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.

Day 2: Sea Day & a birthday party

I woke up around 6am feeling closed in. I think the 6 pieces of luggage were suffocating me. I turned on the bathroom light and quietly started unpacking my family. I was quiet and made sure not to wake them. The shoe rack idea was perfection! It helped clear up counter space and keep things organized. The kids & Dad woke up around 9:30 and were hungry. 

On the Sea Days Carnival offers Brunch from 9pm to 1pm in the dining room. It's a special mix of the best of breakfast and lunch. It also serves my favorite breakfast heuvas rancheros. We ran into John on the way out and he joined us for breakfast. On the plan today was the pool and slide in the morning and then build a bear & the Dr Seuss parade in the afternoon. Followed by pictures in the evening. Ethan was pretty quiet up on the Lido deck but Lorelei hopped in and out of the pool, hot tub, & slides with Nicky. The boys walked by and stole Ethan and we decided it was Taco time! The ship not only has the Guy Burger but a taco bar. It was instantly my favorite food on the ship. 1 carnitas and 1 chicken for me & Lu. 

It was finally time for the Build a Bear workshop that Lorelei had saved her money scrubbing toilets for. She got to pick out the bear and an outfit out of a wide selection of animals and customers. She picked a girly bear with a skirt and shirt combo. We then had to stuff the bear by hand and place an angel (soul) & star inside the bear. It was a very nice family activity we did together. She named her bear Bella & couldn't wait to introduce her to Pumpkin! 

We then headed to the Degas Lounge for the Dr Seuss Parade. They gave us streamers, signs, and cowbells. A parade of parents, children, & Thing 1 & 2 marched the length of the ship chanting "Dr Seuss is on the loose!" All the way to the theater. 

From there we watched a Cat in the Hat production. The kids were welcome to sit on the stage. Well in true Lorelei fashion an adult backed into her causing her to fall head first into the floor. Thankfully she recovered quickly and didn't break, bruise, or cut herself. 

4pm showers. Showers in a small room actually worked out well. I had Ethan and Lorelei go first. Then me so I could work on my makeup and then Nate. When the kids got ready they went out in the hall to chill with their friends. Tonight was formal night and the first night of the tuxes. Oh boy dos the boys look handsome. Nate & I had to help them with cuff links & buttons. Nate had to do Ethan's hair. Over 6'. Too cool for his parents but he still needs momma & dad for somethings. 

I'm not going to lie the tux got to me. He looked so handsome and even in 3 inch heels he was taller than me. I tried to hold back my tears. 

We all ate lobster except for Lu. She had grilled chicken. As we were leaving dinner Dennise reminded us it was her birthday and she was having a party in the Piano Bar at 8:15pm. I was unsure. We changed into our evening wear and went to check it out. I hesitated and told Nate that I wasn't that mom that had her kid in a bar. (Yes, kid. 1 kid. Ethan changed and left to go clubbing with the teenagers.) Marie of course found us sitting and convinced me there were other kids in there and it was family friendly. I went in and there were other kids. The piano player was playing old songs and encourage singing with him. We all loved it!!!!

We all sang our hearts out! Camp Ocean started a night party at 10pm and Lorelei wanted to go. We dropped her off and headed to the club for the rest of the night. I had the most fun with my husband that night. We were dancing and all having a great time. I loved every moment of his smiles across the room to me. It was just a perfect evening. Yes, Nate danced. Even Kim did! So much fun. We grabbed Lu at 1am and met Ethan for our midnight pizza before crawling into bed. 

Sweet dream until Grand Turk!

Day 1: Embarkation Day!!!!

We were up early, showered and dressed. I packed breakfast bars to eat. I knew we would be eating big when we arrived to the ship and didn't want to waste money on breakfast out. The kids were satisfied and ready to head to the ship!

Nate found a Park & Go option next to the port. Instead of $15 a day it was $8 a day and would transport us to and from the port. We arrived at 10:30 and headed to the ship. No lines no waiting!!!

Again my anxiety was a bit heighten. The thought of standing in long lines with both kids and carrying bags made me nervous but thankfully we were there early enough we zipped right through. We got to the waiting room before they even allowed passengers to board! We took our seats and waiting for our family to arrive. We talk to the kids about the importance of their sail and sign cards, prepared them for what was going to happen as soon as we got on the ship (pictures, drop of bags, grab lunch, and sail away party!), and reviewed some rules with Ethan. His rules included getting along and no bullying with his cousins and friends, no entering a cabin not in our family, meet at the room by 5pm to shower for dinner, and a 1am curfew.

Right before noon our zone number was called and we were one swip and click away from being on board. We took our onboarding pictures and headed to the gangway. We had agreed the Lorelei would board first and the excitement between the 4 of us was through the roof. The stress from the week before was gone and I was ready to be on vacation.

After dropping off our carry-ons we met up with our family and sat down for lunch. The teens ate very quickly and asked if they could take off. They were ready to explore the ship and be on their own. Nate, Lu, and I headed to Camp Ocean to confirm her registration and sign up for the Dr. Seuss breakfast.  We then did some exploring on our own.  I had joined a FB group called a Roll Call of fellow cruisers that would be on the ship the week before. This group was a mix of people that had previous cruised together and were strangers. It seemed like a fun bunch and I figured if our kids ditched us we would have a new group of friends to hang out with. They had all planned to meet at Red Frog at 4pm for a Meet and Greet. We immediately hit it off with them. What a great mix of people. Young, old, sober, drinkers, kids, no kids, but super friendly. We hung out with them on the Lido deck, enjoying the music and chatting till 5pm.

At 5pm we met back at our room for dinner and to unpack...Unpack....Nope. No luggage. NO LUGGAGE. Ethan was in a bathing suit, Lorelei was in shorts, I had a sundress on, and Nate had on walking shorts. What to do????

Normal...non cruise Sabrina would have cared. I had a damn list after all. Fisher game Ethan a pair of pants 2 sizes too big. Lorelei wore a skirt from Friday night and Nate wore what he had. Cruise Sabrina had no problems with how it played out. I did laugh to myself though. All the thought, all the work I had put in and my husband was in a pair of swimming shorts in the formal dining room.

Dinner was day one of FOOD. All you can eat. Fancy food. I've never been disappointed with the cruise food and this trip wasn't any different. We were seated at a round table with the Teagues and it made for fun evenings.

After dinner we still didn't have our luggage so we went out into the ship and hung out. We went to different locations and hung out with Lorelei and our family. Yes, day 1 and Ethan had ditched up. Around 12:45pm we met up with pizza for our first of many 1am pizza nights and we ate as a family. Tomorrow was going to be a full day at sea and formal night. We got back to our state room (luggage had arrived!). Normally I would have wanted to unpack but we dragged it inside and climbed into bed!

Pre-Cruise Friday!

After finally packing up the car and hitting the road we were on vacation!!! I had purchased microwaveable lunches to eat prior to leaving to avoid long stops. I also purchased each kid snacks and Gatorade for the car ride. Less stops and in 5.5 hours and we would be in Boca Raton for the evening.

We thankfully didn't hit any traffic and made it to Boca around the same time as the Teagues were arriving in Deerfield Beach. The Teagues and Johnstons were staying about 10 minutes away at a hotel while we choose to stay at Yaritza's condo for the night. Yaritza and her family were on vacation and offered for us to use their condo for the night. We jumped on the offer saving us $160! We met the Teagues at Deerfield Beach for dinner. We wanted to go to Whale Rib which was a dinner featured on DDD but it had a 2 hour wait!  We ended up next door at Kahua Bar & Grill. Their feature menu item...TACOs!!!  The kids were so excited about heading to the ship in the morning but wanted to go back to the hotel for a swim. The Johnston's arrived about an hour later and all the kids jumped into the pool.  We sat by the pool talking about the cruise while the kids swam until security shut down the pool. We ended up back at Yaritza's around midnight and hit the sheets. Each one of us said we were too excited to sleep but they feel asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows!

Tomorrow: Day 1!!!!

Going on a cruise!!!

This past Christmas we purchased a 8 night cruise to the Southern Caribbean for our family. Paying for the trip was the easy part. Planning the trip for our family was the stressful part. I needed to plan basically 10 days of outfits, 8 nights, and all the in between for each one of us. I started as early as Christmas. Santa brought the kids and Nate new swim suits, flip flops, and some dresses. In February I went out and bought Lorelei 5 new dresses. She's the hardest to shop for so I wanted to get her dresses picked first and then plan the dinner outfits around her. I was able to score 5 previously owned dresses for under $4 a piece! Ethan needed all new clothes. With him hovering over 6' tall he grows out of his dress up clothes too quickly. By the first of March I had me and the kids figured out and waited on Nate to fill in his items. Dinner outfits done!

Daytime outfits. When on a cruise and especially with kids you need lots of clothes. Again because I have a growing teenager I needed new shorts for him and flip flops. Lorelei needed just a couple items and she was set! Nate and I had plenty of clothes so we were good to go.

During my shopping trips and time on Pinterest I started creating a packing list.

8 Dinner Outfits        3 Bathing Suits          Coverups           8 Shorts        Sleepy stuff
8 Shirts                      Makeup       Hats             Flip flops          9 Underwears       Overdoor Shoe rack
Bras including strapless and sports       Workout clothes with tennis shoes        Shoes     Tuxes
Socks         PJs         Light Jacket        Belts       Deodarant         Soap        Shampoo/Conditioner
Toothpaste      4 Toothbrushes         Hairbrush         Hair stuff-Dad        Razors       Shaving Cream
Book           Power Strip         Sunglasses        Body Spray       Vitamins           Cologne        Jewlery
Glasses/Contacts         Downey Wrinkle Release        4 Packs of Soda      Q tips
Camera w/ chargers      Snorkel Sets    Life vest       4 Lanyards        Beach Bag       Sunscreens
Zip lock bags                First aid stuff           Water Bottle Holder        Tape       Door Décor
Playing cards         Crystal Light Mix         Coffee Creamer          Post It Notes        Highlighters
Beer   2 bottles of wine  SD card

A week prior to the cruise I pulled out the suitcases and slowly started putting items on the table. Once they were on the table and checked off the list nobody was allowed to remove them.  I sat down with each kid and helped them back outfits according to their checklist and created any "Need Items" for the 3 of us. (Nate does all his own packing)

The cruise left on Saturday but we were leaving for Boca Raton on Friday. I had to pack daytime clothes for Friday, pjs, bathing suits, and carry on luggage for Saturday morning.

I then organized dinner by the ships Itinerary and our daytime excursions on the islands which outfits we would be wearing at night. For example; in the DR we had a long trip planned. I knew Ethan and Lorelei would be tied and grumpy before dinner so I kept dinner outfits simple. Polos and shorts for the guys and sun dresses for the girls. However after Grand Turk we could dress up more since we arrived back on the boat by 1pm. I packed that list with me so I remember and set out clothes each evening for the family.

Planning for anything we do I always get stressed out. I had to work until 11am Friday and Nate & the kids sat on their butts instead of finishing up the last minute house items or packing the cars. When we finally set off around 1:30pm I was barely speaking to any of them.

But off we went!!!!