We woke up Day 2 excited as excited could be...it was time to go get on the boat. Again we wanted to get on the boat so that we could get the Cabana we wanted for HMC. We tried to make sure we got there early (however not too early so that we did not have to wait hours in the port trying to get on the ship). For those that do not know one of the things that amazes me about cruises is the ship comes in on the same day that it goes out. So Saturday morning the ship comes in and all the people have to get off the boat which usually takes till about 10:00. At the same time people like us are arriving at the ship excited to start our vacation. We have done several ports (Galveston, Miami, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, and Jacksonville) but in our opinion Jacksonville is the best. You park right outside the ship, the porters come right to your car to get your bags, you walk to the ship and go through the embarkation process. Mommy had loaded a couple games/books on her ipod to entertain Samantha as the process can sometimes take a little time. We had perfect timing as we pretty much went straight through and got to board the ship. When you board the ship it appears the ship has been sitting in port for 3 or 4 days getting ready for you to come on board. The employees are all smiles welcoming you and everything is spotless. We headed straight to the excusion desk to see what Cabana we could get (ended up with number 10; wanted somewhere between 8 and 12, with 8 being our target; so we were happy). Then we were off to the lido deck for lunch and wait for the ship to leave port. As we were taking our last bite of our burger the clouds started to come in and all of a sudden a thunderstorm came in. We were told they stopped boarding because of the storm but we used it as an opportunity to take a tour of the boat. Samantha was so cute as she wanted to go into each room, look around, sit in the chairs etc, just taking it all in. It was then time to head to the room and get ready for the safety drill which Samantha decided like last year that she would wear her life jacket. When we walked into the room we had a very nice surprise from one of my cruising friends/agents. She had sent us a Bon Voyage present from Carnival. (Later a box of cookies also showed up but we started eating those before I could pull the camera out to take a picture.) We had decided that we would not do a balcony room this time as Samantha has gotten where she can open doors rather easily and we did not want to have to stay awake at night over fear that she opened the balcony door. That said we were pleasently surprised with the rooms. The rooms are smaller than some of the big ships that we have been on but that has nothing to do with the balcony as we felt the same way about the balcony on the same ship last year. Time to head to the safety drill; after the safety drill we went up on deck to see the ship leave port but again was still sprinkling so did not go to our normal spot to watch the ship go under the bridge. They had also closed off the waterworks section of the ship due to the storm. Samantha (or us for that matter) did not let rain get in our way of enjoying the ship. We did what most cruisers do when adversity is thrown their way--we got ice cream and pizza. Samantha and mommy stayed under cover and I went to take pictures of the Carnival Fin going under the bridge, which is always an experience due to the tight fit. Mommy and Samantha let me know that I had missed the dolphins (following the ship out of port) when I got back and had I stayed put I could have seen them too. It was time to go register for Camp Carnival which Samnatha was now old enough to be a part of. We had decided that we were going to leave it completely up to Samantha if she wanted to hang out with Camp Carnival or avoid it all together and stay with us (more to come on Camp Carnival). After getting her signed up we went back to our room to get dressed for dinner which was wonderful (both food and service). Then it was time to head to a camp carnival dance party which Samantha got a kick out of (see video of her actual moves). After which she said she wanted to go see the playroom (otherwise known as camp carnival) so we checked her in and decided that we would let her stay for two hours. She had a great time continuing the party prior to us picking her up and going to the room to change into pj's and go to bed. Mommy let daddy run to the casino after everyone was setteled in for the night, which was a fun experience (played video texas hold-em with a group that became my non-family cruise family throughout the week). Came back after playing and went to bed excited about tomorrow which is one of our favorite days....Day at Sea!!!
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