I’m back home from our 10-day cruise aboard the Carnival Splendor! I wrote these posts along the way, usually at night before going to bed, so they’re written as though I’m still on the ship. I’m just a little behind on actually posting them, since we had limited internet while we were away.
We woke up this morning to grey skies and some pretty choppy seas. But I’m happy to report that I slept pretty well!
When I sleep, I need some weight on me, and normally in hotels they either give you crappy sheets and barely a blanket, or… nope, that’s usually about it. Surprisingly, Carnival provide sheets and a really fluffy doona, so I slept really well! I thought the rocking would get to me, but once I closed my eyes I passed out pretty quickly, and slept the whole way through.
Surprisingly, I even woke up before the little dude. The sofa converted into a single bed for him, which he reported was incredibly comfortable. He’s a long kid, and had a ton of room, so that was awesome.
We had told the rest of our family the previous night that because we were early risers, we would just grab breakfast whenever, rather than wait for them. At home we normally eat breakfast somewhere between 5.30 – 6.00 am, whereas on the ship the breakfast buffet didn’t open until 7.
As soon as it opened, we made our way there. L was stoked to find bagels there, and immediately made a peanut butter bagel to eat. Meanwhile, my husband’s first plate (yep, first) looked like a bowl of hollandaise sauce with a side of egg, bacon and a croissant. I ended up having some scrambled eggs, ham, and a piece of toast, and then a danish on the side.
I will admit I didn’t love the buffet options for brekkie. They did have an Eggs Benedict on offer, but it had salmon. I don’t eat seafood, so that was a pass for me. And the rest of it catered for different cultures, which unfortunately, as much as I’ve tried, I just can’t stomach a curry for breakfast. I also have a bit of a weird rule that I don’t do salad or fruit from buffets after a food poisoning incident in Thailand many years ago. If I can order it from a restaurant, I’ll make an exception.
After breakfast, we checked out the pool deck. The glass roof was shut, which meant it stayed dry, and it was super warm. However, the pool is made from ocean water, and was freezing. That was a nope from me! It was pretty funny to watch the water sloshing from side to side from the movement of the boat too.
We also went up on the roof for a look around, and I giggled at the boys getting blown away in the wind.
L decided he wanted to go for a swim (crazy!) so while D took him, I went to our room to do our first load of laundry.
I’m going to have to give this a special shout-out in my post about what did/didn’t work for us on the cruise, but seriously, I love our Scrubba Wash Bag. It has a washboard built into it. It takes less than 10 minutes to wash your clothes, and it’s so easy. There are nearly 3,000 people on the ship, and not a lot of laundry facilities. So rather than fight for a machine and then pay extra to use it, we just packed our Scrubba bag and did it ourselves. It also meant we only had to pack enough clothes for about 4 days, rather than the entire trip. Win!
I need to give my husband a shoutout here, for re-engineering the clothesline with extra magnets to help with the sag once we hung stuff on it. The walls and ceiling of cruise ship cabins are metal, which means you can use magnets to hang stuff, and it’s so handy!
Also, my husband found our first duck!! If you’re not familiar, there’s a whole thing about hiding ducks on cruise ships. If you find one, you share a picture of it, and then you either keep it or re-hide it. Our friends had given us a bunch of ducks to hide, which we had created labels and L had named them. A lady walked next to D at the pool, placed a duck on the table next to him, winked at him and walked off. So, of course, he grabbed it.
L decided he wanted to go to the kids’ club, so after we dropped him off, D and I headed up to use the gym. It wasn’t super busy, so we were able to get in a decent strength workout. I haven’t had a gym membership since before L was born, and it felt so good to be back using the machines again. After we both got an upper body session in, D and I decided we would go and walk laps on the roof running track. For a laugh I put tracking on my watch, and thanks to the ship’s movement, clocked in 10k in 16 minutes – new personal best! 😉
We showered, and then went and collected L for some lunch. The boys were keen to try a pizza for lunch, followed by the first of likely many soft-serve ice creams for L. Then I went and stood in line for guest services for forever. We’ve booked a special birthday breakfast for L onboard (which isn’t until next week), but it was showing as 9.30am instead of 8am. We also had a behind the scenes tour for the same day, which is booked for 10am, so the later breakfast time wouldn’t work. Thankfully they were able to change it for me, though I’m still positive I had originally booked it for the right time, and somehow it got switched.
After dropping L back to kids’ club (his request!) we returned to our room briefly and were stoked to discover our first towel animal!
We met my sister and her wife in the theatre for music trivia, which was SUPER fun. Then I made D wander the halls with me, looking for ducks and just exploring what was on each level. Spoiler alert – you can look on the app to find deck maps, but that’s a bit too easy! It was really cool seeing the television with the map on it, and discovering we had basically taken a straight line into the ocean from Sydney.
We collected L from kids’ club again, had a quick dip in the hot tub (nice) and then the main pool (not nice – I left that to the boys), then we showered and got ready for dinner.
The theme for the night was Elegant Night, which meant we had to dress up. The boys wore collared shirts and formal pants, while I got even more wear out of the dress I bought earlier this year for two weddings. It’s polyester, which meant that it packs super easily and didn’t need ironing – major bonuses when travelling! I’d rushed to wash and straighten my hair, but it still ended up looking a bit shit haha.
We got our formal pictures taken on the stairs, and then headed in for yet another 3-course meal.
This time, I ordered:
- Entree: Carbonara
- Main: Chicken schnitzel (I didn’t read the menu properly, and it was literally just a schnitzel and chips, so I regretted not ordering a side of salad or veggies)
- Dessert: Another melting chocolate lava cake
They tasted great, but I really wish I had some fresh produce, boo.
Meanwhile, L was in his element and this time ordered two banana splits. *facepalm. I relented only because I figured it’s holidays, loosen the reins a little. But yeahhhh….don’t think I’ll be letting him get away with that every day!
After dinner, we watched another show, this one called “Dear Future Husband”. It’s essentially about a guy and girl who get engaged and their journey to walking down the aisle. I don’t want to come off harsh, but I’m not the biggest fan of the lead female and male singers. He gives off huge “boy-band” vibes, and both of them didn’t nail the big notes a few times. Look at me being all Simon Cowell, and I can’t exactly sing, so who am I to be judging? But there were a few of the backing singers/dancers that we really loved, and the show was fun to watch.
Finally, we’re now all in our cabin again, and getting ready for bed. D found another duck on our way back too! A cute little 3D-printed blue duck with the whale tail (our ship has a big whale tail funnel).
The little guy has his headphones on, listening to an audiobook, while reading another book, winding down before we switch the lights off. I’m really not sure how he can do both at once; I can really only focus on audiobooks when in the car or doing housework!
It’s been a monster second day at sea, and I’m ready to close my eyes. I’m still doing really well on the seasickness front. I took another Kwell today as a precaution only, as I haven’t felt nauseous at all! Tomorrow if I’m still feeling OK I think I’ll try going without for the whole day, but keep the bands on. It’s another full day at sea, but the list of activities onboard is huge, so I’m sure we aren’t going to feel bored at all. Plus, my Kindle is loaded with books and I’ve managed to smash out a bit today while sitting around the Lido deck. I’ll be happy to find some more time to read tomorrow if I can!
Now to go to bed before I fall asleep while typing and drop my phone onto my head!
