Lorene and I love to cruise. We stay ready – anywhere, any place, anytime – you ask and we are probably there. I took this particular cruise in 2012 and again in 2017. I had been thinking about it for the last few years and in early in 2024 I mentioned to Lorene that we should go. We booked that day. This is not your typical cruise and I kept mentioning this to her. She kept saying she got it but if you are a frequent cruiser taking this cruise unprepared will have you scratching your head. On the flip side, I do not recommend this cruise for a first timer. Please take a more traditional cruise to see how things are structured and then come back for this one. You will have a much more fun experience.
Roughly 80 percent of the guests come to partay! This attracts an atypical cruise guest and the random people they invite. The vibe is immediately noticeable during check-in. There is not a child in sight and most people are dressed in football jerseys or the like. We saw three or four children on the entire trip and the Waterworks water park was empty the entire time save for a few adults splashing around on their own.
The cruise visits the ports of Catalina Island and Ensenada. I’ve visited these places so many times there’s not much to see or do off the boat for me. Lorene had never been to Catalina Island so we got off, rented a golf cart and saw the sights. I was clear I wasn’t getting off in in Ensenada but I relented with the intention of grabbing a quick taco near the port and snapping a few pictures. We never did get that taco, it was too early, but we did hang out near the port for less than an hour and went back to the ship to eat lunch before we lining up to secure a seat in one of the theatres showing the game.
We rocked Salt n Pepa gear for the 80s dance party and if a costume prize was handed out, we probably would have won. Everyone loved our outfits and wanted pictures. We wore this same outfit on the New Orleans cruise we went on last year but for this cruise we added a few more accessories and coordinated the colors a bit more to really make the outfit pop. What do you think?
On the boat we saw a few shows, roamed around, shopped too much, ran into an an old friend one night and of course an ex boyfriend. He was on the other two I was on so it wasn’t a stretch betting he would probably be here. A wink or two but that was it.
We love getting to know our room attendant and dining room servers but this trip was so short, we really didn’t get the time. We made reservations for a dinner at the Steakhouse on Saturday. It was delicious and a bit more elevated than the dining room. It was my first visit to Carnival’s Steakhouse. We will definitely do it again.
We take pictures at almost all the photo set ups and right away I recognized two photographers from Liberty, the boat we took last year out of New Orleans. I asked each if they were on Liberty last year and they right away recognized us too.
This trip was just what I needed in the moment. It’s great when something you planned a year in advance turns out to be better than you anticipated.
Full pics here.