Kelsi’s Graduation Cruise Blog

 

What:    Family Cruise to Celebrate high school graduation for my first, and oldest, granddaughter, Kelsi.

When:   April 2, 2017 – Spring Break (because it was $1000 less per family than a summer cruise)

Where:  Departing out of Ft Lauderdale – 6 nights on the Crown Princess to:

Mahogany Bay, Honduras

Belize

Cozumel, Mexico

Who:     All family members and some friends were invited.  Again, Lynne and family were unable to join
us because of the time of year and her work (and Matt had recently changed jobs).  These are the lucky few that joined us:

  • Penni, Dennis, Seth, Kristi, Kesli (graduate), Lauryn, Kayna, Christian, Wade Mathison (Lauryn’s boyfriend), My mom (Ick/ Lillian), and Dennis’ mom (MeMa / Dot); Dan (our adopted son), Genie (Dan’s wife) and Reed (Dan and Genie’s 2 yr old son), and Dan’s mom Tina and step dad, Rex.

Why     Given the opportunity to plan her graduation family celebration trip, Kelsi chose a cruise. This
Would be her fourth (4th) cruise and she knew what she wanted. We priced several and the one
We settled on was the first cruise ship she ever experienced (2012 Crown Princess trip).  Good
Ship, good food, good pools, and an exciting itinerary.  Let’s go.

 

Pre-Trip:

  • In November 2016, during Christmas Shopping, Dennis and I splurged and signed up for Amazon Prime (free shipping for a year). During the weeks and days before the cruise, as we were putting together our travel needs and new clothes (for all – not just Dennis and I) Fed Ex or UPS were regular visitors in my driveway J   Why fight the crowds in a real store when I can have it delivered to my door – spoiled ? yeah, just a little.
  • Kristi rented a car (just like my Toyota Rav-4) from the airport this time. For those of you who remember our last two vacation rental car fiasco’s, we were not chancing that again with a local Avis or Budget office. So here’s how the travel lineup looked:
    • Toyota Rav-4 (1) Dennis, Mema, Kayna
    • Toyota Rav-4 (2) Seth, Kristi, Lauryn, Wade
    • 3rd Vehicle Dan, Genie, and Reed (sometimes Reed was in 4th Vehicle)
    • 4th Vehicle Rex and Tina
    • Delta Airlines Penni, Ick, Kelsi, and Christian
  • Genie ordered special beach bags for Kelsi and I with our initials on it and a personalized YETI Cup. Thanks ,Genie – these looked fabulous and came in so handy.
  • Packed and re-packed to reduce size and weight. Finally got it right. Time to go as Saturday morning, April 1st

 

Day 1  - April 1st                          I Asked You (is that the same as I Told You So?)

  • Tina, Rex, Dan, Genie and Reed actually left on Friday evening, March 31 to drive part of the trip, stopping in Jax, Fl.
  • I got up early while everyone slept, got a shower, got my purse cleaned out (lots of receipts and trash) and Ick needed a smaller purse, so fixed her items up in one of my spare purses.
  • The Rav 4 (1 and 2) group left about 8:30 a.m. after a quick Martin’s breakfast at my house (a breakfast tradition). Most of the luggage fit in the two vehicles, leaving those of us who were flying minimal luggage to check and carry on; nice!
  • My group that was flying did not have to leave the house until about 3:00. I had errands to run that morning, so I got started after the others left on their road-trip. I needed a couple of lanyards and since today was the first day of the month, to go pay a couple of bills for Ick.  Christian rode with me while Ick finished getting ready.  Christian and I stopped by Zaxby’s for a quick bite of lunch, and brought chicken fingers to go back for Ick. We got back to the house and while Ick was eating, I went to the bank to finalize the cash we needed.  Everything was going smoothly and I would have about 30 minutes before Lynne got there to get everything together to leave.
  • Except when I arrived home, Lynne was already there. Hmm, ok – guess we should go ahead and leave. Lynne had a party to get to later this evening, and everything is packed, so we’ll just leave now. Lynne asked, “got everything? Your ID, all your bags, etc”     and we set off – well, after wrestling with Ick’s Rollater Walker and I ended up with it straddled over my lap in the back seat – but hey, we’re in – so let’s go.
  • Lynne entered in the directions to the Airport in her phone GPS program WAZE, and introduced me to how great it was for managing around traffic. For those of you reading this, that may not be aware, just a few short weeks before out trip, a portion of I-85 had collapsed in downtown Atlanta and traffic anywhere near the 75/85 or 285 interchange looked like the worst rush hour.  Waze lived up to its hype and routing us down I-20 we arrived in record time, less than 40 minutes.  We said our goodbyes, got all of luggage and the rollater walker out of the car and began our check-in at the Delta Curbside Desk (love this perk of living near a Delta Hub).  I checked in,  Kelsi and Christian checked in, then Ick’s turn -  ok, you can probably tell, by the way I wrote that phrase, we have oops # 1 of the trip about to happen.   “Photo ID for Lillian, please? ”  the nice, patient lady behind the counter asked.  Ummm,  as I frantically search through her smaller purse that I put together for her – there’s not much in there, so that’s good – but where is her smaller billfold?  I know I put her ID and Insurance Cards in there -  her money is there, but where is her ID?    Oh No – it’s missing.  Now what?
  • Kelsi called Lynne right quick and asked her to come back – fortunately we had time to drive ALL the way back home and hopefully I would find. I saw it this morning, how did it not make it into the purse?  I apologized a thousand times to Lynne, and the nice lady at the Delta desk said we could come right back to her and she would finish our check in.  This sounds so much less stressful while I am typing this blog than it felt that day.  What would we do if I couldn’t find it – it’s Saturday, I can’t just go to the State ID office and get another one made on Saturday or Sunday, and the ship leaves on Sunday.  I felt like an idiot. Remember earlier today when Lynne asked me if I had everything and specifically said I.D.’s ?  Yeah, well, let me tell you, it does pay to actually LOOK AND SEE that you have the ID’s in your possession… All of them.
  • I literally prayed the entire 30 minute journey home (thank you again, Waze). Suddenly, as we exited onto Thornton Road, I got a blessing from above with the reminder whispered into my consciousness that possibly I had stuffed the new billfold and contents into her old purse instead of the new one.  Now, I
  • couldn’t wait to turn into my driveway and rush into the house. Finally ,  bounding out of the car, key in my hand, unlocking….. running in to where I had left the old purse – there! Thank you, Jesus – literally.  I can breathe again….
  • Now, back in the car (the rollater fit in the trunk now, since our other luggage was already checked-in with Delta), and trip # 2 to the airport. Please, please, please, no traffic.  Thank you Waze again, and some Divine help too, I’m sure.  Again, we made it in record time (and for those of you wondering, yes, Lynne went the speed limit).  Found the Delta Agent again, checked Ick in properly this time,  got wheel chair assistance and were on our way with our …. WONDERFUL TSA Precheck stamped on our boarding tickets (easy breeze through Security – we can leave our shoes on and no pulling contents out of purses or carry on luggage).  Done – now to the fun stuff.
  • Christian’s first ride on the Airplane Train to Terminal B. He thought it was cool, and we made it – Can we please find some lunch now? I’m starved. So glad I remembered to go to the bank this morning and get a stack of $1 bills,  I had been going through them this morning, as I tipped all of the wonderful people that helped us along the way.  I got Ick settled in a chair – and holding several other chairs beside her at our gate. We had about 45 minutes before boarding time.  Kelsi took Christian to explore food options down the terminal, and I went to the nearby Fresh Crepe Stand and got Turkey and Cheese Crepes with a frozen smoothie for Ick and I.  Settled now, resting for a whole 10 minutes or so – Christian and I took some pictures by the outside window of our plane, then time to board.
  • Christian and Kelsi took the seats across the aisle from Kelsi and I. I had bought ear buds for the trip and passed them out, so we could take advantage of the in-seat t.v./movie monitors provided for free during our trip. Christian played some games and watched a transformer movie, and loved the pretzels, cookies and Sprite that the flight attendant brought by.  First plane trip for him was a success, I would say.   It had been a hectic day, so far, and I was still in high gear – couldn’t settle down.  I flipped through movie offerings, tried about 20 minutes of two different movies, and then settled into Gone with the Wind, fast forwarding it to all the good parts (I love Prissy’s announcement that she don’t know nothing about birthing babies) before touch down in West Palm Beach.

 

  • Wondering why we touched down in West Palm (WPB) when the ship leaves from Ft Lauderdale? Yeah, that might be good information to add. For the four of us, flights were a total of $1000 less to fly into WPB.  I could rent a car one (1) way from WPB to Ft Lauderdale, keep it 24 hours for $62.  Winner – done.
  • Checking in quickly with Enterprise once we had our luggage, we picked up our Chevy Equinox (approximately 9:00 p.m.) to drive the 45 minute trip to our hotel in Ft Lauderdale, where everyone was waiting on us. StayBridge Suites – Plantation/Ft Lauderdale, great place if you are ever in the area. Very clean and spacious.  For our group of 16 (3 family groups) we had 3 – two bedroom / 2 bath suites: very reasonable cost.   Bed, Bed, where’s my bed? I’m tired. What a day.   But first – a couple of LONG walking trips through the LONG hallways between Kristi’s family room and mine to get the right luggage with the right person.  Ok done?  Goodnight.

 

  • Day 2 - April 2nd                       The Big Oops
  • Dennis and I got up early, repacked everything and drove to the airport in FT Lauderdale to return my rental car. About a 10 minute drive, so not bad, right? I wish it was that simple. The signage and the GPS directions to the Rental Car Return were at the least, confusing, at the most, WRONG  - take your pick.  After being routed through some back entrance of the airport and realizing this was not correct, we found a place to pull over and re-check our directions. I am sure we looked like two cars on the Disney Grand Prix race car ride following one another around and around in circles.  Finally, we found the correct road, returned the car, and about an hour later returned to the hotel in time to meet everyone for a quick breakfast out on the patio of the StayBridge Suites Hotel.
  • After breakfast we loaded up luggage into the cars and Dennis was going to take Ick, Mema and Me to the Cruise Port first, drop us off (with our luggage and carry on’s) and then go back to help get the rest of Kristi’s gang to the Port. Dan’s family would meet us there.
    • NOTE: this is where the fun begins… or the OOPS
  • Approaching the Terminal, no signage for where to drop off passenger, or luggage, just people standing everywhere, wrapped around the building. One of the lot workers waived us around to the far side, where Dennis helped us unload and left to get the others at the hotel. I have been on enough cruises, and two out of Ft Lauderdale previously, to know this didn’t look exactly right. I found an information desk and quickly learned that we had been dropped off (remember the man that pointed us in this direction) at the PICKUP (aka Exit), not the entrance to the Terminal.  “ Ma’m, you will have to walk all the way around the building to find a porter to help with your luggage”, I was told.  Are you kidding me?  It’s 100 degrees out here (I’m sure it was not really 100, but it was HOT), There are people crowding the sidewalks, the drive ways, everywhere. Leaving Ick and Mema propped on the luggage until I could find someone,  I pushed (gently – well, maybe) my way through the crowd, all the way around the building to the back lot and finally located a nice porter to follow me back all the way around the building to gather our luggage (yes, he got a nice tip- he deserved it).  now I am hot, tired and sweaty, but we should be able to check-in and wait on the others in the nice air conditioned terminal.
  • No, of course not – that’s why so many people are on the sidewalk, they are not letting anyone into the building yet. Dennis and I are “Elite” level with Princess Cruises, and that is usually one of the perks, to at least get into the lounge area and wait until ready to board. Not today, no one is going in. So, we waited – my mom, remember has a rollater and can sit on that, so that is helpful, but Mema stood for a LONG time. There were a couple of benches and people were kind enough to offer her a seat, but she knew getting up sometimes is difficult after sitting a while, and chose to stand. We met up with Genie and her group, but after waiting, and waiting, we wondered where Dennis and the gang were?  Genie called and found out that Seth and Kristi had gotten almost to the port and realized they left all of their boarding passes back at the hotel. Ok – maybe it’s hard traveling with a group, especially when there are teenagers and a six year old, and making multiple trips back and forth to the port to get everyone and their luggage there, or maybe we are just forgetful – you can decide J
    • I wish that was the big oops you’ve been waiting for – it was one, for sure, but don’t leave me now – keep reading… it’s coming.
  • Finally, Dennis and Kelsi arrived with another load of luggage. We have been in-line OVER an hour, and remember, it is HOT. Still no open doors. Kelsi is with Dennis and I, Mema and Ick, still waiting on her mom and dad and family to get back. This annoying man behind us wants to continually talk about how he is on a back to back cruise and why are we in the same line as he is. Wants to know what makes us Elite?  Ugh,  I was cordial as he kept talking, but really just wanted him to be quiet and mind his own business. Keeping in touch with Kristi and Seth, they are close, but not here yet, and the doors are finally opening. Yay.  Kelsi waited right outside the doors for her mom and dad and was keeping a constant check on where they were on her cell phone.  We entered the building, and were some of the first in line to go through Security.  I saw a few people being wheeled in (wheel-chair) by Terminal Workers, and I had actually signed up for this for ICK, because the incline up to the Gangway of the ship can be steep.  We had done this in Miami for her in 2015 and worked great. As we approached the security area and scanners, I inquired about the wheelchair.  The lady very sternly pointed us back to the entrance door and said,  “You all have to go back over there for wheelchair assistance”.  What? Really?  So, we get out of line and make our way back over to what turns out to be like a chaotic mess of a holding pen of people waiting on wheelchair assistance. No line, no organization – what a mess.  Only two men running relay with the wheelchair assistance for MANY people. Ugh, this is going to take forever – and we were so close to being on the ship a few minutes ago. The men kept coming back (slowly) for passengers, stating “it’s on an honor system here, there’s no line – we don’t know who is next, we only have two wheelchairs, so this is going to take a while..”.   Ok – I had enough. After a while, I stepped up to one of the Transport Men with a brilliant idea and whispered.
    • “ I have a proposal for you. When the doors first opened we were one of the first in line for security. No one told us until we were at the scanners that we had to come back here for a wheel chair.  That was over thirty minutes ago.  My mom has a rollater, and “IF” you can take us through security – get us back to where we were when we had to step out of line,  then I will push her, and that will free up you and one of your wheelchairs”?   Surprisingly, he jumped at the offer and said “Sure”!
  • Wow, that was easy. We breezed through security and finally to the check-in desk where he left us to quickly go back to his transport duty. After check-in, we rode the elevator one floor up to the walk on decks.  With my mom seated on the rollater, and Dennis and Mema following closely behind, I pushed around the corners and up the slight inclines of the entrance-way. A few people around us, but not too crowded.  I can see the opening entrance to the Ship, the Crown Princess, now – just a few more feet and there is the Gangway, a steeper incline with the metal covering connecting the entrance path and the ship.  I muscled up and got a little speed up and then the tires on my mom’s Rollater hit the gangway and collapsed – OOPS. Yep, that’s it, the big OOPS.  Ick hit the floor, hard! I saw her head swing back after the initial hit, and I stepped forward to try and catch her head before it hit, but my arms wouldn’t reach -  bang, her head hit next. As Princess greeting crew rushed to her side, I was in shock, I just kept looking at her, and back at Dennis and saying, “ Oh my gosh, O my gosh, O my gosh “.
  • She could move, she wasn’t unconscious (thank God, literally) so we declined medical help from the ship doctor, because we were afraid they would insist she go to a hospital for x-rays. Dennis and I both looked in her eyes, and she looked fine, even had good color – just shook up, bad, and sore. She stood up and pushed the rollater herself and we went very slow, but finally, finally, we were on the ship and our vacation could begin. I took Ick to our room and let her lie down for a while as I checked on all of our other group and made sure everyone was on, safe and sound.
    • Ok - that was the Big Oops – Now on with Vacation

  • Leaving Ick to rest for a while, I unpacked and then left to ensure everyone else was onboard, safe and sound. It was almost noon now, so Ick decided to go with us to the buffet for lunch. We sat under the shade on the Lido deck, out by the pools while we ate and I had my first of many frozen smoothie’s of the week. Ahhh – now I feel like I’m on vacation.
    • Princess has one of the best drink packages – for about $8 a day for the length of the cruise, unlimited sodas, frozen smoothies, fruit juice, and milkshakes. Totally worth it for my group. Our Cruise card came with a “drink” sticker on the front, and all we had to do was show our card when ordering – easy!  This little perk had been a Christmas Stocking gift for many in our group, so everyone could enjoy.

 

  

  • Muster Drill at 3:30 in the Princess Theater and then out on deck to enjoy the Sailaway Party.

 Dinner Time

  • Dinner Time is always a highlight of our cruises as we enjoy dressing up and family time: sharing stories of the day, eating good food, and just hanging together. Our dinner time was 6:00 p.m. so we all made our way to the dining room in the middle of the ship. Our staterooms were in the FORWARD section of the ship (I really enjoyed this section because it was not heavily traveled and quiet – well except for my group- lol). When we arrived at the door to be shown to our table, Dan, Genie and Reed were already seated – at a table for 4. What? We were supposed to all be together…  all 16 of us.  My table was for 5 (Me, Dennis, Ick and Mema) – so we swapped with Dan and Genie, because when Dan’s folks joined them, that was 5. Then Kristi’s family (7) was seated a few feet away at a large round table.  Not Liking this – we wanted to be together, it’s part of our tradition and something we had all looked forward to.
  • Wait staff was great, as usual, and we made do tonight – visiting one another’s tables between courses and as we waited on our meal.

    

  • Time to meet with the Maitre’d to see if there was anything that could be done for the remaining nights. Dan had watched while several people were just screaming at the poor man, and wagging their finger in his face as he or she was not pleased with something in the dining room. My strategy – smile and charm him with kindness to get what I want. Hopefully it would work. It did, with a small twist – wait, maybe a big twist.  He could seat us all together IF we changed to the 7:45 dinner time.  Ugh, Dennis is not going to like this, but I would go ask.  Kristi’s group gave an immediate YES, let’s do it – they really wanted to be together. Dennis gave a thumbs down but said he would go along with the group, because he too, wanted to eat dinner together.  Dan and Genie said it absolutely would not work for them because it was too late for Reed.  I totally understood that and Genie said we should go ahead, and they would just keep their original time slot. Ok – hated not eating with them, but out group voted and said to change. So 7:45 dinner time for the remainder of the cruise.

 

  • Tonight after dinner, we watched an intriguing movie out on the deck, “Passengers”. I love watching movies, snug and warm under a complimentary blanket and popcorn, out on the open ship deck. One of my favorite things to do on a cruise. Tonight, however, I was more tired than I thought, and fell asleep out under the stars about half way through the movie – maybe a third of the way through. Princess has the most comfy cushions they put in their lounge chairs in the evening. What a peaceful way to fall asleep. Waking up as the movie ended, we made our way to our home for the next few days, E109, E111, E115 and E117. It’s been an eventful, but fun, day!  Good night.

 

Day Three (3)      It’s a Ship Day – Let’s Play

  • Today the Crown Princess is making her way toward our first port, Mahogany Bay, Honduras, while we explore and play on all that she has to offer. Swimming, or jumping if your name is Reed or Christian, Tanning, Eating, and maybe a Trivia Game for Dennis and I. We found an uncrowded place to gather for lunch in the Caribe back section of the Horizon Court Buffet. Pizza and Milkshakes (Vanilla with Caramel Syrup added for me) quickly became my favorite snack and or lunch.
  • During the day, when I was by my room, I noticed I had not received my ship excursion tickets for our kayak package purchased for Mahogany Bay (2 packages for a total of 2 Kayak rentals (4 people), snorkel equipment (4 people), 2 ocean floats, and 4 Clamshells (shade for beach lounge chairs). I called Guest Services and Shore Excursions and nothing showing on my account for ever purchasing this package. Fortunately, it was not sold out, so I purchased 2, again.  The tickets were delivered to my room within the hour, for tomorrow’s port day.  Ok – good enough, disappointment diverted – not sure where the mix up was, but taken care of now.
  • We met our new Waiter and Assistant in the new dining room assignment tonight at dinner. He was…ok. Certainly not the best personality I have ever experienced on a Cruise Ship, but we were all together and that was great!

 

 

  • It was formal night, so we all put on our “finest” and had photos taken, before and after the dinner. Kristi, Genie, and I had purchased an exclusive On-Line Photo Package for $99 that covered any and all photo’s made while on the cruise. As long as someone from our room, the photo was included(for Kristi – it covered both rooms because of minor children in both rooms).   Laughter, constant conversation, picture taking and oh yeah, eating ensued. But we were all feeling unusually tired after dinner. Strange how moving the time slot a little less than two (2) hours can have just a dramatic effect on us.  We went to see a musical comedy after dinner, and again, I fell asleep (I had company too – so don’t think I’m the only pooped one here).
  • The night wave action in the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea was somewhat rough. We were in a forward room, but at least for my room, and Bop’s (Dennis), it was just like a gentle rocking to sleep. Lauryn has a slight issue with sea sickness and it did bother her really bad one night, so she and Kristi got up and walked the outside decks for a while – she felt better. Too bad, Princess puts all of their chairs up so you can’t sleep out on a deck overnight – she would have preferred that J  Dan’s mom and even Dan had problems with the lively wave action a couple of nights, but all in all – everyone was fine.   Some people get car sick on a road trip, ship movement bothers some people, and some it doesn’t.  Air travel is my nemesis – although Ginger capsules and drinking Ginger Ale in flight curb mine, and I’m fine.

 

 

Day Four (4)  One of the Best Caribbean Ports Ever

“Mahogany Bay”

  • Everyone up early and either to the buffet or dining room for breakfast. We really enjoy the dining room for breakfast as the food is very good, and it’s a slower, more calm space. Good way to wake up. When we docked, we gathered all our ID’s, beach bags, towels, sunscreen and shore excursion tickets and met our group in the hallway by our rooms. Kristi was holding two (2) envelopes just like mine. What? I had purchased the excursions weeks before (online), and they delivered them to her and in her last name. So that is where the mix up happened. Still don’t know how that happened that the reservation got linked to her and not me, but anyway, now we had four (4) complete packages.  It suddenly wasn’t such a great deal, but on the up-side, we had enough kayak’s, clamshells, ocean floats for everyone that wanted one – so that, as we played on the beach, was wonderful.
  • We walked (carefully J) down the gangway and toward the pathway to Mahogany Bay. Port beach area developed by Carnival Corporation (Carnival, Princess, Costa, and Cunard Cruise Lines). Once past all of the port area photographers, we began our 5-10 minute walk on a beautifully landscaped pathway. Around the first bend, most of our group, used their voucher for the flying beach chair (low altitude version of ski lift-or sky buckets) that would deposit them right onto the sandy beach.
  • Dennis, Mema, Ick, and I walked the shady path. It was lovely, and had a few hammocks in strategic quiet places tucked between big shade trees. As we crossed over a bridge, I could see the beach in the distance as we approached the welcome building with a few souvenir stores and restrooms. It was HOT; while mom stopped by the restroom, Seth and I popped into one of the stores for a few bottles or water. $1 per bottle – not bad. Walking out from the shade of the building onto the beautiful expanse of the beach, meeting up with the rest of our group, we got our package contents and settled in. We were the only ship in port that day, and it was truly like a private beach experience.
  • Clamshells were between shade trees and were nice and spacious. The water was slightly warm, just the right temperature and we played in the sparkling water. Several in our group enjoyed kayaking or pedal boats and played with huge sea turtles. Food was decent, a little on the expensive side, but enough to hold us over until we could hit the afternoon snack buffet back on the ship. Here is our day – in this case, I believe a picture really is worth a thousand words. Enjoy.
  • We talked Mema and Ick into riding the Flying Beach Chair back, because the return trip would be somewhat uphill. I held Ick’s rollater while she loaded onto the chair and I would walk it back later when I was ready to leave the beach. Seth came running over to me asking where Mema was?  I pointed up to the chair just lifting, and he “she has my wallet and my cruise card  (ID to get back on the ship).  Uh oh – he ran down the path to see if he could communicate with them on the slow moving chair ride.  He made it in plenty of time, and they tossed the wallet and ID down to him.  Seth came back to me and said, “Bop said you needed to meet them at the Chair Drop off with Ick’s rollater”.   Ooops, guess we forgot to coordinate me leaving at the same time they did so she would have it when she landed. I gathered up all our gear and left the gorgeous beach and ocean. Absolutely one of my favorite beach ports.
  • Back on the ship, Christian and I went to visit in Bop’s room while Ick took a shower and got ready for dinner in a couple of hours. Christian was hungry, so we browsed through the room service menu – PIZZA, yum, let’s chill out and rest and order a pizza. $3 Service Charge for a large Yummy, Hot, pizza delivered to our room. We were not eating dinner until 7:45 p.m. so this was a great later afternoon snack.
  • Dinner tonight was our usual enjoyable time (except for our waiter, he just is not wowing us….at.all.) – trying new food, splurging on desserts, and just fun visiting one another (amid yawns – why are we so tired). Princess handles time change zones differently than Carnival. Carnival stays on the original port time (Eastern Standard or Daylight Savings Time) the entire trip. Princess changes, and if the time zone changes daily, then so does the ship-daily). No wonder we are all so tired. We are finishing dinner at what would be 11:00 p.m. on some nights.
  • Tomorrow, we visit Belize, and several of us are scheduled to go on excursions. Lauryn has been feeling a bit queasy tonight from the movement of the ship and so while waiting on our dinner, I went to the gift shop and purchased her a motion sickness arm pressure band. While we were eating, we noticed our waiter, and others visiting all the tables and discussing something with a serious tone. Our waiter came over and began asking us about our plans for tomorrow. He reminded us it was a “tender port” and the ferry ride might be on any of a number of different types of boat and would take at least 30 minutes to cross to the Port Village of Belize City.  “It’s not your typical 5 minute tender ride, the water can be very rough, and ….” on and on and on.  He was clearly trying to talk the passengers out of going into Belize tomorrow.  Kelsi was sun-burned somewhat already, and Lauryn heard his speech about the rough crossing and with Kristi – decided to for-go the snorkeling tour tomorrow and stay on-board.  Not thrilled, I understood their concern and after dinner emailed the tour company to cancel the excursion.
    • Note: Dan’s parents went on their Belize excursion to Mayan Ruins and loved it. And while, yes, the ferry over took a while, the trip was not bad at all.

 

Day 5 ALMOST BELIZE (or a bonus Sea Day)

  • Lauryn feels great today and we all woke up to a gorgeous, sunny day in Belize, or about 5 miles out to sea from Belize City. Swim suit and new cover up on and out on the Lido Deck after breakfast. Remember the Amazon Prime membership and the daily trips to my house from UPS?  I bought 2 new swim cover-ups (about $9 each) and am loving them on this trip – so comfy, and actually could pass for just cute little sundresses. We lounged out around our own private pool with Reid and Christian jumping in and splashing. No, I’m not giving any more of that secret away, just that it was one of the best perks of being on this ship.