Family Vacation Week!
With several food trucks to choose from, I opted for the “Aloha” truck. Not only did they have almost everything I could think of… they did a great job cooking! So tasty! Barry had brisket. We enjoyed eating, laughing and listening to the DJ. Fun spot!
Luggage loaded, two cars full of anxious travelers, we are finally off to the airport! Three of us in one car… Four in the other. Bags filled the trunks and one seat. Five suitcases for seven of us in not too bad!
After parking the cars, we met up at the bag drop kiosks. Noel’s Dad works at the airport and met us outside security. With all of our tags printed up and placed on the bags, we dropped them off and headed through security. The line was not bad at all, thankfully!
As luck would have it, moments before boarding, we learned that our plane had a mechanical. Noel’s Dad, Curtis, kept us informed on what was happening. We found out a replacement plane was available …turned out it was not certified to go over water. With the crazy weather around Florida, we needed a certified plane in case we had to go around any storms.
Initially, Curtis positioned us at the closest gate. With our new plane change, we were at the farthest gate in our terminal. In total, our delay was about two hours. This confirms why I always fly to the cruise town at least a day early!
Being a night flight, our plane lights were dimmed. Even before we took off, the snoring began! I thought it was Corey… which surprised me because in our three weeks of spring travel, I never heard a peep out of him. Jeremy, sitting a few rows behind me, sent a txt to ask who was snoring. That’s how loud it was… there would be no sleeping for me! It turned out to be the girl sitting next to Corey… We arrived in Miami at midnight, collected our luggage and headed to the hotel.
Checked into all three rooms by 1am… time to get to sleep! Comfortable beds and a quiet hotel… just what the doctor ordered! Six years ago, we stayed in the same hotel for Barry’s surprise birthday cruise. For some reason, I thought it was a bit away from the airport, but it took only a minute to reach our hotel.
It felt like we just got off the airport shuttle… and we were on our way back. It was time to meet our shuttle driver. What a convenient service! Quality Limo of Miami was only $10pp. We shared the van with one other couple who had a cruise on the ship right next to ours. It worked out perfectly! While waiting for our shuttle, a car drove up… we got a good laugh as we noticed they were dragging a cone along with them!
Sitting on the curb, Ezra was so enthralled with the game he was playing, that he didn’t notice us boxing him in with our suitcases! Kind of funny… actually, the whole group was zoned in on their devices. Kids now days!
Honestly, our boarding process went so quickly that I barely had time to take photos! Out of the shuttle, the baggage was collected. It was kind of funny because they one guy called us over… he was just finishing up with a family. As they walked away, he yelled after them, “Really? You aren’t going to give me anything for helping with your bags???” He was astounded. I told him we were going to take care of him… Anyway, we dropped off our luggage, walked in the door and never slowed down. Before we knew it, we were on the ship! Seamless!
Lightning speed! As always, we went straight to the pool deck and ordered our first cocktail. Realizing we planted ourselves smack, dab in the middle of the smoking section, we relocated quickly. Our new table happened to be closer to the “Fish and Chips” shack (which I could not have).
Ezra discovered the kids Splash Pool. Fun water features, slides and many new friends. He enjoyed himself thoroughly. Apparently, it took twenty seconds to decide that he loves cruising!
First-timer, Noel, also settled right in… we had a couple of hours before our cabins would be ready so hanging out by the pool was fun. Some went for a little buffet food… I ran downstairs to make all of our dinner reservations for the week. Some things are best taken care of ASAP.
At about one o’clock, Jeremy took a quick spin around the forward floors of the ship to see if cabins were available. They were!!! We gathered all of our thing and headed to our cabins… Most definitely, there would be a nap in my immediate future! The only time we could get into sushi… 9pm. A snack would keep me alive until then…
With the rain falling, Royal Caribbean decided to move their “Sail Away Party” into the Promenade. We never heard the announcement and apparently, either had many others. The outer perimeter of the pool deck was lined with people protecting themselves from getting wet. Deck Five was not as crowded as expected. When the lively music started, Ezra lit up. He participated in the dancing and the Congo line. Use up all that energy!!!
What a scene! One hour before dinner, we went to the Viking Lounge to join in the fun. We attended the Silent Disco! So fun… the dance floor was full. People were spilling out and dancing all around the outside of the floor. Lots of singing…
The headsets have a bright color on the ears. Each color plays a specific song. It is entertaining to watch everyone dancing and singing together… but listening to different music! Stomping, clapping, singing… it was a fun experience! All the songs were very upbeat. This was the perfect pre-dinner activity! Ezra probably never danced so much in his life!
Finally, 9pm! We were seated in our table and checked out the menus. I’ve eaten in Izumi so many times, I really didn’t have to look at it. We get one starter, two additional items and a dessert. Every night, I skip dessert!
We enjoyed some delicious sushi! I had seaweed salad and a poke bowl. Though I would have loved to order the roll on the left, it was not allowed with my restricted diet. Darn because this makes my mouth water!!!
After dinner, we went to Schooner Bar to listen to the piano player. Again, so many sang along with the musician. Ezra requested a song that the piano player didn’t know… he knew it but not well. So, he asked if he could have a couple of days to learn it better. We will go back and let him play it for the boy :-)
