family cruising

Day 6: Aboard the Carnival Sunshine #Review

We were off the boat right at 7:00am and walking into San Juan, Puerto Rico. This day was all about celebrating our newly 11 year old. How cool is it to celebrate your birthday in Puerto Rico?

Obviously, the entire week was phenomenal but this will remain one of our favorite ports. We did the most sight-seeing at this port. There is a reason for this as San Juan has free public transportation. You can catch the public bus right in front of where you walk off the cruise boat.

We rode the bus for a little bit to just see the area and then departed the bus near the National Park Serviceâ€™s National Historic Site, Castillo San Cristobal. This fort was finished in 1783. It is the largest fort built by the Spanish in the New World. From the National Parkâ€™s website, the San Juan National Historic Site is one of the over 400 parks of the National Park Service. It is comprised of various fortifications, including Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Castillo San CristÃ³bal, most of the city walls, the San Juan Gate and Fort San Juan de la Cruz just across the entrance to the bay.

We were so thankful that the park service had preserved this so the girls, Scott, and I could enjoy this history. You couldnâ€™t get a better in real life history lesson! Did you know, the Spanish spent over 250 years fortifying the prized location of Puerto Rico, since through it, Spain controlled all access in and out of the Caribbean.

Around Old San Juan, you will find several tributes to Christopher Columbus since he is the one that discovered Puerto Rico in 1493. This girls and I had to take our picture by this particular beautiful fountain and monument in Plaza de Colon by Calle Fortaleza and San Francisco Street.

The monument of Christopher Columbus depicts him holding a flag in his left hand and a globe in the right.

After spending a great amount of time exploring Old Fort, we decided to walk through the downtown area. The roads are built with bricks. The architecture in this area was pure amazing. All the details on each building, it reminded you of indeed a Spanish town.

As we were walking, the heat was rising, so we took advantage of Starbucks. Hubby and I had been longing for a good cup of coffee, but decided with the heat we would enjoy frappuccinoâ€™s. Little Sis was very happy to enjoy a Starbucks Frappuccino on her birthday.

She shares a birthday with my oldest brother. We took the time with free wifi to do a little video for him. If you keep your receipt at this Starbucks, you are allowed free wifi for three hours. Score! You will not want to sit three hours in Starbucks at this beautiful port, but the option is there if you need to take the time to catch up with family at home or emails.

After having great family time in the city, it was unfortunately time to head back to the ship.

Everyone had to be back on the ship by 1:30 pm. It was hard to say good bye to this beautiful port.

Isnâ€™t it a breathtaking island? The positive is that there was much fun to be had back on the boat. After enjoying some time in the water park, we headed back to our cabin. It was formal night at dinner so this called for the Spink family to get all fancy once again.

Seafood was the appetizers of choice for us at dinner.

On select nights, your waiters will entertain you with dance and song.

It wasÂ so much fun to see the guests enjoying the evening with the waiters that treated us so great during our entire trip.

You can see why we enjoyed the waiters right? We will never forget Wilfredo, Putra, and Wiguana. They made Sissyâ€™s birthday by surprising her with a Mickey Mouse chocolate melting cake, and made her statue of liberty. It will be a birthday she willÂ remember forever.

The night was capped off with a show by the Playlist Performers. The theme was 70s night! The crowd was very lively for this show. There was singing, laughing, and lots of smiling. What an awesome day!

The family was greeted with a towel animal and a birthday card for Sissy. Our hearts were full as we laid our heads on our pillow.

Our last port of call is next, Grand Turk!

Donâ€™t miss our other days on the Carnival Sunshine!

Day 6

Day 3: Aboard the Carnival Sunshine Review

Over the nextÂ fewÂ days, I will be sharing recaps from our time aboard the Carnival Sunshine. We just arrived back home in NC and it was an amazing experience. Hope you will enjoy our life on the ship. This is a sponsored review but as always, all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

Day 3 of the cruise started out with enjoying the Sea Day brunch once again. This is a great option if you like the relaxing atmosphere and would rather not partake in the buffet on the Lido Deck. The girls enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes, while hubby and I enjoyed an omelet. There is quite the variety on the menu from eggs, to steak, to salmon.

As soon as brunch was finished, we did not waste any time to make the trek up to the top deck.

I wasÂ so thankful for this run/walk track on the Carnival Sunshine! Even though we were on vacation, there wereÂ a lot of great foods weÂ wanted to taste test. This track helpedÂ to keep the weight in check! Also, how about exercising with this view? Ten laps around the track is one mile.

Hubby and I walkedÂ laps while the girls played pool.

You will never get bored on this ship. If you do, then it would be your own fault. There is so much to do. Finally, we made our way to the water park.

Big Sis enjoyed the Carnival WaterWorks. The positive about this water park is there’s something for all ages. Parents can have fun with the kids or the parents can sit close by while the older kids experience the park. Two big water slides will keep the big kids entertained while two very small slides along with a splash zone will keep the younger kids smiling. Chairs are aligned all around the water park for parents to keep close eye on the children.

During lunch, Big Sis and I decided to try the Ji Ji Asian Kitchen. This is no extra charge to dine during lunch. You are able to selectÂ your own fresh ingredients in an bowl and the chef will grill it right in front of you.

Lunch wasÂ amazing! It was nice to eat all fresh ingredients and see it cook right in front of you. This became ourÂ favorite lunch spot!

A storm started brewing but did not last long. The gusty winds did stay but it helped cool off the top deck of the ship. The girls were enjoying standing up in the winds. The Spink Family could not let a day go by without getting in a game of ping-pong. This has become our favorite game of the cruise. We played for another hour until it was time for Disney Trivia.

The Spink Family totally rocked Disney Trivia!

It was so much fun guessing, sharingÂ laughs, and seeing Ariel make an appearance fromÂ theÂ seas.

Trivia is a great time to come in from the sun and have great laughs with the family on a Sea Day in an air conditioned room.

After a break in our cabin, it was time for our dinner reservations at Cucina Del Capitano.

This is a family style Italian restaurant. This is an extra charge in the evenings to eat at this restaurant. The charge is $15 for adults and $5 for children. I ensure you the price is definitely worth the food you receive. You will select an appetizer, main entree, and a dessert. The restaurant does have gluten free options. Big Sis and I chose to start out with caesar salads while hubby decided to try the meatballs. Both dishes were not an disappointment. He said the meatballs come inÂ second to his grandmother’s recipe.

For our main entrees, I chose to try the sirloin steak marinaded in red wine. The steak was tender and tasted delicious but I will admit, did not beat the taste of the filet mignon from the brunch. Hubby and Big Sis both selected the chicken parmesan. Thumbs up all around for their dishes. Check out the huge portions:

Every last bite of was gone and both agreed it was the best chicken parmesan they both have tasted in an Italian restaurant. Little Sis selected one of her favorite dishes, macaroni and cheese. She said it wasn’t as good as mom’s but came in a close second. Not sure if she was being kind to me or what, but she ate every bite!

The night was ended with the comedy show in the George Lopez Punchliner Comedy Club.

The 8:30 show is the family show. The entire family laughed throughout the show. It was very tasteful and good clean family comedy. We all recommend the show.

Of course, the towel animal greeted us as we made it back to our cabin. Another great day at sea.

Tomorrow, we finally make it to land with our first stop being St. Maarten. The girls were fast asleep after a fun-filled day.

Don’t miss our other days on the Carnival Sunshine!

Day 3

Day 1: Aboard the Carnival Sunshine Review

Over the next 8 days, I will be sharing recaps from our time aboard the Carnival Sunshine. We just arrived back home in NC and it was an amazing experience. Hope you will enjoy our life on the ship. This is a sponsored review but as always, all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

We finally boarded our much highly anticipated vacation on the Carnival Sunshine. As we arrived to Port Canaveral, we parked offsite about 2 miles away to receive the reduced parking rate of $6.95 a day. This price is much cheaper than if you park at the actual Port Canaveral. It was going to cost of over $200 to park at the port for 9 days. The shuttle bus took us right to the front entrance of the Port.

We arrived around 1:30 and the lines were very minimal. Even though we hadÂ a priority boarding pass, there wasn’t a line in the general section. The customer service was top notch and all of our questions were answered with enthusiasm. You are able to take carryÂ-on bags with you, but your suitcases are kept at the entrance and will show up at your cabin door later in the night. I do recommend you pack things in your carry-Âon that you may need for dinner the first night. We made do with what we had, as weÂ did not receiveÂ our luggage until after dinner.

Here is a glimpse of our home away from home.

As soon as we dropped our belongingsÂ in our cabin, we walked up to the Lido Deck on the 9th floor of the ship to eat lunch. This is where you can eat breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. There are so many options including a comfortÂ buffet, hamburgerÂ joint, taco bar, salad bar, Italian ready to order, and Asian ready to order. Each food area had gluten free options.

It was time for us to leave port. Excitement was in the air!

Little Sis kept waving to everyone along the port and saying “Bon Voyage.” It was great family fun right there on our cabin balcony.

Afterwards, we cleaned up for our first dinner in the Sunset Dining Room. Carnival really does roll out the red carpet for you during this dining experience each evening.

Each night, we wereÂ assigned a dining time of 6:00pm. The same waiters servedÂ us each night. By the end of our first night dining, I knew we were going to become fast friends with our waiters. Once weÂ take our seats, theÂ waiters would bring us bread (gluten free for me) and a menu. Each guest isÂ able to choose a starter, main entree, and a dessert off the menu. Remember all the food is included. There is no extra charge unless you want a beverage from the bar. As I said earlier, gluten free is no problem on the ship.Â The food was amazing from M’s chicken fried rice, my broiled tilapia, and hubby’s stew beef. Little Sis ordered off the kid’s menu every night. Her order did not change, chicken nuggets and french fries. She was very happy!

We walked around the top deck after dinner and then headed to our cabin for the evening to unpack all of our luggage. It was time to rest up for the next full day at sea.

Each night, we have a new towel animal on our bed. We all excitedly walked into our cabin each night to see which animal will appear. Stay tuned for Day 2.

Day 1

Day 2 Review

Day 3 Review

Day 3: Carnival Breeze Experience–Rocking Boat

It has been a rockinâ€™ dayâ€¦ literally!

The Breeze has hit high winds with rocky waters. Although, the huge waves have not stopped us from experiencing a fantastic day. We just rocked side to side while we experienced the fun. This is where motion sickness medicine can come in handy. I do recommend you add this type of medicine to your cruise packing list.

Talking about fun, we laughed our way through morning brunch with the Punchliner Brunch presented by George Lopez. Lopez was not on the boat but the next best was in our presence. JAI Ernst and Dean Gaines provided 10-minute live comedy shows on the hour from 10:00am to 1:00pm. This was just an appetizer to their family friendly shows presented on the boat in the evenings at the comedy club.

The breakfast was filled with deliciousness. From ready to order egg omelets to bacon macaroni cheese. An experience for every taste bud for sure.

The brunch is provided free of charge on all sea days.

After brunch it was time to go brave the high winds and head to the top deck. We were excited to go splash in the water park and take a chance on the sky course. Once we arrived, it was with great sadness to find the water park and the sky course was closed due to high winds. No worries as we will put it on our agenda later in the week. Sissy took control and directed us to a game of putt-putt. As always, there are lots of laughs and just good clean family fun on the greens. As I said yesterday, it is one of her favorite things to do here on the ship. As we were on the top deck, we took time to enjoy the view. The water is such an amazing blue color and it really is breathtaking. Hubby and I just stand there and take it all in while sharing hugs. Time please stand still.

The wind was winning so we strolled down one deck to the beach pool. The beach pool is where great entertainment takes place all day long. Today was an ice carving demonstration. A gentleman from Japan was able to take a huge block of ice and turn it into a beautiful swan in just 15 minutes. Amazing!

My picture does not do it justice. It was beautiful on-site.

Hubby and I sipped on some ice cold lemonade while the girls were in the salt water beach pool in front of us. Carnival has two gazebos around the beach pool. Parents are able to sit under the gazebo with their feet in the water while watching their kids create splashes just feet in front of them. Great thinking Carnival.

Of course, you can only enjoy the splashes so long and then the water is calling your name.

You can swim up an appetite so we headed into the Lido Market. The Lido Market is right beside the beach pool. There are several buffet lines in place serving chicken tacos, Chinese food, salad, pizza and more. It is your choice and all you can eat so make smart decisions. The Lido Market also serves 24/7 ice cream and frozen yogurt.

This is a watermelon salsa on top of the chicken tacos. I would have never guessed watermelon would create a great salsa, but boy I was wrong. This was downright delicious and will be devoured again later on in the week.

After a quick bite to eat, we lounged and relaxed in the jacuzzi. Several jacuzzis around the ship and we are fortunate to have one right at by our stateroom. This allows for easy access to our room to dry off and get cleaned up after a fun day outside.

No time to slow down as we were getting in line for a thrill of a lifetime. Carnival has added an all new Thrill Theater to the Carnival Breeze. This is the first one in the line of Carnival Ships. Fortunately, we were able to celebrate the Christmas Spirit with Polar Express.

It is a 20-minute snippet of different movies and shows. The experience is either in 4D or 5D. The girls were amazed. Hubby and I loved it very much as well. SpongeBob and Happy Feet are the two other movies you are able to experience on the ship right now. The best deal is buying the all-in-one package for $14.95 which allows you to see all the shows. Great deal and so much fun.

The time had come to take the girls to Camp Carnival. I enjoy having my girls with me at all times but Carnival had scheduled a date night with my hubby at their onboard Steakhouse. The girls actually were looking forward to the Camp Carnival Experience. This is a camp open all day to kids ages two and up. It is real secure and you are given a telephone to keep with you at all times so they are able to contact you if something was to go wrong. Events are planned for the kids each day. Tonight was an Alvin and the Chipmunks Karaoke Party and Mr. Potato Head Contest. M actually won the Mr. Potato Head Contest. The girls had such a great experience and were asking when they could go back. I think that serves as a great review of how well the evening went in Camp Carnival. This was the scene when we arrived to pick up the girls.

M was showing off her dance skills on the Wii. Too fun!

As the girls were dancing and singing to their hearts content, we were being wined and dined at the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. This onboard restaurant creates the ultimate steak experience right in front of your eyes. As soon as you are seated, the waitress showcases all their different types of meat to you. I am not a big red meat person, but there is no lying that this was the best prime rib that I have ever tasted. The chef was from India and he was showcasing his top-notch chef skills. You can choose chicken, seafood or steak as your entrÃ©e. Also, donâ€™t forget the gourmet appetizers, the delicious sides and the ever so big desserts. Our taste buds are really thanking us after tonight.

It is a quiet and small atmosphere. Perfect for date night and enjoy the one you love. The fee is $35 per person so it is a splurge for one night on the boat. You will not be disappointed.

Two hours had past in the steakhouse and we were very eager to go pick up our girls. We surprised them with an ice cream break in the Lido Market before heading back to our stateroom for the evening.

Another fun-filled day is in the books. Great memories, wonderful laughs and most of all â€“ great quality family time without technology. We are spoiled.

Five minutes after we arrived in our stateroom, L was fast asleep.

Daddy and M enjoyed the treats that were left for us by the Carnival Staff.

We arrive on land in the morning. I know this is going to be an amazing experience for the girls. Their first time out of country. Kudos for nowâ€¦.

family cruising

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