Yesterday morning at 9:00 am we were getting off Royal Carribean’s Independence of the Seas ship. My Mom, all three of my sisters (Jessica, Rachel, Natalie) and I went on a 5 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Fl to Cozumel, Mexico, and back to Fort Lauderdale. It was our first ever time we all went on a trip together, just girls! It was a fantastic time together! Rachel and I planned the trip about a year prior. I had found us a good deal on http://www.vacationstogo.com. I had been on several cruises previously and knew they are a great way to spend time together, have plenty of entertainment, fabulous food, and not break the bank. Our group of five especially took advantage of all the activities on board the ship. We had a ball! We went to the main show each night, saw the Musical Grease, participated in several Trivia events, sang Kaoroake, danced at the night club, participated in BINGO, saw an amazing A cappella group called The Edge Effect (http://Www.notaboyband.com), participated in a very large group game show that was hilarious, and so much more. Of course we spent time by the pools, got some sun, ate far too much food, and stayed up too late each night. It was wonderful!!
My favorite entertainment on the entire cruise was the ice show. They had professsional, highly talented ice skaters from all over the world in their show. They had so many costume changes I lost count. They also had a violinist from Poland playing throughout the entire show. She was the star of the show, as much as the ice skaters/dancers were. I believe she is the most talented violinist I have ever seen in person. We were allowed to take photos during this show only, just not allowed to use flash.
We planned a shore excursion in advance for Cozumel. I did some research and found a catamaran snorkeling adventure that had high reviews. I will share more about this adventure in another posting. I brought my digital underwater camera and got some fun photos!
On our last day aboard the ship we wore matching outfits. Rachel and I already owned matching Lily Pulitzer dresses, so months before the trip I bought matching scarves for my other two sisters and Mom. Natalie wasn’t able to wear hers, as she was seasick. We hit a rough patch at sea the last day and a number of people were sick. Rachel got a little green, but managed to participate in the activities with us in spite of it. I had never had rough seas on a cruise before, so it was new to me as well. They had to close all the pools and baton down the hatches (they tied everything down outside).
Here we are in our matching outfits. Someone asked if we were from a Green and White ladies society group and another asked if we were a Junior League group-ha!
There were many times we were rolling with laughter on this trip. Good thing we don’t embarrass easily and can laugh at ourselves. We brought two selfie sticks along. We managed to forget it in the room the majority of the time. One time my Mom was holding it and kept adjusting it and finally when she thought she had it just right she said “oh, wait, we are missing someone in the photo”. We had to point out she was the one missing in the selfie and she was the one holding the selfie stick! Got a good laugh out of that one. The best laugh was the first morning at breakfast. My mom and Rachel got up early, so I decided to meet them at the 11th floor dining room when I was ready. I walked into the dining room and saw a women without pants. Just a swim bottom and tank top. I thought, “oh Jeeze, someone is going to get kicked out because they didn’t read the rules”. Bathing suits were not permitted in the dining room. You were supposed to be completely covered. The gal turned around and said “Hey!” and I realized it was Rachel. I informed her about the rules once we sat down. She didn’t get up again until it was time to exist the dining room. Her dinner napkin made a nice skirt while she sat. She did say she felt like she was in one of her own nightmares. The one where you are naked in public and everyone else is fully clothed. We got a good laugh out of it anyway! I managed to flash my underware at the table across from us during trivia. I got overly excited about an answer and when my hands went up in excitement off my lap, so did my chiffon skirt! Whoops! At least I can laugh at myself and my underware was cute enough, lol.
Rachel at breakfast, sans pants.
We really had a fabulous time. Next time I will take some Zofran along, just in case we get some rough seas. We are planning our next cruise already. This time with everyone in the family, including Men and children will be invited to join us.
My husband Justin did a great job with the kids while I was gone. Of course he had sitters come to watch the kids on his work days, but over the weekend he was on his own. I came home to happy and healthy kids, as well as a clean home. He even did laundry while I was gone and all the dishes were clean! Yes, I am lucky to have such a good husband and Father of my kids. I am also thankful for Jenna and Brooke, our sitters who helped with the kids on Thursday, Friday, and Monday. Thank you ladies very much!
