*disclaimer- as this is a detailed recording of our vacation for journaling purposes I'm sure it will be quite uninteresting to most of you. feel free to skip down to the pictures if you wish-
Day one was spent mostly traveling. From SLC to Denver. From Denver to Ft. Lauderdale. Flying sans kids was heaven. It was odd and a little unnerving to actually relax on the plane. I found myself worrying about other people's children.
When we arrived in Florida we took a "private" shuttle to the hotel where the rest of the fam was waiting. We spent the evening talking, laughing, eating Cuban sandwiches but not the cream of broccoli soup, and gearing up for the week ahead.
Day two started with breakfast & crazy waiters, a game of farkle {or is it farkel.... who knows}, & a walk through the "everglades" around the hotel. Then it was time to board the ship! I was beyond excited and had no idea what to expect. I knew cruise ships were big and all, but I was in no way prepared for the magnificence of it all. It took my mind a while to comprehend. We boarded the Crown Princess, found our rooms {Plaza 234} and went up to the Promenade deck. We stood at the front of the ship as the big horn blew & we were off!
We spent most of the day exploring the ship. Our rooms were on the same deck as the Piazza, which was something from a scene in Titanic.....gold & crystal & winding staircases. We also discovered the International Cafe which would be a daily stop {usually multiple stops!} for donuts, pastries, panini sammies, and desserts. Yum. Don't even get me started on the food.....I'll cover that later!
We found the library, which provided us entertainment each day with a daily sudoku puzzle, trivia quiz, and board games {balderdash!!}. We also discovered the wonders of the LIDO DECK, which Matt was convinced was only a tall tale. I fell in love with the pizza joint & frequented it daily {most often at 10:30 p.m. when I needed a light snack}. Matt was partial to the grill. We ate at the buffet a few times, but quickly realized that the sit down dining room was the way to go.
At 4:15 we heard seven short bells followed by one long bell which, as everyone knows, means grab your life jacket & head to your muster station {which was the casino for us}. Luckily it was only a drill....... "for exercise, for exercise"
We enjoyed entertainment in the Piazza by Wilson Jean-Baptiste {steel drum} & Spank {doo-wop} & attended the Welcome Aboard show where we got our first taste of Cruise Director extraordinaire Billy London.
After playing some games, checking out the Movie Under The Stars, and ocean-gazing on the deck it was time for the smooth waters to rock me to sleep. I loved the rocking- even when it got rough it was somehow soothing. Our room had an amazing ocean view, and we were on deck 5 so we were close to the water. I enjoyed just sitting on the bed looking out at the white caps & wondering what was swimming around out there. I never spied anything, unfortunately.
After playing some games, checking out the Movie Under The Stars, and ocean-gazing on the deck it was time for the smooth waters to rock me to sleep. I loved the rocking- even when it got rough it was somehow soothing. Our room had an amazing ocean view, and we were on deck 5 so we were close to the water. I enjoyed just sitting on the bed looking out at the white caps & wondering what was swimming around out there. I never spied anything, unfortunately.
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