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Expectations vs Reality; or There and Back Again – A Dude’s Holiday

Staceman225

By Staceman225,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Staceman225

Staceman225

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Suggestions to my fellow and future cruisers

 

I know what you need Charlie Brown – involvement.

I suggest getting involved. Take a chance on getting picked for a show like the Hasbro Game show. I did. While I didn’t win I did walk away with the home edition (a mini-Simon game). And I had a lot of fun. This is a pic of me on stage. I’m the pregnant-looking dude. :(

IMG_2691_zps657945c9.jpg

 

Also, talk to people. We had YTD so were set next to different people each night. We met some very interesting people. When we go on vacation, we pack a lot of stuff. We also pack our stories. Sometimes it’s nice to unpack those stories for others to hear and to hear their stories. Sometimes the stories are like Hawaiian print shirts – colorful and fun. Sometimes they are like khaki shorts – dull and boring. Sometimes they are like racy lingerie – shouldn’t be shared in public.

 

Music is all around us. Take time to enjoy the musicians on the cruise. The guitarist/singer at the Atrium bar was great. I overheard him talking to a couple sitting next to him. The couple had asked him about the number of songs he knew. He said he had a chord/lyric helper app on his tablet but he said most of the songs were in his head. That is amazing! Also, watch karaoke. It is fun to see your fellow cruise mates perform. On our second cruise even I karaoked. Like I said before, I don’t sing. But in a moment of simultaneous strength and weakness and having visions of grandeur, I did my best Run DMC‘s “Walk This Way”. Lucky for me, it was a favorite song for drunks to sing along to so few people actually heard me.

 

Alphabet soup. The Cruise Critic world is filled with acronyms. I’ll share some of the ones I learned so far:

 

FTTF – Faster To The Fun – A way to rent platinum status

CD – Cruise director – He runs the ship and lets the captain thinks he runs the ship.

ACD – Assistant Cruise Director – The person that calls the wrong bingo numbers (C’mon, Katie!)

CCL – Carnival Cruise Lines - duh

HMC – Half Moon Cay – Paradise on earth

DW / DH – Your spouse

DD/DS – leaches

DGD/DGS – Blessings upon the world

YTD – Your Time Dining – When the staff sits you next to the infant having a bad tummy day. Every day.

MDR – Main dining room – Sadly, once the cruise is over no one unfolds my napkin at home.

BL – buffet line – To quote Cookie from City Slickers: “The food’s hot, brown, and there’s plenty of it.”

FB – Food baby (when you eat so much you look …well…like my Hasbro pic)

 

Remember. Take tons of pictures. The technology of even the small pocket cameras now can make for some incredible shots. Also, an 8-gig SD chip can hold a ton of pictures and is also relatively cheap. Don’t be stingy with the photos. Even now as I look back at some of the pics we took it brings up lots of memories – the music from the Pirate Ship on HMC, the smell of the ocean during room service breakfast, the taste of a 7:00 AM ice cream cone…

 

And finally, smell the flowers. Slow down. Take your time. On our first two cruises we thought we had to do everything in order to have fun. This one was at a much slower pace and we enjoyed it greatly without feeling exhausted the entire time. Take afternoon naps so you can stay up later. So much of the fun stuff happens late at night (at least late for fuddy duddy Wife. I was fine late at night…). Our next cruise we intend to take the 2-year-old. She will be 3 or 4 by then. So the “slow down” suggestion will go right out the window.

Edited by Staceman225
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  • 2 months later...
richstowe Great Review Rare

richstowe

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I thoroughly enjoyed your review. Thank you so much. You made me laugh. This is how reviews should be done!
Thank you Waitingforretirement for posting. I missed this review.

Dude!Great review. Very witty.:)

Can't wait for my first post balcony smoking ban cruise .

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Sweetsforjay

Sweetsforjay

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Stumbled upon your review and was well informed and entertained! Several similarities with me, married to HS sweetheart, cruising Fascination in Nov (1st time cruiser) and randomly enough, my son's nickname is Dude. Meant to be Deuce since he is named after his father, but Dude has stuck. I told him that he has to find a wife that is ok with calling him that, or at least not cringe at the fact that we all do.

 

I hope to have as equally a fun cruise, although I will be without my HS sweetheart (he refuses to sail and would likely be green and on the toilet the whole time) so instead going on a BFF getaway with my Bestie from Alabama.

 

Thanks again for the great review!

 

 

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  • 3 months later...
Staceman225

Staceman225

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Hey Dude - get busy writing a book. You're a much better writer than many of the published authors I've read lately. Great review - hilarious -- I'd buy your book in a heartbeat. Seriously - have some fun - write one - you never know where it might lead.

 

Thank you for your encouragement but if I spent my spare time writing books there would be no time for cruising! :)

 

Wow. Thanks all for the kind remarks. For now, it looks like we will skip a year in cruising. We will be saving up to have two cabins - one with a balcony and one interior right across the hall. We will be taking the now 3-year old who will be 4 when we sail. I look forward to writing a review from the perspective of a small child. The "Hairy Chest" competition has to be confusing.

 

Thanks again and happy sailing!

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Forums mobile app

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momonthego17

momonthego17

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Great review! Your writing style reminds me of Rick Bragg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and author of several best-selling books, including "Ava's Man" and "Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story" (I copied that bio from Southern Living magazine). Rick Bragg writes the last page of Southern Living magazine, called Southern Journal.

Good luck on your next cruise. We had an interior room across the hall for my DDs and my mom, DH and I had the balcony. Word of advice, use the top lock if you are changing clothes (or something like that) because the stateroom attendant would let my DD in whenever she wanted. Sometimes her timing was a little scary. I'm just sayin'...

 

 

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  • 3 months later...
Grandmaanne7

Grandmaanne7

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Dude! You had me oohing and awing over the beautiful words of your song and then I almost spit out my tea when I read the line about maybe bringing the wife next time! Oh my goodness! :D:D:D Thank you so much for the entertainment this morning. I can't wait to get DH to read this as we head out on the Fascination in a few weeks. Fabulous review!!

Edited by Grandmaanne7
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angela12345

angela12345

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Haha, this was a great and funny review to read. One of my all time favorites.

 

I love your song too. My husband has one kinda similar he made up to the tune of "two tickets to paradise" . . . .

 

I've got two tickets to paradise, I'm gonna go twice without my wife

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