Terab85

September 25, 2021 - Last Sea Day

I didn't take a lot of pictures today since we had our covid testing to do and we were changing cabins (wasn't able to get the same one) so there was packing to be done.  Our letter said that we needed to go to the Limelight Lounge between 10:00-10:30 for testing.  Once we got there, we checked in and we're given numbers and told to sit and wait.  This is also where testing will be done for unvaccinated kids.  A doctor came over after a couple of minutes and explained the process.  We were taken over to the side where they did the swab test on both of us.  Now all we had to do was wait the 15 minutes for the results.  We sat and waited for our numbers to be called which was right about 15 minutes.  We were both given letters telling us we were negative.  Yay!!!    After testing,  back to cabin to pack.  

I finally remembered to take a picture of our cabin door. 

I absolutely LOVE the funnels that are in the atrium and casino area.  I'm not sure I saw a repeat on either. 

Finally remember to take a picture of the menu but not of the food 😛  The Baked Alaskan is my absolute favorite dessert ❤️ 

After dinner, we went to the Celestial Strings show followed by cocktail and then bed.  Tomorrow we'll be in Miami and it's great to know we don't have to rush to get off the ship and drive home.

Tomorrow - Miami 

We hung around the Tides pool again today.  It was HOT! 

Got some lunch and walked around.  The lido pool was packed.

When we got back to our room, we had our B2B information for testing the next day.

We didn't get off the ship since we'll be here for our 2nd leg.  Here are some pictures of the port.

14 minutes ago, skrufy said:

Know how you guys feel, we are up at 2am for a 65 mile bus ride to the airport. We have been cruising for many years and many 14 day cruises, but never a B2B. We also have had 6 cruises cancelled. Will be doing our first B2B and  Christmas Cruise this December. Will enjoy all your thoughts about your B2B experience.

I think Carnival did a great job with the b2b especially with the new protocols. I will talk more about the process as I go.  

CC is giving me all kinds of grief today.  By the time I finish this, I'll be ready to cruise again in April 😛 

Good morning Amber Cove

Look what was waiting for us this morning on deck.

Having a hard time editing, so please forgive the duplicate pictures.

Heading to dinner.  One of the few times I remembered to take pictures of the menu.

The buffalo cauliflower was BOMB!!!  

Next - Amber Cove

You can see La Romana in the distance.

We got in late (11:00) and and had no plans.  We had breakfast in the dining room and then went to the Military Appreciation gathering.  So nice that Carnival does this. 

We had no plans again in La Romana, so we just got off the ship to shop and then right back on.  It was SO hot.  

 We went to the Tides Pool again and just enjoyed the day. We did notice a lot of people either stayed on board or got off and back on like us.  The pool was pretty crowded.

We did Pig & Anchor for dinner.

Then walked around and found the ships coin.

Can't forget a beautiful sunset.  I don't know about anyone else, but there is nothing like watching a sunset over the ocean ❤️ 

Walked around before heading to back to cabin.

My favorite evening cocktail - Chocolate martini ❤️ 

Next up - La Romana 

Once we got back on the ship, took more pictures of the port. 

45 minutes ago, cricketmk3 said:

Thank you so much for this! I will be boarding this cruise on Oct 30. We had even thought about canceling it a time or two when they changed testing rules but...can't wait now!!

Your welcome!  If you can do the at home test, I would do it again in a heartbeat.  It was easy, took 15 minutes for results and if one of us tested positive, I could cry in the privacy of our own home 😛 

Since we had nothing planned for today but walking around, we hit the dining room for breakfast. 

Not sure what time we finally got off the ship but it was starting to get hot.

Our next stop was Curacao.  

I'm guessing we took a nap after because I have no pictures until the evening when we were getting ready to leave Aruba.

Good bye Aruba... see you in 2022.

Once we got back on board and showered, we headed to Seafood Shake for a lobster roll (which I split).  It was $12 for 2 rolls and totally worth it. 

31 minutes ago, Momma Mojito said:

Thanks for sharing your pics.  They are fantastic!!  We board the Horizon on the 30th for a B2B cruise and am really enjoying your the pics.  One this if you would could you tell us what you had for dinner!

I'll post whatever pictures I have of food/menu but definitely wasn't consistent. 

After we stopped at Arashi Beach, we decided to head back to the ship so we could do some souvenir shopping. 

There was a line to get a picture with the Aruba sign so I just snapped this one.  You can see the ship in the background, so super close. 

We left Baby Beach after a few hours.  It definitely got busier since we had arrived around 11:00am.  We decided to drive to Arashi Beach which is on the other end of the island. 

Arashi Beach

1 hour ago, L1211 said:

Thank you for this!  Love the pictures - the food looks amazing!! We cruise tomorrow.

can’t wait!!

Thank you!  I'm trying to get my photos from my phone downloaded so it'll be quicker for me to load on here.  Have a blast!!  We loved the Horizon and hope to book on her again soon.

September 21, 2021 - Aruba

I forgot to mention we booked this cruise in Oct 2019 for the ABC islands.  A few months ago, they changed Bonaire for La Romana & Amber Cove.  Was bummed we didn't go to Bonaire but we'll be there next year.

Since we were going to be in Aruba so long, we decided to rent a car and drive around the island checking out some of the beaches.  Our friend took a cab to the airport to pick up the car and then came back to the port to pick the rest of us up.  I think it took him about 30 minutes.

Baby Beach was nice.  We paid $60 for a shade tent that included 2 chairs and rented another 2 chairs for $15.  Snorkeling wasn't too bad but had to go out by the reef.  Water was shallow, so perfect for young kids.  We didn't eat or drink there but I think it was $2 to use the restroom. 

36 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

You can only correct a post for 30 minutes and then: it lives forever.

Good to know.

45 minutes ago, mondello said:

It's all good. Your pictures are great. Why 3 cameras?

Most pictures are on my phone but I have old camera that I was trying to use too.  I have another one that is waterproof and used that when we were on the islands.  My phone takes good pictures so I need to just get rid of my Canon 😞 

Sept 20, 2021 Sea Day #2

The sunrise wasn't as nice as the day before.  You could see we were going to hit some rain showers soon. 

Today we spend the day in the Tides Pool.  This is probably the first time since our first cruise in 2015 that we've gone to a pool area.  Since the cruise isn't at capacity (I think I heard 2,600) there was plenty of room to hang out.

View of the Havana pool.  Definitely want to book a cruise in one of those cabins. 

Tried the beer flights at Pig & Anchor

Tonight we were having dinner at the steakhouse.  People had mentioned before and we have to agree that the food and service at the steakhouse wasn't like it had been in the past.  We did notice that the restaurant was very busy and heard that the casino was giving out free dinners.  We found the service to be slow between the entrée and the dessert and had to even ask several times to get a refill on water.  I know that the ships are still working out the kinks and we're hoping that it'll be better when we cruise again next year. Saying that, the dinner was still a great value for $38.