The Floating City

Pina Colada....my favorite cruising splurge!

I know I already posted many of our pictures on facebook but here is my place to really document more of our trip if for no one else other than ourselves.

It's so funny to hear all the different opinions about cruises and how hugely they can differ. There are a fair amount of people who really don't like cruises and after hearing or reading their complaints I can understand why cruises are not for everyone. As for us....we think a cruise is a great way to travel. Sure, you only get a limited time in each port. I think if you haven't extensively traveled it gives you an opportunity to get an idea about which places you WOULD want to spend an extended period of time and which one's you really WOULDN'T. I don't really understand the complaint of "being confined on a ship" because it feels more like a small city than a ship! The food is good and non-stop and everything is done for you.....we think it's pretty darn fun!

This was our second cruise. We were a little bit nervous about Carnival since there are such widely varying opinions about them out there. We decided to give them a try and it turned out great....we had an unforgettable trip. Getting to spend time and hang out with Alex and Erin was so wonderful too! They are so laid back and go-with-the-flow so it was really fun!

Here are some pictures of time on the Carnival Glory and in Miami.....

Jason was so funny....I think he took pictures of his food every night at the dining room. We thought the food on this ship was very good....better than our Royal Caribbean cruise. We ate in the main dining room every night...the food was great and the atmosphere was fun. We all had this dessert a few times....the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. Hot chocolate ooze in the middle....so dang good!

They had a lot of chilled fruity soups that were VERY good. There were so many dining options on board and we ate so much....probably the number one reason why people shouldn't go on cruises TOO often! During the day we ate at the Mongolian Wok, the big Lido deck buffet, the deli, the burrito bar (my personal favorite other than the dining room), the pizzeria, the grill, and Alex tried the Fish n Chips place too. The dining was memorable to say the least. :)

PARTY!!!! (as much as a bunch of Mormons do party anyway) haha!

Jason eating prime rib at the Red Sail Restaurant (the Lido deck buffet)

Hanging in our cabin with the interesting pink crown molding. :) On both of our cruises we have just gotten inside staterooms since we really don't spend a ton of time in our rooms anyway. They are the cheapest staterooms because they don't have windows but we have never minded a bit. I'm thinking that one time I would like to try out a balcony room to see if it's really worth the extra money.

Shopping on the Promenade deck....on Day 7....Jason found some sweet sunglasses at one of the stores that were torturing him. They were a little more than he wanted to pay but man he wanted them! He looked at them so many times it was funny. In the end he ended up resisting...way to go! :)

We mostly had really great weather. This was our last day at sea and we got some wicked skies and wind/waves. Those angry skies and seas really made me think about the sheer power of mother nature.....even though we were on a massive ship if the conditions were just right, Mother Nature would easily win a fight. I think I'd be pretty nervous to do a cruise during hurricane season. It was kinda a cool experience....I think the ocean is just so mesmerizing. Nothing makes you feel so small as being on the biggest boat you've ever seen and still being just a dot on the horizon. This world is crazy astonishing.

Jason trying not to blow away. I very often get motion sickness in cars and planes so I think I'd be toast on a cruise without a little help. Both times I have used the scopolamine patches. It goes behind one ear. They work so well for me....I am very aware of the ship or plane's movement but it doesn't bother me at all with those on. They are prescription and they do have some side effects.... the first day or so they make your throat pretty dry and they made one of my eyes a little blurry. Those are common side-effects but the blurry eye got much better and the dry throat went away completely. For me, totally worth it since I never remember to take pills until I'm already sick. The Bonine pills work well too and I have read that they don't cause as much drowsiness as even the "less-drowsy" Dramamine. They worked well for Erin. Jason and Alex didn't use anything and they were just fine on the ship.

My favorite towel animal of the trip

This is either "smolder" or disappointment. :)

Our singing/dancing waiter Melvin. It was pretty clear that Melvin lives for the the little performances they did each night! :)

This was the 24 hour ice cream and frozen yogurt station on the back of the ship....Jason LOVED it and was surprised that he even preferred the frozen yogurt....it was very good. We visited it more than a few times :)

My feet and the horizon.....laying out on one of our sea days.

Alex and Erin are so cute. Here they are checking out the amazing views and the vastness of the ocean at the aft of the ship. They were such pleasant travel companions.

Me striking my most famous pose...the "Super Dork". I must say that my hair is just really weird in the Caribbean humidity....much harder to manage. Pretty pathetic. :)

I think this was our first night on board. Erin and I saw this other ship way off in the darkness. I snapped a photo and a few minutes later I tried to show Jason and it was just completely gone. I was so confused because I didn't think it could have gotten out of our sight so quickly. It was weird. I was glad that I had a picture to prove I had seen the "ghost ship":). Some nights it's just so black and all you can see are the waves made at the base of the ship. When you look off the back of the ship in the dark, I have often found myself wondering out-loud what it would feel like to fall in the water and watch the ship leaving you in the dark. It gives me huge chills and I seriously don't know if I can think of anything scarier. Scaring myself is sometimes kinda oddly entertaining! :) The truth is that on most places on the ship you'd REALLY have to go out of your way to fall off...thank goodness!

The first ice-cream cone....Jason LOVES soft serve.

Watching the Super Bowl on deck was pretty fun!

leaving Miami

Alex was the first one to try the waterslide...I kept planning to do it and then never did :(

Alex just went and I snapped too late!

The pool area at our hotel in Miami....the hotel itself (Hilton Doubletree) was nicer than the one we had last time but the location was less desirable. Not many things within walking distance. There was a mall in the hotel but other than that not much going on....a lot harder to get the whole Miami vibe at this hotel without getting a taxi or renting a car. It worked out fine because we were all pretty worn out from travelling anyway.

Our wait staff on the ship every night. The assistant waiters Putu from Indonesia, Mattel from India, and the main waiter, Melvin from India. I liked them all but I think that Mattel was my favorite....his little sheepish smile and head bobbing. :)

This is Miami again.....I was soooo excited on Embarkation Day....I seriously had to wait like 3.5 hours for Jason to wake up and I was kinda bored so I took a whole bunch of pictures.

This was our EXCELLENT stateroom attendant, Juan from Nicaragua. Juan Carlos Pichardo Guido to be exact. :) We spent the week learning all of his names. Juan was sort of infatuated with Jason....it was hilarious. We'd see him a couple times each day and he was always so excited to see Jason and called him by full name, "Ja-son FIFE!!!" He was so excited to be able to give us breaking news on the Jazz when Jerry Sloan resigned. Juan was totally fun.

Jason trying to play a quick chess game with himself :)

Wow I got these pictures mixed up! This is at the 777 Restaurant in Miami.

Awesome Caribbean Sunset that Jason got a picture of.

The only other people I saw sitting on these Camel's were kids but that didn't stop Jason...haha :)

We went to a comedy show just about every night....most of them were pretty funny. We went to the illusionist "Justin Illusion" and Jason and I were pretty impressed...it was fun and had great music. We went to the oddly named "White Heat Dance Club" and saw some pretty humorous dancing. I was soooo close to getting Jason to bust loose some of his brand of dancing and get a video but he said he was too full! :) There was a lot to do on board and tons of singers and entertainment. Erin and Alex even went to an art auction!