Guys, I just got back from my first cruise! I took a 6 night Eastern Caribbean cruise with Carnival. I went with my mom, aunt, cousin and some of her friends and their mothers. It was nice taking a break and enjoying some quality time with my mom. She hasn’t been out of the country in years, so it was great being able to go somewhere new with her.
Book Your 6 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise*
* this cruise has the same ports of call but its now on the Carnival Magic
Our Ship
So, like I said I was aboard the Carnival Conquest. The ship has 11 decks filled with all sorts of cool stuff like a comedy club, a casino, an outdoor theater, a shopping area, and dining. There’s also an indoor theater that holds musical productions, bingo and other activities. We checked out a few shows and played bingo a couple of nights. We were never really bored while on the ship as there was always something going on.
Our 6 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise
Carnival’s 6 night Eastern Caribbean cruise has four ports of call: Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Puerto Plata. Our first day on the ship we took some time to walk around and get familiar with the boat. We had dinner in the dining room and turned in early to rest up for our first port.
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau was our first stop. The rest of our group took an excursion to play with stingrays and visit a private beach. My mom wasn’t interested in doing that, so we just explored the area around the ship. The straw market wasn’t far from where we docked so we walked around there for a bit. I was looking for a bag or a hat but I couldn’t find anything that didn’t seem like a “Made in China” tag wasn’t cut out of it. However, I did pick up a cheap little fan that a lady weaved my name into.
My mom can’t get around too well and I didn’t want to over exert her, so after the market we headed back to the boat and just grabbed some lunch on the lido deck.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
Our second port, was probably my least favorite. Half Moon Cay is a private island in the Caribbean owned by Carnival and there’s not much going on on it. There’s a couple places to eat, a bar, a beach and that’s about it unless you pay for an excursion. It had been raining on and off the entire morning but we were determined to get off the boat. So, once it looked a little clearer outside we made our way onto the island.
After grabbing a drink at the bar, we made our way to the beach area. My cousin and I didn’t hang around long and decided to walk around snap some shots instead. We were taking photos, and of course the rain came back. We decided it was time to head back to the ship so we gathered the troops and took the ferry back. While the rain was kind of a damper, I wasn’t too bummed about it.
Grand Turk, Turk and Caicos
In Grand Turk, we took a mini Hummer tour around the island. We started by visiting what is considered downtown, which was a couple of shops and a restaurant. There used to be a welcome center but it was damaged by the hurricanes last year. We had 15 mins to walk around a little, and I bought a cute, little wood carved antelope.
We hopped back into our mini Hummers and made our way to what the tour guides call “the circle of life.”Which was like a little overground aquarium filled with jellyfish, starfish, some sea urchins and conches. Our guide let us know a little about each one of them, and passed them around to be held. I didn’t hold anything, but I did touch a jellyfish! After this we made our way to the salt ponds, where we learned about the island’s history in salt mining. This was the last stop on our tour before returning back to our cruise port.
The tour was only 2 hours so we had some time to hang around the port. We grabbed a few drinks at the Margaritaville and hung out on the beach. When my mom and aunt decided to head back to the ship, my cousin and I decided to walk around and take some pictures before heading back in.
Amber Cove/Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic was the last port of call on our trip. We got off the boat relatively early and walked around Amber Cove a bit. Amber Cove is an area built by Carnival that has some shops and restaurants, and serves as the hub for travel. Half of our group decided to take a taxi to the beach while the other half of us hung around the cove.
After awhile, we decided to head out and explore Puerto Plata a little. For $60 we were able to hire a taxi driver to take us all around the city. He took us through different neighborhoods and we stopped and visited St. Philip the Apostle cathedral, the ocean front and Fort San Felipe. By time we reached the fort it was time for us to drive back to the port, so we only popped out for a couple of minutes to snap a couple of pictures.
We made it back to Amber Cove with a little time to spare, so we used it to do a little last minute shopping.
Day at Sea
Our last cruise day was a day at sea. There were a bunch of activities planned for the day since we weren’t docking anywhere. My mom, aunt, cousin and I got brunch in the morning which had some okay offerings. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the food on the boat. It all seemed a little bland but it is what it is. For the rest of the day, we did some shopping, ate, and enjoyed some on board entertainment.
Overall, I’m really glad we decided to take this trip. It was nice spending time with my family and getting to see some new places. I definitely want to visit these cities again as there were some things that I missed this time around that I’d like to see.
Book Your 6 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise*
* this cruise has the same ports of call but its now on the Carnival Magic
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12 COMMENTS
Sarah
6 years agoYour photos are so great! I would really like to try going on a cruise sometime. Seems like it would be a fun way to spend time with family.
Timpani
6 years ago AUTHORThanks Sarah! I would definitely recommend going on at least one in your lifetime.
LiveLoveAndAdventure
6 years agoThanks for your post. I have been on a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas before and loved it. The boat was great and of course the islands were amazing. I am looking forward to going back.
Timpani
6 years ago AUTHORThe Bahamas were beautiful! I missed out on some stuff so I’d love to go back again.
Julie Plagens
6 years agoI have been to a lot of these places and I loved them. Going on a cruise 4 times and the Carribean is one of the best.
Julie Plagens
6 years agoI love going to cruises. I love the Carribean. The Dominican Republic is nice. I didn;t go there.
Danielle
6 years agoWhat a beautiful trip! I have never been on a cruise ship before but it is definitely on my bucket list. Also your photos are gorgeous!
Timpani
6 years ago AUTHORThanks Danielle!
Clair
6 years agoWow! I have been wanting to go on a cruise, and this has made me want to even more! Maybe with all these great pictures, I can convince my husband haha!
Timpani
6 years ago AUTHORA cruise would be a great vacation to take with a significant other! Hopefully you can get him to go.
Kathleen
6 years agook your dress is so cute, and these pics make me want to travel asap! what editing do you use?
Timpani
6 years ago AUTHORThanks Kathleen! I’m glad I sparked a little wanderlust in you. Also, I use Lightroom to edit my photos.
-Timpani