We left on December 8th and flew into West Palm Beach. Mark bought us all tickets which is such a blessing. No nail biting and emergency prayers at the airport followed by the big seat shuffle. Nope. We had seats all together. Ellie was truly an angel on all our flights. She stayed seated with her seat belt fastened for all 4 flights!! She loved flying.
We rented a 15 passenger van to drive from West Palm to Miami and then stayed overnight in a hotel. This is an essential extra cushion to make sure we didn't miss our cruise. Never fly in the same day, it's too much stress!!
Above, the captain invited the kids to sit in the cockpit. Funny enough, this is the same plane, the 757 that Mark flies, but we never get to see him doing his work.
You're going to think I'm making this up, but Mark actually said that I didn't take very many pictures on our cruise. Since you've been here before, you know that I'm never stingy in the photo department. I think I have somewhere in the mid 400 range and yet, that is kind of pathetic for me. We had some windy weather on two of our beach days and I didn't want to have to fix a lens with sand issues. Also, sometimes life is just tiring and I'm too busy trying to cope and keep my cool that I don't pull out the camera. True story. 😓 In the end I guess he's kind of right, but you'll probably thank me later.
Mark and I shared a room with Ellie and then the other kids had an adjoining room next to ours. We had a balcony and they had a window. It worked out well except our rooms were located on the front of the ship which made our cruising bumpier and at times sea sickier. :) More on that later...
My parents had a handicapped interior room down the hall from us. They were closer to the the middle of the ship so they fared a bit better. Well, that and the fact that my dad was stationed on big ships in the Marines. He tells tales of rough seas that make my hair stand on end. He was born to cruise!
We sailed from the port in Miami on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas. The skies look really menacing, but it actually only sprinkled as we were leaving.
When in Miami all I can hear are the lyrics to Will Smith's 1997 song about Miami. I had to look the year up least you think I'm an even bigger loser than I am. For some reason, I felt compelled to know the date. Now you know it's 1997 too. 😉
The view from the kids' room.
Pool deck.
One of the top 3 things the kids love about this cruise ship is the rock wall. Somehow, even though Nash wasn't old enough, he still got to climb the first day. We aren't exactly sure how that happened because when Mark tried to take him again, he couldn't.
Love the socks too? I thought so.
Putt putt golf looks cool, but in reality it's hot in the Caribbean and there's not any shade. Mark started to play and they quit after one hole.
Our first stop was Labadee, Haiti. Thankfully, we didn't ever have to get up at the crack of dawn to get off the ship. I find that so unvacationy.
When I look through the pictures, it would seem that we had bad weather a lot, but there were more clouds and a few sprinkles than anything. LOVE this rainbow!
Labadee is R.C.'s private island. We took a free water taxi from the dock to the beach.
My dad stayed on the ship, but the rest of us went to the beach by the Aqua Park. Mark took the older 4 to play on the inflatables, while my mom and I hung out with Ellie.
Seeing the ship in the background makes me want to go back. Oh, wait! We are! After we booked a cruise with my parents, Mark's parents thought it would be fun to take Mark's family on another cruise in the spring. Well, okay then. We are so spoiled!!
Then because Mark has an addictive personality, he convinced my sister, my nieces and their men, and my parents that we all "need" to go on a cruise together in January 2018, that's where we will be if you need us. So crazy!
It's a good thing toddlers are delicious and darling because we'd definitely have a decline in our overall population without the cuteness factor. #naughty
The beach wasn't very crowded which is a major bonus.
That's Nash mid jump from that gigantic inflatable. He is so brave!
I don't know if Mark or the kids had more fun?
After the Aqua Park, Mark took the kids on the alpine coaster. He got to go 3 times because I think only Brooke could go by herself. Does it look like he's suffering?
Next stop...
This was my favorite beach. It was a little rocky to get in and out of the water, but you could snorkel right from the beach. There were tons of fish everywhere and even an octopus that Mark "almost" saw.
This little dock was picture perfect. I would have loved to pose my people on it, but everyone was too excited to get going and then there were usually people hanging out on the end by the ladder Mark is standing next to.
This looks so tempting on this gray day in Ohio...
Early on in our cruise Luke came down with a fever, sea sickness, and then a cold. In that order too! Poor kid is such a trooper! I don't know exactly what happened, but after this day at the beach, he had a fever when we got back to our room. He was shivering in bed despite the fact that he was covered up. The fever broke, but then that night the winds were high so the seas were rough.
I told you we were in the front of the ship? Yes, it was not good. Luke who was even wearing those motion bands on his wrist when he threw up about a dozen times that night. I smothered him with oils, but then told Mark to go get medicine from the ship's doctor. It's complimentary which is nice if you like that sort of thing. 😷 I cannot deal with vomit and I was also sea sick, so I ended up taking the medicine and not puking, but it knocked me down. Luke and I took it the next day at sea also and we were out of commission until that next night. That stuff is bad and so is the front of the ship. Don't say I didn't warn you! After that we were fine, but I told Mark never again will we stay up front.
Leaving Curacao...
Hello, Aruba! Our shore excursions consist of us getting a taxi and going to the beach. Rinse and repeat over and over. I think it's perfect, but sometimes the weather is less than ideal. What you can't see in this picture is the wind. Oh, the wind!! I was afraid to get my camera out much because I've had to send a lens in for repair once and I don't want to do it again.
No, she's not sleeping or throwing a temper tantrum, she's reveling in the sand. Ellie loves sand! I guess it is warm and soft and since she doesn't care if it gets EVERYWHERE, it's perfect to roll around in.
Luke was suffering in silence. He used about a whole box of tissues at the beach alone. It was terrible for him.
Leaving Aruba...Being so close to the front of the ship did have an advantage. We were close to "the bridge" where the officers navigate the ship in and out of port.
Luke, the kid who doesn't like to eat anything but breakfast, said his favorite part of the cruise was dinner. He loved the dinner!
Having my parents along was so much fun. They got plenty of breaks from us, but we did still do a lot together.
This cruise was filled with seniors. All the retired transplants to Florida were on this cruise. We were like B list celebrities with all the kids and Ellie. She was a popular girl!
Passing Aruba International Airport
Luke celebrated his 10th birthday on our vacation. He got a book light and an instant camera much like the old Polaroids, but way cooler. :) As per tradition, I decorate the kids room the night before their birthday while they are sleeping and this was no different. I brought along streamers and a banner for the kids' cabin so Luke didn't feel like he was missing out. Because you know, cruising on your birthday is such a hardship. Ha!
Our last stop was Bonaire. My dad was outside on the deck watching the comings and going of the cruisers getting on and off the ship. I spotted him on our way back from the beach. It's a new game..."Where's Grampy?"
We kind of had a frustrating time getting to the beach and then the taxi driver didn't take us to where we thought we were going. He dumped us at a windsurfing place and we had no intention of wind surfing what so ever. At first I thought it was going to be an epic fail, but it turned out to be fine, just not ideal. There really was very little beach to speak of and it was crowded. Large portions of the water were roped off I think because of the windsurfers. We made the best of it.
It was windy again so not many pictures and we spent most of our time out away from the beach were we could actually swim. The nice thing is that the water wasn't very deep.
I think we were at some club and the taxi driver got some kick back for bringing people in. The restaurant/bar was right on the water. The whole thing might have been awesome if we didn't have 5 kids in tow, but we did.
We ended up taking a bus back to the ship because there was a shortage of taxis coming back to pick people up. It cost about the same and was more fun.
Walking back to the ship...
There were some really cool fish in the harbor. Should have snorkeled there since the windsurfing beach was no good for that!😉
The Birthday Boy on the mend from his cold.
The wait staff was really sweet to sing to him.
I can't believe he's 10!!!!
Our cabin steward, Gregorio, made this cake and other crazy things out of towels. One day he used some of our jackets to make a person which he left propped up in our bed. He also closed the shades and turned on our TV so that when Mark opened the door, it looked like someone was in our bed!! He got us good!
From Mark's cell phone...Every night while we were at dinner our room attendant would undo the couch and turn it into a bed. We had various combinations of Luke, Stella and Nash sharing depending on Luke's health, but Luke and Nash were by far the best combo with the least amount of complaining. Next time, Brooke and Stella get the twin beds and the boys will share because, you know, we are addicted to cruising.
I did not help myself in the Mother of the Year standings when I left Ellie's blanket at home in the morning rush to get to the airport on time. You know THE BLANKET. Thankfully, I bought her original at Walmart so we found the nearest one from the Palm Beach Airport and I picked up another one of the same brand, just a different color and pattern. Ellie was a good sport and didn't complain. Now she has two!
A favorite activity on the ship was ice skating. There is an ice show a couple days at sea and then there is open skate. The rink is tiny and was crowded at times, but the kids did not care.
Mark loved it most...😁
Well, actually it was Stella who loved ice skating most. She skated for two hours straight one afternoon.
What we've learned about Stella is that she is super friendly. I think she may have talked to the other skaters as much as she skated. She met this nice older man named David from Illinois who was a pro at skating. He refereed his kids' hockey games and taught his grand kids to skate so he was excellent with kids and even better at skating. He gave Stella a few pointers on how to back skate and let her chase him around the rink. She was a sweaty hot mess!
Awww, the love birds! I have to say that both my parents always look put together when they dress up. My dad puts Mark to shame in the fashion department.
It was a nice change to see Luke enjoying dinner. I do feel sorry for him that he really doesn't enjoy eating much besides breakfast. He's been this way for years so we are used to it. Now I just put how much food he needs to eat on his plate so we've come to a point that he doesn't ask how many bites he has to eat. He didn't complain at all on this vacation. In fact, Luke told me last week that two nights in a row my meals were "phenomenal". Mark said I should have him drug tested. 😉
Ellie enjoyed herself tremendously on our vacation. It was quite the ordeal to get her a passport since she's a foster kiddo, but her social worker persevered and helped make that happen. Ellie loved every bit of our cruise. I can still hear her running down the hallway to our cabin after dinner laughing hysterically and falling down. She was such a good sport always. She did have trouble settling down a few nights for bed, but Mark and I just laid quietly on the bed reading and ignoring her until she eventually fell asleep. She'd say, "Daaadeee, I see you!" and we'd try not to laugh. I loved being on nap duty. I would read while she (and on an occasion Nash too) slept. I read 3 whole books!!
Stella loves to snorkel and the one day she did for hours on end, we forgot her swim shirt. Ooops!
Brooke's absolute favorite thing was the Flowrider. She was so brave! She learned how to stand up and surf with about 30 people watching at all times. My parents were so kind to sit and watch her because if kids are under 13 they need an adult present.
One morning, Ellie and I came to watch with my parents.
So the way home was crazy. We rented a big van again to get us from the port in Miami back to the Palm Beach airport. Mark was going to take a taxi or Uber to the car rental place about 15-20 minutes away while the rest of us waited at the cruise terminal.
It ended up being so chaotic and crowded with no out of the way place to wait, that we all ended up going to get the rental car in two different Uber vehicles. That all sounds calm, cool and collected, but the terminal officials first told Mark that a rental car shuttle would take us all to the car rental place at the Miami airport. Well, they turned out to be wrong, so after we waited in the heat and exhaust fumes, Mark decided to hire Uber drivers to take us all. In the mad dash to get all 9 of us in 2 cars, we accidentally and unknowingly left 2 suitcases outside in the loading zone of the cruise terminal.
We didn't realize it until after Mark was in line at the rental car line. We were thinking initially that they were stolen at the airport, but that seemed unlikely so we headed back to the cruise terminal to see if we left them. When we realized the bags were missing, I just started praying asking Our Blessed Mother to help us out because we needed a miracle to recover these lost bags.
Thanks be to God, when we pulled up to the terminal Mark found the two bags sitting right in the middle of the sidewalk apparently right where we left them!! We realized soon after we found them that those two bags would not have fit in the two Uber vehicles anyway! We could only guess that God knew this beforehand and decided that our bags would be safe right where they were. It was a true miracle!
Nash waiting patiently for Mark to get the rental van...
Our original plan was to go to Sunday Mass with all the extra time we had to kill from getting off the ship until our flight left at 3 PM. Sadly, our suitcase debacle ate up all the time and we didn't make it after all. Lord knows we gave it our best shot!
In the Atlanta airport waiting for our last flight to home, Nash came down with a fever and didn't want to eat anything. We had a sit down dinner at TGI Fridays and he sat miserably slumped in his chair.
We didn't land at the airport until 8:45 PM which is way past Ellie, Nash and Stella's bedtime. When we landed at the airport it was 20 degrees. When we left, the weather had been mild with not a day even close to freezing. It was a shock to the system! Everyone was a trooper though and fell asleep on the 45 minute car ride home since they were so exhausted. We arrived home after 10 which might of been after midnight for our little guys.
When we got back I think we easily did over a dozen loads of vacation laundry and then 3-4 loads of our regular clothes from before our trip. This is a picture of our laundry chute which was overflowing with dirty clothes. It took forever to get Mt. Washmore clean and then we had the task of getting a Christmas tree 4 days before Christmas. It's always a madhouse around here! Moral of the story... don't go on vacation right before Christmas. 😁
