Cruise: Day 1

Day 1:

May 4, 2012

We took a red-eye from Salt Lake to Charlotte, North Carolina, where we then caught a plane to Ft. Lauderdale. I nodded off a few times, but I can never sleep on a plane. I am totally envious of those of you who can.

By the time we got to Miami, we were all pretty exhausted. Seeing the ship, however, spiked our energy and we were ready for an adventure! 

The walkway from the Port to the Carnival Liberty

Upon arriving at the port, they checked our passports, our documents, and then gave us a number. We were called by number to proceed to the "gangway" of the ship, where they gave us "Sail and Sign Cards" and officially checked is on board.

Once checked in, we made our way up to deck 9 where we ate lunch at the buffet. We all got burgers at Guy Ferrari's burger joint on the ship all while enjoying the panoramic view of Miami.

We slowly made our way around the ship, exploring the comedy lounge, pool deck and water slide, casino, dance clubs, fine dining areas, shops, and lobby area. It finally began to sink in that we were on vacation!!!

Around 3 pm, we were allowed to go and find our room and place any belongings in there. We got a room on the 1st deck mid-ship. Best. Decision. Ever! If you get sea sick, I have found the lower and more to the middle you are, the better. Balconies are wonderful, but you definitely feel the boat "move" less the lower you go. 

We had a cozy room (room 1362) that had 3 twin beds (one of which was a sofa turned into a bed). It was small, but we grew to love our little room. We had many good naps in there ;)

This was our room, but the king was divided into 2 twin beds. The couch was transformed into a third bed. 

After seeing our room, we took a quick nap and then had to do the Evacuation Drill. Everyone on the ship had to practice what we would do and were we would go incase of an emergency. We then headed to the lido deck (where the pool is located) for the sail away party.

Our cruise directors were energetic, helping us get more involved in the dances and entertainment. I am proud to say we even made it on the big screen with some of our incredible dance moves please infer sarcasm. 

We opted for a casual dinner, eating in the buffet and then headed to the Venetian Palace to watch the first of 7 shows on our cruise!

The Venetian Palace is the stage area, equipped with a band and tons of seating. 

After a few other activities, we headed off to bed. At this point, we had been up for over 24 hours and were running on little to no energy. 

I am happy to say we all slept until at least 10 am the next day :)