Our last day on the ship . . .
was spent at sea. We slept late, worked out, went to lunch . . .
then headed to the adult only area of the ship . . .
where we relaxed . . .
& read for hours. The view was amazing & it was comfortable & quiet. It was our favorite spot to hang out on the ship while the kids were busy hanging out with their friends! That evening, we enjoyed a movie poolside . . .
& a little country line dancing . . .
The buffet that night was extra fancy . . .
Pretty cool, huh?
Each night, they turned down your bed for you & left you an animal made out of towels . . .
Aren't they cute? We saw a little girl carrying one around with her like it was a stuffed animal!
We were all a little bit sad that it was over . . .
You know it's a good vacation when nobody is ready to go home!
Tips:
* If you have kids over the age of 11, bring walkie talkies with you so that you can find them quickly. Ages 12 & up can check themselves in & out of the kids club so walkie talkies would be very helpful if you want to be able to talk to them without having to search all over the ship for them. I wish we had done this as I spent a lot of time looking for kids. I didn't think about the fact that we wouldn't be able to use our cell phones as we were out of the country & the rates are too expensive!
*
Carnival is a fantastic cruise line for families (although I've heard that
Royal Caribbean is a little better). It is a very fun ship with lots of activities for the kids, & for adults. I recommend it if you plan to take your kids. If you want to go without kids, I would recommend something a little bit nicer such as
Princess. The food was much better on the
Princess Cruise Dave & I took but I think
Carnival had much more to offer kids.
* If you are planning to go to the Western Caribbean, don't go to Jamaica. Instead go to Honduras or Belize. We loved Mexico & the Cayman Islands though!
* Bring your own bottled water on board with you to take on your excursions (Carnival will let you do this, but you'd have to verify with other cruise lines). Otherwise you'll get stuck buying it & it is expensive ($4/bottle).
* If you plan on doing any water excursions, I would highly recommend getting everyone a
rash guard shirt as it is difficult to re-apply sunscreen as often as needed. We all got sunburns on our shoulders (everyone but Carter as he wore a
rash guard shirt!)
