geonurse

Pistachio Farfalle

Farro salad

Arancini♥️

Time to give Cucina del Capitano more love…..we ended up eating two dinners and one lunch here during our 7 day sailing. We loved the vibe and ambiance of this restaurant and it was fairly easy to get into whenever we were ready to eat. The food was so good.

Bolt! We decided not to try bolt, but really enjoyed seeing others riding😍 I was curious how noisy it would make this area of the ship, but it was a smooth quieter coaster. The screams and laughter of those riding it were noisy, but fun❣️ We thought it odd at the placement of these clamshells , but ended up resting here for a couple hours after our walk one day🤷‍♀️

Another view of the patio pool on deck 8, and view of aft balconies from the hot tub on deck 8aft.

Breakfast at Pig and Anchor. Every morning there was a small buffet here. We enjoyed the selections , including a Mexican style breakfast casserole. This area was never super busy and with the patio pool just outside - bonus! Early risers don’t have many breakfast options on this ship. This buffet and most others don’t open until 0800. Thankfully coffee is available many places early.

Enjoyed the famous Crystal Ball at Fortune Teller Bar. Beware - it is VERY strong…I carried it everywhere and sipped at it all night😂

The decor and Xmas decorations on the ship were outstanding. Really loved this fancy staircase . I took this photo from deck 8 aft looking down…one of my favorite areas of the ship. So beautiful with so many bars and restaurants.

So so good❣️

Wow- no, we sailed to San Juan, Amber cove and grand Turk dec 2-10♥️

Thank you!

Yes- loved those areas!

Just around the corner from Java Blue on deck 6 was my favorite bar The Brass Magnolia. Just gorgeous! The bartenders are so spiffy and have some smooth moves and the drinks are strong❣️ Here is my chocolate martini. Great music always playing here in the evenings as well.

Really loved this Java Blue… so many free food items and even a grab and go case with free salads, fruit, granola,etc We enjoyed Java Blue several times without spending any additional money since they also have a complimentary drink station there. with coffee, hot chocolate and water\ice. The location of this area on deck 6 , the lowest level of center stage was brilliant and very intuitive.

Center stage during the day

The grand central center stage area replaces the traditional atrium of most ships and it was really stunning. Whatever time of day we strolled thru here we found something interesting going on. Some mornings we just got a cup of coffee from Java Blue and enjoyed looking at the ocean thru the wall of beautiful windows…. One annoyance was lack of functional seating and not enough of it when there was a popular show going on. Even tho there were three levels , I just wish there could have been more seating…

Sea Day morning #1 I let DH sleep in and hit up Emerils as soon as it opened, which I believe was 8 am. Interestingly, most of the breakfast places don’t open until 0800. Java Blue cafe starts serving their breakfast at 0730. Dining room and lido buffet not open until 0800 on sea days. Anyway, Emerils was fabulous. I had an espresso and a wonderful Pain Perdu . There is a nice little seating area here to have a bite ….the ocean can be seen thru windows on one side of the hallway…and the decor and design here is just so beautiful…. my bill came to 8$.

Yes we really enjoyed all the differences and additions ♥️

Our first night on the ship we decided to have dinner in Cucina del Capitano. This was a big step for DH because he is a loyal main dining room fan. But Mardi Gras wins again , because they offer a small main dining room menu in select specialty restaurants..so he could have his beloved chocolate melting cake and strip steak , while I enjoyed something different from the specialty restaurant menu. Brilliant move Carnival! Cucina, Chi Bang and Pig and Anchor were the no cost specialty restaurants…all SO very good. At Cucina on the first night we had Caprese and the Nona meatball appetizers, both chose the grilled shrimp entree, DH had chocolate melting cake and I chose Lemoncello. So wonderful…every single bite! Service timely and warm yet professional.

Our most favorite place turned out to be Summers Landing on Deck 8aft.Specifically the Patio Pool. Great vibes, relaxing, not noisy…and killer views from that infinity pool- especially during sailaway! Guys Pig and Anchor , Flavortown Bar, and Heroes Lounge butt up to this pool area so there is always food options - even a Swirls station. You also have the Pizza and Paninni place, and Bar Della Rosa nearby. Guest services, excursion desk and Pixels are also near this area of the ship. this area also had 2 hot tubs and just felt to me like the Havana areas on Vista class ships. Interestingly, the Havana area on Mardi Gras was not large at all and I don’t think it even had hot tubs?

It’s crazy to me that they charge so much..when you can get a lovely experience and plenty of elbow room in Serenity….

The other thing that we really enjoyed about our category of cabin, is that there was an express elevator in our hallway that went straight to the spa on deck 5! The elevator opens right into the thermal suites… nice thallasotherapy pool, heated loungers, steam rooms, sauna, showers…there was only one time all week that the heated loungers were completely taken. We were impressed with this spa.

We were pleasantly surprised at the traffic flow and lack of congestion. I heard that our sailing was full but I cannot confirm. The location of eateries and “ “neighborhoods” really seem to help with this. Yes, sometimes not having all the eateries close is a pain, but it definitely helps…much better this way imo.

But let’s talk about the wonderful location of this tiny cabin. 1 deck above the main Lido, 1 deck below Serenity. We loved Serenity on this ship. It is huge! And for the first time we were able to try the salad bar that was located there. Tons of toppings , very fresh. Even had tiny shrimp cocktail. A full bar and also a nice big self serve ice water carafe with cups available . Two hot tubs and a swimming pool. Loft 19 was right above Serenity. Trust me when I say, if Loft 19 does not come with your cabin, you shouldn’t waste xtra money for it ..there are SO many nice areas on this ship to spread out and relax completely included in the normal fare. We thoroughly enjoyed this Serenity area. we never even saw anyone in the Loft 19 area any of the times we were on Serenity. We did notice that the infinity pool from Loft 19, dripped continuously on all of us going thru the salad bar line right below…this seemed to bother some people more than others 😅.design flaw