To Hell and Back: Escape from Snowmageddon (Or, The World’s Longest Valor Review, part 12)featured

by Nicole on March 4, 2012

We woke up around 9:00am, grabbed our sun gear and…there were NO chairs at the main pool, the adults-only pool or the main area of deck 10. Perfect way to start our last day at sea, right? We ended up finding seats near the steakhouse but it was incredibly windy and we took turns grabbing breakfast.

Stephanie only stayed out for about an hour, but I stayed out for an additional hour. It was nice out, there was snow at home and I wasn’t going to let that warm shine go to waste. I guess when Stephanie headed back to the room, our room hadn’t been done yet, so she hung with Mom and grandma for awhile. They found me in the room then we all went for chocolate lunch. There was a longer line for Mongolian than there was for the chocolate buffet! No ice cream swans this go round, much to Mom’s disappointment.

Nothing like a plate full of unadulterated sugar to give you a craving for…veggies. So I headed to the Mongolian line for some real lunch food. Mongolian trick I learned: adding soy sauce makes it so much more tasty. I’m wearing thin on these three bland sauce options. I’d kill for a sweet teriyaki or like a mongolian kind of sauce. Or more options…like mu shu. I’d give my pinky toe to get some mu shu pork on board. I won’t hold my breath but if the Carnival Lido Food Gods are listening…expand that stir fry bar!

After lunch, we did the majority of our packing. I don’t know how I manage to pack so much and wear so little. I really don’t. And packing to go home is so much less fun than packing with the anticipation of an upcoming trip. What a drag. All packed, I took my shower, did my hair…and fell asleep. Those interior rooms are highly conducive to napping.

Mom came to wake me up and she, Stephanie, grandma and I went around the ship, just kind of taking it all in. Carnival ships are fun in their decor. There’s a lot to take in and it’s completely different from the understated glamor of the decor on the likes of Princess, but it’s fun to look at just because there’s always something new to find and discover.

After our leisurely perusal of the ship’s public areas, we headed to tea, which was incredibly nice… but I couldn’t remember if we had live music, which meant if there was, it was unremarkable. Still, an unremarkable tea on Carnival is heads and shoulders above what I’ve read about tea on other non-luxury lines. The experience is lovely and relaxing in and of itself (or maybe that’s the chamomile).

After tea, we packed more and then grandma took her nap while we went to the farewell party, which was surprisingly empty (for a farewell party, anyways), and then headed out for some fresh air on the promenade.

With that, it was time for dinner, which was slow and unremarkable. We didn’t stay for dessert because it was just too slow and we had so much to do. We were so sad to say goodbye to Dewey (again), though! I’m sure our paths will cross again someday, and it really was so, so lovely to see her again.

Chilled Supreme of Fresh Fruit (Finished with Peach Schnapps)

Grilled Portabello Mushroom and Handpicked Mesclun Lettuce (Marinated with Balsamic, fresh basil and virgin olive oil)

New England Crab Cake (Served with apple relish, roasted bell pepper and rosemary remoulade)

Mango Cream (Iced mango cream soup, spiced with fresh ginger)

Caesar Salad (Hearts of romaine lettuce tossed with our Caesar dressing, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, anchovies and herb croutons)

Southern Fried Chicken (Served with mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables of the day)

Barbecued St. Louis Style Pork Spare Ribs (Served with creamy coleslaw, grilled spring onion and fries)

Tender Roasted Prime Rib of American Beef au Jus (Baked potato with traditional toppings)

Since we skipped dessert, we went with Mom and grandma up to the Lido deck and grabbed some cookies (Carnival has the best chocolate chip cookies), and we enjoyed those with some coffee while grandma had her dinner. Afterwards, we all headed down for trivia. I had a tiramisu martini, and it was ahhhhhhmazing. Mom got us some chocolate covered strawberries and it was the sweetest end to a cruise we could have.

Gender wars was kind of lame and I didn’t really like how they were forcing people into activities. Spectating is okay sometimes, too…not everyone is a participator. I got myself chosen to play Game Show Mania – Beat the Host and I FINALLY WON!!!!!!!! Add that Stick on a Ship to the collection.

Stephanie was manning the camera on this jaunt…

Tonight was the Legends show, and it was better in some regards, not so good in others. All in all, the quality of this show is constantly deteriorating and it’s time to shake it up. I don’t think this show has changed at all since my first Carnival cruise, back in 2004.