Carnival Cruise Overview

So I was going to do just one post about the cruise, but realized I have too much to say and too many pictures for 1 post.  I'll try to keep the posts organized and flow in order, but we'll see how it comes out - ha!

The week of June 15th, we went on a wonderful 7 day Carnival Cruise.  We had an absolutely fabulous time and filled our week with lots of relaxation!  To make the trip extra special, we went with my parents (who are an absolute hoot).

This trip was sort of last minute, and by last minute, I mean we booked with less than 6 weeks before the cruise.  We got a good deal on the cruise (especially with it being Carnival - ha!), but wanted to save as much as we could, so we made the decision to drive down.  Nothing like 30 hours of bonding time in a van ;-).

My dad showed up to our house Thursday evening around 6.  He'd been in Detroit all week for work, so Steve picked him up at the rent-a-car place where he returned his car.  Mom didn't make it to our house with their van until 1am!  Let's just say, her day of packing and getting everything in order to leave didn't go as planned.  We woke up early Friday morning and began our drive South.

My dad did all the driving (except for the last 2 hours on the way back to Lima) with Steve riding shotgun. Mom and I hung out in the middle seats (we'd taken out the back seats and put all the luggage back there).  We were able to lay our seats back, but there wasn't lots of leg room (which I discovered to be a big negative).  Other than all the bad heartburn, I did fine with the travel down.  I had more concern about Steve going stir crazy in a car that long, but he did the best of us.  He had the best set-up.  He made a mobile hotspot with his phone (meaning he used his data to create wireless internet) and was able to surf the net, play games, and even work from his laptop.

(Pretty sure he is playing a game at this point!)

We made it just into FL late Friday night.  I think we clocked in an almost 14.5 hour drive (we had to stop a few times thanks to Bean dancing on my bladder).  We stayed at a hotel for free with my dad's travel points and all shared the room together (more bonding time!).  After a quick repacking of suitcases, we loaded back in the van the next morning to finish our drive to Port Canaveral!  We made it there by 1pm and finally got onto the ship!

Here was our schedule while on the ship:
Sunday (Father's Day) - Nassau Bahamas
Monday (My Birthday!) - 1st Day at Sea
Tuesday - St. Thomas
Wednesday - St. Martin
Thursday - 2nd Day at Sea
Friday - 3rd Day at Sea
Saturday - Arrive back in port :(