Our life, our way

Returning from our second cruise, I felt I should write a little something about our experience.   We again chose Carnival because we had such an amazing experience last March to the Carribean. This time is was on an older ship, the Carnival Fascination, headed to the Bahamas. Half Moon Cay is a Private Island owned by Carnival’s sister line, Holland America. We also stopped at Nassau, Bahamas.  Motivation for this particular ship and itinerary was

1. It was in Jacksonville, FL and thus within driving distance. No flights needed. Yay!
2. You can’t beat the price. We originally were going to go in Jan which would have only been $600 for the both of us. But due to work schedules we ended up with a Feb cruise for $750 for both of us for 5 nights.

Embarkation/Debarkation:

We arrived at port around 10:30am instead of the 12pm listed in the Carnival paperwork. It was a good thing we did too because the place was starting to fill up. Overall, getting on board was quick and easy. I was worried about debarkation since we bought more liquor than the allowed duty free amount. The morning of debarkation, we had to go meet a customs agent and declare our items. I told him I had 8 liters, he initialed it and I was off. I didn’t have to pay any duty on it. After that, we basically walked off the ship and through customs with a 2 second delay just to had them the customs form. Much easier than we expected.

Half Moon Cay:

We seriously thought about getting an excursion, but after reading all the reviews we decided to just enjoy a beach day per everyone’s recommendation. I really wanted to do the horseback riding on the beach. It just sounds romantic but I guess reality might have been different. We had to tender in and since we got up late, we had a little trouble finding an “ideal” location to settle in at. But as we kept walking further from the tender, we were able to find some lounge chairs. The water was absolutely beautiful! It was shallow enough that I was comfortable hanging out in the water with Brian for quite a while. Staff from the ship brought food ashore to cook lunch for us. BBQ, burgers, hot dogs, etc. Not excellent but not bad either.

Nassau:

We were planning on getting up early and taking a bus over to Adastra but since we were on vacation that didn’t happen. LOL. We got up in time for lunch on board and then headed to the Gangway to get off and wait for our bus to go “Discover Atlantis.” I have to say the place was beautiful. The dig and Aquariam was really nice. We wish we could have seen more of Nassau itself but that can be for another trip.

On Board:

As always, we drank our fair share of alcohol. From the wonderful forums, we did find out that we can order liquor from Bon Voyage to have waiting in our stateroom. We opted for a bottle of Absolute Vodka. Speaking of stateroom, we had an ocean view. We really just wanted an interior. This is just suppose to be a cheap get away after all. But the upgrade fairy called and tried to get me to move up to a balcony for a fee. I opted to take a free upgrade to ocean view instead. I guess they needed the interior rooms to sell. The ship was full.

We opted for “Your Time Dining” so we can just eat whenever. The first two nights were loved the food but were disappointed in the wait staff. They weren’t very interactive. On our third night, we were seated with a wonderful head waitress named Nanka. We had such a good time we requested her every time afterwards. The beauty of your time dining allows us to sit by ourselves when we want or choose to share a table when we feel like being social. We sat with others one night and they were all very nice.

Carnival has changed a little since we last cruised. They have implemented a comedy club on all ships. There were two comedians on board and a show or two every night. That’s where we spent a good bit of our evening. Tommy Drake was amazing! Scotty K was pretty awesome too. Most nights we arrived early to get good seats but Brian didn’t want to sit in the front row for fear that we would be a target of a joke. By the last night, Brian decided it wouldn’t be bad and opted to sit in the front. Well……that would be the night the front row was targeted just a little more. Brian got called a red neck. After picking on Brian for a while, Scotty K pulled me in. I can’t remember the joke but it had to do with Philipinos and Vietnamese. It would have to be that moment I had to go to the restroom. As I got up he asked if I was offended.

Scotty K: “She must be Philopino.”
Brian: “No, she’s Vietnamese” (the entire room laughs as I quickly walk out)
Scotty K: “oh!!!! Me Love you long time!” (yes, of course….right?)

It was a great time!

Overall:

There were several things that could be approved and it was definitely not as awesome as our first cruise. We will eventually try other lines but will to Carnival again. AND we would even go on the same ship and same or similar itinerary again.

Feb 24, 2011 – Brian and I got the opportunity to watch STS-133 Shuttle launch from Titusville, FL. It was Discovery’s last and final mission. We were fortunate to find a very quiet location with shade. It was fairly empty when we arrived whereas the beaches and Space view Park was already packed. It was perfect!

We work so hard to help those we love. Our family, our friends. What do you do when you can’t help them. Your daughter had her first heart break. Your son doesn’t make the varsity team. Your best friend is laid off from their job.

*sigh*

Since we can’t give them what they want….what they need, we give them anything we can. You take your broken hearted daughter out shopping for a new dress to feel pretty. You give your son the keys to your car. You take your friend out for a night on the town or offer up that spare bedroom in your apartment until they get back on their feet.

All of this sounds great, right? Maybe. A big MAYBE!

If your kid is in distress, do you just poor your time and money into them. My immediate reaction is YES. But then I think about how the kid will take it for granted or not realize how much it is stressing the parents out.

It seems like several couples we know are recently divorced or contemplating a divorce. So what is the first thing we all think about…those poor kids. I always feel bad for the kids in the divorce. Parents made choices and decisions and now the kids have to deal. I’m not saying folks need to stay together for the sake of the kids. There will be fights and tension and kids can sense that. Better to have two happy homes than one miserable one.

But the biggest mistake many make are to over compensate for the pain kids go through. Whether you are the parent, grandparent, godparent or friend, you want to do something for the kids to hopefully make up for their stress. But spoiling a kid for a smile now will only make it worst in the long run.  Whether the recipient of the extra attention, money or resources is a 2 year old or a 30 year old, they can get spoiled.

And I shouldn’t just put this on the ones that care. The recipient, if an adult, should know that they should not always take help. Sometimes others are bending over backwards and depriving themselves of basic necessities in life (i.e. sleep and peace of mind) to help them.

There was a time in my life in which I thought everyone deserved help and that I would do whatever I needed to do to help. But I now realize that I can’t become an enabler. I have to let people make their mistakes and pick themselves up. Sometimes you have to do it on your own in order to really grow. Now I just have to deal with watching others in my life enabling the ones they love. Perhaps I will just come across heartless.

So be it.

In watching Grey’s Anatomy last night it reminded me of a conversation Brian and I had a little while back due to a movie we watched.  The movie was called “The Little Nonya.” (awesome movie!!! )

The movie follows the lives of several Peranakan families and focuses on the struggles of one particular mother, her daughter and grand daughter. The majority of the movie focuses on the grand daughter. The ending was alright but Brian was sad because she didn’t end up with the man she loved the most. He loved her the most but had to marry another, divorce and then marry his best friend. She marries someone that adored her and rescued her on several occasions. Though they went on the live fulfilling lives, they didn’t get to spend it with their most loved person in their lives.

Is it really sad? I guess so. But it is so real! How many people do you know, married their one and only true love and lived happily ever after?

Folks die, divorce, etc. Or circumstance just makes it so. Many have the one that “got away.” Due to a stupid argument or misunderstanding. In the movie the two loved each other. But in life love can be one way. You can have the love of your life but they love someone else so in a since you settle. Is settling bad? Not really. It depends on what you settle for. If you settle for someone just to have someone then it can be bad. Like in the movie, if you settle for your best friend or someone that absolutely adores you then, I think its good. That is why relationships are not even 50/50. Someone usually will love the other more. As long as you both love and respect each other it is all good.

The key is to be happy. And to be happy, you need to not compare your life with others. Base it on you.

If you look down, there is always someone worst off than you. If you look up there will always be someone smarter or richer. Why not just look in the mirror and think about the good in your life.