The Gratts Cruise the Carrbbean: Embarking and Sail Away

It's cruise day!  After breakfast at the hotel, we leave for the port.

So we had this pass called Faster to the Fun (FTTF) that meant we could board before all of the regular schmoes who didn’t pay $50 extra like we did.  But were really unsure when we should arrive at the pier.  I told the boys the earliest I had read of anyone ever boarding was 10:30.  I had originally thought we should be at the port by 10:00 but then decided maybe that was too early.  These guys are not the most patient waiters and hate lines.  I should have mentioned that although both Ben and Nick had cruised before, they had never cruised on Carnival out of Galveston.  So they were no help.

By the time we parked, checked our bags and started through the terminal, it was just before 11:00 am and the sign I saw flashing said “Now boarding all passengers.”  Well shoot, maybe we could have gotten on earlier then, I thought.  We went ahead and went through the FTTF line and it was a whirlwind—there were no lines at all and we just breezed through so fast I barely had time to take it all in.  I was surprised that they take your picture when you get your sign and sail card—I had not known about that.

They told us our room would be ready so that is where we went—Room 1451 on the Riveria deck, aft.  Nick was on the Riveria too just a few doors down from us, which was convenient.  It was so nice to be able to go straight there and drop off my 12-pack of water Ben was carrying for me as well as check everything out. 

Here are the pics of our room.  We booked an ocean view stateroom because it's slightly bigger than a regular stateroom and has a window.

 

Much to Ben’s embarrassment, I was determined to decorate our door.  I was actually disappointed that I didn’t see more doors decorated once I got there. 

 

Isn’t it so cute?

So then we went down to Nick’s room, Room 1461.  I immediately noticed the difference between the two and if Ben had any illusions about us ever booking an interior on a cruise, I put those right to rest.  But for a single person, the room was not bad.

Our luggage wasn’t there yet and were ready to go explore and have that first frozen drink!  So we made our way down to the Lido deck as we all needed our first pina colada stat.

 

Mmmm, delish.  I was ready to go exploring but Ben wanted food so he hit the Lido buffet.

 

Ok, so let’s talk food for a minute.  I read numerous posts where people said “I don’t cruise for the food.”  Or “I can always find something I like.”  Translation:  “The food is bad and I choose to overlook it and enjoy my cruise anyway.”  Which is fine, I get that.  But make no mistake, that IS what people mean when they say that.

Ben and I like food.  A lot.  We have been known to plan entire vacations around where and what we will eat.  Now I understood that clearly, on a ship with 4,000 people, we would not have the same experience as on our usual vacations.  So I went into this week with very low food expectations.

And they were met wholeheartedly.  The Lido buffet was, in a word, inedible.  The only saving grace on the entire thing was boxed cereal.  Even the orange juice tasted like a cocktail-type of juice-drink, not fresh squeezed.  I quickly realized that Cheerios would all I would be having from the buffet.    

So the rest of the afternoon was spent exploring and getting to know the ship.  I found it easy to navigate as a first-time cruiser and although there was a lot of walking, I was surprised to find that even walking the length of the ship wasn’t as far as I thought it would be.

Some pictures of the ship:

 

At around 2:00, we headed to our room expecting our luggage to be there and we planned to unpack and rest until the safety drill.  We were disappointed to find it wasn’t there.

We decided to go check out the spa and I made a nail appointment for the following day at 1:00 since I had not been able to get my nails done before the cruise.  However, I was not allowed to use the spa amenities with my appointment.  Bummer.

We went back to the room and rested until the safety drill.  I loved how everyone clapped when it was over and it felt like the cruise really began!  After the drill, we again checked on the luggage (still not there), then went up to Deck 11 for sailaway.  I got the drink special but I can’t remember what it was.

We sat in a seating area until we felt the boat moving and then went and watched from the rail.

 

After sail away, the boys went down to guest services and I went back to the room and found our luggage there at 5:00 pm.  We spent the next hour or so unpacking and getting settled, then Ben and I went up to the pool deck for sunset.

 

I loved seeing our first sunset from the ship and the rest of the week, we tried to never miss it.

We met up with Nick and decided to try our luck in the casino.  We found a Wheel of Fortune machine which we love to play in Vegas and just like in Vegas, we pooled our money--$20 each for $60 in play.  We played our money down to $9 and then got a spin and won $400!  Woo hoo!  Even though we gambled a little more later, I made sure Ben and I came home winners!

We celebrated at Red Frog Pub and then went down to our room to freshen up for dinner.  

 

 

 

We had the late dining in the Southern Lights dining room.  I was surprised to find we had our own table.

I had thought we would sit with other people.  On night one I had the Caesar salad, beef brisket and warm chocolate melting cake.

 

It was all Ok, not great.  The dessert was the most disappointing—it was like eating raw cake batter.  I wasn’t a fan.

Ben got the flat iron steak.

 

Nick got the southern fried chicken.

 

So after dinner, we were all pretty tired and just decided to have an early night.  When we got to the room, I had my first towel animal waiting! (I don’t mind telling you—I loved these and looked forward to them every night.)

That night, I slept like a baby as the ship rocked me to sleep!