pirate4me2

Ah man! I honestly didn’t know our room was on the right side for it, we just lucked out! I opened the curtains this morning and literally went “YESSSSS!”

We were off the ship by 10:26, and after a quick ride to the YC beach area, we set off to explore! The YC beach area wasn’t what I expected honestly…I read that it was rocky and you needed water shoes, but it’s not really “Rocky”…it’s more “Shelly.” It’s small pieces of broken up shells, and yes you do need water shoes, but it wasn’t like “watch out or you’ll twist an ankle Rocky” like I had in my mind. The waves were rough today, but we still had a blast. We stayed in the water until 12:30, then went to the YC restaurant on the island for lunch, which was EXCELLENT. I had the crab ceviche and lobster roll, and both were flavorful and hit the spot! Mom had the salad as her app, and it was good according to her.

We headed up to breakfast on the pool deck at 9:40, and the offerings were great! I tried the sticky buns I’ve heard about on here (yummy), a hash brown, some fruit, a sausage, grilled tomato (yum) and a cheese & mushroom omlet (delish). The bar tender made an iced latte, which gave me some energy, and we were ready to start the day!

After our late-ish night last night, I slept in until 9. What a treat that was! Even though our cabin (18028) is under the pool deck, I never heard any noise from above. I gotta say, I love our cabin location…1 deck down to concierge and Top Sail Lounge, same deck as the YC restaurant, 1 deck up to the pool deck. It’s also close to the stairs and elevators…just a perfect location! Added bonus: check out our balcony view. I think this will be PERFECT for tonight, if I don’t feel like venturing out into the island again!

He is outstanding, and trying so hard to pamper us. He almost seems confused when we say we are good and don’t need anything! They asked for 6 ladies and 6 men, and each round they would play a random song, then cut the music and the contestant had to finish singing part of it. It was a good laugh!

Gooooood morning!! This view from my balcony is perfect!

We had muster drill at 4, everyone went to their cabins to watch the 5ish minute safety video, then we had to dial a number on the phone in our stateroom to register that we watched it. They then called half the ship to go to their muster stations to get their cards scanned, then shortly after the other half were called. I have to say, I much prefer Carnival’s muster…everyone goes on their own time to their muster station, as long as it’s before sailing. That keeps the congestion down to a minimum. This was a little hectic, but we survived. After muster we wandered the “gen pop” areas of the ship. We grabbed a few drinks at different bars, then made our way to the upper decks to watch sail away at 6. From there we went back to the Top Sail Lounge to chill, and a saxaphone player was in there…he is excellent! I am not usually a sax fan, but I loved his music. We decided to grab dinner at about 8:05, and I really don’t understand the food complaints I’ve heard…both mom and I were thoroughly pleased with this meal as well, and the portions were big! I got the vegetable dumplings and the vegetarian tortellini, mom got the Nordic salad and the clam risotto. We also shared the marinated scallops. The scallops were good, but I was suprised they were chilled. Those dumplings tho…YUM! My pasta was good, but mom’s risotto hit it out of the park..it was so full of flavor! We were both full after that, so I just asked if we could take a cheese plate back to the cabin for later. The server said he would arrange for Arnold to deliver one. At 9:11 we made our way to the Haven lounge to get a drink and see Lip Sync Battle, which was at 10. It was a lively and fun activity, and although I really, really wanted to go to the Glow party at 11, I just couldn’t make it. I’m crashing, so here I am talking to you all. All in all…day 1 is a success! If the cruise continues like this, I believe MSC will see more of me!

The shower is my new BFF…super hot water, with excellent pressure. I love a good shower, I always say when I build my new house a kick butt tile walk in shower with rainforest shower head is a must!

My last comparisons for today: *I prefer Carnival’s muster drill. MSC has everyone in their cabins to watch a safety video at 4, then you call a number from your stateroom to register that you watched it. Finally, they call half the ship to go to their muster stations to get their cards scanned, then shortly after, the rest of the ship. It leads to some congestion and confusion. I much prefer Carnival’s method! *There is a lot of fun entertainment onboard! I went to Lip Sync Battle tonight, it was fun, and they had a Glow party at 11 (I was too tired to attend). There are also dance classes, a sailaway party, and I missed the theater show but heard it was decent. There seems to be something for everyone!

One more quick observation as I'm trying to navigate these foreign waters…I wish the MSC for Me app had a ship map like the Carnival Hub app has. I never realized how handy that feature was!

One more quick observation as I'm trying to navigate these foreign waters…I wish the MSC for Me app had a ship map like the Carnival Hub app has. I never realized how handy that feature was!

Thanks for following along!

Just a few very quick first impressions… *This ship is beautiful. Just…wow. That’s all I can really say. MSC really has the wow factor nailed here. However…I think the ceilings are lower, and there are a lot of mirrors, which I foresee being an issue with me after a few drinks. 😂 Not quite sure how I feel about the mirrors yet. *Cabin storage…I miss Carnival here! Mom and I immediately noticed that there is no shelving next to the mirror in the main cabin area, and normally on Carnival we each take a side for makeup, hairbrushes, etc. So now all my stuff is sprawled on the desk area…not as neat looking. Oh well. *Love the bathroom in our cabin, with a door instead of a shower curtain; It’s like the Excel class Carnival ships. *We ventured into a few “gen-pop” areas a few minutes ago. I love the Jungle Pool on here, it’s shady and just really cool looking. The water slides also look like a blast. I’d say MSC seems pretty kid friendly and fun! More comparisons to come later! There’s a variety show tonight for entertainment, I may check it out, and a glow party at 11, if I can stay up that late. They definitely have a good assortment of activities to partake in I think.

Divina is on my list to try if we like MSC. Purely sentimental, but her name reminds me of my dog’s, Divya. 😂 Kinda like I had to sail Carnival Glory because my first horse’s name was Glory lol.

I woke up at 6:53 this morning and went to put in my contacts…only to discover KatieKat left me a message about how angry she is I left her behind. I stuck my contact in, and owww! A dang piece of her long fluff had apparently fallen into my contact case and gotten stuck on my contact. #lifewithpets After cussing and wondering why the heck I’m such a softie and have to have pets, I got myself together. Mom and I decided to go get breakfast at Grill’s at 8, and we split the Krabby Frank’s Benedict’s and a seafood omlet. The Benedict’s won! Our shuttle to the port was at 10:45, and we had the shuttle all to ourselves. It seemed like everyone else we spoke to was going on RCL’s Wonder of the Seas. The driver dropped us off right at the blue Yacht Club Tent, and I swear, from the time we dropped our luggage to the time we sat in the Top Sail Lounge we never quit moving! I barely had time to drink a glass of champagne at check in! It was awesome. We were sipping mimosas and nibbling snacks in Top Sail by 11. Our cabin was ready at 11:58, so we went to check it out and dump our carry ons, then went for lunch at 12:30. Mom and I both got the Cobb salad, which was a huge portion and so fresh and delicious. I got the Pakora entree, which was a vegetarian option…it was like fried vegetable fritters. They were slightly spicy and yummy. Moms vegetarian pasta though…oh my gosh, that was the winner!! The filling was flavorful and pasta so fresh! I got the cheesecake for dessert, which was good, and mom got the trio sampler, which was the winner. The tiramisu on that…just heaven!!! We went back to the room at 1:30 to freshen up, and our luggage had arrived so we unpacked. Here I noticed one comparison to Carnival…there are not as many shelves by the cabin mirror to store lady things. Mom and I usually each take a side for our makeup, hairbrush, etc. On here I just threw it on the desk like area. I miss my shelves. However, I love all the closet space, they seem to have more of that than Carnival. And the bathroom! I love it, it’s not cramped, and I love there is no shower curtain. The balcony is a great size, I foresee some major reading happening out there. We met our butler, Arnold, who is a sweetie. He explained things to us and is arranging to have the bed separated…mom refuses to snuggle me, she says I bite and kick. We decided to walk a few “gen-pop” areas after unpacking, and so far I like the ship a lot! There is an aqua-adventure park with water slides for the kids that looks like a lot of fun, and the Jungle Pool area was shady and cool looking. The Aurea sun deck and bar has a lot of shade and wasn’t busy at all. We meandered back to “our” area and got our first beverages of the cruise…iced coffee for mom, a frozen chocolate thing for me. That drink was dangerous. That’s all for now. Time to watch safety video. More later!

Thank you! 😂 going to try and work on a quick post now!

Thank you! There will be a post later tonight of first day thoughts/comparisons, wifi willing!

It’s finally here! I’m anxiously counting down until our hotel shuttle to the port. 55 minutes!! We will take good care of Seaside for you until you board. 🙂 We are!! I can’t wait!!

Thank you, I’m excited to see what adventures and experiences the next week holds for us!

Travel day done! To appease Mom, I crawled out of bed at 3:15, even though my KatieKat tried to tell me not to. She tried all the tricks: lying on my belly purring, refusing to move, giving me the sweetest head butts and meows, then tried rolling around looking cute and meowing when all else failed. When she realized she got an early breakfast thought she abandoned her mission to lure me back to bed. After tearful goodbyes to the cat and dog, and a lecture to the husband to keep them alive, I hit the road to mom’s at 4, and we were loaded and headed southbound at 4:30. We made good time until about 6:15, when a crash near Pomaria, SC shut down the interstate and we had to do a little detour. It wasn’t bad though, and the detour took us by a Chick fil A. I could totally taste a spicy chicken biscuit with pickles, so we pulled in. That biscuit hit the spot and was fresh and PERFECT! We trucked on to Jacksonville, FL for our next stop at a tack store I discovered years ago, and reached it at 11:02. Mom and I wasted a good 45 minutes here and left with a back seat full of goodies (not really, just cheap pitchforks) and then grabbed a Blizzard from Dairy Queen for “lunch.” We didn’t want anything heavy, and the FL heat was hitting us good, so ice cream sounded like a great plan. The rest of the drive was uneventful until about 25 minutes away from the hotel, when we narrowly avoided an incident that could have been bad. We were barreling along at a good clip when a tractor trailer ahead blew a tire, and thank goodness we were in the far left lane. A huge chunk of tire landed in the middle lane, and another car hit it and pieces flew all over, and a bunch of it was stuck under his car. I felt so bad for him, and was so greatful that A) we were not in that lane and that B) none of the debris hit us! I hope that other car was not damaged too badly. We got the our hotel, Home2Suites, at 2:30. I had done contactless check in on the app so we just went up to our room and chucked our junk in there, then headed down to the lobby. We stopped at reception to pick up our shuttle pass for tomorrow morning (shuttles run at 10:45 and 11:15) and the parking pass for the car. I then called for an Uber to whisk us away to Fishlips for dinner. We walked in at 3:34, and ahhhh…I immediately felt like I was finally on vacation! We opted to sit upstairs on the deck under an umbrella, and I ordered a drink (Tropical Heat Wave I think the name was?) that had habanero bitters in it…oh my gosh y’all, it was awesome!! Sweet and spicy, and the perfect start to vaca! I sipped it as we watched Ol’ Stumpy (oh sorry, Carnival Freedom) sail out. Mom shook her head at poor Freedom and said WHY has that poor whale tail not been fixed yet…it’s a shame to Carnival, and looks awful up close. To me she looks like the forgotten stepchild of the fleet. But anyway…I know she gets fixed in a few months. Our food arrived, and dinner was a great success. Mom got the seafood roll with a salad, and the innerds of the roll were DELISH! I got blackened Mahi tacos with fries, and they were as delicious as always. We chowed down and watched the birds and port traffic, and talked to a few locals. It was nice. We Ubered back to the hotel at 4:45, and wandered the property for a few. We dangled our legs in the pool, and then walked to the “pond” out back. We got excited when we thought we saw an alligator in the water…then realized it was just a turtle. Darn it. Mom so wanted to see a gator in person. Maybe I’ll take her mini golfing where they have them sometime. 😂 We finally decided at 7 that we were done for the day. We are feeling like 2 old ladies with our early morning wake up, so we came back to the room to shower and collapse. We discovered that although the room is clean, they forgot to refill the shower gel and shampoo, but whatevs…I brought my own, I’ll be ok. Tomorrow…CRUISE DAY!!! I’ll officially jump ship!

We did bring water shoes after hearing about the YC beach area! I feel funny about the whole butler thing, but I’m sure we will find some way to utilize the service! Thanks for following along! We are doing the Ocean Cay/Costa Maya/Cozumel run.

@Lillabee4memay chime in occasionally with her thoughts as well. That is Mom, who has done 5 Carnival cruises, and she may notice differences I don’t. 🙂

Travel day done! To appease Mom, I crawled out of bed at 3:15, even though my KatieKat tried to tell me not to. She tried all the tricks: lying on my belly purring, refusing to move, giving me the sweetest head butts and meows, then tried rolling around looking cute and meowing when all else failed. When she realized she got an early breakfast thought she abandoned her mission to lure me back to bed. After tearful goodbyes to the cat and dog, and a lecture to the husband to keep them alive, I hit the road to mom’s at 4, and we were loaded and headed southbound at 4:30. We made good time until about 6:15, when a crash near Pomaria, SC shut down the interstate and we had to do a little detour. It wasn’t bad though, and the detour took us by a Chick fil A. I could totally taste a spicy chicken biscuit with pickles, so we pulled in. That biscuit hit the spot and was fresh and PERFECT! We trucked on to Jacksonville, FL for our next stop at a tack store I discovered years ago, and reached it at 11:02. Mom and I wasted a good 45 minutes here and left with a back seat full of goodies (not really, just cheap pitchforks) and then grabbed a Blizzard from Dairy Queen for “lunch.” We didn’t want anything heavy, and the FL heat was hitting us good, so ice cream sounded like a great plan. The rest of the drive was uneventful until about 25 minutes away from the hotel, when we narrowly avoided an incident that could have been bad. We were barreling along at a good clip when a tractor trailer ahead blew a tire, and thank goodness we were in the far left lane. A huge chunk of tire landed in the middle lane, and another car hit it and pieces flew all over, and a bunch of it was stuck under his car. I felt so bad for him, and was so greatful that A) we were not in that lane and that B) none of the debris hit us! I hope that other car was not damaged too badly. We got the our hotel, Home2Suites, at 2:30. I had done contactless check in on the app so we just went up to our room and chucked our junk in there, then headed down to the lobby. We stopped at reception to pick up our shuttle pass for tomorrow morning (shuttles run at 10:45 and 11:15) and the parking pass for the car. I then called for an Uber to whisk us away to Fishlips for dinner. We walked in at 3:34, and ahhhh…I immediately felt like I was finally on vacation! We opted to sit upstairs on the deck under an umbrella, and I ordered a drink (Tropical Heat Wave I think the name was?) that had habanero bitters in it…oh my gosh y’all, it was awesome!! Sweet and spicy, and the perfect start to vaca! I sipped it as we watched Ol’ Stumpy (oh sorry, Carnival Freedom) sail out. Mom shook her head at poor Freedom and said WHY has that poor whale tail not been fixed yet…it’s a shame to Carnival, and looks awful up close. To me she looks like the forgotten stepchild of the fleet. But anyway…I know she gets fixed in a few months. Our food arrived, and dinner was a great success. Mom got the seafood roll with a salad, and the innerds of the roll were DELISH! I got blackened Mahi tacos with fries, and they were as delicious as always. We chowed down and watched the birds and port traffic, and talked to a few locals. It was nice. We Ubered back to the hotel at 4:45, and wandered the property for a few. We dangled our legs in the pool, and then walked to the “pond” out back. We got excited when we thought we saw an alligator in the water…then realized it was just a turtle. Darn it. Mom so wanted to see a gator in person. Maybe I’ll take her mini golfing where they have them sometime. 😂 We finally decided at 7 that we were done for the day. We are feeling like 2 old ladies with our early morning wake up, so we came back to the room to shower and collapse. We discovered that although the room is clean, they forgot to refill the shower gel and shampoo, but whatevs…I brought my own, I’ll be ok. Tomorrow…CRUISE DAY!!!