Back to Work after a fab two weeks break!!

Today is my first day back after a fab two week trip to New York and the Caribbean. We had a brilliant busy 6 nights in the city and then relaxed for 8 nights on board the Carnival Splendour. My blog later this week will have more details on the cruise itself but I just wanted to comment now on what it was like cruising out of Manhattan.

We could board from 12 lunch time so the morning of the cruise was so relaxing. We were staying at the Hudson hotel on West 58th Street between 9th & 10th Avenues. The port itself was on West 50th Street at 12th Avenue, so to be honest we could have walked to the port from our hotel if we hadn’t had so many bags. We caught a cab from outside the hotel and the fare was only $6.

The boarding process was fast and efficient and we found ourselves on the ship in no time. We were told by the staff that being early is the key and that people had been there from 10 in the morning and that if you arrive at around 1 – 2 pm it takes forever to get checked in – so be early!!

The best thing about sailing from Manhattan is the view as you are sailing. We decided to sit at the aft of the ship (back) to get a good photo of lower Manhattan as we were leaving and to try catch a good clear view of the Statue of Liberty, she did not disappoint!

The weather turned really dark and dreary as we were sailing out, but we managed to get some great views before a thunder storm rolled in.

Stay tuned for the next blog as I will be talking about my first impressions of Carnival – warts and all!!