My family (minus my brother-in-law and my husband) went on a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas with our kids this past week. We left from Port Canaveral, FL and traveled to Royal Caribbean's private island Coco Cay and then to Nassau, Bahamas. It was quite an interesting trip especially for me, since I actually got some GI illness before even getting on the ship. Overall it was enjoyable and semi-relaxing.
Day 1- Monday, Sept. 26
We arrived in our tiny interior cabin consisting of 2 upper bunks and a king size bed for me, my son, my sister and my niece. My stomach was not feeling too well and I was quite nauseous too so I passed on lunch at the Windjammer Cafe. My family returned to the cabin to pick me up before our Muster Drill, thankfully we didn't have to wear the life jackets. As I stood there, at Muster Station #5 I thought I was going to fall over holding my 30+ pound squirming son. I felt so weak. Thankfully one of the staff members saw me and lead me inside to a chair and I had my blood pressure and oxygen levels checked. Normal. It's nice to see a caring staff. I headed back to my room with Julian and decided that I was going to pass on dinner and get some more much needed rest. Later that night I was able to get out of bed and walk around the shopping area and enjoy some Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream with my son. I hoped tomorrow would be a better day.
Day 2- Tuesday, Sept. 27
Being cell phone-less and having no immediate access to daylight, I woke up disoriented to the time. Nausea was gone but I was still taking Imodium like clock work. We made our destination to Coco Cay in which we were tendered to the island by a small boat. As we arrived on the island we noticed the dark clouds in the distance. Definitely not looking forward to meeting them. There was not much to do on the island for those with kids so we just enjoyed hanging out on the lounge chairs before lunch was served. Then, all of a sudden the wind picked up and the sky got dark. You would've thought a strong storm was coming. We took cover under a vacant meal service building. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as we expected. After it passed, the kids went back to enjoy a few more minutes of beach time before the next storm arrived and we packed up to head back to the boat. I was able to take the time and explore the upper decks with my mom while Julian took his afternoon nap before the Captain's dinner. After dinner, I think the illness made its way back in my system because I started to feel chills and I felt extremely bloated and uncomfortable. But I guess eating all that food for dinner didn't help the cause as well.
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| My parents on the boat ride to Coco Cay |
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| Coco Cay Beach |
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| Riding the Jet Ski |
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| Nap time |
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| Relaxing view |
Day 3- Wednesday, Sept. 28
We docked at Nassau in the AM and made our way off the boat after a late breakfast at the Windjammer Cafe. Traveling with so many people made it difficult for us to figure out what to do for excursions so we did not have anything planned. We got off pushing the strollers around the town through the outside markets and in/out of air-conditioned stores (whew it was a HOT day). Finally after miserable crying from kids from boredom and restlessness we decided to take a cab ride to the beach by Atlantis. We rented an umbrella and 2 lounge chairs and hung out enjoying the beautiful sight of crystal blue skies and endless ocean. After a while we headed back to the boat on an "adventurous" cab ride with a crazy driver and entertaining passengers. Later that night, my sister watched Julian and I got to enjoy the casino for an hour or so. I started off with $20. When I was down to my last 3 quarters and won most of it back, I called it a night before my luck run out. I cashed out at $19.75.
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| Senor Frogs (or Leap Frog according to Julian) |
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| Beach Panorama |
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| Lola relaxing under the umbrella |
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| My sister enjoying the view |
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| Me and my son |
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| Lili chillaxing in the water |
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| Jillian loving the water |
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| My brother and his family |
Day 4- Thursday, Sept. 29
It was our last full day on the ship, and our full day out to sea so I was hoping to enjoy more of what the ship had to offer. My sister and I had spa appointments later that morning so we got up and took the kids to breakfast. For some reason Julian was digging whole apples, something he never had. It might have to do with his cousins eating them all the time as well. Then we went around not realizing what time it was (again, disoriented to time because I am cellphone-less and watch-less). We decided to head toward the spa to find out what time our appointment was and came to find out it started 15 minutes ago. Whoops. Thankfully my brother was with us and my mom was about to be done with her appointment so we left all three toddlers with him. My massage was nice and relaxing (caught myself snoring twice) but the facial was so-so; expected a little more than what I got. Guess it should have been called a mini-facial vs. a cleansing facial. After meeting back up with the kids, we decided to hit the pool deck. I found out that only potty trained kids were allowed in the pool and no one with a pull-up or diaper was allowed in the pool. Well, since Julian was actually in the process of being potty trained, I went ahead and chanced it. Of course I took him to the bathroom frequently so there wouldn't be any accidents. He did enjoy himself but he refused to "swim" in the deep end which was fine with me because I couldn't even stand in the deep end. After the swim we rushed to get some lunch from the Windjammer Cafe (can you tell that place is where to go) and ate. Julian fell asleep easily on the lounge chair. I took this opportunity to finally go for a jog around the ship. My actual plan was to go for a run every morning but of course I wasn't expecting to get sick. I started my jog on Deck 7 and went for about 20 minutes. Wow, it was nice. Jogging on solid ground and having the ocean as your scenery was serene. I wished I was able to enjoy it longer but I knew dinner was around the corner and Julian was bound to wake up soon. During dinner I excused myself to take a shot of the sunset, something I've been meaning to do the whole trip but was unable to due to our timing of dinner. I have to say it came out pretty spectacular. After dinner we enjoyed a game show at Boleros called "Finish that Lyric" with the kids in the back playing their MobiGos. I was grateful to be able to enjoy another evening out (thanks to Lola for watching my boy) and went to Karaoke night with my brother and sister as well as donated $39.75 to the casino. I grabbed a few pizza slices to eat at Sorrento's and ended my night content.
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| Exploring the boat on Deck 7 |
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| Jenny and Jillian after the pool |
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| After our last dinner on the ship |
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| Kisses to Daddy |
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| Lori and Loralei |
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| Lovely sunset over the Atlantic Ocean |
Another vacation has come and gone. I'm glad Julian got to experience it. Will he remember it when he gets older? Probably not. But I know he enjoyed the "big boat". The afternoon we got back, we were driving in the car and he said, "Lets go mommy's room" which is in reference to our room on the ship. When I told him we weren't on the ship anymore he gave me this pouty face and whined about going back on the ship. At least he will remember it for a little bit.
We docked at Nassau in the AM and made our way off the boat after a late breakfast at the Windjammer Cafe. Traveling with so many people made it difficult for us to figure out what to do for excursions so we did not have anything planned. We got off pushing the strollers around the town through the outside markets and in/out of air-conditioned stores (whew it was a HOT day). Finally after miserable crying from kids from boredom and restlessness we decided to take a cab ride to the beach by Atlantis. We rented an umbrella and 2 lounge chairs and hung out enjoying the beautiful sight of crystal blue skies and endless ocean. After a while we headed back to the boat on an "adventurous" cab ride with a crazy driver and entertaining passengers. Later that night, my sister watched Julian and I got to enjoy the casino for an hour or so. I started off with $20. When I was down to my last 3 quarters and won most of it back, I called it a night before my luck run out. I cashed out at $19.75.
It was our last full day on the ship, and our full day out to sea so I was hoping to enjoy more of what the ship had to offer. My sister and I had spa appointments later that morning so we got up and took the kids to breakfast. For some reason Julian was digging whole apples, something he never had. It might have to do with his cousins eating them all the time as well. Then we went around not realizing what time it was (again, disoriented to time because I am cellphone-less and watch-less). We decided to head toward the spa to find out what time our appointment was and came to find out it started 15 minutes ago. Whoops. Thankfully my brother was with us and my mom was about to be done with her appointment so we left all three toddlers with him. My massage was nice and relaxing (caught myself snoring twice) but the facial was so-so; expected a little more than what I got. Guess it should have been called a mini-facial vs. a cleansing facial. After meeting back up with the kids, we decided to hit the pool deck. I found out that only potty trained kids were allowed in the pool and no one with a pull-up or diaper was allowed in the pool. Well, since Julian was actually in the process of being potty trained, I went ahead and chanced it. Of course I took him to the bathroom frequently so there wouldn't be any accidents. He did enjoy himself but he refused to "swim" in the deep end which was fine with me because I couldn't even stand in the deep end. After the swim we rushed to get some lunch from the Windjammer Cafe (can you tell that place is where to go) and ate. Julian fell asleep easily on the lounge chair. I took this opportunity to finally go for a jog around the ship. My actual plan was to go for a run every morning but of course I wasn't expecting to get sick. I started my jog on Deck 7 and went for about 20 minutes. Wow, it was nice. Jogging on solid ground and having the ocean as your scenery was serene. I wished I was able to enjoy it longer but I knew dinner was around the corner and Julian was bound to wake up soon. During dinner I excused myself to take a shot of the sunset, something I've been meaning to do the whole trip but was unable to due to our timing of dinner. I have to say it came out pretty spectacular. After dinner we enjoyed a game show at Boleros called "Finish that Lyric" with the kids in the back playing their MobiGos. I was grateful to be able to enjoy another evening out (thanks to Lola for watching my boy) and went to Karaoke night with my brother and sister as well as donated $39.75 to the casino. I grabbed a few pizza slices to eat at Sorrento's and ended my night content.
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