Cruise vacation

Benjamin and Abby had their first vacation from Mommy and Daddy in November. OK, well really Mommy and Daddy had a vacation from them. Thanks to our wonderful family, we were able to get away for NINE days! I thought I would be dying to get back after such a long time away, though admittedly I was wishing for a few more days on the beach. It was a wonderful celebration of our 10-year anniversary, and we are looking forward to many more similar celebrations in the future.
Bon Voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida! 



It was fun to get dressed up several nights on our ship, The Allure of the Seas from Royal Caribbean. We ate so much food! The dining was amazing, and it was so nice not to have to cook or do dishes!



And, since we were eating so much, we decided to take advantage of all the ways we could exercise aboard the world’s largest cruise ship. The climbing wall was more difficult than it looked, and my muscles burned after just one attempt. We had to wait a few days to try it again!

We also enjoyed things like a zip line, miniature golf, the flow rider surfing machine, a fitness room and fun classes like Zumba and salsa dance lessons.

There was a half-mile running track around the ship, which we walked and ran on, as well as took advantage of the wonderful view. It wasn’t usually crowded, so we enjoyed spending time there on the fifth floor, close to the water.

We were having so much fun with all the activities on board, we had to remind ourselves to relax by the pools and read our books.




At Nassau we got off the boat, took a picture, took a short walk and decided to get right back on. It was cold, dreary and didn't feel all that safe early in the morning before the shops opened. We opted for a day at the pool instead.


On St. Thomas, everything was beautiful. I regret not exploring more! Next time, we look forward to seeing more of the beaches. We loved our excursion, though. We took an introductory Scuba excursion. We went out on a small boat, and then took a class before exploring the reef and a ship wreck.




The entertainment was amazing! This is the aqua theater. Divers and acrobats combined to make a very impressive show. We also got to see “Chicago” in another very impressive theater, an ice skating show and a very impressive show that was similar to a Broadway meets the circus.

This is the Board Walk, which included a merry go round at one end, the Aquatheater at the other, Johnny Rockets and Rita’s Cantina.

We went to a Fiesta dinner one night at Rita’s Cantina for fun. It made us feel old, because we had no idea how to do some of the newer dances. That inspired us to take a dance class to learn the “Wobble” and a few other line dances.

The ship was made up of several neighborhoods. The Royal Promenade was constantly busy with parties and activities. The windows you see lead up to Central Park, where our room was located. We were on the top floor, and our balcony overlooked some of the fancier restaurants on the ship.

 



 
  Our room attendant was so sweet, and she cleaned our room twice a day. She often left us little creations like this one.







On St. Marten, we went to the Orient Beach. It was an unforgettable experience! First, we got off the ship and were greeted by a beautiful rainbow!

Then, we got on a bus and went to to the French side of the island to spend the day at the beach.



Here is our ship in the background of this photo. We took a water taxi to get back to it just for fun.

We loved finding good spots on the ship to admire the sunsets.





It was great to get home and see the kids, but we really do miss our time in paradise!