Cruisin’

 

This year’s Whitehurst-family vacation was a 4-day Bahamas Cruise. All 16 of us caravanned to Port Canaveral in our matching monogrammed fishing shirts. The guys had their initials small on the front pocket and we had ours big on the back flap. They turned out super cute and we got lots of compliments on them.

Not nearly as many compliments as we got on the little boys in theirs, with their cowboy hats and Sperrys on, though. They were the CUTEST.

We found our rooms and then hit the deck for some lunch…and ice cream.

After the safety drill, our three littles splashed the afternoon away before we laid Tucker down for a nap.

That evening, Pappy & Nie-Nie had made reservations for the grown-ups to have dinner at the ship’s special restaurant, “Chop’s Grille,” while they kept all the kids. I know they were glad they had Elliot and Taylor to help and I don’t think they probably realized that dinner was a 2-hour event. I got a little worried about them when the waitress told us, it was a 120 minute “experience.”  Ha.

Kels and her brothers

It was a great meal and a really fun evening, though! We enjoyed the view, the food, and laughed way too loud the whole dinner.

Our littles woke up excited and ready to go at 6:30 on Saturday morning. We went out to the deck to burn some energy before breakfast and then ate in the dining room.

One of their favorite things was the glass elevator

another favorite thing…running down the long narrow hallways

We were scheduled to dock in Nassau around noon, and we had an excursion booked, so we decided to get everyone a nap since they’d all gotten up so early.

After our morning naps, we got some lunch and got ready to get off the boat.

In Nassau, we caught our transfer boat over to Blue Lagoon Island for our excursion. (Adam, Lauren & Parker stayed back on the ship for naptime, and they weren’t really sure how Lauren would do on the smaller boat… we didn’t want a sick, pregnant Nen!)

Sadly, our beach time was a little short because of rain. Tucker enjoyed the live music under the pavilion, though, and danced as long as his little legs could keep up. I should also mention he gets his dance moves from his momma. He’s just sort of a stand and bounce up and down to the rhythm dancer. Ha.

We ate and once the rain cleared out, enjoyed the sand and clear blue water!

Our boat back to the cruise ship was at 4:30. We were back on the ship at 5:15 and dinner was at 6:00. This was also formal night. All five of us were showered and dressed in 45 minutes. I’m writing that down because that’s just plain impressive. :)

My hair and make-up could have obviously used a little more time, but look how cute my kids are. I totally forgot Maybree’s white hair bow, so she had to wear yellow – mom fail… but did I mention all five of us were showered, dressed and ready in 45 minutes???

Tucker dressed just like his daddy slays me.

This was our first dinner in the dining room and I was a little worried how it might go. I packed plenty to keep the kids busy/entertained and they were all so good. Little tractors, cows, princess puzzles and sticker books go a long way with my two littlest ones.

The waiters couldn’t get over Tucker with his tiny sports coat and cowboy hat.

After dinner, we went to the lobby to take our big group picture on the staircase and listen to the live music.

Parker and Nen busted a few moves. PJW has some serious ones, too!

After that, we changed and headed for the show. The highlight was the kids’ strawberry daiquiri. Tucker wasn’t really feeling the whole sit still and quietly thing, so we slipped out. After a little more exploring the ship, we called it a night.

Our beach day at Coco Cay made up for the rain the day before. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the sunshine and salt water.

We stayed on the island until around 3:00 and headed back to the ship to get naps and get ready for dinner.

 

Our last dinner was fun with the waiters all dancing around the dining room. After dinner, we went out to the pool deck to watch a movie. It was more like half of the kids watch a movie while the other half danced and spilled ice cream all over their clothes. You know, typical stuff that big fun is made of. :)

DW took the kids to the room while I ran by the picture shop to pick up the picture I’d gotten. When I got back to the room I walked in on a dance party. I’m pretty sure all of deck 6 heard laughs and squeals from our room.

We packed up that night and it took Mamie & Tucker sitting on the suitcase for me to get it zipped. I packed all five of us in one suitcase. I’m high-fiving myself AGAIN for that one. ;)  (We did have a small carry on bag, too).

It was 10:00 and I realized we never let the girls order room service! So we called and got some snacks. Mamie thought it was so funny eating French fries in bed.

We woke up to a Florida sunrise on Monday morning and made our way to the dining room for one last breakfast. The waitresses were so fun that day and the kids had the best time with them.

After breakfast, we grabbed our bags and made our way to the gangway.

It was a fun trip and the girls are already ready for another cruise! Their daddy and I, on the other hand, need a little bit of time to recover from living in under 400 square feet with three kids for three nights. We know for sure tiny house living isn’t for us. Ha. Ha.

~amw~