Nassau - Day Passes

The night before our cruise we found out (thanks to Cruise Critic) that our itinerary changed. Royal Caribbean’s private island, Cococay, was damaged during Hurricane Irene so we went to Nassau instead. I researched Cruise Critic to plan our day in Nassau. I found all the information we needed for a great day.

We walked from the cruise terminal to the bus stop for the number 10 bus. It was an interesting ride and the driver stopped for gas which is not something that happens on city buses where we live. The bus driver let us out right in front of the Sheraton. It was $1.25 per person and Lydia and Josiah were free.

Inside the Sheraton, we went to the check-in desk and asked for day passes. It was $25 each for Chris and me, $12.50 for Wesley, and Lydia and Josiah were free. This fee included use of the pools, beach chairs, towels, and all non-motorized water sports – trampoline, kayaks, snorkeling, and aquabike.

Wesley practiced snorkeling in our community pool this summer. He was eager to try it in the ocean but he didn't want to swim very far. It took a long time to convince him he could swim out to a group of rocks with me. He did it but he was very nervous so I let him put on a lifevest. The vest greatly increased his confidence and we just let him use it the rest of the day.

It wasn't the best area for snorkeling but we did see a lot of fish around the rounds.
Josiah liked the warm water.

We made sure everyone ate a large breakfast on the ship so we wouldn't have to buy lunch. We knew we were splurging on an excursion later in the week so we didn't want to spend too much money in Nassau.

I carried three individual boxes of Fruit Loops off the ship for the kids to have as a snack. Josiah really liked his. Wesley didn't eat anything until we were ready to leave; he was having too much fun to be hungry.

Chris took Wesley and Lydia out in a kayak.

Then I went out with just Lydia. She didn't want to come back to shore. I think she would have been happy if I had paddled her around for hours.

Chris took Wesley out on the three wheeler aqua bike.

Everyone but Josiah had a turn on the trampoline. It was hard to climb up on it and I don't know if we could have just handed him up there or not.

Here are a couple of videos of the trampoline.








Who needs a sand bucket when there is an empty coconut shell available?

After the beach activities we tried out the pool before changing clothes and heading back to the ship. I've always wanted to sit at a pool bar and have a drink but I didn't take advantage of the opportunity. We did take advantage of the free cups of ice water.

As we were walking out of the Sheraton toward the bus stop, we saw a bus pull away. We thought it would be a 10-15 minute wait for another bus but there was only about a two minute wait. There was more traffic going back to port but we had given ourselves enough time so it wasn't a problem.

We walked from the bus stop back to the ship.

I wonder if this policeman is annoyed when tourists stop in the middle of the road to take his picture?

It was a great day! I love the beach and this was a beautiful place to spend the day. Once we were back on the ship, I asked Chris, "Did today make you more interested in an all-inclusive beach resort?" He replied, "No. It was great for four hours but I don't think I want several days like that." It sounds like we will be sticking with cruising. I'm not complaining!

Freedom of the Seas

Last Sunday we boarded the Freedom of the Seas for a seven day cruise. When we first started hearing about this 160,000 ton ship before its maiden voyage is 2006, I wasn't very interested in it. I thought it was just too big and would carry too many passengers. But, when Chris and I started talking in May about doing another cruise, we both wanted to try out one of the larger ships. And...we LOVED it. There were 4200 passengers on board but it never felt crowded. (Well, maybe the first day at the lunch buffet but we got there before the crowd.)

The Royal Promenade definitely has that wow factor when you first see it.This is a great public space with several bars (the English pub was our favorite), a pizza place (all free), and a coffee shop (free snacks and regular coffee). There is also a cupcake store (cupcakes were $2.50) where we got treats one day. We had a family ocean view stateroom that was surprisingly large for a cruise ship room. There aren't many of these staterooms on each ship and we had to keep checking back with the cruise line to get one of them. You have to put five or six people in a room to get one of them. When the kids are older (much older), we might book two staterooms across the hall from each other and have the kids stay in the inside stateroom.

When you first walk inside the door, there is a very small "room" to the right that has a set of bunk beds and a small closet. There is a heavy curtain that you can pull shut to the close the room. Wesley and Lydia loved the bunk beds and it was an ideal space for them.

There was a pack n play set up right in front of the sofa (that could fold out for another bed). We moved the table over by the windows, in between the two chairs. At night, we also pulled the curtain shown in the picture.
Grandma and Grandpa had a balconey cabin. After lunch we went to the H2O zone. Babies and toddlers in swim diapers are only allowed in a small baby pool but at least the Freedom had a place for them to play in the water. Josiah really enjoyed climbing up the steps. Wesley and Lydia liked this vortex pool. Here is a picture of where we ate dinner two nights before sail away. I have read great reviews of Jetty Park. The beach and park looked really nice as we sailed by it. The kids watched the boat sail away from land and then watched the party on the ship. Shrek and Fiona and other Dreamworks characters were there (as were most of the passengers on the ship). We all enjoyed day one of our cruise vacation. And yes, I plan blogging the whole thing! :) Maybe it will convince my parents to cruise with us again.

The Space Center

We recently drove to Cape Canaveral. The drive went surprisingly well. We stopped in Richmond at Buzz and Neds for a late dinner. Wesley walked in, smelled the barbeque and said, "I want ribs." The food was really good, especially the ribs. Josiah liked them also.

On Friday we went ate at Grills at Port Canaveral. Wesley asked for crab legs. He saw them on the menu. So, we let Wesley and Lydia split an order. It was more than enough food for both of them.
On Saturday we went to Cape Canaveral to tour the space center. Wow, there is a lot to do there. Here is a picture of the launch pad. It makes me sad to think about the shuttle program being over.

Have you seen the HBO miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon.? It is great! I remember in one of the episodes, the astronauts were racing each other in their corvettes.
Josiah practiced his walking.

Another family photo.

Future astronauts.
Josiah didn't want to cooperate for this picture.
We had a great time at the space center. We were there all day but we didn't do everything there.

Minnows and Water Balloons

Last year, Lang took Wesley and John fishing. This year he took the kids to the pond to catch minnows. This was a new experience for Wesley and Lydia and they loved it.

They caught a jelly fish.

They also caught several minnows.

Wesley was so happy.

I love how Lydia is very much a girly girl (she loves dresses, dolls, nail polish, makeup, and princesses) but she also likes exploring nature and doesn't mind getting a little dirt (or pond water in this case) on her dress.

The next morning, Lang filled water balloons for the kids. Notice how all five of the kids are in their pajamas. Josiah was taking a nap and missed out on the water balloons. I managed to get wet tying the water balloons. I accidently squirted myself with several balloons and several popped as I was trying to tie them.

Finally we had filled and tied all the water balloons and the kids were ready to throw them at each other.

It didn't take long to go through all the balloons but it was a lot of fun.

After the kids dried out in the sun, we let them watch a movie or two so the adults could play Rummikub.

Bethany Beach

Last Friday, we went to visit our friends at Bethany Beach. We got there in time for swim lessons then they kids played on the playground and we had a picnic lunch of pizza. Later in the day we went to the beach. Wesley and Lydia learned to boogie board. Wesley and James talked about their boarding. At some point, Joseph wanted to sit on Chris' lap. Josiah even tried the boogie board several times.The boys did a lot of digging. They dug a few very large holes. They also played in the ocean a lot. Lydia liked the boogie board too. We went back to the beach on Saturday afternoon.
Josiah wasn't a big fan of the ocean water. The water was cold!

Here he is a big hole that older kids dug.

John dug a big hole and a made a car ramp.

Michelle and Lang are so much fun.

Lydia and Joseph look like twins.

Here are some videos of Wesley boogie boarding.