For Christmas, the children were all given "experiences" from Santa. The boys received the gift of cruising to the Bahamas. This is a trip that they have never done before AND it is one that Ryan and I have not done in 19 years - we sailed exactly 19 years ago together to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. Chapman, because she is just so little still, was added a bit late to the reservation and, in Chapman form, she took on the ship like it was everyday life for her!
The boys were stoked. So excited AND they could not wait to see what life at sea was like! We boarded the ship and quickly made our way around to learn the important stops like the all-you-can-eat-buffet 24/7 AND the theaters. Then we did our "muster drill" - I was thrilled that life jackets are no longer a necessity for this event! - and we were off!
This little beauty departed Port Canaveral and it wasn't long before she started rocking and rolling....we were still all smiles at this point so we grabbed our SeaPasses and made our way to our first night of dinner. We met the nicest family - three teenage girls and their parents - from Michigan. We enjoyed our time with them each night hearing about their adventures from the day. But on this first night, the dad looked super pale and the girls were feeling a bit weak....the table behind us - well, the dad went to fetch Seabands for his two children who were doubled over and not feeling well and Ryan followed suit because at this point we were all feeling a bit woozy! By the end of dinner, the dad had left, one of the daughters had left, the table behind us had left....people were falling out all over and the SeaBands were all.sold.out. No more to be had on the ship!
The night was long and bumpy, scenarios of the Titanic were flashing through my head as we were tossed from side to side....trashcans and dashes of Zofran became our best friends! Thankfully, we awoke to a bright, sunny sky and a boat that was still. Phew. With an afternoon snorkeling excursion on the books, we chose to walk off of the ship and shop around the port for a bit before lunch.
Senor Frogs is always a fun stop for photos....sorry Colin, a few more years even though Señor says you are tall enough for a taste. The locals were out hustling their items....the basket weaving is intense and very pretty....and the coconuts with all sorts of drinks looked like a fun little treat.
Chapman loved the frog statues and the attention she received from the locals asking to braid her little hair!
I snapped a quick pic of the boys and wished them all well on their snorkeling adventure and headed back to the ship with visions of Chapman taking a nap while I enjoyed my latest People magazine on deck in the sun with a little island music in the background. It was the perfect plan....
back to the room I went, collected my things and off to the pool deck I went - mind you, I was in sweats due to the chill in the air but still. As I rounded the corner, a head-dropped Pryce came up the staircase....and then Colin and then Ryan. None looked thrilled. Their snorkeling excursion had been cancelled due to inclement weather. **If we did not have a full understanding of the word "inclement" at this time, we would by the end of the trip**
Determined to not let this get us down, we quickly came up with Plan B. Plan B was grab a cab to a local beach and enjoy the afternoon in the sand and surf. Off the boat we trekked....we found a cab and off we went. The skies were a bit gray and the wind was picking up BUT our weather app said it would pass quickly and the sun would shine again! Ha. We arrived at the beach, got out of the cab only to be greeted by the longest line of people ever who were waiting to take a cab back to the boat....but we were determined all would be well so we trucked forward, paid to go to the beach and the rain began as they closed the beach - did I mention we paid to go to this closed beach? hahaha! But we were determined to enjoy....rain and freezing temps and all! So, we huddled under this little tiki hut bar....
wrapped ourselves in the towels from the ship and proceeded to sit and watch the storm. We prayed the wind would stop, the rain would cease and the sun would shine....I honestly just wanted the boys to be able to put their feet in the sand and water. But that was not to be and soon it was time to leave and get back to the ship.
Chapman was a trooper all day....she didn't complain once and was thrilled to be back on the boat and find toys to play with in her little window spot. The ship had a toy bank we could borrow different toys from for her - it was a lifesaver!
She also found the little towel creatures to be great fun as well! We all laughed at these each night....as usual, our room attendants were amazing! We had a great night....dinner was fun with our new friends - Michigan and Georgia are two totally different places so them telling us stories about snowmobiling led to us telling the stories about atv-ing - ha! We went to a comedy show - El Gaucho was hilarious! The boys explored the boat until the wee hours while we went back to our room to get some rest. The sailing was SO smooth - you could not even feel the boat moving! AND, we were all thrilled that we were able to schedule a seahorse sail and snorkel excursion for our next day in Nassau!
Around 5:00am I awoke to this weird sound outside of our window....I had no idea what it could possibly be but it was persistent allowed for me to drift in and out of sleep for the next few hours due to its odd noise. The boys and Ryan left for an early breakfast so they could go on their excursion. Chapman, we are learning, is a night owl and loves to sleep in after her late nights, lol. So, with her sleeping next to me, I laid there listening to her breathe and the odd sound outside of our window, still unsure as to what it was. In a bit, the loud speaker came on to announce that snorkeling excursions for the day had been cancelled due to "inclement" weather....ugh. Not too long after, the boys and Ryan walked in, Chapman awoke and I took a look outside of our window only to find sunny skies and a tug boat driving into the side of our boat! Yep, the tug boat had the sole responsibility to keep us docked and not let us drift away from our dock - wow - the winds were fierce! So there the tug boat sat, driving into our boat for the next 5 hours as we stayed docked.
I was so bummed for the boys. The one thing they had asked to do wasn't going to happen on this trip. And, they had not even had the opportunity to put their feet in the sand much less the water. And, it was freezing. And you had to hold onto your head of hair due to the wind....it was blowing steadily at 30mph. BUT, we were determined that this was not going to get us down so off the boat we went to explore the famed Nassau straw market. On our walk over, Colin braved taking a pic of the rough seas and took a splash to his body as a result - he never got to actually get in the Caribbean waters BUT he did get splashed!
We had the most fun bargaining with the locals....it was as if we were in a tropical China. Ryan and Pryce scored some Oakley sunglasses so both were all smiles....and Colin was thrilled with his splash from the sea so all was well in our world. And we were together. I kept telling the boys that this trip's purpose was to make memories and though the memories weren't exactly what I had in mind, they were still memories we would carry for years to come! And they were happy....they had fun just doing their own thing...eating when and what they wanted and exploring.
Back on the boat, we found Johnny Rockets and had a burger and some great onion rings while watching a little belly flopping competition underway at the pool....yowsers, I know that had to have hurt! Though it was frigid out, and the pools were a no-go for all onboard, Ryan and I found a comfy seat by the windows and settled in for an afternoon of sailing the high seas while the boys played shuffle board and basketball about the ship.
The afternoon at sea was beautiful.
We watched as the sun set out at sea....
it was beautiful and we were so thankful for these images!
Our last night of dining was casual night. Pryce purchased this tropical shirt long before he even knew of a cruise in his future.
Dinner was fun....a little dancing, a little chatting, a little bittersweet with the goodbyes....
following dinner, we took on a gameshow with the boys and then made our way to our rooms for a late night of packing and preparing for our early morning departure.
Once again, the night was ROUGH....the seas picked up a bit late in the evening and due to "inclement" weather, we arrived two hours late into our port the following morning. No worries here though, because our little night owl was still resting peacefully and rest looks good on her!
We said our goodbyes to our rooms....we had adjoining rooms but the adjoining doors could not open due to the beds being in front of them???? Kind of weird but the boys were fine with that! They had their own little cabin and we used the cabin phones and knocking on the walls to communicate with them!
We took a few last looks at the Christmas decor about the ship....a gingerbread village made from cardboard, pretty cool.
and we sat in the lounge and talked a bit about our favorite moments on the ship and what we were going to miss most!
And we talked a good bit about how we will do this trip again but we would be sure to go to the Bahamas instead of Alaska, ha! We discussed things we had learned....like, we need to have a bag for off island adventures....Ryan sported a Matilda Jane Clothing tote this trip, lol. He is such a good sport!
So thankful for this trip, for my boys, for Ryan and my sweet little Chapman.
Until next time....
