I Love Cruising
Howdy!! Yes, it's been a while since I last posted but while I am posting with less frequency, I am hoping that the content you get is of better quality. Summer is thankfully coming to an end and things are starting to slow down for all of us. Since my last post, I went on a cruise and now I want to share it with you!
There is both good and bad when it comes to cruising but how you choose to handle it will either make or break your vacation. While some things annoyed me, I chose not to dwell on them simply because nobody paid for this vacation but me and I wasn't about to waste my hard earned money by having a lousy cruise. No, I was determined to have a good time and I did.
On Monday, September 26th, my friend Linda and I took a 4 night cruise out of Long Beach. We sailed on Carnival's Inspiration and while we have cruised with Carnival several times before (and taken this same itinerary) we were super excited to check out this ship.
I honestly did not think I had taken so many pictures until I started to write this blog post! I realized that I had waaay too much stuff to share so I will be breaking this up into several posts. You'll thank me later, LOL!
It was extremely hot the day we left and it was even hotter inside the cruise terminal. By the time I got up to the counter to check in, I had completely melted and it was not a pretty sight! But once we were actually on the ship, I began to relax, knowing this was going to be home for the next few days.
The first order of business was to find our cabin and then unpack. Yes, completely unpack the suitcases and stuff them under our beds. We had a little surprise waiting for us in our cabin. Our travel agent, Myrna Litt, got us a cake!
Once that was done, it was time for the required safety drill and then...then...time to explore the ship! We made note of all the bars and all the places to eat. Important stuff, LOL!
On that first evening, we had dinner in the Carnivale Dining Room and I noticed something quite different on the menu...
Yup, we did it. We ordered the alligator fritters. Guess what? They were GOOD!
We had a great dinner that first night and left the table feeling quite happy. It had been a long, hot and busy day so we decided to turn in early. I couldn't wait to take a cool shower and get ready for bed. Unfortunately, my shower was horrible but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Day One had come to an end and we went back to our cabin to get ready for bed. Before hitting the sheets, I wanted that cool shower that I had been thinking about since I was in the sweltering cruise terminal. I got in the shower and guess what? The water was scalding hot. No, I'm not exaggerating, it was scalding hot. I kept turning the water on and off, on and off, and I could not regulate the temperature! I got out of the shower and called Guest Services. Within five minutes, our room steward was at the door and I explained to him the issue I was having with the shower. He investigated by turning the water on and off a few times and then he agreed with me - the water was too hot and no cold water would come out of the shower head at all. He apologized and told me he would call a plumber. It only took 15 minutes for the plumber to arrive and he proceeded to turn the water on and off, on and off, on and off....only to tell me that the water was fine. I was flabbergasted!
I asked him to show me how to operate the controls just to be sure I wasn't doing something wrong. I wasn't. I asked him to turn the water on again and let me feel it. It was HOT and he kept insisting that it was cold. For a minute I thought that I must be on Candid Camera because he couldn't possibly believe that the water was cold when there was steam in the shower!
He left and Linda, who loves hot water, decided to shower first. Our thought was that maybe the water temperature would adjust after it had been on a while. Guess what? Even she thought the water was too hot.
I decided to try again and couldn't take it. It really felt like it was burning my skin. I got out of the shower and called Guest Services again, requesting the plumber. About 20 minutes later he showed up and I again told him that the water was too hot and that we could not get any cold water to come out. He did the same thing he did before and again told me that the water coming out of the shower head was cold. At that point I began to wonder if he understood the meaning of cold water. Tired and frustrated, I got in the shower only turning on the water in short spurts because it was too damn hot. About halfway way through my shower, guess what happened? The water temperature changed! All on its own!! I quickly washed my hair and finished up before the Plumbing Monster changed his mind and made the water hot again!
FYI, whenever I travel, the first night is usually a sleepless one for me because I am an extremely light sleeper and unfamiliar noises keep me awake. I know this and I accept this so I wasn't worried about all the sounds I heard through the night. It's just the ship.
To be continued...
There is both good and bad when it comes to cruising but how you choose to handle it will either make or break your vacation. While some things annoyed me, I chose not to dwell on them simply because nobody paid for this vacation but me and I wasn't about to waste my hard earned money by having a lousy cruise. No, I was determined to have a good time and I did.
On Monday, September 26th, my friend Linda and I took a 4 night cruise out of Long Beach. We sailed on Carnival's Inspiration and while we have cruised with Carnival several times before (and taken this same itinerary) we were super excited to check out this ship.
I honestly did not think I had taken so many pictures until I started to write this blog post! I realized that I had waaay too much stuff to share so I will be breaking this up into several posts. You'll thank me later, LOL!
It was extremely hot the day we left and it was even hotter inside the cruise terminal. By the time I got up to the counter to check in, I had completely melted and it was not a pretty sight! But once we were actually on the ship, I began to relax, knowing this was going to be home for the next few days.
The first order of business was to find our cabin and then unpack. Yes, completely unpack the suitcases and stuff them under our beds. We had a little surprise waiting for us in our cabin. Our travel agent, Myrna Litt, got us a cake!
Once that was done, it was time for the required safety drill and then...then...time to explore the ship! We made note of all the bars and all the places to eat. Important stuff, LOL!
On that first evening, we had dinner in the Carnivale Dining Room and I noticed something quite different on the menu...
Yup, we did it. We ordered the alligator fritters. Guess what? They were GOOD!
We had a great dinner that first night and left the table feeling quite happy. It had been a long, hot and busy day so we decided to turn in early. I couldn't wait to take a cool shower and get ready for bed. Unfortunately, my shower was horrible but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Day One had come to an end and we went back to our cabin to get ready for bed. Before hitting the sheets, I wanted that cool shower that I had been thinking about since I was in the sweltering cruise terminal. I got in the shower and guess what? The water was scalding hot. No, I'm not exaggerating, it was scalding hot. I kept turning the water on and off, on and off, and I could not regulate the temperature! I got out of the shower and called Guest Services. Within five minutes, our room steward was at the door and I explained to him the issue I was having with the shower. He investigated by turning the water on and off a few times and then he agreed with me - the water was too hot and no cold water would come out of the shower head at all. He apologized and told me he would call a plumber. It only took 15 minutes for the plumber to arrive and he proceeded to turn the water on and off, on and off, on and off....only to tell me that the water was fine. I was flabbergasted!
I asked him to show me how to operate the controls just to be sure I wasn't doing something wrong. I wasn't. I asked him to turn the water on again and let me feel it. It was HOT and he kept insisting that it was cold. For a minute I thought that I must be on Candid Camera because he couldn't possibly believe that the water was cold when there was steam in the shower!
He left and Linda, who loves hot water, decided to shower first. Our thought was that maybe the water temperature would adjust after it had been on a while. Guess what? Even she thought the water was too hot.
I decided to try again and couldn't take it. It really felt like it was burning my skin. I got out of the shower and called Guest Services again, requesting the plumber. About 20 minutes later he showed up and I again told him that the water was too hot and that we could not get any cold water to come out. He did the same thing he did before and again told me that the water coming out of the shower head was cold. At that point I began to wonder if he understood the meaning of cold water. Tired and frustrated, I got in the shower only turning on the water in short spurts because it was too damn hot. About halfway way through my shower, guess what happened? The water temperature changed! All on its own!! I quickly washed my hair and finished up before the Plumbing Monster changed his mind and made the water hot again!
FYI, whenever I travel, the first night is usually a sleepless one for me because I am an extremely light sleeper and unfamiliar noises keep me awake. I know this and I accept this so I wasn't worried about all the sounds I heard through the night. It's just the ship.
To be continued...
Comments