Last week on Labor Day, Andy and I set sail on the Carnival Inspiration. This was our first cruise, both as a couple and individually. I have to admit, I expected Andy to get bored, and possibly seasick. To my surprise, he was neither. He kept us busy, exploring the ship, watching the comedy shows, entering trivia contests, and even sunbathing!
I dragged him onto the giant slide, and it was a blast. Literally–of water, up your nose! But that’s okay, it was still a ton of fun. And I got to see him in swim trunks for the first time EVER. (We’ve been dating for over 5 years, folks.)
My favorite part of being at sea was being at sea. With nothing on the horizon but the curve of the earth, the sky and the clouds, and the endless rolling waves.
Now as I mentioned, we did have a little detour. The cruise was originally scheduled to dock at Grand Cayman and then Cozumel. Unfortunately, on the first night of the cruise, a gentleman became ill (or died… given the demographics of the passengers, we put the odds at 50/50). He needed to be taken to a hospital, so we docked at Key West instead.
While I applaud the Carnival crew and staff for the smooth and professional way they handled everything, from notifying us of the change to arranging excursions at our new location, I have to admit, it was definitely a disappointment. Instead of feeding stingrays, visiting Hell, and holding baby sea turtles (our plans for Grand Cayman) we kayaked through the mangroves at Key West.
The one thing that definitely went according to plans was our eating. We did a lot of that, and it was good.
15 responses to “Setting sail (cruise recap, part 1)”
I was on the Inspiration when I was 14, how neat. Unfortunate that you had a detour though =/
Sounds/looks like fun! The Grand Cayman plans sound incredible, but the kayaking detour actually looks enjoyable, too.
“(or died… given the demographics of the passengers, we put the odds at 50/50)” – Terrible! I feel guilty for snickering…lol
On a scale of 1-10, the one cruise I’ve been on (Bahamas, last year) was a 7-ish. I also loved being at sea, but as a foodie, there were not enough fantastic dishes to sample. And as a bit of an adventurer, there weren’t enough activities that didn’t require an additional arm or leg when it seemed we’d already given up one limb apiece to go. Despite other out-of-my-hands circumstances, I still had fun…which is kinda remarkable.
Did they do towel origami? My friend who went on a cruise said that every time she got back to her room after the maids were there, her towel was in the shape of a different animal.
By the way, how much motion is there on a cruise ship? I thought they were pretty stable.
Okay, how cute is that happy face dish at the end? :-)
I’m so glad you had a great time, despite the last minute change of plans and destination. If nothing else, just being out at sea must have been such a beautiful and inspiring experience!
Fingers crossed that man is alright!
That sunset was absolutely GORGEOUS!! I wish I could afford a cruise (and had a man of 5yrs to share it with). You lucky duck :)
It sounds like so much fun, and the sceneries look absolutely gorgeous! I’m sorry about the detour, though. :(
Les-
Seroiusly?! What a co-wink-y-dink! That is so cool. You don’t remember you cabin #, do you? Hehe.
Torie Michelle-
Eh, I’m more terrible for putting out there in a humorous way…
I also put our cruise at a 7-ish, although I think Andy would have given it between an 8 and a 9. We got a really great deal, though, through Orbitz and due to hurricane season, so I can’t complain about the cost.
Sonja-
Oh yes, they did! We tried to keep all our animals, but after a couple nights they started reclaiming our “zoo” (probably so they would have towels to make animals for other people!).
stingray – http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristan/4984261667/
pig/dog? – http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristan/4989726269/
Shari-
Hehe, thanks! And yes, despite the inconvenience, I DO obviously hope he’s okay! (I only made a bad joke in bad taste for the sake of a blog… o_O)
Miss Rosemary-
Oh, it was to die for! I only saw one sunrise on the trip, lol, but it was lovely too.
And my man of 5 yrs isn’t too bad either. :P
Sandy-
Thanks! The trip stayed equally beautiful in part 2, thankfully. And got more exciting in terms of the excursion!
I also laughed at the “or died…”, haha death!
Dude kayaking through mangroves sounds so much cooler than your original plans, I would have seen it as a blessing in disguise. (Although what did you mean by visiting Hell?)
That waterslide looks pretty bad ass. lol about seeing Andy in his trunks for the first time.
I love the kayaking shot. Looks like a beautiful trip. And the sunset…perfect. I have never been on a cruise, maybe it’s time I tried one.
Aisha-
Yeah, haha, you would. :P
Eh, we didn’t see much other than the mangroves, versus all the sea life we could have seen on the other excursion. But then, your taste in fun things to see is quite different from mine… (“Hell” is supposedly this place in Grand Cayman that looks a lot like what people typically envision Hell to look like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Grand_Cayman. We didn’t care about that, but it was bundled in with the stingrays and sea turtles.)
Jon-
If you do try a cruise, just don’t expect to get any writing done!
Loved these pictures! Sad about the sea turtles…they don’t sting so they’re good. :) waiting for part 2
That is super awesome, and I can definitely endorse Carnival as a fantastic cruise line (Princess, not so much). We were on the Carnival Legend for our honeymoon and it was a-maz-ing.
The food is the best part!!!
We went on a Carnival cruise last year and LOVED the water slide (though ours wasn’t that big).
Todd-
Good to know! We had some people telling us to do Royal Caribbean over Carnival, but honestly I thought Carnival was fine.
Rhi
Oh, size doesn’t matter. ;) There were 2 little slides next to the big one, and I loved those too!
Ahh Hell sounds awesome lol, I love that picture of the gift shop on the Wikipedia page!