After a quick jaunt through the cruise terminal, we seemed to go through a maze of ramps until FINALLY we stepped onto the 3rd level of the Carnival Liberty. With 14 floors to explore over our quick three day adventure, we quickly put our luggage into our staterooms before starting our exploration of our "boatel". As customary for Carnival cruises, the ship's crew hosts a "Sail Away" party once the cruise ship leaves the port featuring music, dance competitions and beautiful scenery as you watch the ship leave port; we of course attended as it was our very first! Watching the view from the eleventh floor it was breathtaking seeing the land get lost in the horizon and looking onto the sun-kissed waters off of the Florida coast. Following the sail away party, each muster station reported to their assigned area to discuss the emergency evacuation procedures, and then we were free to roam the ship!
One advantage to cruising with Carnival Cruise Lines is their Hub App. Each evening, the following day's itinerary is given, along with any other ship notifications for that day. However, if you do not wish to carry around the papers, or you forget them in your state room, the hub app is free to download on any smartphone or mobile device. The Carnival Hub contains the daily itineraries and also offers event reminders and chat sessions available for those cruising within your group. With the hub app downloaded we quickly began filling our itineraries for the remainder of day 1 and then onto filling our bellies with the delicious food available to us. Whilst there are a few dining areas that require additional cost, most of Carnival's cuisine is free of charge. The lido deck is where you will find the largest array of their vast spread of fantastic food, however, the main dining rooms are located a few floors lower on the ship along with various other restaurants and snack shops. Carnival's lido deck is essentially an all you can eat buffet and is open most of the time on the ship. This is where we typically ate our breakfast, lunch and snacks while on the ship. The main dining hall is where we attended our dinners. Our group chose early dining and ate dinner each evening at 6pm. Besides offering delicious meals, we always received service with a smile. If you choose to eat at their main dining, you will be sat at the same table each night with the same dining team, so after day 1 you can always be sure of where you'll be going and who you'll be with.
Following our meal, we chose to go to Carnivals' Dive In Theater. On the lido deck where Carnival held their Sail Away party, the ship has a large screen, a few restaurants and bars and a pool. The screen typically boasts announcements or features filmed activities on the ship (ie the morning show), however, each evening this screen shows pre-selected movies for Carnival's guests to enjoy. You can view these movies in the deck chairs available from the 10th-12th floor, or you can view them from inside of the pool! The girls and I chose to watch Pitch Perfect 3 following dinner, and Elizabeth and I enjoyed the whole movie from inside of the pool, with Courtney and Allison sitting close by in their chosen pool chairs. As the movie came to an end, I reflected on what a great time we'd had so far. From our stops in Nashville and Atlanta, to our first full day on the ship, what a great time we'd already had. And this was only the beginning.
As our ship mates moseyed on to their rooms, I sat in the pool and took a good look around.
It seemed surreal, I was in a pool, on a ship, in the middle of the ocean, traveling to a new place with some of my best friends. This was happiness. I couldn't help but look at the stars and feel content and excited for what tomorrow would bring. After all, this was only the beginning. As I laid down in my stateroom to sleep for the night, I couldn't help but grin. By the time I awoke, I would be in the Bahamas. I eagerly drifted into sleep, rocked smoothly by our ships onward motion towards a new day and a new destination.
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