First couple days of family cruise!

Hello! It’s been an exciting few days. I’m writing from aboard a cruise ship, currently looking out at the ocean and not much else. 🙂

I mentioned previously this trip is a big combo family trip with my parents, sister’s family and us, in honor of my parents’ 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!! (Which was last September, but this was the first time we could all get together for this.)

Leaving home- Friday: Milwaukee —> Fort Lauderdale

My little nieces and nephew got invited to check out the cockpit, so Asher jumped in there too. They let him set the parking break. 🙂

After a little flight delay, a layover in Detroit and another flight, we made it to Fort Lauderdale with no real issues. Oh, minus a little “medical emergency” where a woman basically passed out and fell on her way to the bathroom, right next to my seat. I had to scoop her up and put her in a seat, and she was totally out of it- at first look appeared to be a seizure?? Also of course thought maybe she had a low blood sugar, but she was semi-responsive and was able to tell me no to any diabetes history… anyway, long story short and a lot of commotion later, it turns out she took an, um, edible before the flight. Ha. Mystery solved. She was basically looped out of her mind. Fortunately by the end of the flight she was better.

But, the airline gave me a $100 flight credit for my “medical assistance” during the event! So that was cool. (This is actually the third time I have had to assist with a medical emergency as a nurse during a flight!!)

Anyway!

We didn’t get in until early evening and by the time we got settled plus a one hour time change, we didn’t have time for too much. Also, my sister’s kids are 4, 6 and 8, so not quite the party animals (lol) that my boys are (yet ;)).

Pretty Florida hotel grounds:

After dinner everyone else turned in, but Ivan and I and the boys went to the pool and hot tub… at 8:55, only to find out it closed at 9. Hmph. I begged the security guy to give us “just 5 more minutes” so it was at least worth that I got one of my suits wet…

Hotel breakfast buffet in the morning (Embassy Suites) and then some pool time!

The boys had fun swimming with their cousins and the pool was delightfully empty.

I sat in the hot tub for a little bit, which probably sounds crazy to any Floridians… but it was overcast and I had been chilled by the air conditioning during breakfast! Ha.

Then, I showered and packed up and walked up the block to Starbucks to meet up with…. Sarah!!!! Aka, SHU!!

This was a huge thrill and highlight for me!! I’ve been a longtime fan of her blog and podcasts, and I’m happy to now consider her an actual friend, too. 🙂

I’m so glad we were able to meet! She was as amazing as I knew she’d be, and I was equally thrilled to meet little Genevieve (what a hoot she is!) and the very sweet, mature Annabel. TOTALLY would hang out with Sarah anytime if we lived closer!! It was so so nice of her to drive a ways to meet me, too. Oh, and of course she had a little “planner package” with some goodies waiting for me which was so sweet!

Hotel —> Ship! (Saturday)

By 11:30 we were on the shuttle to the port, and before long on the ship! Woohoo. This is everyone’s first cruise except mine- I have been on a bunch, but mostly with a friend’s family from high school as a teen (5 times!), plus one with college friends ~ 20 years ago.

Ready to board:

Exploring the ship:

Ivan getting the party started:

Asher trying the Flow Rider surfing/boogie board thing:

Oh, and check out the nice gym! Empty on first day, but PACKED to the hilt this morning when I tried to go…

We did sail away at 4:30 from the helicopter pad:

The boys hit up the “sport court” for some pick up basketball:

We also toured the kids club with my sister and got the boys signed up for the Teen Club. (Though they are not really partaking in all it has to offer… maybe if they were here with friends, but they seem hesitant to just jump in there. They love being independent and have been doing things ALL over the ship, but don’t seem to want to do all the organized “teen activities” really…I feel a little disappointed because I think they would have fun!! But, maybe it’s just their ages, a boy thing, their personalities… who knows.)

First dinner!

We have the early dinner (5:30 p.m.).

Silent Party!

After dinner the two littlest kids went to the kids club for a bit and the rest of us went with my 8 year old niece to a Family Silent Party in the disco. They gave everyone headphones and you could alternate between two different songs at any time. Everyone was dancing – but the music was only via headphones! And people were listening to different songs. It looked…. ridiculous, if you took your headphones off. Hahahaha. (All these people dancing in a silent room!)

After this my sister and niece headed to bed, and my parents, Ivan and I went to the 9:30 show. It was a Variety Show with music, dancing and a GREAT comedian!

After that, my parents headed to bed but I wanted to check out the “90’s Music Hour” in the nightclub!! It was pretty good. I was getting tired and didn’t really want any more to drink, so we mostly just sat and listened for a while. We were in bed by about midnight.

Traveling with a bigger group, with mixed ages, and a very different travel method (cruising is… unique! Lots of people, kind of overwhelming in some ways.) means it can be slightly complicated sometimes. The Royal Caribbean app (and built in chat feature) has been a lifesaver for finding each other on the ship and checking in with what people want to do, etc. (No cell service at sea.)

Okay, time for bed! More later! We had a sea day today (will post about that tomorrow hopefully). We are in Honduras tomorrow all day though, so we’ll see!