Cruise Recap - Day 2

Here is my next recap!!!!

Day 2 – Thursday, May 13 The first day of the Cruise!!!
Since our flight left Dayton at 5:45 AM, it was an EARLY morning! I got up and got ready and went to pick up Joy at her house and then we went to my parents’ house. My dad was our chauffer for the trip. We all loaded into his truck and off we went to the airport. Note here…I was pleasantly surprised that not only were Mom and Jodi ready on time, but they were also both in good moods! That is saying a lot since they are not morning people! Yeah Jodi and Mom!!!

We got to the airport and dad dropped us off (breathing a sigh of relief, I am sure) and we went in. We didn’t know it then, but we were the last ones to arrive! How crazy is that since I am the only one used to that early morning hour and I am usually the first to arrive anywhere?!?! LOL I guess we were all pretty excited about this trip!

A very nice lady at the Delta counter helped us immediately (we must’ve looked like we needed it) and we were on our way! We met up with the rest of the group at our Gate. Thank goodness we had our own semi-private area to wait. We might’ve gotten on the nerves of the other passengers. (Or maybe we did anyways? LOL) After some great pictures and my mom handing out our “magic wands” for anything that annoyed us or wasn’t going our way…we were on our first little plane to Detroit.

The flight was fine and we arrived in Detroit with no problems. We all were hungry, so we kinda split up and did our own thing for breakfast. Joy and I opted for a sit-down breakfast at Max & Ermas’. It was yummy! We then headed to our gate and got off with…oh wait, PROBLEMS! We boarded the plane just fine. But then we didn’t take-off right away. In fact, we sat on the plane for a long time. There were storms and such, so we had to wait for a good time to take off. Mom was panicking a little bit….well, not so much panicking as getting upset because this just meant less time on the boat. So, we took off and ended up landing in Miami later then expected, but still in PLENTY of time!

We get off the plane in Miami and head on our way! We found the people holding the Carnival Signs….and one older man who told us that someone’s Mama was looking for us. That was so cute. Joy’s mom had flown from her home in Iowa and the first time they saw eachother was in the airport at Miami. They were both pretty excited!

After retrieving our luggage and boarding a bus to the boat….we were so stinking excited! I remember seeing the ship for the first time and commenting that it was OUR turn to take pictures and get on the big boat! Mandy said, yes…it is our turn to annoy others with our pictures. You aren’t annoyed, right? Well, even if you are..don’t tell me. LOL I don’t really care. Kidding….kinda.

So, we get to the dock (and really, I mean building next to the huge ship). This was my mom’s 10th cruise with Carnival, so she was a VIP. We weren’t sure what that meant, but we quickly found out. We didn’t have to wait in line at all and we went to a little reception room (hoity-toity) to get registered or whatever it is called. We got our sign-n-sail cards (the room key and the way you pay for everything on the cruise) and were on our way!

We were marveling and oohing and ahhing over every little thing on our way to get on the ship…and then we where there! It was beautiful! When you get on, you are in the main atrium and it is like a grand entrance to a very nice hotel. I was immediately surprised that the boat wasn’t nearly as wide as I thought it would be. I mean, we walked on and I could see right across to the other side. Now, mind you, it is HUGE. But that was just my first thought. We got in the atrium and decided to wait to watch everyone else get on before we ventured to our room.

Immediately there was a bar-maid with a tray of umbrella drinks and Mom bought Jodi and me our first drinks on the cruise! LOL We wanted to have them in hand when everyone else boarded! Plus, I think it was my mom’s way of telling us it was okay that we drank in front of her. Neither Jodi nor I have ever drank alcohol in front of our mother. What Mom didn’t know is that this drink was delicious….but VERY, VERY strong! And we hadn’t eaten for quite a few hours. LOL After everyone else boarded, we all went our separate ways to our rooms.

Our room was awesome. I mean, they are very small on cruise ships, but it was so nice! It had two twin beds and a Murphy bed type thing. It went up into the ceiling and they bring it down at night. We had a balcony and the view was incredible. We dropped our stuff and immediately went exploring! We found the Lido deck and sat and enjoyed our drinks (well, kinda because we were feeling a bit tipsy. LOL) and then we had a little bite to eat before we took off to explore the rest of the ship!

Okay, let me explain to those who have not been on a cruise what the Lido deck is. This is the place to be. LOL This is where the pools (salt water filled) and hot tubs are. This is also where there were like 6 or 7 buffet lines and about 6 soft-serve icecream machines. There were 3 or 4 bars and lots of bathrooms and tables and indoor seating and outdoor seating and a water slide and just lots and lots of things here. They have a pizza buffet, a New York Deli line and lots of other things. This is where we ate nearly every meal except dinner. Lots to see and do….and lots of great people-watching opportunities!

So, after we explored the entire ship, we went back to our room to get ready for dinner. We all got spiffied up and headed off to find our dining room. Now, let me insert here that we were all tired and excited and hot and everything all rolled into one. Mom and I took off to find our dining room and Jodi stayed behind to finish getting ready. Well, Mom wanted to try some perfume, so we went to the perfume store and then got lost trying to find our dining room. We finally found it and sat down and Jodi got there right after. LOL She didn’t have any problems finding it. Just a note…Mom and I had problems finding it EVERY NIGHT. LOL

Dinner…WOW. We had the best seats in the whole house. Our group of 23 women (I know, isn’t that cool) had three tables right in the middle of the dining room. Seriously, the best seats in the house. So, they treat you like absolute ROYALTY on the cruise. They put your napkins on your lap for you and just cater to your every whim. After looking at the menu, and following my mom’s advice, I ordered two appetizers (she ordered 3) and then a dinner and an extra dinner to share with her. I wanted to try tilapia (yuck) and this is the time to do it since you can order whatever you want and it is all included in what you have already paid for! Dinner was delicious! We had fun talking and laughing and just enjoying every minute of it! Dessert was DIVINE. Now, I remind you that this is my mom’s 10th cruise with carnival and for the past 10 years we have heard about this great dessert called Chocolate Melting Cake. So, of course that is what we got for dessert…Mickey Mouse Style. What is this slice of heaven, you ask? They bring you this sinful bowl of hot chocolate cake and then two smaller bowls of vanilla icecream and it is DIVINE. There is really no other word to describe it. I am sure it will be in heaven for you to try there if not before!!! So, as we are enjoying this taste of heaven, the maitre’ d introduces himself and then the best part (so far) happens. The waiters start singing and dancing….it was AWESOME. They had these little platform spread throughout the dining room to store the menus and stuff in and to put the trays on to serve from….well, they are also dancing platforms! That was a hoot! We all loved it! Marella, one of my mom’s cousins that we were sitting with, was a particular hoot and was fanning herself because she said she was getting hot from the waiter who was dancing by her. She chose her seat differently the next night to be closer to him. LOL

So we left there and went to the 5th Floor. This is where a lot of the entertainment was. There was a casino, shopping, a piano bar, a sports bar, a karaoke bar, a bar with a live band, a dance bar (like hip-hop or something), an internet café (LOL), a library, a cigar bar, and who knows what I am missing. But you get the point….there was A LOT of different things to do on that floor. We went to the karaoke bar first and what a hoot that was!!!! We got there and got books and Mandy put us all down to sing “Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks….I put in to sing “Killing Me Softly” by the Fugees and Mandy put in to sing “Something about Elvis” (or something like that) by Patty Loveless. Well, we quickly figured out that the person in charge of the karaoke was the world’s biggest dork with no personality. I mean, seriously….Ines was her name and bless her heart, she needed a behind-the-scenes type job…we think she was related to the captain! Remember that dorky guy in “Dirty Dancing”….the grandson guy…yep, that was Ines. She also couldn’t sing, but thought she could. LOL Anyways, there were some good and some not-so-good singers while we waited our turn. Meanwhile, the “older” ladies we were cruising with also came to the karaoke bar, but didn’t sit with us. They were a riot. Well, it was our turn and so Jeanna, Chelle, Mandy and I (at least, I think that is who went up there) got up and sang Goodbye Earl. Since we were on a cruise with 23 ladies, we had a good cheering section (HA) and it is a fun song, so everyone cheered us on. Well, just as we went to sit down, Ines called my name and at this point…this is what I am thinking….”I am about the whitest girl in here getting ready to sing a song with soul in a room full of soul sisters. What am I doing?” LOL But at that point, what have I got to lose?!??! So, I sing my song and had so much fun with everyone doing the “1 time, 2 time” and “go on girl” stuff. Then Mandy sang her song and ROCKED IT! She is amazing….and it was pretty ironic that she sang a song about Elvis because the next guy sang “Teddy Bear” by Elvis. This is the funniest part….he had a great voice, but didn’t look a stitch like Elvis. He was pudgy and bald. Well, Mom and her cousins all got out their magic wands and tried to use them to make him LOOK as much like Elvis as he sounded like him. LOL It didn’t work. LOL But it was fun!!!

So, some of our group went to bed (party poopers) and the rest of us made our exit from the Karaoke bar when a few of the ladies got out of hand with their song and actually, Ines started to sing again. This was AFTER we had done the Conga Line around the bar (started by Joy) and laughed our butts off. So, we looked in at the piano bar, but it was really smokey in there, so we opted to not stay there.

We went over to the bar with a live band….and it was love at first sight. First of all, this place was decorated so COOL! It was dark, but had these cool lights on the ceiling that were huge music notes. There was a huge trumpet on one wall and the tables had legs that were also instruments. It was just really, really cool. And the band. Wow. What do I say….the band was simply AWESOME! It was a group of guys (I think they were Filipino) and they were amazing! The lead singer was the drummer…..they sang covers from all genre’s. Anyhow, we went in and were up dancing almost immediately. I don’t even think I can do justice to how much we loved this band…..and this band loved us. Have you ever been to a party or a club and seen a group of girls dancing and they look so sexy and sultry and every guy wants to be with them? Well, that is precisely what we were…….NOT! We were that group of ladies that you see that you wonder, umm…do they think they can dance? Then you realize….they are having a ball and I want to be with them! That is what we were! We danced and we whooped and we hollered and we just had an awesome time. The drummer would say “Ladies” and point his drum stick at me….although everyone else thinks he was pointing at them. Anyways, he would ask us to dance and sing songs just so we would dance to them. This was night one of our love affair with Music Network, the greatest live band on Carnival Destiny EVER! We literally shut the place down that night (at almost 2:00 in the morning) and then headed back to our rooms.

When Mom, Jodi and I got to our room, we were so giddy and just talked for a bit while we all got ready for bed. Oh, and of course we had a “towel creature” in our room and chocolate mints on our beds. It was HEAVEN! We fell asleep still smiling from our first “day” on the boat!

Tomorrow is KEY WEST!!!! Stay tuned!!!!