Carnival Sunshine

This week, I want to tell you guys all about another ship that I’ve traveled on. In the summer of 2017, my family and I sailed on the Carnival Sunshine from New York to Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas. While this ship was smaller than the ships we typically sail on, it was still an amazing time. The Carnival Sunshine holds 2,642 passengers and has a crew of 1,150, so you can see that it is significantly smaller than the previous ships which I have written about.

Carnival Sunshine docked in Grand Turk

When first boarding the ship, we entered into the main lobby which perfectly resembled the name of the ship. The Lights above the bar were designed to look like sunshine. When we first boarded, we had to wait for our room to be ready so during the wait we explored the ship.

Carnival Sunshine main lobby

At the time, the Carnival Sunshine had been newly renovated and one of the biggest changes during the renovation was the addition of water slides. These sides were huge, to get to the top we had to climb about five flights of stairs but once we got to the top it was totally worth it. My niece and I spent most of our time at sea racing each other down these slides as the two main slides were meant for racing.

Carnival Sunshine water slides

While aboard the Carnival Sunshine we also enjoyed the pools and hot tubs and just relaxing poolside. We also enjoyed the ropes courses and the mini-golf range, and some nights there was even the option to watch a movie on the big screen on the pool deck.

Carnival Sunshine main pool

The food aboard the Carnival Sunshine was amazing too. There were so many options that we typically switched it up and tried something new at every meal. Some of my favorite places included the pasta bar which we went to a few times for lunch on days when we were at sea and the shake spot where I usually got a milkshake while waiting to disembark to the islands for the day. Many nights we ate dinner at the main dining room which was usually a lot of fun. There was usually a different theme every night and the waiters and waitresses typically put on some sort of show whether it was singing or dancing.

Carnival Sunshine main dining room

As usual, I also really enjoyed the views from the ship. Watching the sunrise and sunset throughout the week was amazing. One sunset which was especially amazing was when we were returning back to New York. Although I wasn’t too happy that the vacation was over, the sunrise over the city was breathtaking.

The view when returning into NYC

Carnival has recently come out with some new, amazing ships like the Carnival Panorama, and the Carnival Mardi Gras launching this year, as well as renovating some old ships to their former glory. I would really like to try a cruise on Panorama or Mardi Gras sometime in the future.

The proposed Carnival Mardi Gras which is currently being built and will launch November 2020.

This week I decided to switch it up a little and talk about a place which sometimes I miss most of all, my home. I decided to take you guys on a little trip to my home in a little suburban town in Long Island, NY called Miller Place. While my trip home usually takes me about seven hours in total, I have been able to go home a few times throughout the year to see my friends and family and I get so excited each and every time. While I’m only home for a short amount of time, it’s totally worth it.

Friends and family surprised me with a visit the first time I came back home

The trip back home to Long Island is certainly a long one. It begins by taking an uber to Walmart on Atherton to catch the bus to New York City. The bus to New York City usually takes about five hours due to traffic. Once I get to New York City I either get a ride home from my uncle who lives in the city or I take the train to Long Island and get picked up by my parents. It’s so much more convenient when my uncle drives me home because when I have to take the train I have to run four blocks to Penn Station with all my stuff. Either way, the trip from the city to home usually takes about an hour and a half.

Arriving in New York City

Although it depends on what time I’m able to leave State, it’s usually pretty late by the time I get home. Regardless of the time though, I usually hang out with my friends. I’m always so excited to see my friends, most of them commute to colleges close to home or dorm at colleges very close to home so they’re always there when I get home.

My house 🙂

One of my favorite things to do with my friends once I’m home is to go on a ride to the beach. I’ve always lived so close to a beach growing up on Long Island so it’s become such a big part of my life, regardless of the seasons. In the winter we love to just sit at the beach in the car and catch up with each other while in the warmer months we spend our whole day on the beach. Another place we like to go at any time of day is a little park called Satterly Landing, we drive up to the water and just sit and talk.

The beach near where I live

Saturdays on weekends when I go home are usually spent with my family. Sometimes we will hang out at home and have family over while other times we go shopping. I always look forward to just spending time with my family during the day on Saturdays. Because I live so far away its usually pretty hard for them to come to visit me at school.

Hanging out at home with my dog

My friends usually work on Saturdays so on Saturday nights after they get out of work we usually just hang out or go to dinner together. My favorite dinners are when we get food that is just so much better at home, specifically pizza. The pizza back home is just so much better and that’s not up for debate. My favorite place to go is a little place called The Pie. They make so many different kinds of pizza and while it’s kind of expensive, its totally worth it when you haven’t had a good slice of pizza in months.

My favorite Pizza from The Pie

Sunday mornings my friends and I usually go to breakfast before I head back to the city to catch the bus to State College, this all usually depends on if we can get up early enough though. One of my favorite places to go is a little place called Brekky. Brekky is a little acai spot with some of the best acai bowls I’ve ever had. It’s also located right near the beach so my friends and I usually sit at the beach and eat our bowls. If we don’t go for acai, we usually go for bagels. (Sidenote: another topic not up for debate is NY bagels. They’re superior and we all know it.) I usually order an egg sandwich which is always amazing.

Getting acai at my favorite place

After having a great weekend with friends and family, I either take the train into New York City to catch the bus or get driven there. The trip back to State is about another five hours and I sleep almost the whole way.

Heading back into the city to catch the bus

Norwegian Escape docked in Bermuda

This week I’m going to tell you all about another amazing cruise ship I have been on, the Norwegian Escape. My family and I sailed on the Escape, which left from New York and docked in Bermuda for 3 days, in the summer of 2018. This gigantic cruise ship has a maximum capacity of 4,266 passengers along with its 1,733 crew members.

Guy Harvey artwork on the Bow of the ship

When we boarded the ship, we were fascinated not only by the beauty of the inside of the ship but the abundance of things to do all throughout the boat. There were many pools and hot tubs, waterslides, a mini-golf course, and even a grotto! The grotto was by far the coolest part of the onboard activities. This was such a unique thing, out of all the cruises I’ve been on I had never seen anything like it. My family and I loved walking through it.

Central lobby of the Norwegian Escape

The grotto aboard the ship

Another thing I loved about the Norwegian Escape was the abundance of cool little places to sit along the side of the ship and just watch the view as we were cruising. My family and I often sat in these spots to watch the sunset which seemed to get better and better every night.

Watching the sunset from the ship

Besides the fact that the food was amazing, the dining rooms were extravagant. We often requested to sit at a table near the window and had an amazing view of the water while eating dinner. One day while eating lunch we requested to sit by the window, it was raining for a while and as soon as the rain stopped, we saw a rainbow.

Main dining room aboard the Escape

The typical view at dinner

On the days that we were at sea on our way to and from Bermuda, my family and I often sat near the pool and enjoyed the waterslides or went to watch one of the many shows that they had to offer. We often went to look around in the many different shops aboard the ship and enjoyed other parts of the ship such as the arcade.

Norwegian Escape waterslides and pool

Another really cool part of the ship that I was too nervous to try was the plank. On the ropes course, there’s a plank that comes out of the side of the ship, hanging over the water. As part of the ropes course, you can ‘walk the plank.’ While I was too scared to do it, many people were trying it and it seemed really cool. Looking back on it now I probably should’ve tried it.

“Walking the plank” on Norwegian Escape

The Norwegian Escape was an amazing ship that I would definitely cruise on again. I also want to cruise on some of the newest Norwegian ships like the Norwegian Bliss as well as the whole new class of ships set to launch in 2022.

Anthem of the Seas docked in Haiti

So far I’ve been fortunate enough to have been on 6 cruises throughout my life. I’ve been on Carnival, Norwegian, Disney, and Royal Caribbean cruises. Today I’m going to tell you guys all about my experience on my favorite cruise ship thus far, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas. I vacationed on this ship, which was the 4th largest cruise ship in the world at the time (now the 12th largest),  in the summer of 2016. During this 8 day cruise, we sailed from New Jersey to Bermuda, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Haiti.

This huge ship which holds over 4,900 passengers had so many things to do within its 16 passenger decks throughout our time aboard. Throughout the week we went to the escape room aboard the ship, went in the indoor skydiving simulator, enjoyed the many different swimming pools, and so much more.

iFly skydiving simulator

One of the most amazing things we did while aboard the ship was when we went on what they called the north star. The north star is hard to explain but I guess you could consider it as a little pod type thing that holds about 7-10 people and then goes up into the air over the ship. The views from inside the north star were amazing.

North Star on Anthem of the Seas

View of the ship from the North Star

Another fun thing that we did while on the Anthem of the Seas was riding the bumper cars. Anthem had so many fun things to do that at some times it was easy to forget you were aboard a ship. There were basketball courts, videogame rooms, a rock-climbing wall, and so much more.

Bumper cars on Anthem of the Seas

Another fascinating feature of the ship was the bionic bar, a robot that made the drinks which you ordered off of a kiosk. Additionally, the food choices were endless. We were able to try a new restaurant for dinner every night and many nights after dinner we usually went to see one of the many different shows.

Anthem of the Seas Bionic Bar

Although my family and I hated leaving each beautiful island we visited at the end of the day, it made it a little easier knowing we were coming back to an amazing ship with so much to do. I’m hoping to set sail on Royal Carribean’s Harmony of the seas soon and I’m also very excited for Royal Carribean’s newest ships, The Odyssey of the Seas and the Wonder of the Seas, which are coming soon.

I love these pictures and chose to include them here at the end because they help to illustrate just how big this ship really is.

Come back next week to hear all about another amazing cruise ship I’ve been on, The Norwegian Escape!