For our first family vacation complete with flights and leaving the country we decided to surprise the kids with a Royal Caribbean cruise. Kate, Justin, Mike and I planned the whole thing complete with surprising the kids at the airport.
Saturday morning we got up and got ready then Tyson took us to the airport. The kids knew that we were flying and were so excited as it was the first time the girls could remember flying. Our last trip by plane was when Becca was 6 months old. We got to the airport and got everyone checked in. Then it was time to wait. Kate and Justin arrived 20 minutes after us and our kids were busy checking out the things around our gate when Hanna and Dutch showed up. Alec and Dutch were so happy and the girls could not believe that we were going together. At this point Rachel knew we were going to Orlando as that was the gate we were sitting at. She was so excited to finally be able to see a palm tree in real life. Little did she know this was not our final destination.
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| Excited about his backpack |
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| First time in an airport |
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| The girls had their own row. |
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| The boys sat together for awhile |
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| Alec's first flight. |
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| Landed in Orlando ready to continue our vacation |
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| Waiting for everyone to get their bags. |
We arrived in Orlando and took a bus to our hotel. This is were we would stay overnight as we did not board the cruise ship until noon on Sunday but didn't want to risk flying the same day and missing the ship. Justin's parents came to the hotel and had some drinks with us then we all went to dinner before calling it a night.
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| Bus to hotel |
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| Becca loves snuggling Justin's mom's dog |
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| Picture by a Palm Tree |
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| Are we ready for this? |
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| Monkey's in the hotel |
Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast. Got all our luggage tagged and ready for the boat. The kids still had no idea what we were doing. We got in a van and took off for the ships. The kids were occupied with ipad and such until we got close. We had them look out the windows and they were so excited they just could not wait. We got to the port, made it through all the lines and finally got on the boat. After getting through pictures, obtaining passes, and instructions we went to check out our rooms.
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| No Idea what was going to happen. |
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| Our boat! |
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| Every one's luggage |
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| Checking out the view |
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| Walking to our room |
Day 2 we woke up and were ported in Nassau, Bahamas. Kate and I decided before we left that we were going to stay on the ship at this port as there was not much for the kids to do. We got up ate breakfast and then took the kids swimming while the boys explored the port.
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| Waiting to surf. She was the only one big enough to go on this feature |
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| The boat that came and steered the ship into port |
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| Our boat on the right and a carnival boat on the left |
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| Our Boat from the ground |
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| Formal Night #1 |
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| Every night we had animals on our beds and the next days agenda waiting for us. |
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| The kids sleeping arrangements. |
Mike and I had an adjoining room with the kids. Each room had a king bed and then the kids room had a pull out couch. Kate and Justin were next door and all three balconies adjoined so the kids could go back and forth without getting into the hallway.
Day 3 was a day at sea so we enjoyed the pools, and exploring the ship more and the character parade. The kids attended kids club that afternoon and evening while we went to dinner and the love and marriage show.
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| Boys watching basketball at breakfast |
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| Waiting for the parade to start |
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| Yes we picked matching outfits for them |
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| How most of our group pictures went |
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| The kids favorite treat was strawberry daiquiris |
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| Exploring Central Park |
Day 4 we woke up and were ported at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. We pre-arranged an excursion for this day so we got up and had breakfast and got ready to leave the ship. We then explored the port while we waited to depart for Megan's Bay. It rained while at port but we had a beautiful couple hours at Megan's Bay. The kids loved rolling and playing in the ocean. We had some pizza and it was time to get back on the ship. Everyone showered, we fed the kids and they again went to kids club while we went out to dinner.
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| Meagn's Bay is right behind us. |
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| Playing and Swimming in the Bay |
Day 5 we ported in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. We again had an excursion planned. We went on a snorkeling tour and then to Maho Beach which is famous for the airport and airplanes that fly right over the beach and water while you are playing. After an amazing day out we got back to port and got a drink. I bought some dresses for the girls and Mike took Alec to the bathroom. We started to notice that no one else was on the port. Kate and I started walking back to the boat with the kids when we heard the boat horn and the officers on the port were waving at us. We got to the first lady on port and she told us to get the kids and run as the boat was taking off, we had missed the time to be back on the boat. We ran as fast as the little boys could and jumped on the boat as they were pulling up the ramps. It was a very close call and after we got on the boat and headed to the pools we found out they had been paging us overhead. We made it but we were glad that we had no more port days as that was a little too close. Overall it was one of the best days while on vacations. The big kids loved snorkeling, the boys didn't like the salt water in their eyes, and everyone loved the beach again.
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| Exploring before we got off the boat |
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| Rock Night at Kids Club |
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| First time Oasis and Allure were ported at the same time |
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| Sister boats at port |
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| On the Catamaran to go snorkeling |
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| Sushi night! |
Day 6 and 7 we sea days. We enjoyed the pools, rock climbing (Hanna and Rachel), kids club, the wave surf machine (Mike and Rachel), and formal night with just the little girls getting fancy. The boys went to kids club, and some casino time. The evening of day 7 we packed the rooms and turned in early as we had to be off the boat and to the airport by noon so we could fly home.
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| Formal Night |
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| Cute and Sassy |
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| Daddy and His Girls |
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| His detector he made at kids club |
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| Sleeping on the flight home |
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| Mike and Becca exploring on one morning |
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| Hanna on the rock wall. Rachel also climbed this wall |
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| Mike and Rachel exploring the boat |
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| Wine tasting |
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| Golfing |
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| On the wave surf thing |
Sunday we flew back into Omaha. Just took us to Tyson's to get our car and then we grabbed a quick bite to eat before driving home. What a great week we had. Everyone was tired but we all had so much fun. #simonsayswewillraatzyou vacations will become tradition. It is so much fun to see everything threw the eyes of the children even when they are tired, crabby, and almost get kicked out of kids club!
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