Surprise & the Sunshine - Oct 12-17 review with pictures

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Hello everyone. I'm going to work at doing another review for all of you because I spend so much time here getting tips and ideas when I'm planning a cruise that I want to "pay it forward" if I can.

 

I'll try to post a day at a time, but please be patient with me if I can't. I'm headed back to work on Thursday after 3 weeks off.

 

First a little about us -

 

I'm Angela and my DH is Glen. This was our 5th cruise - all on Carnival. We have 4 children and a 1 year old foster son. Cruising along with us was our 2 youngest - Hope - 12 and Collin who turned 10 while we were cruising - great present huh? We left our 19 and 17 year old DD's home as college didn't have a break and our 17 year old had already missed 2 days of school to go to a One Direction concert. Any of you with teenage girls will probably understand!

 

Also, Collin's Dad Steven and his wife Mary cruised with us. Sounds weird I know but we are foster parents and Collin and Hope were our first 2 foster children back in 2005. We have adopted Hope and have permanent legal custody of Collin. In the mean time Collin's Dad has turned his life around and Collin still has contact with him. Since we would be gone on Collin's birthday I asked Steven if they would like to join us. He had always wanted to try a cruise so they decided they would tag along.

 

Booking and pre-cruise

 

Our kids are out of school for a couple of days every October for a short fall break. I was having surgery on the Tuesday before they were out on the following Monday and Tuesday. We originally planned on going to Daytona for the week but one evening I was playing around on the Carnival website and came upon something very interesting.

 

I told Glen that all 4 of us could cruise for 5 days on the Sunshine (a ship we had never been on and it was going to 2 ports we had never been to) for a little more than what we would pay for our trip to Daytona. I would have cooked and cleaned and picked up after everyone in Daytona and the cruise would give me some rest and relaxation (doctor's orders you know). We were hesitant to book the cruise because of my surgery but decided to go out on a limb and do it!

 

We booked on September 23 which is a lot closer to sailing than we normally book. I spoke to my PVP and we decided to let Carnival choose our OV cabin for us because it would save us so much money. I have to admit that I'm a control freak and this was hard for me to do. But, I wanted to cruise and this was the only way we would be able to do it. The cabin God's were smiling on us because we ended up in a port side OV aft on Deck 5 which is the Promenade deck on the Sunshine. It turned out to be in one of the "new" cabins that were added when the Destiny was transformed into the Sunshine. More on our cabin and it's proximity to different areas later. We did purchase insurance - a no brainer because of my surgery and the fact that Glen had a heart attack last December and still isn't really up to par.

 

Glen and I decided that we wouldn't tell Hope and Collin that we were doing anything at all for their fall break. They kind of thought since I would be recuperating from surgery that we would be staying close to home. We normally go to Pigeon Forge, TN camping for a long weekend while they are out so they had no clue we were doing anything at all. More on the surprise later.

 

Surgery day came and everything went fine. I was home after about 6 hours at the hospital. My doctor said to take it easy for the next 3 - 4 weeks and no lifting anything over 10 pounds.

 

I had already been putting a few things up in the closet that I knew we would want to take. Our weather was still really warm so I couldn't put a lot of stuff up because we were still wearing our shorts. Also, I didn't have a place to start packing and be able to hide it from Hope and Collin. Since they were in school Wednesday - Friday after my surgery I used those days to do some more packing - a little each day finishing up in a flurry on Friday. I was determined not to over pack for this trip - yea - right! Oh well, I really did try.

 

More coming soon.

Edited October 29, 2014 by GeorgiaMomof4

[MrBanana1240]

Just looked at a 5 nighter on Sunshine today!! Thanks for the review and I can't wait to read the rest :D

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Just looked at a 5 nighter on Sunshine today!! Thanks for the review and I can't wait to read the rest :D

 

 

 

Thanks for reading - I'll try and post some more tonight.

[mosaic_mom]

Great start to your review. Will be on Sunshine 12/14/14. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Hope you're feeling better.

[Momma1980]

Nice start to your Sunshine review. Subscribing:)

[GeorgiaMomof4]

We always drive to the port where we are leaving from and normally we like to do the stay, park and cruise packages at the port city hotels.

 

I did lots of research and the hotels where I wanted to stay were either already booked or way too expensive so we decided to stay in Daytona instead.

 

We are very familiar with Daytona as we vacation in Ormond every year so I stepped out of my comfort zone once again and bid on Priceline. I normally like to know exactly where we will be staying. I bid $45 for a 2 or 3 star hotel (I can't remember which) in Daytona Beach Shores (which was where we wanted to stay) and won! It was oceanfront and included a continental breakfast. I think it ended up being about $55 total with taxes.

 

After more research I booked us parking at ParknCruise in Port Canaveral. It was $7.99/day and around $52.00 for the 5 day cruise.

 

Saturday - 1 day until boarding the Sunshine -

 

Glen and I were both up early and showered and packed our last suitcase into the car.

 

About 5:45 we woke Hope and Collin up and told them to get up, get dressed and pack a few things that we were going on a road trip! Needless to say they were still half asleep but I think the excitement won over and we were out the door by 6:02. We didn't even make it into the car until the questions started - "Mom - where are we going?" - "Dad - can't you get Mom to tell us where we're going?". I had a feeling it was going to be a long drive.

 

We stopped about 5 miles from home to fill up at a Pilot because I thought I could use our rewards for cheaper gas. For some reason it didn't work and I had to try to use Glen's debit card several times and he eventually had to go in to get the card to work. More on this later. About 20 minutes later we were on our way.

 

The questions continued until they finally dozed off. About 3 hours later we stopped for a quick breakfast and unfortunately after breakfast they were wide awake and the barrage of questions began again. It was fun to listen to them both in the back seat guessing where we might be going.

 

Collin at first thought we were going to see the Georgia Bulldogs play for his birthday but they weren't even in Athens that weekend. He finally realized that wasn't it when we crossed over into Florida. After much scheming, plotting and guessing they decided they had it figured out. Collin was bursting to tell us what they had come up with but Hope didn't want him to. He had to though and finally said - "We've figured out that we're going to Sea World". I said "How in the world did you come up with that?". I didn't lie - just didn't confirm either way.

 

They have both been to Daytona many times so they knew where we were when we got off there. The discussion from the back seat was that we would stay in Daytona and go to Sea World the next day.

 

We couldn't check in to our hotel for another hour or so, so Hope and I did some swimsuit shopping.

 

We didn't realize when we booked in Daytona but they were having a Wings and Wave Air Show right on the beach near the Boardwalk area sponsored by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University that weekend. We didn't get to see a lot of it because it was almost over by the time we got checked in but it was awesome. They were having it again on Sunday but we would have already left for our cruise on the Sunshine!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

It was finally time to check into our hotel. It was the Oceanside Inn and as it turns out, it used to be a Days Inn. Glen and I remembered that we had stayed there when it was the Days Inn many years ago - before kids so 20+ years ago. It was a nice trip down memory lane.

 

It was still familiar to us - some changes had been made thankfully.

 

As I was finishing up check in - Steven and Mary arrived at the hotel. Collin was so surprised - he said "I know why you're here, you came for my birthday and you're going to Sea World with us." Again, no confirming or denying - just lots of smiles!

 

We headed out to the beach and let the kids play and swim. Collin loves to skim board and we had slid his in under all the luggage and Hope loves the sand.

 

It was an absolutely beautiful day.

 

Collin skim boarding and Glen watching!

 

After several hours of fun and sun we went in and got ready to go eat. One of our favorite restaurants is a local place in Ormond by the Sea called Alfie's. We drove up A1A and had a great dinner.

 

OK - now you remember the fiasco at the Pilot as we were leaving home? Well, Glen was paying for our dinner with his debit card and the waitress came back to the table and said it had been declined. It was embarrassing to say the least. Now we had to figure out what was going on with his card. Fortunately we always travel with more than 1 credit card so we were okay.

 

When we got back to the hotel I called our bank and after about 45 minutes on the phone we discovered that the bank had actually put a hold on Glen's card. The fraud department had discovered that someone had tried to use Glen's card number at a Target somewhere in Illinois at 12 or 1 that same afternoon and it was a red flag to them as we had just used it in Dalton, Ga at 6:30 that morning. She told us that sometimes people put card readers or something in and get the numbers from the card. Anyway, they cancelled Glen's card and promised to have us another one on it's way to our home address so we ended up having to use mine the remainder of the cruise along with our other credit cards. We did call the Pilot and told them but according to him they had measures in place to supposedly prevent this type of thing from happening. We were just happy that our bank was on the ball and caught it before we even realized anything was wrong.

 

It was time for bed because we had a big day and a big surprise to reveal the next day.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Great start to your review. Will be on Sunshine 12/14/14. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Hope you're feeling better.

 

 

 

Thanks for following along and I am doing much better - that's why unfortunately I have to go back to work on Thursday!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Nice start to your Sunshine review. Subscribing:)

 

 

 

Thanks for reading - hope you enjoy it and it's not too personal.

[gamecock411]

I don't know how you kept it quiet from your kids!! I would be busting at the seams to tell them. Great job and am eagerly awaiting the rest of your review. We sail on the Sunshine in Feb. to the Southern Caribbean for our son's senior high school trip.

[crusing48/51]

What a start to your vacation! Waiting to know more. Thanks for posting a review. They are a lot of work, and appreciated!

[mikem1977]

Anxiously looking forward to hearing more.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Sunday – Surprise reveal and embarkation –

 

We were up early and dressed and went down for breakfast. It wasn’t the best breakfast I’ve ever had at a hotel, but it was okay. Mostly cereal and bagels. It was certainly enough to tide us over until we were on board and could eat lunch on the Lido deck!

 

We loaded up all our stuff – and the questions started again. “I thought we were going to Sea World?” – “Are we going to Sea World today?” Again, lots of smiling from Glen and myself.

 

We drove to Port Canaveral and headed for the ParknCruise lot. This is where the surprise got a little dicey! Hope is a very astute 12 year old and I kind of thought she might be on to us but she didn’t say anything.

 

We pulled up to the lot around 10 or a few minutes after and they lined us up according to who had prepaid reservations and those who were paying that day. We had prepaid and there was only about 4 or 5 cars ahead of us. Steven and Mary were right behind us. They were still shuttling people back to their cars who had disembarked that morning.

 

I can’t remember which one, but one of the kids said – “Do we have to take a shuttle to Sea World” – I said yes you do – well you know you kinda do – when you park in the huge parking lot and take the tram!

 

They told us to hang tight and they would be parking us soon. After a few minutes someone came up to the window and asked for our reservation form.

While he was looking over our reservation he said, “Now which ship will you be sailing on today?”. If I had only known he was going to do this, I would have had my camera ready and the video rolling. The looks on Hope and Collin’s faces were priceless! Their mouths flew open and they said “We’re going on a cruise – on the Sunshine?” It was wonderful and I’m hoping it’s something they will look back on with fond memories long after Glen and I are gone. I was so glad that we were able to pull it off and surprise them.

 

Steven just happened to be standing by the car when they did this and Collin looked out the window and said “Are you going with us on the cruise”. We kidded him and told him no he had just driven 8 hours to stand on land and wave as we sailed away! He was very excited to hear Steven and Mary would be coming with us on the cruise.

 

Just a short time passed and we were directed where to park. The shuttle pulled up about 10 feet from our cars and we took our luggage out of our car and took about 10 steps and it was taken from us and loaded onto the shuttle. Easy as pie! These people have this down to an art form. Absolutely the best experience we’ve ever had parking and being shuttled to the port.

 

We took the short ride to the port and the kids were so excited. It was great seeing first timers Steven and Mary as they got their first glance of the Sunshine and the other 3 ships in port that morning.

 

 

 

 

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Embarkation day - continued

 

We handed off our bags to a porter, zipped through the document check area, security and getting our sail and sign cards all in about 20 minutes time or less. They weren’t boarding yet so we had to wait on them to start but were still on board between 11:30 and 11:45.

 

 

 

 

Once on board – after the jaw dropping looks on Steven and Mary’s faces we headed to Lido to get lunch.

 

We snagged a table for all 6 of us and everyone headed in their own direction to get lunch. Some had the buffet and some of us had Guy’s burgers. Steven and Mary couldn’t believe all the food there was to pick from. I remember my first cruise – I was the same way, too many selections!

 

I had heard so much about the burgers that I just had to try one. There was a small line but it moved very fast. Nothing like the horror stories I had read on here when I was researching the Sunshine. I have to say that everything you’ve heard about the Guy’s burgers is true. They are delicious! I love the fact that you can get the toppings you want and as many as you want. There was the standard mustard, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, onions plus jalopenos, mushrooms, and grilled onions. Wow – all I can say.

 

Hope is a lean mean hamburger eating machine. I think before the week was over she had probably eaten about 5 or 6 Guy’s burgers. Everytime I turned around that kid had another burger in her hand!

 

About 1:00 we decided we would check and see if our rooms were ready. Like I said, ours was on deck 5 aft and Steven and Mary’s was on Deck 1 aft.

 

Ours wasn’t quite ready but we shoved our carryon into the closet out of the way and headed out to explore our home for the next 5 days.

 

When the kids found out about the Sports Square and ropes course area they were so excited they couldn’t wait to get there! We went there first and sure enough they were getting ready to open. Collin and Hope were the first ones on! I had read in a review to be sure and do it early in the cruise because sometimes due to high winds they have to close the ropes course. I think it was closed a few times, but they absolutely wore it out! Hope was a little hesitant at first but she was a trooper and hung in there and finished it all the way through. Collin on the other hand isn’t afraid of anything (except the dark) and made it through in record time!

 

 

 

[GeorgiaMomof4]

We headed back to our cabin because we knew we had given our steward plenty of time to finish cleaning everything up and it should be ready – or so we thought!

 

Our Cabin and our Cabin Steward –

 

First let me say that I’m an easy going, go with the flow type person. I always see the glass as half full – not half empty. I’ve ready reviews that people have written and I honestly wonder how these people stand themselves – nothing ever pleases them. I’m not that person! We always go with the attitude that no matter what happens we are on vacation and are going to have a wonderful time!

 

We did however have some issues with some of the staff on the Sunshine. Keep in mind these are only our experiences so please form your own opinions.

 

We went into our cabin fully expecting it to be immaculate like they always are. I started unpacking because I always feel like I can’t really start my vacation until that chore is done!

 

As I took my toiletries into the bathroom I notice that the sink was still dirty. It had toothpaste in it from the previous cruiser. Our floor wasn’t completely clean either. Not bad, just not up to par with our other cruises.

 

We finally found our room steward and told him about the sink. He said he was sorry and would take care of it. He seemed really quiet and “new” although he said he was on his 2nd contract. I told him we had brought along a cooler and asked that he keep it full of ice.

 

Off to muster – it was outside which I hate. Oh well, the Legend and the Dream spoiled us I believe! There must have been some issues with everyone showing up because we were stuck in muster for over 30 minutes. It was very hot and uncomfortable but we know it’s necessary so we hung in there!

 

Back to the cabin for Hope and Collin to change into their swimsuits – they couldn’t wait to hit the slides!

 

Our cabin location was awesome! We went right out of our cabin and around the corner to the elevator. We could go straight up to the Sports Deck and Water works area or straight down to the dining room. Also, on our same deck was the Alchemy Bar, Ocean Plaza, Red Frog Pub, Casino, Cherry on Top and the Liquid Lounge. It really worked out great for us as Glen has a hard time doing a lot of walking since his heart attack and I was still very much recovering from my surgery.

 

Sailaway –

 

We took Hope and Collin up to the water works area and told them they could slide until their hearts were content while we watched sail away. They had to wait a little while for the slides to re-open after we sailed but not very long. We always enjoy seeing the small boats up along side of us and all the people on the shore who are waving goodbye to us.

 

There were actually 4 ships in port that day and we all sailed away within just a few minutes of one another. I think they were the Carnival Sensation, Royal’s Enchantment of the Seas and the Disney Dream

 

 

[wrigley80]

Loving your review....and I love that you were able to keep it as a surprise. I would love to surprise my dad with a cruise but I am awful at keeping secrets. We cruised on the Sunshine last December when she was still in New Orleans and absolutely loved the ship.

 

Looking forward to reading more review and seeing more pictures

[The_ZOO]

I don't know how you kept it quiet from your kids!! I would be busting at the seams to tell them. Great job and am eagerly awaiting the rest of your review. We sail on the Sunshine in Feb. to the Southern Caribbean for our son's senior high school trip.

 

 

we will be on board with you on the Sunshine Feb 7th!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Loving your review....and I love that you were able to keep it as a surprise. I would love to surprise my dad with a cruise but I am awful at keeping secrets. We cruised on the Sunshine last December when she was still in New Orleans and absolutely loved the ship.

 

Looking forward to reading more review and seeing more pictures

 

 

 

Thanks for reading Brianna - I always love to read your reviews too! Enjoy all your time with your Dad - I lost mine 22 years ago and still miss him everyday.

[wrigley80]

Thanks for reading Brianna - I always love to read your reviews too! Enjoy all your time with your Dad - I lost mine 22 years ago and still miss him everyday.

 

 

Oh yeah I cherish every minute with my dad. He is in the hospital now so it's a difficult time [emoji17][emoji17]

[hhalliv]

Can't wait to hear the rest!

[MichelleChell]

IDK why my computer suddenly won't let me see review pics. Anyone know what I can do?

[GeorgiaMomof4]

It wasn’t long before we had to reign in the kids to get ready for dinner. We had opted for Early Dining. We’ve always done early dining but want to try late or your time but decided for this cruise we would stick with early. We had been wait listed for early dining since we booked so late but thanks to John Heald, it was worked out to where we were able to do the early.

 

Our table for 6 was located on the upper level of the Sunrise dining room right behind the Maitre d stand.

 

When we were seated the first night we were told that we had the best wait staff in the dining room - unfortunately this didn’t hold true.

 

All of our wait staff was friendly, but not as personable as on previous cruises.

 

Now remember that I’m a glass half full gal but our dining room service sucked. There just isn’t a better word for it.

 

We were all on time and all ordered at the same time every night. Our appetizers would be brought out at different times, things that we asked for we might or might not get. Water glasses wouldn’t be refilled. Dinner was a long drawn out chore to say the least. Always in cruises past when the entertainment portion of dinner come around we would normally be finishing up with dessert. However, this trip we were lucky if we had even gotten our entrees at that point. We were in the dining room a minimum of 1 hour ad 30 minutes to up to 2 hours some nights.

 

Our food on the other hand was wonderful. I don’t think anyone ordered anything that they didn’t really care for except the fried chicken. Mary ordered it one night and said it just didn’t have any flavor to her.

 

Glen loves the flat iron steak and ordered it every night. Collin is just not a meat eater so he ordered off the kids menu the first night but ended up eating the majority of Glen’s flat iron steak. Collin ended up ordering the flat iron the rest of the week and ate all of it every night – we were shocked! Hope is the meat eater so I think she had it almost every night too. I like a variety of things so I had fish the first night if I remember correctly.

 

Collin loves the strawberry bisque soup that is served on the first or second night. We asked if he could have it every night following and they brought him some every night – some nights he had 2 bowls of it. I was very thankful to our wait staff for doing that for Collin. It is really good – kind of like a melted strawberry milkshake if you’ve never had it before.

 

After dinner we headed back to the cabin for a few minutes and still found our sink hadn’t been cleaned. Glen went in search of our cabin steward and asked again if he could get it cleaned for us. When we got back to the cabin later that night it had finally been taken care of.

 

We went to the Welcome Aboard show with the cruise director Calvyn. I believe this was his first week on the Sunshine. It was a cute show but right off the bat I knew he wasn’t going to be one of our favorite cd’s. I feel like I’m beginning to sound like a broken record and I sure don’t mean to. I think Glen pretty much hit the nail on the head when he said he seemed “fake”. Maybe it was just nerves, I don’t really know.

 

That pretty much wraps up our embarkation day.

[ufyellowfin]

It wasn’t long before we had to reign in the kids to get ready for dinner. We had opted for Early Dining. We’ve always done early dining but want to try late or your time but decided for this cruise we would stick with early. We had been wait listed for early dining since we booked so late but thanks to John Heald, it was worked out to where we were able to do the early.

 

Our table for 6 was located on the upper level of the Sunrise dining room right behind the Maitre d stand.

 

When we were seated the first night we were told that we had the best wait staff in the dining room - unfortunately this didn’t hold true.

 

All of our wait staff was friendly, but not as personable as on previous cruises.

 

Now remember that I’m a glass half full gal but our dining room service sucked. There just isn’t a better word for it.

 

We were all on time and all ordered at the same time every night. Our appetizers would be brought out at different times, things that we asked for we might or might not get. Water glasses wouldn’t be refilled. Dinner was a long drawn out chore to say the least. Always in cruises past when the entertainment portion of dinner come around we would normally be finishing up with dessert. However, this trip we were lucky if we had even gotten our entrees at that point. We were in the dining room a minimum of 1 hour ad 30 minutes to up to 2 hours some nights.

 

Our food on the other hand was wonderful. I don’t think anyone ordered anything that they didn’t really care for except the fried chicken. Mary ordered it one night and said it just didn’t have any flavor to her.

 

Glen loves the flat iron steak and ordered it every night. Collin is just not a meat eater so he ordered off the kids menu the first night but ended up eating the majority of Glen’s flat iron steak. Collin ended up ordering the flat iron the rest of the week and ate all of it every night – we were shocked! Hope is the meat eater so I think she had it almost every night too. I like a variety of things so I had fish the first night if I remember correctly.

 

Collin loves the strawberry bisque soup that is served on the first or second night. We asked if he could have it every night following and they brought him some every night – some nights he had 2 bowls of it. I was very thankful to our wait staff for doing that for Collin. It is really good – kind of like a melted strawberry milkshake if you’ve never had it before.

 

After dinner we headed back to the cabin for a few minutes and still found our sink hadn’t been cleaned. Glen went in search of our cabin steward and asked again if he could get it cleaned for us. When we got back to the cabin later that night it had finally been taken care of.

 

We went to the Welcome Aboard show with the cruise director Calvyn. I believe this was his first week on the Sunshine. It was a cute show but right off the bat I knew he wasn’t going to be one of our favorite cd’s. I feel like I’m beginning to sound like a broken record and I sure don’t mean to. I think Glen pretty much hit the nail on the head when he said he seemed “fake”. Maybe it was just nerves, I don’t really know.

 

That pretty much wraps up our embarkation day.

 

Been waiting most of the day for the next post lol. Not happy to hear about the wait staff but i guess it happens. One question I have is about John Heald (sp?) I know he is the lead CD or something for CCL but lots of people talk about him like he's possibly in their "framily" plan on AT&T. How do i become friends with him???

Edited October 30, 2014 by ufyellowfin

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Sea Day – our only one

 

I’m not sure why, but when I’m cruising I always wake up early. Not as early as Glen – he’s just a down right maniac when it comes to getting up in the mornings. I guess I just don’t want to miss a minute of fun!

 

Glen and Collin went down to breakfast really early so Hope and I went down a little later. I wanted to try one of the breakfast burritos from the Blue Iguana Cantina and it was great! Huge, but great.

 

I was bound and determined on this cruise to spend some quiet time on the Serenity Deck. It seems like I never get to spend any time there so I’ll admit I pulled the “I’m recovering from surgery card” and really just need to sit and rest today. Not that Glen would have cared either way (as long as he didn’t have to go with me). He isn’t a sun lover like I am. Give me a book and a chair in the sun and I’m set for several hours. He said he would hang out and keep an eye on the kids and just wander around some.

 

The Serenity area is very nice on the Sunshine. I loved the multi-level area and especially enjoyed the waterfall. It was very quiet and relaxing and I met a couple of ladies (sisters actually) and talked with them a bit and did some reading.

 

 

 

 

Glen and I caught part of the shopping talk, but after about 30 minutes I just couldn’t handle any more talk of Tanzanite, Diamonds International, Del Sol – well – you get the picture I’m sure. We headed out and got some lunch and then I went back to the Serenity area for just a little while.

 

Tonight was elegant night so we had to head in and get all fancied up. Glen hates elegant night! He is not a dress pants and tie sort of guy. But he does look so handsome all dressed up!

 

We actually got ready a little early and went ahead and went around to some of the photo stations to get our pictures made. We had them made at 4 or 5 places and they all turned out really well.

 

Dinner service was miserably slow again tonight but the food was once again excellent. I had lobster and prime rib – Glen and Collin – the flat iron again and Hope decided she would try lobster. She didn’t care for it so they ended up bringing her a flat iron I think.

 

I can’t remember what we did after dinner. I know we caught some of the shows but we also watched some of the Dive In movies a few nights. I wasn’t sure if I would be a fan of those, but it was actually nice lying out under the stars watching a movie – kind of like going to a drive in movie close to home. Hope and Collin loved the popcorn and Hope made good use of the blankets they provided.

 

The kids decided they wanted some pizza so we headed down to the Pizza place. I had Glen keep Collin busy while Hope and I went back to the cabin so we could decorate it for Collin's birthday. It was after midnight so it was officially "his day". I thought about letting Carnival do the decorating but decided I could save a lot of money by purchasing my own decorations and doing it myself and knew Collin would be excited either way.

 

When I got back up to the Lido deck to collect Glen and Collin - Collin was sound asleep. We roused him up and got him moving back toward the cabin.

 

He was definitely surprised!

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow - Key West and Collin's birthday

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Been waiting most of the day for the next post lol. Not happy to hear about the wait staff but i guess it happens. One question I have is about John Heald (sp?) I know he is the lead CD or something for CCL but lots of people talk about him like he's possibly in their "framily" plan on AT&T. How do i become friends with him???

 

 

 

You'll get mixed opinions about John here on CC.

 

We were very fortunate that he was our very first CD on the Glory back in 2004 and he was fantastic. I've never laughed so much in my entire life. No CD we have had since has even begun to fill his shoes. He is Carnival's "Brand Ambassador" I believe as they call it. He has a blog that you can subscribe to on the Carnival website and also has a facebook page.

 

If I have any questions I usually send him a message on facebook and he (or some of his staff I'm sure) normally get back to me very quickly.

 

If you follow his blog you'll know when he is away from facebook - he always let's us know. He is away right now back at home with his family as his Dad passed away last year and I believe it was about time for his Dad's birthday so he wanted to be with his Mom and family during this time.

 

I'm sure that John is controlled quite a bit by Carnival, but to me he has always been more than willing to help with anything I needed and has done so in a respectful and pleasant manner. Something you don't always get in this day and time.

 

My suggestion to you would be to follow his blog and facebook page. If you have any other questions, just let me know.

 

Thanks for following along with me on my review.