Travel & Vacation: First Cruise Dinner & a Swim in the Pool
Nathan and Brina ready for their first dinner on the cruise! The girls were excited to have some extra time with their cousins.
After getting on the Independence of the Seas, exploring it, and waving goodbye to Fort Lauderdale, Florida we headed to find our assigned seats in the dining room for our first evening meal on the ship. Everyone was excited about the cruise and thrilled that we were off. The kids had a blast enjoying the amazing food and afterward a group of us decided to try out some of the neat pools on board too.
Karlie so excited to be on her first cruise!
Nicko, Becky, and Amber ready for the first dinner on the boat
Always an adventure….Leo being silly….
Amber, Nathan and Brina at dinner
Brina and Brandon at dinner – all smiles
Jeremiah
Someone’s all tuckered out after a busy day! Jake has always been good at getting little ones to sleep!
Karlie and Brina so excited to be on vacation and cruising!
Best way to end the day….according to Karlie….is to go for a swim at night before bed!
Our sweet Brina Bee relaxing in the jacuzzi!
Travel & Vacation: Waving Goodbye to Fort Lauderdale, Florida
One of Karlie’s favorite places on the boat….yes, you guessed it! The LIBRARY!!! I think she read several books from the library and even checked out one to read in the room too.
After getting onto the Independence of the Seas, eating lunch at Windjammers, and exploring a little bit we take a few minutes to sit down and relax in the library. The kids read through several of the books while some of the adults talked and others take a nap in the soft comfy library chairs. Once the kids have picked up library books to read for the week we are off to watch the ship leave the Fort Lauderdale port. It was really neat hearing all the kids comments and seeing the cruise adventure their eyes.
Brina pausing for a moment to read a book at the library
Karlie and Brina enjoying the breeze on the top deck over looking the H2O Zone (which was a very popular spot for the kids)! It was windy as we were leaving but the kids seemed to love it.
Jeremy and Amber’s family…all ready to go cruising!
Our family, super excited about our first cruise together
Watching the cruise ship ahead of us going out of the Fort Lauderdale port
It’s a bird….it’s a plane….it’s both!
The kids were fascinated by the draw bridge at Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Watching the ship leave the Fort Lauderdale, Florida port. You think the ship’s horn is loud on shore, try standing right in front of it when the boat blasts off, it is really LOUD!!! The kids stood on the chairs so they could see a little better as we took off.
Fort Lauderdale Skyline as we were leaving the port
When the sun goes down and the wind picks up near sunset it can get a little chilly on the top decks of the boat. Brina is using Karlie as her human wind shield to help her stay warm, ha!
Travel & Vacation: Exploring Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas
Looking out over the port in Fort Lauderdale. There were several other cruise ships leaving the same day as ours.
Once on the Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas the older four kids were ready to explore everything! We were all over the ship in a matter of minutes from looking over the top deck to walking down the Royal Promenade (aka Main Street). The kids were very excited to check out all the neat places on the ship.
Checking out everything on the upper deck
Are we ready for take OFF? Preparing to leave Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Karlie taking it all in….
Having fun in the Adventure’s Oceans club. Karlie checking out the geographical map (where are we?!) while Brandon, Brina, and Nathan have fun with the hula hoops!
Looking down from the top…..don’t lean over too far!
We refer to this part of the boat as “Main Street” because it is where all the shops, restaurants, and stores are located
The older cousins hanging out on the glass bridge. Wonder if they realize that the only thing between them and the next level is a piece of glass.
Travel & Vacation: All Aboard the Independence of the Seas
On the bus heading to the cruise ship
We took the first bus of the morning to the ship. After all our luggage was piled into a trailer at the hotel we were off to the ship on our next adventure. Our ship was the last one in the port so we had a little time to relax on the bus before grabbing our bags and heading onto the ship.
Hurry up and wait….Nathan patiently waiting in line! We had to go through a couple of lines before we could actually get on the boat. Thankfully the lines were moving right along and the kids did really well waiting.
We made it onto the boat! At least the older kids are really excited!
The kids first meal at Windjammer! They thought it was pretty neat being able to choose from all the great food on the buffets. So excited to go cruising with our family!
The kids wanted to check out the H2O Zone
The four older kids relaxing for a minute in the swing
After a few wrong turns we found our hall! WooHoo!
Karlie taking a picture of her Flat Stanley on the desk
The kids checking out the ice skating rink. Brina was too busy taking pictures to look at the camera.
Brina and Karlie found a great spot to sit down in the ice rink area and watch water traffic next to the boat.
Travel & Vacation: Snorkeling, Starfish, and Fun at Grand Cayman Island
Snorkeling off the coast of Grand Cayman! The water was a little rough but there were hundreds of little fish!
First we explored Grand Cayman, followed by a relaxing boat ride out to the reef, next we swam with the stingrays (WooHoo, that was super fun!), and now we get to snorkel, hold huge starfish and more! The kids had a blast at Grand Cayman! So many neat memories and experiences. We were running a little tight on time and the waves were a little rougher than normal so we didn’t snorkel for very long. A couple people ended up getting sea sick with the boat rocking around so much but everyone recovered and were feeling better before too long.
Lots of little fish everywhere. The kids quickly discovered that when you threw food into the water a whole school of fish would come to get a nibble, it was pretty neat to watch all the little fish scramble as fast as they can for the food!
Snorkeling with the fish
Brina holding a huge live starfish one of the guides dove down and picked up for the kids to hold.
Karlie holding a large starfish in the palm of her hand. These babies were big!
Nathan’s got a big starfish!
Nicko was super excited to hold the starfish!
Brandon finally warmed up to the idea of holding the starfish by himself and he even liked it!
Hanging out with Uncle Jo on the boat ride back to the ship
All SMILES after a super fun adventure in Grand Cayman!!!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Swimming with the Stingrays, Grand Cayman Island
Our family holding a stingray, what a neat experience! He was a slippery guy!
After arriving at Grand Cayman Island and exploring a little bit we had a relaxing boat ride out to the reef. My Mom found a really AWESOME tour where we went on a boat out to a reef and swam with STINGRAYS!!! We could see the stingrays in the water even before the boat had anchored.
Pretty much any time you were looking down you could see a stingray swimming by. The stingrays were HUGE, most were several feet wide. It was pretty common for them to swim right underneath you and take you feet out from under you or you would feel one brushing up against you as they swam by. It was a really neat experience! Brina was a little scared at first because they were so big but she did warm up to them and even touched them several times. Karlie absolutely loved it and would giggle whenever one came next to her. This is one of my favorite activities we did on the trip!
This guy took the feet right out from under me while swimming. Can you see his little eye? I think his looking right at me, probably wondering why I didn’t hand him some food! Our guide was hand feeding them while we were in the water swimming with them.
This one’s coming right at Karlie (you can see her reaching her hand out to pet it as it glides by)!
Two stingrays swimming side by side right in front of me. The girls were absolutely fascinated at how clear the water was in Grand Cayman! They loved being able to look down and see everything, including fish, stingrays, and even people!
Brina up close and petting one of the stingrays. Glad she got to touch it but most of the time she was more content staying a safer distance away from them.
Stingray! The stingrays were a dark gray on the top with white and speckled gray on the under sides. Beautiful creatures, so cool watching them glide gracefully through the water!
Silly Karlie girl! This picture was taken underneath the water and looking up at Karlie. She is holding her nose and breathing through the snorkel. She has a grand time swimming around looking at the fish and stingrays. We even saw a HUGE fish, several feet long but wasn’t able to snap a picture in time!
Large stingray swimming by
Little Sis had an absolute BLAST swimming with the stingrays! Karlie LOVED it and probably could have stayed in even longer if she could!
Another huge one swam right under me, they literally rub up against you and take your feet out from underneath you! Such a cool experience!
Travel & Vacation: Wish You Were Here at Grand Cayman Island
Jojo & our tour boat for the day! The boat was named “Big John” and it had “Wish you were here” written on the back!
Once on Grand Cayman Island our tour guide Mario took us out on his boat “Big John” to swim with the stingrays! It was a beautiful trip out to the reef. The water was pretty and we got to see a lot of neat houses along the Grand Cayman canal. There was even a dolphin swimming around the docks as we were loading up the boat. Of course, I didn’t get my camera out in time to get a picture but the kids super excited to see a dolphin swimming right beside us as we were heading out.
Beautiful and peaceful in the docks at Grand Cayman
Brina and Karlie ready for the boat ride out to the stingrays
Beautiful house along the canal going out to the ocean near Grand Cayman
Cute row of houses along the Grand Cayman Canal
Watching a sailboat as we head out to the reef
B & B hanging out together on the boat ride….wide blowing through their hair.
Passing another boat coming from the reef
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Visiting Grand Cayman Island
Look Out Grand Cayman…..ready or not here we come!!! All 15 of us riding the ferry boat over to Grand Cayman Island!
Our first stop on the cruise was Grand Cayman Island! The kids were so excited to visit Grand Cayman and were really looking forward to exploring and swimming. Our ship did not dock on the island so we had to take a ferry boat over to the island. We arrived at Grand Cayman a little early so everyone had some time to shop, relax, and explore before we headed out on our tour.
Karlie and Brina are ready to go swimming!
Zach’s ready to go too! Relaxing on the boat ride over!
We made it to Grand Cayman Island! Where should we go first?
Hey Brina and Karlie, have you seen any pirates on the island yet? 🙂
Brina and Karlie hanging out on Grand Cayman Island! Their favorite store was the candy store! They had giant sized gummy teddy bears, a huge box of nerds, and more (we didn’t buy anything but it was cool to see some of the neat stuff they had in the store).
Hanging out with my favorite chickies!
Busy Grand Cayman street. Did you know that there are over 600 banks on the little Grand Cayman Island? Guess it is a popular place to have an “off-shore” bank account!
We found a great spot on a balcony to hang out for a few minutes together before going on the tour. You can see our ship from Grand Cayman Island, it is the one in the middle.
Dad and Jojo talking on the balcony. That huge boat on the left….yup that’s the one we went cruising on for a week!
