Day 0 - Embarkation

Well, cruise day had arrived! We left the house around 8:00 a.m. and Tim and I went out to breakfast where he gave me my own digital camera as an early birthday present. Tim has a great camera, but during the school year at least, he has it with him all the time and if I'm going to be a proper blogger, I need a camera available to me.

After breakfast, we headed off to Galveston, about a four hour drive away. We got there about 2:00 p.m., found the parking lot we had prepaid parking for, loaded our luggage on the shuttle and off we went to the Port.

And then the fun began. Carnival told everyone to arrive between 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. for embarkation. I'm sure lots of folks chose to arrive earlier, but I don't think they let you on then because they're still disembarking all the folks from the previous cruise that just docked that morning. This was a 7 day cruise -- Sunday to Sunday, so they get one bunch off and load another bunch on. So we got in line (a LONG line) at 2:15 p.m. and waited an hour before we even made it inside to the air conditioning. Now, the line was moving, but it was 90+ degrees outside and there were a lot of people. Long story, short, we waited in line for 2 1/2 hours before we even made it on the ship. I don't know if that's due to Carnival or immigration or what. I suspect it's Carnival. I understand that they were having to move 3,000 people on to the ship, but geez, people. I think there's definite room for improvement with this process.

However, while I was in line (still outside), I realized I had left my sunglasses in the car six blocks away. I didn't notice before because I was wearing my glasses instead of contacts that day. I knew I was going to need them and if I had known it was going to take me 2 1/2 hours in line, I really would have gone back to get them. But I didn't, and Carnival got $20 more from me than they might otherwise have, since I had to buy sunglasses on the ship.

Carnival takes your credit card information, takes your photograph, and issues you a Sail & Sign card before you embark on the ship. This card works like a credit card on the ship for any purchases you make. They run a tab basically and then charge it to your credit card at the end of the trip. The Sail & Sign card also allows you to get on and off the ship at the different ports. You put it in this machine and it brings your picture up on the monitor so they can tell if it's really you getting on and off the ship. You would have a very difficult time getting on and off without this card -- it is your lifeline for everything and you've got to have it. More on that later.

Once we made it on the ship, we found our cabin. It was small, but most cruise cabins are and Tim & I take the view that you're rarely in your cabin anyway, so it really doesn't matter. We spent the first evening exploring the ship and going to dinner. Here's a sample picture of our cabin, but with a king bed instead of two twins.

You have so many options for eating -- because really, that's what it's all about -- but you just can't beat the main dining room for dinner. It's like being at a 4 or 5 star restaurant every night. There were also three buffet lines running at every meal, a pizzeria that was open 24 hrs, a sushi bar open in the evenings, a sandwich deli, a chinese place, a serve-yourself frozen yogurt/ice cream machine, hamburgers and hot dogs, everything you could imagine, really.

There were 4 or 5 music venues, a main theater/lounge where the live shows were held in the evenings, a casino, an art gallery, a spa, a fitness center, a hair salon, a track on one of the decks, 3 swimming pools, a waterslide and 2-3 hot tubs. I'm sure there are things I'm leaving out. They called it a floating city and they're right. There were almost 3,000 people on the ship and approximately 1,200 crew members, but you never felt like there were that many people.

Here's a picture of the ship.

Oh, and I almost forgot. The entire ship was art-themed. The artwork, the murals, even the wallpaper, had something to do with French Impressionists. It was just perfect for Tim and he loved it.

Sometime during the evening, (after we departed Galveston) I realized I had also left both of my hairbrushes at home. Now the guys out there may not realize the magnitude of this, but I suspect the girls will. I thought, "No problem, I'll buy one on board." But, no. There were no hairbrushes to be found on the ship, not even at the hair salon. It was suggested I try to find one when we were in port. Hmmm, that wasn't going to be until Wednesday! So I had to blow-dry and finger-fluff and make the best of it. This got worse as the week wore on and I'm sure the pictures will tell the tale.

Our vacation had begun!