We are back from our big vacation of this year, Cruise to Bahamas. I would like to reserve a week for vacation hangover but its amazing how life needs to be back on regular track as soon as it can. That meant docking at Charleston, SC in the morning, driving 5 hours straight back to Raleigh and joining Taekwondo class right after. Nope, I am not a pushy mom but if the kids have energy to play video games, they sure can use some stretching and hi-yah. And its good for them.
Coming back to vacation, so I can relive the memories of warm, sparkly, crystal clear waters of Bahamas. This was our first foray into the cruise vacation and we went with a group of friends (I highly recommend it). After reading a book on cruises, Bahamas, watching a lot of YouTube videos and talking to a lot of cruise veterans, we deemed ourselves ready. As it turned out, we were ready to have fun and we sure did. Our first sight of the massive 'Carnival Fantasy' was OMG moment in an exciting way. Right from the moment we stepped in , the wonderful young crew (I did not spot anyone who looked like above 27 years of age) made our stay and experience sweet. I am in awe of the hard work and energy of these young men and women despite long shift hours.
As soon as I stepped in, I felt I was in Las Vegas. Brightly lit transparent elevators, beautiful staircases and music made the perfect ambience to set vacation mood. We were checked in and each of us were given a card which was our key to everything on ship including dining and shopping. I came to know that they have different colors for different guests. Returning guests are issues a red card, frequent guests have a different color card and first timers cruise vacationers like us had a blue card. Our room was at Deck 4, Riviera and turned out to be better and bigger than I expected. We had lunch at Lido deck which was probably the most popular destination because of the pool, hot tubs, and 24 hours dining restaurants. We had a security briefing and a short drill to go to our assigned muster stations. The ship sailed at 4 PM sharp. It was a lovely view of the Atlantic, Fort Sumter in the middle of it and Arthur Ravanel Jr. bridge of Charleston City on the side.
It was time to explore the ship. We went to Guest Services and picked out the schedule for Camp carnival, a program for children where parents can drop off the kids for activities while they enjoy some time by themselves. Avi loved it, Neev not so much. He is a water baby and spent pretty much all his time between pool, hot tubs and slides on the ship. There was also mini golfing on the sports deck which was our family favorite activity after dinner. They had a lovely gym, I just never used it. But I did try table tennis with my kids :)
Our friend's teenaged son did baby sitting for all younger kids in the night so parents could go dancing in discotheque, listen to some great live music, watch comedy shows and do stargazing from the top deck of the ship.
The second day and the last day of our vacation were on sea and in between we docked at Freeport for a day and then at Nassau for a day. The beaches are breathtaking with its warm, transparent water. We went kayaking and I also tried the stand -up paddle board without falling off of it. I am pretty proud of it. Powdered sand, soft waves and refreshingly warm water - there is nothing much else needed for a relaxing day. Combine it with going to the steam room on the ship and you have what I would call perfect pleasure. The steam room was one of my most favorite part on the ship. Balmy and fragrant with peppermint aroma - you could forget the world for a few minutes.
In Nassau we went to the Paradise Island where the famous Atlantis is. Its huge and has lovely architecture inside. We did not go for the tour of the aquarium but some of our friends did and enjoyed it. Anurag and boys stayed on the beach while I explored the hotel from inside.
As you would hear from everyone who has done cruise vacation, food is another favorite part of it. We enjoyed dining formally every night in 'Celebrations' and Anurag tried their 'didja' menu each night (as in you always wanted to try it but have not). He tried Frog legs, Shark meat, smoked Duck, Alligator fritters and cured Salmon among other things. According to him he did not find much difference between them and chicken :)
I loved how you can pack so many experiences at one time being on cruise but next time I would like more excursions. I have heard that cruise to Alaska is pretty excursion intense where you are docking every day at some place to go out and explore. I wonder if that's our next vacation spot. May be in 5 years time :)
Coming back to vacation, so I can relive the memories of warm, sparkly, crystal clear waters of Bahamas. This was our first foray into the cruise vacation and we went with a group of friends (I highly recommend it). After reading a book on cruises, Bahamas, watching a lot of YouTube videos and talking to a lot of cruise veterans, we deemed ourselves ready. As it turned out, we were ready to have fun and we sure did. Our first sight of the massive 'Carnival Fantasy' was OMG moment in an exciting way. Right from the moment we stepped in , the wonderful young crew (I did not spot anyone who looked like above 27 years of age) made our stay and experience sweet. I am in awe of the hard work and energy of these young men and women despite long shift hours.
As soon as I stepped in, I felt I was in Las Vegas. Brightly lit transparent elevators, beautiful staircases and music made the perfect ambience to set vacation mood. We were checked in and each of us were given a card which was our key to everything on ship including dining and shopping. I came to know that they have different colors for different guests. Returning guests are issues a red card, frequent guests have a different color card and first timers cruise vacationers like us had a blue card. Our room was at Deck 4, Riviera and turned out to be better and bigger than I expected. We had lunch at Lido deck which was probably the most popular destination because of the pool, hot tubs, and 24 hours dining restaurants. We had a security briefing and a short drill to go to our assigned muster stations. The ship sailed at 4 PM sharp. It was a lovely view of the Atlantic, Fort Sumter in the middle of it and Arthur Ravanel Jr. bridge of Charleston City on the side.
It was time to explore the ship. We went to Guest Services and picked out the schedule for Camp carnival, a program for children where parents can drop off the kids for activities while they enjoy some time by themselves. Avi loved it, Neev not so much. He is a water baby and spent pretty much all his time between pool, hot tubs and slides on the ship. There was also mini golfing on the sports deck which was our family favorite activity after dinner. They had a lovely gym, I just never used it. But I did try table tennis with my kids :)
Our friend's teenaged son did baby sitting for all younger kids in the night so parents could go dancing in discotheque, listen to some great live music, watch comedy shows and do stargazing from the top deck of the ship.
The second day and the last day of our vacation were on sea and in between we docked at Freeport for a day and then at Nassau for a day. The beaches are breathtaking with its warm, transparent water. We went kayaking and I also tried the stand -up paddle board without falling off of it. I am pretty proud of it. Powdered sand, soft waves and refreshingly warm water - there is nothing much else needed for a relaxing day. Combine it with going to the steam room on the ship and you have what I would call perfect pleasure. The steam room was one of my most favorite part on the ship. Balmy and fragrant with peppermint aroma - you could forget the world for a few minutes.
In Nassau we went to the Paradise Island where the famous Atlantis is. Its huge and has lovely architecture inside. We did not go for the tour of the aquarium but some of our friends did and enjoyed it. Anurag and boys stayed on the beach while I explored the hotel from inside.
As you would hear from everyone who has done cruise vacation, food is another favorite part of it. We enjoyed dining formally every night in 'Celebrations' and Anurag tried their 'didja' menu each night (as in you always wanted to try it but have not). He tried Frog legs, Shark meat, smoked Duck, Alligator fritters and cured Salmon among other things. According to him he did not find much difference between them and chicken :)
I loved how you can pack so many experiences at one time being on cruise but next time I would like more excursions. I have heard that cruise to Alaska is pretty excursion intense where you are docking every day at some place to go out and explore. I wonder if that's our next vacation spot. May be in 5 years time :)
