Cruising with the Toppall's

Whirlwindesque....that's the way the summer is going.   Right after our 4 days in NYC and just before unexpectedly purchasing a new car, Team Toppall fit in a week-long cruise.  Jeff's parents treated us to a fantastic voyage and joined us for the fun.   We left out of Baltimore on Sunday, June 28th and returned 7 days later on Sunday, July 5th.  The ship made 3 stops; Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport.  This was the first time cruising for both kids.  Ian had been before when he was 2 years old, but since he doesn't remember any of it, it doesn't count.

I truly think a cruise is the ideal vacation.  It's perfect on so many levels; mainly that it can appeal to all age groups.  There is something for everyone.  From the kids club to  PG- and R- rated comedy shows, to family friendly entertainment, to piano bars, karaoke, bingo, full length hit movies on the Lido deck, pools/hot tubs, dance clubs, behind the scenes look at how things are done and so much more, it's quite hard to get bored. Plus the never ending list of activities changes daily.

The other main reason I find it ideal is the abundance of food.  You never have to cook or finding a restaurant for everyone to eat.  There is so much food!  All kinds and endless quantities of it.  We never once had to worry about finding something Sam would want to eat and on the flip side, Ian's inner foodie was able to come out in full force.  Ian loved getting to try all these new dishes he wouldn't normally have access to.   My gluten allergy gave me special treatment and I easily was offered GF bread, pancakes, french toast, and many, many desserts, all to my heart's content.  It was quite wonderful how Carnival accommodated my celiac disease.

And if that is not convincing enough to take a cruise, you get to experience different destinations without having to pack and unpack each time.   Sam loved the Bahamas and would like to go back RIGHT NOW!  hahahaha.  If only it were that easy.  Seriously, the kids had never seen water that blue or that calm.  They loved being able to see the ocean floor.

As I was telling this to my friend, she said, "But you've got to want to be on a boat".  Why yes you do.  If you don't want to be on a boat, then no amount of convincing reasons is going to persuade you to take a cruise.

Highlights from our vacation:

•  Sleep!   Jeff, the kids and me all slept amazingly well; each and every night.  I usually wake up at least once if not twice throughout the night.  And 95% of the time I will wake up at 4:45am ready for the day -- not by choice!  From the first night on the ship, I slept like a baby and didn't wake up until 6:30am or so.  There was one night when I slept so incredibly well I didn't even turn over. My body actually ached from sleeping on one side the whole night.  I can't remember that ever happening before.   

• The Kids Club!  I had a goal with Sam and her social skills group this past year.  I wanted her to be comfortable enough that by the time the ship left the port of Baltimore, Sam wouldn't have any issues with getting signed up for the kids club.  It worked.  Sam and Ian each enjoyed a few hours playing with kids their own ages and Jeff & I had a few kid-free hours together.  Ah, how sweet!

• Port Canaveral!  We stopped for the day near Orlando.  My family met us and spent time hanging out on Cocoa Beach.   We signed Ian up for a surf lesson.  He had never been on a surf board before.  It was truly magical watching him learn to surf. Within 15 minutes he was doing handstands on the surf board.  Spectacular how quickly surfing became something natural for Ian to do.

• Nassau!    Another stop we made was in the Bahamas.  We signed up for the beach day excursion at Nassau.  The weather and water was gorgeous. 

Bahamas!



• Jeff saying he had the best 2 days of his life spending it with us at the beach (back to back days -- Cocoa Beach and Nassau).  Jeff normally can't stand the sand or being outdoors on the beach, so him making this statement is HUGE!  Huge I tell you!

Jeff telling me how happy he is.  (I take pictures of everything!)

• Enjoying all the ship had to offer.  There were endless activities and we enjoyed sampling a good number of them with the kids. 

Playing Bingo!

Learning how to make the towel animals.

• Grandparents!   Definitely a highlight was having Jeff's parents with us.  It was great to enjoy almost all our meals together each day and some of the other activities too.  Sam and Ian loved spending time with their grandparents.

Having fun with the selfie stick!

A funny thing happened towards the end of our cruise.  We had two rooms with the connecting door in the middle that we kept propped open.  Ian and Sam had their own space and Jeff & Me had our space.  It worked out great and I am forever grateful to my in-laws for getting us an extra room (rather than sticking the four of us in one room).   I said to Sam, "I hope you've been brushing your teeth each day."   Sam responded with, "I haven't had a chance all week."   OMG!

 

I LOVE this picture!

What a good looking bunch!