Christmas Cruise Conclusion

Day five we were at Labadee, Royal Caribbean's other private destination. We have been to Coco Cay several times, but never Ladadee, which is on Haiti. We were curious to see the differences. We took some photos and walked around the island. For our first activity, we did a mountain coaster, which had amazing views, but was pretty short. Then, we hung out on the beach for a while. We hadn't brought our snorkel gear, which we regretted. We had lunch, which was good, but not as good as Coco Cay, then went to an Aqua Park. It cost extra but was super fun. Thomas wasn't feeling great, so he sat out, but the rest of us had an amazing time.  After that, we did some souvenir shopping. The people were really aggressive. I found one thing I liked and the man told me $40. I talked him down to $25 and gave him the cash. He then made me follow him to a different shop area (he had my money, but was still holding what I purchased) and asked what else I liked. I said it was all nice and he started wrapping up another item similar to the one I had picked out, then tried to hand me both. He said, "just give me $20." I politely declined and said I just wanted the one, Then he said, "just give me "$15", then, it was $10.

Finally, he said "just give me $5" and I said okay.  I wasn't trying to bargain with him, I really just wanted the one, but for $5 it was fine. We had a similar experience at a shop with little paintings. The man said it was $40 for the two the girls picked out, I said no thanks and he asked how much I wanted to pay. I said $20, $10 for each (they are small) and he laughed. So, we started to walk away. He yelled after us, saying "fine, $20." So, I handed him $20, and he took the money and said I owed him another $10. We were both holding the $20, so I tried to take it back, and told the girls to put back the pictures. But, he wouldn't let go of the money. I told him I didn't want them for $30 and tried again to take my $20 (he had a tight grip, but so did I, it was almost comical) and the girls had already put the pictures back. But, he relented and said he would take the $20, while shaking his head as if I had just ripped him off. In my younger years, I probably wouldn't have been as confident and able to stand up for what I wanted, but I was glad I was able to withstand the tactics. After that Thomas, Kara and Jack headed back to the ship and I sat in the waves with Luke for a while. Anna had a snack and stayed with us. Luke and I got very sandy and were covered in small rocks. But, we went back to the ship and by then the other three had showered, so it worked out perfectly. We had dinner and I don't remember what else we did. 

I wanted the fish one to hang in our pool area to remind me of our fun cruise. The palm tree was the "just give me $5" addition :)

Day six-our final day was a sea day. We had breakfast at the Windjammer. Luke and I played ping-pong and miniature golf, and then he went to the kids club. They had seafood on the buffet at lunchtime, including lobster and shrimp and clams. As a result, the place was slammed. I have never seen it that crowded. I feel like everyone on the ship was in line to get Lobster. Although, I know they weren't because Anna and Kara went to the main dining room with Marta and Elizabeth. The boys and I braved the Windjammer because we wanted to see a 1 o’clock aqua show. Similar to Columbus, the show didn’t really follow the written description until the last few minutes. But, it was better than the other aqua show and I’m glad we saw it. That afternoon the girls and I went to a magic revealed show where a magician showed the audience how to do some tricks. It was another event that was packed. There was not enough room for everyone and some people came and stood right in front of us, we and others politely asked them to move, and it turned into a bit of a thing. But, ultimately we were able to see what was going on. Meanwhile, Luke was back at the kids club, and Jack and Thomas were reading on the balconies and watching the ocean go by. Oh, I forgot that we did see dolphins swimming too. 

Dinner was in the main dining room, where we had to say goodbye to our amazing servers. They really were phenomenal. They made it seem like they were actually truly happy to be there. Thomas had told our Indian waiter that he enjoyed some Indian food on the lunch buffet a few days prior, and after that our waiter would bring him an Indian dish to try each night with dinner. We were sad to say goodbye to them and our amazing nightly dinners. The last night was lobster and it was really good. Generally the lobster I have had on cruises has been a bit rubbery, but it was great on this one. After dinner, the girls and I looked in the shops, and I debated whether I should get a fancy ring (I didn't). Then we went and packed and we ended the night with another ice show.

We had too many bags to self-carry, but were able to get the first time off the ship with bag assistance. I was nervous because the ship was so big (there were over 6000 people on board). But, it went really smoothly. We got off the ship around 7:20. It ended up only taking us about 10 minutes to walk off the ship, get our bags, get through customs and be in our car. We had a smooth drive home and pulled into our driveway by 1045 (not as great as Port Canaveral, but not bad). It was a good trip, although there was a little bit more fighting than with the girls than I expected. When I asked everyone their favorite part of the trip, they said:

 Anna: Labadee
Jack: Grease
Kara: the food
Luke: Labadee
Kori: the day at Labadee
Thomas: Grease and the Abyss

One of our family photos

Enjoying a daquiri and pina colada