Embarkation Eastern Caribbean Cruise

New Years Day we went to breakfast with Erica and Jeff in Coconut Grove at Berries on the Grove. This time we parked at a lot that I reserved in advance. It ended up costing us $68.33 from Sunday to Sunday reservation with Premier Parking USA. It even included a shuttle so we didn't have to get a taxi like we did last time. We had no problems and I would use them again.

I did notice while we were getting checked in that they have gone automated with check-in. Where people used to check you in, they now have kiosks. We got onto the ship at about 1:30 pm just in time for us to be able to go into our cabin. Cabins don't open up until 1:30pm.

We knew lunch would be served on board as well, but we weren't hungry at that time. This time I  brought our bathing suits with us if we decided to go swimming while waiting for our luggage to be delivered later that evening. Of course I brought too much clothes this time too. All I brought was 1 outfit a day, but when you wear a swimsuit most of the time, you don't always need an outfit. Packing was a little bit of a challenge for this trip. I had a Miami bag, our bags for the cruise, and then another separate bag for our trip to the Keys. The Miami and Keys bag stayed in the trunk of our car.

You can see our luggage

Omar surprised me by upgrading us to a balcony!!! I loved it! Carnival I guess called him about 3 days before and offered it at an awesome deal that he decided to try it out. It was very sacrificial of him as he was looking forward to staying in his dark small quarters where there is no window. As a joke at work they called him a "vampire" because he would prefer darkness more than light. Omar was not as excited about the balcony, but I must say it was so nice to be able to be sit out there as we sailed in and out of ports and to just relax.

Our view of Miami from the balcony

We chose anytime dining which we much preferred over the specific dining time. We learned after the first night that it is best to go right when they open if at all possible because our first night we waited about 30 minutes to get through the line, but were seated right away when we finally got to the beginning.

This time I am going to include as best as I can what we spent on the cruise at each port.