CARNIVAL SUNSHINE – EXOTIC SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN
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I love cruising! This was my second cruise and my second blog. We cruised out of Port Canaveral on the CARNIVAL SUNSHINE on a 8 day to the SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN. This cruise was less than $90.00 per day per person for the week. Keep in mind that’s room, all day and night entertainment, ALL the food you could eat, and transportation to all the islands. The SUNSHINE is a beautiful cruise ship. So on my 1st cruise I had to have a room with a balcony. After that cruise I realized that we were never in our room so this time we booked an inside cabin to save money. We actually liked the inside room. After putting our things in our room we decided to check out the ship and go to the buffet before going to the mandatory safety briefing. Then out to sea we went….
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First port was ARUBA. This island is beautiful. I would like to go back again soon. I picked an excursion in Aruba that I had never done and I would always remember. PARASAILING!! I thought it would be a great way to see a lot of the island or country. Glad I had a camera. The excursion was a combo parasailing and jet skiing. I couldn’t find a carnival excursion I liked so I booked this one online. When we arrived to check in we were met by two young guys. They walked us over to their boat; where their girlfriends were waiting and we all started out to sea. They found their spot and walked us through the rules then got us hooked up, tried on, put on the back of the boat. When the boat started moving the wind began carrying us up higher and higher. The higher we went up the more the wind started whipping us around like crazy. The wind was horrible up there. I was in the front and Regina was behind me. I was holding on as tight as I could and she was holding me with her legs. While getting beat up by the wind we noticed, that the only thing connecting us to the boat was a rope with a tiny little knot. This made us more scared. They told me that when we were ready to come down all I had to do was hold out both arms. This sounded easy before getting up there. After getting up high and having a major wind issue I couldn’t figure out how to let go long enough to hold out my arms; so I finally halt out one arm at a time. Thank God they understood and brought us down. It was quite an experience. It was a gorgeous view from up there. That is definitely one excursion I will never forget. When we got back to land we were so exhausted that we ask for our money back for the jet skiing. It was $199.99 for both of us to do both things but we had $70.00 returned to us for not jet skiing. We decided to take it easy and site see. We flagged down a taxi to take us around. So while in the taxi– I learned one very important tip — NEVER BRING UP ANY AMERICANS WHO HAVE DISAPPEARED WHILE IN ARUBA. They do not like it and take offense to it. FURTHERMORE, THEY WILL MAKE YOU WALK! After this we decided it was time to go back to the ship.
https://www.viator.com/tours/Aruba/Parasailing/d28-102406P1?accountid=TDNPL50&mcid=58086
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Our next stop was CURACAO. We didn’t have any excursions planned so we decided to walk around and shop. As we exited the ship everyone was walking to the right so we went left. We soon realized that no other tourist were in this area. We kept walking and walking. As you can see from some of these pictures the neighborhood started to look a little rough so we turned around. As we started back a local woman ask us if the were lost then she insisted that she escort us back to the tourist area. She was very nice and we were very grateful. We soon caught up with the other cruise passengers and done some shopping till we went back to the ship. The tourist area has street after street of shops. Great shopping and a good place to find quality diamonds.
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Our final stop was GRAND TURK. We didn’t have anything planned in Grand Turk either. You can walk off the tier to the beach here. They have lots of chairs set up on the beach. MARGARITAVILLE is on the beach also. Many cruisers hang out at MARGARITAVILLE. It has a couple of bars and one bar is in a swimming pool that allows you swim up to the bar for a refreshing drink. A FLOWRIDER is next to MARGARITAVILLE for some surfing. Carnival offers a BBQ buffet just down the beach for FREE. GRAND TURK has the normal gift shops. Behind the shops is a wall. It appears they are trying to block off the tourist area and the local residence; however, you can walk around the wall. Four wheelers can be rented behind the wall. Most importantly in January, February, and March GRAND TURK has WHALE SHARK excursions. This is a bit expensive but I bet it is awesome. Its $170.00 per people. So while here we went to the beach and snorkeled. It is FREE! TIP: Take your mask, snorkel, and bananas to this beach with you. Yes, BANANAS. We take bananas with us to feed the fish. Its so cool. They come from everywhere. This could be your excursion and it didn’t cost you anything.
We had the next day at sea. We slept in the last day and spent most of our day in the casino. The last day your bill is delivered to your room. The luggage that you are checking must be outside your room door by 10pm that last night.
If you need new luggage take a look at these suitcases.
The next morning the ship returns to its final destination at 8am. Shortly after deporting starts. They start from the top floors down. We stay down low so we have plenty of time for breakfast. Then its time to leave the ship til next time…………
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