Our First Three Days At Sea
Last Update: Sep 15, 2023
Boarding
Fun! Fun! Fun! That's what Carnival guarantees for their cruises. We’ve been on Carnival cruises earlier in this century and will judge if the FUN is still there.
Our adventure began at the Carnival Cruise terminal in Long Beach. It’s that domed structure next to the original Queen Mary ship. Everything went smoothly and we were soon walking the gangway into the ship.
When the ship docked in Long Beach earlier that day, it was returning from a 4-day cruise to Mexico. The staff had to contend with loads of departing passengers together with their luggage. Once that was over, the new group of passengers would be embarking on their Alaska cruise.
We boarded at 10:30 a.m. Our cabin would not be ready until 1:30 p.m. We went to the Lido Deck buffet for our first meal on the ship. The restaurant was crowded but we managed to find some kind passengers who shared their table with us.
My wife and I were sailing with two friends for the first time. We were looking forward to a new experience as on all our earlier cruises we sailed alone, or with our son when he was a kid.
Our Cabin
We reserved a basic balcony cabin on the 5th deck of the ship that has an obstructed view caused by the lifeboat outside. A week before departure, Carnival offered us an upgrade to a balcony cabin on deck 7 with no obstruction for about $100 more. We jumped at this deal!
Our cabin steward introduced himself to us shortly after we moved in. He would do his best to make our cruise a comfortable one.
The View From Our Balcony
If you have gone on a cruise in a balcony cabin, you'll know a huge benefit this provides. If you are planning a cruise I highly recommend booking a cabin with a balcony. Forget the ocean view cabins because the window gets dirty and spoils the view.
We have two chairs and a table on the balcony, one of the chairs being a recliner. I love laying back and soaking up the fresh air day or night. It also gives us an opportunity to check out what the weather outside is before we disembark the ship in port.
A Glimpse Of The Decks
With rain in our future, I cannot see these outdoor facilities being used that much.
Although this outdoor pool is superb, Carnival has us covered literally with another pool that has a retractable roof below.
Empty Decks
If this was summer, these decks would be filled with guests sunbathing. With cooler weather, they are empty now and will remain empty for the whole cruise.
Our Sailing Partners At Dinner
My wife and I in the foreground for the first time are sailing with younger friends in the background. This is turning out to be so much fun! This picture was taken by a dining room staff member who has been assigned to serve us at our table.
The two-level dining room is called Bacchus named for the Greek God Of Wine and Vegetation. It is over the top in decor as you can see in this shot I took of the ceiling. Not my cup of tea having all those faux grapes haning over us!
Our Alaska Tour
I will share details about the tours we will be taking in future blogs. Our ship will be visiting the following spots: Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Pont Strait, Trach Arm Fjord, Ketchikan, and Prince Rupert, Canada. At the end, we will experience three more sea days before docking back in Long Beach two weeks later.
Towel Animals
When we return to our room each day we are greeted with a newly made creation that our room steward makes us. Our first one I believe was a rabbit. You be the judge and tell me if I'm right!
The next stop is Sitka, the largest city in the US. I'm not kidding. Check that out for yourself. Here is what Google says:
What is the biggest city in the U.S. by area?
The largest city by area in the United States is Sitka, Alaska. The city spans 2,874 square miles of incorporated area.
Who got this right? Let me know.
Till my next Alaska cruise story, cheers!
Edwin
P.S. I wrote this in my cabin using the ship's Internet while at sea. It's pretty good.
Recent Comments
67
Thanks for sharing the fun. Seeing the whole thing through someone else's eyes is a treat.
Sami
Hi Edwin
It looks like you're off to a fabulous start! 👍👍
I agree with you about the balcony cabin.
On the last cruise my wife and I took, we booked a penthouse cabin, which was wonderful but overkill because we hardly enjoyed it when there was so much to do elsewhere. Haha, live and learn!
This was an excellent post, Edwin, so keep them coming with lots of photos! 😎
Frank 🎸
Glad you agree about the balcony Frank. We're on deck 7. The last deck with cabins is the one above ours, deck 8. The cabin next to ours is a suite.
My goal is to swing for a Queens Suite on a Cunard cruise one day. This suite comes with your personal butler as well as loads of other perks.
The weather was beautiful while we had our tour. It began to rain in the afternoon. I called Fran Kelso this afternoon and had an enjoyable chat.
Tomorrow we take a gondola on a wire to the top of a mountain. Hope we have no rain and a good view for this trio.
Cheers!
Edwin
Hi, Edwin
I love your idea with the Cunard cruise! It’s a more mature and laid-back crowd.
The mountain tour sounds great!
My wife and I have been watching a series on HBO Max about alien sightings in Alaska.
Apparently strange flying objects frequently appear at night, so keep your eyes to the sky! Lol😎
Frank 🎸
Hi Edwin! That looks like so much fun, especially since you are also with friends. Your photos are super and make us feel like we are enjoying right along with you and your wife! Thanks so much for sharing your experience and I look forward to reading about your tours. Enjoy every special moment!
Cheers,
Susan
Hi Susan,
Thanks so much for your encouraging words. Glad my pics made you to feel like being there. I'm looking forward to doing that for the rest of our cruise.
Yesterday was Sitka. Today was Juneau. Tomorrow is Sagway.
Cheers!
Edwin
Hi Edwin,
I very much enjoyed your photos and look forward to traveling right along with you. Those spots sound fantastic! Take lots of pix and have some king crab for me lol.
Cheers!
Susan
I've never set sail on a cruise ship, yet my girlfriend is an experienced cruiser...lol. she and a friend have traveled all over the world, B.C. (before covid)
From what I know about cruises, Edwin, that particular route you're on is fabulous. There are many views to see, wildlife, sea animals and maybe even a glacier or two.
While you glide up the coast; wave to Fran (WA member FKelso) who lives on an island in Alaska.
When we think of large cities, most common for us to think in terms or population, not area. 2k square miles is huge!
Thanks for sharing your journey!
Rudy
Hi Rudy,
We saw our first glacier today. I also called Fran and spoke to her on the phone. That was a special treat.
Thanks for commenting.
Cheers!
Edwin
Hi Trip,
So happy to hear from you. You're so young I'm sure you'll go on a cruise one day.
These ships have fantastic gyms and trainers. It's quite expensive to book their services on board. You gave me an idea to write a post on the health and fitness programs on board in a future post.
You are the exception among our youth to have discovered Wealthy Affiliate and take it seriously. How did you find our community if you don't mind me asking?
Cheers!
Edwin
Very awesome, indeed, Edwin! Thanks for the virtual tour for those of us that are unable to travel! Your images made me feel like I was right there!
Jeff
We are all able to travel Jeff....
I don't believe the Government is that strict.... yet my friend!!
🐫👍
No, Nick, but as government that wipes out our businesses are! Besides, I don't care that much about travel! It takes too much money and time away from my obligations! To each there own, I have absolutely no regrets!
🐫🐶🐪😹
You know I fully understand where you are coming from Jeff!!
But.... travelling and experiencing other cultures is FUN and ENJOYABLE!!
We are not here long, so why not do it my friend??
Money can be found to do so if we strip back on what we deem necessary....
👍😉
For you, maybe, but I have never had the travel bug! I can visit anywhere I want to because of YouTube, and the money and hassle saved is phenomenal!
😎🍺😹🐪🐶🐫🐶🐫
Hi Jeff,
I feel honored you're enjoying what I'm sharing. Yesterday we saw Sitka. Today, Juneau. Tomorrow it's Skagway. So stay tuned!
Thanks for commenting.
Edwin
I understand about the money and hassle Jeff, but.... you can't beat being at these places in person my friend!
👍😉🐪🍻
Hi Joe,
The best thing about this cruise is our routine is totally different for these two weeks. I am savoring it as it will end.
Thanks for commenting.
Edwin
Corr that looks like absolute luxury and if thats one the smallest ships in the fleet ,I'd hate to see the largest, but I enjoyed reading the post Edwin
Hi Dave,
The largest ship we have sailed on is the Queen Mary 2 of the Cunard line. That is the only ocean liner in service today at almost 150,000 tons.
Royal Caribbean has the largest cruise ships afloat at around 226,000 tons. It's about three times the size of the one I'm on now.
Frankly, I don't like the idea of sailing among a group of 6000 passengers. I doubt I'll be booking on any of those.
My favorite cruise line is Cunard. We've sailed on the Queen Mary twice. And the Queen Victoria once. The Queen Victoria is about the same size and design and as the Carnival Miracle we're on. We sailed on the Queen Victoria on a Greek Island tour on our last cruise in 2017.
These cruise ships are indeed absolute luxury, some like Cunard more than others. I'm savoring every moment as I know it will end soon.
Thanks for commenting.
Cheers!
Edwin
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So happy you are having such a great experience with your cruise. Wish the Alaskan weather were a bit better, but you are getting a taste of our fall reality.
It was wonderful to talk to you last night. Yes, in spite of rain and clouds, this state is very beautiful. It sounds like you are taking your enjoyment to the max, and that is very good.
The only thing that would have been better than our conversation would have been to meet in person. However, at least contact was made, and I'm happy to hear your impressions of our extraordinary place of residence. You already taught me something...I did not realize Sitka enjoyed the honor of being the "largest city in the US." Ha! What is the population of this enormous city?
May the rest of your trip prove just as good.
Fran
Hi Fran,
Glad you enjoyed our voice chat on phone. Yes, meeting in person would have been great but I enjoyed hearing your voice.
Sitka has a humongous population of 8365 ha! That was our only rainy day so far as Juneau and Skagway today was mostly dry with only a smattering of light rain. Visibility was excellent so we could enjoy seeing the terrain with waterfalls etc.
We took a bus tour to the summit on the Klondike highway to 3292 ft. The bus stopped for several photo ops at waterfalls, rivers and the Canadian border. We even saw a glacier high in the mountains. An eagle flew over our bus.
Skagway has the perfect look of a gold rush town. We were told that all the buildings dated back to that era. It looked like a Hollywood set lol.
I’m attaching a photo of the Main Street with our cruise ship docked at the end. So surreal ha! Some cruisers took the narrow gauge up to the summit. It cost almost triple what the bus ride was so we passed on the train.
Looking forward to posting my next cruise story. Oh, did you get your computer connected to the Internet?
Cheers.
Edwin
Haven't had time to call the guy who has to straighten out the problem, whatever it is. So, for now, using the old one. Glad I have it.
Looking forward to your next cruise story.