywed couple ruined Acadia National park for us (Its about 20 mins from my house)...haha. The longest married couple has been married for 57 years...I can only hope our will last that long! They were a riot!!
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Our next stop was Cozumel. We have been here twice before...once at Paradise Beach and once at the downtown port shopping. This time we decided to go to Mr Sanchos. We booked before the price increase. The water was so warm and beautiful. Mr Sanchos is all inclusive. All food and drinks are included. The food was okay...and the drinks were weak. I am a lightweight and normally start feeling the alcohol after 1 drink...I had 5 at Mr Sanchos and never felt a thing! L&L watched them pour drinks and said they put a "normal" amount of alcohol in...so we figured they must be super watered down!! We were some of the first to get there even though there were lots of ships in port today (including the Allure again)It wasn't even that crowded that day so that was nice. There was a lot of seaweed right by the shoreline....and a couple of us think we got bit by a jellyfish because we had a super stabbing pain that lasted about 10 mins. When we left Mr Sanchos, we decided to hit the shops before getting back on the ship. I got my vanilla from Los Cinco Sol (best vanilla ever!!) and also got a few souvenirs for the kids back home. Charlie was looking for a certain type of creamy tequila that he tried and didn't buy last time we were there...but never found it. Not long after we got on the ship the wind picked up and some rain came....the wind never died down until we got back to Tampa!!
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It was the second formal night tonight...and we told the kids they could go have fun without J. We also decided that we would surprise them and have his pix done while they were out and about! The food was amazing as always, and we went to another great playlist show after dinner. J was having a blast just running around the lido getting some of that last minute energy our before bed. Once we took him to their room to go to sleep...he was out like a light within 5 minutes...Mark and Krissy didn't stay out to late, but had fun just going to the serenity deck, going to a comedy show and walking around!-
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After our tour, we went back to the port to shop a bit....But it was a MADHOUSE! There were 4 ships in port including the Monstrosity of the seas...I mean Allure. We figured between all of the ships there were at least 17000 people...and it showed! We grabbed a couple of gifts for my grandgirls and went back to the ship. Tonight was the 2nd formal night!
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Next up was Costa Maya...The kids were going to just hang at the port today and us and L&L were going to go to the ruins...L&L weren't feeling good so they gave their tickets to the kids. We decided to book this one through Carnival just because we had heard it was a long ways away...and didn't want to take any chances on missing the ship. This excursion was actually the shortest of all. We had fun, and it was beautiful to see...but in all honesty, this was probably my least favorite excursion that we did. The tour guide was very serious the whole time. It wasn't "fun" like the others. As I said, we had fun and learned a lot too!
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This night we went to the Taj Mahal theater to watch one of the playlist shows. They do such a great job putting these shows together....The best part though was J rocking out to the tunes. Usually when he dances he looks like a peanuts character just bobbing up and down...This night he was waving his arms in the air and gettin jiggy like never before! After the show is what up to the hot tub for us...the hot tub isn't really that hot...but it was relaxing!
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We got back to the tenders and just got in line...no shopping this time. It was about a 20 minute temder ride back to the ship.
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Next up is Belize. Belize is a tender port...and we had to park about 5 miles off shore because of the coral reefs. When we left, we had to zig zag around the reef. We booked a tour through Butts Up Cave Tubing and I HIGHLY recommend them. Speedy and Big Mac were our tour guides during the bus drive to the rain forest. Fernando was our guide through the caves. Speedy and Big mac were funny but they were also informative....Once we got to the rain forest, Big Mac guided us down to the river while Speedy stayed behind to help a woman who had problems walking. We found out that Big Mac also does lobster fishing as a second job...(L works at a lobster processing/shipping plant in Maine so they chatted quite a bit) He talked about how in Belize, they like spice...they like their food to have a lot of flavor and a lot of heat. One of the things I liked about Butts Up is that they take your tubes to the river for you....we saw other companies there that had the customers carrying theirs. The scenery was breathtaking!!! Another fun fact about Belize...their gas is $17 a gallon....so most people walk to wherever they are going...or get a scooter. If you ever have a chance to do this excursion...DO IT!! Oh...Fernando also told us that the land where the caves is was originally bought by an American. He sent his employee to check the river to see if it was safe before he started tubing company....the employee came back and gave the all clear....then the American send him with a mask and snorkel to make sure there weren't any crocodiles....He did it...scared for his life...but was happy to report that nothing is going to eat you alive while you go down the river. I think we saw 3 different tour companies taking people down. The cost for us was $50 per person plus tips. I forgot to mention that after we finished tubing...They took us to their palapa and gave us a tamales .
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I'm Baaaaack!!! So dining time was the same time as sail away...so L&L stayed behind to watch for pier runners then went to the buffet...and the rest of us went to the dining room. Then we went duck hunting. I got 2....well technically I didn't get any...but L found one about 5 seconds before me so she gave it to me...and hubby found 1 and I got that. There were hundreds of ducks hidden on this cruise. People were coming up to J and handing them to him...he loved it! I think he got 4 or 5.
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After dinner shots on the Horizon
richbum replied to BahamaTNBlondy's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
I don't know if they count towards cheers or not...but you do get to keep the glass. -
It was great. Mid ship, so we didn't feel as much rocking (and there was a LOT on our last sea day!)....walk down 4 floors to the dining room or up 3 for the lido and pool.
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We did see a lot of banks...Our friend was going to open an account at one...just so he could say that he had an account...I don't know why he didn't. We went here the first time in 2006...right after the hurricane and swam with the stingrays through Captain Marvins...I highly recommend them as well!!!
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Next stop was Roatan Hondorus. This was the port I was looking forward to the most because I LOVE SLOTHS! I don't know why...I just do! So us girls and little man booked an excursion through Daniel Johnsons and went to the sloth hangout. This was something that was on my bucket list! My daughter and our friend loves monkeys so it worked out perfectly. The guys went and did their own thing...they looked around the port then went to the beach and ate and drank before going back to the ship. After we got back from our tour, we went to the ship and changed into our bathing suits and wen to the beach. So when you get off the ship here, you have to go out through the port, walk up some steps, down a big hill and the tour guides will meet you there. When we got to our meeting place, we were told that we had a private car for our excursion...YAY US! Our guide was Karla and she was amazing! We had booked the hangout and a city tour. She was full of info and was just so genuine. She also was super understanding when J got fussy. (even held him a few times because she loves kids!) We learned a lot about her country....what the went through during covid and about her family. She stopped at a chocolate factory where we got samples...then bought some more....she was going to stop at a local beach as well...but J had just fallen asleep. If you have a chance to do this tour...I highly recommend it!!! When we went to the beach after our excursion, it started pouring...and people were running for the lives...we laughed a little and said that we were going to get wet anyway...so lets swim! The water was so warm...and the beach sand was soft. We didn't stay long. When we got back on the ship...there was a beautiful rainbow!!! Now....I didn't realize how light the sloths would be. I held Olivia...and she was just so light...I thought they would be way heavier!
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We just got back from sailing the pride out of Tampa....Cozumel and Roatan were perfect for swimming...
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After dinner shots on the Horizon
richbum replied to BahamaTNBlondy's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
We just got off the pride and they did them every night. -
We went to the comedy club that night. His name was Keer....He was pretty good...did lots of impressions of singers...and nailed them!
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So we got the good to go from the captain around 5:45....15 minutes before early seating dinner. We went down around 6 to see if they were still doing dinner or if we should hit the buffet. Now keep in mind, the dining room is a muster station...and the crew were all outside looking for someone who didn't actually fall in the water....so they were running behind and had to set up the tables again. Ricky made an announcement that dinner would be around 15 to 20 minutes late. I was standing next to an older gentleman (using that term loosely) who was MAD that they were running late. After listening to him complain a few times...I made a comment about how awesome the crew did considering what they had just gone through...and if people were going to complain about the meal being late maybe they should go to the buffet....I think he got the hint because he was pretty quiet after that...Dinner was amazing as always...and we never felt rushed.
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Ours and our friends were the same....Here is a picture of my daughters...she was in 6253 (opposite side of the ship)
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Sail away was just gorgeous!!! A short time after sail away, we had a man over board call. I can tell you first hand that Carnival handled this so well. Again, Frankie and the Captain kept us updated throughout the whole process. We had a balcony room so we could see everything happening. They slammed on the brakes and threw out 3 life rings....circled back to where the person yelled man over board. They asked for everyone who had a balcony or was on a deck where they could see to keep an eye out for the person, they sent down a small boat for crew to go look for them, after a while, they called everyone to their muster station to check in. K & M were on the opposite side of the ship. They had a knock on their door from a woman who was crying and in full panic mode because she couldn't find her grandson. Now....the one thing that annoyed me during this whole process was the amount of people they had to keep calling to check in....They called multiple people to check in at least 4 or 5 times...The whole process took about 2 hours then they let us know that everyone was safe and accounted for. (Thank you God!!!) Anywho while we were going to our muster station, we were behind a man in line who told us that he was standing near the person who yelled it...Young and drunk was how he described them. The captain and others came down to ask questions and they were changing their story...I never heard what happened to them...hopefully permanently kicked off the ship and Carnival.
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