Epic Cruise

Our last vacation was a whirlwind 10 day, 2,000 mile road trip exploring 5 Utah National Parks. It was so much fun- but also really tiring, so we decided to go with the opposite end of the spectrum for this family vacation and try out one of the laziest vacations known to man: A cruise.  Since Brian and I weren’t going to do an “adults only” trip this year, this seemed like a great compromise. The ship had a kids club and lots of activities for the kids, plus we could get separate rooms- one for the kids to destroy and one for us!  None of us really knew what to expect, and Faith was more than a little wary of spending full days in the middle of an ocean on a “big boat” (as she put it) but we hoped for the best and it turned out to be one of our best family vacations ever.

We left on Saturday afternoon and flew to Ft. Lauderdale where we spent the night at a Holiday Inn before our shuttle picked us up and brought us to port the next morning. Getting on the cruise was fast and easy and at 4PM we set sail.  Our cruise was two days at sea, a day in Ocho Rios, a day in Grand Cayman, a day in Cozumel, and then one more day at sea. It was pretty close to perfect.  Instead of a narrative about the week I think I’ll just go with a stream of consciousness on my favorite memories:

-Being in the hot tub on the top deck as the ship departed from Ft. Lauderdale. Faith was with us and not scared a bit. With her anxiety we were worried there would be lots of tears but she proved us wrong the entire trip!

- Moving into our cabins and having our own adult cabin with the kids next door. The decks were great and I loved looking around the corner at the kids deck and seeing Tanner and Faith in their deck chairs, reading their books

-Day 1 sitting in our deck chairs on level 2 of the pool deck, Faith found a friend to play with (she later forgot her name and she was referred to as "Friend X" for the duration of the trip ) and the boys used the water slides over and over while Brian and I read our books, drank pina coladas, and listened to the Jimmy Buffet impersonator. Heaven.

-Waking up (in our OWN cabin) each day and being able to get dressed, go workout, get coffee, etc… while kids slept next door.  They had an onboard app where the kids could text us so they just texted us when they woke up and then they would meet us at breakfast or  on the pool deck, etc… SO GREAT.

-Kids favorite part: Nutella toast for waffles for breakfast and nutella crepes for dessert each night. Oh yeah... and dry frosted flakes for breakfast each day. We let nutrition slide for the week (not that we are normally so good at it at home) and they survived mostly on the above foods plus french fries and chicken strips. 

-Cirque de Soleil Dinner Show- I wasn’t prepared for it to be so professional and so much like the “real” cirque shows in las vegas. The kids were mesmerized. We had dinner and drinks during the show and afterwards the kids couldn’t stop talking about all the cool stuff they saw.

- We both loved being without WiFi all week. It was so great to not have the option to use the internet or phone or email.  Surprisingly we both loved being completely disconnected.

- Our first stop in Ocho Rios we got off  the ship and wanted to get Faith’s hair braided. We found ourselves across the street from the dock behind an old green shack with a Jamaican woman braiding Faith’s hair. This was not what we had intended but luckily all was OK in the end. I’m sure we overpaid for the braids and the “braids” they insisted putting in Tanner and Jake’s hair were taken out almost immediately, but it made for an interesting morning in port!

-Hanging out at Margaritaville in Ocho Rios where they had a big water park in the ocean for the kids. And for the adults. Brian, Jake, and Tanner bounced on the trampoline together, Faith and I swam out to the toys and played, too. She was fearless.  The kids built sand castles and Brian and I luxuriated in the warmth.

-The kids were kind of surprised by the bartering in Jamaica. Jake caught on quickly that the vendor’s “opening price” was about triple what they were willing to take for an item. This was definitely not my favorite part of the stop, but Jake enjoyed it. 

-Faith really liked the  Kids Club on the ship and went there most evenings for an hour or two while the boys had the run of the ship (mostly the sports court) and Brian and I had nice dinners in the fancier restaurants.

-Blue Man Group was AWESOME! I’d forgotten how much fun the show is. Brian and I saw them in Las Vegas on our honeymoon and watching them again with the kids was a blast.

-Grand Cayman was beautiful and again we spent the day at a local beach. Faith and Brian spent hours jumping through the waves together. This from the girl that last time refused to go anywhere near the ocean! More sandcastles, more fruity drinks, more reading…. More heaven.

-Cozumel was awesome. I researched places to go before we left for the trip and so we got a cab to Paradise Beach. It was a great choice for Brian’s birthday. It had  a huge water park in the ocean and gigantic pool, beach chairs and waiters to serve you. The funniest part? There was this inflatable thing where Jake sat on the bottom and Brian climbed to the top and then jumped down and it forced Jake up into the air. It was so great! Jake “rode” this about 5 times in a row and caught some major air. Also I did the huge mountain climbing thing in the middle, got to the top (after some difficulty!) and then  had to jump from the top into the ocean. The kids and Brian were all cheering me on while sitting on a raft nearby.

- I took the kids to a comedy hypnotist show one day and while the kids really enjoyed it- I was amazed by it and now really want to be hypnotized!!

-The last day on the ship was colder and windy so there was no more waterslide fun to be had and Faith came down with a fever… but we made the best of it and played some SkipBo in the bar, some shuffleboard on the protected deck, and read in our rooms. No one was ready to go home.

-We got back to Ft. Lauderdale at around noon on Sunday. Customs was fast and easy and we spent the evening watching the Super Bowl in our hotel room with McDonalds for dinner (the only place nearby and we had no car!).

This vacation was just so great. The kids loved it, we loved it, we loved the family time and we loved the “kid free” time. I loved letting the boys be independent and also watching Faith come into her own. We are already trying to figure out how we can afford another cruise in the next year or two.