I usually try to do something special for my birthday every year for the last few years but this one is a milestone. However I did not plan anything too big or elaborate to do as expected. My childhood friend and I decided to go on a cruise out of New York heading to Turks n Caicos, Dominican Republic and Half Moon  Cay in the Bahamas. This was my friend’s first cruise so leaving from New York for an 8 day cruise would be perfect.

This ship had an Italian theme with a capacity of over four thousand. It is part of the vista fleet for Carnival. People are really back traveling and cruising. We met people from California, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and many other states.

I had not been on a Carnival cruise since the 1980s mainly because I generally choose the cruise line based on the itinerary. I was happy to find one leaving out of New York. When I arrived at the port the first thing I noticed was that the ship did not have the carnival red, white and blue funnel but it was yellow and black with a C. This was one ran by Costa before being acquired by Carnival. It was very crowded in the boarding area but seemed fairly organized. The next surprise was there was a second security checkpoint where you had to place your belongings on the floor and security officers with dogs walked down the line. The dog circled one suitcase which was removed for further investigation.

After that check we were ready to board. It was strange to me that our room keys were not given during check in. Another surprise was that a sealed envelope was in the message box at our door with the key card. Technology has really taken over, they have smart elevators. No more need to press floors inside the elevator once you press the floor you wanted you are told which elevator. I thought that was so neat.

Leaving from New York City you can explore the city before boarding dependent on your schedule. One will get a great view of the city skyline as we leave port.

The Carnival Hub app is a very useful tool. All the information you need is on your phone. Once on board put your phone in airplane mode and sign into the free wifi. Please note you are only able to use this wifi to stay in touch if you purchased the wifi package. What I did notice was that notifications were coming through.

We chose anytime dining which operated a bit differently from other cruise lines I have traveled on. Guests need to check in via the app or going to the restaurant to be checked in. You will see the wait time and when your table is ready you will receive a notification on your phone. Wait times can be anywhere from 20 minutes and up  to an hour, depending on when you check in. I like this because you can check in from your room or anywhere on the ship. My experience on Norwegian cruise line had me spoilt because their anytime dinning was not limited to one restaurant. The other option is the set seating 5:30pm or late seating at 7:30pm where you are at the same table with the same waiter for the entire cruise.

After two days at sea our first port was Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. I had been to DR before but this port seems to be special to the Carnival lines. I did not take any of the optional tours wondering around the port was fine for me. My friend is also caribbean so her interest was just to check out the stores.

Naturally you enter the square through the duty free shops and leave through the shop. There are jewelry store diamonds and emeralds, clothing etc. In the square there are other stores and vendors and tour operators. There is a park that the vegetation offered some relief from the heat. What was also very nice was there were benches for you to sit and take a break under the shade.

Our next port of call was Turks and Caicos, again a typical port with souvenir shops, jewelry stores etc. What is great about this port is that the beach is in walking distance from the ship.

Most cruise lines have their special island, Carnival’s own is Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. This is a full day on the cay of picnic buffet, live entertainment, games and of course the beach. Guests are transported to the island by a charted ferry not by tenders that are usually used when the ports cannot accommodate these big liners.

Well that was a nice spin and returned to our ship for the beginning of our sail back to New York City. Let me share a little information about disembarking in the city. After retrieving your luggage you have to leave the port and cross the street from the dock for pick up.

Well that’s all for now traveling by sea.