CRUISE NEWS

Carnival Cruise line took my virginity this past week. My husband and I enjoyed our first cruise...and I mean really "enjoyed"! Carnival has been described as a "party barge" and I think that's pretty accurate. It was a fairly young crowd, but us oldies, but goodies managed to hold our own. There was non-stop entertainment and I don't believe I've ever witnessed so much alcohol consumption.

We booked an inside cabin and I wasn't the least bit disappointed. I expected there to be barely enough room to turn around, but I just thought it was cozy. Besides the king bed, which was extremely comfortable, there were two closets (one a very good size) and a desk with three drawers for storing your gear. The bathroom was another surprise. I expected it to be so small I'd have to prop my legs on the toilet seat in order to shave them, but it was a nice size also. Lots of water pressure in the shower too. I never felt claustrophobic for a minute inside our room. Of course, we didn't spend much time in there.

My other major concern was motion sickness. We got some patches from our pharmacist just to be sure, but we only used one of them. I put one on Saturday morning because it was the first time I could actually feel the boat moving. The seas were a little rough, but even that didn't make it unbearable. I applied the patch as a precaution only. Within a couple of hours we were in calm waters again and I actually forgot we were even moving.

Checking off the boat was a bit of a hassle...only because we thought we were leaving the ship at 7a.m. and they didn't take our area till about 8:30. We got up at 6 and got a nice breakfast one last time, then sat and waited till they called Zone 7 to disembark. It all runs like a well oiled machine and I appreciated that. Next time we'll sleep in a bit longer on the last day on board.

All in all we had a marvelous time and I look forward to sailing again. Next time we hope to have some friends sail with us. I think several couples would really have a good time together on a cruise. Let me know if you're interested! We may plan one for a our 10th anniversary next year!