Ten years ago, as I was hugging a palm tree in Maui saying, "I don't want to go!" Rob and I vowed that we would return to Hawaii for our tenth anniversary. It was a great plan. We would put the money aside over the next 10 years and have a second run at our beloved tropical islands. Well ,that was the plan before we had children and before airfare tickets became a WHOPPING $1000 per person!
Our dreams were dashed--but not lost. We had been planning to take this trip over Ky's Spring Break and we figured we deserved a nice vacation so we would just go somewhere else. Rob's mom at this point had also been considering coming with us (Can we say "GRANDMA!"), so we started looking at other nearby islands (Caribbean). Well apparently everybody travels over Spring Break so we were really having difficulty finding a good price as well as a good place. We were so indecisive. That's when I remembered my friend Krissy had just taken a family cruise--so I uttered the word "Cruise!" Everyone was quickly "on board" with the idea and we began exploring our options and interviewing all of our friends and relatives who have "cruised." We settled on Royal Caribbean's "Jewel of the Sea" and booked it for 2 weeks after Ky's spring break. (Everything was booked or so extremely high priced during Spring Break that economically it just seemed better to do it this way. Plus we are only going to take a vacation like this once every 10 years--I am sure first grade academia will understand.) The kids were excited we got out videos and books on cruises from the library. Little Talia was clueless--but we figured she would warm up to the idea a little easier if she at least saw some pictures. Our countdown began....and let me tell you WE WERE EXCITED!
The week before was full of packing and unpacking. You would think the weather in Wisconsin would be decent the beginning of April--WRONG! It was freezing cold--which secretly I was excited about (makes our trip to tropical islands all the more enjoyable.) So The week prior I was unpacking summer clothes (which I have currently packed back up because it is STILL too cold to enjoy them!) and arranging suitcases. Five suitcases and four carry-on bags and three children--I did a lot of counting at the airport.
The morning of our departure the kids attended their last swim class and then we were off to the airport. We wanted to get their early--I was not excited about security with three children, 5 suitcases and 4 carry on's--did I mention the stroller and booster seat? It all worked out just fine though. Thankfully, the kids did not have to take their shoes off and they did open a special lane just for us with the little ones. Once we got to the terminal, the kids stared in awe at the planes and we explained to them how we got on. Ky has only been on a plane once (he was 18 months), Alaina has never been on a plane, and Talia was on a plane when she was 8 months. So basically they were clueless on how this all worked.
Once on the plane things went well. I told Laina I had to take a special picture of her since this was her first time on an airplane. She was excited. The plane ride went well for the first while. We were so thankful we had 2 grandma's there to help out. Talia became very crabby since we were flying during her naptime. She didn't seem to grasp the concept of sleeping on the plane.
Once we arrived in Tampa we "quickly" got to our rental car and were off to our Hotel in Ebor City. This became the tricky part--it's getting late, the kids needed food and we didn't pass a single fast food restaurant on the way. So after some debating (and fighting with faulty hotel pack n' plays that I am pretty sure were recalled in the Clinton Administration), Rob walked to a nearby place to get us some food. We were going to go together as a family, but Nana & G'ma Jan came back saying that it was a little sketchy in the evening. So I then amused the kids by exploring the hotel in their pj's until Daddy got back with some pizza and appetizers. From there it was "TO BED." Of course all things are easier said than done, especially when you have 3 under the age of 7. So after countless "GO TO BED!" 's and "SSSHHH!!!" they did fall asleep only to wake us again and again and again.
With the morning came excitement though---Tampa was ours to explore for 1 day before our cruise. We enjoyed a lovely hotel continental breakfast and then drove to the aquarium where we spent a majority of our day. The kids had a blast!
We saw all sorts of the ocean's wonders--including the workers and how they clean these amzing tanks.
The kids must have spent a good 10 minutes staring down the crocodiles. They would hardly move.
I always enjoy capturing moments of my children being loving to each other. And this will always be a favorite of mine.
Alaina was so excited to spy this mermaid. I must have taken 5-8 pictures of her posed with this mermaid.
The aquarium also had many unique birds as well.
Did I mention that we LOVED having Grandma's come along? The adults outnumbered the kids! And that is the way things should be!
This was a neat alcove that the kids could crawl in for pictures. Ky was the only kid that crawled in far enough to get some neat pictures with .
This was a video screen made of smoke. Alaina and Talia played with this for a long time.
When we were done looking at the sea life, we had lunch in the courtyard of the aquarium and the kids played in the "Splash" playground they had there. They really enjoyed being outside and getting wet. It had been TOO long!
After the aquarium we were off to an ice cream stop (of course!) Tanya and Matt's had great reviews in Tampa. My review is "SPLTTTT!!!" I felt kind of bad for the 2 teenage girls behind the counter that were clearly overworked. So I was understanding of wrong orders--but honestly their ice cream was nothing to write home about--and don't even get me started on the bathrooms! And I think the kids were underimpressed--you dont' know what I went through to get this picture of them in front of their sign
After ice cream we decided to drive over the HUGE bridge that went over the water--in fact we went over 2 of them and stopped at a place the kids could dip their feet in the water.
The mangroves were just awesome and the amount of shells were amazing.
Sadly Ky cut his finger on one of those shells and then he was done. He just wanted to leave.
Shells by the mangroves
Grandma Jan discovered all the sand crabs running about.
Unfortunately, we spent too much time playing because we had to race back to the hotel so Rob could return the rental car to the airport. We planned to walk to a nearby restaurant and feed the kids and hoped Rob would catch up with us. While walking, we saw very few kid places that were vegetarian friendly (for Nana) and kid friendly. In the end, we ended up walking to the end of the street to the infamous Columbian restaurant (one of the oldest restaurants in Tampa). It has a wonderful blend of Cuban and Spanish foods. We really enjoyed the food. It was DELICIOUS and worth the walk and additional 20 minute wait. I personally loved the architecture and hand painted tiles.
The kids did go to bed better the second night--but they were still not going down as well as we would have liked. The next morning we drug ourselves out of bed, ate breakfast, and caught the shuttle to our boat. Talia loved the ride since she got to sit like a big girl for the first time!
There was much confusion when we were dropped off at the port--especially since one of our bags had gotten left on the shuttle---remember....5 suitcases, 4 carry-on bags, 3 children, 1 stroller, 1 booster seat. I knew that something was going to get lost at some point! Luckily the driver returned 20 minutes later with our bag.
Now you would think that boarding a ship would be simple--but it's not--it's like a glorified airport. They treat you all nice and offer you drinks--but you go through line after line after line--and don't forget the security "Take it all off" dance. EGADS! But we were excited when we FINALLY got to board the ship.
So we were on the ship and you would think everything would be hunky dory--but it wasn't. We had ordered a crib for Talia and were told that this itty bitty couch in our room slept 2---yeah, I don't think so. We even asked guest relations and they said--"Yes--the couch sleeps 2!" Luckily, Roy--our stateroom keeper (that's fancy for housekeeper) showed us how a bed comes out of the ceiling for an extra person to sleep. So our quarters were crowded but manageable especially when you opened the doors to the balcony. It was also nice that our room adjoined with Nana's room so we could easily visit (or shove the kids in their room and close the door! :) )
After the room was figured out, we had lunch on board and then went to explore the ship including the pool areas. It was then that we also learned that this ship did not have many of the amenities we thought it did. There was no "toddler" splash area for Talia (so that meant no pooltime for Talia since swim diapers were not allowed in the other pools) and no toddler drop off area (so Talia would have to be with us 24/7), and no Dreamworks (RC Cruises have a deal with Dreamworks so they can have Madagascar stuff and programs on board--apparently not on our boat.) So we were a bit bummed. After talking to other people on the boat--it is hard to know what boats include what. The cruise had a lot of amenities so we still had fun, we were just bummed that we couldn't take advantage of everything we were hoping to.
At the kiddie pool.
Ooops...I put her suit on backwards....
We had our first dinner in the nice dining room and dressed up for the occasion. The meal was SCRUMPTIOUS! And afterwards we enjoyed walking the deck and enjoying the sunset.
Until Alaina had a meltdown--I don't really remember what it as over...but the pictures humored me...
Here is Ky's bed that pulled out of the ceiling
Our layout--Alaina is crawling out of the couch bed--definitely can NOT sleep 2. As you can see, none of our children are going to bed nicely...just another Schnake Bedtime on vacation.
The next morning was NOT pretty. Apparently Rob & Alaina get sea sick. So after Alaina barfed in the dining room (I tried to catch it all in napkins--it was not a pretty sight), Rob laid down for a while after he took some of Jan's Dramamine. Alaina had up's and down's from there on. We gave her stuff behind her ears, but she was just moody. And we don't know if that was due to lack of sleep or sea sickness or change in schedule. Probably all 3.
Poor kid after barfing all over the dining room. She cried because she wanted to wear her barfy dress--NOT SHORTS!
As you can see Alaina quickly recovered. While Rob napped in the room with Talia--I took the bigger kids for lunch and pool time.
Alaina made the most of her onion "rings". Yes--she cleared her plate. I was a bit concerned at this point...but what can you do?
Rob eventually got up with us to enjoy ice cream (well we enjoyed--he watched) from the back of the boat.
And then that evening Rob and I had a fancy dinner date while the Grandma's watched the kids. I ate tons of seafood (and I don't like seafood). I would really like to like seafood--so I always try it. And yet--I still walk away going....bleh. I will say that the lobster wasn't bad. Oh and I ate tons and tons of dessert. Let me tell you the food was AWESOME! Chocolate upon chocolate with more chocolate yumminess....yeah, it's a good thing I don't eat like that every day. It was a nice evening--even though Rob wasn't feeling his best. We walked around the boat some--checked out the dance clubs (WHICH ARE LOUD AND BANGING AT 3 AM IN THE MORNING--AND WE CAN HEAR IN OUR ROOM 5 FLOORS BELOW!!!--this was our biggest complaint on the vacation.) We also enjoyed the adult pool and hot tub. It was nice.
The next day we were ready to visit the Cayman Islands. With the water being so shallow--we had to take smaller boats from our cruise ship to shore. We were excited. We had booked a snorkeling and stingray city excursion with small town guy who takes no more than 20 people on his boat. (Yeah--we love avoiding the BIG tourist things!)
Talia was pretty excited--and I have to say she probably got the most out of this excursion.
We boated out to Sting Ray City which is a place where stingrays collect. Fifty some years ago fisherman used to dump their bait in this area so the stingrays would collect and feed off of it. Now it is a big tourist spot where people feed them and hold them--YES HOLD THEM!
The family in the shallow sandbar a mile or so away from Grand Cayman
Video of Sting Ray city. The screaming is Kylan--he was having fun.
Pictures from Snorkeling---yellow baby fish under this area of coral.
Submerged pier where young fish collect.
Alaina kissing a stingray--it's supposed to bring good luck!
Talia "I touch sting ray". She said this A LOT after this adventure.
Even I held the giant sting ray--these things are HEAVY!
Rob holding a stingray
Rob getting a back massage from the sting ray
A live conch! Yes it was on the ocean floor an ALIVE!
After snorkeling, we went to a restaurant that our tourguide recommended. The food was RIDICULOUSLY expensive. We didn't even eat much--a plate of fries, plantains and smoothies and the bill was $50. On our way back to the boat, we let the kids pick our souvenirs and attempted to buy some local rum--but the lady in the store told us we had missed our boat and she wasn't allowed to sell to people anymore. Which put me in a bit of a panic, but we were fine. (Ship time and island time are different so you do have to keep track of what time zone you are looking at.) Turns out, you can't walk onto the boat with alcohol--it has to be checked special, so purchases have to be made earlier in the day. So we did miss out on that. :(
Alaina got a necklace that took FOREVER to pick out--and then she promptly broke it and I reworked it into a bracelet for her.
Talia got a stuffed turtle--but she was too tuckerd out from the day to show the camera. Rob bought a shirt. I bought a shell bracelet and we bought a wooden carved stingray Christmas Ornament.
Grandy Cayman island.
Look at how blue the water is!
After our Grand Cayman excursion, we had a quick bite to eat on board and cleaned all the salt water off of us. Talia enjoyed streaking on the balcony.
But she sure does clean up nice!
Sisters hugging after a yummy dinner.
Even the big boats have little boats for the kiddos!
Ahoy Maties!
That night we woke up to Alaina barfing on her bed....yeah, 3 AM showers are NO FUN! And she screamed because she wanted to wear her barfy princess pajamas. It was at this point, I decided that I had NOT overpacked, in fact I did very well! A little shout out to Roy--our Stateroom keeper who took care of the barfy bedding.
The next day we were on Cozumel. Rob was more than happy to get off the ship again. Alaina however was still feeling not so good. It took a little time for her to perk up.
Chankanaab is where Nana was going to swim with the dolphins so we all went there together and the kids enjoyed playin in the pools, the beach, splashpad, seal shows, etc...
I always think it is weird to have a pool within feet of the ocean...it makes sense, but still --it's weird.
Nana being pulled by 2 dolphins in the water.
After Nana's excursion, Rob and I got to take off for a bit on our own. We had our own private snorkel trip. You really can't take good enough pictures to represent the beauty of it all. We were swimming in SCHOOLS of fish. They would turn around and look at you. I could reach out and touch them. I saw a big flounder trying to hide on the ocean floor--and a fish trying to hitch a ride on him. Baby and adult fish. Fish eggs. All sorts of coral and plants, purple fans, orange corals, bowl plants...I don't even know the name of them all. Rob and I had a wonderful 3 hours of snorkeling, just us and our guide. A WONDERFUL memory. And yet sadly, so poorly captured on film.
Giant iguana I chased after snorkeling.
After snorkeling we searched the shops for our Cozumel Christmas ornament. At one place the guy tried to shut us in the store and give us shots of tequila to persuade us to buy something. Rob and I aren't big "Attack the customer" type of people. So after that we quickly "high-tailed" it out of there...
After our day out we had a quick dinner at the "Wind Jammer" (where Alaina and Talia had both puked--I forgot to mention Talia--it was just a small barfing by her--pretty forgetable in comparison to Alaina's.) And then we let the kids roam the decks.
And of course we end up at the boat again.
A monkey Roy left in our room.
The next day was our last day on the boat--and our last day to do all the activities possible. So we started with some miniature golfing.
I'm not exactly sure what she saw in this bird statue.
And of course rock climbing. Ky did awesome.
Lunch was especially exciting--the chef had made this MONSTROUS alligator cake. The kids loved it.
I spent the afternoon with the bigger kids at the pool while Rob napped with Talia. I played with the kids for a bit and then read more of my book. I read 2 whole books on this vacation! OH HOW I LOVE TO READ! This was one of the best parts of this vacation--just having the time to sit and enjoy a book! That evening we went to the nice dining room again where the waitstaff sang "good-bye" to us. Talia got to dance with our favorite waiter Brian and Rob got cake with a candle delivered (his birthday was the week prior.) It was a lovely last meal (and did I mention tastey! The food--oh how I will miss the food!)
Ky with "napkin" humor
Dancing with Grandma Jan
That evening Rob and I escaped after bedding the kids for one last night of enjoyment. We listened to an "adult" comedian--very funny! Then tried our luck at slots--Rob had a winning machine, but it kept jamming.. We finally gave up on it and moved to the next--and then he lost his $1.25. (Hey---we aren't big gamblers....remember saving for vacations! :) )
The next day we were off for home. Disembarking is also a LONG process (rethink security crap and all that), but it isn't has nice as embarking. There was no fancy lounge or drinks or Caribbean music--we actually waited in a VERY Long line in a warehouse--cement floor--the whole nine yards. It's funny--after the cruiseline has your money they don't really care about your "leaving" experience. Oh, well--it went fine...5 suitcaese, 4 carry-ons, 3 kids, 1 booster seat, 1 stroller--we had it all--PHEW! And made it through the line. From there we went straight to the airport (can you believe the cruise would have charged us $21/person to ride to the airport, but if you use the shuttles that stop at the port it was only $30 dollars or so for ALL 7 of us!? I hate it when places try to take advantage of you because you don't know--I happened to notice the other shuttles before we boarded though and had figured this out--THANK GOODNESS! Talk about saving over $100!) We had a long wait at the airport so we had lunch there. Rob was excited to find the Brewer plane--(This is not the one we rode on.) The plane ride back went fine thanks to modern technology (IPAD, DVD Player, etc...) And from there we headed tiredly back home.
Overall it was a good vacation. Will we be cruising again? Most likely not. Apparently Rob and Alaina need to keep their legs on solid ground. Bummer! Oh, well. It was a memorable experience for us all and definitely worth it. A week to get away from everything and connect with your love ones, I couldn't have asked for anything better!
