Family Cruise Day 1

We woke up bright and early. Which turned out okay because despite being here only one night, I had gotten really scattered. We headed down for the “Made to Order” complimentary breakfast.

Well, it was just made to order omelets. Which were totally yummy. I have been studying Spanish for almost two months so  I said “Gracias” to the lady and she replied “De nada”. I would have liked to order more of the ingredients in Spanish, but I only knew cheese, meat (which is too general) and chicken, which they didn’t have. Here and there I can pick up words I recognize but my vocabulary is still quite limited. Unless I need to tell Raphael his new pants are too big LOL.  There was also a hot buffet.

We went for the 10:30 shuttle, which was $10/per person and quite full. It had been scattered rain showers since we got up. Apparently while we were having a monsoon on our (tiny) balcony,

the girls had sun. On the trip over to the port, it was all sorts of different weather. I’m not sure I like cruising in September.

Megan was sitting with Grandma on the shuttle and they were too far away for me to hear what they were saying. I wanted to see what Grandma thought of the ships. As mentioned in an earlier post, Mom had watched a video about this ship and I was worried she'd be disappointed when she saw this was what we were going on. As you approach the pier, you pass all the other (smaller) ships and it’s hard to see the actual size difference from partial views from the bus. However, talking to Mom later, she apparently missed all the other ships ("we go through a tunnel and there's the ship--looking so huge!"). 

We unloaded and Mom was beaming. So adorable. The check in really was smooth and easy using the Royal Caribbean app (Port of Miami free wifi). Much different than other check ins. We got there at about 10:50 (and hit the jogging track at 11:19). Then we hit security. We had to to empty our waterbottles, which we had just filled up with ice and water at the hotel. I had a heating pad (with docter’s note) in my bag, and I worried that the cord looked like an extension cord.  My bag went through, but Megan’s backpack was pulled over. The girl opened it and was like “What?! Figure skates?” She had to phone her supervisor. Apparently, in all the time she’s been working, no one has ever brought skates on board!

Once past that hurdle, it was smooth sailing! We got on board and let Mom take in the Royal Promenade for a minute. Then we basically headed to Central Park to go to Park Café for lunch. We weren’t all that hungry yet but wanted to get it done before it got crowded. We had made to order salads, and I think Rob had a roast beef sandwich.  On the Allure, they had been "Hand tossed salads". Not now. There seemed to be fewer ingredients and they were just put in a bowl. 

Then we headed out to tour around the ship, we went through the Solarium and got our first drinks. At some point we stopped at the dining room and discovered we were placed at two different tables. He instructed us to go down to a different level to get it changed. We did, and lickety split, it was fixed! Rob commented how quick that was. I think because of “My Time” dining, there is a lot more flexibility in the dining room for those getting the set time. 

It wasn’t too long until they announced the rooms were ready.

We headed up to our cabin first, 11545. Just a basic inside cabin. When we got there, a woman was just finishing up vacuuming.  She didn't say anything to us. We went in, and boy, it was squishy with 5 people! I don’t know what Mom was thinking, but it was my plan to show her our cabin first. We explored the cabin and bathroom, and I took all my stuff out of the checked suitcase so the girls could take it to their cabin. We headed out to see their’s.

Although we are both on the starboard side, we are as forward as you can go. And the girls’ cabin is about as aft as you can go! It’s a long walk! I timed it one day, and including the wait for the elevator, it was five minutes to go from one cabin to the other. As we walked, she could briefly see into some cabins—insides and balconies. Being her first time on any ship, I knew she wasn't really registering what she was seeing, or that her door was on the side of the hall that would have balconies. 

We got there, and let grandma try unlocking the door. She walked in, and noticed right off it was brighter. She saw the window and said “Oh, we have a room with a view!” Then she walked over and noticed the balcony! She was so excited “A balcony! That’s so sweet of you! How lovely!” She was really happy! We hung out for a bit then they got their swimsuits on and we went up to get a quick swim before the muster drill.

The first pool we came to was the Beach pool. She was really enjoying that! Then she wanted a fresh water pool and Rob and the girls were at a different pool so we headed over. OMG. The deck on that side was so incredibly hot. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that on a cruise before. The blue part wasn’t bad but the “wood” parts were scorching. We just managed to get in the water and they announced the pools were closing for the muster drill. We took a slightly shorter sprint back to the chairs, trying to find a pathway that was already wet. I never thought to use my new swim shoes on the pool deck, but I’m packing them from now on! However, I did find later that while they helped, they did eventually feel hot too.

We took the girls back to their room, with instructions that we would meet them at the dining room for dinner. We went to our room for a few minutes and then to the muster drill. Our station was in the theater. Many decks down. It wasn’t too long.  We saw the same video we had seen the last cruise, I think, which was Celebrity. 

Captain Rob came on the video...wow, he was pretty chill. American, but no life!

We decided when we came out that rather than climb back up 8 floors (the elevators are packed) that we’d walk down to the girls room since it was 2 floors up....and all the way down the length of the ship. They were already there. Their station was the dining room, one floor below them. So we stayed to watch the sail away from the balcony. Before that though, Rob took the girls to Sorrentos to get our first pizza. Just as good as before!

We were on the starboard side which was against the dock. We could watch the side thrusters and the police boat—who turned on the siren and waved (who knows if it was for us, but we were on the first deck with balconies). You don’t get to see a whole lot, but it was nice for grandma to be out of the hustle and bustle for a bit. It would have been nice though to sail past the other ships in port. Just for comparison from balcony height. You can see plenty of other Miami pictures here and here. Also from the last days of those cruises.

Then it was pretty much time to go for dinner. Since we were closer to the dining room than our cabin, we just headed straight there.

We had tables 360 and 361, pushed together and set for six. We had a view of the windows, but were up against the multi deck opening, so there was a lot of noise. Our assistant waiter was Dobrovoj (Dough-bro-yo). Immediately we nicknamed him Dough Boy (he brought the bread baskets). He was from Bosnia and this was his first contract on a ship ever. The waiter was Andrew from India. He was going home at the end of the week.

 I had the Antipasti, Crab Cake,  Prime Rib, and Key Lime Pie. I think all of us had prime rib. And we all wanted it medium, to medium-rare.

 The little garlic toasts were so good. I don't have a picture of the crab cake. It was really good!

When Andrew brought our prime ribs, he joked as he put each down...fish for you...pork chop for you...I never really paid attention to prime rib until our cruise two years ago on Celebrity. That was so good. This was also really, really good.

The Key Lime pie was very yummy. It didn't seem like meringue like on a lemon meringue pie. It was very smooth and sweet.
Mom had three glasses of wine, and got a little emotional during dinner. The empty seat, for some reason, was at the end of the table (the outer end), across from her. Prime Rib was one of dad's favourite meals. When she told Andrew why she was emotional, he was quite matter-of-fact. Anyone of us could be not here tomorrow. When she told Dobrivoj, he was much more comforting though he was probably a little confused LOL.

After dinner we walked around. One of the few sunsets I've gotten to see on a cruise!

 These were little chairs near the kids' water park area. Of course, when Rob stood up, the chair was stuck. We were killing ourselves laughing but didn't get a picture.

 Entrance to the dry slide, The Abyss. Not open. Not sure why activities are not open in the evening.

Prop at the mini golf, which is open as it's self directed and you don't need a waiver.

We had reservations for Hairspray. Pretty awesome! Megan wanted to sit down right at the front, so we had to go to the side section. I think it was a little close for that type of production. After that...I think we finally went back to our cabin after dropping off the girls. Might have gotten some pizza first LOL.

Family Cruise Pre-Day 1

On Sept 11 I drove up to my mom's house to stay the night and drive her to our house for the cruise. And drop the dog with her tenant.

We got back on Thursday afternoon, and feasted on Papa John's pizza--her first time! Last minute packing and bedtime!

We were up early on Friday, even though we weren't planning on getting up that early. Exciting! We loaded up, checked for the passports for the 7th time, and headed out. Traffic started out fine, then the sign said there was a lane closed in the Express lanes. So we moved over to the Collectors but it all pretty much stopped. At one point we almost had a rear-ender. That's what was the slowdown in the Express lanes. It picked up...and then stopped again. We finally got to the parking lot and Rob drove around to find the best spot.

We found free luggage carts which were really handy, though once we got onto the sidewalk area, Lucy had a lot of trouble keeping it straight LOL. Unfortunately we couldn't take the carts up and onto the "Automated People Mover" train. We had our first experience with suitcases and escalators. It wasn't all that bad! Most of the time. Short train ride to Terminal 3. Much nicer than the Park N Fly shuttle!

Once at Terminal 3, we found the check in computers and paid for our one checked bag, then got it sent on it's way. $30Cdn, one way. We headed on to security. We had a wait, as they sent us to one line which seemed to be doing mainly families and was quite slow. I was with mom and asked the agent how she did for her first time. She gave her an A+. Megan's skates went in and out of the x-rays a few times, but Grandma's bag really caught their eye.

She had a tiny jack-knife in her toiletry bag!! They said she could mail it to herself, but she opted to have it discarded.

Then on to customs. The girls were concerned when they saw their printed photo didn't match what was shown on the screen when the flash went. I look like I had major scoliosis, and Grandma looked like she had already hit the complimentary lounge LOL.

Our departure gate sucked. No windows. No good food outlets. I stayed with the bags while everyone else went looking for food. They finally came back with Starbucks. Grandma's first Starbucks!

They brought me back one too. It was yummy, but so sweet. And I needed some protein. At the nearest little shop, there were meat sticks, cheese, hard boiled eggs (ick) for decent prices. I bought some cheese and a meat stick. By the time I got to eat the cheese it was soft. And I lost the meat stick in my bag for a couple days.

While they were gone, it was announced that the plane was at capacity, and people in groups 7-9 would not likely get their carryon suitcases in the overheads. They were looking for 15-20 volunteers to check their carry on, for free, or else those in groups 7-9 would likely have to check carry ons. Six people volunteered. Then they upped it to 25 volunteers!

They called groups 1-4, and they were strict! Then group 5, then a bit later, our group, group 6. We boogied on up but the line was not precise. Then, before we got very far, they called group 7, and many of them just sort of merged in.  We got onboard, Rob and Megan were  ahead of us. Rob went to put his luggage up and someone had put their computer case up there. He moved it, and the other guy got mad. Dude, they said it's a full load! There was an announcement to take out any small bags from the overheads and put them under the seat.

The seats seemed smaller than ever. We were quite squishy. This isn't my photo, but it was the same plane. There wasn't much legroom. Like, no way to lean forward to get the bag out from the seat in front. It was Megan, Lucy, stranger, aisle, Rob, Me, Mom. It was a decent flight, not much good entertainment on the little screen.  Lucy even did some math home work! Once we landed, we let everyone else get off. While we only had one checked bag, the last time we were in Miami it took an hour for luggage to even start coming.

We had to make a detour on the way to baggage for a washroom. Then we retraced our steps to follow the original baggage signs, even though there were other signs. We followed the signs up an escalator to a landing. The next up escalator was closed! We didn't want to go up the stairs! So we turned around, and headed back to where we detoured for the bathroom and saw the other signs. We followed those signs, up and down escalators, then down the long luggage carousel hall. It was conveyors 21-27 and ours was 26. Sooooo far. Rob walked on ahead and most of the luggage had gone. Ours was still there. A woman who was at the back of the plane and had been really pushy trying to get out--she was still waiting for her suitcase. Karma.

Then we headed back to the doors and the signs for Hotel Shuttles. Had to go back up an escalator. And back down the hall to door/zone 5. We went and stood on the island between the lanes of crazy traffic and waited. It poured rain, but at least we were covered. Rob eventually called the hotel and they said the van comes by every half hour, aprox on the hour and halfs. It was 4:55 so we thought it'd be a couple more minutes. I guess we had just missed the last one. About 10 minutes later it did come. Full load!

Crazy rush hour traffic of course. Some guy drove along the curb/sidewalk so he could merge in front of us. We learned this morning that the causeway was shut down so that might have contributed.

Hilton Embassy Suites, Miami Airport.

Hotel lobby was so lovely. It opens up into an open area between four towers, the center covered by a glass paneled roof.

We debated on if it had once been open air and Rob finally declared it must have been. Two years ago, we were going to stay there but Rob found out they were under renovations. I found some pictures of what it must have looked like before. I kind of like that better:

We went up to our rooms and came back down for Happy Hour. I got a margarita. It was delicious. The snacks were some veggies, chips and salsa, and snack mix. Then we went back  for another drink. OMG. Suddenly it was so strong!!! The drinks were free, of course there was a tip jar but I hadn't brought down my cash.

We looked at the restaurant menu. The prices didn't seem bad, but times 5, and convert to Canadian.  It adds up quickly.

We went to ask about local food. Nothing in walking distance. There's a shuttle service within a 3 mile radius...but the driver never showed up for work. We really didn't want to take a cab. They gave us some menus for places that deliver. We finally chose a BBQ place (Paladar Okeechobee Ribs) and got a big family platter ($67US). It was quite good and a nice change from pizza. However, we didn't have any  plates, or enough cutlery because it was a dinner for four. We managed though.

We said we were going to go to the pool but there was suddenly thunder and lightening. So we waited a bit then went down and had a little dip and hot tub, and then it started pouring so we headed back in. It was still pretty early but we went to our rooms to chill and refresh. The pool area was quite nice. I think the girls went to the gym after we left them.

I can't say we were impressed with the rooms. Obviously the renos hadn't extended to the rooms. We had nicer rooms on our road trip to Florida, in smaller hotels. The room was adequate, but not what we were expecting after walking into the lobby. It was pretty noisy with the airport right across the road but that did improve after midnight. There was also a train nearby that used it's horn frequently.

 Not the most interesting views

 We wondered what this place used to be?

And that was pre-day 1.

Family Cruise

In March, my Dad died. Not totally unexpected, but we didn't think it would happen so soon. A month or so later, my Mom told me she was going to cash out my Dad's retirement savings. They had saved religiously, expecting a long life, perhaps needing a care home. Since that didn't happen, this money was extra and tax-wise, better off in our accounts than waiting until she died too. We had some ideas for this "bonus" money. Rob has always talked if he got an inheritance, he'd top up our RSPs. When you actually get the money, it's a different story. Mom thought we'd put it towards a new vehicle. I'm not ready to give up my truck though LOL and I didn't want to put the gifted money towards something we'd be doing anyway, and I didn't want to put it towards something that would just end up rusting away at some point. I thought of taking mom on a cruise. I didn't say anything though, but one day, Rob suggested it, and I was ready to take off planning! I think I already had done some looking LOL.

We visited my mom one weekend and watched some YouTube videos on her cool "smart" TV...secretly researching what interested her. No San Juan, LOL. Rob wanted a new ship, no San Juan, Coco Cay instead of Labadee. The girls said they couldn't miss the first week of school/second semester (we weren't telling them but just "asking"). I looked at early February (Mom's birthday month) and mid-September. February was expensive. I contacted our travel agent, who unfortunately couldn't take us on at the moment and passed us on to her co-worker. We got prices and itineraries and it came down to Sept 14 on Symphony of the Seas out of Miami. I chose an inside for Rob and I, and a balcony guarantee for "the girls" (Mom and our two girls). I didn't tell Rob we'd fly on Friday, Sept 13. He once nixed a cruise just for that reason.

I didn't want to tell Mom until close to the date. Rob wanted to tell her everything right.now. We compromised and said we'd tell her we're taking her away, but not how or where. A skating mom friend is a stamping consultant (like Tupperware, or essential oils, or Scentsy). She was having an open house, so Rob and I went to see if she had any cards, or could make one. She's a flamingo freak so we thought that would be appropriate.

 It was blank on the inside and I asked if she had a stamp for like a party invite (Place/Time/RSVP etc). She didn't but suggested printing something from online. Oh yah!

I was talking to Mom just before Father's Day weekend and she mentioned she knew it would be a hard weekend. Bingo. We headed on up. It took until Sunday for the "time to be right". She was so excited!! But it was still secret from the girls!

We had to figure out what to do with Skippy. Normally when we go away, he goes to my parents. They have a tenant on their property who has sort of adopted their dog (the dog has a lot of anxiety and my parents were away alot for my Dad's treatments). After touring kennels of all different styles, and chatting with people who dog sit in their home, and then finding out at the end of the summer that our old babysitter (daughter of our regular travel agent) does house/pet sitting, we opted to leave Skippy with my Mom's tenant. They're good to the dogs, he's used to being there.

In early August, my sister-in-law died suddenly. She had a genetic disorder and had been on dialysis for 7 years, with many periods of very poor health but had always bounced back. Not this time. My brother had taken his dog (brother to Mom's and ours) to Mom's because he was spending all his time at the hospital (or part time job) and the dog needed more attention as his health was being affected. A week after my SIL died, the dog went for a walk and was hit by a motorcyclist on the highway.  This has not been a good year.

Rob really wanted to tell Mom what our trip was. I agreed to start sending her clues--she was feeling horrible and needed some cheering up. We figured she assumed it was a cruise but I wouldn't say anything. I told her that instead of checking a suitcase we might go to a K-Mart to buy supplies once we get there. She paused and her mouth gaped "You mean we're NOT going on a cruise?!" LOL. No answer! I sent her a screenshot of the map showing K-Mart:

I wondered if she'd try looking up K-Mart locations based on the few street names there. I also sent her this picture:

I didn't tell her it was Miami, but I think Rob mentioned it. She thought maybe we were going to our dentist's condo LOL.

I decided to send her some photos of possible activities:

When we saw my Mom before the funeral, she mentioned we were going to Australia to see kangaroos! No! The girls heard it and it was phrased in a way that indicated we actually were going on a trip. We had suspicions that they knew--Megan had very detailed questions and knowledge about the itinerary and ship.

The day of my SIL's funeral was my other SIL's birthday, and my Mom and Dad's anniversary was two days later. The day after the funeral Rob and I headed over to my SIL's where Mom stayed for the funeral. I wanted to take her a little gift for her anniversary, and I finally relented and agreed to tell her it was a cruise. I found a Royal Caribbean fanny bag in the cupboard and took that.

We went to my brother's house and they admitted to using Google/Alexa to find out where that K-Mart was! So they knew Miami. I knew I had to be smart with future clues! We gave Mom the fanny bag and she says "So it IS on a boat!"  No Mom, it's on a SHIP! Lesson #1!

The next week  I sent her a vague outline of the itinerary and some excursion ideas, including hints such as "Place we've never been". She was also worried about hurricanes and I said they don't usually affect where we're going at this time of year. She was thinking Mexico but I wouldn't comment.

That was all I would reveal. I sent her a video with a message to watch at a certain point, to see how this woman dresses for a formal dinner. It just so happened that it was our ship, but I was hoping she wouldn't watch more of the video. Of course, she did. She commented on how large, crowded and noisey it was. Uh oh!

When to tell the girls? We took Hugh back to Kingston, and told them on the way home! And indeed...they both knew already! Back in May, Megan had gone to our emails to get something about art camp. She saw the email about our booking being confirmed. It was strange it went to that email because all the emails with the travel agent were to/from my yahoo mail. And then one day Rob left a window open on the computer, logged into our Royal account. I had recently messaged Lucy's BFF to see if she would do Lucy's papers. I didn't realize they were together, and her friend started reading the message out loud before reading it to herself! I didn't give a lot of details, just the dates. Oh well. Lucy was much better at keeping it secret that she knew about the secret.

So much to do in the last two weeks, now that the girls knew. Bathing suit shopping with Megan, getting suitcases, etc.

Road Trip 2018

I'm not really interested in blogging more about our roadtrip. It was a fun week. The middle of the week got so cold, no one did aquafit and the next day when we did it, the instructor (on the side of the pool) had two pairs of yoga pants, a jacket, and a toque on.

We took a long walk to the drug store. We went to Olive Garden. Great salad dressing and I've found it at Costco here. Went to a tacky souvenir shop.

 I did a glass fusion project in the activity centre. Since I didn't do it until the last day though, it had to be shipped. That took forever because they shipped it without a customs declaration on it.

We went to  Disney Springs. How much shopping does Disney need? The Christmas tree trail was pretty, but too Disney. And the wait time to see Santa was 150min. You check in, then come back later.

On the drive home we stopped at Corbin Kentucky at the first KFC.

 It was a light, wet snowfall. Then we got back on the highway and it became a blizzard and traffic stopped. We were glad we had altered our route home because the other route had had a major winter storm, in an area they don't storms. The drive through Kentucky was pretty wet. We decided to head straight up and cross at Windsor. No matter which side of Lake Eerie you're on, it's pretty dull, but we thought it'd be nice to get back into Canadian cell phone networks LOL.

We stopped for the night at Dayton, Ohio. Our second dinner at a Cracker Barrel since Nicki had enjoyed the first one a lot. In the hotel, I was looking through drawers to find another blanket. Instead, I found a bag of tiny women's clothes, with a note "I don't need these anymore, please donate or throw in the trash". Creepy! We called front desk for a blanket and gave them the clothes. I sure hope it's innocent, and not some human trafficking victim.

The hotel had a package with a made to order breakfast. It was very yummy, not truck stop food. Nicki was having some digestion issues and Cheryl went out in the night to get her some Imodium, so it was a late start to the morning.

Mom had bought a jar of Metamucil at Costco (Kirkland Brand though). Somehow it came open in the truck. Looks a little suspicious!!

The Duty Free store in Windsor has a "liquidation" section with some awesome deals and strange finds. Pretty cool to wonder through there.

Got home around 7pm and from the moment we walked in the door, well....the rest of 2018 was a downhill blur. Family health crisis, one after another.  But it was back to work for me in a day or too.

Road Trip 2018: Day 5

This was Monday. I've been looking at my pictures, trying to figure out what we did. Cheryl remembers being hung over, so we didn't do much LOL. I have these pictures:

 Enjoying a coffee in the screened in porch and noticed this little guy

 At some point we went out. Not sure where, but I just mentioned "We should go to a Krispy Kreme". Well, that was entered into the GPS and within minutes we were at a Krispy Kreme. They were SO good! I rarely eat doughnuts here, but I'd eat those again! And we did, later in the week LOL.

Cheryl bought these peel off masks for us all. I won't post the group shot LOL

 Ah, why not? It was fun.

 And I missed this photo from the Sunday when we were walking around.

Chip Truck Review: Woody's (Apsley)

I don't know how long Woody's has been at the corner of Highway 28 and County Rd 620 near Apsley, ON. Rob and I were heading up to Bancroft alone so we decided to stop in.

The parking is okay if you don't have a trailer. If there's no room on the edge of the road, keep going up the road to the municipal office. It's not far and you'll want the exercise.

There's lots to see outside, and dogs are allowed outside and they have water bowls. The food set up is a little different though. As you come around the building, you might notice the food shack off the deck. That's the Order Pick up window. You order at a window at the back of the main store building.

 The onion ring price is a smidge higher than other places last year. The burgers are customizable!

I didn't care for the fries. They were good, but I like them done more. Rob liked them. I really enjoyed the onion rings though! Rob didn't LOL. 

The burgers are handmade patties. Not sure how big it actually is, but it's a good size. It was tasty too. Not dry like homemade burgers sometimes are. 

I'd stop here again, if I need a burger. For a quick snack, maybe not. But I'm the odd one out in my family and they like fries like these. Lots to see outside but with young kids it could be a challenge to keep them off the sculptures. Great gift ideas here though and worth a little visit. Local artisans, etc.