When I was a few months pregnant with Luke, we took the other kids on a Disney Cruise. Everyone loved it. A few years later, Thomas and I did a cruise and had a fantastic time. We felt we were due to take the family on one again. I wanted to wait until Luke was fully potty trained so that he could take advantage of the kids' rooms. We scheduled one and canceled. Then, decided Thanksgiving 2018 was the time. This was in May 2017. A full 559 days in advance! So, it was almost a surprise when the day finally came. We had been anticipating it for so long that it was almost surreal when the day actually arrived.
The cruise left on Saturday, November 16th from Bayonne, New Jersey. We went up on Friday and spent the night near the port. We had another anxious experience with our van. It was in the shop again and we got it back on Thursday, only to discover that the new hybrid battery wouldn't charge. They assured us it was safe to drive and said we could bring it in when we returned. I still held my breath for about the first 100 miles. Fortunately, it got us there safely. We spent the night at a Homewood Suites.
We got to the port around 10 the next morning. The excitement as we saw the ship was unbelievable. Everyone was squealing and just so thrilled. We got through security and check-in just as they opened the ship for passengers. Perfect timing! We explored and had lunch and made reservations for some of the fun things on the ship. We played ping-pong, which Luke especially loved. We were cruising with the Tilleys (Grandma Marta and Grandpa Frank) and our good friends/neighbors, the Wills. We found each other, checked out our rooms and unpacked.
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| I think ping pong was Luke's favorite activity |
At 4:00, they had sign-ups for the trapeze. Both girls wanted to do it. We were able to get them wrist-bands for the 5 o'clock session. They wore harnesses and had to climb a tall ladder to get to the platform. They were told to lift their knees and swing and then flip off the bar. Most people couldn't do any of it. Kara made it through most of the routine, but couldn't gain the momentum for the flip. We were very proud of both of them. Anna does not like heights, so the fact that she climbed the ladder and jumped was especially impressive.
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| Kara looking like a pro. |
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| So carefree! |
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| I don't have a full picture of the ladder, but it is well above the second floor. It was intimidating! |
We had 5:30 dining reservations that night and every night. That first night was a little rough. It took a long time (2 hours!) and the kids were going crazy by the end, or at least Luke was. But, the food was good and the setting was beautiful. More on the food/dining later.
It was a good first day!
