And now Week 7 of my 7-week series on my 8-day fun-filled vacation on the Carnival Liberty out of Miami Florida.
If you missed any of the previous weeks of this series then you can click here: Week 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6. (If you missed all of them then start with Week 1 and work your way forward.)
You know I disembarked the Carnival Liberty 46 days ago, and I’ve been reliving my 8 days on that fun ship every #TravelThursday since then. When I walked off the ship and into the terminal building at PortMiami I thought to myself – that was a great cruise – just as great as my previous Carnival cruise of nearly 3 years earlier. I was already thinking about when my next Carnival cruise would be. More to come on that !
What do I actually do on a Carnival cruise ship ? Well I don’t drink or party. Those days and nights ended on – ironically – a Carnival cruise ship in 2007. I drank alcohol for the very last time in my life on that ship coming out of the Mediterranean Sea and entering the Atlantic Ocean on its way across the sea to Miami. I drank for 22 years from age 18 to 40. I quit drinking 14 months after the start of my salvation in Christ.
Here’s what I do onboard when not in port. I eat a lot. I walk a lot. I eat and walk more than twice as much on a cruise ship as I do back at home and at work. I watch people, and I meet people. Carnival does a fantastic job in encouraging activities where you meet and talk with new people that will hopefully become new friends. I play trivia. I play BINGO. I attend nearly all of the shows in the main lounge. I laugh a lot. I applaud a lot.
I also pray a lot and dive-in to God’s Word while watching and listening to His marvelous seas. On some cruises I even write sermons; although, I didn’t do so on this cruise because of all of the activities that I was participating in.
This was a very unique cruise in that it was only about 40% full (my estimate – not based on any actual data). There was plenty of open space with very few people at all times during this cruise – both inside and outside on the open decks. I think on my next cruise it will be back to normal – at 100% full capacity.
And so now my big announcement. Exactly a month ago – just 18 days after disembarking the Carnival Liberty – I booked my next Carnival cruise. I’ll be sailing on their newest and biggest ship ever – the Carnival Celebration. It’s still under construction in Finland. It makes its maiden Transatlantic voyage from 06 to 20 November 2022, and she arrives in Miami as her new homeport. I’ll be sailing on her about a month-and-a-half after her arrival. It’ll be the newest cruise ship I sail on in my entire 30+ year history of cruising. (I sailed across the Atlantic on the Carnival Freedom in 2007 – 8 months after her maiden voyage.)
Next #TravelThursday a new short series (not 7 weeks) begins at the scene of my next vacation. It won’t be too far away from home – just 60 to 90 minutes away – north up in Broward County. I’m attending a couple of concerts, and I’m spending some fun times with my family (visiting from North Texas).
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