Victory x 2....a b2b review! (with an obscene number of pictures...just sayin')

Thanks for the review. Did you like the aft pool best? Was it sunny enough around the pool? On some of the pictures it looks like the roof causes lots of shade. We like the quiet pools but we also like the sun.

Great review - glad you came back too! :D Keep it coming. :)

no worries ;) mostly curious to see what's onboard. did you notice a scrapbooking session? I've done it on some cruises and I love the "freebies".

 

We are so thrilled and ready to go :) we will find Bud and be sure to say hi!

They did have scrapbooking on the second cruise (on Wednesday, which was the day after the fun day at sea) at 2:45 in the library. I don't see it listed on the FT for our first cruise, but I can't put my hands on the ones for the day at sea. It may have been on that day. :)

Thanks for the review. Did you like the aft pool best? Was it sunny enough around the pool? On some of the pictures it looks like the roof causes lots of shade. We like the quiet pools but we also like the sun.

We definitely liked the aft pool best. It was always less crowded and much more quiet, thanks to the loud music they play at the midship pools. It was sunny enough for a row of lounge chairs in the sun on two sides (worked fine for us). There is also a place to sit in the sun and in the pool back there (a flat "shelf" of sorts just a few inches under the water).

midnight of the same day? or the last day of the cruise? I always thought they gave out cash. :eek:

This particular Bingo was listed in the "top ten" for the at sea day. It said:

3. Morning and afternoon bingo. $550 shopping spree. The lucky winner gets to spend up to $550 on their Sail & Sign card until midnight tonight! (except casino).

These particular rules were for the morning one only (at 10 am). The afternoon bingo was a super 5 game at 4 pm.

Dad's GF was able to use it for an Atlantis excursion, alcohol :p....she so rarely drinks, we had to laugh, and some gifts for herself and her daughter. She didn't have too much trouble spending it by midnight :D

When I returned to my cabin to get DD ready to swim' date=' we found that Chef Vivek had sent the kids a surprise...a big ol' plate full of grapes and strawberries!

 

 

He also sent a personal note, which would have required him to look up our kids' names (he couldn't possibly have spelled them correctly otherwise!). We thought this was a very generous and kind thing for the chef to do!

 

Wow, that was really nice!

By noon, the pools were getting crowded (including the aft pool)

and the lines were long for the slide

At 12:30, we went to the ice carving, which was kinda cool (ha ha! Very pun-y). It was clearly popular, and by the time the carver finished, the deck was very crowded.

After that, we grabbed some lunch. The deli wasn't too crowded.

I got a fish cup drink, and DD enjoyed carrying the fish around (once he was empty, of course!)

There are several tables around the aft pool in shady spots, so we had lunch there, overlooking our wake.

And one of my favorite pastry desserts (still not as good as the mousse, but I couldn't find it! This will come back to me later, though ;))

The DOD this day was the blue margarita (I think I mentioned earlier it's my favorite DOD), so I had several. :D

At two, we headed to the atrium bar for family karaoke. It happens that my DBIL loves karaoke (and he's pretty good at it, especially since he knows how to have a good time with it!). So, off we went to watch DBIL perform. If I can figure out how to post a video clip, I'll let you see for yourself! (but, I have to apologize for the poor video quality. It was done on a small handheld and, well, as I mentioned before, I had several drinks...and we were having a good time :D)

Okay...here's an attempt to attach a small part of the video...(try double clicking on it to see if the video opens up for you...and let me know!)

I have to say, it is almost as much fun watching the reactions of the people around us when DBIL sings this one :D. Our last family cruise was back when Carnival had a REAL guest talent show, and DBIL got on stage to do it then. Very fun! He was the first "performer" of the day and would be one of the last as well. Let's see if I can get a clip of his last performance...

Now, there are a couple of things to notice here. For one, you see the karaoke host is a lot of fun as well. He was great! Second, at the end of my clip, you see my brother's RM looking up over our heads. That's because in the middle of DBIL's song, a loud argument broke out between a couple near the stairs, and the girl ended up throwing her drink glass at the guy. The glass shattered all over the stairwell, and that pretty much ended karaoke :mad: (not mid-song or anything, but when the Carnival employees had to come rope everything off to try to clean glass that was everywhere, people drifted out of the room).

After that, we headed back to the room for a little nap before dinner. This was elegant night as well as the night of the captain's reception (where drinks are $1 off). They also had the Living in America show. We didn't make it to either. I saw LIA many years ago and enjoyed it, but I just couldn't get out the door the get there this time.

When we got to the room, we found another gift from Chef Vivek (how cool is he???) with another personal note.

Later, our chocolate plate for having platinum status came as well. Boy, were we feeling spoiled!!!

Your BIL sings great!

Newbie question- So how often do you see crazy fights between spouses or significant others on cruises?

They did have scrapbooking on the second cruise (on Wednesday' date=' which was the day after the fun day at sea) at 2:45 in the library. I don't see it listed on the FT for our first cruise, but I can't put my hands on the ones for the day at sea. It may have been on that day. :)[/quote']

 

Awesome! Thanks for that info!

Really enjoying the review and the pics! Seeing the empty ship after everyone debarked is pretty nifty...reminds me of when I was on Liberty after almost everyone had left to go enjoy St. Thomas (I had a late-departing excursion)....like a ghost ship! :)

I am LOVING your review!!! I had to take notes so that by the time I got to the end and could comment I wouldn't forget anything...

First things first, what a heartfelt beginning to your review. I am very sorry for your losses and hope that this trip with you and your family helped commemorate your Dad's memory. You and your family will be in my prayers.

You have a lovely family!!! Your daughter is full of personality, you can certainly tell from all of the pics!

I think doing a B2B is one of the coolest things ever, thank you for your review and photos of the empty ship. Also, you have some awesome shots from sailaway and Miami!

I am looking forward to more...

Just came back to see if we had any more of your review! Come back when you can!

So sorry to have disappeared for so long, friends! I realized I didn't even get close to finishing my review. Over my school break for Christmas, I started putting together my family vacation video (I do that with every vacation), and I checked this thread to try to remember the order of things. That's when I realized I had "walked away" mid-review. So....I will get back on it and finish up for the few who may want to see the end.

To be continued.....soon, I promise! :D

Your BIL sings great!

 

Newbie question- So how often do you see crazy fights between spouses or significant others on cruises?

Thanks! BIL loves to perform :). Luckily, we do not see fights often, but to be fair, we are often oblivious to everything going on around us. I teach high school, where I have to be hyper-alert at all times. So, when I go on vacation, I make a point to mentally ignore anything other than that which involves my family directly :cool:

I am LOVING your review!!! I had to take notes so that by the time I got to the end and could comment I wouldn't forget anything...

 

First things first, what a heartfelt beginning to your review. I am very sorry for your losses and hope that this trip with you and your family helped commemorate your Dad's memory. You and your family will be in my prayers.

 

You have a lovely family!!! Your daughter is full of personality, you can certainly tell from all of the pics!

 

I think doing a B2B is one of the coolest things ever, thank you for your review and photos of the empty ship. Also, you have some awesome shots from sailaway and Miami!

 

I am looking forward to more...

Thank you so much! So many things have happened in the (almost) year since I lost my dad....so many emotions. And thanks for the compliments!

My DD is my greatest joy, and she is indeed full of personality! I don't like to be a "downer," but the reality is that being mom to a child with autism can sometimes be discouraging. It is difficult. But my DD brings a sunshine to my life every single day. I'm very very thankful for her :)

After karaoke, we rested a bit. Here's my nephew napping on the awesome Carnival bedding...who doesn't love those sheets and comforters? The best sleep ever!

and then we went for a little more fun on deck before dinner.

"chess" by the aft pool...

This night was "elegant night" in the dining room. Service was better than the night before, so that was good. The kids had fun with the napkins LOL

I don't remember much about the evening, except the food was fine and the servers fawned over the little ones quite a bit, especially after dinner when the waiters were singing and dancing.

Did I miss something? How was that Captain's Table on the first cruise?

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Nevermind. My phone was only showing 5 pages of review for some reason?

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Just started reading your review tonight. Really enjoying it and looking forward to the rest.

Aww....you are too sweet! :o What else is on your short list (just curious)?

 

Thanks for the welcome. Our new house is in Davenport' date=' so we are practically neighbors, although we won't be down there much...it's just for vacationing. I am, however, heading down there next week to spend the rest of my summer vacation (about three weeks) with my kids to finish up decorating and to relax. When we were there pre-cruise it stormed every single day (and one night there was a horrible storm with really bad lightening and lots of rain...almost 8 inches in our area :eek:). Here in NC it rained all day every day while we were gone and several days after as well. It was crazy![/quote']

 

We are practically neighbors too! We live in Poinciana. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the area but its a town adjacent to yours.

Good to see you back here!

Just started reading your review tonight. Really enjoying it and looking forward to the rest.

Thank you! I'm so busy with work, school at night, and raising my kids, the days slip by before I know it, it seems. I mean to [finally] get this done so I can remember our trip!

We are practically neighbors too! We live in Poinciana. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the area but its a town adjacent to yours.

I know right where Poinciana is! :D We looked there as well when searching for a house. I really enjoy the area! I'm missing Florida right now, thanks to the cold NC weather, but we are heading down there for a long weekend soon!