rxlowry

For the two base products (not counting the Haven..which is my least fave ship in a ship) Carnival beats NCL hands down in most categories to me!

Digital disembarkation was so easy! Our group called at 8:35 and in the car by 8:55. The blog is all caught up and I’m adjusting to being off the ship! I truly enjoyed this vacation. Carnival gets a bad wrap at times but they do some things very well. And not all cruises are the same..the atmosphere on this Journey cruise is different than a three day cruise which some people do not realize. I’m not a firm believer in “once a balcony always a balcony” and I apply that to cruise lines as well…I love trying different ones. Luxury, premium, ship in a ship, and plain old contemporary cruising…I bounce between all. I just need to have to correct expectations. My 50th cruise is my next trip and I’m trying Carnival’s “cousin”…Holland America in November for the very first time. Join me on that board or the blog for my next adventure. Thanks for following along and being a great board on Cruise Critic!

I tried to order one item from this on the second day and was told they'd have to check with chef. So I would talk to maitre'd about it to get access to this menu. I spoke to a vegan on the second week of cruise and she said she had to pre-order dinner each night.

Towel animals are getting so realistic. Just kidding! From museum in St Anthony’s but here’s some of the real ones

Some pics from last day. Very sparse activities but at least I didn’t feel like I missed out when packing. dinner menu wasn’t great and we got a comp to seafood. We wanted to see our table friends so we decided to go for apps. We were all alone! Found them at early comedy and they weren’t too keen on menu either. I will say the seafood is fine if comped but it would not be worth paying for!

The first one was Governor’s Pub which I wouldn’t really recommend. Very slow, best dish was lobster poutine but also gave us a dirty dish. Island Cider is behind a church very close to port. Highly recommend. Flavor on water is inside the port. Very good! I’d go there for food

I was excited for the Feast menu last night. First big missing MDR for me. The filet was not a filet. More like a strip…and if so call it what it is. The escargot were ok but could be improved. I’d go lighter on Pernod for the snail newbies. Soufflé is one of my favorite but this was so over baked it had texture of cake. comedy as fun though’

I think so too but the sad part is it still isn’t great

Walked 6.9 miles today!! Beautiful weather. Had lobster wontons and lobster poutine. Cider flight. Split lobster roll. Life is good

Good morning from Sydney! You know how when you talk about someone and they appear…I mentioned Crystal…the pull was strong calling me…haven’t been back on since the new ownership but really want to

Returned from breakfast to find this letter. Is this because of Chef Table? Our table mates who scored us the Al Fresco? We did an outstanding galley tour on Celebrity last November during service and I heard no photos on Carnival. Someone earlier in week said no phones even allowed but I didn’t read that here.

Just returned from another stellar breakfast. Carnival scores high here for me..nice pace, upscale selections (brûléed grapefruit and caramelized banana) nice cook and temperature. I’d rank it higher than YC on MSC and it leaves NCL in the dust. I think maybe even better than Luminae on Celebrity. It stands up to Crystal even. I know every cruise has misses but I have yet to have one at breakfast yet!

There was a teen at our ceremony and said hers was syrup. I thought maple but when I turned around it was a shade of pink

Yesterday, I celebrated my 365th night at sea! Great day in port, kissed a fish and drank some rum! Dinner was Italian Night and since our table mates had Chef Table, we had pizza at the buffet. The ventriloquist last night was bad before he even took out the dummy. His “jokes” offended women, alcoholics, mentally ill, and elderly. He is obviously using material over 24 years old as he talked about TSA like it’s a new thing. We left after five minutes. The upside is we then caught the family show for Happy Cole and he was great! Returned for his adult set which was just as funny!!

Chef’s Table was great only downside was the man next to me seemed to roll in right from port. The day was quite warm and he had that sweat smell. It got better once food smells helped block it Here’s some pictures but I’ll but much more details on the blog. I wrote my Greenland day yesterday and I can’t wait to write about yesterday. I had a blast in Corner Brook.

Tonight’s dinner in MDR. We had Chef Table which was delicious

I think it’s offered multiple times bit ours was day 8

Throwback dinner was another winner for us! The only disappointment for some was the coq au vin which seemed to have no vin. I thought a bit odd to have pickled onions on it as well. I’d recommend the Beef Wellington or the lobster. Everyone ordered two entrees tonight ant our table. We also met our other table mates who are both professional gamblers, one taking his first cruise. Apparently, the one only dines on elegant nights in the MDR. We were able to attend the Captain’s cocktail party at 6:30 since dinner service really moves! Had a couple mini Manhattans and enjoyed a few dances on stage. We tried to hang in piano bar with Rodney but he is an assault to my ears. The adult comedy was at 9:30 tonight and Frank Lucero was better than his first set. The day ended perfectly with the Northern Lights from our balcony!

I think there might be like ten kids under 18…maybe 3 babies, 4 elementary age and like three teens maybe … Scooter are abundant! I’ve been old quite a few older demographic lines but this is the most I’ve seen and the most who really struggle with mobility. Our excursion in Greenland was tough for some. The 50 steps with no rail was a challenge but DH and the guide helped some. Even in the afternoon on a very short walk to restaurant, the guide took two breaks and the 8 steps to enter restaurant was hard on some. I’m thankful I’m doing this “young” plus you never know what the next chapter will be or when it’s the last you write.

Even more special…

Was it qaqortoq day? No one really lingered over dinner for us! It was pretty chilly at 8pm when our seating was

Today on Carnival: I watched three old men pull their balls out of their bathing suits. Fun throwback activity although no women chose to participate. I remember playing this game in the pool on my very first cruise in 1983 on the Cunard Countess. It was slightly different back then because everyone played at the same time and you had to swim around to find the ping pong balls. I was only ten and didn’t have much places to put them back then but it was a fun memory to relive

Last night we were invited to Al Fresco thanks to our table mates. Very chilly but the blankets helped.

We made it to Greenland! Went ashore on the 7:30 tender for our 8:05 tour. Great home visit tour!! Explored on our on until next tour at 12:15…beer and food!

Went for a swim today so I can so I swam off the shore of Greenland. It was so lovely! Carnival does a great job heating the pool. Pics on my husband’s phone Dinner seems mid tonight. Maybe it’s a buffet night? Thoughts?