"Wear Closed-toed Shoes."

The next morning we were awakened by what sounded like an announcement being piped into the ship. I initially thought how cool it was that the Queen Mary carried its authenticity through to making cabin announcements like on a working cruise ship. Come to find out (as I came out of my sleeping fog) it was the Carnival Paradise, docked and trying to kick this weekend’s passengers off the boat ... also known as debarkation. And boy, was she loud about it.

Woo Hoo, our ship has arrived. So, up and Aft we went.

Hello, Paradise!

 

We spent some time up on deck taking photos of both the Queen Mary and Paradise.

Hey, what’s through those doors? 

We have time to find out ... let’s explore.

Now would be the time to explain the “Wear closed-toed shoes” idea. For weeks (if not months) prior to our cruise, I would tell hubby we need to remember to bring closed-toed shoes because they were required for the Behind the Fun Tour. I think I said it so often more for myself than for him because he always brings sneakers. I on the other hand usually only bring various forms of sandals on a cruise. So, not wanting to be shut out of this tour, I had to keep reminding myself (out loud to everyone around) to bring closed-toed shoes.

So, on this special embarkation morning ... I of course was wearing open-toed sandals.

Stepping in and over the bottom of the metal doorway, I misjudged my stepping and BAM smashed my toe on a corner of the metal. Yes, it hurt. But, I’m not a big baby so I ventured on and through to the Isolation Ward.

The isolation ward was where foreign passengers would hang out until they were deemed healthy. It was also a place where passengers with their 1930s diseases would hang out until they were well. It was also here where I realized my bashed toe was also bleeding. Good thing I was in the Isolation Ward.

Maybe we should think about heading off this ship. But first, a few more Queen Mary photos.

 The best cup of coffee ever ... I had a great morning 

vanilla latte from the Starboard Bakery.

The outer decks were cool and the views fabulous. 

What's that I see peeking through the lifeboats? 

Ahhhh, the Carnival Paradise!

 I was fascinated by all of the ropes on this ship.

See what I mean? I just couldn't get enough.

And it looks like ... neither could Rod!

Hi all!

An early morning row of visitors came to send us off! 

Guess it's time to head the other ship ... the Carnival Paradise!

Welcome to the 1930s

Being aboard the Queen Mary is really like stepping back in time to that wonderful Art Deco era of the 30s. Not only is the decor rich with originality, but ‘big band swing’ music from the 30s could be heard all over. The ambiance was that great.

Paying homage to swing ... here are my jazz hands!

I love the architecture from this era, they just don’t make elevators like this anymore. Standing in front of them I couldn’t help but think of all the people ... the famous, the rich, the regal ... who may have passed through these elevators.

The Promenade is the place where everything is happening ... well, it would be when the shops open! At this point it was quite late at night and there were just a few people wandering the ship.

See, even the ceiling looks cool.

Everywhere you look you are reminded of a different time. The promenade extends the length of the ship and is filled with stores, cafes and historic reminders of how the ship looked back then.

One such case held photos and mementos from over Queen Mary’s years ... and ignited a memory from my own childhood. When I was young, my Grandparents took me to Europe. At one point we traveled on a Ferry from England to France, and it was here my Grandmother bought me a little blue velvet Sailor doll. Exactly like the one behind the case! I loved my Grandmother and I loved that little Sailor doll. It was so weird to see a childhood ‘friend’ like that. The next day we found more in one of the shops on the promenade. After relaying my story, the shopkeeper told us “Yes, we do sell those dolls.” And as he picked one up he stated, “This one is on consignment and it sells for $465.”

Needless to say, I now have a great photograph of my little Sailor Doll!

Boarding the Queen Mary

Carnival Paradise’s decorative theme is Great Ocean liners of the World (thank you ship’s architect Joe Farcus), so it seems very fitting to spend a pre-cruise overnight on the Queen Mary.

The Queen Mary sits afloat at the Port of Long Beach ... very handy for those embarking on the Carnival ships that dock there. I booked directly through the Queen Mary Web site and found a Park & Sail deal attached to a Deluxe Stateroom with King Size Bed. Sounds fabulous, count me in! I detest paying for parking and will usually try to find ways around it. There are a few other hotels in Long Beach that will babysit the car for free while you cruise. It’s good to check out the deals if you are driving to the port.

We arrived later than we originally wanted to. You see, we had this pressing work deadline that we were feverishly trying to complete. Our vacation initially was to include some pre-cruise fun for a few days in and around Long Beach, but ‘the deadline’ quickly took that over. So, as our Thursday turned to Friday turned to Saturday, we knew those fun days were gone. Not that big of a deal, we had our reservation set and paid for the Queen Mary Sunday. We were leaving then, for sure ... deadline or no deadline. And so we did. We arrived just after dinner. 

Hauling a load of cruise luggage for a one-night hotel stay is funny. Even when packing light ... there can be a lot of pieces. It’s just the way it works. So, here we were late Sunday hauling our ‘necessities’ onboard the Queen Mary. Setting foot onto what was once regarded as the grandest ocean liner ever built; a sea-faring vessel that transported kings, queens and other very important people across the Atlantic, in my loaded down vulnerability I felt like the Beverly Hillbillies.

The Lobby, located on A Deck, was easy to find. We quickly checked in and received a pass key for our Stateroom #449 on B Deck ... one deck below. We have cruised quite often and have stayed in quite a few hotels in our life, so it came to a halting surprise to us that we got completely lost looking for our stateroom on the Queen Mary.

Plodding our way through the infinite hallway watching the room numbers rise ... B301, B315, B331 ... we were confident we would soon reach our room ... B341, dead end. What? We were at the Bow of the ship with not a #400 in sight. So, with plenty of backtracking (and even a few sidetrackings) we found that the stateroom numbering systems begin mid-ship. B301 starts mid-ship and goes forward, while B401 starts mid-ship and goes aft towards the Stern. We were at the wrong end of the boat.

Our stateroom was awesome. There were two Portholes with a sitting area, a flat screen TV, a King size bed and good size bathroom that included a bathtub. Yes, we were sitting in the lap of luxury.

Hello, Rod! Here is my hubby’s review of the Queen Mary bed: “Best. Bed. Ever.” And I concur.

Hey, did you know the Queen Mary is haunted? They have tours available ... but, we decided to create a few ‘ghosts’ of our own!

Yep, that’s me taking stateroom photos. We spent the rest of the evening running around the ship with our cameras (you’ll probably hear this a lot).

Four Days of Paradise: Our Cruise Ship Adventure

This would be a cruise of firsts. Our first porthole cabin, our first try at Your Time Dining, our first experience with Chef’s Table, our first Behind the Fun tour and our first cruise together without any children. I’m excited.

Sometimes the waiting period from booking to cruising seems like an eternity ... 111 days, seriously? Although the anticipation really is a lot of the fun for me.

We booked an ES rate back in April and sent in our FCC (purchased on the Carnival Splendor) for added OBC ... $50 since it’s a short cruise, woo hoo! In the upcoming months we would receive two price drops adding a nice little OBC fund for our adventures. Wow, that’s a lot of acronyms in that sentence. So, for you cruise newbies here’s the key: ES = Early Saver, FCC = Future Cruise Certificate, OBC = Onboard Credit.

Oh, let me introduce myself. I am Robin and I’m traveling with my wonderful hubby, Rod. We have five kids and a couple of cats ... we aren’t too old, but not too young either! We have been working really hard and like most people deserve a lovely three-month vacation ... but, we will gladly accept this shorter trip on the Paradise.

Living on the West Coast, our cruise destination options are somewhat limited. We just don’t have a lot of foreign Islands/Ports hanging around within reach like the East Coast has for a quick getaway. Our Baja Mexico itinerary, though, included a nice mix of port days and at sea days:

Monday — Long Beach - 4:30 p.m. Sail Away!
Tuesday — Catalina Island - 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday — Ensenada, Mexico - 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Thursday — Fun Day at Sea
Friday — Long Beach - 8 a.m.









As I said earlier, the anticipation is a large part of the fun for me. This is where all of the planning and dreaming happens! So, it probably wouldn’t surprise you to know I frequented the Port Cams often just waiting for the day it would be our turn.

The Paradise looked gorgeous sitting next to the Queen Mary when I snagged this shot from the Long Beach Port Cam, just a week before we were to embark. “Hello, lucky people!”

This trip journal will cover our experiences both onboard and off the Carnival Paradise as well as our pre-cruise adventure on the Queen Mary. Please feel free to ask any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them as best as I can.

Oh, I see there is 1 day left to cruise ... so we’d better get started.