The Cruise

Ahhh the cruise.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Well, we came, we saw, we conquered.

We decided to take this adventure as an experiment; to determine whether or not we are a "cruise family" as Mike put it. You see, his side of the family are cruise-aholics. On any given month of the year, there is likely a member or two of the family on one cruise or another. We have been invited to cruise along, but have always declined. One reason being we cannot afford the cruises they go on and the other reason (actually 3 reasons) being, well you can probably guess. So, we (and by "we" I mean Mike and then eventually a reluctant me) decided to find an affordable family friendly cruise to try it out. Well, we succeeded in the affordable category, but the family-friendly...not so much. This particular cruise was more of a party boat. But we made lots of great memories, experienced lots of firsts and enjoyed both excursions immensely.

The beginning of the journey. The kids did GREAT on the flight down. Sammy got a new Leapster for his birthday, so that kept him occupied. Lucky coincidence or genius planning of an anxious mother?? Hmmmmmmm.

We also bit the bullet and "invested" in a portable DVD player just before the trip, so they enjoyed a movie for part of the ride.

Sadie was a bit high maintenance, but that is to be expected from a non-stop toddler being restrained for 2.5 hours. We were hoping she would sleep SOME of the time, but no such luck. Needless to say, she enjoyed many snacks between Baltimore and Miami.

The kids waiting for the luggage. They were just too cute. I so enjoyed the time leading up to this trip; all the anticipatory questions and speculation. Asking if "that" was "our" plane each time they saw one in the air. Last trip to NY, we were driving on the Belt Parkway, just as we went over the Verrazano, and they saw a barge out in the water. They asked "is that our boat?" And each step of the journey brought wide eyes and gleeful giggles and expressions. I am so grateful for the memories this adventure provided. Coming from a family that took vacation for what? 4 hours each Summer to drive to the Montauk lighthouse and back, this was truly a treasure for me as a mom.

Sitting on Thea's pull-out loft bed. I bet you all are wondering how in the world a family of 5 fit in a cruise cabin. Let me tell you, it was NOT easy. There was a giNORMous bed taking up most of the floor space, 2 pull down loft beds for the kids and a crib for Sadie. The crib was a bit of a waste since I figure she spent all of 12 hours sleeping in it. The rest of the time she enjoyed slumbering with us in the afore mentioned giant bed. I actually enjoyed sleeping all together. Since I am a self-proclaimed sleep nazi, I was quite anxious about this element of the trip and relieved that it turned out to be fun.

Sooooo, I KNOW what I am about to write is going to sound ludicrous to some of you. No more ludicrous than it sounded to me when I first heard the idea of it.

I thought WHO would do THAT????

Mike Rohrer and his wife. That's who!! Like I said, I thought it was CRAZY, however Mike immediately expressed interest. OK, here it is. WeleftthekidsontheboatinchildcarewhileweenjoyedadayinKeyWest.

There.

I said it.

It sounds much crazier than it is. We considered how the day would go if we toured Key West as a family and we both agreed that ALL would be miserable. It was a very hot and humid day and there is NOTHING for kids in Key West. At least not in the time period we had in Key West. So the kids enjoyed an air conditioned 2.5 hours making crafts, watching movies and playing with other kids while we rented a scooter and saw the sights. It was WONDERFUL. It is one of many times that I was grateful that Mike and I look at situations differently.

We stopped to get Starbucks just before going into Margharitaville. The coffee on the ship was horrendous. Oh, we also got a parking ticket while we were inside. Good times!!! What a way to say "Welcome to Key West!"

On the trolley on our way back to the ship. We liked the atmosphere of Key West. I would definitely go back for a long weekend some time.

My awesome kids. This picture just makes me smile for SO MANY reasons. This is at the base of the water slides that Thea was too short to go on. Not cool. Sammy made up for her loss by going down about 472 million times. He didn't want to leave the ship.

Formal night in the dining hall.

Every night while we were at dinner the housekeeping crew would come to our room to tidy and cozy it up. Upon returning each night, there to greet us, was a "towel animal", dimmed lights, turned down beds, candies and an itinerary of the next days events (none of which were suitable for our family). But that's another post. This was one of my favorite aspects of the cruise. I loved having the cabin "cleaned" twice a day. And I loved coming back to such an inviting room each night.

Sadie kept herself occupied by hiding and playing in the closets.

Peek-A-Boo!!!

Cozumel. Creepy statue guy.

Thea by a mexican fountain. Doesn't it just sound so much more exciting when it has Mexican in front of it? It was just a fountain that she HAAAD to sit on because she was tired of standing in line. We were waiting for the bus to take us to the beach club excursion in Cozumel. We booked an all-inclusive excursion to Plya Mia Beach Club. Our price included and air-conditioned bus ride, buffet lunch (which was available the whole 6 hours), KID-FRIENDLY pool, beach chairs, umbrellas, various water activities, ice cream and drinks. Mike was beside himself eating the authentic Mexican tacos and rice. I enjoyed my only soda of the trip.

The weather was perfect and the environment was family friendly which was quite refreshing.

Mexican pinata. No Stick. Mexican tradition or poor event planning?
The kids just had to beat the stuffing out of it with their hands. Interesting.

LOVE this little booger!!

Random guy with an iguana. Fearless Sadie.

The awesomely refreshing pool.

Sammy relaxing after a hard day of play.

Thea had just about had it by this point so there was no more striking of poses for her.

Sammy was still a willing model.

Me and my boy.
Me and my FIVE year old boy. Geeeesh.

The last morning on the ship.

Killing time until they called our number to disembark. That is Miami in the background.

So there you have it. Our cruise experiment.