family Caribbean cruise 2018

The flight there was long and complicated with two layovers. But the kids did great! Z climbed all over Daddy for the first flight and then slept through the next two. The girls spent their time reading books, drawing, playing with pipe cleaners and finally settled in for a movie. Plus a very expensive but necessary trip to Wendys in the McCarren Airport and we made it to Texas!

We got our rental car, picked up Grammy and Papa and started the drive to Galveston. We stopped at Manny’s based on good reviews and an insatiable craving for Mexican food. It was fantastic. Z devoured everything in front of him and the girls loved it. I loved listening to them practice their Spanish on our servers after being told they could order anything they wanted, as long as it was in Spanish.

And eventually we drove into Galveston, already marveling at the gorgeous houses and incredible architecture. We arrived at the hotel late, with only one child still awake and settled everyone in for the night.

The next morning the girls explored our hotel, but its hard to say who was most excited (the girls or Grammy) about the Texas shaped waffles being served at the hotel’s breakfast. Originally we planned to spend the day at Moody Garden’s. And I still think it would have been an amazing day! But it was also a lot more expensive than we thought so we went in search of other options. We didn’t learn until later the girls could have gotten in free with their most recent straight A report cards and adult discounts are available at the Chick Fila nearby. Next time.

We started our adventure with a scavenger hunt. It was an interactive guided tour we did on our phones through Island Treasure hunts. We learned a little history and got to see details we otherwise would have missed. I loved it and the girls were doing great but only made it about halfway through before getting distracted. So we toured the pirate museum (The kids loved it and we did learn some fun pirate history but it’s a little cheesy). And then visited one of our favorite finds of the day, the confectionary! We timed it so we could watch an actual taffy pull and it was SO much. The girls crowded around the railing watching the candy maker stretch and loop and feed the taffy into the machine. He frequently tossed taffy pieces to the crowd and was so friendly as he answered all the girls questions. He told the girls they could keep any taffy they could reach from the pieces that fell on the floor and they each came away with their hands full! And then we bought plenty more of course. To make the day even better, the flavor of the day being made was Grammy’s favorite—banana! And the candymaker gave us a huge chunk at the end!

We picked up sandwiches to eat at the park while Z took a nap and then drove around town in search of the tree sculptures.  A hurricane in 2008 destroyed the once beautiful canopy of trees shading this picturesque city. Many of those trees have since been carved and decorate the neighborhoods, often something meaningful to the family that lives there.  We printed some maps off the internet and found many of them on a leisurely drive through the neighborhood.  Sadly we missed touring the Moody Mansion (another item for our next trip) so we did a little shopping and spent the evening lounging in our hotel, ordering pizza and watching a movie.

Sunday, after more Texas waffles for breakfast, we began our cruise! We did some exploring, lots of eating, and the girls dove right into the water despite the gray skies. The girls had a blast in kids club and immediately made new friends. And all of us loved our dinner experience with four course meals. Especially L gain quick appreciation for the chance to try new foods and order lots of different things. (her favorite for the week would quickly become tenderloin with a béarnaise sauce!) A devoured her weight in shrimp cocktail, E ate alfredo pasta and sherbert ice cream every night and Z spent most dinners stealing Papa’s pina colada and making a huge mess of anything offered to him. (he mostly lived on French fries, ice cream cones and asparagus all week.) We told the kids each night they tried something new, they could order two desserts! After dinner, A and E went right back to kids club but L joined us for the evening entertainment and was loved the show, especially the aerial silks.

Monday started early. We surprised the girls with breakfast reservations at the DreamWorks character breakfast where we had amazing food and they got to meet Po, from Kung Fu Panda and Puss in Boot from Shrek! Po especially was a bit hit with my panda loving E. And Puss was so animated he charmed them all.  Even little Z, was shy and a bit bewildered at first but by the end of the week, was squealing and cooing and so excited with each character meet and greet.  After that we took the girls ice skating! The rink wasn’t large, but the perfect size for us. A especially took it quickly and had such a blast. Then the rest of the day was spent at kids club, on the waterslides, eating food and the discovery of the 24 hour ice cream machine. It was also our first formal night and the girls were gorgeous in their white dresses. I was so excited to see my little Z looking so handsome in his white shirt, black suspenders and bow tie. But when Papa and my smokin hot husband donned bow ties to match, I fully melted! We got some fantastic family pictures (and made friends with one photographer in particularly who especially loved Z and got some amazing portraits for us).

Tuesday was spent at Cozumel Mexico. A and E begged to stay in kids club while the rest of us went ashore. We had no plan (not the best decision as it gave us a rough start to our exploration) but eventually husband, L and I explored town a bit. We got some drinks and watched some locals in a street performance. We bought lots of vanilla (my ultimate goal for the day) and Z had a blast hanging with Papa and Grammy in the port plaza people watching and exploring. (for anyone ever looking for vanilla, the best price was actually in the port at the rum cake shop. Plus they had clear vanilla that I need for fondant. So next time I can skip the hour of price shopping and go right there!) That evening we attended the ice show and were blown away with the caliber of performance. Such talent!

Wednesday took us to Grand Cayman. We left the ship and at the advice of a local, wandered down to a little cove for some snorkeling. The girls were disappointed it wasn’t a sandy beach but quickly got excited about snorkeling instead. L jumped in and in minutes, found herself inches from a nearly 4 foot long sea bass. She shrieked, jumped out of the water and refused to go back in. E last about 2 minutes longer. But A swam and snorkeled for an hour with Papa and Daddy. L and E found tide pools to play in. Grammy, Z and I lounged around watching and exploring and eventually Z jumped into the water too, swimming and splashing and generally being adorable. He didn’t even make it back to the ship before he was asleep in the stroller. The girls picked out souvenirs (A picked a pearl necklace, L and E picked stuffed animals) and then back to the ship for another wonderful perfect with dinner, family pictures, kids club and playing cards.

Thursday we docked in Falmouth Jamaica where we had arranged for husband and I to take the girls on an adventure while Papa and Grammy spent the day with Z.  Room service brought us an early breakfast (Z later discovered our leftover chocolate doughnuts and thoroughly enjoyed himself) and we found our tour guide. A bus took us the hour ride to Dunn River’s Fall while the guide pointed out things along our drive and explained the culture, language and history. A was especially animated, making lots of comments and answering every question with an accented “yes mon!” A tour guide led us to the bottom of the fall (where the girls begged to stay and play on the sandy beach), our group of 25ish people joined hands to make a long train and began our ascent. We climbed up the smooth limestone boulders with the river racing down around us. It was beautiful and challenging and so fun. Our tour guide was a ton of fun, laughing and teasing and showing us where we could jump in or slide down the rocks. L led the way, connected to a 13 year old boy in front of her (oh boy) who was fortunately a really good kid from our ship on vacation with his family and helped her navigate her way while Husband and I led A and E. The climb was no problem for A but she did get cold easily. I worried it might be too challenging for E but she bounced around like a billy goat, giggling and having a blast. After the falls, we drove to the Green Grotto Caves where a particularly gifted tour guide took us through the caves weaving stories of pirates and explorers and animals. The girls especially loved the wishing well and seeing a snake. We shared some jerked chicken on our way back to the boat where we immediately dove back into the pool.  Meanwhile, Grammy, Papa and Z had explored the port a bit and did some shopping. Best of all, Papa and Z had new matching shirts for dinner!

Friday was a sea day, spent in the water. The girls bounced from pools, waterslides and even tried out the flow rider. E and I had some much needed down time with Z while he napped and Daddy went surfing on the flowrider.  That evening the girls wore their new striped dressed and we watched the DreamWorks parade with Z lunging and calling and cooing the whole time! He particularly loved Alex the lion and King Julien. We feasted on lobster and other delectable foods before our usual leisurely and idyllic evening.

On Saturday we woke to a cold front, with gray skies and cold temps. So the girls went ice skating, Z and I slowly started packing (mostly playing, cause he’s just too cute to resist). It was a wonderfully lazy day with plenty of time to play and relax. The girls had a blast in kids club and attended the last night pj party, decorating pillow cases and watching the emoji movie. We went with Grammy and Papa to the on ship musical, Saturday Night Fever. We didn’t get to stay for quite the whole thing but were impressed with the talented performers. We gathered up the kids from kids club and did our usual routine. I snuggled Z to sleep in our room while Daddy did journals with the girls in Papa and Grammy’s room. They were all sad it was our last night and are already looking forward to the next trip.

And then Sunday brought us home. Such a fantastic trip.