Day 14 was the last full day of the cruise and a sea day. We spent most of the day a lot like the other sea days, poolside for the activities and to relax. During the afternoon before dinner, they had a party for platinum and diamond loyalty members onboard. To reach platinum, guests need to accrue 75 cruise days with Carnival Cruise Lines, whereas diamond requires 200 cruise days. See some of the benefits here.

Day 13 was George Town, Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman is a lovely port in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. We have stopped here numerous times on previous cruises and have done many activities. These activities include scuba diving, stingray city, and the turtle farm. See more activities here. All of these activities are a lot of fun to do, but on this trip, we decided to take it easy. So we went around a few of the shops to look at shirts. Dad was able to find one he liked, but I did not find one for myself. After the shops, we sat at Margaritaville for a couple of drinks.

Day 12 was another fun sea day. This sea day was a little bit different from some of the other sea days, though, because it was the 80’s throwback day. So throughout the day, they would do activities that were often done on cruises back in the ’80s. Some activities include frog races in the pool, knobby knees challenge, a family relay race, a throwback menu for the formal dinner, and of course, a midnight gala buffet. A lot of these activities are fun to participate in and/or watch from the side. On the previous Carnival Journey cruise we did, we participated in more of the activities. To see more activities unique to a Carnival Journey cruise, click here.

Day 11 was another beautiful port of call at Cartagena, Colombia. I honestly set my expectations really low about this port. I mean Colombia is known as a drug place, right? Well, thank goodness my expectations were completely wrong! As the skyline revealed itself to us on the way into the port, I started to realize this would be a much better place than expected. The huge skyline was a bit of a shock to me, but it was a beautiful sight. See for yourself in this photo.

Day 10 was by far the highlight of the entire cruise, the Panama Canal Transit! This day was what made this cruise so special! There are too many great photos to share on this one page, so instead, I will share them all later. Now going through the canal on a cruise ship is much faster than going through on a cargo ship because passenger ships get priority through the locks. With that said, it still takes a solid 8 hours to transverse the entire canal.

Day 9 was another sea day. This day was our last sea day in the Pacific Ocean since the next day was to be the transit through the canal. We ended up having another gorgeous day at sea. I mean, check out the photo below of the beautifully calm seas! So naturally, we spent most of the day relaxing again. The pool water was incredibly warm, and the perfect place to hang out during the day time.

Day 8 was another port of call at the beautiful Puntarenas, Costa Rica. About six months before this cruise, I had previously taken a ten-day trip to Costa Rica. One of the places we went on that trip was near Puntarenas, so it was awesome to go back so soon. I was hoping to meet up with the guide I had from my previous trip to Costa Rica. Sadly, the schedule didn’t work out. Instead, we still got off and walked around for a while. This worked out well since it was such a beautiful day.

Day 7 was another sea day continuing our way south. The seas were a little rougher on this day but nothing to worry about and still way smoother than the previous sea day. We spent most of the day just relaxing again and then had a little more activity in the evening.

Day 6 was our next port of call in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. I honestly had no idea what to expect with this port, and we did not book any excursions. We got off the ship but stayed around the port area and looked at the shops to see what was for sale. We did get some shirts, including a nice short sleeve button up shirt each. These button-up shirts we decided we would all wear to dinner one night during the cruise. Besides looking at the shops, we also stopped to try some local beer. Once we went back on board, we did more of the same evening activities, including dinner, drinks, and shows.

Days 4 and 5 were both sea days. Since the weather was lovely and the water warmed up a lot from the first day, we spent most of those two days around the pool relaxing and enjoying the water. Pool, warm water, drinks, food, sunshine, and great ocean views, what more could you ask for in a day. It was a great way to spend the days before our next port. The waves picked up a lot toward the end of the second of the two sea days. This wind made the crew ask us to leave the pool so that they could close it for safety reasons. But we made sure to enjoy it while we could.