Wanderlust Wednesday: Carnival Victory Recap Round 1: The Ship

Like I mentioned yesterday, we are back from a wonderful vacation. I was really struggling through the work weeks and this vacation was so refreshing and fun! We turned our phones/ computers off for 5 days straight and I am feeling so rejuvenated!

We love to cruise. We went on a Royal Caribbean cruise last September for 3 days and I have been on a few prior Carnival cruises with friends. I will do a whole post if you are interested in what I think the differences of these two lines are and I would love your input on any other lines you have tried! We want to go on an Alaskan cruise next so tell me all the inside info on those too!

We took the Carnival Victory out of Miami to Grand Cayman, BWI and Ochos Rios, Jamaica. I was a little disappointed because we had our excursions all booked and ready for Montego Bay, Jamaica and at the last minute Carnival had to change the itinerary. Unfortunately they did not have the exact same excursions at the new port but we had a blast regardless. Really, how disappointed can you be when going to Jamaica?!

The thing I love about the Carnival fleet is the dedicated activity areas in the boat. There is a full time piano bar, a karaoke lounge, a theater, a comedy club, arcade, casino, a nightclub etc. This makes it so you can get a quick familiarity with the ship and always knows where to find the activities.  The inside of the ships always give off a Las Vegas vibe and they are so fun.

We like to board the boat early, take advantage of the lunch buffet and explore the boat to get our bearings. Which is just what we did on the Victory. It doesn't hurt to give yourself some extra time for the pre-sail away nap either ;)

This is outside of the comedy club..see what I mean about the Vegas vibe?

I took several pictures of the inside of the ship to share with you all. The Victory was very well kept and felt very modern in the common areas. As with all ships I have been on, the rooms were pretty dated (re: pink tile in the bathroom and quilted bed linens I think my grandmother used to have in the 80s) but I have all the room details for another post.

This ritzy little area was a cute dessert, gelato and specialty coffee bar. The items here were not part of the inclusive package but the decor was so adorable. We didn't try any of these items because Carnival has the BEST chocolate melting cake you could ask for and naturally we were full from that every night.

This photo and the one below are both of the comedy club. Carnival did host other events in this area but every night, without fail, you knew where the comedy show would be. Carnival teams with George Lopez to bring the funniest comedians on the ship. We were in tears each night and took in 4 comedy shows on the 5 day cruise. We were fortunate that the comedians switched at the second port so there was plenty of fresh material to go around. Carnival offers family friendly shows during the day and adult comedy shows later in the evening. People were lined up about 30 minutes early each night to get a seat because these shows were so good. We got there pretty early which is how I snapped these pictures with an empty room. 

 This gives you an idea of the entire room for the comedy club.

 Outside the casino the Victory had this neat bar. It was really spacious and there is a piano/band playing out there too, essentially all your grown up needs in one compact area. I love the decor, it makes for such a fun, carefree atmosphere.

This lounge was mainly for karaoke. They also hosted various events during the day in this room such as an island shopping seminar. Carnival will provide you with a map of all the recommended shopping and they even have a dedicated shopping "expert" to take you around if you need help negotiating or finding your way.

One of my favorite things in life are piano bars. Dueling piano bars even more so. I think they are so fun and no one can possibly have a bad or boring time at one. This piano bar was lively almost every night we were on the ship. It is hard to tell from the photo but the actual bar is shaped like a piano and they have seats all around for patrons and the musician sits in the center. I loved this and each Carnival ship I have been on has had a dedicated piano bar. 

Overall the Victory felt very updated, clean and fun. I know cruising is not for everyone but it is such a relaxing vacation and we had the best time. I love that all of these activities are on the boat and you can just wander from one to the next without much effort. The added bonus is that if you need to stop "home" to change your shoes or your dinner outfit, it is absolutely no problem. Carnival puts on quite a fun show, lots of family friendly activity with a side of the typical American spring break experience. The ships are exciting and they make the activities very accessible. I give major credit to the cruise director because I determined he likely gets zero sleep and puts on quite a performance each day!

Check back next week for more on the food, rooms, excursions, and ports of call!

Have you taken a Carnival cruise? What did you think?

Wanderlust Wednesday: Bucket List Edition

I love traveling. Growing up we moved all over North America and my dad traveled all the time for work. A 3 year old me once infamously asked how many suitcases I could bring on the plane for vacation and to my horror I was told we were driving. I couldn't comprehend we would actually be going someplace in driving distance. That is likely when the monster love of travel was born.

[a dreary day in Stockholm (My favorite city!)]

In college I was fortunate enough to spend a summer studying in Luxembourg. I was even more fortunate that my best friend and I lived with the same host family. This is before the days of anyone saying YOLO but that was in fact our unofficial mindset. We purchased some Eurail passes and made the most of that summer, hopping on a train after class on Thursday and not returning until Sunday evening. We once paid 17 cents for a flight to Venice for the weekend! (thanks to the fabulous tip from our host brother and Ryanair) with taxes that 17 cents turned into a whopping $34 dollars. Perhaps my only regret is not spending more time in Luxembourg or maybe that I could not convince 19 year old me that spending an entire year or semester abroad was a good idea.

[The key to European budget travel: Ryanair]

In law school I focused on getting in all the required classes and much to my surprise when my third year rolled around I was largely done. A few requirements remained but nothing I needed to fit in while in Florida. With that realization, I quickly applied to spend the Autumn in London and off I went. This time I was much more torn as I was in the midst of falling in love and had to adamantly insist I was leaving for 5 months. Thank goodness for Skype and AT&T having an international texting plan! All that aside, I once again made the most of this experience. I traveled as much as possible, even though being in the UK and not mainland Europe certainly presented less opportunity to jet set than during my days in Lux.  I really immersed myself in London, took every local day trip, wandered around the city, interned for a local non-profit, learned the bus system like the back of my hand, and it really felt like home. I often crave being in that city to the point where I remember exactly how it feels.

[London-isn't she beautiful?!]

And this is where the Wanderlust comes from. I love to travel, see new places, meet new people, do things that I would not ordinarily do, gain a new perspective, and really take it all in. Studying abroad has given me the urge to travel to more exotic destinations and a never ending bucket list. Here are my top 10 travel-inspired bucket list items:

1. Ride an elephant in Thailand
2. See the Northern and Southern Lights
3. Stay in an ice hotel 
4. Drive across the Bosphorus Bridge (from Europe to Asia)
5. Cruise Alaska
6. Sail the Greek Islands
7. Set foot on every continent
8. Go on Safari in Africa
9. Cruise the Mediterranean
10. Climb the Great Wall

Do you love to travel? What is on your bucket list?

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