Cowles Clarissa is getting ready to go to bed!
Carnival Cruise Line — 14 hours ago
Worth doing!
Jonathan, Hallie, and I went on a Carnival Cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. We left on Friday and came back on Monday. This has been on my goal list for 2 years and it is finally done by the help of
Kathy Brown
Personal Vacation Planner
1-800-819-3902 Ext. 82422
KBrown@carnivalpvp.com
I knew NOTHING about how to go about planning a cruise. If you need individual attention, you should call Kathy Brown from Carnival Cruise Lines. She took care of EVERYTHING. All we had to do was show up at the port in LA. Kathy was so nice and honest about everything about the cruise. She prepared the kids and me for what to expect.
We had a great time! We went on an excursion to Fox Studios in Esenada. Jonathan, the Titanic fanatic, was able to see the set of Titanic. Hallie and Jonathan both had their faces done by a make up artist. They looked like they had been in a bad bike wreck or something…with bruising, blood, bloody skinned places. When we went back on board the ship, one of the crew tried to take Jonathan to the nurse, it looked so real.
The kids loved Camp Carnival. Hallie did a Build a Bear type activity where she stuffed a dog and chose clothing for it. It is a black dog that is dressed like a bumble bee. His name is Bumble. She also colored a Carnival Cruise t-shirt. Plus they had dinner parties together, went swimming etc. It was all good. Jonathan won a medal for a Dress the Contestant game in his age division. They gave the kids a list of things they had to wear. Jonathan, with the help of a few teenage girls, got everything on the list and won.
Nothing could have prepared me for how huge the ship was! It is the size of 3 football fields and as tall as the Statue of Liberty. The elevator goes to the 12th floor, then there are actually two more decks that you can take the stairs up to. So I assume it is 14 stories high, give or take.
Hallie and I saw 4-5 whales too!! It was so cool, we were just walking by a window to the restaurant and I saw the water going up in the air from the blow hole. We stopped and watched and there were a few whales. We had gone whale watching before in San Pedro, but this was totally by surprise. We were the only ones on our deck watching them, which made it a special Mommy & Hallie moment.
The kids enjoyed the free room service that is included in your ticket price. They got spoiled to getting to have cheese cake at midnight. No kidding they ordered every night….I did too. :)
I met a female friend named Noel the last night, she lives in California, I hope to keep in touch with her.
What I would change about the trip…
1. I would have taken a friend.
The kids were so busy doing their stuff I was left alone a lot, which can be nice. If you are married and want time alone, this is the place to go because the kids don’t want to be with you, they want to be at Camp Carnival with their friends.
2. I would have made up my own room. I did not realize that there was a $30 fee per day for the room service in addition to your ticket price. So I had a $90 bill for making up our beds, which I could have done. Live and learn. If you are on a budget, just make up your own bed and save $30 a day, I’m just saying.
3. Dress for the Formal Night. We did not and I regret it so very much, because they have photographers there etc. Some people wore suits and ties and others wore tuxes. They look awesome and I wish I had participated. I hated the idea of having to pack all the extra clothing and shoes for formal night. If I could do it again, I would pack that suitcase a week in advance so the stress of getting it together at the last moment would not make you want to give up on the idea altogether.
It was a great experience. Buy the insurance, too. I almost had to cancel at the last moment. Again if you want a real person to help you and not just a website call
Kathy Brown
Personal Vacation Planner
1-800-819-3902 Ext. 82422
KBrown@carnivalpvp.com









