Category: Food

My Carnival Liberty Vacation 2022

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 20, 2022

And I am back from another fun-filled vacation. This time it was 8 days on the Carnival Liberty out of Miami Florida. Over the next 7 weeks of #TravelThursday I’ll blog about this cruise, so let’s get started.

In order to get started we need to go all the way back to a time shortly before we all knew what COVID was.

I actually booked this 8-day cruise out of Miami to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao on February 10TH 2020. And then COVID shutdown the world a month later.

I booked this cruise 1 year and 1 week after returning from my last cruise on the Carnival Glory out of Miami. That was my 14TH Carnival cruise (in early-2019) and 22ND cruise overall since 1991. I love Carnival cruises, and I’ll share the many reasons why over the next 7 weeks.

I booked this cruise on the newer and bigger Carnival Horizon (in-service since 2018). It would’ve been my first cruise on a new(ish) cruise ship since October / November 2007 when I sailed on the Carnival Freedom out of Civitavecchia Rome Italy for its maiden voyage across the Atlantic to Miami. That Carnival Freedom cruise over the course of 14 days remains as my favorite cruise of all-time.

I’ve actually sailed on the Carnival Freedom more nights (29) than any other cruise ship. I sailed 2 more times on her in 2010 and 2014. That 3RD Carnival Freedom cruise in 2014 was not such a great experience, and I thought that it would be my final Carnival cruise ever.

I gave Carnival another chance almost 5 years later in 2019 on the Carnival Glory, and that turned out to be an excellent cruise; hence, my booking of the January 2021 cruise on the Carnival Horizon.

Well COVID canceled that cruise, and in lieu of getting my money back from Carnival I simply rebooked it for exactly a year later with a generous financial incentive included.

This past November the Carnival Horizon began experiencing propulsion problems with its maximum cruising speed. It was pulled from service and sent to an urgent extended dry dock over in Palermo Italy so that it could be repaired and also freshened-up a bit. It was replaced by the Carnival Sunshine for some of its December sailings – and the Carnival Liberty for some of its January sailings. Again – I could’ve chosen to cancel this cruise (due to the ship change), but I chose to sail on the replacement ship for even more financial incentives. I could’ve canceled this cruise at any time up to the day of sailing for no penalty at all (due to the CDC’s warning against sailing on cruise ships), but I kept this vacation intact.

And so I sailed on the 16½-year-old Carnival Liberty with an embarkation date of Saturday January 08TH 2022. I arrived at PortMiami shortly before 10:30 AM EST, and I stepped foot on the ship less than 45 minutes later. (It took less than 15 minutes to actually check-in at the terminal, but customers weren’t allowed on the ship until just after 11 AM.)

As this was my 7TH Carnival cruise in a row on the mid-2000s Carnival Conquest-class cruise ship (Glory, Valor, Liberty, Freedom) I knew where everything was on the ship. Of course it’s been almost 3 years, so I was confused at times. That just increased my steps on my Fitbit.

The ship set sail at 6 PM on that first night (about 2 hours late due to an unspecified maintenance issue that was awaiting a part). At that time I was already halfway into my dinner at the upscale steakhouse on deck 10. It’s a $38 upcharge to eat there, and that’s a bit steep, but they do serve the best food on the entire ship (and the biggest portions). Check out my cheesecake dessert !

After dinner (and that ENORMOUS slice of cheesecake) I enjoyed playing my first round of BINGO (3 games) – followed by the main show in the main lounge (which seats 1,400). I actually attended (and enjoyed) every main show in the main lounge during the course of this 8-day cruise, and it was never more than about 25% full.

This was a cruise for the fully-vaccinated, and you had to present proof of a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of cruise embarkation in order to get on the ship. I believe that the cruise ship sailed at about 40% to 50% full. It’s my first cruise ever that wasn’t at or near 100% full. It was at less than half capacity more so for the change (downgrade) in ship rather than the strict COVID vaccination and testing rules. Nobody booked this ship. Carnival rebooked everyone (who didn’t cancel) from the Carnival Horizon. The Carnival Liberty was actually out-of-service for almost 22 months during COVID, and it was brought back into service a month earlier than planned to fill-in for the Carnival Horizon. After almost 22 months of inactivity there were most certainly maintenance and repair issues on this ship. I’ll explain some of those issues next #TravelThursday.

Tags Caribbean, Carnival, Cruise

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My November Vacation 2021 Road-Trip

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 6, 2022

#TravelThursday continues now with Part 6 of my 7-part blog series on my recent 18-day road-trip between South Florida and North Texas.

Last week I left-off at the end of Day 16 at my hotel destination on the west side of Hattiesburg right around sunset that night. It was my 2ND stay at that particular hotel, and it was a good night’s stay. Back in November I wrote all about Hattiesburg Mississippi here on #TravelThursday. On a future road-trip I need to spend a couple of days there exploring the local area rather than just a hotel night.

Early the next morning – Saturday November 27TH 2021 – I departed at dawn with freezing cold temperatures and a heavy layer of frost on my car windows. Temperatures dropped to as low as 30°F / -1°C during the first hour of my drive southeastward along historic U.S. 98. I drove through Semmes and Mobile Alabama right around 8 AM, and on the east side of Mobile (after another scenic drive along Battleship Parkway) I picked-up I-10 eastward.

Post-Thanksgiving holiday traffic on I-10 eastward was a madhouse. Once again it was quite scary driving through Pensacola. It didn’t really get much better after that. I don’t think I’ve seen and experienced I-10 as busy as it was on that Saturday.

I eventually had enough of the extreme anxiety, and I got off I-10 about 95 miles earlier than originally planned – at U.S. 231 – which leads southward into Panama City. I’m very familiar with this road, as one of my longtime friends has lived a couple of miles off the road for the past 20+ years. After a fuel pitstop at Love’s (my new favorite gas station / travel stop on the road) I took a series of backroads across the Florida Panhandle (south of Tallahassee) and into the “Big Bend” area of the Florida peninsula.

U.S. 98 is fun (translation – peaceful) to drive between Hattiesburg Mississippi and Mobile Alabama, and I especially love it along the “Big Bend” area of Florida south of Perry. I picked-up U.S. 98 in Wakulla County – which is another fascinating area of my state that I’ve spent very little time in (other than driving through). I’m a big fan of “Welcome To Plathville” on TLC, and on a recent Season 3 episode the family ventured down to Wakulla Springs State Park for some fun in the sun and sea. Now I want to visit !

I enjoyed a nice #LuDinner (late-Lunch / early-Dinner combined) at an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant in Chiefland – which incidentally I plan to eat at on every future visit through Chiefland. After my hearty meal I continued on for another hour to my hotel destination for the night in Crystal Springs (another town I’ve spent the night at previously). It’s located along U.S. 98 and Florida State Road 44, and where the two routes meet – it’s a very busy and congested intersection.

From the very cold low-30s up to the mild mid-60s – those were the temperatures during my drive back into my home state.

Just like Day 16 I drove another 523 miles on Day 17, so that’s 2,497 miles on this road-trip so far. And that’s where I’ll end Part 6 of this 7-part blog series. I’ll conclude with my road-trip adventures and experiences next #TravelThursday.

Tags Alabama, Chiefland, Crystal Springs, Florida, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Mobile, Wakulla

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My November Vacation 2021 Road-Trip

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 30, 2021

#TravelThursday continues now with Part 5 of my 7-part blog series on my recent 18-day road-trip between South Florida and North Texas.

Last week I left-off on Day 9 within the eastern portions of the Dallas Texas Metroplex (Collin County). I visited the Military Heritage Collection Of North Texas military museum, and then from there I visited the “Dallas” TV series museum – the Southfork Ranch. It was an interesting combination of military history and television history, and it was very appropriate in that I discovered the “Dallas” TV series in England in 1986 with my military dormitory buddies. It was “must-see-TV” for us back then.

Here’s what’s even wackier. During our guided tour of the Southfork Ranch, one of our tour guides went around the room and asked where each person or couple was from. I responded “Miami”, and a couple on the other side of the room did the same. We eventually met up outside on the front grounds of the mansion following the conclusion of the guided tour. The couple were actually from Homestead (same as me), and the guy worked at Homestead Air Reserve Base (same as me) for the same Wing. He left / retired a few years ago, and he and his wife moved to the Dallas Texas area. We actually knew some of the same people on base. #SmallWorld

After I returned back to my brother’s and sister-in-law’s house on that Friday afternoon I did not drive my car again until the following Friday morning. I enjoyed the day-to-day routines with my family, and we did the normal things that we always do during the week leading-up to #ThanksChristmasGiving – our traditional combined Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of my favorite things to do is something that goes back some 40 years, and it’s as simple as shopping with my brother. It’s also a good workout keeping-up with my brother in the stores.

On Day 16 of my road-trip – Friday November 26TH 2021 – I departed my family’s house for the start of the long drive home, but first I had to let my defroster melt the coat of frost off my windshield and rear window so that I could see. On that frigid morning I took the backroads of the local area over to U.S. 69, and I took that to I-20. On the south side of Shreveport Louisiana I got in one last meal at Whataburger.

Fun Fact: The nearest Whataburger is about 380 miles from my home.

After my early-lunch at Whataburger I proceeded onto I-49, and I took that to Alexandria Louisiana. From there I took backroads and old U.S highways through the rest of Louisiana, across the mighty Mississippi River, through Natchez, and over to Hattiesburg. I pretty much traced the same route eastward, as I took westward 2 weeks earlier.

I arrived at my hotel destination on the west side of Hattiesburg right around sunset that night. On that day I drove 523 miles, so that’s 1,974 miles on this road-trip so far.

And that’s where I’ll end Part 5 of this 7-part blog series. I’ll continue with my road-trip adventures and experiences next #TravelThursday. I’ll reach Florida next week, but how deep into Florida will I get ?

Tags Dallas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Museum, Southfork, Texas, Whataburger

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Merry Christmas

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 24, 2021

‘Twas the night before Christmas. Let me take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you following me and reading my blog a very Merry Christmas.

My traditional family “Christmas” actually occurred 4 weeks ago on Thanksgiving Day. For the past dozen years or so my family has enjoyed a hearty home-cooked Breakfast, and then shortly after that we’ve opened all of the presents underneath the Christmas tree. Once they are all opened it’s time to watch the Macy’s Parade, and then football for the rest of the day and into the night – pausing for about an hour to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner at around three or four in the afternoon.

On the day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”) Christmas is done and over for me. Well – sort of. For the first 3 weeks of December I get to observe and celebrate bits and pieces of Christmas here and there by putting up the Christmas tree and decorations in the church sanctuary, listening to Christmas music on the radio, watching Christmas shows on television, writing and sending out Christmas cards and messages to family and friends from afar, and enjoying several Christmas luncheons with friends and coworkers.

We all celebrate Christmas in our own unique and traditional ways. May you spend this season with your loved ones. Make and share good memories that will last a lifetime. Honor each other. Love one another.

And may we remember why we celebrate Christmas.

And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21 NLT)

The LORD saves.