Cruising from NYC

We went on a cruise!! We sailed on the Carnival Splendor to the Eastern Caribbean from New York City. Not only was it a close port to sail from, the timing over Memorial Day meant that for an 8 night cruise we only had to take 4 days vacation from work. Bonus!

So on Saturday morning we got up early, headed to the train station and took the 2.5 hour ride down to Penn Station. A quick taxi ride (rather too quick, actually) to the cruise terminal and it was time to check in. We arrived around 11, and they weren't letting people through security yet but we didn't have to wait long to get screened and get boarding zone 2. Check in was next and this was probably the most problematic part of the whole cruise, due to me not having an American passport and the computer system being partially broken. Anyway, after having 4 people trying to check me in it finally worked, we got our sign & sail cards (your room key and how you pay for everything) and waited to get on the boat.

I think it was around 12.30 when we headed on board and went straight to get lunch (avoiding all the yummy desserts and things and getting a salad) and did some exploring while it was still kind of empty. We were able to put our carry on bags in the room after lunch and have a tour of the spa. We were all the way down on the 1st level (the lowest level for guest cabins) and near the back of the ship. It worked out great through. Being low we never really felt much motion even when it was a little rough.

The main lobby and atrium. The ship was quite pink!

The Carnival "Whale Tail" in the rain.

Matt getting the feel of one of the spa treatments. It lowered you down to float in warm water. Not sure it was very relaxing though!

Eventually we got to the muster drill, where they show you where your lifeboats are and how to put on a life jacket. It was packed and people were unable to shut up so it took a while, but at least it wasn't hot. In fact it was pretty chilly and raining all day. Not what you want to enjoy the Manhattan skyline from the boat. We ended up leaving about an hour late, but that meant we missed the worst downpour.

To give you an idea of the wind... here's Matt posing by the Statue of Liberty...

And here's me...

.... looks like my hair is trying to do the arm in the air pose! It was still great to enjoy the skyline and because of the weather it meant hardly anyone was outside so we didn't have to fight for photo space.

Manhattan from the Hudson - I like the dark clouds.

Looking back at downtown from the harbour

They had maps on the tv's showing where you were. That's a lot of "Dumping Grounds" and the well confined zone of "Chemical Wastes" is quite disturbing?!

We did some more sailing after we got out of the harbour and enjoyed dinner, where we shared a table with 4 other people who were great. Food was good and plentiful. They had a regular menu that was the same every day and a daily menu. We almost exclusively ate from the daily menu, including the "didja ever" dishes like alligator bites, escargot, frogs legs and shark and langoustine rolls. Yum!

After dinner (while enjoying the two bottles of wine we brought aboard and the free bottle of champagne as a booking bonus) we watched (and one of us participated in) karaoke. This was followed by the adult comedy show. The comedy was probably the best entertainment of the cruise and the first guy, was brilliant.

After a long day it was to the room for my first time sleeping at sea. I took a seas sickness tablet just in case but I didn't have any problems. I didn't take a picture of the room but it was surprisingly spacious and I'm glad we paid more for an oceanview. It was nice to see out and know when it was daytime!

Time for two days at sea to get down to the Caribbean. More to come!

Here we are in front of One World Trade Center.