Cruise Line: Carnival
Sailing Date: December 29th, 2002

Embarkation: That was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. The only complaint I have is they will not take a hospital issued birth certificate! It has a seal and two original signatures on it but it is not good enough for them I guess.

We got on the boat probably around noon. We went to our room first. Since the boat was built in 1990 of course it was a little out dated. We had an inside cabin. The room was a little small but all you are really using it for is sleeping and showering so that was no biggie. Next time I will have to have a window though. In the mornings it really does not feel like morning without that sun coming through.

The boat: After reading lots and lots of bad reviews I was expecting the worst. Surprisingly it was not half as bad as people made it out to be. Like I said before the boat was built in 1990 so it is going to look a little outdated but other than that it was wonderful. The activities on the boat were loads of fun. The Vegas style shows were awesome! You could tell they really worked hard to make that great. The Woman singer was fantastic! She had a range from as low as a woman can go to as high as a woman can go! I only went to one of the "seated" dinners. The food was ok to me. I really don't care for weird foods so that was not my thing. We just ate at the buffets. The buffets were great for me. Almost every morning we would order room service for breakfast. That was good because it was free!

Freeport: There was not really anything to do in Freeport. As soon as you get off the boat there is a straw market with maybe 5 stores and women begging you to let them braid your hair. We took a cab to a beach. I forget the name of it but it was really nice. The cab was $5.00 a person one way. It was about a 45 minute drive. There is a huge straw market there and a great beach to lay on.

Nassau: We took a tour with the boat to the Blue Lagoon. That was the best part of the trip! On the way there we took a ferry with live music and free alcoholic drinks. It was probably an hour ride to the lagoon. Once we got there it looked like paradise! The water was crystal clear no waves no hotels, just wonderful. The island only had one gift shop, one bar, bathrooms and a place to eat. Lots of hammocks under palm trees. We stayed there from around 10 am to 2 pm. Once we got back to the boat we decided to check out Atlantis. That was also amazing! Only thing is if you want to see the aquarium you have to go with the tour or have a room key to the hotel or they will not let you in. The casino was bigger than anything I have ever seen! The agriculture detail to the whole hotel was beyond imagination. If you were staying in that hotel you would never have to leave. It has everything! You can pull your yacht up to it. There is a mini mall in it restaurants, gift shops, casino, ice-cream store if you need it, it's there!

Overall this was a great experience! I don't know if I personally will go on a cruise again. It was loads of fun but the cruise is just not my thing.