Vacation Cruise
It has been eight years since I went on a cruise, and this one had the same itinerary as the last one, when we went on the Carnival Sunshine to San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. This ship, the Carnival Venizia had the same itinerary, and eight years is a long time, so I figured what the heck. The dates were good, September 22 to October 1.
You see, I was supposed to go on a cruise last year with my wife, but a few days before we were supposed to leave, I got Covid and was sick as a dog. That cruise was on the MSC Meraviglia out of Brooklyn to Bermuda, which we had visited about 20 years ago. Since I couldn't go, my wife and daughter went while I stayed home with the cats.
Before we left for this cruise, I got my Covid and Flu shots with no side effects except for a sore left arm for a few days.
Our boarding time was 12 PM, and we got there a little early, and was put into the security que right away. We went to our cabin and dropped off our carry ons and then went to the buffet for lunch. It's easy to get carried away, but I made myself a promise to not eat like a pig.
I belonged to a couple of Facebook groups, and a lady from Canada organized a meet & greet at one of the bars by the pool. I was excited to meet some of the people I had been chatting with. My wife and I got there at 2, and only the lady that organized was there. Joy and I were truly disappointed that no one else showed up.
Monday night after dinner, we wondered over to the main area, called the Piazza San Marco. There was a young couple singing, and I liked them right away. Their names are Monet and Christian from Canada, and I was quite impressed with them. I yelled out a request for Billy Joel, and I got a wave and big smile back, and they played "Piano Man."
(Christian, Matt & Monet)
So throughout the cruise, my wife and I went to see them, and our favorite venue about the ship was the Carnavale Lounge. It was very intimate and the acoustics were great.
They appreciated us so much, that Monday night when we got back to the cabin, there was a plate with two HUGE chocolate chip cookies along with a note from them thanking us for our friendship. You can visit their site at www.monetandchristianmusic.com.
We had picked the My Time dining option at The Grande Canal Dining Room, which meant we didn't have to be at the main dining room at any appointed time. Carnival has an app called The Hub, and we had to check in on that. It always said 20-30 minute wait, no matter when we checked in. On Tuesday night, we had checked in and it said that. We got there early no less, and was told there were 85 people in front of us! Are you kidding me??? While I didn't yell, I did show my frustration, and we got seated 5 minutes later to what seemed to be a half filled dining room. I simply could not understand their system, and could only imagine it was a new tablet based reservation system that isn't quite working correctly yet.
I had organized a group breakfast for Wednesday morning at The Grande Canal Dining Room, and was patiently waiting for the group chat members to show up. One lady came up to me, with my picture on her phone and asked, "Are you Matt?" Her name was Dorothy, and her husband was Mark. It turns out, he and I had worked for the same company, so we instantly had a bond. We ended up spending the rest of the cruise with them, and we have plans to meet up with them on October 25.
(Marcy & Matt in the back, Mark & Dorothy in the front)
We spent the first 3 days at sea, and then our first stop was at St. Thomas. We took a 3 hour tour. (NO, we didn't get stranded anywhere) One of the stops was at the highest point on the island, simply called The Mountaintop.
Before we got to San Juan, it was announced that due to hurricanes, we wouldn't be stopping at Grand Turk. Instead they gave us two more hours in San Juan. That meant another day at sea.
Our next stop was San Juan, and the weather was perfect! Not to hot, and a perfect day for walking. One of our first stops was the Cat Sanctuary, which Joy had told me about. (By the way, after Wednesday, Joy had dumped us because we were hanging out with Dorothy and Mark.) You all know I love cats, so this was a must stop for me. The building was very small, and once we got inside, the odors hit us like a brick wall. The cats were so cute, and one even had a note that it was adopted and was going to Boston!
(The small pink building that housed the cat sanctuary, and the black cat that reminded me of Dakota)
We walked all around Old San Juan, and stopped at the restaurant that lays claim to inventing the Pina Colada, Cafe Barrachina. We got some apps and a drink, and they really hit the spot!
(Here's me and Dorothy enjoying a cold Pina Colada!)
If you haven't been to old San Juan, the colorful buildings are really amazing.
We walked until we couldn't anymore. We purchased t-shirts, stickers, magnets, all sorts of cool souvenirs. When we finally got back on board, it was time for a nap before dinner. A couple of hours later, after a nap and shower, we were ready for dinner!
(Yay, dinner time with Mark & Dorothy!)
The next three days went by as a blur. Even though we were on the ship for 6 out of 9 days, there was always something to do. It's up to the cruise director to make sure everyone has fun. I always make it a point to meet the cruise director, and his name is Mike D'Auria. I had read about him before we got on, and the reviews were generally positive. So here's a picture of me and Mike in the Piazza San Marco.
(Matt & Mike in the Piazza San Marco)
All in all, we had a great time, and meeting people that live only 2 hours away is a plus. I think we found lifelong friends!
So until next time...Cya Bye!
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