Cruise

For years, we have always went on a spring cruise.  We usually go in March and last year we went in February.  This year we got the best deal the first week in April.  It’s later than we wanted but for the deal it was work it.  We left on Sunday morning.  On Saturday, we had to pack.  My mom came over to play with the kids while we got some packing done.  It was helpful.  It’s difficult to pack for four people and not be able to do laundry for an entire week. I finally packed us in two large suitcases. 

On Saturday night, it snowed at home.  We only got an inch but nevertheless it snowed.  The plan for us to get up at 2am and leave by 3am.  Austin had an accident at 1am.  After that, none of us fell back asleep even though we tried.  At 2am, Brian and I got ready.  Austin was up and then he woke Sydney up to let her know we were leaving for the cruise.  It was freezing outside! 

I drove first.  I was completely awake it and I enjoy driving when no one else is on the roads.  However, I did not like that some places had snow covered roads.  Again it wasn’t a lot but I did not like it.  The kids played their games and then they fell back asleep for about an hour.  Brian slept a bit in the third row.  Austin had to stop to potty around 5:30am.  We found a gas station.  Then we stopped around 7am at our train McDonalds.  I am not even sure where it is but we stop there all the time it seems like.  After breakfast, Brian drove for a bit.  I slept in the back row and kids watched their Kindles. 

Once I woke up two hours later, I finished the drove to the cruise terminal.  I originally wanted Brian to drive into New York but the kids were sleeping so it was best for me to keep driving.  Once we arrived at the cruise terminal, they woke up.  They were excited.  We parked next to the cruise.  Again it was really cold outside.  Austin and Sydney carried their backpacks (I made them pack) and sand buckets on to the cruise.  It was so cute to see them with winter coats and sand buckets. 

Once inside the cruise terminal, there was some confusion on which line we were supposed to stand in.  There was a sign that said gold and diamond member’s but they told me the long line.  Finally, we just went where the signed said and sure enough we were correct.  I really don’t like standing in lines with the kids any longer than I have too. 

Then we were able to go on board right away.  We went to our room and dropped off our stuff.  Then we headed to the buffet for lunch.  It was the normal first day lunch busyness.  The only thing Sydney talked about was how she wanted so much watermelon and cantaloupe.  That is exactly what she ate for lunch.  Plus, some ice cream.     But we were able to get a table with was nice.  After lunch, we walked around the ship and took some New York skyline pictures.  It was cold but were able to get a few pictures.  After the muster drill, we went to our room to get pictures of Austin and Sydney as we passed the statue of liberty.  That is always a cool picture. 

Austin was most excited about chess on the cruise.  He has learned chess from school.  Brian and I had no idea how to play it.  Brian looked some things up while driving to the cruise.  I still don’t’ know anything about it.  Austin begged to play chess.  He finally got his wish.  Austin is really good at the game.  He loves it! 

We went to the main dining room for dinner.  It took forever to get our food.  Luckily Austin and Sydney did a great job.  The cruise had a kid’s menu with activities on it.  I also packed a coloring book and crayons to keep them busy too.  They did so well at dinner.  Austin order pizza but did not like it.  He thought they were going to have Pizza Hut pizza and they don’t.  Sydney had a hot dog and ate that without the bun. 

Because it took so long for our appetizer and main course at dinner, we skipped dessert there.  We went up to the buffet and let the kids get what they wanted.  While up there, we watched the sun set.  It was a nice evening. 

We went back to our room and went to bed.  We were all exhausted.  During the night, Austin ended up on top of Brian (we are in different beds and not sure how that happened).  Sydney fell out the bed.  She cried and I let her sleep in our bed.  Austin woke up promptly at 7am.  Sydney got up at 7:45.

On day two, it was a sea day. Austin got up first and we got ready.  Then Sydney and Daddy woke up. We all went to the breakfast buffet.  Sydney continues to eat mostly watermelon and cantaloupe.  She had fruit loops too.  Austin had pancakes, waffles, and cereal. 

After breakfast, we went to see if the chess board was open.  And it was. Austin was so excited.  He loves playing it and beating us.  He does his celebration dance.  Sydney removes the chess pieces from the board and carries them to the side. 

Next we checked out the rock wall.  Austin was hesitant to try it at first but Brian convinced him to try it.  He knew he would like it.  Sydney is not tall enough.  You need to be 42 inches.  Austin tried and did good.  He didn’t make it to the top and he was a little sad about that but made it about half way.  He was using his arms more than his legs and he got tired quickly.  

Then the kids played some putt putt golfing.  They like using the golf club to hit the ball continuously.  They do make it in the hole as times though.  There was family dodgeball game. Austin likes dodgeball from karate.  He took him to it and let him played.  He was probably the youngest there but that did not bother him.  He would throw balls and get balls for other kids.  He stayed in the games a while because he wasn’t up front a lot of the time.  We were proud of him for doing it.  Austin really enjoyed it. 

It was cool outside still.  We were off the coast of the Carolinas.  I would guess temperature was around 70 degrees.  However, there were several kids swimming.  The kids swimming pool water was warm.  So we let the kids swim.  They were excited.  There were little water slides and they kept crawling in the water to stay warm.  The kids pool is only about a foot or so deep.  They swam for about 15 minutes until they got too cold and then we went back to our room to change. 

It was time for lunch.  It’s nice now the kids are able to carry their own plates.  We let them pick what they want to eat.  For lunch, they both had a sloppy joe.  We were impressed they ate it all too.  It had kidney beans and onions in it but again they ate it. 

We came back to the room and hung out.  I tried to take a nap.  Brian worked on the computer.  And the kids played building a fort.  They used all the pillows in the room to make the fort.  Brian helped them with it.  They did good until they started fighting. 

Once the kids started fighting too much, we decided it was time to go explore the ship.  Austin wanted to go to chess.  While we were there, he met a friend to play with.  It was great because the kid was around 8 years old and was good a chess.  It was fun for Austin to play with someone who had a clue how to play.  The kids almost beat Austin twice but allowed Austin to check his move so he didn’t lose.  The kid allowed Austin to win.  Austin was so happy.  We explained to Austin how to be a good winner and it was because the kid let him win. 

We stopped at the buffet and allowed the kids to get a small ice cream cone.  They were happy. Then we had to get ready for formal night.  It takes a while for all of us to shower and get dressed up.  After we were ready we walked around the ship for formal pictures.  We probably stopped at 8 different locations.  They kids were pretty cooperative too.  They would also tell Brian where to take their pictures.  They were more cooperative when they picked the location. 

After pictures, it was dinner time.  We considered making the kids change their clothes but we allowed them to stay dressed up per their request.  A family next to us offered to take our picture.  It turned out nice.   Sydney ate a hot dog for dinner and Austin had chicken nuggets.  The kids had a brownie for dessert.  It was a good day and bedtime. 

On day three we docked in Port Canaveral.  However, we did not arrive until 1pm.  So we had the entire morning on board the ship.  Austin woke up promptly at 7am.  He was a little loud and woke Sydney up by accident.  Sydney always sleeps an extra 30 to 60 minutes later than Austin.  She can sleep in unlike Austin.  I knew Sydney was going to be tired but there was nothing we could do.  We went up to the buffet for breakfast. 

After breakfast, we walked around the ship.  Austin felt like we needed to be doing “something”.  I explained sometimes we just walk around.  We stopped at let them play putt putt golfing.  They enjoyed that.  The first fish “ate” their golf balls.  They kept getting stick in the fishes’ mouth.  We moved on and the kids did the entire course. 

Next Austin and Sydney did the ropes course.  They are not 48 inches tall so they couldn’t do the big one but did the small one and loved it.  Sydney was nervous at first on what she was doing but once she got one she did not want to get off. They played there for about 15 minutes going back and forth. 

Brian needed internet for the Cavs at 11am.  He tried to get online but was unsuccessful.  He wasn’t too happy but there was nothing we could do.  While he was doing that I took the kids swimming in the kids pool.  It was the same as yesterday however warmer outside.    They liked it. 

We ate lunch on board the ship before getting off the ship at Port Canaveral.  Getting off the ship took about 20 minutes.  There was a long line.  Austin and Sydney had their sand buckets and told everyone they saw they were going to the beach.  They were very excited about going to the beach.  I am so glad we let them both get a sand bucket. 

Once we got off the ship, we walked across the street to a parking lot with shuttle car rental vans.  The shuttle was there within 5 minutes.  It was a 2 minute drive down the road the place.  We waited in line to get our car.  Austin and Sydney ran around.  Brian installed two car seats and off we went. 

Before leaving home, I found some ideas what we could do.  I decided to try the first place which was Cherry Downs park.  However, when we arrived there was no parking. There wasn’t street parking either.  We drove down the street until we found parking near the beach.  Beach access was right there and we went.  Sydney had fallen asleep in the car.  She hasn’t been getting enough sleep.  We woke her up and off to the beach we went. 

We just set our stuff down and then went closer to the water to start playing in the sand.  Austin and Sydney loved it!  They really enjoy the sand and ocean.  Brian and Austin built a small swimming pool.  Sydney had her own agenda that didn’t really make sense but she enjoyed doing it.  She loved going into the water and getting buckets of water.  The buckets would be heavy but she would still carry them. 

Then we went and played in the ocean.  Austin and Sydney loved the waves and we played in them for a long while.  We got dried off and then the kids decided on playing in the sand again.  They just played and played.  We had some people take our family picture of us.  We like getting a family picture of us everywhere we go. 

When it was time to go, we were careful not to get sand in the car.  However, Austin wanted to see their sand work one more time.  So when he got back to the car, he had sand on his shoes and the sand got in the car.  Brian cleaned it up with towels and tape.  Brian dropped kids and I at the cruise terminal.  I had the beach bag and Austin and Sydney had their sand buckets.  We walked all though the terminal to get on board.  One point Sydney wanted picked up. I told them I couldn’t pick anyone up and Austin offered to carry all the sand toys so she could be picked up. It was sweet.  I only carried her for a minute until she decided to walk again.  By the time we got on board, Brian got there 10 minutes after us.  It was a short walk back and he could walk faster. 

We all took showers and got ready for dinner.  Dinner takes about an hour and half.  We were impressed how well Austin and Sydney do at dinner.  They have their coloring books and they just sit and color.  Austin lets us know he doesn’t like waiting and would prefer to eat at the buffet but he behaves very well at the dining room. 

The ship had a family party that night.  There was face painting, balloons, a raffle drawing, and lots of desserts.  Sydney got her face painted.  Austin did not want too.  Austin enjoyed the raffle drawing.  Austin had ice cream with lots of toppings and Sydney had a cupcake that she put more toppings on. 

We came back to the room and we watched the ship turn around in the dock from our balcony.  We could see NASA.  Last week, Austin got a book from the library about the ISS (International Space Station).  He got to see where the rockets take off.  He was excited about that.  The kids were exhausted and fell asleep very quickly. 

On day four, we were supposed to go to the private island.  It’s my favorite port of call on this itinerary.  However, the winds were strong and we knew it wasn’t likely we were going to be able to go.  We went to breakfast and then walked around the ship to try and see land.  However, all decks were closed because of the strong winds.  People were meeting in the theater for tenders.  It made us think we should go get ready for the beach just in case.  Because we would want to be first group off if we were going to the beach.  While getting ready for the beach, the captain made announcement that the winds are too strong for the tenders. Brian and I were sad.  Austin and Sydney didn’t really know what they were missing.  However, they still wanted to go to the beach. 

Since we had our swimsuits on, we decided to go swimming.  The outside temperatures felt cool due to the winds however the pool was heated.  That was a nice surprise.  We swam in the big pool with the kids.  The water was salt water.  They had fun swimming back and forth.  We played there for about an hour.

There was a family Lego building activity.  Austin loves Legos.  We went and checked it We had 25 minutes to build anything we wanted as a family.  We had a team name of Go Legos but then Austin changed it at the last minute when the lady asked.  Austin and Sydney built a big ship to be able to take up to the private island.  They were creative and it turned out nicely. 

Then we had some lunch and ice cream.  We have let the kids have dessert after lunch and dinner.  That never happens at home.  But since we are on vacation, we allow it. Then we all took a nap.  Because we missed the private island, we were able to have an overnight in Nassau.  We were not supposed to get docked until 7pm because of time constraints of the pilot but we were docked by 6pm. 

We had a quick dinner, at the Irish restaurant on board.  We had nachos for appetizers.  Brian and I had fajitas for dinner. Sydney had fish and chips. Austin had turkey.  Austin loved the turkey.  Then we got off the ship.  We walked around and got several pictures.  It was cool to be at Nassau at night.  We have never done that before.  We got a family picture by the cannon at the center of town.  Austin and Sydney loved climbing on it.  While Austin was running around he fell and scrapped his elbow.  He cried but not as much as I would expect for how bad of scrap it was.  We got back on board the ship and had dessert at the buffet.  Then it was time for bed. 

On day five, we were in Nassau Bahamas.  We went to breakfast then we went and played a game of chess per Austin’s request.  Then we went back to the room and packed up for the day.  We were planning on going to the beach.  When we got off the ship, it was raining.  Luckily in cleared out quickly. 

We walked to the beach.  It’s about a mile walk.  The kids did great walking.  The beach was crowded but we found a spot.  We didn’t get a chair or anything because we wanted to play in the sand with the kids.  Austin started by making a race track.  Sydney moved the sand around.  Then they ended up with a pool that Brian kept putting in water.  It was a pretty big pool for the beach.  There was lots of water in it at times.  The kids loved it!

We swam in the ocean about three times.  The kids loved playing in the waves.  Austin didn’t swim like he does in a pool.  He was a little hesitant.  Sydney swam like a fish like she always does.  We were at the beach for about three hours.  We had a lot of fun.  We walked back to the ship and Sydney fell asleep on Daddy’s shoulders.  It was funny. 

We had a quick lunch then we back to the straw market.  The kids could pick out one thing.  Brian got them flutes and walking turtles because it was a good deal.  Austin picked a photo album and Sydney picked a purse.  We got our annual picture at the straw market.  We then let the kids play in the splash pad near the straw market.  They loved it!

We walked back to the ship right around 5:30pm.  The ship was leaving at 6pm.  We got ready for dinner.  We went to Taste restaurant for dinner.  Dinner takes forever (like an hour and half).  It is fine but hard with the little kids.  The head waiter played a game with Sydney about eating her brownie.  She really thought he was going to eat it.  It was so funny!  After dinner, we played chess and went to bed. 

On day six, it was a sea day.  The kids actually slept until 7:30am.  I couldn’t believe it.  We went to breakfast.  The kids went to kids club and got learn about dinosaurs.  This was the first time the kids went to the kids club.  While they were there, Brian and I did the big rope course.  I was excited to do it.  Brian did an amazing job.  He didn’t even hold on to anything.  I did good but I was always holding on to the rope.  Before picking up the kids, we had cocoa on our balcony. 

After we picked up the kids, we took Austin and Sydney swimming. The pool was cold that day.  Austin did the waterslides.  Sydney was scared and did not try.  We are not sure she was tall enough either.  She did swim in the pool though.  Austin loved the water slides.  The lines were a little long though so he didn’t do too many times. 

We had lunch and the kids had ice cream.  They really enjoyed the ice cream with toppings while on the cruise.  We then took a nap.  Brian did not nap but the rest of us did.  I love naps.  Sydney was really tired. 

Austin woke up and Brian took him to chess. He played with that same little boy.  Austin lost and wasn’t happy about it. Brian made him thank the boy and understand that other people can teach him about the game of chess. He has a lot to learn about it. 

We got dressed up for formal pictures again.  We went around the ship and got our picture taken again.  We needed a new picture for our wall.  After pictures, we went and played chess.  There was another guy there that ended up teaching Austin more about the game of chess.  Austin loves chess!

We went to dinner.  The kids sat next to each other to watch the sun set.  I was nervous about it because I knew what was going to happen with them next to each other but all and all they did well.  They worked on the word find together.  It was cute.  After dinner, we went up to putt putt and let the kids play.  Then we went and played shuffle board but it was windy and cold.  We did not play long. 

Austin loves working the elevator every time we went on it. He had the entire elevator laughing because he welcomed everyone on and off.  It was so cute.  He loved pushing buttons for people too.  After the kids went to sleep, Brian and I had cocoa on our balcony.  It’s starting to get colder.  We were sad to see the nice weather end. 

On day seven, it was our last sea day.  First thing in the morning we tried playing basketball however it was closed due to strong winds.  We went to breakfast first.  After breakfast, we tried again and it was open.  It was perfect because no one else was there.  We played for a little bit.  It was chilly.  Then we played soccer. 

The kids went to kids club for the last day.  They got to practice for their performance in the afternoon.  They were really excited about it.  When we picked them up, Sydney and Austin made sure we had them back in time so they could be in the show.  While they were at kids club in the morning, Brian and I looked at pictures.  We got two family pictures. 

Once we picked the kids up in the morning, we had lunch.  Then they played in our stateroom.  We had the kids back to kid’s club at 2pm.  They needed to be there by then so they could get their faces painted.  Sydney was very excited about the show.  We went to the theater early so we would have a good seat but another show was going on.  That show was popular and there were no seats.  Finally show ended and then we got seats in middle close to the front. Austin and Sydney were tigers in the show.  They were very cute and did a great job.  After the show, we picked them up.  We took them to the buffet for hot chocolate and a cookie. 

We got ready for dinner and packed up our belongings.  It’s always sad to go home.  It was our last dinner in the dining room.  Dinner seemed to take longer than usual.  They brought the kids dinner out first.  We don’t understand that practice.  Because they are done eating by the time we get our food and it’s just a mess.  We like dinner to come out all together.  None of us had the patience to wait for dessert so we went up to the buffet.  Then it was time to go to bed since we were getting up early in the morning. 

On Sunday morning, we got up at 5:30am to get off the ship.  We were at breakfast at 6am.  We were able to see New York city as we ate breakfast.  We left our stateroom at 7am.  We were in at 7:15am and we waited 45 minutes before they were ready to let people off the ship.  We sat down on the floor in line.  They didn’t want people in line but people we already lined up.  We knew if we didn’t get in line we would be significantly delayed getting off the ship.  While waiting, we looked at pictures from the cruise on Brian’s computer.  Then the kids colored pictures. 

We got off the ship at 8:15am. We were in the van by 8:30am and we were home by 4pm.  We only stopped at rest stops for potty breaks.  We had snacks in the car.  It was so good to be home.  I love vacations but I love being home too. 

Once we got home, we unpacked and we had tons of laundry.  It’s hard to go 8 days without doing laundry.  I do laundry almost every day at home.  I went grocery shopping and we had food again.  We made a pizza for dinner that night.  It was good to eat at home again.   Then we all got ready for bed.  We are all exhausted!