Cruise 2022

(October 7th-9th, 2022)

I'm going to combine some cruise days in my posts. This last cruise was our longest cruise, and I realized if I do one post a day, it will take me until November just to get the cruise on the blog. Yikes. That is too much time. I already have a long list of October posts that are patiently waiting to be beheld by my faithful audience. That's you, by the way.

So let's jump into this fantastic cruise. We had such a great time. Let's do a quick overview of the itinerary:

• Sat: Board the boat (excuse me, I mean ship. Tyler says "ships are bigger than boats, and you can't call it a boat...")
• Sun: Day at sea
• Mon: Dominican Republic (yep, you heard read right. That is where our lovely daughter is currently serving a mission and you'd better believe I was most excited to stop there)
• Tue: Puerto Rico
• Wed: St. Maarten
• Thu: St. Thomas
• Fri & Sat: Days at sea
• Sun: Disembark

Tag on a couple days on both sides for flights and we were gone for 10 days! That's a lot of time for the kids to get in trouble to relax and have fun. 

On Friday, we left in the afternoon. Cathy, Jonny's mom, was so kind to take us up to the airport. The check in was super fast and we even had time to grab some dinner before our departure. I tried this Guava brioche thing from F & E. It was so tasty. (Okay, let's have a little tangent right away. I just looked up F & E because I was curious what it stood for and apparently, the full name of the patisserie is Fillings and Emulsions. What?? That is seriously the weirdest name and if I knew what it was called, I probably wouldn't have eaten there. Suddenly it sounds like a gas station, although that would probably be called Fillings and Emissions. But still, strange.)

Look at our cute cruise group. These people are the best and I love cruising with them. I am sad that the Moses' couldn't join us on this cruise and I hope we will cruise again with them in the future.

Our flight was also fine. Our seats were all over the plane, but right before boarding they called us to the desk and moved Jonny and Beth next to each other. That was nice for them. It didn't matter much for me since I watched movies the whole flight. I saw Ghostbusters: Afterlife and the 2021 Cinderella. Both good movies, but I loved Cinderella because it had all these guys from Task Master in it. So fun. 

Anyway, we arrived safely, Lynn (the most generous and awesome human I know in Miami!) picked us up and we all crashed at her place. 

The next morning, we went to the store. This is an actual part of our cruise traditions. There are always things you are going to forget or don't want to pack so you get them at Walmart. We found some awesome sunscreen that smelled like Orange Creamsicle and I was like a walking dessert the entire cruise! (Tyler says "mmmmmmm.")

Oh, it is time for the sad news. Right away. Let's get it over with. Jonny's phone died the death on Thursday. He took it into the ocean and the ocean won. Hard core. The phone was not salvageable. Well, I mean, we still had the phone, but couldn't get anything off it. So there is many a fun picture or video that will be mentioned but not seen. Like for instance, in the Walmart parking lot, Tyler caught a lizard. The lizard was so scared, he dropped his tail, in hopes of distracting his predator. It didn't work, since Tyler knows that one. In fact, Tyler picked up the tail and you could see it still twitching. It was awesome! But that video was on Jonny's phone. It's gone now. At times along the way, I will mention Jonny's phone and you will now know that means a picture that "was," but is now lost to us. Such is life. And as much as it pains me and you, it was much worse for Jonny. (Try to imagine your own phone being destroyed without warning.)

Lynn (did I mention how awesome she is?) dropped us off at the port and we were in like Flynn. I mean, it was super easy getting on the cruise this time. The line was short, Tyler and I were not stopped by the Covid police. (Actually, Tyler forgot our boarding passes, but they conveniently printed more for us. I guess we aren't the first ones to do that)

Jonny had to wait an extra minute to get his drone through, but even that was pretty fast. While he was waiting, I had one of the coolest moments of my life. The bins were coming down the conveyor belt and there was nothing at the end to stop them. So basically, they were going to fall to the floor. I took my items out and the next bin bumped mine right off the edge. Since my hands were full, I caught it with my foot, and flipped it sideways, stacking it nicely in the next bin. It was the most beautiful foot choreography I've ever done. Maybe you had to be there, but I promise, it was lovely.

Then, on board!! You gotta take a picture in the tunnel ramp. It's tradition. 

Every ship is different, although we have been on the same ship twice. The Carnival Spirit was new to us, so we had to do a little exploring. We found some interesting things. 

We also found lunch which was really good. 

We were still in port after lunch. It was really a gorgeous day. We went up above to look around and after a couple pictures, I fell asleep on these weird lounge chairs. Beth too. Tyler took a video and I look like a corpse. But that is actually how I sleep normally, straight as a board and like the dead. I don't wake up too much.

I think I was down in the library when we actually left. I took a picture of another cruise ship as we passed by. I like all the water drops on the window.

I was looking forward to getting my luggage because I had fun signs to put on our doors. But for some reason, my bag wasn't showing up. Beth and Jonny got their things. Tyler's bag came, and he unpacked his stuff, and still my bag was missing. It finally showed up much later and we figured out why. 

(Music plays while we do a quick flashback) Friday morning, I got a text from Hermana Savage's mom. The sisters knew we were coming, so we told June's companion to let her parents know that if they wanted to send anything with us, they could. Well, that seems like a deal I couldn't pass up, and neither could her mom. She drove down and brought stuff and she and Tyler stuffed it all in a box, and the box went in my suitcase. 

Okay, back to the present (well, the present of where we were in the blog...you know what I mean) When I opened my suitcase, there was a friendly note from Carnival saying they had to confiscate something from my luggage and that something was ... a knife. What?? There was a knife in that box? I didn't even know. And now I'm flagged in the system. And that is how I earned my title of "Terrorist" on the cruise.

But on a happy note: I got my signs. We put them up when the Hulse's weren't looking. Gryffindor for us and Slytherin for them. (Yep, just finished Harry Potter week at school) Beth and Jonny encountered the sign at different times. Beth laughed when she saw it, and Jonny...well, we waited for his reaction, but he didn't see the sign. I think he could tell we were waiting for something, because he kept watching us as we watched him open his door and finally go inside with a puzzled look on his face. He almost didn't believe us when he saw it later. He couldn't see how he could have missed it. We agreed. :)

[Cue music for "I saw the sign" by Ace of Base.]

We had the late dinner time each evening. So sometimes it was a bit of wait to eat. We would usually go to the show right before dinner. The entertainers consisted of four guys and four girls. They had some good vocal talents and adequate dance moves so we looked forward to the shows ahead.

The first night at dinner is exciting because you get to see where you are going to sit for the rest of the cruise. Or at least where you sit for dinner. (Breakfast is always a new table) We had table 116. It was a table tucked away in the corner and it was fantastic! It's like we had our own secluded spot and there wasn't even anyone sitting near us. This what Tyler and I saw every evening. 

And likewise, this is what the Hulse's saw, although they also saw themselves since we were sitting in front on a mirror. It's best that way, since Tyler would have been constantly distracted by his own reflection.

Naturally, I had to take a picture of the really long hallways. Our cabins were forward and the restaurant was aft, so we made this trip often. But walking is good for you on a cruise. Some days I would take the stairs everywhere. 

Almost every evening ended with games or chatting. Our first choice was the library and it was a great little room that always had space for us, but weirdly, it sometimes smelled like sewage. So when it was too much for our smellers, we would hang out on Lido and play games up there. The library ended up being helpful in another way. Sadly, Tyler left his book on the plane. :( So he borrowed a book from the library and finished it on the cruise. Go Tyler!!

We didn't have a towel animal the first night because they hadn't made up our bed yet, but they did have this epic uni-mountain-goat on a cleaning cart. Isn't he adorable?

K. Straight into the next day which was a sea day. We got up and found pods first thing. They are little cabanas that offer shade and relaxation. There are lots on the Serenity deck, and a few up above. The ones on the main deck are snatched up first, but what those people don't know is that the ones up above are in the wind. Which means there is sun, shade, wind, and magic. It is the most wonderful experience. After Tyler saved some for us, we went to breakfast. We took this really silly picture while we were waiting to go in.

And then we went back to the pods. I got a picture of Tyler sleeping, so he returned the favor at his earliest convenience. 

But seriously, the pods were the best. I spent the entire morning reading and napping. Wake up...read a little...fall asleep. Repeat. Maybe stop to grab something to eat or drink.

I think I could have spent the entire day there, but Tyler finally enticed me to a ship activity. He took me to a craft. I love a good craft and this one was actually really fun. They were nautical knot bracelets. The instructions were pretty easy to follow, and by the end of the hour, we had ourselves some cruise bling. Schmancy.

We really didn't do much that day. It was a Sunday after all, so it was a mandatory day of rest. :) Beth was actually have some serious problems with medicine side effects. She struggles with sea sickness, so she tried a patch this cruise, but it was causing all sorts of havoc. Beth was loopy the entire day and then she started to have blurred vision. It was funny/not funny watching her try to read her phone. She just couldn't find a distance that would work with her eyes. She finally ditched the patch midway through the day, which was the right decision.

Tyler got a bamboo massage. He said it was wonderful, but still not worth the cost. Cruise massages are out of this world, or at least the cost of them are. 

We tried out one of the comedians. They are hit and miss and this one was a definite miss. I didn't even stay for the whole thing. But the show after was great. There was some excellent piano playing and lots of songs from Elton John and Billy Joel.

Oh, it was also elegant night. So we dressed up all fancy and took pictures.

Dinner brought a fun activity. While reading the monologue jar, we stumbled across a question asking what would you change your name to if you had to change it. So we all named each other. Jonny and Beth became Sherman and Diana. (We struggled to find the right name for Beth and it changed a bit, but Jonny was definitely Sherman) Tyler and I became Gary and Kate. (Jonny and Beth both chose Kate for me separately) I had already chosen Ava as my dinner name, but I'm totally going as Kate next time.

Here's a fun little towel animal. What do you think? Scorpion? Or a sea creature?

Tyler didn't sleep well that night. Probably because he was excited for the upcoming day. 

DR BABY!!