So we went on a cruise…

Recently in Feb 2011 we went on a cruise. Kairavi had the week off and considering a variety of other factors including the cheap deal that we were getting going on a cruise seemed to make the most sense. We were joined by Nitul’s family. Since much of KV has still to experience a Cruise experience decided to document it here so that it can be useful to others. I know we had a Cruise thread in 2008 where we said we will do a KV cruise but as I said a whole variety of factors were in play here. Hopefully one day in future KV can organize a Cruise Outing.

Booking the Cruise:
We took the Carnival Paradise cruise from Long Beach in Los Angeles. It was a 4 night cruise (Departing Monday and Arriving Back Fri morning). We booked the tickets thru the cruise line’s website (www.carnival.com) directly. We got a great deal. 194$ per person for the whole trip. We did not opt for the option whereby you can choose your own room. If you choose that option that you have to pay a bit more. We also did not take the ocean view room. Ocean view rooms cost more than rooms without any windows. It worked out just fine since we were hardly in the room for long time except to sleep.

Something else about the rooms. Rooms in upper levels and towards front of ship cost more. We were in lower level and towards back of the ship. We did not mind it as long as we were getting a good deal. In the end it worked out all fine. There are many elevators and going from 5th floor to 10th (deck of the ship) was usually no problem.

Boarding:
Though the ship departs on Monday at around 5pm, Boarding starts from Monday morning itself. So you can target to be at the Dock around 10 am or so. Parking is available in the parking structure next to Dock for 15$ / day. They have helpers in the garage itself who will take your bags for you so that you are free from that point onwards. Be sure to print out the boarding passes + luggage passes at home and attach the luggage passes to your luggage. You will get your luggage outside your room at around 3 pm.

There is a ship Queen Mary which is stationed permanently at the Dock. They allow you to tour the engine room of that ship and it is a nice experience. The Check-in Counter for Early Check-In is also situated in Queen Mary. The checkin procedure is a breeze if you go early. Once you tour Queen Mary then you can proceed to board your ship.

First Impressions
Upon boarding the ship we were just amazed by the internals of ship. The 13 levels, the grand atrium, the water slide, the deck etc. We headed straight for the deck where buffet lunch was being served. We did not goto the rooms upon boarding since our luggage would not have arrived anyway. The buffet lunch was served both outside on the deck and inside in the shaded restaurant. Lot of variety in food. Soda is not free. But Lemonade and hot chocolate are free all the time.

The Deck of Our Ship – Carnival Paradise

After having lunch we explored the ship a bit and got ourselves familiarized. They had a mandatory session for everyone in different parts of the ship at around 2pm where they told us about safety and evacuation. They did a mock drill and led us to the place that we would need to assemble. We went to see our rooms at around 4pm and our luggage had arrived by then. The Kids immediately changed into their swim wear in preparation for a dip in the pool and water slide.

Our Room

The Water Slide

Since we went in Feb, the water temp was cold. They use processed sea water in the pool. So its a bit salty. But the kids were brave and they did the water slide and post sliding they went into the warm jacuzzi nearby to regain warmth and then went down slide again. :-). The Ship had a pool on upper levels too and couple of more jacuzzis around the ship some of them for adults only.

Kids Care
For the Kids they run a Camp Carnival where the kids can be dropped off. They will do various activities with the kids. Legos, PS2 games, etc are also available for Kids to play. Plus they show movies also to kids. DayCare is free till 10pm. After 10pm they have some charges. Also DayCare is not open the whole day but in specific time slots. They have different rooms for different age groups. If you are going in a group you can sign up to pick up each other’s kids. It saves on time.

Activities
Every day you will get a newsletter in your room which gives the schedule of activities for next day. That way you can plan out your next day. They have classes, shows, contests, etc going on all the time. And its not possible to attend everything. So plan it out. Some shows (like some comedy shows) are for adults only. They have Broadway type musicals. And those are absolute must-see. Dont miss them. Kids can see those too.
Nitul and Rashi won prizes in contests. Dimple and the Kids attended a dance class where they taught how to dance in 70s style. We all attended a session where they showed how to make animals from towels. In short don’t be lazy and be active. 🙂

Watching a Show from our booth

Excursions – Catalina Island
On Tuesday the ship had halt at Catalina Island. They have boat shuttles running between the ship and Catalina Island. We spent 3 hours at Catalina Island and walked around a bit and had fun on the beach. Since you will be out of the ship, you may want to pack some sandwich and fruits with you on the ship. You can do so during breakfast time. So that you can snack on Catalina Island.

On Catalina we took a tour on a boat with partly glass bottom floor thru which you can see fishes and feed them. This experience was ok and can be skipped. You have to pay for the boat ride of course.

Excursions – Ensanada, Mexico
On Wedneday the ship had halt at Ensanada, Mexico. Here we could walk out from ship directly to land. About 20 miles from the port there is a famous blowhole which everyone visits. Instead of booking transportation from within the ship we opted to book our own transportation to the blowhole after getting down from the ship. There were taxis outside the port and they were willing to negotiate on the price. For 50$, a person agreed to take 8 of us in a van to the blowhole, wait there for 2 hours and then drop us back.

The path to the blowhole goes thru a flea market. It felt like being back in Bombay Fashion Street where the vendors try to get you into the store and haggle with you on prices. They know a bit of Hindi too. :-). The blowhole itself was ok. You can expect to spend around 30 mins at the blowhole itself. Water gushing out from holes in the rock.

Dont miss the authentic Pina Colada in the flea market at any store. It was yummy and served in a pine apple. If you want to buy anything, negotiate a big drop in the quoted price. (50-75%)

The ship’s halt in Mexico was till 10.30 in the night. So you have plenty of time as such but we were back in ship by 4 or 5pm.

A day on the Sea
On Thursday we had no halt and the whole day was just on ship. We did various activities on the ship itself. They have mini golf on top level, table tennis tables, a library, some board games, jogging track, Casino, etc.

Food
Food is plenty on the ship and FREE as you must have heard from various sources. At any time of the day there will be something to eat. Hog on hot choclate and ice cream all you want. Lunches were buffet type with some standard things and some variations each day. Dinners were more formal and yummy. We chose the formal dining option. Which means that we would have a table reserved for us in a restaurant at a specific time. It would also be the same table every night and same waiter too. WE had asked for Indian Dinner and we got a different indian dinner every night. You can also make requests to the chef in advance in case of special requests like Jain Food. We had ordered Jain food for Nitul and the chef made it every night. You can also order from the menu though the choice is limited.

Breakfast had everything that you can imagine of course. :-). And they had special dessert nights where they made special desserts around 11pm.

Dinner at Fixed Table Every Night

Disembarking
On Friday morning you can choose the option to keep your bags outside your room and they will pick it up for you and give it back at baggage claim. We were out of the ship by around 11 am on Friday.

Other Miscellaneous
1) We took sea sick tablets with us but did not need to take them.

2) There is a mandatory tip that is included in your charges. Its 10$ / per day / per person. So 40$ in total for a person. So total cost to us was 200$ (cruise) + 40$ (tip) = 240$ / person.

3) One night during your stay will be designated the Ship Elegant Night. During which everyone will wear Formals to Dinner. All rest of the time you can wear informals.

4) The rooms though small were nice and comfortable. They had TV in the room. And one plug point too. During evening they will come and open the bunk beds for the kids and during morning they will come and close them.

5) They will keep replaying some events on ship on the TV. Also the TV will have some informative channels which tell you about the ship details.

6) I would suggest that you go with at least one other family rather than just your own family.

7) There is no free wifi on the ship. If you have to access internet they have computers but the charges are high

8) Also dont try to use your phone while sailing. Different cellular rates apply.

In the end, the cruise was one of best vacations we had. And I am looking forward to doing more in the future. 🙂

Playing Mini Golf at Top Level

Taking a Dance Class

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