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It does get a little rocky after we left port. Read ahead! LOL Actually, I've never been to Disney! When our kids were small, we simply couldn't afford it, (mainly because we had small children and they're expensive!). When they were older, they didn't want to go. We've just never gotten around to making the trip. Thanks so much for reading along!

So before I get back to the Story, I need to introduce the "cast of characters" in photo. I should have done it yesterday, but it completely slipped my mind. Here we are... Ron and Michelle (me!) Cami and Emory Derrick and Lucinda Daryl and Frances Bobby and Kim Liz and Aaron So....on we go! Saturday, February 4th, 2023 - Cruise Day! After a couple years’ wait it was FINALLY time to get this group cruise started! Yay! (happy dance) I’m always like a kindergartner on the first day of school on cruise day. I am up with the sun and ready to roll! Ron and I headed down for breakfast. Hampton always has a nice breakfast included with the stay. They’ve never let me down yet! We were meeting all our group in the lobby at 9:45 to head over to the port for parking. We all had a 10:30 check in time. Liz in the lobby Ron, also waiting in the lobby. See how patient we are! (not!) Breakfast finished, bags packed...time to go! Daryl and Frances were again with us. They were a little nervous about the check-in process since this was their first time and we had promised to take every step of the way with us. We took a minute to download the HUB app onto Frances’s phone before we left the hotel. Cami and Emory took their car, Derrick and Lucinda took their truck, Bobby and Kim took their car and Liz and Aaron rode with them. Everyone was present and accounted for. Let’s get this show on the road! Charleston has a somewhat confusing boarding process like nothing else that I’ve experienced I any other embarkation ports. The cruise parking is relatively well marked along the way with signs but not all of them seem correct. It seems that some of the road signs might have been left over from previous parking configurations. The sandwich signs were more recent so between those and the port officials pointing us in various directions, we found where we needed to go without too much trouble. Cruise parking sign Parking in Charleston is one large open lot. When you pull onto the lot, you pay for parking. They slap a small colored sticker on your windshield. The cost is $105 for the five day cruise however, if you have a handicapped designation it is free and you park much closer to the check in building. I thought that was a nice touch. Parking lot After paying for your parking, you pull into a white tent. This is where you drop off luggage. Ron jumped out of the car, quickly gave the porters our luggage and jumped back in our car. We were then directed to a specific parking space. From there we would walk. Did I mention it was cold? It was STILL cold. It was in the 40’s at this point. The wind was blowing. I was freezing! Poor Frances was REALLY freezing! We hurried along a marked pathway that led to a metal building labeled on the side “Building 324”. Kind of like Area 51 maybe? This was the building where we would complete the first part of our check in process. We joined the line and in just a few minutes we were called up to check in and have our pictures taken for security. Daryl and Frances stayed with us through the entire process. The officials who were directing traffic flow let them go to the desk to check in with us. Just as we reached desk 1, desk 2 opened so it worked out perfectly and Daryl and Frances had no problems at all. We did the normal routine...check passports, check boarding pass, take picture...you know the drill. We were then free to sit until our boarding number was called. Our entire group of twelve checked in and sat down. This entire part of the process probably took less than fifteen minutes. It was running quite efficiently. Check-in area We joined the line and in just a few minutes we were called up to check in and have our pictures taken for security. Daryl and Frances stayed with us through the entire process. The officials who were directing traffic flow let them go to the desk to check in with us. Just as we reached desk 1, desk 2 opened so it worked out perfectly and Daryl and Frances had no problems at all. We did the normal routine...check passports, check boarding pass, take picture...you know the drill. We were then free to sit until our boarding number was called. Our entire group of twelve checked in and sat down. This entire part of the process probably took less than fifteen minutes. It was running quite efficiently. Checked in and waiting to load a bus to go to the ship and final security check Once our boarding zone number was called, we were loaded onto shuttle buses for transport to the ship. You could see the ship......it would have been a short walk....but you MUST take the bus. Most of our group was loaded onto one bus and it looked like Ron and I were going on a separate bus when they discovered there was still room for two more on the first bus. We climbed aboard and were on our way for a very short ride over to the ship. We were all excited. Some of our people were seeing a cruise ship up close and personal for the first time. I remember seeing Sensation the first time back in 2010. Even now, I still get goosebumps when I see the ship. The security check-in is right after the bus ride. You go into another building, the terminal building if you will, and are immediately sent to the lines for metal detectors and scanning. If you've read any of my past reviews, you know that I don't always have the greatest of luck with security. For some reason, I always seem to have done something wrong, be wearing the wrong thing or just get randomly selected for "enhanced screening". I always try to be very careful and check the rules beforehand, but it still seems to catch up with me. I'm proud to say at this time, I breezed right through! Yes! Now over the years, my dear sweet girl, Liz, has given me no end of grief over my various brushes with security. I am the mildest mannered and innocent person she knows apparently. She was actually on hand to witness the TSA debacle in the Concord, NC airport (see the Sunrise story) and that has become one of her favorite "Michelle" stories. Today would be a day of retribution! Yes! Like I said, I sailed through security with no problems. My halo was intact and shiny. You must have been able to see the goodness glowing in my face. OK, maybe not, but still, they didn't give me a hard time. Maybe I'm getting better at the whole "security" thing. Liz was in the line beside me. She was stopped for having a small pair of scissors in her bag. She kept insisting that she didn't have any scissors in her bag, and they were proceeding to go through the offending bag. In the meantime, the rest of our group was going on through security with no problems other than Bobby having to have his new knee wanded. (Wanded....is that even a word? Spell check says it isn't. If it isn't, then it SHOULD be.) Come to find out, her bag and Derrick's bag had somehow been confused. He DID have a pair of scissors, but SHE got blamed for them. Justice, I say! Knowing Derrick, he may have found a way to plant them in her bag. If that's the case, I owe him big time! Everyone was through security, everyone had backpacks and such and we immediately proceeded to boarding. Whoopie! We were going on a cruise! My first step on board!! I always love walking into the atrium the first time on each ship. We stepped into the Sunshine atrium, and it didn’t disappoint! There is a huge “sun” light fixture directly over the atrium bar. Above that are multiple strands of large silver balls going all the way up to deck 9. I loved it! This was one of my favorite atrium decorations yet. Sunshine atrium Looking down into atrium Immediately upon entering the ship, we proceeded to the muster drill. Our particular muster station was outside on deck 4. It was VERY windy and VERY cold but also VERY simple. Basically, it went like this....we walked up to a crew member, she asked if we knew how to wear a life jacket, we said yes but that fortunately we had never had to use one yet...and just like that, muster was finished. We didn’t even watch a demonstration. I love e-muster! I was grateful that it was short, and we could get back out of the wind and cold asap. (Did I mention that it was cold?) By the time we completed the boarding process and checked into our muster stations it was about 11:45. Time for a Guy’s Burger! I really didn’t think I was hungry at first and planned to just get something to drink. I got a drink of water and sat down at our table inside the Lido dining room. It was too cold to stay out long. (Remember how it was cold?) Everyone else went and got whatever lunch they wanted and came back. Most opted for a Guy’s Burger. The lines weren’t very long, and the food looked pretty good. Maybe I was hungry after all! I went to Guy’s and got my burger, too. I might have seen Liz with an ice cream cone even before we sat down to eat but I could have been mistaken.....or not. Derrick announced his intention to eat it all. I’m not sure he managed to get the job done but he made a valiant effort anyway. Does this look like a face that just had ice cream!?!? Boarding finished.....check! Lunch consumed...check! Liz had ice cream....check! Time to explore! We headed to the top deck with Liz, Aaron, Derrick and Lucinda. It was cold and windy. Did I mention that already? We visited the sports deck and Serenity, checked out the ropes course and mini golf and gave it all the "once over". It was too cold to stay out long so we went down to decks 3, 4, and 5 to see what was available inside. Lido Deck Sports Deck/Water Slides/Ropes Course/Basketball Ropes course Deck 11 Aaron just before his haircut. See??? It was cold! Funnel and big screen Serenity Serenity Walkway over Atrium Casino Walkway to Ocean Plaza on Deck 5 Java Blue - check out those lemon meringue cupcakes if you can! Ocean Plaza (or trivia central) Alchemy Bar Red Frog Sports Bar Taking a break in the sports bar Liquid Lounge (also served as a muster station) Entrance to Liquid Lounge Dining Room Bonsai Sushi Carnival Sunshine used to be Carnival Destiny. It had a huge remodel in 2013 which included the installation of some of the newer (at that time) features like the water park, Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana. Emory commented that it still felt like and old ship and he's absolutely right. It DOES still feel like and old ship. They've done a great job of remodeling and adding some newer features but no matter how much lipstick you put on it, it's still an old ship. I'm a real estate appraiser and I look at houses every single day. Many of these houses are old...some VERY old...and many of them have been beautifully remodeled. No matter what you do to it, it is still an old house. That's not necessarily a bad thing but simply a fact. There is a certain charm to an old house and, likewise, a certain charm to an old ship. This ship has a different layout that seems awkward at first, but actually worked well for us. In most of the ships, you go out the back of the Lido restaurant to an outside area, usually called Tides, and that's where you'll find the pizza place, the seafood place, a pool, some loungers, and the Tide's Bar. This is NOT how it works on Sunshine. The entire back part of the ship on the Lido deck is Cucina, Havana and Ji Ji's. Cucina and Ji Ji's are on either side with the Havana Bar in the middle and all three share a dining area. This would prove to be a great set-up for us. We tended to congregate there, and everyone could get food from whichever area they preferred. After completing our "walk about", it was nearly 1:30 and time for the cabins to be opened. We met Ketut. He told us to simply call him "K". That always made me think of Men in Black. He did a great job and was so personable! Our luggage was already there when we entered our cabin, and we immediately unpacked. One thing we quickly learned about the Sunshine crew was that they had their act together! Everything was ready and attended to quickly. There were zero problems. It was some of the best service we've experienced on a cruise. Our room - we almost always get an interior cabin because we are rarely there other than to sleep or shower and change. Bathroom We unpacked and rested in our cabins a bit. We had all activated the chat feature, which was very convenient. I had brought along a magnetic whiteboard hoping to put it up in the hall outside our room so we could write notes, if necessary, but the magnets weren't strong enough to make it work. The chat feature worked beautifully and was a much better option. Liz and I had made door signs for everyone else to help remind us who was in which cabin. The signs went up and we settled in. Time for sail away! Our door sign Door sign Door sign Door sign (We were docked beside this building which appears to have been burned at some point. From looking at past photos, it seems to have been there for a while. Does anyone know the story on this???) To be continued......

Love it! Thanks for following along!

That's great! I hope you have a wonderful cruise and thanks so much for reading along!

Yes!!! Can't leave on a trip without my Tudor's biscuit! My favorite Tudor's story was from my daughter-in-law's father. They're from Nashville. When Mark visited the kids the first time after they were married he went out to get some breakfast for everyone. The kids lived near a Tudor's so he stopped there. He order 2 biscuits for all four of them, having no idea the size of the biscuits. He said when he picked up the bag he nearly dropped it from the weight because they were so huge. LOL It's now his favorite biscuit, too! Thanks so much for reading along!!

Oh gosh, thanks so much! Lucinda and Derrick's kids are so awesome! We're already planning another group adventure and I'm pretty sure the kids are going with us. I look forward to trying to wear them out. LOL I feel sure the opposite will be true. I'd LOVE to know who your aunt and uncle might be. We're all from Maple View, if that's helpful. The "small world" theme keeps cropping up in the rest of my story and....it totally is! Thanks so much for reading along! I'm hoping to know YOUR real identity some day! LOL

Thank you so much and thanks for reading along! This was my first trip to Charleston but certainly won't be my last!

Thanks so much for reading along!!

Thank you so much for being here and for your support. In my mind, you are like "Cruise Critic royalty" and I'm honored to have you reading along! I always look for your reviews because they are always awesome!

Thank you! I knew I had read the name but I didn't write it down and, of course, forgot it. That makes perfect sense. I really enjoyed visited Charleston and hope to go back sometime to see more of it. It's beautiful! I hope you enjoy the Sunshine...we had a blast! Thanks for reading along!

Thanks so much for taking the time to join us!

Absolutely! It will take several days to get it all posted but I hope to have at least the first part of Cruise Day posted tomorrow evening. Thanks so much for reading along!

Thanks so much for reading along!

Thanks so much for reading along!

(Disclaimer: This “story” begins BEFORE our cruise and gives some of the background leading up to the cruise. If you prefer to skip this part, that’s totally fine. I hope to have the beginning of the actual cruise posted in the next couple of days BUT, if you want to read the WHOLE story from beginning to end then you are MY people and here we go!) Dear Cruise Critic Friends, what follows is my “story” of our cruise on the Carnival Sunshine. This story will include the thoughts and experiences of multiple people because, for the first time, we’re doing a group cruise! There are rough seas, missed ports and getting to know a dolphin. There’s ropes course fun and friendships that became deeper because of the experience. The story is mine because it’s told by me. (I know because I recognize the voices in my head as I’m writing!) Thanks for reading along and, without further ado, I present to you the story of Carnival Sunshine – February 2023. Carnival Sunshine – Take two! Way, way back in very early 2020 before the world fell apart (remember that??), a group of friends from church decided that a group cruise out of Charleston was just the thing we needed. The number varied a bit over the years. In the beginning eight people agreed to set out on our first group adventure. Most of us booked more than a year out, never imagining what would happen in just a few short months. Of course, COVID happened. Our cruise was cancelled. In the backs of our minds, we sort of focused on “next time” and hoped things would improve. Fast forward a couple of years and here we are again. Cruising has successfully resumed, some of us had cruised since 2020 and the time was right to try the group cruise again. This time we are twelve strong! So….as we get started into this “story” let me introduce the characters (and some of them are REALLY characters): Ron and myself are both real estate appraisers and avid cruisers. This would be our 12th cruise. In the past we were only able to sail once a year but over the past couple of years, we’ve managed to work out two cruises a year. Woo hoo!! I’m super excited about that! Nothing I love more than a good cruise! You might remember that Ron took a job for a southeastern bank chain a couple of years ago. At the end of last year, he decided to go back into appraising full-time. (He missed me! I know I missed him! We’re weird like that…..working together every day and STILL staying married! The truth is, he’s my very best friend and there’s NO ONE I’d rather spend my time with than him, at work or at play!) Aaron and Liz are the ages of our children. I have no idea why they like hanging out with senior citizens such as ourselves, but I’m grateful that they do! They have both cruised multiple times, probably about the same number as us, and once with Ron and me. (That was on the Sunrise in 2021 if you want to look up that “story”.) We even convinced Aaron to try the ropes course on that cruise. It’s possible that we are bad influences! This time we would talk him into trying snorkeling AGAIN even though his beard caused him to “take on water” the last time. Liz is ready for pretty much anything (except sharks…and stingrays) and Aaron loves the casino. I really don’t understand table games and I barely figured out a slot machine so if I have casino related questions, he’s my “go to”. Derrick and Lucinda are first time cruisers. We’re so excited to have them along! They’ve been waiting and planning for this cruise for a long time and I was hoping it would be an awesome experience for them. Derrick was super excited to get into that clear, blue Caribbean water. He was down for a snorkel tour. Suits me just fine because I love to snorkel! He and I found a shore excursion in Bimini where you could go down in a shark cage. We were pretty excited about that possibility until we learned that it was going to cost us $800 each. Umm…..maybe not……. Liz was NOT having the shark idea at all, so she was thrilled to learn that it was so cost prohibitive. We booked the Sapona shipwreck excursion instead. Derrick kept our group chat hopping leading up to this cruise! The next to book were Daryl and Frances. This is also their first cruise. Frances is an animal lover and was truly looking forward to seeing some sea creatures. She immediately signed up to get up close and personal with a dolphin at Blue Lagoon. Daryl is an avid gardener and basically has the best produce ANYWHERE! They agreed to travel to Charleston, which is our embarkation port, with us. It was great to hear some of their stories. Emory and Cami booked. Cami had BOTH knees replaced just before Christmas. She’s an Amazon! For a little while she was planning on doing that surgery just a couple of weeks before we were supposed to leave. She was DETERMINED to go regardless. I’m so, so glad her surgery was moved to an earlier date and now she’s getting along quite well. Emory and Cami have sailed on both Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Derrick was especially happy to have Emory along. (Emory is another one of those “characters” that I mentioned earlier. Throw Ron, Aaron or Bobby into the mix and…..well, keep reading!) Cami is a beach bum and is very happy to spend some time in the sand and sun. Emory and Cami both wanted to visit with a dolphin, too. Cami is a PA and our resident “drug dealer”. She kept several of our group in motion sickness patches. We wouldn’t realize how valuable those patches would be until the first full day of our cruise. Finally, just a few weeks before the cruise, Bobby and Kim decided to join us. This is also their first cruise. We were super excited that they were able to make it! Both were ready to check out Bimini from a golf cart and also head to Blue Lagoon for the dolphin encounter. Bobby and I kept exchanging screen shots of the “days to cruise”. It couldn’t get here fast enough to suit us! In the last week leading up to the cruise Aaron took over the very important job of reminding us how many days we had to wait. With everyone booked, the players assembled, and work schedules arranged, we settled in to plan while we waited and watched our countdown. One of the first orders of business was to link all the bookings and dining together so we could all sit together at dinner. I was really hoping for a table by a window! I started working with a PVP a year or so ago. There were some hits and misses as we were getting started with her, but it had since evened out and she was a great help in getting everything arranged. Combining and arranging the schedules of a dozen people is no small task! Christmas came and went. In my mind there’s the Christmas season and then there’s CRUISE SEASON! I was excited before Christmas but AFTER Christmas it was getting REAL! We all booked the Isle of Palms – Hampton Inn in Charleston for the night before the cruise. They were really nice and helpful on the phone. They agreed to let us leave as many cars there as we wanted during the cruise for no extra charge. That was going to help us cut down on parking expenses. As always, Hampton always includes breakfast, so it seemed like a good solution even though it was about 15 – 20 minutes from the port. At $107, it was a hard deal to pass up….so we didn’t! We booked shore excursions. As I said, Ron and I love to snorkel. Liz and Aaron had also done some snorkeling and Derrick and Lucinda were more than ready to take the plunge with us. (Liz’s one requirement for snorkeling is that the sharks were not allowed to come around. Umm……sure?!? I’ll try????) The rest of our crew decided that they’d rather explore than swim, so they planned to rent golf carts in Bimini to see the sights. In Nassau Cami and Emory, Frances and Daryl and Kim and Bobby decided to go to Blue Lagoon to do the Dolphin Encounter excursion. Ron and I had been there with Liz and Aaron in 2021 so we opted to go with Derrick and Lucinda to the Junkanoo Beach in Nassau. This would be my 5th visit to Nassau and I still hadn’t made it to Junkanoo Beach. I’d passed it on land and on water so it seemed like I should actually visit the beach. I also wanted to go to West Hill St. to, hopefully, see the umbrella street and then join everyone else at the beach. I also was considering a quick stop at Ardastra Gardens to see the flamingos. Much of that was up in the air so we’d have to see what the day held. I usually have a very clear plan but, on this day, there would be a lot of “winging” it. We waited….and waited….and waited…(how many more sleeps??) and it was FINALLY time to check in. This was the liveliest check-in I can remember! We opted to ALL stay up to midnight to get the earliest times possible. Derrick kept a running commentary on our group chat of how much more time until check-in. Liz hung out at my house until midnight. It was a lot of fun. Derrick was right..it felt a lot like New Year’s Eve but BETTER! Five minutes before check in times opened and I felt like we need a drum roll. Maybe a starting bell like they used to have on “Let’s Go to the Races!” (Remember that? You used to get tickets at the grocery store for televised horse races that were shown on Saturday morning? They rang a bell when the chutes opened? Only me?? Ummm…..I’ll just be over here being embarrassed.) One week to go. Can work possibly go any slower?!? All reports were delivered, emails were answered, the office shut down and it was FINALLY time to go. FINALLY! Friday, February 3rd, 2023 – Travel to Charleston, SC We were up bright and early. It never takes me long to get ready when we’re leaving for a cruise. I like to leave as early as possible because, otherwise, I will sit around twiddling my thumbs and trying not to mess up anything in my house that I just cleaned. We were meeting part of our group at 8am at our church, which was close to I-77 and a good place to leave a car. After a quick biscuit at Tudor’s (you’ve seen them make an appearance in past stories!) we headed to the church to meet Daryl and Frances, Liz and Aaron and Derrick and Lucinda. Kim and Bobby were taking a slight detour so they could visit a family member and drop off Kim’s mom so she could visit with Kim’s sister for a week. In a cruel twist of fate, Cami’s job scheduled a REQUIRED training the morning that we were leaving. It was only supposed to be for a couple of hours but still….that feels like a mean trick! I know that I always have a serious case of “vacationitis” and I also KNOW that I’m not the only one. We gathered at the church, moved Daryl and Frances’s luggage to our car and took off following Aaron and Liz. Aaron and Liz have sailed from Charleston several times so they were our resident experts. Everyone was already laughing and joking. Let the journey begin! In the car with Daryl and Frances Aaron and Liz have sailed out of Charleston before so we opted to follow them. We took off with them in the lead and Derrick and Lucinda following us. The plan was to stop at Jimmy John’s (Aaron’s favorite) in Columbia for lunch. Being that we’re us, it was necessary to stop in the middle somewhere to drop off and take on liquids. LOL The plan was to travel down early, see a bit of Charleston, SC and meet everyone else at the hotel so we could go to dinner together. Following Aaron and Liz.... ...with Derrick and Lucinda following us! Our trip was uneventful and went as expected. We did stop at Jimmy John’s. At that point we were a little less than two hours out of Charleston. I must pause here to point out that it was cold. Really cold! Like 35 degrees cold! It’s supposed to be in the 60’s in South Carolina! Apparently not this time. This makes a couple of times that our cruise has turned unseasonably cold. Ron has decided that going forward we will be cruising in the late spring instead of winter. I wanted to visit the Charleston Historic Market and check out that part of town. We came into town, found a parking building and set off on foot for the Market. It was good to stand up and walk around for a minute! The Charleston Historic Market is a long narrow building that seems to cover several blocks. There are several local vendors selling lots of different items. Ron and I purchased a drawing of the famous Rainbow Row and got our obligatory magnet and Christmas ornament that we get everywhere we go. Entrance to Charleston Historic Market Inside Market U. S. Custom House immediately across the street from the Market After walking all the way through the interior of the market, we walked down the street immediately beside the market and looked in the little shops as we passed. One of those sold fudge. Sign me up! I got a piece of peanut butter fudge. Liz got an ice cream. I tried to get everyone to break off a piece of fudge to sample as we walked toward our next stop, the historic pineapple fountain. The pineapple fountain is in a park bordering the waterfront. Liz told us that the ship would be docking literally right where we were. We walked around the park and out on the dock. A young man was selling sweetgrass roses and gave one to Frances. You could see a small island with a white cross out in the water. According to the internet, this is Pinckney Island. The cross is there to give peace and reassurance to all those sailing from Charleston. I thought it was a nice touch! Also on that island is Castle Pinckney. Back to the internet for more info! Apparently this is a small fort that was constructed in the Charleston Harbor in 1810. It was used for a short time as a prisoner of war camp and for artillery during the Civil War. Very interesting! In the distance was an amazing looking bridge. It was a perfect day, except that it was very cold and windy. Park (I didn't catch the name) Pineapple Fountain Dock On dock looking toward cruise terminal Ron and Daryl walking along waterfront in the park Pinckney Island After our walk around the park, we agreed that it was time to go find our hotel. Cooper River Bridge In the distance from the Historic District in Charleston you could see that impressive bridge that I just mentioned. I don’t know why I was so interested in this bridge, but I really liked it. Back to the internet! Apparently, this is the Cooper River Bridge. It was very cool, and I was pretty excited to drive across and get an “up close and personal” view. I’m easily amused, I guess! We crossed the bridge, drove a few minutes and found our hotel. For whatever reason, Waze gave some really wonky directions to this hotel. It isn’t that complicated when you get there but Waze had all kinds of trouble with it. It’s within walking distance of several restaurants and shops. Immediately behind the hotel in a little strip mall was the Crazy Mason. I’ve been to the Crazy Mason in Gatlinburg, TN. They serve these amazing, HUGE milkshakes with loads of “things” on top like pies, cakes, cookies, etc. All the shakes are served in mason jars. They also have some fantastic sundaes, especially the waffle sundaes. It would turn out that I was too full from dinner to enjoy the Crazy Mason or any other ice cream. Maybe next time! We checked into our hotel. It was probably about 5pm at this point. Not long after we checked in, we heard from the rest of our group that they were pulling into the hotel, and everyone was ready to find dinner. It was probably around 6:30 when we left to walk over for dinner. Second Floor of hotel Looking down into breakfast area In looking at Yelp we had learned that there was a restaurant called “Toast All Day” very close to the hotel. The menu looked great but, alas, they closed at 3pm. (The logo had two champagne flutes and they served mimosas, so I assumed that was the “toast”. Based on their hours of operation, they might have been referring to breakfast toast. I may never know!) We opted instead for a place called King Street Grille. It was a couple of blocks from the hotel, right across the parking lot from the Toast place. We walked over with Liz and Aaron, Derrick and Lucinda. Daryl and Frances opted to ride with Cami and Emory. Kim and Bobby met us there. King Street Grille is part restaurant and part sports bar. The walls are lined with televisions playing different sports events. I’m not a particularly sporty person so I didn’t pay much attention to what was on the various televisions. I did notice the UK women’s gymnastics competition was happening. The restaurant served lots of burgers, steaks, chicken and pasta dishes. I had a chicken parm and Ron selected a pepper jack chicken pasta dish. We couldn’t decide which we wanted so we each ordered one and then sampled both. They were both excellent! Everyone ordered different things. Everyone agreed the food was excellent. Dinner mission accomplished! King Street Grille King Street Grille After dinner was finished, we headed back to the hotel. It was after 8 by that time. Aaron and Liz along with Kim and Bobby decided to go play Top Golf. (I’m told Liz won!) The rest of us stayed at the hotel for the evening to relax after a long drive. I personally did some ironing, and we watched a movie. Exciting stuff, I know. Long car trips always make me tired, and I was just glad to be out of the car. I was ready to turn in a little early that night because the next day was, at long last, CRUISE DAY!

I enjoy playing along. Last time I won a bingo package and $30 casino credit. No luck on the bingo but I won $300 in the casino with it. It was fun playing along and I’ll do it again.

So excited to have found your review! I love a Jamman review!! I haven’t been on the boards for a couple of days and really needed a Jamman review to get me through until we get to head out on Sunshine on Saturday,

Unfortunately it isn’t available on Vista. I think it’s only available on Mardi Gras, Celebration and Panorama.

We did the pasta class on Mardi Gras and loved it. It was one of the highlights of our cruise. We’re sailing on Celebration in November and will definitely be doing another class.

I have has this problem on older ships in an aft balcony. I don’t know about Mardi Gras but it’s possible the LNG fuel would produce less soot, I guess.

Thank you so much!

I’m traveling in a group of 12. I’ve searched online but haven’t had any success locating a shuttle service that offers 15 passenger vans. Has anyone had any experience with anything like that?

Yes, it was so much fun! I think it was probably my favorite shore excursion ever. I would do it again but there are always so many things I want to do in Cozumel I wind up doing different things.

Probably? I think it would depend on the child and how much they are able to participate. If the kids would enjoy helping to figure out clues and running through town, I think they’d have a ball. I know mine would have loved it!

We LOVED the Amazing Cozumel Race! We did it years ago when it was available through Carnival. I think it’s still available though amazingcozumelrace.com or possibly Viator.