This is going to be a very lengthy post, and to conserve space, I will be putting several slide show/videos into the post. You will have to play them as you go.
Day 1 (Oct 11, '08) - Traveling
We left at 6AM on Saturday and headed to Orlando, FL. It was a bit chilly when we left, and we were a bit overdressed for the 89 degrees that is was when we landed. The best part was when Shelly called Anna to let her know what the weather was like and we were informed that Anna's kids had been making, of all things, SNOWMEN in the front yard while we flying to FL.
Once in Orlando, the first thing we did after getting the rental car was to head out SHOPPING! Off to the Prime Outlets to see what deals we could find. Shelly found a couple pairs of super cute shorts for like $5.00 at Pac Sun! Her deal finding skills never cease to amaze me!
From there, it's head to Cocoa Beach to the Motel 6 where we would be spending the next couple of days. (No Pictures this day, just travel!)
Day 2 (Oct 12, '08) - Cocoa Beach, FL
First Item On The Agenda - - - Hit The Beach!!!!
Now, since I love to tease Rylan with his little red arm, I couldn't resist taking a picture next to the sign that has access for people with his "condition," he was a good sport and laughed about it.
Later that afternoon, the Loertscher's flew in to join us at the Motel before we headed onto the ship the next day.
We ate dinner at a place called "Fishlips" overlooking the ocean near Cape Canaveral. What a fun place. The food was great, the atmosphere FUN, and it's definitely a place we would go back to if we get down that way again.
Poor Ky, she managed to crash about 10 minutes after we got back to the hotel, she didn't even get under the covers.
Day 3 (Oct 13, '08) - Crusin' Day 1
All Aboard the Royal Caribbean Ship "Sovreign Of The Seas" on our 4 day voyage to Nassau, The Bahamas and Back.
Before the ship can leave, we had to have a ship-wide emergency drill, and I must admit, the life vests are seriously sexy!
Once aboard, we tried to get settled in. The room, was bigger than we thought, but it was still a bit on the cramped side.
We headed out to sit poolside and I even managed to capture evidence of J.R. with a Diet Coke in his hands. The look on his face says it all!
The weather on Day 1 was a bit rough. The winds Rocked the ship and made all of us a bit on the seasick side of life, poor Kylee was the only one that managed to empty her little tummy, but we were all pretty queezy as we went to sleep.Day 4 (Oct 14, '08) - Lost At Sea
Today was supposed to be the day that we visited the private island owned by the cruise line in the Bahamas, however we were awakened by the captain telling us that, due to the weather and winds, it wasn't in our best interest to try and visit. Instead he made this our "day at sea" instead of Thursday as planned.
As the day wore on, the sun came out so we spent a lot of time on deck. The kids spent a lot of time playing in the ship's pool, even if it was filled with salty sea water.
The girls sat poolside soaking in the sun and pounding down the Diet Cokes!
The kids spent a lot of time in the Adventure Club with their new friends. The Kids Club was the greatest thing ever invented for families on vacation!!! We got to do some relaxin' and the kids were being entertained.
This night they had an adult "Guitar Hero" competition, and I managed to come in 3rd, getting my butt kicked when we had to go to the HARD mode in the finals. Still, it was fun to play. J.R. and I also stayed out late and caught a comic that was on board... Funny Guy!
Day 5 (Oct 15, '08) - Nassau, The Bahamas
Today was the stop in Nassau, The Bahamas. We got off the ship and hopped aboard a water-taxi to visit the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island.
They had a really cool aquarium, but that's about all we saw, so deciding to put our lives in real danger, we hopped into a land-taxi and headed off to the "straw market" where the locals sell all the little trinkets for tourists.
It's a lot like going to the fashion district in L.A. without the air conditioning. All-in-all I wasn't that impressed. Rylan picked up a little Ukulele and Kylee and Courtney got their hair done in braids.
The family standing by a rope support with the cruise ship in the background.
This night on the ship they played a version of "Don't Forget The Lyrics" where they would play a song and the contestants would have to sing along, and when the music stopped, sing the next line. I decided to enter and actually won. Maybe an unfair advantage, but it was still fun to play. I think I embarrassed Shelly a bit, but that's what I tend to to in public! :)
Day 6 (Oct 16, '08) - Coco Cay (Private Island), The Bahamas
THIS IS HOW WE SHOULD LIVE!!!!!
Royal Caribbean owns an island in the Bahamas, and we stopped here to spend the day. I am SOOOOOOO Glad that we didn't stop here on the first day with the bad weather, it was an absolutely PERFECT sunny beautiful day.
The ship was tendered offshore about a mile or so, and we took a small shuttle ship to the island. We found a few hammocks near one of the beaches and set up camp there. For the remainder of the day we just hung out on the beach and played, in the sand and in the ocean. The kids had TONS of fun, and the adults had a great time as well.
We took a Bunch of pictures on this island, I put a few of them here... I'm not putting music just to save space and upload time.
Anna found this really cool conch shell right before we left, and it had a critter in it. I have never seen one of these alive before, and it was really cool when he / she (I didn't check!) tried to turn over... Way Cool! We did get it back into the ocean before it suffered too much!Today was the only time that we had something that poor little Rylan couldn't do. With his waterproof cast he's been able to participate in all the activities, except when we went to the Rock Wall. There was just no way he could pull himself up. Kylee, however, is Fearless! She hustled her way to the top in short order! I wanted to do the difficult section, but since they were close to the end of the day they had already closed that part of the wall. Oh well, it's still fun to climb!
Rylan did manage to capture one of the prettiest sunsets I've seen taken with a camera and not edited!
We took a great family photo with the sunset...
Awwwwwwwwww..... Ain't They Cute!
Day 7 (Oct 17, '08) - Heading Home
It's amazing how quickly things come to an end. The week has just flown by!
After disembarking from the ship, we got our rental car and headed back to Orlando. After a little shopping we went to lunch at Seasons 52, and although it was good, it didn't seem to be as good as we remembered from last April.
Last thing was getting on a plane and heading home...
Kylee said it best when she asked if we could just pay some more money and do it again right now!
6 comments:
I'm sooo jealous! I'm glad you had good weather most of the time, too!
Now we need a review of the ship (cleanliness, food quality, activities, etc). We didn't care for the cruise that we took years ago but wondered if it was just the cruise line or if we just don't like cruising!
At any rate it looks like it was a blast and who wouldn't love to relax and hang out with friends and family in the sun. Totally jealous!!
I'm completely jealous too. I loved to see all the pictures...but wish there was some video of Marc playing guitar hero and singing in "Don't Forget the Lyrics". Your kids are spoiled and I'm glad that Ry's cast made it through the trip in one piece.
looks like sooo much fun. Absolutely beautiful. I am very jealous. How did Rylan go swimming with his cast?
Here is my review of the ship: The ship was very clean and well organized. The activities were a lot of fun especially for the kids, they had a blast!! The food was actually really good, I gained 2 pounds, that ought to say something. It was probably the funnest trip we've ever taken, we're saving up our pennies to go again!! We LOVED it!!
Rylan had a water proof cast. It was only $20 more than a regular cast, and might I add it was the best $20 I've ever spent!! And there was no limit to how wet he could get it!!
Marc have you ever thought of a career in advertising. You made that whole trip look like that family loved each other and was actually having a ton of fun! How much did you have to pay the models and are you sure you followed all the laws in hiring children? I would have been disappointed if you hadn't won "Don't forget the lyrics" We need to get you on the real one and win the million bucks. Who cares about embarassing the family. You can laugh all the way to the bank. Loved enjoying the trip through your talent media. Love, Us
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