2006 Major Event #1 - Carnival Cruise

I haven’t dedicated much time to the blog in the past couple of weeks because I have been tied up with remodeling my new place, but as promised I wanted to recap 2006, so here is the first significant event that happened in 2006. My first official Carnival cruise, there is so much to write about it, but I am going to try to keep it short and sweet just like the way I like my girls, hahaha :)

In the summer of 2006 one my friends from work invited me to go on a cruise with his wife and her family. I have never been on a cruise before so it definitely sounded like a fun adventure and yet another thing to check off from my huge “Life’s To Do List”. We needed to have a group of four people, so a recklessly entertaining group of 4 cool people was automatically formed, Andrey, Katy, Paul and Calin. Living in a small cabin and trying to get along for a week in itself was an interesting challenge and experience ahead of us. We were set to sail on January 1, 2006.

Sometime in December there was some minor drama that took place in the tight friendship triangle that we run, and honestly I was up in the air about going and dealing with the shit for a week. However, I wasn’t going to let some minor static come in between a great possibility to bond and have fun together, so us being the mature adults that we are, we worked it out. We took off to Ft. Lauderdale on New Year’s weekend. We were down there the whole weekend hanging out at the beach and the hot tubs, bike riding, going to bars and restaurants. To cap it off we had an awesome New Year’s celebration in several of the night clubs right after a delicious Cajun dinner

On Sunday we boarded the ship. And when we got close to it, the ship was just ridiculously immense. It was like a city on water. I was like how the hell did they build this thing?! The first couple of days were confusing and getting lost was not a hard task to accomplish. Once I picked out my popular spots and studied the map, things got easier. While at sea, I pretty much just chilled to my maximum capacity, by eating scrumptious and various breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes, laying out in the sun, gambling, getting massages, hitting up the gym, the sauna, the hot tubs, the steam room, drinking, watching Texas beat USC in the middle of the Atlantic ocean while sipping on a strawberry daiquiri, enjoying the gorgeous sunset and ocean views. There was no limit to the relaxation and the food we ate. At night it was a bit creepy looking out in the ocean in the pitch dark, at times wondering what would happen if I jumped overboard.

Our stops were in Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and Montego Bay. In Bahamas we laid out on the beach and played volleyball with the locals and tourists. In Grand Cayman I got to pet some sting rays while walking around in the middle of the ocean and hit the waves on a jet ski. In Montego Bay I drank cheap beer, tore up the waves in a sick ass wave runner, and refrained from purchasing the numerous drugs that were offered to me. Montego Bay was a bit dirty, but I still managed to have fun and bring back some fine Jamaican rum. We also did some sight seeing and visited different shops on all of of our stops. At night we committed gluttony to royal dinners with limitless appetizers, entrees, and deserts. Then it was either of to disco, drinking, cigar lounging or just hanging out.

Overall it was probably the most relaxing vacation I have ever had and was the first vacation where I went with my friends. It was definitely an exciting experience living together in a small ass room, bonding on the ship, spending time together, and just enjoying ourselves with as little drama as possible. Next time I will probably bring some walk talkies so it easier to find people. I would definitely recommend a cruise as must for anyone who has never been on one. I am hoping to go for another one in 2008.