Going on my first cruise was such an adventure. Though, it was a complete learning experience. I honestly had one of the best times of my life. Though I really enjoyed my experience, a few things came up that I thought would be helpful if you’re a cruise newbie.

6 Things I Wish Someone Told Me About a Cruise

Movement
You can actually feel the boat move… I know what you guys may be saying. Come on! It’s a boat. You know how you barely feel a plane move, of course, unless there is turbulence. The boat I was on made a weird movement. Especially, if you’re at the lower deck. It was like a pulling feeling.. super weird to explain. but you do feel the boat move. Especially, if you're at the front of the boat.

ID
You need your ID and Sign and Sail card to return back on the boat at each port. Depending on the state/country in which you’re visiting. The requirements may be different. Consider your Sign and Sail card like your first form of ID on a cruise when you need two forms of ID.

Transportation
I know this may sound like common sense. However, book your transportation to and from the port and/or airport in advance. You would be surprised how many people don't do this. It just makes for an easier transition to the airport.

Denmark
Carnival Cruise has a Denmark presentation that is not required. But it was really informative if this is your first cruise or if you plan on checking your luggage.

Identification
You don’t actually need a passport for a cruise, a state ID and a birth certificate should suffice.

Captions Dinner
I’ve always heard and seen people mention about a caption dinner when taking a cruise. with Carnival, it’s the formal dining night. Our formal dining night was actually the same night that we were at the port.

Have you taken a cruise before? Anything you wish someone would have told you?

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 One of my biggest concerns, when I booked my cruise, was the food. Though I knew people who were avid cruisers. I know how picky I can be when it comes to food. I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by all of my food choices and meals. I ate every evening and morning in the dining hall. Throughout the day I would snack at the deli or indulge in veggie tortillas. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to try the pizza, and my son never got around to trying out the BBQ restaurant.

Upon arriving on board the food was being served. That was another question I had. I wasn’t sure if the food was provided upon boarding the ship. It was!! The buffet wasn’t open. However, all of the grab and go restaurants were available. There are also plenty of blog posts and YouTube videos dedicated to food on cruise ships. Below, I’m sharing some of what my son and I ate during our cruise. 

What We Ate on Our Cruise - Carnival Liberty 

Breakfast 

                                                       Dinner

Dessert 

Lunch/Snacks

I went on my very first cruise in January. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. I was really apprehensive about going on a cruise due to not being sure about motion sickness. I did have motion sickness the first day at sea however, I did not allow that to stop me. Below, I’m sharing my pros and cons of Carnival Liberty.






The Pros and Cons of Carnival Liberty





Pros


Adults only area that doesn’t cost additional money to access. It was nice to just a getaway, and enjoy the view.







The food was amazing. I didn’t have any issues with any of the food that was ordered. Very plentiful. We dined for breakfast and dinner in the dining area. We typically checked out the grab and go restaurants for lunch.





We didn’t have long waits for breakfast and dinner.






This cruise ship is really pretty and super easy to navigate.






There were tons of entertainment throughout the day, and they also offered adult-only options as well.





































I did not take part in any of the adult drinks. However, you can bring a bottle of wine, and a case of soda.

Cons

1. The basketball court is closed before 6pm.
2. Water is not allowed on board
3. The pools were crowded (which to be expected)
4. Certain times of the day the buffet was closed for inspection (which is a good thing, and a bad thing if you weren’t expecting the food to be closed) Plan for this to happen in advance.
5. The comedy show that I attended was crowded. Lesson learned I showed up super late. However, I was still able to get in and stand, and watch the show.

I overall have no complaints about my experience. Everyone was super nice, the food was amazing. I pretty much enjoyed everything about this cruise experience. I was able to navigate the ship super easily.

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Last Thursday was Michael's last day of school. Per our annual tradition, I created a summer bucket list for our family. Last year we had so much fun planning and executing our list. We didn't get the chance to do everything on our list. Most of those items rolled over to our list for this year. If you took a quick glance at our list. You noticed that I have a Cruise listed. Do I have a cruise booked? No, would I love to go on a cruise? Yes! Michael has a really big trip booked in August so I know taking a cruise is really far-fetched right now. Other than that, pretty much everything on our list is pretty local. A lot of the items on our list intertwine with one another and we would probably do while in route. I'm looking forward to getting out and spending time with my family and crushing our 2017 bucket list. As always, I will keep you updated on our journey.

The List

1. Hampton Beach 2. Block Island 3. Cruise (to anywhere) 4. New York Trip Overnight 5. Statue of Liberty NY 6. Family Beach Trip 7. Bronx Zoo 8. Visit Boston 9. Visit Maine 10. Lake George 11. Visit North Carolina 12. Myrtle Beach

Do you have a Summer Bucket List?

As I type this post, I’m currently at the airport returning from my cruise. As my mind is fresh on travel. I thought it would be good to share with you guys 5 Things You Need for a Cruise from a newbies perspective.

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It’s been over a year since the pandemic has started and honestly I can’t even say that time has went by really fast because at times it feels like moments have been so slow. So much has happened within this last year for my family and I. Though I pretty much consider myself an introvert. Being in the middle of a pandemic it’s pretty excessive right now. A year ago I had a trip planned and I was excited about spring break. I just returned back in January from a cruise and I was super excited to go on another cruise for spring break, you see my son and I missed out on our spring break trip for 2019 so we decided to go on our spring break trip in January. Unbeknownst to me January would be our last trip to-date. I remember seeing the cancellations of flights the cancellation of trips and everything. the last twelve months have been crazy. No day has been the same, no moment has been the same. Unlike many people anxiety levels are high stress levels are high because it’s just so much unknown, so many twists so many turns have happened within the last year. A year ago today, I was not wearing a mask I was not mandated to wear a mask now we are mandated to wear a mask every single day and then most days I have two mask on because that suggested as well now. A year ago I had no plans on starting a garden because I had all intentions on traveling and just living my best life all summer 2020. A year ago I was super excited about the blogger events that I would be attending just excited about life. Though a lot of places are opening up a lot of places are still closed and there’s just so much that has happened so many people have lost their lives or lost a love one, lost employment so much just has happened so much just has happened to our world. But at the end of the day I’m thankful, I’m thankful for all of the things have that have come out of this pandemic because there are so many people who's life will never be the same. Life will never be the same for me there’s so many people...

Though they are so many things to complain about they are also so many things to be thankful for and today I’m thankful.




What positive change have you made in the last year?

The Journey  

My first full day of my solo vacation. I went to old San Juan to explore. My plans were to walk around and have lunch at an authentic Latin restaurant. I woke up early that morning and decided that I would leave the hotel at 10:00 am in the morning and return back at 6:00 pm. I got dressed and decide to go to the front desk at my hotel to see if they could provide me with the bus number that would bring me to old San Juan. I was directed to speak with the person that I believe was in charge of guest services. He provided me with the places to go and a map of the area. I was traveling with a super small cross body and decided to hold the map and brochure of the museum in my hands. I went back to the front due to needing exact change to take the bus. The young lady at the front desk was super sweet and exchanged $2.00 in charge for me. I headed to the bus stop which the guest services' person stated was on the same side as the hotel, and a couple of buildings down. To my surprise, I met several other travelers who were headed to old San Juan as well. I was told that there are two buses. One that comes every 30 minutes and another that comes every 45 minutes. While I was waiting, I met an older couple who were in route to the mall. I looked on my map and couldn’t find it for them to try and figure out what bus they would take. They stated that they were going to wait for the bus and were going to ask the bus driver. I was looking forward to the response from the driver because I wanted to go to the mall as well. It was past 10:30 am, and the bus still didn’t arrive. I saw the same number bus pass by on the opposite side of the street and figured that the bus had to turn around to pick us up. The bus arrived past 10:45 and I was in route to Old San Juan. I didn’t time the bus ride. However, it felt as if it took close to an hour. It was nice to travel through the town and see the different types of businesses, schools, and homes.




















Upon arriving at the bus station, I decided to just walk in figure out the destination. I noticed several cruise ships parked at the pier in old San Juan. Which was really nice because I've never seen a cruise ship close up. As I walked, I noticed how beautiful the area was. Most of the buildings were various colors and had a uniqueness about them. I also noticed the heavy police presence. It was pretty much an officer on every other block. I was also surprised at how many female police officers I saw. Back at home don't see as many female police officers. I found myself trying to figure out where I was at based on the map. I wanted to follow the path I was given at the hotel. However, I found myself just walking up this very steep street. This street was not busy with tourist. I wasn’t sure if I was going the right way and at times really didn’t care. At the end of the steep hill, I found myself looking at the National Monument in Old San Juan and decided to explore.

From My Lens (part one here)