Summer Vacation 2013 - Part 2: The Ship

There are so many fun memories from the ship. The first 2 days were sea days – which allowed us all a well-deserved reprieve from real life. Living overseas truly takes its toll on you. It’s just hard – even when it gets easier – it is still just hard. We all needed (kids included) time to just “be”.

We signed the kids up for the Teen Club right away, which allowed them a chance to meet all the other teens on the ship. Most of the kids were from South America, one adorable girl, Rosario, was from one of our neighboring suburbs. Such a small world!

The kids participated with the Teen program for the first half of the trip (air hockey, soccer, various activities), then started just hanging out on their own with their new friends. I would venture to say that is what happens every cruise.

There was a lot of eating, a ton of laughing, dancing, and good times. The shows on this Norwegian ship were the best Greg and I have seen, and we’ve been on numerous cruise lines.

Greg and I were in the Newlywed gameshow, thanks to Melissa, who added our names. Andrew and his friends hung out and watched. Maybe not such a good idea. He learned a little more about mom and dad than I think he would have liked to. At one point, there was an audible "Noooooooo!" from Andrew in the back of the room as his dad answered a more intimate question. Then, just to rub salt in his poor teenage wound, they proceeded to replay and replay the gameshow on the cruise ship TV channel. Poor child.

Greg and I struggled with the inability to track down our kids on the ship. Once they stopped participating in the Teen Club as often and more hanging out with their new friends, they were no longer in the Teen Room. Cell phones don't work. So we had them use one of the house phones and just leave a message on our room phone whenever they went someplace new. We also set curfews (oh the horror!) as we wanted them to actually sleep. There was some confusion about why a curfew was needed when they were confined to the ship. We reminded them that the "ship" was in fact a small city and they were essentially hanging out in a BAR. They cooperated and still seemed to enjoy themselves, even with us stifling their "game".

Here are a few snapshots of us on the big boat:

A couple from our room's balcony. 

The boys at their favorite spot on the boat - apparently, this bar had the sweetest Dr. Pepper found on the ship. Yum? The weather was a bit cooler, so not a ton of people in the pool area, but still a fun place to sit and people watch.

Showtime!

Sometimes we'd run into our kids in the elevators - super fun! 

The boys had their own room and LOVED seeing what towel creature was waiting for them every evening. Alex quite enjoyed lounging in bed, watching movies, and ordering room service. Andrew wanted to be out and dancing with his friends for as long as possible. 

Dinner with the whole family only happened 3 times. Once the first night, on the night of my birthday, and again the last night. 

We all had an amazing time on the ship, but the real fun was during port days!