Life at Sea

Our cruise experts (Cousins Randy and Mary Ann) told us that they liked having extra days at sea.  We were skeptical, but decided to follow their advice and booked a cruise with two days at sea.  I was nervous about this….how would we fill all this time!?!?!?

 As I mentioned in the our blog post “Cruising”, this ship (The Carnival Liberty) is huge.  13 decks, over 100 thousand tonsand over 1000 feet long.  There are at least four swimming pools, a water slide, maybe six or seven Jacuzzis and an outdoor theater.  On top of that there are about ten restaurants, maybe 15 bars and music venues and a full-size theater for productions and shows. There’s also a casino, a basketball court, a running track and a gym.  Maybe, just maybe, we could find something do to while at sea.

Our favorite place on board was the Serenity Deck…for adults only (and, no, the top deck is no longer topless).  There are two Jacuzzis up there…one a bit cooler than the other.  We met lots of people there…from Nicaragua, Cuba, England and all parts of the US.  Speaking of meeting people, that’s one of the coolest parts about cruising….you meet lots and lots of new people from everywhere in the world.  And it’s not just fellow cruisers…it’s also the staff: Lots of Indonesians, South Africans, Filipinos, Croatians and even a Russian from Siberia.

We listened to so many great musicians:  A Japanese band singing old rock favorites….and messing up here and there on the lyrics.  (Think “Deck the Halls” in “A Christmas Story.”)  A couple called “The Two of Us” who sang light rock…  But our favorite was Dylan Holton….who played the guitar, covering a few songs, but also singing several he wrote.  We expect to hear his “Weight of the World” on the radio soon.

The Liberty is a beautiful ship.  Even though it’s huge there has obviously been a lot of attention paid to every detail. And everything is so well maintained.  I’d get up around 4:30 and see all the maintenance people buffing and polishing everything in sight.

And, I don’t know why, but seemingly everyone on the ship was in a great mood.  I can easily understand the cruisers’ happiness…they are on vacation.  But even the crew was happy.   We met so many in such a short time and got to know their stories.  Even those people I met at 4:30 in the morning always greeted me and asked how I was doing.  Where else does this happen???

We didn’t go to dinner at our assigned table until the third night of the cruise.  There we met Larry and Pat….a wonderful couple.  He retired from the mail service 33 years ago.  Since then he’s been on 93 Carnival cruises…..93!  21 of those cruises were on the Liberty!  They are absolutely the sweetest couple and are treated like royalty by the entire cruise staff. We’d love to link up with them for cruise #100!

One of the things we were worried about on this trip was our room.  We had been assigned an inside cabin on the lowest deck.  Mona in particular was worried that she would feel claustrophobic. However, as soon as we opened the door to the room our fears went away.  It was a very nice sized room with a king size bed.  Lots of space and a very nice sized bathroom.  Loved it!

Midcruise we switched dinning tables.  We met two ladies (Brenna and Brenda) in the hot tub who convinced us that their table was the most fun one on the boat.   At their table we got acquainted with four other couples who were there to have fun.  We dined with them for the rest of the cruise and had a blast at every dinner thereafter!  (Yes, Brenna and Brenda were right..this was the most fun table on the ship!)

Virtually, every night there was a big time production with singers and dancers.  Most nights there were two or three comedians…with adult themes at night.  One night there was a hypnotist who hypnotized about 30 people at once.  His show was funny…but not Tom Deluca funny. (Only Decaturites will understand that comment.)

Spending extra time at sea really gives you a chance to meet more people and spend some quality time with them.  We met a couple from Sweden that invited us to link up with them when we go there to see the Northern Lights.  We also exchanged email addresses with a group who plan to meet for another cruise together.  (From our adopted dinner table.)  And, we’d love to go and see Edward and his wife in Thailand after they get their new restaurant started.

Mona and Dylan

We had two sea days….and wish we had more!  We simply didn’t have enough time to fit everything in.  We simply have to do this again!