Hello, Sunshine!

Can you handle some more vacation talk? I hope so, because I have several days' worth of stories for you!

We cruised aboard the Carnival Sunshine, and we got our first glimpse of it when we arrived at the port in our shuttle!

We weren't scheduled to board until 1:30 p.m. but we had to show up when the shuttle took us, so we actually were able to get right on board! I think it was a little after 11:00 when we stepped on the ship.

We still couldn't get in our room until 1:30, so we hauled our carry-on luggage around with us and explored the ship a little bit. 

Our room was on the spa deck, which is something we would absolutely do again. Ryan discovered several cruises ago (before we were married) that he really enjoys having a private balcony. We've talked to many people who think it's a waste of money, and we absolutely understand that for some, it would be. If we had kids who always wanted to be out at the pool or playing on the sports deck, we would probably feel the same way. But we really enjoyed the chance to have a little privacy while enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the waves. 

Originally, we just had a balcony room, but Ryan was able to upgrade to a spa deck room, which meant there weren't any kids allowed on that deck. (To be fair, there weren't a ton of kids on the ship at all. Other than 90% of the state of North Carolina being on board for their spring break, most kids were in school and the cruise was mostly filled with adults.) Our deck was so quiet - SO quiet! - and our room and balcony were a little bit bigger because of where we were located. (We decided by the end of the week we could handle tiny house/RV living just fine. We never felt crowded!) We also got a handful of extras for being on the spa deck. (Slippers, access to some spa amenities, upgrades on shampoo and conditioner, fluffier robes, etc.)

We had all the first-day kind of safety drills to attend...

And we said goodbye to Port Canaveral from our very own balcony!

If you heard the podcast yesterday, you heard about seeing the Miss Juanita as we left port. (Juanita was Ryan's mom's actual name.) The name is on the lower left side of the picture, right at the front of the boat. If you click on the picture, you should be able to see it better! 

See you later, Florida!

As you can see, the weather wasn't great. And it continued to not be great the rest of that night. In fact, that was the night the captain decided to detour the boat to try to avoid the worst of the storms. I didn't feel great at all, but we powered through and dressed up for dinner!

We chose to do the anytime seating again this time, and it worked out so well for us. We could go to dinner whenever we wanted, but we never had the same seat twice. 

After dinner, I was done for the night. I could not keep my eyes open for anything! I felt lousy and sleep sounded like the best remedy!