cruise

If you know me, you know I'm a planner.  Sometimes it backfires on me, but for the most part, it pays off!  This summer when I put the important school calendar dates into my planner, I realized we had a 5-day weekend this week.  What else should we do with that much time than getaway.  So, we booked a cruise and sailed away!  We flew out Thursday after school and boarded our ship on Friday morning.

We had an early boarding time, so it gave us some quality time on the ship before it got crowded.

The kids tested out the water slides and the soft serve.

They played putt putt...

and enjoyed more yummy food and some relaxation.  

They love to rock climb, so it was fun that there was a wall on the ship.

We splurged for a balcony room.  

We cleaned up for our first dinner in the dining room.

After dinner Emmy and I went to an ice-skating show and Bryce participated in a teen dodge ball tournament. 

Once we picked up speed on the boat, I could really notice the rocking and it took me a couple of hours to get my sea legs.  

Our first full day was at Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay.

Jason couldn't wait to take the kids snorkeling. Byrce loved it, but Emmy is like me and didn't really like seeing what she's swimming with. 

Island time looks good on her.

Bryce too!

A day of relaxation is just what the doctor ordered.  I thought for sure we'd be escaping cold weather at home on this trip, but we actually had record breaking highs in the 80's while we were gone!

We're made for this!

There was a water park on the island that you could get tickets for, but the kids enjoyed the free water entertainment just as well.

It never gets old.

Bryce was the driving force behind the cruise.  Emmy was a little hesitant about it, but she loved it too.

I brought coordinating outfits in hopes of us getting a Christmas card worthy picture one night at dinner, but the camera angles weren't great.

The towel art is so fun!

Bryce did a little boogie boarding during teen hours after dinner the second night.

We were going much slower on the second night, and I didn't have any seasickness issues.  

Day 2 started with some on-board fun.  Emmy had to get in on the boogie boarding action once they opened up for all ages.

I loved how they changed out the day of the week in the elevators every day.

The kids played a round of laser tag before we hopped off the boat for the day. 

Our next stop was Nassau, Bahamas.  We had planned to stay on the boat and do all the fun things with less crowds but because we had done it all by day 2, we booked a last-minute jeep excursion.  

We had a guide who led us through a few stops through town.

Our first stop was for an authentic Bahamian meal of BBQ ribs, chicken, baked macaroni and cheese, and rice and beans.  It was delicious!

Our second stop was a cave with plenty of fruit bats. 

The final stop was a local beach for some swimming.  The boys got in for about 2 minutes before a pop-up rain shower rushed us out to close the top on our jeep.  It was pretty though!

I didn't get a picture of us on the las night before dinner, but we did enjoy foosball, pool and Sunday night football before calling it a night! 

Unfortunately, the seas were rough, and the winds were strong, so I had to leave dinner early and lay in the room for a bit until I got acclimated.  The cruise was definitely fun, but probably not my preferred method of travel.

Our original plan for Monday when we got off the ship was to drive to Jupiter, Florida for the boys to swim with the sharks.  They were supposed to go in January of 2021 while we were in Disney World, but it was cancelled due to rough seas, so we rescheduled it for this trip and unfortunately, it was cancelled again!  I don't think it's meant for them to do it.  But since we had a rental car and a late-night flight, we decided to take a drive to Key West!

It was fun to say we've been here!

It was a seven hour round trip drive for a picture and lunch, but it was a great way to spend our day with a purpose rather than wandering aimlessly around Miami while we waited for our flight.  

We saw quite a few iguanas while we were there. 

We came home well rested, more tanned and with full bellies!