It's time to share some of the pictures I took on my virginal cruise trip last month, as well as my thoughts on the overall experience. So here goes.
Since resuming the FIFO life in my current job, I’ve been flying so much for work. I’ve also not travelled since COVID started, so it was very strange to be on a flight that’s not work-related. This was a quick snap as I waited to board.
I was on the Carnival Splendor and that was one of the smaller cruise ships as it was not a long trip. Still, the vessel was huge when I saw it up close. I wonder how it compared to the Titanic in terms of size. I was supposed to take a PCR test before boarding but I didn’t and managed to bluff my way through. So much for being COVID-safe.
This was the view from the balcony in my room. Rooms with a balcony are more expensive and for good reason. I peeked at one of the rooms without a window and it was bad. Then I saw another tiny room that housed four with two on pull-down rickety bunk beds. It was like a prison cell! I was so thankful for being in a much better room.
While waiting for the ship to sail, I went all noob-tourist and snapped up pictures of my room and the harbour view. I didn’t expect my room to be this big. Frankly, I didn’t have many expectations at all before the trip which I find is the best way to get into a new experience. Could you sense my excitement from the picture?
According to some who have gone on many Carnival cruises, the food quality has dropped compared to pre-COVID days. I guess the industry suffered greatly from the pandemic and they must be cutting costs to recoup their losses. Some meals were sub-par, but I think they were acceptable overall. Here’s a collage of the dinners at the Golden Pearl Restaurant. There were two dinner time slots to choose from and those on the earlier one would surely feel hungry if they were staying up late (e.g. if they were attending dance parties). The only food that was available throughout the night was pizza and there was always a long queue for it. When one’s hungry, the pizza does taste pretty good!
I guess this view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge must be one of the major highlights for the passengers as the ship set off because one could only see the landmarks from this angle and at this height on a cruise. I lived in Sydney for four years so this did not do much for me, but you can’t deny that this sight must have been extremely impressive to many on board.
How can I give up the opportunity to flex it up? This was taken on my balcony when we finally hit open water. The sea was still calm then, but the waves did get choppy at times. It sure felt strange walking on a moving vessel and sometimes I needed to stop for a second to regain my balance.
It was Mother’s Day that weekend and here was the cake that they put up to celebrate the event in front of the open pool. If only it was warmer, I could have swum but the weather wasn’t that suitable for it, plus there were LOTS of kids and families which really turned me off. The next cruise I go on could very well be one that ban kids.
Can you believe this is food for one? That was how much I took from the lunch buffet, but I definitely didn’t eat it all. It was pandemonium during the lunch time rush and there were SO many people. I was totally shocked when I saw the crowds for the first time (there were 3,000 on board!). The frustrating thing was you had to queue up at various stations to get different kinds of food (e.g. Indian, roast, burger, etc.). Why can’t they just have everything at one location? There were lots of Indians on board (weirdly so) which explained the standalone Indian section of the buffet.
The service on board was good and this was one of the cute towel animals they put on the bed every time they made it. I guess the service must be good to balance the “hard sell” tactic they used in everything. There was a base layer and then everything else was an add-on at extra charge (e.g. the use of the gym was free but you had to pay for the jacuzzi). Luckily, I had a drinks package, otherwise the final drinks tab would be monumental! I was also hoping there were more shops on board but there weren’t many–they were selling boring touristy things anyway.
It was certainly windy and chilly on the deck even in bright daylight and I must be one of the unusual ones getting topless (perhaps the only one even and I did love the attention 😊). I just couldn’t help myself! And one more gun show wouldn’t hurt right?
This was a cruise that went nowhere, and this was the route that was taken. Strict rules were observed in serving alcohol and operating the casino i.e. they could only do that in open water. In my opinion, the company must have already recouped all costs from a single night of operating the casino! In addition to the “no kids” rule, the next cruise I’d take would be one that actually goes somewhere, and that you get to disembark and visit a new land. Otherwise, you’re just stuck on board and there are only so much to do other than watching shows (cabaret and stand up), line-dancing (there was lots of it) or karaoke.
A shot of the breakfasts. I remember a cute gay couple beside my table during one of the breakfasts and they were being discreet but anyone with a gaydar could tell. There were many hot Lebanese but sadly all of them were either straight or with wife and kids. There were regular LGBTQ+ mixers but I dropped iny one or two of them and no one piqued my interest.
Here are two staff members I interacted with the most. The top guy was the Serbian maître d at the Restaurant and was quite cute and tall. The bottom guy was the DJ for the many karaoke sessions I sang at. There were not many things that interested me, so I went for every karaoke event and did two to three numbers at each one. To me, that was a performance, not karaoke, and I cherish every opportunity to sing in front of an audience. I shared one of the clips I recorded last month in this entry and will be posting more over the coming months. I actually had my own fan club following me around–they were elderly ladies and I called them “The Golden Girls”.
This is my current Whatsapp profile pic (the right shot) as I really like it. This is the picture that crystallises my memory of the first-ever cruise I took. I had a good time and most importantly, the experience didn’t scar me and cruising is something that I’d definitely do again (no, not the sex kind! 😜).
