Nancy’s Fall Cruise – Day 2

Carnival Fascination
5 Night Cruise to the Bahamas, visiting Half Moon Cay and Nassau

Missed the previous installments? Here they are: Day 1.

Sleeping in went as planned, and it was truly lovely. Everyone else was up and out the door by 9:30am, but I was – happily – not ready until 11:15am. I met everyone up on the Verandah deck where Lex, Joe and Grandpa played basketball together. They spent about 30-45 minutes shooting hoops and getting some exercise in the sun. Afterward, Lex spent a good thirty minutes applying his soccer skills, trying to kick (yes, kick) the basketball in from across the court. He got close! I have a feeling he’ll try this again soon, as he has now established a standing bet with his father.

Lex kicks another basketball toward the goal. I mean net.

Next, we went to lunch (a.k.a. my breakfast) at the Lido buffet where we met Kaz from Poland. He took to Lex very quickly and spent a lot of time with him. He joked around about soccer (“football”), pirates, and his accent, all while servicing our table. This is one of those nice things about cruising: Most crew members, no matter what their job, are very friendly and happy to be where they are. They work very long days and are quite thankful for their employment. I will be sure to mention Kaz on the comment card toward the end of the cruise. Even Lex turned to me after the lunch and said, “I like him. He’s alright.” Coming from a nine year old, that’s a huge compliment!

During the day, we set about the ship attending various activities. We checked email, Lex played dodge ball up in Camp Carnival, I played a little 3-card Poker, then some “Millionaire” trivia, browsing the Carnival shops, a nap … all part of our “fun day at sea”. Overall, a very relaxing day.

Passengers make their way to the dining rooms

Tonight’s dinner was formal night or “Cruise Elegant” per Carnival. We dressed in our “Sunday best” and headed for the Sensation dining room. On the menu was lobster. I mention this because Carnival always features lobster on their menu at least once during a cruise. Not all cruise lines do this and it bothers me. I even know of another cruise line that charges extra (in the dining room no less!) for filet mignon and lobster. Thankfully, Carnival still offers this and all their other better quality meats at no extra charge. They even added four large shrimp so I was extremely happy with my formal night meal, as was everyone else at my table.

Speaking of which, we did not sit alone this time. We were partnered with five other passengers from England, Spain, and Scotland. Lovely, lovely people enjoying a small family reunion.

For dessert, something interesting happened. Out of ten people, six had birthdays! (No joke. They really did.) Joe’s birthday is November 5th but everyone from the other family celebrated birthdays too. The waiter was very funny. He brought a piece of cake (with lit candle) for each person, sang Happy Birthday each time, and paused in between each one, making each birthday announcement funnier than the last. By the third chorus of Happy Birthday, Lex was roaring with laughter, and folks around the table began craning their necks to see what was going on. We had no idea we were going to sing so many times. Our dessert was so drawn out, we were the last to leave the dining room, while the waitstaff set about their preparations for the next seating.

Carnival takes great pride in their elevator floor indicators, created by some of the finest opthamologists in the world.

After dinner, Lex and Joe left to watch game four of the World Series, while I went to the evening show with my in-laws. Tonight’s show was a 1980’s review with singers, dancers, and a live band. I normally don’t like cruise line shows too much but I loved this one! The band was fantastic. Bianca, the lead vocalist, should just make her way to Broadway and forget about singing on cruise ships. The audience was bopping and singing and cheering. They even brought two break dancers onboard, Omen and Grizzy, and they had the stuff. None of this super polished “So You Think You Can Dance” type of dancing. We’re talking traditional break dancing moves. They brought the house down. I hope those two present a show all by themselves this week. They were that entertaining to watch.

Tomorrow, we arrive at Half Moon Cay, located on a small island in the Bahamas. We plan to go ashore as Lex wants to build sandcastles. I am already getting the sunblock out. Till tomorrow …

Another towel animal! Only this time, there's Webkinz company, courtesy of Grandma.