My girlfriend and I decided to go on a cruise for our vacation from July 1-7. It was my first cruise, her 3rd, but 1st on Carnival. We are both 20-something, college educated, young professionals raised in small towns relatively close to major metropolitan areas. The flights from Atlanta via our home near Charlotte was longer than expected, but you cannot control the weather. We did not book our flights with Carnival, and found a great deal using an internet travel website. We arrived in a sticky San Juan after the 5 hour flight ready to get to the fun of our trip.
Sunday, July 1 Our flight from Charlotte to Atlanta was uneventful, except for the landing. We circled Atlanta, landed and began our wait. Two hours, a Moe's taco salad, and some iPod tunes later, we boarded our 4 hour 30 minute flight to San Juan. We landed in San Juan around 7 p.m. local time, found our luggage, and entered the hot and humid tropical weather that cannot be simulated here in North Carolina, no matter how hot and sticky it gets here. A 15-minute taxi ride costing $22 ($11 each)arrived us at the cruise terminal where the embarkation process began. Luggage was checked and sent through the security screeners (again) and we proceeded to the check-in desk where we were given our "sail & sign" cards, had a picture snapped, and were directed to the gangway onto the ship.
We arrived at our stateroom around 8:30 p.m. and were astounded. Room 1163 on the Riviera Deck, Starboard side, would be our home for the next 7 days. It was bigger than I expected. A king-sized bed, large bathroom, large picture window, huge wall mirror, leather sofa (with a pull out queen bed), three large closets (one with shelves), and a large chest of drawers, and a room safe. We unpacked quickly, and headed up to the Bon Voyage Party on the Lido Deck (deck 9). After celebrating a successful (and long) trip with a "Carnival Special" drink ($6.95 plus 15% gratuity), with an umbrella in it, we watched intently as we sailed past beautiful Old San Juan. We watched the land get smaller and smaller in the stuffy air. Dinner was next. We were hungry, the taco salad had worn off, and we went to the Galaxy Dining Room for the open seating dinner. Chicken Tenders, caesar salad, and grilled shrimp was on the menu for me, and it was excellent. Our dessert was interrupted by the required muster safety drill, so we scampered to the room, donned our lifejackets and reported to our muster station. 20 minutes of safety instruction was over and back we went to crash after a long first day.