Because the cruise was in February we decided to fly out a day early to ensure we would get there if there was a snow storm. We used our frequent flyer miles on United to fly into Ft Lauderdale. It was a direct flight. There were no direct flights to Miami and it was more expensive so we decided to fly to Ft. Lauderdale.
Once we arrived we had to take a shuttle to the rental car place. When we got there we were so surprised how busy it was. We had to wait over an hour to get our car. However they had a complementary food truck outside so we were able to get lunch. That was very nice and it worked out well. We got our rental car and drove towards the beach. We stopped for some drinks since the kids were thirsty. Brian also got us all ice cream bars inside the convenience store. Then we drove to a local park and walked around. It was so nice to be in warm weather.
We booked a hotel inland. It was about a 30 minute drive there. The hotel was fine and there was a Wendy's near by for dinner. It was superbowl Sunday, so we ate dinner and saw a few minutes of the game on a TV they had. After dinner, there was a CVS across the street so we stopped there to find some sand toys. I was not able to pack the sand toys because I needed room for clothes and potty seats for the entire week. So we thought we would just buy a small bucket of toys and give them to other kids on our last day at the beach. Austin and Sydney were excited to get new sand toys.
The next morning, Austin had to poopy. Austin has always pooped in froggy. But we were hoping this trip he would learn to use the big potty. We told him we didn't have froggy enough though we did if we really needed him. After a little while he went on the big potty. He got to go to CVS and pick out whatever he wanted. He picked out a great construction site toy that they played with on the ship. After our trip to CVS, we drove into Miami. The rental car place did not have a shuttle so Brian had to drop me off with the kids and luggage while he returned the car. He did not want to wait or pay for a taxi so he ran to the cruise port about 2 miles away to meet us. The kids did great waiting for him to come. We stand on a bench and watch cars go by. They were excited when he finally returned. Then we checked onto the ship.
Once on-board, we grabbed some lunch and headed to the pool. It was around 80 degrees so it was warm enough for us to swim. The pools were small. The main pools water was cool but we did swim for a little bit. Austin got to go down the big water slide. He really liked that. They had a great little kids pool that they had fun in too. It was awesome because that water was warm. They had a lot of fun. Before dinner, we signed the kids up for Camp Carnival. We could drop them off during certain hours to play and do certain activities. It was nice because Austin and Sydney would be able to be together. We could get a break if we wanted.
The next day on the cruise was a sea day. We went to breakfast at the buffet. It was so nice because we could all get our food at the same time. Usually Brian and I would have to take turns because we could not carry it all. This time the kids pushed there plate down the buffet line and we put food on their plates that they wanted. At the end, Austin could carry most of his and Brian was able to carry his and Sydney's food while Sydney walked. It was fabulous. Austin really enjoyed scrambled eggs and hard boiled eggs. Sydney liked cereal and pancakes.
We did drop the kids off at Camp Carnival for a hour so they could do an art project. They went right in and never cried. Brian and I could not believe it. Actually we were a little sad because it felt like they didn't need us. However we were grateful they did it. We hung out in our stateroom and explored the ship a little bit. After an hour, we picked them up and we all went swimming.
The next day were were at Freeport Bahamas. I booked a shore excursion at the beach. Freeport is basically an industrial port so there is not much to do around. The shore excursion took us to a nice beach that also had a playground. The kids played in the sand for a long time. Then we took a walk down the beach. Austin and Sydney collected rocks. Then we swam in the ocean for a little bit. Sydney got cold quickly so we were only in there for about 10 minutes. Then they decided to play on the playground. We had a great day at the beach with them. I really enjoyed it!
The next day we were supposed to be at the private island. It was going to be another beach day for us. However there were thunderstorms and they had to cancel our port. We were all so sad. We had such a great day at the beach we wanted to do it again. But there was nothing we could do about it. Brian and I knew that we needed to look into going to the beach in Nassau since the kids were sad about missing the beach. We decided that we would find a beach ourselves without during a ship shore excursion.
The weather was yucky during our now second sea day. We couldn't do anything outside. There was not much going on around the ship either. We played in our stateroom. Brian, Austin and Sydney built a fort on our bed. We played with that for about an hour. I would pretend I was a bear trying to get in. They had a lot of fun with that. That evening we got dressed up again, Before dinner, we went around the ship getting our pictures taken again.
When we arrived in Nassau, we got off the ship to take our annual family picture at the port of Nassau. We have taken the same picture every year for 3 years now. After we did that, we went and talked to some locals and found out there is a public beach within walking distance of the port. When got back on the ship and got ready for a beach day.
It was about a 10-15 minute walk with the kids to the beach. It was windy and a little cool so we didn't really play in the water much. However the water was calm because of the break wall so the kids could get their feet wet and fill their bucket with water easily. They played in the sand for a few hours. Austin and I built 10 sand castles and then Sydney stomped them down. Austin was sad so we built 12 more. Then Austin and Sydney both stomped them down. They had a good time. After we were done playing in the sand, Austin and I found a bunch of little kids playing in the sand and gave them our sand toys we bought at CVS. It was only around noon so they had plenty more time to play with them. I knew we didn't have room to pack them.
The next morning we ported back in Miami. We didn't have a flight home until 3pm. So I bought a hop on hop off bus excursion with transportation to Ft Lauderdale airport. Unfortunately there was a bike race going on in Miami and the traffic was terrible. We only had time to do one tour of the city. It was an hour tour and because the bus came every 30 minutes. We could not get off. We were nervous about not having any bathrooms on the bus for the kids but they ended up holding it fine. Sydney was exhausted from the trip that she slept though most of the bus ride. Austin just sat and enjoyed the ride on the top deck of the bus.
It was past lunch time and we needed to feed the kids something. Brian found a place with chicken fingers and fries for kids. Austin wanted an apple and Brian told him to put it back but the nice person at the counter just told Austin he could have it because it was just an apple. It was nice. Austin ate the entire apple too. We had some Mexican tortilla thing. Finally it was time to board the plane home. The kids travel great on the plane with their Kindles. We no longer have to entertain them the entire time. They were so tired they even fell asleep during the plane ride too. It was fabulous.
Once we got home we unpacked. Austin and Sydney played together nicely while we unpacked. It's great they play together so well. We had dinner and we put the kids to bed. Brian and I laid on the couch for like 5 minutes and we both fell asleep. It was a fun and exhausting trip.
