A day to do nothing while visiting our second port of Miami, Florida

50/50 split on whether we stay on the boat at our second port of Miami, Florida or leave. If the weather was good the plan would be to stay on the boat and get some pool time in. If the weather was rainy or cloudy and cool we’d catch a ride to the Children’s Museum. The weather won out and we stayed onboard!

We started the morning by having breakfast in the main dining room. This is always preferred for me since it’s a sit down and I am waited on with minimal thinking taking place for what everyone else wants to eat. Breakfast and lunch in the main dining room you are seated restaurant style though sometimes with others! This particular day we sat with another couple and had some great conversations about travel, the association industry and more.

Today happens to be Sunday and something we haven’t had in the past since we usually cruise in the spring is being onboard for football season! They showed three major games on the big screen above the pool deck.The first game was the Baltimore game and clearly there were plenty onboard interested in watching. This is also where they show other movies at throughout the week at night.

Plus I got to try out my new GoPro! I got it for my birthday this year and was really excited to test it out underwater. Speaking of gadgets. If you are in the market for a new camera of any kind it’s good to know those prices from home before you set sail! You can purchase some great items in the islands and they are duty free!

Cruising with the family: Meet Becky
My goal with this blog is to talk to others (stay tuned for our podcast) about their experiences or questions if they’ve never cruised before.

Today I got to meet Becky while we were sitting in the pool with our kids. She hails from New Jersey, close to the Pennsylvania border. She has a son age 7 and a daughter almost 4 so very similar. I asked how the kids liked it and the first thing she said is “they are a little bored.” She went on to tell me their first experience cruising was on a Disney ship.

No wonder they may feel that way then on this particular ship.

That being said it’s been hard for her kids to get used to the ‘lack’ of activities if you will. What Becky did say though is when they were on Disney they couldn’t afford to do the excursions however, on this (which is half the cost) she said they’ve been able to do excursions such as Sea World for the day and a dolphin encounter.

Time again for that? 
Before I knew it we needed to get lunch. We weren’t dressed properly for the main dining room so the buffet was the choice again for lunch. It definitely gets old there after a while. As soon as we sat down it seemed about time. Time for a meltdown! We hadn’t really had one full on just yet. I leaned over to where little little sat and picked her up into my arms to talk. She put her head down to listen and calm herself and this happened.

She slept in my arms for about 20 minutes. All she needed to feel refreshed, eat and have enough energy to head off with her big sister to Adventure Ocean. After they were signed in for the afternoon camp session Dan and I headed to the theatre to watch Oceans 8. I will say the movies onboard have been amazing. We have seen so many newly released films that have been on our list.

One of the neatest parts today were the ships we saw in port. Several came and went while we were still here. We took a little time to hang out and play checkers and the girls had some fun scoping out the different ships! We have some video up on our Facebook page of the ships in port such as a NCL Getaway, Carnival Magic and more.

Truth be told

We geared up for dinner and sometimes it’s hit or miss and I have been taking many photos! Tonight we had a so-so night. Dessert was my favorite! We have a kids menu to order from and also the main dining room menu. You can order as much as you want from this menu. Though the starters are all listed in one column you can get more than one! Typically I will try a soup and salad or a salad and appetizer like shrimp cocktail. Here was tonight’s meal.

I had the cauliflower soup and caesar salad. Both fantastic. Dan had the feta, tomato and watermelon salad. He loved it. He had the skillet chicken and I had the beef bourguignon and ravioli with mushrooms. I didn’t care for either and didn’t eat much. Dan liked his. Dessert for me was sherbert and I tried the cheesecake which was fantastic. The kids asked for a cookie and they brought seven.

We did a quick round on the dance floor and headed off to the cabin. I got the kids settled in and Dan headed back up to watch the evening football game and get his late night snack!

Tomorrow we are on Day 5 and I’m excited to head to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. It’s a special island for us!

ps: I love when you read until the end and this time I’d love to hear from you. You just got $2K to spend on a cruise with your family. Where do you want to sail to? What island do you want to experience?

Smooth Sailing