Cruisin' with Catherine

I spent this past week on a cruise with my sister, Catherine. We decided back in November that it was about time that the two of us went on a vacation, just the two of us. Catherine went on a cruise last July and had an amazing time, while I hadn't been on one for about ten years... and to be honest, I don't remember much of it. She suggested going on a cruise and I was immediately on board (hah, ship jokes!). 

We decided on a 7-day Carnival cruise through the western Caribbean that made stops in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico. We started the countdown and started checking out the options that we had for excursions in each port.

When all was said and done, we'd chosen to sign up for a horseback excursion in Jamaica, a combo sting ray and dolphin adventure in Grand Cayman, and a 'snuba' experience in Cozumel. By the time December came around, we'd paid off the relatively cheap cruise (yay for off-season rates!) and were saving up for the excursions that we'd chosen. We were shocked and thrilled when my mother surprised us by paying for our excursions. It was a wonderful Christmas gift and one that we got to enjoy together. 

The end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 went by very quickly! Before I knew it, we were discussing packing lists, parking in Galveston, and who was going to watch our precious puppies while we were away. 

On Friday, I wrapped up things at work, finished packing, dropped my pup off with my parents and headed to Catherine's place in Kingwood for the night. After waking up far too early, Catherine and I headed to Galveston on Saturday morning and met her boyfriend, who'd gotten off of a cruise just hours before we were getting on ours, for brunch. I took a just-in-case dramamine and we headed toward the port. With our "Faster to the Fun" pass we were able to board early and skip all of the lines. From parking lot to ship it only took us about 40 minutes, a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise. Definitely worth the investment for those pondering a future Carnival cruise. 

Before boarding the ship, Catherine told me that she had three surprises for me once we boarded the ship. Needless to say, my interest was piqued! The first surprise was a quick one- when we opened our stateroom door I was met not by the interior room that I expected, but a room with a balcony! What a wonderful surprise! We spent many hours on our balcony relaxing after our excursions and I got a lot of reading in out there. 

Our stateroom on the Carnival Freedom.

Catherine and I in our stateroom before
we left Galveston.

After checking out our stateroom, we went out to explore the rest of the ship and grabbed our first drink! 

Pre-departure selfie on the Carnival Freedom.

Enjoying a drink on the Lido Deck before leaving port.

Around 3pm, the Carnival Freedom departed Galveston and we waived goodbye to all of our responsibilities for a week. It was great! We attended our mandatory safety briefing so we all knew what to do in case of an emergency. Afterwards, Catherine and I each visited the spa, where I got a facial and massage- perfect way to start our vacation! Due to waking up early, we were exhausted, so after dinner we tucked ourselves into bed early- around 11pm and were eagerly looking forward to our first day at sea!