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 Bluebonnet's Excellent Adventure 
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Post Bluebonnet's Excellent Adventure
http://www.flickr.com/photos/easttexas2012/sets/72157629910483718/show/

Above is a link to a slide show of our excellent adventure.

Intro
Back in January/February, DH (East Texas) and I began planning a trip for our 35th anniversary on May 13th. Our original plan, a driving trip to Yellowstone, turned out to be waayyy too expensive. We both wanted to do something neither had done before and decided to check out cruises.

Galveston, TX is located about 30 miles from our home. Carnival Cruise Line and others cruise from there. We found a 5 day Western Caribbean cruise that fit the bill. We booked the cruise in February with an early saver rate. This rate is guaranteed to be the cheapest available.

Because it was our anniversary cruise, we chose to spend the money and booked an Ocean Suite. :yamon

The suite is larger than an inside cabin or a balcony cabin. The balcony is larger, too, it has room for 3 deck chairs and a table.

I booked the cruise on line directly with Carnival. Did not use a travel agent.

After I booked the cruise, I read some terrible reviews of the Carnival Triumph and was pretty much freaking out thinking I had made a HUGE mistake. I found a wonderful forum site called Cruise Critic. There I found seasoned cruisers (and newbies like us) who offered sound advice and great reviews of all types of cruise lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norweign, Princess, Holland America, etc. It was at Cruise Critic that I discovered on board credit.

If the price of your cruise drops (you must check every day) and you have already paid for your cruise, you received credit to use while you are on board. East Texas and I received $100 on board credit because the senior rate (posted in April) was less than our early saver rate. We qualify for the senior rate because he is over 65. Whoo hoo!

Itinerary
Monday, May 21 - boarding and sail away at 4:00 pm

Tuesday, May 22 - at sea

Wednesday, May 23 - Progresso, Yucatan, Mexico

Thursday, May 24 - Cozumel, Mexico

Friday, May 25 - at sea

Saturday, May 26 - arrival in Galveston and disembarkation

Boarding
As an American citizen sailing on a closed loop cruise (i.e., one that orignated and then returned to a US port), it was not necessary to obtain a passport. You can board and disembark with a birth certificate and a driver's license. However, we chose to renew our passports and were glad we did - see disembarkation.

The main reason for the passports was in case we had a family or medical emergency and needed to leave the ship at a foreign port.

Because we booked a suite, we were able to board the ship in a separate area from the rest of the passengers. We dropped off the bags and parked in a covered parking space we reserved in advance right across the street from the cruise terminal. We walked back and the whole boarding process took us less than 10 minutes. Most passengers boarded in 30-40 minutes. We headed up to the Lido deck for a buffet lunch because the cabins are not ready until 1:30 pm. We boarded about 11:00 am.

Cabin
I ordered an anniversary decoration for the cabin. It was very festive and lovely. We also chose to have the twin beds put together to make a king size bed. The cabin was very spacious. We had two closets, a dressing area, a normal size bathroom with a whirlpool tub, a mini bar, a couch, a chair and numerous electrical outlets.

The room is cleaned and made up twice daily.

Muster
At 3:30 pm the ship's horn blasted 7 times and then 1 long blast to call us to our lifeboat stations. Your assigned lifeboat station is posted on your cabin door. Everyone was very respectful and quiet while the crew demonstrated how to put on the life jacket (it has a whistle and a flashing light) and how to board the life boat. I understand from Cruise Critic it has not always been so. This is a direct result of the Costa Concordia accident and folks are now paying attention. Your life jackets are located in your cabin (1 for each person). You do not bring your life jacket to muster. If you are traveling with children under the age of 11, they receive a bracelet attached to their wrists. You must request an infant life jacket if traveling with a baby. No infants under the age of 6 months are allowed to cruise.

Food
We had assigned dining at 6:00 pm each night in the Paris Dining Room. The first night is very casual but after that they request no shorts, flip flops or baseball caps. The dining room is beautiful and is very similar to a 3-4 star restaurant.

The food here was excellent. Some folks complain about the portion size but we found it just right. When you order and eat 3-4 courses, you don't need huge amounts of food. You can, however, order more than one entree, appetizer, dessert if you wish.

We ate dinner every night in the dining room except the last night of the cruise.

We only ate breakfast there one morning. I hate to sound anti-social but it is difficult for me to make polite conversation with complete strangers at 7:00 am. I tend to wake up slowly so we ate most breakfasts at the buffet on Lido.

We ate lunch every day on the Lido deck. Here you will find the buffet, pizza (24 hours), a deli with great sandwiches, a grill that serves a great burger, hot dogs, chicken nuggets and great french fries. There is also an Asian place called Chopsticks. Never got to eat there as the lines were too long.

You can also order breakfast, lunch and dinner from room service - it is free. They don't serve a hot breakfast - just a continental breakfast.

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Sun May 27, 2012 7:57 am
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Post Re: Bluebonnet's Excellent Adventure
Taking a breath here! ;)

Elegant Night
On a 5 day cruise, there is only 1 elegant night. This is the night everyone dresses up a bit more for dinner. You will see men in tuxedos (not many), suits, sports coats, dress shirts and slacks. Women usually wear gowns (not many), cocktail dresses, dressy pant suits, Sunday best dresses. It is beautiful and lovely.

Most nights in the main dining rooms, folks are dressed up a bit. The men usually wear polo type shirts or dressy casual shirts (no ties) and khaki/Docker-type pants. The ladies are usually dressed in sun dresses, nice pants or capris. Bascially what you would wear to a really nice restaurant.

The Lido deck is more casual. In the buffet area you will see folks dressed in shorts and swim wear with cover ups.

Entertainment
We went to three shows including a magic show. They were excellent. We also listened to a piano player who played great sing-along music, a Filipino who played old time Country & Western (think Johnny Cash, Hank Williams), and a special jazz concert by some of the Carnival band.

There were also movies playing on the Lido deck big screen. You can lay out there on deck chairs wrapped in blankets and watch movies like Lion King, Toy Story, Superman, etc. Very family friendly.

There are also various trivia games going on, an ice carving demo, bingo games, a casino, tea served two days (sadly, didn't make it), a hairy chest contest, various karaoke venues, and a guest talent show (it was awesome).

I actually won $120 the last night of the cruise on a penny progressive slot machine! I was pretty discouraged that I wasn't winning anything and only stopped in there to smoke a cigarette before the last show of the cruise. East Texas had gone to cash in his chips from the black jack tables when I hit the jackpot. That slot machine ding, ding, dinged for a looonnngggg time counting out $126.95 in PENNIES! Shoulda seen East Texas' face when he walked up and the machine was STILL dinging! :crylaugh

Shore Excursions
We didn't do any. We've been to Mexico and this cruise was only to see if we liked it. We did disembark in Cozumel to buy ANOTHER bag. Yep, had to buy a bag because we had a coconut head (drink), a blow fish (drink), two Carnival beach towels and two Carnival robes. Found a great beach bag for $12.00 and a great ashtray for $1.

I swear we have nevah, evah travelled anywhere without having to buy a bag to bring home stuff. :slap :whistle

Disembarkation
This was kinda messy because some folks are impatient to get off the ship. You can carry off your own bags and that's where the chaos started. Folks did not wait for their decks to be called and everyone tried to descend on the small lobby area at one time.

We chose to have Carnival carry off our bags. We finally got to the Rome Lounge to wait for our zone to be called. Because we booked a suite, we were one of the first ones called while the chaos ensued. We were escorted to a separate disembarktion door and whisked down to baggage claim. Found a porter and our bags were already there. Off to Customs. This is where the passports paid off because the lines for the folks with birth certificates and driver's licenses were long, long, long.

From start to finish, it took about 20 minutes for us to disembark. I waited with the bags while East Texas got the truck. We picked up the doxies at PetsMart and were home by 10:15 AM.

Final Thoughts
We both agreed it was one of the best vacations we've ever had. :heart

It was everything a vacation should be and we were catered to at every turn. The whole Carnival crew were friendly, welcoming and just outstanding. Never saw anyone with a frown or bad mood.

The passengers were tall/short, fat/skinny, young/old, families and lots of folks on their honeymoons and celebrating anniversaries. Very diverse.

We are already planning ANOTHER cruise in February to Key West and the Bahamas. :yamon

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Sun May 27, 2012 8:17 am
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Post Re: Bluebonnet's Excellent Adventure
Welcome back Blue glad you guys had a great time, cruisin is the way to go for sure :clap

Great report & pics thanks for sharing them with us

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Mon May 28, 2012 6:34 am
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Post Re: Bluebonnet's Excellent Adventure
It was wonderful, L. DH and I have never done an all inclusive vacation before because we are just danged independent travellers. We like to "do our own thang."

I was a bit apprehensive that I would experience first time cruiser's anxiety - think "I gotta get OFF this ship." That never happened with either of us. There were plenty of places (including the balcony) to hang out and get away from the noise on Lido.

We never experienced a sense of claustrophia even with 2100+ folks on board. The Triumph is not one of the bigger ships but there were plenty of places for folks to hang out so they didn't all congregate in one area.

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Mon May 28, 2012 7:43 am
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Post Re: Bluebonnet's Excellent Adventure
Very nice pics and memorable trip indeed Blue!


:tounge Now I also know what ya look like - blue with a Sun hat! :clap

Thanks for sharing the experience - I will have to show DW and then it's probably going to become an objective for us to do same .... :mrgreen:

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Tue May 29, 2012 2:27 pm
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Post Re: Bluebonnet's Excellent Adventure
Sky, it was an awesome vacation for both of us.

Romantic as heck! ;)

It was wonderful to "disconnect" from the world for five days. No cell phones, no e-mail, no internet. Heck, we didn't even watch the NEWS until Friday night! :crylaugh

Definitely recommend it!

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Tue May 29, 2012 3:43 pm
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