sydney chic

I did this cruise this year, so feel free to ask any questions :)

For dessert I went with the salted caramel cake. It actually wasn't my favourite, so we only had a bite each.

Then off to the casino for a little bit before the Mexican deck party!

Unfortunately this was BORING. I love the deck parties on Carnival America, everyone gets into it, the music is blasting and it's heaps of fun! This was really tame. Not many people there and just quite quiet. Our entertainment was watching a group of VERY drunk women dance and almost fall over. Then try to convince the waiter to get them more cocktails. He refused and said it wasn't worth his job. Even though they were trying to say we'll give you a big tip. Well done for him though, he stood his ground even after they started getting aggressive.

Back to the room to another beautiful towel decoration and off to sleep!

Tonight was Mexican Fiesta night. They theme the menus in the restaurant as well as having a deck party which is pretty cute.

I had the grilled prawns and the tacquito to start.

Sim had the soup and the salad

For mains I had the beef skewer and Sim had the snapper.

So sorry about the delay in finishing this up! Work got crazy :(

Today is Noumea day!

Now on the ship there was a naturalist on board named Dirk that did a nature talk every sea day. I didn't go to any of the talks, but they were replayed on the tv. I already knew I wanted to go to Duck Island after doing some research, and then Dirk mentioned how great the snorkelling was there, so we knew we had to!

Early wake up, quick breakfast and we were on our way.

I had looked up how to get there via public transport, but once we got out of the port we were offered a great deal that was just way easier! I didn't write this down, but from memory it was $20US a head for a bus around Noumea with 5 different stops. And the boat trip over to Duck Island and return trips. Great deal! Then we saw Dirk joining on our bus, so we knew we were on the right track! He was heading to Master Island, which he hadn't been to before.

We took the bus straight to the boat terminal and caught a glass bottom boat over to Duck Island!

We were the first group over there, so we got our pick of the spots. Loungers were $20US for two and an umbrella. You didn't have to hire them, but there wasn't a lot of space around to lay out. Then straight in the water!

Those who have been to St John Trunk Bay will know that there is an underwater snorkel trail there. This is similar, but they are numbered buoys that you swim to.

If you didn't take the correct entry in, you found yourself in super shallow water with coral very close to your stomach! So you had to be careful. Visibility was also not great because it was a bit windy.

We went in and out a couple of times, then lounged around reading and just enjoying our last port day! I had my phone buried in my bag and forgot to take photos, sorry!

We went into the restaurant area to grab a burger and salad for lunch. It was pretty tasty!

Then back in the water for one last swim :( But this time with a lovely surprise! Sea turtles!!! I either saw two or the same one twice haha. These are Sim's favourite animals but unfortunately she didn't see the little guy.

Then back on the boat and the bus to the port. When we were on the bus I noticed us drive past the little french patisserie that everyone had raved about in previous reviews. We had an hour before we had to be back on board so I decided to try my sense of direction and find this delicious looking place.

SUCCESS!

OH MY STARS. I could eaten everything. The croissant was the best I have ever eaten. And it was about $1. The baguette was 80c!

I was in carb heaven haha. We then walked back via the supermarket to grab some more bottles of water and soda, then onto the ship!

Day 14 - Sea Day

Breakfast at Lido then we set up on a few lounges just outside the main pool.

Today's sudoku was five in one so it took a little longer and a little brain power. Sim went for a nice long walk around the deck and I stayed enjoying the sunshine. We sampled some of the buffet and watched the start of the fishing challenge with a couple of families. This looked hard! And it got super loud so we went back to our room and to read on the balcony. Tonight was another formal night so we got all done up and headed out to the bar for a drink with some friends before dinner. I started with a prawn cocktail then the pork and sim had the chestnut soup and the schnitzel. Finished with some melting cake, fruit platter and entertainment from our wonderful waitstaff!

Back for a shower and nap, then off to dinner.

I had the salad and baked fish to start. Sim had the soup. For main I had the pasta and sim had the fish. All delicious!

Then when we went and had a look at all our photos from the last couple of days. Then off to the casino. This time luck was on my side. First spin, feature! Then two more features within! $350 later. Weeeeeeeee!!

A few drinks later... time for bed (passing out haha)

Day 13 - Suva

Suva is the one day we booked a Carnival tour. I had tried to do some research and all I could find was people saying the port is rubbish with nothing to do and to get to the other side of the island. So for $100 we booked a 6 hour beach tour including lunch. Pretty good value.

But first! Hair braids!

An hour drive there and back, so a great four hours at Uprising Resort. This was the resort the Fijian team stayed at before the Rio Olympics. It's stunning. Right on the water, a beautiful big open eating area, plenty of hammocks, paddle boards, kayaks, massage and plenty of waiters for drinks!

It was not very busy, only about 60-80 of us there so it was a fantastic day. The buffet was delicious as well!

The drive back was very eventful as we had a MASSIVE bang and completely blew out a tyre. We had to wait for another bus to come and pick us up. But this is another benefit of picking a carnival tour, they will always wait for us!

Day 12 - Sea day

Woke up quite early this morning but decided to just stay in bed! Because I can! You can tell it's getting to the end half of the holiday. Notices are coming in about how we are disembarking and what time we would like to go. Very sad. However! Last night we had an invitation for a drinks and canapés for gold vifp members (and diamond and platinum). So we had that to look forward to.

Today we went back to Lido for breakfast, I had a massive craving for Vegemite toast! Simple and great (sorry Americans haha) then did a couple of laps of deck ten. Back to the room to rest my poor sunburnt back and spent some lovely hours reading on the balcony. (Half way through the cruise I decided to reread all the Harry Potter books and now I can't stop!) Sim bought some lunch to the room, fantastic satay sticks and beef rendang pies along with salad. Then we went back for another six laps of deck ten. (Determined to reach the 10000 steps today!)

Then back to our room to get ready for the gold party. This was great! There were no diamond cruisers on this one and only about twenty platinum members so that's why all the gold were invited. There was a musician in the firebird lounge as well and soooo many drinks flowing. This time there was a beer station set up, so people could help themselves to beer. Also some non alcoholic lemonade but on request they added vodka. LOTS OF VODKA. Also some sushi and other canapés. They introduced all the management team for this ship, it was a lovely afternoon. Then we left just in time for a stunning sunset! Out on to deck 10 for some selfies. Oh today we also had to pick up our passports as well.

Off to the casino for a bit before dinner. For dinner we both had study in sushi for starter and the pork ribs for main. For dessert I had the bitter and Blanc and it was fantastic! Joined in some gangnam style with the wait staff then headed back to our bags for Suva!!

Day 11 - Sea Day

The time changed again by an hour. So my fit bit said 1030am, but it was like 730am... and it was thunder and lightning, so I had no choice but to go back to sleep!

An hour later we got up and decided to pack our bags for a morning up on the deck. We had breakfast in the buffet then headed up to deck 10 to grab a clamshell. The clams were always full in serenity but not on deck 10. We spent a couple of hours here, reading and swimming in the serenity pool. Sim did the slides a couple of times and went and grabbed us some freshly squeezed orange juice from the cafe.

We wanted to try the dining room for lunch so we changed and headed over.

We shared the Thai beef to start then I had a burger with pretty much everything and sim had the pasta. I really enjoyed the burger but sim said the pasta was a little too tough still.

Now I got really sunburnt for a few days there over and over on my shoulders and it started to peel today ;( like really badly. So I put some stuff on it and stayed out of the sun for the rest of the day. How convenient - musical theatre trivia this afternoon!!! I do theatre at home so I was excited for this one (and hoped that I'd actually do well haha). And I did! Got 23 out of 24. I said 1936 instead of 1939 for when wizard of oz was filmed. Two guys said that they got every question right and you could tell that the cruise director didn't quite believe them. So she gave them a bottle of wine and one ship on a stick and she gave me the other one! Two ladies sitting at the front started complaining about how they wanted a ship as well but sorry ladies - it's all part of the game! Then back to the room to sit on the balcony and read some more.

One of our favourite performers, Brett, was playing at Oddessy, just outside the dining room from 615 til 715 so we went and enjoyed that for a while before dinner.

I had prawn cocktail and sim had seafood chowder for appetiser. Mains I had pork chop and sim had lemongrass fish. The was super dry.

Wandered around a little, listened to some more music and headed back to the balcony to watch the lightning.

But before this we went to a comedy show, an Australian comedian. He was funny, not the best I've seen but still good.

Then back to the dining room and who do we run into? The captain! He quite often sits at the bar outside the restaurant on deck 2, so we grabbed him for a quick selfie. (it's on my friends phone though!)

Then into the dining room. Oh my goodness. So much work went into this! The ice carvings, the fruit carvings, the displays. It was incredible. I wasn't event close to being hungry but I had to try something's!

Then off on a little walk around deck three to calm the food and drinks before bed. And it was flogging with rain! That's a sign to go to bed so off we went.

Day 10 - Sea Day

Now I already knew this would be a lazy day. My back was burnt, we were tired so we were happy to do nothing. We decided to go to the dining room for breakfast, which is always lovely. A grapefruit half each, sim had smoked salmon bagel and eggs and I had a little bit of everything. Half way through I got so full though! I hate wasting bacon!

We then went back to the room for a bit. Sim tidied up her stuff whilst I read my book. Then we went for a great walk around the ship and discovered the sale was about to start in the fun shops. It was those watch and jewellery sets that make great gifts. So we got a couple of those, went to the buffet for a sample of everything for lunch and then back to our room for more reading and relaxing.

Tonight is a formal night again and another special event! All part of the Carnival Journeys. At 445 and then again at 630, the captain was hosting a drinks and canapés formal event. The whole day was a throw back to the 80s, and apparently that's how cruising used to be in the 80s - very elegant! So the dress code was formal which I love seeing. You could line up for a photo with the captain (the line was far too long) or head in and grab a seat. White glove service with the canapés, meatballs, shrimp, mini hot dogs. Very nice. Drinks available were beer, red wine, white wine, non alcoholic punch, rum punch and whiskey sours. And plenty of them! Another lovely event that carnival put on for us.

Off to dinner for us straight after this. The menu for this night was still fancy and different to the last formal night.

We both had the langoustine to start and shared an appetiser of the spaghetti carbonara. Then sim had the prawns and I had the beef.

Amazing again. None of the dessert took our fancy so we danced the YMCA with them and then said we would be back later. Why were we going back later?? Because carnival was doing a midnight feast in the dining room!!

For my starter I had the prawn cocktail. Amazing. Sim had lobster bisque which had massive chunks of lobster all the way through. Iceberg lettuce salad each. (Which we didn't finish - why waste space on lettuce??) then both surf and turf for the main. I had mushroom sauce, sim had peppercorn. Sides were mushrooms, creamed spinach, broccoli and mash.

For dessert sim had the homemade coconut ice cream and I did the sampler. Didn't even come close to eating it all but I love trying things.

We then went and changed for the 80s deck party! I love music so I popped on my neon pink shirt and joined in some dancing. They did some competitions and they were all fun as well, but nothing like a US Carnival deck party. Back to the casino for a bit of a win and then time to pass out after a massive day!!

Day 9 - Bora Bora

Now Bora Bora has always been on my bucket list to see. So for my birthday (which was a week before the cruise) sim bought me a tour that I had researched.

Also, this day got confusing because it was the start of daylight savings at home and there was a tiny note in the fun times about it but no big announcement so we really didn't know what was going on. Long story short, we woke up at 715 when we had to tender and meet the guy at 8am. Eek!! So glad we packed the night before. Quick yoghurt and museli and off to the tenders. Luckily the trip was so short and there was no line so we didn't need a tender ticket. We found our guy and the other family and one girl by herself that would be coming with us on the snorkelling tour of the island.

It was overcast and spitting but nothing too bad. Not going to let it ruin our day! Our boat was a gorgeous island style boat with our guide - check. His first name was insanely long so he said just call me check like checking a microphone!

Off to the first stop with plenty of history and commentary on the way. More rays and sharks!!! Amazing. Because it was a great small group we were able to get close and touch them and even have a kiss! He was so comfortable with the rays. Unfortunately as I was getting back into the boat one whipped around too fast and the tail got my leg. Nothing too bad, but gosh it stung and bled a bit. Check cleaned it up and off we went to the coral gardens. This was some of the best snorkelling I've seen. I borrowed one of his masks because you can't dive in the full face mask. The locals have written I love bora bora in coral for photos and they are just so at home in the water. It's so great to see. As someone who is first in the water and last out, I love seeing people comfortable in the ocean! I have photos of this on my underwater camera, I just haven't uploaded those ones yet!

Off to our fourth stop with some ukelele playing by check. Very skilled - steered the boat with his feet so he could play!

He took us past quite a few of the hotels that have the overwater bungalows. Hilton is getting a full renovation so that was cool to see all the machinery on barges in the ocean to get the work done.

Then out to the deep ocean for SHARKS. This was incredible. He threw some meat into the ocean and they came flocking. So many of them. Then he said ok you can get in. So off I went! Instantly hundreds of fish in the water around us and the clearest deepest water. Incredible. We could see all the way to the bottom - to the scuba divers! And all the sharks that were circling our boat. It was super choppy out there so we had to hold on to the boat or the rope he put out for us, but it didn't matter. It was mainly the black tipped sharks again but down the bottom were massive lemon sharks. Mama and her bubba. But bubba was still about 5 feet long... AMAZING. Then another boat turned up and threw some more food in for them so we got very close to the sharks for a bit! That got the heart started! We spent about an hour here. Then we drove to the other side of the island with more commentary along the way. He stopped in the beautiful light blue shallow water for us to just relax and swim. It was a bit cold by this stage, but the water was super warm so we just stayed in out of the wind. If the sun was shining that would have been an even more perfect end to the day. He cut up some coconuts and fruit for us to enjoy as well. Back to the port for us and of course the sun starts coming out.

There were a few shops in the street behind the port so we went off exploring. We came across a cafe with wifi if we bought something so we grabbed some drinks and touched base with home. Then I got a couple of expensive souvenirs and we headed back to the tender. Last tender was 3.15 and we got on the 3pm tender. Probably the closest I've been time wise! Made me a little bit nervous! But turns out a Carnival excursion was super late back so the last tender was 4pm.

Because this was such an incredible day we decided to go to the steakhouse for dinner. We do this on every cruise and have never been disappointed.

First up was the little sampler from the chef. Salmon and corn soup for one and a little lemon toast thing with prawn on it. Then fresh bread with homemade pumpkin butter, regular butter and a tomato confit that was just incredible.

I bought a gorgeous necklace and earrings set from the local markets for $20. Very unique. Then onboard for lunch, shower and watch the boat leave this stunning island.

You had to tender to this island

Off to dinner with our fabulous team of waiters.

I had the beef carpaccio and the tuna to start (tuna was much better in Papeete) and sim had the prawn tapas. For mains sim had the steak and chips and I had the best meal of the cruise!!!! (Except the steakhouse). It was the pork dish (I love pork) and it had this amazing curry style sauce with chilli all the way through it. So so tasty. Dessert we shared an apple strudel. We went off to look at all our photos in pixels then the casino for a little bit. Back to the room to pack our bags for bora bora!

Day 8 - Moorea

Off the ship nice and early to hopefully find a whale tour! Alas, we were told by the local that these need to be pre-booked and no one was at the port today offering that. But he was super helpful and pointed out a couple of options to us. He said he was part of Albert's and I remembered reading that they were good, so we decided to go with them. It was $40 US (4000xpf) per person (the one I originally booked was 9500xpf per person - so I didn't mind saving a bit!)

The boat held 60 people, so it was a little more crowded than a private tour. They took us out to an area where sharks and rays were just chilling and swimming through us!! Very cool to swim with. We weren't allowed to explore very far and some people kept being called back in.

Then they took us over to an island where they dropped us all off (this was the main Island for snorkelling, all the companies did drop offs here and the hotels - and carnival).

They said the boat would be back every hour and a half to take us back if we wanted to go back. We jumped right in with my massive full face snorkel, perfect for shallow snorkelling. It was AMAZING. Especially after Hawaii didn't have great visibility. So many fish and so much coral. We stayed for about three hours and caught the last shuttle back. Only possible downside is that when we paid they said there would be a buffet lunch on the island that we could pay $10 (1000xpf) for. We were dropped on one side and I think the buffet was all the way on the other side. So that was a bit annoying, but we found someone who was doing fresh coconuts and mango at the port!

Dinner tonight was chicken tenders and spring rolls for appetiser for me and mussels and chicken avocado soup for sim. Main was chicken schnitzel for sim and for me was a Vietnamese prawn dish. Now I have to say I HATE cilantro (coriander). I asked our wonderful Aditya if it had cilantro and he said oh I don't think so! Unfortunately... it did. I ate a shrimp and tried to push through but it was all the way through! I hate to cause a fuss but I couldn't eat it. Literally ten seconds later he bought me a chicken schnitzel and asked if I would like that instead. Amazing service. Just made our cruise. And the chicken was great!! Shared a melting chocolate cake and then we headed to the theatre.

When we left the ship in the morning we saw a big group coming on board and realised that they were the group of Polynesian performers for that nights. (We noticed that the playlist performers had only performed twice so far). The Polynesian group were AMAZING. The girls hips - oh my goodness. Awesome show but we were exhausted from an actual day off ship and we headed to bed afterwards.

Side note - our guide today told us that in Moorea we should arrange to snorkel with the whales that we had seen. I had pre arranged, but not paid for, a tour with captain tiana. Just a snorkel tour of the island for about $100 AUD. Upon the recommendation of our guide - I emailed her and cancelled when we were in wifi.

An amazing day that had lots of different stops, it was so worth it. 8 hours for $65 US. We had to pay for our own lunch in the mountains but the whole meal for two people plus drinks was only about $50 Aussie. And so amazing. Local tuna marinated in coconut milk and a chicken and spinach dish. Tasted amazing and really big portions.

On our way back to the port he stopped on the side of the road because he had spotted a whale!! We stopped there for about ten minutes and saw heaps breaching and travelling through. It was amazing. Then back to the wharf, had a look through the shops and back onboard. Amazing day. Super sunburnt but met some lovely people and saw a stunning island.

So in Papeete the ship wasn't leaving until 11pm and our guide today told us there would be some great food trucks by the wharf at 6pm. Once we were dropped off we headed back to our room to drop off our bags then look for a potential dinner spot. To be honest nothing really looked amazing. We had such a great lunch that we didn't need any of the tuna sashimi they were offering. We bought some mor bug spray (ziki virus boo) and then walked to a froyo place that offered free wifi with a purchase. Done! Sim had a coconut froyo and we both enjoyed the wifi for about 20 minutes, more than we both needed to touch base with the families. Then back to the ship for a shower and change!

Day 7 - Papeete

Something you guys need to know - I don't really do carnival excursions. I find them expensive and overcrowded. I love doing research on CC and trip advisor and seeing what you guys recommend. So for Papeete I had pre booked (but not paid) for Tahiti Discovery.

Land!

This was a full tour of the island and a swim in a fresh water lake. It was FANTASTIC. Us and and three couples. One from the cruise (Jeremy and Helen - fantastic kiwis) a Swiss couple and a couple from Paris.

An open air truck met us at the dock (which actually took us a couple of laps to find) and we met xxxx dressed in traditional clothing. His family owned half the land in the mountains so he was very passionate about everything. We first stopped at a lookout for stunning photos.

We had to change into our bathing suits so he took us into his village so we could use a public restroom and he could eat breakfast! Then on our way again. We stopped at the entrance to the mountains where he gave all the ladies beautiful hibiscus flowers and showed us how to hook them in our glasses so they didn't fall out. Second stop was to show us the 'tattoo' fern. That was awesome.

Then he took the roof off and we got to stand up in the 4wd whilst he drove through the mountains. Then he stopped in a clearing where we ate a flower that tasted exactly like mushrooms! He said they used them in their salads. He also showed us a fern that when you stroke its leaves, it shrinks and wilts. It's a built in defence mechanism, very cool.

More to come!

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments! Feel free to ask any questions as I go.

We then decided to go to sushi for a quick bite because we were drinking on an empty stomach. Nigiri and salad, delicious!

Then back to the second round of drinks but this time we got in early and sat at the bar so we could watch the dancers properly.

Grabbed some takeaway wines to take back to the room hehe.

Got ready for dinner and off we went (feeling very happy).

I had spring rolls and sim had a wonton soup. For mains I had a chateaubriand and sim had prawns. I had the pineapple dessert which was really nice and fresh.

We had the best intentions to go to the Polynesian deck party at 1030, but we ended up packing our bags for Papeete and heading to bed! (Or passing out... whatever you choose to believe!)

Day 6 - Sea Day 5

The last sea day in this stretch!! It almost feels like the end of this holiday. Today was AWESOME. We really made the most of this day.

Went for a mile walk up on deck ten to start the day (it was HOT). Then off to sea day brunch. I got coco pop French toast (I only ate a quarter of it) and two poached eggs just in case I didn't like it. (I ate one of them). Sim got the smoked salmon breakfast with poached eggs on the side.

Unfortunately we were seated at the back of the ship and it was super rocky. So we ate and left. Then we did our sudoko's on our balcony and headed up to deck 10. It was pretty much empty (except the clam shells) so we took one in the sun and one in the shade. We stayed here for about an hour (well sim ran around and I stayed in the sun) and then we found a clam shell that was empty. We set up shop and hung some towels so we didn't get too much sun and decided to go crazy on the slides! The green slide gives a MASSIVE WEDGIE!!! But is so so so much fun. The floor drops from under you and then you just fly. The yellow one is fun but no where near as fast. Then we went back to our room. Sim went to the gym and I went for a big walk around deck 10 again.

Then back to the room for a shower and change ready for carnivals Polynesian party!!! This was AWESOME!!

Basically from 445-530 and then again from 630-715 it was free drinks. White wine, red wine, Virgin cocktails and insanely strong rum punches! This was in the lobby level 2. We polished off a couple of these in the first session, whilst listening to the Polynesian music. We couldn't see the dancers properly because it was too crowded.

Day 5 - Sea Day 4

Today the sea was a lot rockier than it has been. We slept in and headed up to Lido for breakfast. I love the continental with all the fruit and bircher museli.

We also got little certificates to say we crossed the Equator!

We then decided to take a stroll around serenity and found an empty hammock! Sim hopped on whilst I changed then vice versa.

After an about an hour and a swim in the pool (serenity has a pool and a hot tub) we started feeling a bit sick. I think the combination of the boat rocking along with the hammock swaying just set us off. So we went back to our room to have some Dramamine which of course made us zombies!! A little read and a MASSIVE nap later we felt much better.

A nice walk around the ship, some delicious taste bar (nouveau restaurant sample - taste bar is on deck 2) then we got ready for dinner.

Dinner was 'island cuisine' and when we went back to our room we would find Lei's (but these would come in handy on sea day 5!!). I had the coconut prawns and chicken wing to start. Sim had chicken wing and coconut dumpling soup. For main we both had chicken breast.

Sim had guava empanada for dessert and I had mango brûlée. They were both tasty, but nothing to write home about haha.

Afterwards we went for a big walk and decided to head to bed.

The menu is very different to American formal night. Alas, no lobster. (Unless you eat in the steakhouse - Noveau. This has a $45 Aussie dollar charge)

I had a prawn cocktail and spring rolls to start, sim had a salad. For main she went with the prawns (TINY MEAL) and I had the pork steak. If you are a big eater I would go with the steak, then prawns on the side and make your own surf and turf.

Apple turnover thing for dessert, one of my favourites! Then they sang to us which was lovely. Only three tables in my section were being used, so our staff were even more attentive than usual. They are such a friendly team.

We went and got changed after dinner as I was freezing in my dress due to the sunburn. Off to the casino for a while and once again didn't do too badly. Then a glorious walk around the decks where we discovered serenity is open til midnight.

Some pizza, water and a shower later - off to bed!

Day 5 - Sea Day 3

Woke up at about 830 and went for a nice walk around deck 10. Four laps is a mile. Then we noticed a big sale from the fun shops on Lido deck. They had tables of clothes all cheap. Two shirts for $22. Or the Alaska shirts were 2 for $5! We bought a tank top and a Tshirt. Then into the buffet for some oatmeal and fruit, and back to our balcony to enjoy it. Then FINALLY the sun was shining!! Time to change and head up to the Lido deck to find my spot for the day! All three main areas had space, but I knew they would get crowded. Serenity was insanely full already and the main Lido area still had that sale on, so I set up at the back where there was another pool, hot tub and a giant chess area. This is also a smoking area, but it wasn't too bad as there was a nice breeze. After a few hours we moved over to the main pool area and got ourselves a hamburger and salad. This is kind of like guys. There's a station where you can add all your toppings and sauce, but they don't taste as good.

The equator crossing ceremony was taking place at 3pm and it was now about 1, so we decided to move upstairs to deck 10 overlooking the main area so we could see (sim is super short). Alas, just before two we were told that all the chairs and deck chairs from deck 9 and 10 would be packed up. It's understandable, they want all 3000 people to be able to see. So we sat on the ground claiming our spot!

So basically this ceremony is then just picking on different staff members. Engine room crew, bar tenders, waiters, kids club workers and the performers. They went before triton to receive their sentence then had to kiss the fish (a giant fish bought out early on) then had to stand in a blow up pool whilst the rest of the staff threw eggs, spaghetti and pasta sauce at them. It was pretty funny. Especially when the playlist performers started fighting back and it literally became a MASSIVE food fight. The people sitting on deck 9 were victims of mis-thrown food!

As soon as the ceremony was over we escaped to our room. By this stage I was BURNT. I did reapply my sunscreen, but I think standing watching the ceremony just tipped it off.

Standard afternoon read on the balcony and nap time, then time to get ready for formal night!

Then off to Follies for Motor City show! I really like this type of music so was excited to see a different cast perform it. And they didn't disappoint! Strong vocalists and all very capable and comfortable up there.

We then moved into the atrium bar and listened to Brett on his guitar. Gorgeous voice. We bought his cd for $10 and he was so grateful and sweet! Then to the casino and managed to break even. Back to the room to sleep!