As some of you may recall, I went on my first ever cruise (to the Bahamas) in November (technically the cruise set sail October 30 but it ended in November so..). Before setting sail on my cruise, I would have never pegged myself as a “cruise person” but I had such a blast that I’m actually in the process of planning another cruise (possibly during the summertime!). One of my favorite things about my cruise (besides getting to explore the Bahamas obviously) definitely had to be all the yummy food! Seriously, there was SO much delicious food and awesome eateries aboard the Carnival Valor. While there are a variety of dining options for breakfast, lunch and dinner such as Guy’s Burger Joint (which I LOVED), buffets, a 24-hour Pizzeria, 24-hour soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt and 24-hour Room Service (which I HIGHLY suggest you take advance of) that ARE included in the price of your cruise, there are a hand full of restaurants and specialty dinning options that are not included in the cruise price (before setting sail, make sure to familiarize yourself with what is and is not included in the price of your cruise). Since this was my first cruise, and I wanted to try and experience every aspect of cruising, I decided to try out at least one “specialty dining” experience while abroad the Carnival Valor. So, I decided to spend the final night of my cruise (as a sort of last hurrah) dinning at Scarlett’s Steakhouse. Continue reading →

I don’t know how the weathers been where you’re from but it’s been unseasonably warm here in Chicago (hey, no complaints here). Well, let me rephrase that. It hasn’t really been unseasonably warm, we’ve actually been experiencing pretty normal fall weather (high 60’s, low 70s), it’s just weather you’d expect in early fall (September/October) as apposed to late fall. Speaking of weather, Chicago gets a bad rep sometimes for always being “cold” or “windy” (fyi, we’re called the Windy City because of our politicians NOT because of our weather) but Chicago actually has beautiful weather most of the time. In fact, places like NYC and other east coast cities, on average, are way colder/have worst weather (remember that Snowmageddon that hit last year? Well Chicago was spared of that. Honestly we didn’t get that much snow at all last winter!). It just kind of bothers me when I hear people say “I hear Chicago is a beautiful city but I couldn’t handle that weather.” I just want laugh because our weather isn’t bad at all. Speaking of good weather, I just got back from my cruise to the Bahamas and wow, was it amazing! I couldn’t have asked for a better first cruise experience and I honestly think that the Carnival Valor had a lot to do with making my first cruise go as smoothly as it did! Continue reading →