Sleeping in late is one of the best parts of Fun Days at Sea. After waking up there is time to just hang around in the cabin on Fun Days at Sea. Fun Days at Sea usually mean that the next island is too far away, so the captain slows down the ship and lets everyone just enjoy a day off. As far as Greg and Susan are concerned, a cruise with only Fun Days as Sea would be great. You get to sleep in, and there is no hurry to get off and go somewhere. You just do whatever you want to do. They are such relaxing days, we hardly even take picture on these days. This year the Fun Days at Sea were even more fun, for both the kids and Greg and Susan. Now that the kids were old enough to sign themselves in and out of activities, we decided to let them have free reign of the ship. Armed with walkie talkies, the two of them set out for a day of fun, directed by no one but themselves. We told them they could eat whenever and whatever they wanted, swim whenever they wanted, and go to Camp Carnival activities whenever they wanted. If they needed us, we would be somewhere on the ship, but always on the other end of the walkie talkie. Ever since the kids first cruise, we've always had them wear their ID on their wrists with a sponge strap. We also taught them to who to go if they got lost, confused, or needed help. Thus, we allowed them to come and go as they pleased and do whatever they wanted to do. They had the time of their lives! We would see them occasionally getting a bite to eat or at the swimming pool. They would pop in on us in the cabin here and there. We were extremely please with how responsible they were with their new found freedom. Susan and Greg would come back to the room and the kids would have left a voice mail explaining which pool they were currently in. Thus, Greg and Susan hung around the cabin and the kids hung around the pools. Not being around the kids much lead to very few pictures.. We were just plain lazy...

This slide was located in a different spot than the other ships we've been on. It was located on the back of the ship which actually gave you great views of the ocean. Being away from the crowded pools, the waiting line was less since the adults hung out around the pool. Thus, it was usually the kids who were doing the sliding--except for Greg.

Carnival Pride's four pools gave the kids every opportunity to swim. Each time they were on their own, they would call us and tell us they were moving on to the next pool.

The kids seemed to like the pool in the back of the ship where the slide was close by the most. Greg and Susan think it's because the ice cream machine was only about 20 feet away as well. What more could you want?

The pools on the Carnival Pride were different than the other ships. Once you got out of the main pool, you were still in six inches of water (shown in yellow). This was Susan's favorite part of the ship. It was kind of like walking along the beach and just getting your feet wet. It was perfect for enjoying the sun while staying cool in the water.

This age group gave the kids all the freedom in the world. They could sign themselves in and out without the parents having to be there. This also gave them more mature things to do instead of just hanging out in the Camp Carnival playroom. All activities occurred around the ship. They had night swimming parties, ice cream parties, disco parties and scavenger hunts where they had to go around to all the ship employees and find as many nationalities as they could. Trust me, there are a lot of nationalities on the cruise ship. Of course, Preston was able to capture a lot of E-mail addresses from other kids. He always seems to acquire addresses from the Canadian side of the world. Brooklyn also has the ability to make a lot of friends. Every time Greg and Susan would hunt their kids down, they would always be hanging around with some of the friends they had met.

Over half the Lido deck is reserved for just buffets. You can get everything you ever imagined from the buffets. We are talking pizza 24 hours a day, anything from the grill, and even prime rib almost any time you like.

In fact, the buffets are so great, we didn't eat in the formal dinning room except for the two formal nights. If nothing else, that made this the best cruise ever for Greg.

On the second formal night, they have the colorful Midnight Buffet. This is where you get to watch the chefs prepare the buffet during the day as you take a galley tour. You can also see the chefs sculpturing the ice sculptures outside by the pools. Then at midnight, you get to travel through the buffet and look at all the food that they prepared. Everything is made up to look like flowers or animals or some other elaborate decoration. After everyone has traveled through the line, you get to go back around and eat all the items.

There must be a thousand places to sit on the ship. Each one different and unique.

It's a guy thing. Guys always like to take pictures on the ship's wing.

Besides what we've talked about, there is the night life with bars, dancing and dining, party games all day long sponsored by the cruise director, tours to attend, seminars, a library, internet access, shopping on board, bingo, television and movies and so much more.

The only time that the Fun Ship Day is not fun is on the last day of the cruise. Everyone is kind of bummed out. However, for one lucky individual, the last day is always great. If you win the last game of bingo, you get a free seven day cruise in the future. Needless to say, our next cruise won't be free.