Cruising: Part III

 Since our family couldn't get up in time to catch the cab over to the beach, we spent the day on the boat, enjoying all the activities without all the people. 

We were able to ride all the waterslide rides without a line. During sea days, the lines were about 45 minutes for each slide, but when everyone was on the island, the longest we waited for a slide was two minutes. Also, these slides were way better than I expected. I thought they would be wimpy kiddie slides, but they weren't. They were crazy fast and a lot of fun. So, we spent the day on the slides. We also did a round of mini golf with nobody on the boat. 

Max was also able to do the flow rider. The last time he did this activity, he struggled to stay on the board. This time, he stayed on the board the whole time. He did so well!

Photo op from our boat day while docked at St. Marten.

I really liked this pool where you could sit there with your feet in the water and enjoy the sun on the rest of your body.

We did family bingo one day. Nobody won anything, but it was still a fun activity to do on the boat.

The boys enjoyed the arcade.

One night before dinner, we took a family photo out on our deck with the beautiful scenery. I just loved the view from our balcony. It was absolutely beautiful every night...and all day long!

We did a framily bingo one day. Again, nobody won anything, but we certainly had fun losing.

Our last sunset on the boat. This is what I will miss the most. 

The cruise had plenty of activities to do. The shows at night were amazing. I was very impressed with all the shows and activities we did all week long. I look forward to our next cruise...or just our next vacation!

Cruising: Part II

 Venturing around the boat, Andy and I came across the front of the boat with quiet seating and a nice bar. You could just sit there and watch the day go by. It was very relaxing.

We signed up for a sushi-making class. Max and I were really looking forward to this, but I had to back out last second due to a cold that I had. BUT, Andy and Max had a great time together making sushi that they got to eat when they were done. 

There was time to chill in the sun during our three days at sea. It was tough, though, with all the people and the fight for chairs at 6am. Good thing our framily are early risers and would go save seven chairs for all of us.

The boys discovered these cool drinks on the boat that created a bubble once fire was applied to it. It was pretty fun to watch. 

New Year's Eve was spent at St. Thomas. Our family did an excursion to a beach. It wasn't great, and it was a hot mess getting back to the boat, but we learned a lesson on excursions...do your own thing!

For New Year's Eve they had a chocolate fountain in the main dining for dessert. At first I was worried about people sticking their fingers in it, but then I saw the boat had employees working the station and would provide you a plate with your choice of dippers.

We ended up splurging for a private table for the New Year's Eve party in the atrium. Two of us (mainly the moms) were not interested in being packed into a sea of people like the kids were on the first night waiting for it to turn midnight. So, we splurged and got a table for us to sit around, play cards, and hang out. The table came with two bottles of Dom and that was my first time having Dom Perignon. I wouldn't say it's my favorite, but now I can say I have had it. 

We did the cheesy New Year's photos on the boat.

We rang in the new year with our framily and had a great time. Max got to pop the bottle. The plan was to pop one bottle at midnight, but we all forgot about it and did it after we celebrated with the balloon drop.

Needless to say, our family did not get up in the morning to hop a cab over to the beach with our framily. Going to bed at 2am was a bit difficult for all three of us. Instead, we stayed on the boat and enjoyed all the activities!

Cruising: Part I

 A couple of days after Christmas, we headed to Orlando so we could do a New Year's Eve cruise with our framily. We boarded the massive Royal Caribbean ship (Star of the Seas) early and spent the day checking everything out.

Max had his first (of MANY) ice cream cones for the week. This might have been Max's favorite part. He got ice cream and pizza all day long and whenever he wanted. 

The first night, the adults went to an adult comedy show. There were three comedians, and the first one was HILARIOUS...the rest were only ok. 

On the first night they had a send off party with a balloon drop in the main atrium area. After we got out of the comedy show, we saw that it was packed full of people. We were able to spot the kids down below. They had a great time during the balloon drop.

The next day was spent at Royal Caribbean's island in the Bahamas. This was an ok day. The water was cold, but the pool was even colder. The water was 79 degrees while the pool was a chilly 76 degrees. It was hot out, but the water was frigid. It was a relaxing day for our family on the beach before we headed to the swim up bar pool.

We saw a little friend at the pool.

We headed back to the ship but not before a family photo in front of the giant hotel on water.

We got three towel animals made by our room cleaners. Max really liked this bear from the first night. 

The week of the cruise started out great! We had beautiful weather and lots to do on the boat.