Forty is The New Twenty
September 4, 2022
Sea Day #1
Happy 40th Birthday, Kellie!
It's going to be a GREAT DAY!
Morning
We woke up to blinding light at 7:15AM. We had an east facing balcony and this meant the sun not only came in each morning but seemed as bright as scientifically possible. We didn't go to bed until well past 1AM so we were really tired and wanted to go back to sleep but our teacher bodies would have none of that.
We got up and immediately went to the aft for some wake view therapy! There is nothing quite like the aft view on a cruise ship.
This day could not be any more perfect!
There is NOWHERE I would rather be on my 40th Birthday!
I am loving my birthday shirt!
Then we went to the Lanai to get some coffee at Java Blue Coffee Bar. TIP- unlimited coffee is included in the Ultimate Beverage Package and begins on the SECOND day of your cruise when sailing from Galveston. This is such an added bonus to the drink package.
We grabbed some birthday breakfast in the MDR at the Sea Day Brunch! The service was great and the food was tasty! I splurged on this breakfast since it was my birthday!
Eggs Benedict... Yummy!
We then made our way to the only other bar that was open onboard, the Atrium Bar to get a birthday cocktail... LITERALLY as we got the Carnival Birthday Mai Tai to celebrate my 40th birthday. This was the first of many drinks on our drink package. TIP- The Ultimate Drink Package is $54.95/ per person, per day if purchased ahead of time and offers each person up to 15 alcoholic drinks per day. We enjoy this package as it includes pretty much EVERYTHING and in the end is still cheaper than a la carte waters, Gatorades, coffees and a few alcoholic drinks per day. However, if purchased ONBOARD, the price increases to $69.95 so it is worth it to book and pay ahead of your embarkation day.
Happy Birthday to me!
After our coffee and cocktail, we started our journey to collecting "Ship on a Stick". This is a tradition we have when playing trivia on Carnival ships. In July, we were able to win FOUR "Ships on a Stick" and were hopeful we could get at least one on this Birthday Cruise. Unfortunately, Carnival Breeze only passes out Carnival Medallions as prizes but we were ready to get a few.
And we did just that! We first played the Golden Girls trivia in the Atrium and I won that one on my 40th birthday... If that doesn't SCREAM OLD LADY, I do not know what does! We tried our hand at the Country Music trivia but that was a joke... we ain't country! We did come up with a 2nd win at the Office Trivia as Chris won that one HANDS DOWN!
Hey y'all... I am officially a LAME old lady!
Golden Girls trivia winner!
Afternoon
I decided I wanted to have a more formal lunch on my 40th birthday so we went to the Bella Pasta Bar on Deck 11. TIP- This is 100% FREE option during lunch and offers made-to-order pasta with full service. The food is exceptional, as is the service! This is a MUST DO if you like Italian food.
Lunch was delicious and then we went back to the room to enjoy a nice cool breeze and a short nap on the balcony. On our way to the room we saw the Cruise Director, Jasper and we tried to get a tradition picture with him. This was on the pool deck and as I was getting into position to take a picture, I slipped on the water and fell on MY BUTT! On my 40th birthday. People were laughing and I was laughing but it HURT! I guess this is 40!
The aft pool on Sea Day #1 (About 2pm)
Our traditional CD picture with Jasper!
He was nice and gave us "Groove for St. Jude" t-shirts for my embarrassment!
When we arrived back at our room shortly after 1pm, our stateroom was still not cleaned but our steward made it up while we were napping on the balcony. This was the first time in years our room was not made up before 2pm.
This is SO PERFECT!
40 and FABULOUS!
Ok my new selfie stick from my sister is AWESOME!
And so are these goofy glasses!
After our nap we made our way to the Casino Annex Bar on Deck 4 to catch up on College Football. TIP- This is a HIDDEN gem on the Carnival Breeze. It was hardly ever crowded and the bartenders were very generous... with their pours and service! Plus it offered 4 TVs with college football all week. The Carnival Breeze lost it's sports bar in the drydock of 2020 so this was the best sports option in our opinion.
We enjoyed some cocktails and then tired our hand at Blackjack in the casino. We were able to play for about an hour before I ran out of money. Chris remained up the whole time and walked away with $14! 40th Birthday gave me NO LUCK... I lost it all!
Around 4PM I made my way to the Spa for my hair appointment at the Carnival Breeze salon. This was something I had NEVER done in all 20 cruises but I really wanted to look "fancy" for my 40th birthday dinner and celebration for the night. I paid $75 prior to embarkation to get a "blow out and style" from a Carnival stylist. I enjoyed the experience and it was definitely a "you only live once" type of ordeal but I am not sure if I would pay for that again. Plus my stylist not only tried to sell me every single thing that Carnival offered for hair, he insulted my hair and called out what I feel like was every single GREY hair on my head and then ended up charging me an additional $35 for a cream he used. I did not notice this until the next day but I called the Spa manager and she removed it form my bill. Again, it was a cool experience for my 40th birthday but I would much rather spend that $75 on a shore excursion or other experience on board in the future.
About halfway through my "blow out and style"!
While I do not think I would do this again... I sure as heck cannot get my hair to look like this maybe EVER AGAIN! It was so pretty... and SOFT!
Evening
After my hair appointment, I met Chris back at the room and got into our formal attire for birthday pictures and dinner. We do not really like to do pictures but again, this was a special night! We planned on going to 3-4 different formal backgrounds but after just one, we opted to quit. I actually got a few really good headshots of my 40 year old and a few good pictures of the two of us but in true "Kellie fashion" I forgot to buy them on board and once we got off the ship, I never saw them again!
One of our fancy pictures (from my phone)!
This. Is. Forty!
After our pictures we went back to the Alchemy Bar to enjoy a few pre-dinner drinks and birthday cocktails. The girls at Alchemy knew it was my birthday and really hooked us up! The drinks were AWESOME and it was so fun to celebrate together onboard the Carnival Breeze.
There were 3 of us from our FB group that were born on 9-4-82 so the bartenders made this the drink of the day! It was SO COOL!
And seriously DELICIOUS! My new favorite!
We then made our way to dinner in the Main Dining Room and enjoyed an exceptional dinner with outstanding food and even better service. We asked to be moved to a table "just for two" and in the back and it turned out to be the best table we have had on a cruise in a very long time.
After dinner we went back to the Alchemy Bar for more birthday drinks and live music then to the adult comedy show in the Comedy Club. It was standing room only at 10:15pm for a 11pm show but we luckily found 2 seats together. The show was still a little risque' but we enjoyed the laughs. We ended the night back in the piano bar with Orlando and shut it down shortly after 1AM. It was SO MUCH FUN!
Hey, hey... I found out cabin at 1AM!
Our steward "Sugar" set this up for me! It was so cute!
This is 40... It was a PERFECT day and way to celebrate turning the BIG 4-0!
Up Next... Stop #1- Costa Maya, Mexico!
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