Tag Archives: christmas

Celebrating Christmas on board Carnival Spirit

Posted on January 10, 2014 | 4 comments

Our cruise on Carnival was advertised as a Christmas cruise so obviously I was expecting the Christmas to be special on board.

As soon as we walked onto the ship, I could see that they had beautiful Christmas decorations everywhere. It actually felt like Christmas all the time we were on board.

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Definitely, Christmas day was very special. We had sea day on the 25th of December so everyone was on the ship. They had announced the previous day that they were going to have special Christmas lunch so we were looking forward to that.

On Christmas morning, after a quick workout at the gym, we went to the buffet area for breakfast. Most of the staff and some of the cruisers were already wearing Christmas hats, ties, headbands and earrings. The environment was very festive and there were tables full of families enjoying the Christmas breakfast.

IMG_1043-tile-vertAll the dining areas had watermelons craved with figurines like, Merry Christmas, Santa’s face, flowers and other the Christmas decoration. Also there was an area where they built a gingerbread house, some snowmen and it looked really pretty.

IMG_1024 (2)We had our usual breakfast and as it was nice and fresh. When we were done with breakfast, we saw that a few staffs were craving something on a big block of ice.

We went back to our room and on the way back we saw many rooms door decorated with Christmas decoration. Actually, they were giving prizes for best-decorated doors.  Once in the room, we had a shower and went back to the buffet area again and was surprised to see this beautiful ice carving of Santa with his reindeers and it looked absolutely amazing.

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The staffs on board worked really hard to make sure the ship had full Christmas vibe. The captain of the ship was walking around wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and we managed to take some photos with him too.

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After admiring all the decoration on that floor, we went around to find more activates. Everywhere we saw people in Santa hats and red outfits. I felt like I was in a mall somewhere, not on a ship.

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There were photographers capturing family photos with Santa and Christmas tree and there were families enjoying their time together. For me and AS, we didn’t want photos with Santa so we kept on roaming around until we found the hall where bean bag throwing competition was about to start. It was going to be Men Vs Women.

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I wanted to take part so went and had my name written down. After a few minutes, game started. 4 males vs 4 females.  They gave us 4 bean bags about 10 inches square and it had to go inside a board with a small hole around 15 feet away.

It was a fun game. The first few times, all my bags were either on the floor or on the board but once I got the hang of it, I scored a few points. It was entertaining for everyone watching as well but unfortunately, the male group won the game.

By that time, it was time for us to go to the restaurant (Empire dining room) for our Christmas lunch.

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When we arrived at our table, there were already Christmas crackers on the tables and the staffs were in a festive mood wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. Rest of the couples from our table arrived and we started the lunch.

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They told us that they used to have Christmas dinner before but for the first time, they were organising Christmas lunch because that is an Australian tradition and they wanted us to enjoy an Aussie Christmas. It was really thoughtful of the management and staff because it was extra hard work for them to organise the special lunch.

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The menu was even more aussiefied with crusted lamb roast, prawns and pavlova on the menu. We loved the food and it was fun popping Christmas crackers and wearing the hat. I have to admit, they made us all feel special on the special day.

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After lunch, both of us were so stuffed that we went to the upper deck and just relaxed on the lounge. We enjoyed the beautiful sunset on the horizon before going to the room to get ready for dinner.

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Like every day, the Empire dining room served one of the best dinners and we were happy with the service and food.

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After dinner, special Christmas show was organised in the main hall (Pharaoh’s Palace) so we went there.

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The Christmas show was fun with Christmas carols from the singers and some kids, followed by Christmas song, Christmas story and many more entertainment and of course Santa Clause.

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Overall, AS and I had a splendid Christmas on board Carnival Spirit.

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On the way to our room we had a quick stop at the casino and had some fun :).

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We were both tired after a while and were off too bed.

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Hope all of you a great one too.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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Posted in Australia, Carnival Spirit

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Summery Christmas and tropical holiday

Posted on December 21, 2013 | 12 comments

The cicadas are buzzing, cherries are ripening, the rellies are coming and for us the temperature is climbing as well.

In case you’re wondering what Santa gets up to Down Under, Aldi supermarket has a perfect ad so you don’t need to wonder anymore.

How cool is that?

While other parts of the world are freezing, we are sweating in Australia. Of course, its summer here and we have a hot Santa in the waves.

So next time if you feel like some sun, sand and sea, you know where to come for your Christmas vacation.

If you haven’t already, please read my letter to Santa and I hope you can help Santa for me  🙂

I hope preparation for the celebration is going well for you all. We will be having ours on the ship so it will be a very different Christmas for us this year.

In few hours, we will be boarding our ship to start our holiday so see you all next year.

Wishing you all Merry Christmas and A very happy new year!!!

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M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

12 Comments

Posted in Australia, Celebrations

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Blind

Posted on December 19, 2013 | 2 comments

Early morning we both rush to get ready so we can leave home on time as I really don’t want to waste 30 minutes sitting in traffic.

As I was running around the house and as I walk passed hubby in the kitchen, I saw on the mirror that he was looking (read staring) at me. I turned around.

Me: “Why are you staring at me?”

AS:” “What do you mean, I am not.”

Me: “I saw you looking at me, when I looked in the mirror.”

As: “I can’t even see you properly without my glasses/lenses.”

We both laughed . Oops, he was just staring at nothing thinking about something else. Hope it is my Christmas gift  🙂

2 Comments

Posted in He said

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Counting down

Posted on December 9, 2013 | 20 comments

As I mentioned before, we will be going on a Cruise to New Caledonia soon and I am counting down the days until the day arrives. This year has been really long and I am glad holiday time is almost here so I can relax and enjoy the remaining days of this year. We will be spending Christmas on board so it will be a different experience.

I have to say I am a bit anxious about this particular holiday because I will be spending most of the time in the ship. This is our first cruise and being first time cruisers we were a little bit apprehensive and are doing a lot of research. I have sailed before but never been on a cruise so I am having mixed feeling. I am busy doing my research to make sure I don’t make any mistakes and reading everyone’s’ experience I can see that most of them really enjoyed it so I am hoping to come back and report that I had a fun holiday.

The most worrying part for me is seasickness. I normally don’t get sea sick and I am going to take heaps of medications as well to help me be normal but sometimes you can plan all you want and still things may not work out so a bit worried about it.

Most of the holidays we go to, I have full day plan for nearly all days so I know what I am doing and in control of everything but this holiday we are going to have few sea days and I have no idea how we should spend those. I have been doing my research and there seems to be heaps of things to do in Carnival like going on water ride, golfing, swimming or just relaxing but still not having a proper plan is making me worried a bit.

Apart from that, I think most of the things should go smoothly. I will spend 2 weeks with my loving husband by my side just relaxing, swimming, snorkeling, eating and enjoying ourselves. Can’t thank him enough for make my birthday so special and making me so happy with the cruise as a birthday gift.

If anyone has been on Carnival Spirit before, your suggestions will be highly valuable.

I am very excited about our destination. I have heard a lot about New Caledonia for years now and always wanted to go there and now we will be stopping there in less than a months’ time. I always love tropical holidays with lots of sun, sand and sea and this one is going to be one like that too. As all of you know, I am a summer person and tropical holiday is my cup of tea 🙂

One of the stop for us is Isle of Pines and I have seen so many amazing photos from this place. Isle of Pines was dramatically formed by a series of volcanic upheavals and is truly beautiful.

Another stop is Lifou which is within the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia and known for their coral reefs and limestone caves.

Hope this holiday will be exciting and fun so we can book more cruise holidays in the future too.

See you with my next post soon.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

20 Comments

Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, New Caledonia, Travel

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Do you think buying greeting cards is a waste of money and paper?

Posted on April 17, 2013 | 24 comments

Every Christmas, millions of people all around the world post greeting card to their loved ones spending millions of dollars. I always feel that people spend so much looking for really good greeting cards, spending lots of time and energy…

Like every one of you, I do buy greeting cards for occasions like Birthdays, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thank You Notes, Sympathy Cards, Get Well Cards, Thinking of You cards and so on. A few weeks ago it was my brother’s birthday so I went and bought a card for him which cost me $4.95. Today I again went and bought a card for my SIL and spent $6.00. I spend more for SIL as there were less cards to choose from that said SIL in it.

I was just wondering while I was buying these cards, is it really worth it to spend money on these cards which will be read once and thrown away in most cases. If you walk to the greeting card section of a supermarket or bookshop, there are more types of greeting cards for sale than there are days in a month.

Growing up, I used to collect all the cards I got for my birthdays and other occasions and I still have them in a box at my mum’s place but these days, I don’t feel too sentimental about these cards unless it is from my husband or my parents. I have never read any card more than once. If I really like the card, I take a photo of it and that is about it.

Looking around me, I see that most of the people also do the same. Especially for young children as they can’t even read yet everyone always buys them birthday cards. Normally they are interested in gifts rather than the cards so are we simply wasting our money on these cards?

These days I started to feel that buying greeting cards are a waste of hard earned money, for ultimately it will either be torn up in the long run, or go into some bag in a corner of your house.

I love the idea of making my own cards. A personalized note or letter with a meaningful message really goes further than a store-bought card. The sentiments in handwritten cards are far more intimate than generic Hallmark Greetings sentiments and the messages are far more specifically intended for the recipient.

But you really can’t make a personalised card to everyone so I think in this day and age e-cards are a good alternative for the people who use email. It is free and you can make it personal as well. One can choose a nice card and send it via the net and no postman, no courier, no cost. I love the animated silly ones which brings a smile. It also reduces paper waste.

I really want to head to this direction but sometimes I feel compelled to buy the card for someone because they have bought me one on my birthday or anniversary. The cost of greeting cards has increased steadily over the years and the money could be better spent in buying other stuff for the person. I know it’s the thought that counts but giving them gifts without a card makes me a bit uncomfortable. I really don’t want to upset anyone.

So I have decided to buy a card when I have to and my option would be then to buy the cards made and promoted by the organisations like the UNICEF or WORLD VISION.

Personally I used to look forward to one when I was younger but not so much anymore. I prefer something more practical these days. I think e-card/emails or even mms/sms or Facebook post would do the trick to convey the message.

What are you thoughts on greeting cards, do you still feel compelled to purchase pre-printed greeting cards?

Till next post, take care.

M from nepaliaustralia

 XOXO

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24 Comments

Posted in Social Issue

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