Chris surprised me with a Christmas cruise for my 40th birthday present! I was totally shocked when I found out! We left on the 16th and flew to New Orleans. We ate at Acme Oyster House and walked around Bourbon street a bit. Pearce was amazed at all the different types of people he saw.....at one point he said "Why are there so many people that can't walk? Why are those people asleep on the street?" Had to explain to him in a kid-friendly way about drinking too much alcohol and being homeless. I made a comment about how I like "people-watching" and later he told me he likes people-watching too! The next morning, we got our things together and then took a taxi to the ship! Pearce LOVED riding in a taxi......it's so cute how the simple things just amaze kids! Chris went all out for this trip. He upgraded everything which meant when we got to the dock, we didn't have to wait in a huge long line to get checked in and we also didn't have to carry any of our luggage! The check in process was so quick and we were on the ship in no time! Our ship was the Dream and it was huge! We had about an hour before our luggage would be delivered to our room, so we took that time to walk around and check everything out. Pearce was just in awe of it all.....he couldn't wait to go swimming, go on the water slides, and go to the kids arcade! Our room was perfect! Once again, Chris upgraded here and got a suite which had a balcony, a big bed for us, a smaller bed for Pearce, a separate makeup vanity area, and a large bathroom/shower! I am so mad I didn't take pictures of the room, but it was great for us! When we left New Orleans, it was rainy and cold, so it was hard for me to picture us swimming the next day. Pearce was just itching to go swimming and get in the hot tubs, so when he saw others swimming later on in the evening, he begged to go....and he loved it! We had a great dinner on the ship and slept soooooo good! We were ready for two fun days at sea on our way to Jamaica!
Fun on the Ship!
We had a total of 3.5 days at sea during our cruise which I was really excited about! The destinations and excursions are always fun, but I remember loving the sea days when I went on a cruise in college. There's just something so cool about being on a huge ship out in the middle of the ocean. These next pictures are all from our days at sea. Our ship had SOOOOO much to do on it.....3 water slides, lots of pools and hot tubs, an arcade, show theaters, a library with board games, lots of restaurants/bars, coffee shops, kids club, spa, and tons of other scheduled activities. The first morning, Chris and I woke up early, got coffee, and then sat on our balcony and just watched the water and enjoyed a warm early morning! Couldn't believe how warm it was outside when it was so cold the day before we left! After Pearce woke up, we got dressed and then went to breakfast in the dining room. We always ate breakfast and dinner in the dining room and it was always sooo good! I got eggs benedict each morning and Pearce got pancakes and hot chocolate. Our dinner waiter was so awesome...we always requested him because he was so great with Pearce and showed him magic tricks each night which Pearce loved! After breakfast, we changed into our swimsuits and went to the water slides! We got chairs by the kid area and just had so much fun watching Pearce go up and down the BIG slides! There was a big twisty one, another one called the Drain Pipe where you go down twists and turns and then it shoots you into a big "bowl" thingy, plus a spray pad with smaller slides. We all went on the slides and had the best time. Of course, Pearce made a few friends right away and played with them a lot. We sat on the deck all day and eating, ordering drinks, watched the deck shows, and of course, swam. During the evenings, we would go back to our room, shower and change and then catch a few shows and dinner. The shows on the ship were all awesome! My favorite was the show (can't remember the name) about movies. The shows were all broadway type shows with singing and dancing, but this one was awesome because they played movie clips and music from various well known movies and then sang and danced to them. The performers were amazing and Pearce loved it!! One evening, we dropped Pearce off at Camp Ocean and Chris and I got sushi and then went to an adults only comedy show.....it was hilarious and DEFINITELY for adults only! The sushi was sooooo good, too!!!!!! Each day, we would let Pearce go to the arcade and play 5 games....we had to limit it to 5 because the first night, he played a TON and it cost a TON! We had our sign and sail card, so it was easy to just keep swiping for the games, but then Chris checked our balance that night and realized we needed to put the brakes on the arcade, LOL!! The last night of the cruise, it was half off at the arcade, so he got to play a lot which was fun for him. Another activity we did was Build a Bear which was so fun. It was a scheduled activity, so Pearce and I went to the big room they were having it in. The kids all got cookies and juice and then got to pick out whatever animal they wanted...Pearce got a doggy he named "Spot." He watched Spot get stuffed, put his heart in, and then got a special backpack to take him home in! What's so cute is that Pearce has slept with Spot ever since we got home :) Pearce also loved being able to play putt putt on the ship. I think he played every day with his Daddy!
Jamaica
Our first stop was Montego Bay, Jamaica! All of our excursions were at a beach. Most of the more exciting excursions had an age limit of 6 and up, so we decided to just stick with beaches since we knew for sure we would all like that. The beach at Jamaica was amazing! Chris is not a beach person typically, but we've determined that as long as the beach is not in the U.S., has trees for shade, clear blue water, full drink/food service, and lounge chairs...he loves it, LOL! All 3 beaches we went to were like this and so much fun! In Jamaica, we took a bus to an all inclusive resort for the day. We couldn't believe the trees/shade on the beach! It was a perfect sunny day and mid 80's with a light breeze. We found our lounge chairs, and then just enjoyed watching Pearce play in the water and sand. The resort also treated us to lunch on the beach....jerk chicken and a bunch of other yummy food....plus unlimited drinks....the perfect beach set up for Chris!!!! There was also a cool infinity pool that Pearce had fun swimming in....he got scared when he saw me swim to the edge because he thought I was going to swim over the side....I had to show him that there was no way he could swim off :) We got to stay at the beach for about 4 hours which was perfect! We got back to the ship, showered, changed, and then went to dinner and a show!
Pearce and I have the same sleep habits, LOL!!
Grand Cayman
In Grand Cayman, our excursion was Sting Ray Island which was a large sand bar out in the middle of the ocean. We took a boat to the island and then our guide helped us off the boat and walked to the middle of the sandbar and made a big circle with our group. Sting rays were swimming all around us. Our guide told us to keep our feet on the ocean floor so that we don't accidentally step on a sting ray (EEK!) and then he dove down and got one and let each person touch it. Pearce was curious, but also a little scared and did NOT want to stand on his own. Chris or I had to hold him the whole time :) It was pretty crazy seeing these big sting rays swimming all around us. I got to help hold one and feed it, which was pretty cool. Their mouths are way underneath, so you had to kind of blindly feel where the opening was while keeping your fingers tucked under...a little scary! We swam with the sting rays a little more and then got back on the boat to head back to land. We still had several hours before we had to get back on the ship, so we decided to take a bus to the beach. The beach was so much fun and so lively with all kinds of people! We found some lounge chairs and Pearce zipped off to the water! He played and played and Chris and I had fun just enjoying the nice weather and drinks. I saw that you could rent wave runners, so I took Pearce out on one. He loved it! I let him steer a little bit and he thought that was really cool. We ate lunch at this little beach front place and it was so good! Pearce saw a handmade flute that some ladies were selling and he told me "Mommy, PLEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!! I've wanted a flute my whole life!" So, Pearce got a flute :) We were on the beach for several hours before we decided it was time to head back. It was such a perfect day! Grand Cayman, I decided, was my favorite, so far.....but we hadn't been to Cozumel yet!
Cozumel
Our final excursion was in Cozumel. We got off the ship the next morning and walked around the outside market for a bit. Pearce thought it was so funny that there were Razorback items for sale! He also found a stand that was selling wrestling masks and could not get those masks out of his head. He thought they were the neatest things ever.....so Daddy got him one :) This excursion involved all of us taking a big boat to a private island and beach. The boat ride was really fun and Pearce became friends with the boy that sat next to us. Once we got to the island, were were told our group would be the only people on the island. We would have unlimited food, drinks, beach toys, etc... The island was soooooo pretty! We got our chairs and then Pearce got a boogie board and headed to the water! All over the island were different types of lounge chairs, cabanas, and hammocks hanging from trees. There was also a kids playground that Pearce thought was so fun. He just went back and forth between playing in the water, on the beach, and on the playground. At one point, they announced a water balloon competition, so Pearce and I joined in.....we ended up tying with another couple for first place and we all got prizes! We stayed here for about 4 hours, but I could've stayed ALL day! LOVED it!! So, Cozumel was definitely my favorite excursion!
