Carnival Pride Experience: My Third Cruise

Okay,

As you may remember, I said this summer was going to be full of adventure. So far it's turning out to be so much more than I imagined possible. Recently, I returned home from a wonderful cruise to the Bahamas; this one was my third cruise. What made this one so unique, you may ask? Well, for one this was going to be my first cruise without my parents - I invited a college friend, Bethann Bennett instead. This allowed us with a very unique opportunity. Not only could we spend some quality "girl" time together; but my parents were given the chance to go on a vacation by themselves, which they haven't been able to do in a long time.

So it was settled... We would travel the Bahamas on the wonderful cruise ship Carnival Pride and they would travel to Alaska. Looking back, I can't believe the irony of it all. Bethann (“BA”) arrived in Virginia on Wednesday, July 1 to ensure that last-minute preparations went smoothly. We spent the next day shopping for last-minute supplies as well as looking at bridesmaids dresses for Bethann's November wedding.

On Friday, July 3rd, we traveled to the Port in Baltimore to catch the Carnival cruise ship “Carnival Pride”, which we lovingly called "a floating hotel" for the next few days. Being a former cruiser, I was amazed at the improvements the ship had made .Pride was much more accessible than all the others - I could actually turn my wheelchair around in the bathroom! After settling in, we did a little shopping on board and enjoyed The Carnival's opening show, which included songs with the word "fun" in them. This show is unique to Carnival because they are known as The Fun Ships. As we exited the Chesapeake Bay, you could see blasts of color in the distance. What a wonderful way to start the best vacation of our lives! The dinner was great, and we had the melting chocolate cake . We went to see the opening show in the evening; it was GREAT as always.

Saturday the Fourth of July was another day of calm seas and beautiful weather. I went shopping and got gifts for my nieces, Elizabeth and Rebekah! We enjoyed the day sunbathing on the deck and relaxing. The PRIDE is THE PLACE to be with a wheelchair. Our cabin was amazing, much more accessible than the cabins on my earlier cruises. We began getting to know the nice staff and shipmates. Tonight we listened to some karaoke and I actually got BA to go up to sing -- the only catch was I had to sing with her (I hope you dance - LeAnn Womack). And the lovely Donna from London was the karaoke hostess. It was also formal night and we got some nice pictures taken, including a picture of us with the American Flag for the Fourth!

Sunday July 5th was our 2nd day at sea, and we got to know more people and had a relaxing day at sea. Each day we would email my parents in Alaska and they would tell us about their adventures, and we would tell them about our adventures on the ship – the wonderful Internet.

Monday July 6th we landed at the Port of Canaveral for our shore excursion – but it did not go as smoothly as planned. We had to get up way early to leave at 9:30 am, and that was hard because we stayed on deck Sunday evening until 11:30 doing the Congo line. Then, the excursion company did not have a handicap accessible bus when we got ashore! So they quickly called aup another bus and we made it to the excursion – a canal boat trip, but a little late. We got back to the ship and set sail for Nassau Bahamas!!!!! I sang Karaoke on Monday night again. I think it is in my blood now. I even got an encore performance on Lido desk singing with my IPod! Go figure...not sure how that happened!

Tuesday July 7th – We went ashore (in spite of too many people blocking the stairways) and since I realized this was the trip of the lifetime, I had a HUGE shopping day in Nassau!!!! I got some great deals and tips from Luigi (the Cruise ship’s professional shopping counselor). We shopped at Del Sol for changing color shirts, then on to Diamond International, where I bought some wonderful jewelry. We came back aboard and went to the pool; it was neat. We were both really, really tired; so we relaxed watching a movie in our room and eating pizza.

Wednesday July 8th – was ANOTHER busy day. We went ashore at Freeport. Unfortunately we we're able to access the Caribbean beaches. But we could go shopping and shop I did! I bought a few more things, and ran out of cash. I am trying to make the best of my last days here. But I have to say that THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

Thursday, July 9th – was our last day sea and it is was much more windy and choppy than usual. We spent the day relaxing and catching some sun. We have taken a lot of photos. Including some wonderful sunsets! This has been a vacation of a lifetime for both of us !

Friday, July 10th we arrived back at the Port of Baltimore and my dad met us and took us back to our home. BA and I unpacked our souvenirs and BA began a scrapbook while I place pictures on my FaceBook page.