Cruise notes

If you knew how accident prone he was, you would have had camera shake too.

This is Rick on a trapeze at the Breezes Resort in Nassau, the Bahamas'.

And then Britt, not to be outdone:

We were on Royal Caribbean's Sovereign of the Seas this past week and visited Nassau and a litte Island that the cruise ship owns called Cococay.   

The cruise to Nassau was awesome, and we made good time arriving there. In our group:  7 friends of Britt and their families, Samantha and her best friend, also named "Samantha" and our travel agent friend and all of her family...aunts/uncles/cousins/grandparents. She arranged and planned the entire trip! :)

The second day, when the trapeze photos were taken, it was cold, overcast and windy, so much that I had to lighten these photos several times with photoshop to bring them into focus.  And so much for spending the day on the water!    We had planned to snorkel, windsurf and hit the waves.  Still, we all made the best of it and had a good time.

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At the straw market in Nassau, I got a coffee cup for $5.  I collect them whenever we travel and I don't want a coffee mug from another location unless I've been to the place.  I was about to walk away from this $10 mug when the hubbahubba momma said she'd come down to $5. And then we had us a fine deal.

Cococay: the next day was gorgeous and the water was spectacular.  Snorkeling out there was just the highlight of my trip. I would like to fly out to the Bahamas in general (without a cruise ship), and just spend the days diving and eating well at night.

Samantha and her friend went para sailing and said it was a blast! However, this is another couple. I THOUGHT I was photographing them.  they were on the same boat at the time.  ##!@

The cruise ship had an "island barbecue" with a huge buffet to choose from.  That was free. Everything else, you paid for.

Lots of these little guys there.  This one was about 4 foot long.  He's been eating well, judging from the size of him.

Best way to keep track of your kids while on the ship: Motorola's walkie talkie set. We bought a set of 3 with an 8 mile range.   This is a great way to  annoy the hell out of  converse with your kids when you can't find them.  Most of the time, we were looking for Brittany, who was on the ship with a group of friends from school.  A typical conversation would go:
Rick: "Brittany."
(silence)
Rick a little more firmly: "Brittany."
(silence)
Rick: "Brittany."
Britt:  "WHAT!!"

You see, because she is 14 and because all her friends could hear him nagging her to report in and disclose her whereabouts at once. Oh the horrors.

Other fun times with the walkie talkie:  Sam and her friend were on the ferry boat that is shown below in the aforementioned post.  Every 20 minutes, it would sail from the ship to Cococay, an island that the cruise ship owns.
Sam was on the roof of one of the last boats coming back to the ship that evening. 

Unfortunately for Sam, Rick was up in the cabin, waving frantically to her from the window and talking to her on the walkie talkie at the same time.  We are such dorks. I was trying to get dressed for dinner but he wanted me to run to the window and wave while he began encouraging her to wave back!  All so I could take a pic like any dorky parent!
  I can only imagine the amusement of the other people on the ship who could overhear him on the radio as she rolled her eyes and waved half heartedly.

Other fun things...  Overheard on the walkie talkie, one of our friends was trying to get ahold of her daughter. She worries endlessly about everything.  So we heard:
"Allison?"
"Allison!"
"Allison!!!!"
Alison?!?!  RIGHT NOW!"

Allison was finally found, safe and sound.

Of note:  Cruise ship staff was Incredible.  Always so polite, professional,  just outstanding. Many of them would joke around with the kids as well.  And I really got a kick out of all the accents. 

Food:    What you really go on a cruise for, right?
Food was sometimes outstanding.  Other times, as in the case of cold french toast and pancakes from the buffet, coupled with warm syrup that tasted like tinted sugar stuff,  it was bland.  It just depended on what you ordered.  I rate all calories by how they taste in my mouth. If it doesn't taste good, I ditch it.  I ditched most of the breakfast buffet that way.    Coffee was great, hot and good. The number of tea flavors surprised me, I found my Earl Grey and Green Tea always available! 
Free pizza at midnight really hit the spot.  Rick and the girls liked the free frozen yogurt machines.

Still, we enjoyed most of the meals.  We used the opportunity to try foods we we wouldn't normally order, such as the Escargots in a green garlic pesto sauce.  The Escargots, we all agreed, were hard to swallow, and yet the accompanying garlic sauce was outstanding. We ate duck, and various types of salmon,  filet Mignon with a wild mushroom sauce, mahi-mahi with a tempura batter.. some of the things I can remember.  The wait staff, again.. incredibly professional.

We won and lost in the casino at the slot machines, could have stayed there all night fueled by Appleton's and coke, but there were other things to do.  Rick was about to play blackjack, but never did. 

I learned to do the merengue and developed a new appreciation for swinging my hips to Latin music, ...  oh yeah..

And none of us ever got sea sick. YEAH!!!

Photos in an album are here.
whew, i'm done. (this was a long post!)

Comments

[Nils]

A long post ... but a fun one ... the walkie talkies are a brilliant idea! I'm so envious of the fun you had ...

Off to see the photos ...

[Nils]

Wow! The picts are wonderful ... I loved the people shots - looked like such a memorable family trip. But I also loved your nature shots and the "found beauty" like "The Giant" and "Blue" ... what an amazing talent you have ...

[deb]

Wow! Browsing your pictures, it looks like you all had a fantastic time. That's great!
Sending you my best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year!

[kenju]

I'd love to take another cruise! The walkie-talkies were a brilliant idea, especially for the children. I know how good the food can be; sounds like your was good and plentiful! Happy new Year to all of you.

[Sandy]

Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all!

[Seamus]

*grin* You guys are too cute! ;)

[Seamus]

Happy New Year Laura :)

[wordgirl]

Great pics! But if I watched my hubs and kids do the trapeze thing, I'd be shaking too.

[Old Horsetail Snake]

You got a swell-lookin' fambly, Laura. Glad you have such a great time.

[Florida Cracker]

Hey what a fun trip!
Great ideas and cruise tips too.

[Gypsy]

Sounds like a fantastic trip!

[Terri]

Oh, I just had so much fun looking at your album, Laura. What a great family vacation! It's easy to see everyone had a great time.
BUT wait a sec.....how did I miss a photo of YOU on that trapeze? (smile) God, they're brave! lol
Your photos all came out great. And wasn't that lobby decorated beautifully for Christmas....all of it was so nice.

[Janet]

I relived my cruise by reading about yours! Thanks :-)

Oh, and you need to chew escargot!