Stationed in Miami, Florida Carnival was originally founded in 1972 by Ted Arison as an independent company, but now Carnival is a branded division within Carnival Corporation & plc, a publicly traded company with Micky Arison as the Chairman. Carnival is well known for having the Las-Vegas style décor and entertainment. Carnival calls “Its ships The Fun Ships and offer a wide range of activities offered on board. Its trademark is the smoke stack, or funnel, which is red, white and blue and shaped like a whale's tail. “The mascot for Carnival is Fun Ship Freddy, a character in the shape of Carnival's distinctive funnel.”

Over the last two years I have taken two cruises, both on the same Carnival ship known as the “Carnival Glory”. This ship sails to both the eastern and western Caribbean.

In 2006 my mom, dad, and I took the cruise to the eastern Caribbean, sailing to Nassau Bahamas, St. Martin, and St. Thomas. That first morning when I woke up, I immediately looked out of the window and saw that there was no land insight. My mom and dad told me to get up and get dressed, because we were all going to eat a gourmet breakfast and knew what they would have to offer previous to the first cruise. As we were walking down to the dining hall I could already smell the aroma of coffee. Every morning we had delicious gourmet breakfast plus we would have a three part dinner. In the evening of the seventh day when we were heading back home my dad asked me on the way home if I liked the cruise. I told him “Yes” and I would love for to come back next year.

In 2007 we went to the western Caribbean this time, exploring the islands of Belize, Cozumel, and Nassau. On the cruise I made a couple of friends and hung out with them most of the time leaving my mom and dad alone which lead them to eat dinner and breakfast alone most of the time .

After about the sixth day the cruise ship headed back to Fort Lauderdale Fl for releasing all of the passengers to go home.

Prior to the other cruise the staff had become much more friendly and helpful not to mention every night they left towel animals on your bed with mints. While we had no problems getting out luggage brought to our room and debarking off the ship hasty and managing to stay safe.

I think that if you went on a Carnival cruise you would have a wonderful time due to the cruise lines friendliness, having fun activities the excellent food and service but the most exciting part massive amount of memories you would with your family and the people you might meet.ise Critic” 

 

It was called Megans Bay. My cruise ship was docked just about a 15 minute taxi ride away on the other side of a big hill. Megans Bay is often ranked as one of the top ten beaches in the world. From where I stood I could see a home nestled on the near hillside where President Clinton and family had once spent a vacation. It wasn't too far away from the red roofed house where Michael Jordan stayed when he was visiting the island.

WHERE IS MEGANs BAY?

Megans Bay is located in St. Thomas, a duty-free port and part of the U.S. vigin Islands. The island is centrally located in the Caribbean Sea and is a favorite stop-over for cruise ships. It is not unusual to see 4 or 5 gigantic cruise ships in port at the same time. St.Thomas is a stunning island surrounded by pristine beaches and inviting blue, green water that have welcomed travelers since the time of Christopher Columbus.

HOW IS THE SHOPPING?

Probably the best shopping in all of the Caribbean can be found in St. Thomas. Not only is it duty free, but the selection is truly remarkable. On any give day the town center of Charlotte Amalie is bustling with tourists ducking in and out of jewelery stores that line the main streets. The choices of diamond and emerald jewelery is simply amazing. Probably the best bargain of all however is to buy "loose" diamonds and have them made into jewelry of your choice when you arrive back home.

Jewels are not the only bargain one can find. I was travelling with a girlfriend from Switzerland and she found the prices on notebook computers so low I thought she was going buy three of them for a while there. However, calmer heads prevailed and she bought one that she would have cost her $1500 more in Switzerland. Liquor is also at rock bottom prices as well. It was not unusual to see fellow cruise ship passengers hauling 5 or 6 bottles of spirits back on board the ship.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS:

Needless to say, much like every Caribbean island, St.Thomas is surrounded by amazing white sand beaches. You can rent seadoos, try windsurfing or just bask in the hot tropical sun or sleep in the shade of a palm tree. For a change of pace, you can rent a moped and putter around the island. St. Thomas also has some quality restaurants, so there is no lack of interesting and top of the line cuisine. For the ultimate view of St. Thomas, there are plane excursions that will fly you over the island. I'm sure it would be pricey but I can only imagine how breath- taking it would be to see this jewel of the Caribbean from the air.

So if you are ever looking for somewhere to spend a week or two vacation, there are few more beautiful choices than St. Thomas. At the very least, if you are planning a cruise, make sure that this is one port that your ship will be stopping at.