A quiet day a sea that Marge took advantage of to sleep in and I enjoyed just sitting by the pool and walking the deck. The early hours are really nice to just walk the deck and look out over the Gulf of Mexico. I thought I might provide my reflections on the cruise. This one is different from other Carnival cruises and lives up much more to the party ship atmosphere than others I have been on. Marge and I think based on our experience and what other's have said is that it may be due to the fact it's a shorter cruise out of a more local port. I mean New Orleans is great but the draws on the population that can drive to the port to a large extend. That is why the cruise industry started going to places New Orleans an Galveston to cater to those who did not care to pay to fly to their vacation.
So shorter cruise out of a local port means a fairly inexpensive cruise so you can get more young people
. We had a number of weddings, bachelorette parties and such on board. So there was more partying, the music by the pool except in the mornings was loud and rock, the dining room did not seem as crowded, i.e. more hitting the buffet at different hours. There was a mix of ages from young kids to us older folks just more on the younger side I would say.
None of that means in any way there were not quiet spots like the sitting area next to the coffee shop that we could go just to sit comfortably and read. We in no way felt out of place by pursuing quieter activities only we just noted the ship just seemed to have a more party ship feel than other cruises. Right or wrong we put that be a factor of it being a shorter less expensive cruise out of a regional port.
Before I close out this part of the trip as we dock in New Orleans tomorrow I should mention a couple of things. One is that there were Christmas decorations, various theme nights and a holiday show on the last night so my question to myself as to whether Carnival did anything for the holidays was answered. I also would like to give an idea of some of the foods we ate. Was it all 5 star restaurant food? Beats me but Marge and I enjoyed it all.
Some of our dinners included Salmon, Mahi Mahi, Chateaubriand, Cajun Chicken, appetizers such as frog legs, alligator fritters, sushi, Escargot to name just a few of the items we had let alone many more choices on the menu. We did enjoy dinner in the Imagination Dining Room every day of the cruise and for two brunches on the sea days. We do enjoy taking time to have a lovely dinner served to us in a great setting and rarely miss dining in the formal dining room for dinner when cruising. It just slows you down and let's you enjoy many foods you might not otherwise try.
Second Day at Sea
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
At Sea, International
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Comments

2025-02-15
Marci
2014-12-23
Sounds fabulous! So glad you enjoy these things, it makes 'me' feel like a world traveler.
Ruth Lewis
2014-12-24
Read late-enjoyed your experiences in the Caribbean vicariously. So great that you can enjoy such varied travel experiences. Keep the journal and photos coming on your trips!
Merry Christmas
Ruth