1 Corinthians 16:14 ~ Do everything in love.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Ready. Set. Sail.

We booked a cruise for our 10 year anniversary 8 months ago. Our 10th anniversary came and went on October 20th during volleyball season so hence why we pushed our celebration back until after the season was over. It made complete since to sail during Thanksgiving so Bryan didn't have to miss any work. We had debated back and forth...5 day or 7 day. Ultimately we settled on the 5 day because we just didn't want to be away from the kids that long nor did we want to ask anyone to watch our kids for that long. It was odd not being with the family on Thanksgiving, but we had good table mates so the conversation was good. I can say that although the the Thanksgiving meal on the ship was lovely, it didn't hold a candle to my aunt Carole's cooking!

Our cruise day arrived...on my birthday no less...Happy Birthday to me. Yep, I turned 29 for the 6th time. ;) We caught a flight (that was delayed by an hour and 45 minutes) and finally boarded the Liberty of the Seas. She's big...REAL big. There were over 4000 passengers on board ~ crazy!


When I booked the cruise I didn't book a balcony room because I knew Bryan and I wouldn't spend much time in the room. I did pick a room that overlooked the Promenade and it just so happens that particular room was the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet". Our room sat on top of the Ben & Jerry's and out of our window we could see the cows that sat on top of their store awning. So maybe some people would complain about the cows blocking some of their view, but not us. Why...well our room came with free visits to the Ben & Jerry's plus access to the concierge lounge that got us access to free beverages.
"SWEET" indeed.


And yes, it was tastefully decorated in a cow theme.
First night we booked dinner at Chops Steak House to celebrate my birthday. I took about 3 bites of my steak and that was it. I was filling so ill from the boat (happens to me every time) I couldn't eat. The hubs was sweet and understanding so we called it a night rather early because I felt awful!


Our first stop was at Royal Caribbeans island in the Bahamas called Coco Cay. It was a really small island, but very nice with lots of fun things to do. Since we were in the "Sweet", we had access to the private portion of the island. Bryan and I reserved some cabinettes for the day and it was marvelous. Marvelous as in it was QUIET and kid free. It was beautiful weather, a beautiful view and just an overall relaxing day.

The island ~ Coco Cay.
Not pictured, but Celebrity and Norwegian also have islands that you could see in the distance by looking left.
Our cabinettes for the day.
We thought the kids would think a picture of Bryan holding the boat up would be cool.
They were very impressed. Are you?
Parked in our loungers...all day. It was so fabulous.
My view for the day.
One of my favorite things to do...layout and listen to my iPod.
Bliss.
My view looking up from the lounger.
Formal Night - we had the lobster and it was delicious!
Sipping on free drinks in the concierge lounge.
Same night...different outfit.
I insisted on wearing two outfits a night. :)
That is me on the floor in a huge pile of ladies.
I'll explain.
Bryan and I participated in the Battle of the Sexes game. He was one of the 6 guys and I was one of the 6 ladies that participated. First game was to see who could blow up the most balloons and stuff them in the shirt of another team mate in one minute (shirt provided). Girls won! Next game was one person blows the balloon, one person ties it and one person runs it to another person that has to pop the balloon. Who can get the most in a minute...the girls. The 3rd game threw me for a loop, but I went with it. We had to get a key chain (provided) down the dance floor and drop it in a small cocktail sized cup...no hands...you could only use your, ahem...butt. Yep, you read that correctly. It was actually really funny. I was the last girl to get the key chain in the cup for - you guessed it, the win. Last game was to get as many ladies/guys to touch the large diamond shape in the center of the floor. Hence why I am on the floor. My foot was shoved up in between the legs of other ladies. Let's just say that I'm glad the lady in black did not fall because she was a bit larger than me and I don't think I would have fared well. ;) In the end, the girls won that game too so that would be girls 4, guys 0.
We skunked them!
We came away with a free bingo card and of course...our key chain.
This picture cracks me up...
Me doing a Baywatch run...it wasn't pretty.
Elephant Towel


Next up was a day at sea. We spent it parked in one spot for most of the day. We read, listened to music and people watched. Amazing people watching...simply amazing.
Monkey Towel ~ and a Dawg fan at that. ;)

Next stop was in Falmouth, Jamaica. Bryan and I love Jamaica and have been there twice before. We opted not to go on any excursions because the ones we really liked were like 6 and 7 hours long. We didn't want to commit to that much time so we decided to do a little shopping in Falmouth and then back on the boat it was for us. Jamaica was beautiful as usual and the temperature was hot...mon. Once we were back on the boat we found the perfect loungers at the quiet pool and spent the rest of the day there which was nice because no one was on the boat.
The only picture we took of us in Jamaica...taken by a local.
One of the excursions - a pirate show on a pirate boat.
We know a cute boy would think this is pretty awesome.
Pirates sword fighting. Bryce would have loved this. :)
Trying to take photos to show the kids exactly how big the boat was...all 14 levels.
Thanksgiving Turkey Towel


Our last day was spent at sea and it was rather windy. It started out sunny and then around the time we went to have lunch it was pretty obvious it was going to rain since we could see it in the distance. Sure enough during lunch the rain came so we headed back to the room for a nice nap. We had daily naps...heaven. :) After naps the sun was back and we ended up lounging around the pool until the sun went down. Bryan even got to watch some football on the big movie screen while we lounged.


We had a pretty fantastic time, but we are glad to be home with our kiddos. I am happy to say it was a good call on the 5 day verses the 7 day. We definitely enjoyed ourselves and enjoyed the break from parenting, but by our last day we were very ready to come home and see the kids. We also made the decision that cruising with the kids is not something we want to do for a few more years. I can thank all the families on board for helping make that decision. :)

Bryan and I are refreshed, recharged and ready to head into the holidays.
I'm so excited...I love this time of year!

2 comments:

Gemma said...

Happy belated birthday! and happy anniversary :) It's our 10 year anniversary next year so not far behind you guys :)

Looks like a fantastic get away and how big was your suitcase for all those outfits!?

Love all the pics!

Take care xx

Unknown said...

WOW! you two look amazing! Jenny- It seems that you lost years instead of added a year form your birthday. You both look young and I love the outfits you were sportin- super cute! Looks like a fantastic time with lots of relaxation and not interruptions!
We went on a few cruises before miss m and I cannot think of a better way to spend your anniversary and birthday! Thanks for sharinG!