Carinval Glory - NYC to New England... A Memoir

[Kerryman50]

:pLOL! (literally, I'm laughing out loud at this) Not a prayer - sorry! He's been working on this much for a long time already (our cruise was June 18th - 23rd)! There's no way he'll be done by Friday.

You're his PUBLISHER Shaky, he has a deadline to make!! The fans are waiting. :D

[Tink35]

:pLOL! (literally, I'm laughing out loud at this) Not a prayer - sorry! He's been working on this much for a long time already (our cruise was June 18th - 23rd)! There's no way he'll be done by Friday.

 

You're killing me!! Then I hope he gets to sail away by the time I leave!;)

[Delta Hotel]

The Ebony Cabaret is where the adult and family-friendly comedy shows are staged. It’s also in the back corner near the Cinn-A-Bar coffee bar, Bar Blue, and White Heat. It’s an odd setup in this back corner – it creates a strange dead-end situation where it looks like you can pass through the area, but it stops. You have to turn around and go back a little ways to get to the stairs or elevators. However, once you ran into this dead-end once or twice, you then know that you shouldn’t go past the elevator lobby unless you’re going to the comedy club, or that red room.

 

 

Here's a picture of Bar Blue, a bar near this back corner (Deck 5 aft):

 

Here's a picture of Ultra Violets - an arcade room for kids. The ceiling is Monopoly money! This is Deck 5 mid:

 

 

After some more wandering around, someone points out to me that the ship is starting to move. I locate the nearest window and freeze, staring out the window at one or more stationary objects to verify whether or not we’re moving. For less than a second, I have the posture and look of a person playing “red-light, green-light”. I could have just taken that person’s word for it, but I don’t know any of these people. For all I know, he could have just said that so he could steal my wallet. Now’s our chance to get up to the higher decks to watch as we leave the Manhattan port, and cruise down the river past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty!

 

This would be my first time seeing the Statue of Liberty, and I was prepared to take lots of pictures. The sky was greyish brown, the river was brownish grey, it was hot, hazy, and generally all-around bad conditions for taking pictures, but it was going to be my only chance. The whole family slowly worked our way up to Deck 10 and began looking for a clear spot along the rail to see the Statue. At first, I had misjudged which way was forward, because the ship was backing out of its parking spot at the docks. So, I initially headed toward the side of the ship facing New Jersey. When I got there, I asked myself “I wonder why 95% of the people up here are on the other side of the ship?” Right as I asked myself that question, I heard a beautiful young passenger (also known as my wife) ask a crew member “which side do we see the Statue of Liberty on?” To which he replied “Dat side. Statue on dat side.” Needless to say, “dat side” was accompanied by a finger pointing gesture which indicated that the 95% of people on this deck were already aware of this fact. I was on the wrong side. Then I asked myself “do all of the people on THIS side know that they won’t be seeing the Statue? Are they intentionally on the wrong side? Whatever, that’s 5% less people to fight over a railing space.” I walked to the other side with my family.

 

 

Here's a picture of my girls sqautting by the rail with their dresses puffed out by the draft:

 

 

The ship cruised slowly down the river. The weather was hot, humid, and the skies were hazy. I supposed the ship’s captain (or any cruise ship captain) must be somewhat conscious of no-wake zones. I could just imagine the captain throwing off his cap and pushing every propeller, thruster-booster, and isopod to full throttle while in the river! I bet that would give all of the little boats and kayaks in the river quite a thrill. That ends my daydream for now.

 

Here is a panoramic photo of Manhattan and the cruise port as we're heading down the river:

 

 

So, we slowly move down the river, with the Statue of Liberty barely visible through the haze in the distance on the right side. As soon as my 200mm lens can properly focus on the Statue, I find myself a steady position on the railing. I bend my left arm and rest it on the rail as I set my camera on my elbow. I lean down, find a comfortable position to shoot from, and I begin taking one photo every 5 seconds, keeping the Statue in the center. As we move closer, the Statue grows clearer and larger. When we get close enough that I can almost fill the frame with the Statue and the island, I begin snapping shots every ½ second or so. I kept shooting as we pass the Statue. In total, I took about 280 photos of the Statue and island, covering about 140 degrees of the front.

 

You may be reading this with your eyebrows a little lowered, mumbling these lines to yourself quietly, and wondering “why would anyone want to take 280 pictures of the same statue?”. Well, there IS a reason – perhaps not a good one, but there is a reason. I’m an amateur photographer. Actually, the term “amateur photographer” is too lofty for my hobby. It’s more like… I’m a guy with a camera, and I take a lot of pictures, and sometimes a few of them aren’t complete trash. Also, since I’m a computer-geek by trade, I look for different ways to make use of my digital pictures. I discovered Photosynth a few years ago, and have been really amazed by it. Photosynth is a Microsoft product, which allows you to take multiple pictures of the same place or thing, and “stitch” them together into a single virtual space. Anyway, if you’re bored, you can look it up and perhaps you’ll be amazed like me. So, back to the point. Those photos of the Statue get “synthed” on my computer, and then I have a 140 degree virtual model of the Statue.

[ShakyBeef]

You're his PUBLISHER Shaky, he has a deadline to make!! The fans are waiting. :D

 

 

Ha!!! Editor, maybe. Publisher, definitely NOT.:rolleyes:

[Kerryman50]

I hope so... As The World Turns was cancelled!! :eek:

OK maybe better than The Guiding Light... Ooooh that was cancelled too.:pCome on Delta keep it going, your FANS are here and waiting.:D

[ShakyBeef]

You're killing me!! Then I hope he gets to sail away by the time I leave!;)

 

OK, he's made it to sail-away. :)(His 8-page count came from MS Word, the Forum pages fit a lot more than Word pages.)

[Kerryman50]

OK, he's made it to sail-away. :)(His 8-page count came from MS Word, the Forum pages fit a lot more than Word pages.)

I don't want to change the subject on this great review but did you guys bring your Presto Bucket on this cruise with you?;)

 

And if you did will we see pictures?

Edited July 14, 2011 by Kerryman50

[ShakyBeef]

I don't want to change to the subject on this great review but did you guys bring your Presto Bucket on this cruise with you?;)And if you did will we see pictures?

 

 

This is his thread, but I'll answer since he's over at his computer working on getting the next installment of these beast posted.

 

Yup, as always, we brought the handy-dandy, trusty Presto Bucket.:D I'm not sure if it's present in any of his pictures. It spent a lot of its time sitting on the desk/counter in the cabin, filled with ice (or cold water if the Steward hadn't been by in awhile) and a few MLs. It had a bath towel folded under it to catch all the condensation, of course.:cool:

[galawdog]

Keep it coming! Your audience is waiting, sir.

[Kerryman50]

Loving your review. You have a great writing style. Can't wait to read more!

Delta's writing style is great.:)

[iggy's mom]

Your writing style is fabulous! Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

 

Clair

[Delta Hotel]

Your writing style is fabulous! Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

 

Clair

 

Thank you =) I'm currently waiting on my Editor to approve my next post!

[Delta Hotel]

As soon as we pass the Statue, I take my face away from the back of my camera, and notice that my family has left me. It’s right about now that I sift through my short-term memory and remember Wifey telling me something to the effect of “we’re going to dinner, meet us in the dining room when you’re done.” I look at my watch and realize that I’m now late for dinner. I’m new to the ship, and realize that I don’t know where the MDR is on this ship, but I’m confident in my ability to read a map, and I just happen to be observant enough to notice a ship’s map next to the elevator. In case you just thought to yourself “duh, there’s a map of the ship next to every elevator, and this dork is patting himself on the back for noticing it”, that was a joke… not serious. I quickly make my way down to the MDR and walk in. I did stop and take a second look at the room before entering because it didn’t look right. We had walked by the MDR earlier in the day, and this room looked different. I remembered that this ship had two MDR’s, so I wasn’t sure that I had gone to the right one. After almost knocking over a crew member accidentally, I confirmed with her that I was in the right MDR. This MDR has a front and rear entrance; I had seen the front entrance earlier, but this was the rear entrance. I go in, I find our table, I sit down, and wait for Wifey to show up. She had run to the room to drop off extraneous stuff, and left our girls with their grandparents. Oh, yeah… I forgot to mention that Wifey’s parents are on this cruise with us. They’re on Deck 6 with a balcony room, and the reason they’re on this cruise with us is kind of amusing, too. Let’s take a little side-journey.

 

<Begin misty memory flashback>

 

It’s early October of 2010. Wifey’s mother goes to her doctor for a checkup of some kind. The doctor tells her that she wants her to get tested for pancreatic cancer because of her late-onset diabetes, and also because her father died of it. The idea of having pancreatic cancer doesn’t sit well with Wifey’s mother, and she begins to get upset and decides that she doesn’t want to get the tests, and that she’d rather not know at all. When she gets home, she calls her oldest daughter to seek sympathy, or whatever it is that women do when they call other women to talk about problems.

 

The oldest daughter decides to go for the more gruff approach, and insists that Mom get the tests done, and that it would be selfish to do otherwise. This lack of sympathy doesn’t go over well, and gives Mom more of a story with which to seek sympathy.

 

We came to visit for the weekend, and arrived at their house on Friday night. Wifey and Mom go out shopping together for something.

 

This next part is mostly my interpretation of what really happened, because I wasn’t there. It’s probably not the truth, but my version is probably more entertaining.

 

While out shopping, Mom tells Wifey about how mean Older Sister was, and that she’s really upset about the possibility of having pancreatic cancer. Wifey decides to kill two stones with one bird. She now has the chance to convince her Mom to get the cancer screening AND the opportunity to one-up her older sister! My gosh, for a middle-child, that’s like a dream come true. However, as with anything, you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. In this case, “breaking a few eggs” means promising something that I (her husband) would most likely not approve of, but would be stuck with anyway. So, with a gleam in her eye, and jumping on the opportunity to take control of the situation, Wifey says to Mom “will you get the tests done if I send you on a cruise?”

Mom thinks for a few seconds and says, “How long of a cruise?”

 

Now, you and I both realize that when Mom began asking about the details of this deal, it was almost over. This was no longer a “Mom, please get tested for the sake of your health and all who love you!” This had now become a negotiation to see how much cruise she could get out of her daughter.

 

The conversation went something like this:

 

Mom: “How long of a cruise?”

Wifey: “At least 5 days. But you have to call and make your appointment on Monday”

Mom: “But it can’t be out of Miami, I hate Miami”

Wifey: “Ok, no Miami. And you have to have the test done by the end of October”

Mom: “and I don’t want to fly”

Wifey: “well, that really limits your choices”

Mom: “and it has to be during my summer vacation” (she works at an elementary school)

 

Anyway, you get the point. They came home from their shopping trip, and Wifey very nicely informs me that we’re sending her parents on a cruise. Nevermind the fact that Wifey’s Dad has nothing to do with this. He was just sitting on his chair watching TV and surfing the internet. He just got a free cruise because his wife didn’t want to get tested, his oldest daughter was mean to her mother, and his middle-child is obsessed with cruising, and his son-in-law [apparently] has no backbone to speak of. By the way, “no backbone” and “really big heart” are synonymous here.

 

 

A few weeks later, the tests were done and she was found to be pancreatic cancer free. Whoopee. They came to visit us at our house, and Mom was so excited about going on a cruise again, that she hugged me. With a big smile, wide eyes, and hands clasped in front of her, she looks up at me and says “So Son-In-Law, I’ve always wanted to do one of those Panama Canal cruises… what procedure do I have to get done in order to get a Panama Canal cruise?” To which I responded, “An autopsy.”

 

This is why we’re cruising with my in-laws. By the way, she actually calls me “Son-In-Law” as opposed to my actual name. I realize that you may not pick up on that because I’ve replaced everyone’s names in this story, but she actually refers to me as “Son-In-Law” in real life… like she doesn’t want to commit to me being a real family member.

 

<End misty memory flashback>

[Delta Hotel]

This would be our first cruise where we were seated on the upper level. Our first impression of the upper level was that it kind of sucked. We were seated against the exterior wall on the upper level, so we could see the large opening in the middle of the room, but couldn’t see down into the lower level. We knew that this would put a big damper on the dance-club scene that occasionally appears in the MDR. Wifey asks the assistant Maître D’ if the waiters dance upstairs and downstairs, and she told us that when they dance, they usually dance on the stairs between the levels. We acted as if that made us feel better, nodding and smiling, but we knew that this wouldn’t be good for us. From our table, you couldn’t see the stairs or the lower level. At least we wouldn’t be surprised later… still disappointed, but not surprised.

 

Our waiters came over one at a time to seat us and greet us. Also another first for us was the three-waiter system. We’re used to the two-waiter system, which seemed to work well. We’ve always been served well and been happy with the two-waiter system. When we noticed the three-waiter system, I thought “oh, that’s interesting, they have 3 waiters here. I wonder which one will bring me my beer?” Wifey reminds me of something that she learned on Cruise Critic about the dinner menus – the alternate Indian food option! Our head waiter comes over and introduces himself. “Good evening, my name is Sentil, like lentil. I will be your head waiter”, he says. A few moments later, our assistant waiter comes over and is drenched in sweat, with beads running down his forehead and face – literally dripping off of his chin and nose. He’s very sweaty, but doesn’t appear to be out of breath or panting, so it just looked like he had been locked in a sauna for a few minutes. He stands next to me at the table and I look up at him and say “Are you hot?” He smiles and says “yes, a little. Would you care for anything to drink?” If you think that it was inappropriate for me to point out his sweat on the first meeting, you’re not alone. My wife also chastised me for saying it. I thought it was kind of funny, but I could see how it might sound rude. Oh well, you know what they say… live and forget. Sentil is Indian (if you believe his name tag), and our assistant waiter was named Nenand, which he pronounced for us “Nenard, like Leonard”. He was Macedonian, and I would guess that he was in his mid to late twenties. Sentil was probably in his late thirties to forties.

 

Oh, right – the Indian menu! After being reminded by Wifey, I decided to ask Sentil about the Indian food. In case you’re not aware, many of the Carnival ships have an alternate Indian food menu that you can request in the MDR. It’s not really a menu, because you don’t get to choose anything, they just bring you what the chef makes that day. The only choice I was given was vegetarian or non-vegetarian. I chose non-vegetarian, but got the vegetarian meal every night. So, here’s how this works (or at least the way I understand it), since the Carnival ships have such a large Indian population among the crew, the chefs and galley on the ship already provide authentic Indian cuisine to the crew. If you request it in the MDR, they’ll bring you a dish from the Indian menu the following night. You must put the request in 24 hours ahead of time, so you can’t get it on the first night, but you can have it for every night after that. This doesn’t negate your normal menu options – you still get the regular menu choices. So, on 4 out of the 5 nights, I had the Indian dish and my choice of steak, pasta, lobster, shrimp, dessert, etc…

 

If you’re interested in doing this, you may want to note that some of the Indian dishes are spicy. I happen to love spicy food, so it was all OK for me, but it may not be for you. If I had to put it on some kind of scale, I would say that the spiciest item from any of the Indian dishes that I tried would be about the same as the generic hot sauce found in most restaurant – like that Texas Pete, or Tabasco, or Taco Bell’s “Fire” sauce. Keep in mind, this is just a spicy scale – not a taste scale. The Indian food was very tasty-spicy, not just yucky-spicy. I personally don’t care for the Texas Pete style hot sauces; I find them spicy without having a real purpose.

 

I don’t remember much about the first night’s dinner, other than the three-waiter system not working well. They also didn’t have a Sommelier, so getting a bottle of wine was difficult. We requested a wine menu from our assistant waiter, and received one quickly. A few minutes later, when the drink waiter arrived and asked us if we wanted anything to drink from the bar, we told him that we were waiting on a bottle of wine. He told us that he doesn’t handle the wine, but he would pass it along to our head waiter. Our assistant waiter came back later and we picked our Pinot Noir. All of dinner went by and, we never got our bottle of wine.

[Delta Hotel]

For our first night’s dinner, my 5-year-old ordered the children’s cheese pizza. I like pizza. I’m not crazy about pizza, and I don’t really think I could tell the difference between a normal pizza and a gourmet pizza other than the price, if I had to pay for it. I like pizza hot, warm, and cold. I don’t hesitate to open the fridge at the office and crack open the week-old pizza box, pull out a curled slice of almost-frozen pizza and eat it for lunch. Pizza can be piled high with toppings or plain cheese, and I’ll still enjoy it. Come to think of it, I really don’t care at all. I’ll eat just about anything. I’m not sure why I singled out pizza. Oh, right – my daughter ordered the cheese pizza from the kids’ menu. This pizza is terrible. I’ve never had it, but I would imagine that cheap packets of ketchup smeared onto stale white bread with a dirty knife would taste better than this stuff. I have no idea why my daughter continues to order it each night. Ugg. The fries underneath the pizza aren’t bad, though.

 

I don’t remember what I had for dinner on my first night. When we first started cruising, I would take my camera everywhere, and take pictures of anything and everything. I would come home with thousands and thousands of pictures and videos, literally! Now, when we cruise, I only come home with thousands and thousands of pictures and videos. They still number in the thousands, just less thousands. I used to take a picture of the dinner menu every night. I took pictures of everyone’s appetizer, entrée, and dessert. I took a picture of each plate with the associated person so that when I looked back at the pictures, I could know which person ordered which dish. My family learned to be accommodating of this, but the other guests at our 8-top didn’t do a good job of hiding their disdain for my little hobby. Now, to “fit in” more with other guests at our table, I only take pictures of our plates, and only those plates that I haven’t seen before. For those of you who cruise Carnival regularly, you already know that the menus on the ships are very similar, so it’s very common to see the same dishes again and again. Since I didn’t take a photo of each person with their dish (this is also to keep the annoyance factor down), I don’t know which person ordered which plate.

I do know that I ordered my compulsory cappuccino at the end of dinner, and ordered no dessert this night.

Here are some random dinner photos from our first night:

 

I believe that this is the Smoked Hudson Valley Duck Breast over Thai glass noodle salad

 

 

 

I don't remember what this was, but I'm sure it wasn't horrible.

 

My compulsory cappuccino after dinner

 

My father-in-law's dessert, which I had a bite of. Don't remember anything about it... probably no good at all.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Delta Hotel

[VickiD59]

… what procedure do I have to get done in order to get a Panama Canal cruise?” To which I responded, “An autopsy.”

LOL!!! Hazelnut coffee sinus rinse... <choke> wow that stings!

[pe4all]

I am riveted to the screen, laughing like an idiot- luckily my house is empty - though the cat is looking at me kinda weird! Soooo enjoying your mini novel. We did this cruise last summer, so I am re-living it thru you. I also loved the "autopsy" line. Too funny!!

[Ilive2cruise]

He doesn't read, so he can't really appreciate that.:rolleyes::p

 

DH: It's most likely a very engrossing book - I have had a hard time putting Anita Shreve books down. You should be flattered.;)

 

Should be very flattered! Definitely saying how much I was enjoying your writing. :)

[jerseyralph]

Never Mind.

Edited July 14, 2011 by jerseyralph

[ShakyBeef]

LOL!!! Hazelnut coffee sinus rinse... <choke> wow that stings!

 

I also loved the "autopsy" line. Too funny!!

 

 

He really did say it to her, just like that. I was there. He didn't miss a beat - his comedic timing was perfect.:cool: It was like a sit-com script.:p

 

My mother has repeated the story to everyone she knows.:rolleyes:

[basketsuze]

Hey, Delta! I'm enjoying reading your blog...er...novel...er...thingy........WHATEVER!! Come back soon and I am so sorry we won't be cruising with y'all in January.

 

Would you consider joining us on the Legend 11/6 - 11/13?? This year?? Yes, THIS YEAR!! CFF (Crazy Flying Fish) is being sent to a work-thingy in Tampa the week before, so I'm going to meet him down there and then we're hopping onboard the Legend!! This cruise happened by accident - it wasn't on purpose.......HONEST!! We weren't going to plan anything else this year after our August cruise on the Pride. This came up unexpectedly and here we are! Isn't it FUN????

 

Suze!

[basketsuze]

Hey, Delta! I'm enjoying reading your blog...er...novel...er...thingy........WHATEVER!! Come back soon and I am so sorry we won't be cruising with y'all in January.

 

Would you consider joining us on the Legend 11/6 - 11/13?? This year?? Yes, THIS YEAR!! CFF (Crazy Flying Fish) is being sent to a work-thingy in Tampa the week before, so I'm going to meet him down there and then we're hopping onboard the Legend!! This cruise happened by accident - it wasn't on purpose.......HONEST!! We weren't going to plan anything else this year after our August cruise on the Pride. This came up unexpectedly and here we are! Isn't it FUN????

 

Suze!

P.S. Shaky and the girls are included in the invitation too!! :D

[njmomof2]

Okay, seriously, I'm loving your report. Not only because I find the narration completely funny (and I do tend to think often the way you do) but I'm particularly interested in the fact that you had Cabin 1241 (a quad OV) and that you had your 8 yo with you.

 

We're considering this cruise at the end of August and we'll also be 4 in an OV quad. This is one of the cabins (or at least the same deck but perhaps a bit further aft) that we'd look at and I'm really interested in how you felt you all fit in there, and I have a 9 yo coming with me. I'm really interested to hear how your kids enjoyed the ship and the activities available.

 

We have cruised mostly Royal and on the Voyager/Freedom class level, so my kids (boys, currently 13.5 and soclosetobeing 9) really like the things on those ships (especially the flowrider and rock wall). So I'm wondering if they would like the Glory. I know she has the slide and 3 pools, so I'm going to keep reading your report to find out how the girls liked the ship, and also the ports (I just don't find the Canadian itinerary that exciting...no offense to any Canadians, as I totally love Canada - especially the beer!).

 

Looking forward to continued reading and laughing!

[Delta Hotel]

P.S. Shaky and the girls are included in the invitation too!! :D

 

Well, I'm glad you cleared THAT up! For just a second, I thought "hey, she's inviting me on a cruise while CFF is on a work trip... and she didn't mention anything about Wifey or the kids... hmm... this could be interesting" =)

 

About the Legend cruise... I have no idea. I'll have to defer to Mrs. Beef.

[Delta Hotel]

About the Legend cruise... I have no idea. I'll have to defer to Mrs. Beef.

 

Nevermind... Mrs. Beef just pointed out that my post made it sound like it was possible, she was already pulling out the Fun Points card and getting on the phone with her PVP. I'll just kill the fun here and say, no, we can't make it. That's the begining of 3rd quarter for me, and that's a crazy time of year at the office. I can't take off again for that long this year. We would LOVE to, you know we would, but I just can't do that again... especially with January right aroud the corner. <sigh>

Edited July 14, 2011 by Delta Hotel