Life at Sea

Since we weren't really scheduled to be on a 7 day cruise, we weren't really sure what our plan was supposed to be. All we knew was that we were on vacation! I don't really think Carnival knew what our plan was supposed to be. So the first day was...well...wonderfully boring! We slept in, or at least tried to. I realized on the first morning that not having a real window in your cabin has one major flaw. You have no idea what time it is. Brad and I alternated waking up and wondering if it was 3 AM or 3 PM. (If it's 3 AM, then it's obviously too early and rock me back to sleep big ship! but if it's 3 PM, we might be missing food!) It was usually closer to 3 AM, or 4 AM, or 5 AM, but ultimately I think we got a lot of sleep that first night. We just added to our mental list of cruise details that a bedside clock would be a good addition to our bag (in addition to the Dr. Pepper).

So we woke up fairly rested, hopped into our nicer gym wear, skipped up the 6 flights of stairs to Lido deck, enjoyed a nice light breakfast of one slice of french toast and some fruit (no really!), skipped up 2 more flights of stairs, and went to the gym (no REALLY!). It was kind of like being in a gym right after New Years. Every treadmill was occupied by people who clearly haven't seen a gym in a while (and there were a TON of them on this ship...Biggest Loser could have cast the next three seasons). Every bike was equally as occupied. Every weight machine was in horrible condition. So with sadness on our faces (hide that smile Brad), we decided that working out on the ship was likely not going to be on our schedule. We would just take the stairs every day all day, swim on our days in port, and go up to the track for a mile walk after every meal.

The rest of the day was spent lounging at the pool, watching the hairy chest contest, watching ice carving demonstrations, reading, munching on fries and arugula sandwiches, and enjoying the fantastic Yellowbird drink (I now know how to make it if anyone needs a new fun drink). Basically, it was fantastic. We ended the day with formal dinner, lobster and bread pudding, a bottle of wine, and a wee bit of slots (c'mon little dino...let's go digging for gold!). Our towel animal for the night was this little guy...I vote pig.