Cruise Lesson and Tips

Every time I plan a trip with my family I always learn something. If I wasn't an organized person I don't think I would have been able to enjoy myself. I think it would have cost us more money and not a run a smoothly. The hiccups that did occur barely hit our radar.

So here is my list of what I think we did well.

Money: We knew when we booked the trip that the cost alone was just step one of what we were going to pay out of pocket. We paid our cruise off in October with the expectation of gifting the cruise as part of our kids Christmas gift.

1. Watch the cruise prices after you book: Carnival will prices match current offers. Nate kept a close eye on the pricing and contacted Kristen every time there was a promotion. It resulted in $280 in room credits.
2. Luggage: We were going to need additional luggage for the kids. We included this in our Christmas budget and surprise for the kids.
3. Christmas gifts: I worked bathing suits, flip flops, dress ups, snorkels, and cash into the kids Christmas gifts. I suggested snorkel sets for each of the kids from family. Their lanyards for the S&S cards were gifted from Marie. Money from my mom Ethan saved as the start of his cruise fund.
4. Research the Excursions: Thanks to forums like Cruise Critics you can research each port and even your exact ship. Through the site I was able to book each excursion outside of the ship saving almost $50 per person in the DR and $75 per person in Aruba. Total Excursion price in DR: $343 including trip, taxi, and captain tip. Aruba: $89 including trip and taxi
5. Spending money: A cruise is all inclusive up to a certain point. For our family we planned an extra $1,500 in spending money. To pay for the excursions and extras. Extras: Gambling, coffee shop, pictures, souvenirs, Camp Ocean from 10pm-1am, ect. Split your spending money between your credit card and cash. Then split your cash into smaller bills for tipping drivers, stewards, ect.
6. The cruise includes food and water/juices/lemonade. We promised our kids soda during the week so we purchased a soda card for each. You could either pay $3 per glass or purchase a $45 unlimited. You aren't required to purchase the soda card for each person in the cabin so we purchased it only for Lorelei and Ethan. If we wanted a soda they could then grab it for us. (FYI: Each passenger can also bring a case of soda a piece on the ship. If we wanted to save $80 we could have done that but our kids were excited about unlimited soda. I did bring a couple cases on to mix with my drinks.)
1. Cheers Card: Cruise ships now also include drink cards. For $480 you could buy a card that included unlimited coffee, bottle water, powerades, rockstars, and 15 alcoholic drinks a day. If you plan on drinking it is a good deal. The ship also allows each adult to bring one bottle of wine. I forgot mine in the car but Nate brought a bottle of his beer that looks like a wine bottle. If you purchase this item each adult in the room is required to buy it. That would have been an additional $900 for us so we had planned not to do it. BUT since Kim had 2 rooms she was technically the only adult in her room and only required to buy 1 so we split the cost 1 card with her. That allowed for 7-8 drinks per night split between Nate and I along with unlimited coffee. Momma needs her lattes! (If we were required to pay the $900 we wouldn't have done it.)
7. Kids Money: If you are going on vacation you know your kids are going to want to spend money. On a cruise they can spending extra money in the arcade, candy shop, gift store, and build a bear. Starting after Christmas our kids started working to save their money. Ethan had his $100 from my Mom and then he got paid for cleaning and babysitting. Lorelei started cleaning every Friday with her brother and would save her money in her piggy bank. They didn't spend a dime during that time and ended up saving a big chunk of cash for themselves. Yes, it was mostly our money. Yes, I paid them to do chores they would be required to do for free but I would have had to give them money anyhow. At least they had to earn it, save it, and budge it during our vacation. We put each of the  kids money into envelopes and labeled them with their names. Each night before bed Nate would sign into their S&S cards from cabin TV and deduct what they spent and put it into our pile of cash. We never told them no. We let them spend their cash on what they wanted but also held them accountable for their spending. Like Ethan's $50 in the arcade the first night. On shore days, they would tell us how much of their money to bring and Nate would hold it for them and be their bankers.  Ethan ended up spending 75% of his money and Lorelei spent 20% of hers.

Media Package: At first we were against this. We enjoy turning off our phones for the week and locking them into the safe during our cruise but this time we did purchase the media package on only Nate's phone. The purpose being to keep in touch with Marie and Kim while on board via FB messenger and to keep track of our new friends while on board.  To communicate with Ethan I brought a stick pad and dry erase board and I would write notes and leave them on the door. It worked perfectly.

Items I'm glad I packed:

1.  Highlighter (we reviewed the fun times kids events each morning and highlighted the things we wanted to do. I then carried them with me all day so we knew when/where/what was going on)
2. 2 beach towels: The ship provides beach towels for you to use on and off the ship but if not returned they cost $22 a piece. I don't trust my kids so we bought our own and they had to keep track of their specific towels all week.
3. Decorations for the Door: It was fun. Kids loved it BUT it also helped Lorelei recognized which room was ours. 
   
4. Sticky Notepads: See above
5. Long sleeve: evening on the ships can get chilly. It was nice having comfy long sleeves some nights
6. Snorkel sets- Most beaches would charge $5-15 for snorkel set rentals. Our kids received as a Christmas gift and used at each island for free.
7. Life jacket- We brought Lorelei's life jacket to help her snorkel. This was something we learned during our cruise with Ethan. a 5 year old has an issue floating, breathing, swimming, all at once. The life jacket helped her float and be able to focus on snorkeling.
8. Over the door shoe rack: Genius. Organized. I will never go on another cruise without one.

Room Service: Use it. Enjoy it. It's free. It's 24 hours. After our island days we would sometimes come back on board and order a couple sandwiches. Ethan and his friends ordered it at all hours of the day or night. They have the best BLTs. And you already read how we used it for Grand Turks along with the morning on leaving the ship.

Easter:  I'm glad I was organized and planned ahead for that day. Lorelei doesn't understand there isn't magic to it. It allowed us to come back into town and still have some sort of holiday.

Organized Dinner outfits: I know it seemed extreme to organize each night and then even assign a set per night based on excursion schedules but it was so helpful! My family looked great and it was a no brainer. No arguing. Bickering. What do I wear? I took out the 4 hangers every night and everybody was set. I also knew that my kids after spending 6-7 hours on an excursion wouldn't want to put on their most dressed up outfits so I planned easy sundresses and shorts/polos for those evening. 

And yes, I still like to dress up on dinner nights. Some of our fellow cruisers seemed more relaxed but to me you are sitting down in a formal dining room. Put on a nice sundress and a collared shirt for the boys. A little bit of effort never hurt any one and it makes for nice pictures.

When packing for the kids we also made sets for each day..That made for easy grab and go for every morning.

Tip your Josie:  When we get on a ship one of our top priorities is to introduce ourselves to our room steward and hand her $20. She then makes sure you have cold ice in your room for the beer you smuggled in. :) Yes, she knows we smuggled it in. No she does not care. Each night should would make sure they were cold for us. You can also ask her to clean out the fridge of the mini bar stuff and fill it with your own carried on sodas. Just make sure to tell you kids not to touch the stuff from the fridge!

What I would do different:

More shirts/underwear: One day 7 I skipped breakfast and sat outside of the laundry room and washed some clothes for my kids. They were running low and shirts and underwear. Especially Ethan. I would have packed more to avoid the laundry. It cost me about 80 minutes of my time and $8 in cash. (I got to read my book while I waited and Nate brought me my favorite breakfast from the dining room and he took Lorelei swimming while I finished up)

Tuxes: I choose to carry on the tuxes because I was worried they would get wrinkled or lost. In the future I would toss those bad boys in the garment bags. They were a pain to carry.

Things I should have packed: Baby powder (For the boys), heavy hair conditioner (the sun and salt water was harsh on all our hair), Nail polish-to fill in the chips of my gel nails towards the end of the week, Nail file- for the chips and dings from the week.

Room Selection: We didn't need 2 rooms and we managed with zero issues in our inside cabin but on our next cruise I would probably upgrade to an ocean view ONLY because it would allow for a tad bit more space. Even though it would pain us because we would miss the glorious darkness an interior room provides.

Let them be:  As a mom that likes spending time with my kids I had a hard time with this one. We did this well but I think I would have prepared myself for it more. I really thought Ethan would want to spend more time with us. By day 7 it kinda hurt my feelings that he didn't but I didn't want to ruin their fun or force them to spend time with us. At one point a saw a teenage boy "hanging out" with his parents. He was sitting at a seperae table and looking miserable having lunch "together". Or I saw a parent dragging their child around but they were playing on a handheld device. I had to remind myself that this is their vacation too. If they wanted to sleep in and stay out late (within reason) even though to me it made no sense it's what he wanted to do. 

It did make for some good one on one time with Nate and I. 

I think that's it! I hope you enjoyed the quick summary. It was literally a brain dump that I haven't read though. Sorry about the improper grammar or English. Deal with it!

Day 9: Bye Conquest

7:15am. "Room Service"

On the last night of the cruise the room steward always leave your disembarking information on your bed along your zone number. We had number 17. You are scheduled to leave anytime between 8am to 11am the next morning depending on when you zone is called.

I had placed a room service sheet our door the evening before to be delivered Saturday morning. I hate to stand in line at the breakfast buffet with 1,000 other people on the last day. I ordered a mix of cereal, bagels, fruit plates, muffins, and juices for us and the kids. We woke up and one by one took showers and laid back down in bed. I kept the door cracked and waited for our zone to be called. Typically people move to the upstairs common areas and wait for their numbers. The cleaning staff likes to get into the rooms as quickly as possible to prepare for the next cruisers. We were able to get an extra hour or so of sleep and relaxing by hiding in our room. At 10am Josie asked us to leave the rooms and at 10:10 our zone number was called. 

You leave the ship by scanning your S&S card one final time and then head to the luggage zone. It is so organized we found our luggage right away and proceeded to the customs line. We were out in the shuttle area pretty quickly. This is where we waited.  It took about 45 minutes for our turn on the shuttle. Again it was very organized but not enough shuttles for the amount of passengers for this particular park and go.

We loaded into the car and began our journey home. The kids slept on and off. My husband tried to sleep on and off but he was driving. At the half way point we stopped at 7-11 for 5 taquitos, hotdog, 2 bags of chips, honey bun, monsters, Gatorade, and mountain dew. $20 of  random food because we were all tired of eating fancy food.

We arrived home pretty quickly. No traffic. No extra stops. It was Easter morning and Lorelei was excited to see what the Easter bunny would leave us. Yes, the Easter bunny magically came to our house while we were away. Or a prepared Momma shopped for the baskets, separated each basket per person and bagged them up. Hid them in the house sitter's closets and instructed her to hide them Sunday morning before she left for the day. 

Easter Dinner: We had originally planned to have dinner at a friends house but the week before our departure the idea of coming home, getting dressed, and socializing after a long week and trip home sound exhausting. I went ahead and purchased some nice NY strips steaks for us for dinner prior to leaving and asked Lauren to put them in the fridge prior to her leaving. We had perogies and I made a quick green bean casserole with deviled eggs. It was quick. It was simple. It was our Easter dinner.

The kids unpacked the bags for me while I sat on the couch and watched every missed Bravo series. Thank you loves! They also wrote a list of all the items they loved and were thankful for during the cruise. We sat down at dinner and discussed our list and trip with a final rewind. 

The kids had one more day of vacation the next day but I still sent them to bed at 8pm. My kids needed sleep and so did we!

Day 8: Sea Day: We do what we want

This morning was our Dr. Seuss breakfast that we had signed up for back on Day 1. Ethan had told us the night before that he would be grumpy and not really interested in attending our 8:30am reservation. I didn't want to force him so I asked Skyler if he wanted to go. He said no but Fisher jumped in that he would! Despite the 1am bed time Fisher was wide awake and ready to go. Miss Lorelei on the other hand had to be dragged to it. Once she got to the restaurant she perked right up. That girl isn't a morning person I tell you.

The Dr. Seuss breakfast was so cute. The dining room looked great and Fisher was such a great fill in big brother. The menu was designed after a Dr. Seuss book. The food all were named after Dr. Seuss related names. We had borrowed a shirt from Mia so Lorelei could follow the Dr. Seuss theme.

 

Fisher and I ordered the "Fox in the Socks Steak and Eggs" Lorelei ordered the "Truffula Tree Pancakes, and Nate ordered the "Scrambled Super- dee Dooper-dee-Booger Special de a la Peter Te Hooper Omellette...all the way. During our breakfast the staff did a song and dance and then one by one the characters came out. The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and 2, Sam I am. and somebody else. My meal was the most perfect meal to fill my stomach and become tired again. Lorelei and I had already decided that we would eat breakfast and take our naps early. That's exactly what we did. Ate, took pictures, thanked Fisher, and everybody went back to bed until 11am. 

Ethan and the whole teen crew slept until 11am. Missed breakfast. Missed their last day of vacation but did what they wanted to. He showered quickly and work up his squad and went to eat hamburgers for breakfast. By now Ethan was eating a minimum of 2 hamburgers a day for lunch. The burger was called the Ringer and had an onion ring and bbq sauce on it. So damn good but can't beat the street tacos. Lorelei woke up and had some afternoon activities that she wanted to attend at camp. Painting, making t-shirts, and some arts n crafts. While Lorelei was in camp Nate and Ethan went and check out a the watch deal and Ethan pulled the trigger and 2 new watches. He looked like a little grown up with them on and was so serious about picking one up. I laid in bed and read my book. I was at that portion of my book were I was so close to the end I didn't want to stop reading and there was nothing on the fun times that I wanted to do. I also knew that Nate had an itching every since popping his chair last night to go play cards so we all went our separate ways. Eventually when I got hungry I got up and went upstairs to eat tacos and find a quiet spot to read. Then I found Nate and we picked Lorelei up around 1pm so they could eat lunch. Nate wanted burgers, Lorelei wanted pizza, and a salad, and 2 ice cream cones. We watched Daddy eat his burger but she was getting a little tired so she carried her lunch back to her room so I could read to her and she could take a 10 minute nap. 2 hours later I was finished with my book and I woke her up to get in the shower.

Nate and Marie got ready for dinner early and attended a Past Guest Cruise Party while I helped the kids get ready. Correct kid. Ethan was no where to be seen. The whole week he knew he had to be back by 5pm to shower. I left his clothes out with a note and Lorelei went looking for him.  Went looking for him= Stop by the Candy shop. By the time we got back to the room he was showered and partially dressed and apologetic. The three of us went upstairs to walk around before dinner. Ethan showed us a bar/lounge area on the 4th floor that was practically empty. I had no idea that the stair led to anything down there. The bar was quiet. Large with big comfy chairs and played old love songs. It had a grand piano in the center. And it was like walking into a secret world. Ethan said the teens all hung out down there and the bartender didn't mind because they could buy sodas down there from the bar. He said they also let the teens play the piano and that some of the kids could play and would take turns. He order his sister a Shirley temple and then told me about how the bartender in the Lobby Bar loved him and would give him extra cherries in his. He then led  us further town the hall into the art gallery and said they hung out in there sometimes and then in a large open area on the 4th floor.

 

We all sat down for our last cruise dinner. The kids were anxious and again wanted out. I don't think they ordered dessert. Even Lorelei. She knew she had candy in the room she could hit up before going to Camp Ocean. Even better the candy came out of Ethan's money because the night before he bet her $5 candy credit she wouldn't eat escargot. She ate it. The ship had farewell parties planned for each age group and they couldn't wait to get to them.

 

I was able to squeeze one family picture before they took off.

 

 

We went back to our room to pack. All luggage has to be out of the room between 8pm-11pm. The day before I had already back the dirty clothes. They were starting to take over our cabin. That morning I packed all my clothes/shoes and the kids clothes/shoes and put aside dinner outfits, night outfits, pjs, and morning clothes for each. Nate and I made quick work of packing and had all the bags out right at 8pm.

 

We headed up stairs to the Casino for the night. Nate gambled most of the night and I hung out with Marie and Kim. We didn't do much but gamble a little bit. Kim and I are cheap and chat with all the friends we made during the trip. It was a pretty tamed last night. Daddy was in the middle of a poker game when it was time to pick up Lorelei so I left him down to play. Lorelei and I grabbed our nightly pizza and ice cream to go and went back to our room to finish our book. Daddy walked in right as we were falling asleep and took the book and pizza out of our hands and tucked us in. As he crawled into his bed he said, "Man we didn't really do much today." I replied to him, "We did what we wanted. I wanted nothing more but to float around and read my book, you wanted to get some casino time in, and the kids wanted to do what they wanted. It was a perfect last day."

 

Tomorrow: The trip home and our unconventional Easter. Lessons I learned. What I would change. What I would do the same.

 



Day 7: Day at Sea

After 4 islands back to back we were all ready for a day at sea. It was sad though that it also meant we were heading back to Florida. It was crazy to think that we had traveled so far South it was a 2 day trip back.

After our typical Sea Day Brunch we spent the day hanging out with Lorelei. We went from the pool, to the candy shop, to the arcade (she incorrectly calls it the RKO. I guess that is a wrestling move. Thanks Ethan). She eventually asked to go to Camp Ocean because she had a date with one of her friends. We dropped her off and Nate and I went and enjoyed a Guy's burger on the lido deck. We sat on the side and watched the water. Thankfully it had calmed down. The night before it was crazy bumpy. So much so they had closed off some of the higher outdoor floors and we instructed the teens to not go outside. After lunch we went and played Trivia in the Lobby and enjoyed a couple bloody marys. Man do I love their olives. We picked Lorelei up around 4pm and instructed Ethan to be back by 4pm to shower.

Ethan asked me if he could do away with his curfew for the last 2 nights. I couldn't say yes to a limitless curfew but I did agree to a 3am curfew. Nate looked like he wanted to puke.

This evening I was wearing a navy blue dress and the boys were suppose to be in their tuxes from the night before. Ethan asked me if he could wear the navy blue bow tie and vest. Remember the ones that before the cruise I didn't want?  What came out of Cruise Sabrina's mouth..."Sure, I don't care! Let me see how they look!" I told you I become a different person once I'm relaxed and on that ship. Jasmine and Kynna took Lorelei down the hall and curled her hair while Nate and I finished getting ready. When we were all done boy did my family look great.

Dinner took awhile that night and the teens wanted to hit up the club by 8:30 so they ditched dessert to go back and change. Lorelei wanted to go to the Camp Ocean Party and showing of Frozen so she skipped desert. On the way back to the room she grabbed some kit kats from the candy store and grabbed her glow in the dark bracelets. I took her  to camp while Nate got ready and she did the funniest thing outside of camp. She goes running up the stairs. Says, "STOP! I got to get ready!" Dropped to the ground, put a glow in the dark bracelet on each ankle, 2 around the next, and 1 on her wrist. Opened up to kit kats...literally shoved them in her mouth and said, "Let's go!"

I met Nate in the room and went upstairs to have a drink before the comedy club. Fisher and Ethan had made plans to attend the 18+ adult show. Fisher is 18 and the shows hadn't been that bad so we agreed to let Ethan sneak in. Shit at 6' tall you don't really have to sneak in. Of course when we met up with Ethan he had some friends with him. Kynna's parents said she could come in. She too is tall and the same age as Ethan. But Jacob is like 5'4" and looks like a baby. Marie said he could come in so I told him to hide under the table until the lights went off..Worked like charm.

Ethan expressed some interest in going into the casino. We told him if he was with us we would allow him to sit at one machine and pull the lever. When it was time to he changed his mind. Oh, I love that boy. So much talk to him with little action. He was too scared to get caught and changed his mind. Off to go play with the teens he went until 4am. We all went to the casino bar after the show and hung out until we had to pick Lorelei up at 1am. During casino time Nate finally decided to gamble. He did pretty well at Texas Hold 'Em and ended the night up $120. Note bad for the first time playing for money against real people.

Pizza. Ice cream and bed. And yes, Ethan talked me into an extra hour somewhere between 12am and my nightly pizza.

Day 6: Aruba: Wishlist and a new friend

I was most looking forward to the excursion in Aruba. I had booked paddle boarding at Moomba Beach because Ethan told me back in December that he was his only wish item for our cruise. I was able to find a vendor who would allow a "6" year old to ride on the front of the board that also came with high reviews. The other crew booked an excursion on a banana bus that included a tour of the island and some beach time. As you can see from the lack of excitement from yesterday I wasn't too crazy about bus tours so I'm glad we already had plans.

Morning routine: Wake, pack, lay out clothes, wake up family, showers, breakfast, get off boat. Again we gave our kids the vendor warning and headed off the ship to find a taxi to Moomba Beach. I immediately fell in love with Aruba. We weren't attacked by vendors. The taxi were origanized by the port with a sign advising visitors that the taxi's were country regulated and prices were set by the country. Where we paid $15 a piece in the DR we paid $14 one way for the whole family in Aruba. When we arrived at the beach the cab driver told us all beaches in Aruba were public and there was no fee and to enjoy. We located the Paddle Boarding hut and checked in. Our instructor was out with another family so we got to swim for about an hour. The water was perfect. As a mom it's what I love the most about the Carribean. No waves and shallow water. It allowed me to breath easy with my kids being in the water. I found 4 lounge chairs by the water and asked how much. "No charge in Aruba," the lady replied. Man I loved his place. 

Sun screen on and everybody was in the water. As I was sitting there I pulled out our waterproof camera and realized it was dead. :( Fail: Sabrina I had no idea the camera batter wouldn't last a full day. Nate ran off to grab a disposable waterproof camera. There was no way I was going to miss pictures of Ethan paddle boarding in Aruba and there was no way Nate was going to let me take my cellphone out there with me. FYI: Waterproof cameras aren't free in Aruba

We met with Dennis at 10:30 and chatted with him a bit. It ended up that he had lived in Jacksonville before. Surfed the jetties. Then lived in Jupiter (by my work) and we had common ground in fishing. We immediately liked him and his swagger. You can't go wrong with a surfer marine lover. Because Nate and I had paddle boarded in the past and Ethan was familiar with navigating a kayak I didn't book the instructed or guided tour so Dennis gave us quick lesson and we were off.

I love paddle boarding. I'm pretty damn good at it I must say and I love the peace of it. Ethan loved falling in. Lorelei loved falling in. And Nate enjoyed it but not as much as in the VI. It was a tad windy that day in Aruba and that caused for a more challenge day. In our past experience it was in a bay and the water was pure glass. Despite the extra big of challenge we all liked it. Hopefully after some good old fashion camera developing I can share some pics.

After paddle boarding we met Dennis back up at the beach. He told us that he was getting his fishing boat ready and next time we need to book a fishing trip with him. Ethan and Nate loved that idea. By then the idea of visiting Aruba again in the future had already crossed my mind. Nate asked Dennis about a local spot to eat and explained to him we didn't want French fries and tourist crap. What would he eat. He said that he was actually done for the afternoon because of the stronger winds coming and had a standard lunch time at a place called the Kitchen. He could drop off his boat tower at his house and come back in 40 minutes to take us with him to lunch in town. Nate said sure!  The kids swam a little more and played on the swing set while I quietly wondered if we were doing a bad thing. Was this guy going to murder us? That's when I pulled out my phone and googled the restaurant, text my sisters of our plans, and said a little prayer.

Dennis came back and we headed to the restaurant. We asked him how far the port was from the restaurant and he said about 5 minutes but a longer walk but he could drop us off after. At this time I was more relaxed but weary because most locals just want money from the cruisers. He hadn't mentioned money yet and was having a genuine conversation with us. He told us about his daughter and ex wife. Why he lived in Aruba and how he got back there after living in the US. We could tell we had a new friend.  The restaurant was so nice! Not a hole in the wall but small and everybody in there knew our new friend! Everybody! He was like the mayor of Aruba.

The food was amazing. You paid by the plate and by weight. He warned us to only get what you wanted. Nate and Ethan filled up their plates...$20 a piece! Lorelei was $4 and mine was $9. They wrote each plate cost on a ticket and at that time Nate told Dennis we were buying him lunch for his hospitality and told the server to please add his plate to ours. Dennis' "girlfriend" joined us for lunch and we talked about life in Aruba compared to the US and had a nice lunch.  Did I mention the food was amazing????  When it was time to leave Nate noticed that Dennis' lunch was included and Dennis waved his hand and said, "No man, I pay monthly. Don't worry about it."  He also told us that if we planned a trip to fly down to Aruba he knew some friends that rented their homes and we could plan a guided tour paddle board mangroves and a fishing trip. Yes please!!!

He shook our hands and dropped us off outside of the port.

Outside of the port was a large market similar to the Bahamas and then shops. Lorelei and Ethan found their souvenirs right away but Nate and Ethan wanted to check out some watch shops. Lorelei and I were tired and she had the candy shop on her mind so we headed back to the ship. We got back onto the ship, took showers and laid down in bed for our nap. She asked that I read my book out loud to her and she fell asleep. Nate and Ethan came back shortly after and we turned off our cabin lights and everybody took our mandatory naps.

I don't remember much from that night. I know it was a quiet night. Lorelei wanted to go to camp so Nate and I went to see the Diva show. It was good and I loved all the songs. I probably sang along with them too loud but I can't help it. We ended up picking Lorelei up early because we wanted to watch a movie with her out on the Lido deck.  We hit up the ice machine and grabbed our buckets of popcorn, laid on a deck chairs and watched Avengers under a full moon.  Lorelei and I deemed it the worst popcorn ever. We even tried dipping into her ice cream cone. Occasionally we saw the teens walk past but they stayed away from us. I think they had labeled the adults uncool by then. We eventually met up with them again for pizza before we all headed to bed.

Day 5: Curacao

We all woke up the next morning-ish refreshed and ready for the next port. We didn't get into port until 1pm so I let the family sleep in. I went upstairs and grabbed heuvos rancheros from Blue Iguanas for Nate, Ethan and I, cereal and fruit for Lorelei and brought them back to the room for when they woke up.

We didn't have an excursion planned for Curacao. None of us had been to the port before and never been in port at night before. We figured we would get off the boat and see what happens. We backed a smaller bag and wore our suits off the boat just in case. 

The whole crew got off the ship together around 1pm and walked through the fort and went over the pontoon bridge. Curacao has 3 bridges. The pontoon bridge floats back and forth to allow cargo ships to pull into the port. It was one of the most unique bridges I've even seen. Walking over the bridge it led us further into town. 

It was hot and a big town and nobody really wanted to shop all day so Marie stopped at a tour vendor and negotiated a bus tour for us for $15 per person. AC. Nice bus. No brainer. We hopped on.

The bus drove us past the Floating Market first. Curacao received 23 inches of rain last year and can not produce it's on produce. Because of this all of their produce comes from Venezuela. The boats pull up to the pier and create a floating market right there. 

From there we drove us through the country side to a ledge called the million dollar view. It was basically a store on the edge of the mountain with a great view. I had to pee but the lady instructed me it cost $1.25 to use their restroom so I decided to just hold it. Out of principle. 

Then we headed to the Cabana Beach. On the way we passed government housing. According to our driver the government builds the homes and you have the option to live in them with some assistance and also work to buy them eventually. Government assistance is $75 a month regardless of how many children you have. The houses were concrete and about the size of 2 state rooms.

Cabana Beach was nice!!! Oh man do I wish we would have just gone there instead! Big beautiful cove with chairs, huts, waterslides, connected to a resort. But everything you did there cost money and the bus driver only gave us an hour so nobody swam. We stopped grabbed some drinks for everyone and ate some French fries. Ethan did some shopping and we all just relaxed for a moment.

Back on the bus....we headed back to town where half of us decided to be dropped off in town for more shopping. The other half decided to head back to the ship. Our family headed to the ship where we did some local shopping around the boat before heading back onto the boat. I think the kids (teens) liked being on the boat more than anything. It was a floating school house. By then they had become a crew that was deemed to "run the ship" and they had made friends. They couldn't wait to get back on the boat and roam as only teenagers could do.

Everybody made it back to the boat in time to get dressed and go to dinner. The parents had all planned that after dinner we head back out to the fort and have drinks on the Island. Lorelei wanted to go to Camp Ocean for a glow in the dark rave and the kids had some clubbing to do! We all went out to the first patio restaurant we could find and drank a couple yucky beers before heading out. I wish I could say more about this port or fun stuff but it was really just OK. I think we all found comfort in the ship. It was a nice experience to be on an Island at night but nobody went crazy. Even though we were all kid free.

We went back to the ship and met everybody at the casino bar and drank and hung out until 1am. Again picked up the kids and had pizza before heading to bed.  My family was back and in a happy mood. We had quite the surprise when we picked Lorelei up. She had become a tiger!!!

Oh, Lorelei also found where she wanted to spend her money that day...Cherry on Top. The ship candy story. Every day after dinner we would let her buy 1 pack of candy before heading to Camp. She loved it and lived for it...daily!!!

Day 4: Dominic Republic & melt downs

Our first island with an excursion La Romana, Dominican Republic. Through some research I found Seavis Saona Island Tour. It included a speed boat ride to the caves, Saona Island, local lunch, rum punch and sodas, and snorkeling at a starfish sand bar in the middle of the ocean. The reviews were great and the cost was about $50 less per person. It required us to be off the boat by 9:15am and at the taxi terminal. Again I woke up early cleaned the room, packed the bag, and laid out clothes. I woke up my crew at 7am and they started showers. Ethan who is normally a breeze to wake up was not doing well this morning. He didn't want to go to breakfast so after he showered and dressed I let him go back to sleep while we went to breakfast. What that means is if Ethan is grumpy Lorelei was horrible! I think the 1am pizza's were finally catching up to us in room 2341.  We finished up just in time to bring Ethan back some breakfast and head of the boat.

While disembarking I reminded our kids that things would get crazy once off the ship. Lots of people trying to sell you things and talk to you. Don't engage in conversation and hold Momma and Daddy's hand. According to my research the DR was comparible to Jamaica when it came to aggressive locals. The Momma Bear and Poppa Bear in Nate and I were on high alert. We got off the ship and were able to jump into the appropriate taxi pretty quickly. From there it was smooth sailing from the Seavis office to being put onto the speedboat.

This was our favorite part of the entire trip. This excursion was a mix of everything we all enjoyed. We traveled some time on the boat and in the bumpy water at 60 mph it made for a fun ass ride. I held onto Ethan while Nate held onto Lorelei. Both were laughing and screaming the whole time.

Our first stop was the local caves. What a beautiful area. Known for being used as a hurricane shelter back in the day and discovered by Christopher Columbus. Also some of the best diving in the world.

 

 

Next stop Saona Island!  Exactly what I needed. The kids and Nate wanted to snorkel and I wanted to sit on the beach. There was only about 50 people on this beach and we had front row seats to a beautiful crystal blue water front. Because the beach was a 20 minute ride from the marina it wasn't filled with vendors. We had one lady come up and ask if we wanted any necklaces. Lorelei bought one as her DR souvenir. I watched the them snorkel and sat down and finally relaxed. It was exactly what I needed and my element. The snorkeling according them was a bit difficult because the water was cloudy that day but they still enjoyed it.  The water was calmer than Grand Turk and Lorelei really got a hang of it. She was funny though. Just like her momma every time she saw a fish she screamed into her snorkel. lol Ethan picked it up quickly and took the camera under for us.

 

Mandatory family pic

Ethan's underwater snorkel pic

Ethan's fresh coconut. So nasty. Hated by all.

They called us for lunch. I was expecting much but was impressed! A full spread of food including a marinated pork, grilled chicken breast, tomato pasta, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, rice and beans, and more. Both boys made giants plates and went back for seconds!  The only thing I didn't care for was the ad said punch rum. In the island's it's usually pretty good and I had told Ethan he could have one small cup. Well, they had all you could drink rum/cokes and light beer. Neither of which looked or tasted good to any of us. But the soda was free and for my crystal light drinking family they enjoyed the soda.

From there we loaded back into our speed boat and headed to the mangroves. We couldn't get out of the water because they were protected but they were awesome to see.  Along the way we saw the most beautiful shades of blue. The waters in the DR are gorgeous.

 

Next we headed to the Starfish Sandbar. So cool. In the middle of the ocean a sand bar with giant star fish. Again the crew passed out pound cake and fresh pineapples and more rum.  Oh, how I wish we had rum punch. This is when things started to go down hill. In the middle of the ocean, in the middle of the afternoon Ethan wasn't feeling the sandbar. "Ugh this just doesn't make sense. blah blah blah" I could tell he was grumpy. A grumpy Ethan only happens when he's tired. We ignored him and continued on with enjoying the starfish.

 

Thankfully he bounces back quickly. Thank you to Speddy.

The next 30 minutes turned his frown upside down! A fast, high action, wave riding, wet boat ride back to the marina. Ethan had a blast. Lorelei loved it too but was so tired she fell asleep half way through. Despite the bouncing and sprays of water. By the end of the ride we were full and happy.

We grabbed our cab back to the port and went straight to the ship. Ethan showed and dressed for dinner and met up with his cousins who had come back from their dune buggy excursion. Lorelei, Nate, and I showered and dressed and headed upstairs to watch the ship leave DR. I made Ethan snap a picture before he took off.

After dinner the plan was for Lorelei to go to Camp Ocean for the evening. They had lots of activities planned that night and we had a pub crawl to attend with our Facebook Group. When I tried to drop her off she had a complete melt down. I looked or at least felt like a shit bag mom. That put me in a bad mood. She said she didn't want to go but wouldn't say way and cried louder and louder. I took her back to the room and told Nate I was putting her to bed and I would read my book. Nate, Marie, Kim, and the rest of the crew left to meet up with the Pub Crawl. Lorelei passed out immediately and I sat up and read my book dozing in and out. Ethan came home at 1am and Nate came in shortly after. I was annoyed with Nate that he didn't at least check on us during those 4 hours and that he went to pizza but didn't think about me. He was tired and could careless and we both went to bed grumpy.

As hard as my family can go we need our sleep and this is what this day taught me. We are not an up at 5-7am until 1am kind of people. My children and us need our sleep. After that we had mandatory nap times which made everybody happy from there on out.

Day 3: Grand Turk & Blurry Pics

I woke up at 5am and couldn't fall back asleep. I finally crawled out of bed and hit the track. I walked until 7am and watched the sunrise. I still wasn't relaxed though and it was driving me bananas. I was still in Momma mode thinking about what I needed to do when I got back to the room. Take out the kids clothes, pack the pool bag, order food, pack food, ect. I kept trying to take deep breaths and just enjoy the moment but instead Infound myself checking my watch and making sure I wasn't late.

I got back to the room. Picked up the kids dirty clothes. Organized the counters, payed out clothes, packed the snorkels, towels, and ordered room service. 7 turkey sandwiches. I had a plan! We were only in Grand Turk from am-1pm. The only thing to do there is The gigantic pool from Margartiville and private beach for snorkeling. The food there is outrageous. $29 for a plate of nachos. If you remember from my list I brought zip lock bags from home. Room service is free & yummy. It comes with a full size sandwhich, chips, & a pickle. While the kids showered I bagged up the sandwhiches and put all chips & pickles in seperate gallon size bags. Lunch was served!

We hit up breakfast on the boat and then headed to the beach around 10. 

Lorelei hit the beach first to try out snorkeling. 

Ethan and the rest of the crew found some lounge chairs and hung out in the pool. 

The water was a tad bit cold for my liking but the kids didn't mind. All the kids and adults loves being in the water. The sun was hot so I made sure to keep reapplying sun screen to my crew. After a couple hours the kids got hungry and people started ordering food and drinks. $29 nachos and $21 frozen drinks! Screw you Jimmy Buffet! I pulled out our picnic and rewarded myself w a frozen drink. My husband was happy and our kids were happy (they love room service food) and the family was jealous of my bright idea! 

Ethan asked if he and Fisher could leave and hit some stores. I answered before Nate could. Grand Turk is a small village. The stores make a small square around the port entrance and doesn't have aggressive locals. Somehow even in all my planning and overall craziness I have become more laid back than Nate. I understand that Ethan requires a longer leash. 

We all enjoyed an hour more in the pool and Lorelei asked if she could do some shopping. While in the pool Ethan found his souvenir...a grass skirt. Unfortunately for him it didn't fit him. Fortunately for him it fit Fisher. Ethan found a local coconut and some string and designed a coconut top for his buddy. 

We were back on the boat with plenty of time to spare and bid farewell to Grand Turk by enjoying a BLT while watching the Farewell party on Fun TV. 

The night got blurry.

Dinner: 

After dinner Ethan took off to change and hit up the club. The adult club turned into a teen club from 8:30-9:30 nightly. They then played dodge ball on the 12 floor basketball court, played man hunt (teen version of hide seek) and did whatever it was they did until pizza time. 

Lorelei decided not to go to camp that night and there was a Gator game playing in the sports bar so we went to hang out with the family and watch the game. (Again kid friendly sports bar that included video games available for kids) Lorelei took over the camera and took pictures all night. She was "charging" people $1 for blurry pics and $5 for in focus pics. She would swipe their S&S cards and snap away.