Family

Day 5: Aboard the Carnival Sunshine Review

November 2, 2015 by Jennifer Leave a Comment

Over the next few days, I will be sharing recaps from our time aboard the Carnival Sunshine. It was an amazing experience. Hope you will enjoy our life on the ship. This is a sponsored review but as always, all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

This day brought us into the port at St. Kitts.

Since we arrived into port at 7:00am, there were no lines to depart the boat as most people were still sleeping. This is a smaller island and I will say to enjoy this port to the fullest, definitely purchase an excursion. We chose to opt out of an excursion on this island and enjoy some shopping/relaxation.

Little Sis enjoyed interacting with the monkeys the most on this island and we had to buy her own stuffed monkey before we left the island. Notice the monkeys in the below pictures?

After spending about two and half hours on the island, we boarded the ship to enjoy the low crowds aboard. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the pool just relaxing with the family. We had the pool all to ourselves. Since this boat only has one family pool, it is hard to enjoy it on sea days so we took advantage of it on this day.

Also, the girls and I enjoyed the water slides. Again, there were no lines so we were having a blast riding as much as our hearts were content.

For lunch, we grabbed burgers from Guy’s Burger Joint. You have to try the burgers at least once when you are on a Carnival Cruise. There are different recipes, but Big Sis and I grabbed the “Plain Jane” and put our own toppings on the burger. No bun for me, but every bite was still delicious.

We ended up leaving the pool around 4:00pm since everyone had to be back on the boat at 4:30. It was a good time to head to our cabin for a little bit of downtime before dinner. It is nice to have a balcony with your cabin as you can take a few moments and relax by the water. You can capture sunsets like this:

Carnival Breeze sailing away.... — Carnival Breeze sailing away….

Dinner was awaiting us! I thought I would share with you our menu from the night so you can get an idea the type of dinner options you have to choose from each night.

As you will see from the pictures below, I chose the asparagus vichyssoise as my starter. This was the best chilled soup. Delicious! For our main meals, Hubby and I both chose the petite filet mignon and Big Sis chose the shrimp and fries from the comfort kitchen. Pumpkin pie was the dessert of choice for the night. Isn’t it amazing at the options? Anyone up for ox tongue?!

The night was capped off by a show with Dana Tison. A comedian juggler?! Who knew there was such a person? He did a great job and definitely had intriguing juggling skills.

Our monkey and towel animal greeted us as we made it back to our cabin for the night!

San Juan, Puerto Rico is up next…

Don’t miss our other days on the Carnival Sunshine!

Day 5

Day 4: Aboard the Carnival Sunshine Review

October 27, 2015 by Jennifer Leave a Comment

Over the next few days, I will be sharing recaps from our time aboard the Carnival Sunshine. We just arrived back home in NC and it was an amazing experience. Hope you will enjoy our life on the ship. This is a sponsored review but as always, all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

Our first day to land. We put our feet on the ground in St. Maarten. This island has received rave reviews from family and friends. We were hoping it lived up to all the hype. Check out our view as we pulled into port.

This is the first morning that we ate breakfast on the Lido Deck. This is your only option when it is a port day. Believe me though, you have plenty of menu options from breakfast burritos to a full buffet bar. I chose a delicious bowl of piping hot oatmeal with a side of fresh fruit.

It was time to gather our things and head to the gangway. When you arrive at port at 9am, you have to wait for an announcement before you can make your way down to deck 0 to leave the boat. We waited until about 9:30am to make the trek to avoid long lines. Once off the boat, your family has several photo opportunities by Carnival. The pictures will be ready for you to view once you are back on the boat in the evening. You can purchase or politely put them in the recycle bin.

As we made our way into port, there are several stores on the island to do shopping. The family casually walked through a few stores and then headed for the water taxi line. The round trip fee is $7 for each person. The water taxi takes you over to the beach. The water is so beautiful.

Beware of the locals’ sales pitches. This is how they make their living and we were asked multiple times if we wanted to rent an umbrella and chairs. Politely say no and head to your spot on the beach. We were able to put out our towels and things along the shore so we could keep a close eye on our belongings. Hubby, the girls, and I dived into the beach. The water was so warm and so blue. This is where we spent the next two and half hours. Believe me, we could have stayed all day.

Before heading back to the boat, we strolled through more shops and then decided to take a break at a restaurant on the beach. Big Sis and I ordered nude coladas, Hubby ordered him a drink and Little Sis wanted french fries. It was nice to just relax there on the beach with the family.

Antigua was our favorite island from our last cruise trip. St. Maarten is now definitely competing as our favorite island. It was hard to leave.

We boarded the water taxi one last time to head back to the ship. It was an awesome day.

It was time to clean up from all the sand and get ready for our 6:00pm dinner reservations. As of Day 4, our wait staff have become close friends. During dinner tonight, they showed us family dinner games such as the shovel game and ice fishing.

Much laughter was had at the dinner table. Speaking of dinner, the food was delicious. Hubby and Big Sis ordered NY Strip Steak, Little Sis ordered chicken nuggets, and I ordered barbeque cornish hen. The cruise is your opportunity to order foods that you would not ordinarily eat back home as all the food is inclusive with your ticket price.

After dinner, it was perfect night to enjoy corn hole with the family. It is amazing how much we laugh at ourselves, but laughter is indeed good for the soul. It brings you closer and we love to laugh. Of course, hubby beat us in corn hole. Still so much fun.

We capped the night with a magic show with the famous Bobby Borgia. He had us in awe at his magic tricks and illusions. Carnival did a great job selecting him as one of the nightly entertainment guests.

Another full day filled with great family memories. We were greeted by our towel animal and were fast asleep as soon as we hit our pillows.

Don’t miss our other days on the Carnival Sunshine!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 3: Aboard the Carnival Sunshine Review

October 25, 2015 by Jennifer Leave a Comment

Day 3 of the cruise started out with enjoying the Sea Day brunch once again. This is a great option if you like the relaxing atmosphere and would rather not partake in the buffet on the Lido Deck. The girls enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes, while hubby and I enjoyed an omelet. There is quite the variety on the menu from eggs, to steak, to salmon.

As soon as brunch was finished, we did not waste any time to make the trek up to the top deck.

I was so thankful for this run/walk track on the Carnival Sunshine! Even though we were on vacation, there were a lot of great foods we wanted to taste test. This track helped to keep the weight in check! Also, how about exercising with this view? Ten laps around the track is one mile.

Hubby and I walked laps while the girls played pool.

You will never get bored on this ship. If you do, then it would be your own fault. There is so much to do. Finally, we made our way to the water park.

Big Sis enjoyed the Carnival WaterWorks. The positive about this water park is there’s something for all ages. Parents can have fun with the kids or the parents can sit close by while the older kids experience the park. Two big water slides will keep the big kids entertained while two very small slides along with a splash zone will keep the younger kids smiling. Chairs are aligned all around the water park for parents to keep close eye on the children.

During lunch, Big Sis and I decided to try the Ji Ji Asian Kitchen. This is no extra charge to dine during lunch. You are able to select your own fresh ingredients in an bowl and the chef will grill it right in front of you.

Lunch was amazing! It was nice to eat all fresh ingredients and see it cook right in front of you. This became our favorite lunch spot!

A storm started brewing but did not last long. The gusty winds did stay but it helped cool off the top deck of the ship. The girls were enjoying standing up in the winds. The Spink Family could not let a day go by without getting in a game of ping-pong. This has become our favorite game of the cruise. We played for another hour until it was time for Disney Trivia.

The Spink Family totally rocked Disney Trivia!

It was so much fun guessing, sharing laughs, and seeing Ariel make an appearance from the seas.

Trivia is a great time to come in from the sun and have great laughs with the family on a Sea Day in an air conditioned room.

After a break in our cabin, it was time for our dinner reservations at Cucina Del Capitano.

This is a family style Italian restaurant. This is an extra charge in the evenings to eat at this restaurant. The charge is $15 for adults and $5 for children. I ensure you the price is definitely worth the food you receive. You will select an appetizer, main entree, and a dessert. The restaurant does have gluten free options. Big Sis and I chose to start out with caesar salads while hubby decided to try the meatballs. Both dishes were not an disappointment. He said the meatballs come in second to his grandmother’s recipe.

For our main entrees, I chose to try the sirloin steak marinaded in red wine. The steak was tender and tasted delicious but I will admit, did not beat the taste of the filet mignon from the brunch. Hubby and Big Sis both selected the chicken parmesan. Thumbs up all around for their dishes. Check out the huge portions:

Every last bite of was gone and both agreed it was the best chicken parmesan they both have tasted in an Italian restaurant. Little Sis selected one of her favorite dishes, macaroni and cheese. She said it wasn’t as good as mom’s but came in a close second. Not sure if she was being kind to me or what, but she ate every bite!

The night was ended with the comedy show in the George Lopez Punchliner Comedy Club.

The 8:30 show is the family show. The entire family laughed throughout the show. It was very tasteful and good clean family comedy. We all recommend the show.

Of course, the towel animal greeted us as we made it back to our cabin. Another great day at sea.

Tomorrow, we finally make it to land with our first stop being St. Maarten. The girls were fast asleep after a fun-filled day.

Don’t miss our other days on the Carnival Sunshine!

Day 3

Day 2: Aboard the Carnival Sunshine Review

October 21, 2015 by Jennifer Leave a Comment

Waking up to a beautiful view of sea.

This day was our first full day at sea. Each sea day, a brunch is held in the Sunrise Dining room from 8:30am to 1:00pm. My recommendation is to arrive between 8:30am and 9:30am for a very minimal wait time to be seated. If you would like to be seated by a window to view the Atlantic Ocean, remember to request a table. Booths are in the middle of the room and you cannot always view the ocean.

This brunch is no extra charge. You are presented a menu to pick a starter and main entree. The waiter talked us into getting the “go big or go home” steak and eggs.

As many know, I rarely eat red meat. The filet mignon was very tender with a superb marinade to give it a delicious taste. The eggs (sunny side up) were over a mixture of potatoes. Unfortunately, I could not eat the tomato. Madi said it was awesome! The coffee was much stronger than mine and Hubby’s liking. You should at least enjoy the brunch once during the cruise. Little Sis chose to order chocolate chip pancakes. She was not disappointed and almost ate every bite. Check out that chocolate!

After brunch, we headed to the top deck of the ship to experience the SkyCourt. This is where we spent hours of family time playing putt-putt and ping-pong.

The view while you are enjoying these activities are breathtaking. Sometimes, literally breathtaking. Little Sis kept making us laugh so hard as the wind would gust and take her breath at times. She was truly experiencing breathtaking.

Another positive about the SkyCourt is this was a great way to exercise to burn calories from all the food we enjoyed on the boat. I loved all the laughs we shared and will hold these memories close to our hearts.

The afternoon brought us inside the boat to Ocean Plaza to participate in the Dr. Suess parade. Carnival creates so many family events to help you have the best family vacation. After the parade, you could join the Cruise Director, Jaime for story time.

A full day at sea brought us back to our cabin to get all fancy for the first formal night of the cruise. This 8-night cruise has two formal nights. It was so much fun getting all dolled up and enjoying an elegant dinner that included lobster tails.

The lobster tails were amazing.

Lobster Tails on Carnival Sunshine

Of course, the girls and hubby really enjoyed Carnival’s warm melting chocolate cake. This may be the dessert they pick each night!

You are able to get professional pictures taken aboard the ship. I knew our formal night would be our chance to finally get our first professional family of four picture. It only took 11 years. The pictures turned out amazing. I’m so in love with them. The below picture is just pictures of the pictures, so you do see the actual photo but you can see why I am so pleased with them. Now, to find beautiful frames for the pictures.

After dinner, we did our nightly walk on the top deck and experienced an amazing lightning show. This would be weather channel worthy. It was soon realized, we needed to take cover inside. The ship was going through a severe storm.

It was fine though as we were excited for the Motor City Playlist Productions show featuring songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Each night on the ship, a production show is performed in the Liquid Lounge. Hubby and I knew every single song that was performed. It was a great way to end Day 2! The performers were great and the choreography was wonderfully done.

This towel animal greeted us as we made our way back to the cabin to call it a night.

Day 1 Review

Day 2

Day 3 Review

Juicy Juice Debuts New Juice: Juicy Juice Splashers

October 4, 2015 by Jennifer 1 Comment

Juicy Juice has been a household name for years. It is the juice that showed up during snack time at my girls’ sporting activities, my girls’ schools, and in our own refrigerator.

As a parent, I am more aware of what we eat and drink. We will not allow anything in the house with high fructose corn syrup. Thankfully, like all of the Juicy Juice brand’s beverages, Juicy Juice Splashers contain no high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar or artificial sweeteners, and are available nationwide in four kid-favorite flavors, including Fruit Punch, Berry Lemonade, Peach Mango and Tropical Twist.

We put the new flavors to a taste test!

L thoroughly enjoyed the taste and immediately asked for another one. I wanted to see if I liked it, and I was impressed with the taste. The juice tastes more natural to me. I’m proud of a company listening to parents and making a healthier drink. The Juicy Juice Splashers are a refreshing 50/50 blend of filtered water and fruit juice with 50% less sugar than the leading juice.

With Halloween right around the corner, I wanted to share with recipes and activities that will leave your ghoulish guests “haunting” for more, Juicy Juice! These spooky and fall-favorite recipes and activities made with Juicy Juice 100% juice are a great alternative to the typical candy treat:

· Ghoulish Grape Hands