Goin' On A Big Boat

The time draws near. All ABOARD!

I'm getting excited about our upcoming family vacation, and I need a place to let it out. You see, we're going on a cruise (woohoo!) and traveling south to visit friends. When? I guess I'll be vague, since the rules are that you shouldn't give all the details online about your travels before you've traveled. Safety and all. Wouldn't want shifty people showing up at my back door with a crow bar the minute we've left the building, right? Right.

But I have to share now because it's what I'm thinking about. And we all know that is exactly what blogs are for: writing down what you are thinking about right now. I did the same thing last year. We were planning our cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. I didn't think about much else except how fun it was going to be. So I had to write about it. And you know what? It was fun. Imagine that!

So now we are going again, only this time, it's because the government gave us money (silly people) instead of my mother-in-law. And we are going to the Eastern Caribbean instead of the Western. And we are going on a Norwegian ship instead of a Carnival ship. And we are bringing both the girls instead of just Noodle.

So here's the ship. It's called the Norwegian Sky. I think it's kind of cool how all of Norwegian's ships have a different picture on the side (sorry, don't actually know the nautical term for "side of the ship"). It looks to be a similar size as the last one we were on. Big. Lots of stuff. Restaurants, bars, auditoriums, shopping, pools, a gym, a spa, a track, golf area, etc. etc.

On Monday morning, we will arrive at the Port of Miami to board the ship. From there, we'll sail to Grand Bahama, spending Tuesday doing whatever we want to on the island (I'm thinking the beach will be perfect). Wednesday, we'll be at Nassau (more beach?). And Thursday, we'll arrive at Norwegian's private island, Great Stirrup Cay. By Friday morning, the ship will return home to Florida.

The plan is to not plan. We're not going to book any excursions. We're not going to be on any timetable each day (except to get back on the boat at the end of the day!). We're thinking we'll just do a little bit of sight seeing and a lot of playing on the beach and on the boat. We're hoping for a lot of relaxation. YES, even with the kids. Hey, if they get too crazy, they can always go and play at the (free!) childcare area. Noodle loved going to that part of the ship last year with "Camp Carnival." She would beg us to bring her to the slumber party in the evenings--the kids would come in their pajamas. They'd put on a Disney movie, and give them pizza and popcorn until they fell asleep or the parents retrieved them.

Of course, I'm also open to the option of taking a nap with any of my cranky children back in the room. Supposedly, this is what the website says it will look like, but I know different. It will be similar, only with pull-down beds for the kids that come out of the wall above the big-people bed. It's hard to imagine, looking at this little picture. Check out last year's post-cruise-post to see a picture of Noodle in her cool bed.

So that's the big excitement. Well, most of it anyway. We're actually planning to visit with our South Florida friends before and after the cruise. That's going to be fun. I miss them (sniff). AND we have a special surprise planned for the kids that they are going to LOVE!!! Stay tuned and I'll tell you about it later! *wink*wink*