Cruising with the Mazers

We've just come back from our 2nd cruise within 5 months.  In an embarrassment of riches, Jeff's parents took us on a cruise at the end of June and my dad & Stepmom took us on a cruise during Thanksgiving week.  Believe me, without both sets of parent's generosity, we wouldn't have been able to swing such fantastic vacations. 

We had a wonderful time and being with the family is what its all about.  I truly treasure every moment I got to spend with my dad, Rita, sisters, brother-in-law, niece and the latest new addition - my sister Meghan's boyfriend, Bradley.  We think this one is a keeper.   Meghan thinks so too!

There is something magical that happens when the Mazers come together.  I honestly don't think anyone else has this much fun. It probably helps that we all have the same sense of humor -- it's a little bit sick, a little bit dark and very funny.  And we have excellent memories. 

Some highlights from this cruise:

• Every morning (anywhere from 7:00am to 7:30am), Ian, Dad and I went for breakfast.  The others would join us as they woke up on their own time, but without fail, the three of us had breakfast together. It was during one of these mornings that Ian said to me, "I think Papa is one of the most amazing men I've ever met."  Then he added, "No, make that he IS the most amazing man I know."   Ian said this with such awe in his voice.  I loved hearing from Ian that he realizes how special my dad is. 

• The cruise officially kicked off with the Muster Station drill.  It is mandatory that you go to your assigned muster station and find out what to do in the event of an emergency.   Not seeing this as a mandatory requirement, there was much discussion on what each of us was going to do.  Jeff and Rita, without hesitation, said they were going (and did).  My dad, Ian and I were quick to say we planned to hide out and knew just how we were going to get away with it.  We'd go on the balcony and close the drape just halfway.  Then when they came and did a room check, they'd open the door and not see us on the balcony concealed by the part of the drape that was closed.  Brilliant!   When the announcement was made to report to the muster station, Sam said she was coming with me, but as we were walking on to the balcony, she said she was scared and ran to Jeff and Rita.  Meghan and Bradley were asleep in their cabin and the steward woke them up. They had planned to hide as well, but got busted and the steward waited for them to vacate their room.  As Dad, Ian and I were hiding, we looked behind us and one balcony over was Lori, Ben and Rachel - also hiding. 

Here is the selfie my dad, Ian and I took:

I LOVE this picture so much!!  My dad NEVER smiles in photos. 

It was at this point that I said to Ian, you've officially earned your Mazer stripes.  You're one of us now.

•  Lunch at Senor Frogs in Nassau.  Even when we could all easily go our separate ways, we still wanted to be together.   The cruise itinerary got re-routed due to weather and we spent an extra day in Nassau.  It was decided to go to Senor Frogs for lunch.  Oh what fun!  The end of the meal came and they handed all of us shots; non-alcoholic for the kids and very strong filled alcoholic ones for the adults.  Most of the adults didn't want their shots and we gave ours to Rita.  She was a champ and drank them all.  Even in the afternoon, Senor Frogs is a festive, party-filled restaurant.   

•  Getting to meet Meghan's latest boyfriend and liking him.  Meghan brought Bradley with her on this cruise. This is the first guy we all really like.  He is quick to add to the conversation, has a sense of humor and without hesitation or being asked, jumps in and is helpful.  This could very well be The One.  Meghan is still young, so we will see if this guy has staying power.  When we said good-bye at the end of the week, I told him how wonderful it was getting to know him and I was happy he came.  He replied, "I'll be back."  Yay!

• My niece Rachel just turned two years old.   Hearing her vocabulary explode was quite impressive.  She is a chatterbox and it was fun watching her interact with all of us.  She loves Sam and Ian and couldn't get enough of them.  It is heartwarming seeing the cousins together.

"Keep Calm and Mazer On"   A few people asked us what a "Mazer" is.   Ian replied with, "It's an adjective and a verb".  Well said.

Cruising with the Toppall's, part 2

Cruises LOVE to take pictures of you. They also love to sell these pictures to you.  It's big money for the cruise lines.  It's also a great vacation for families and groups to have reunions and go on vacations together.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put 2 and 2 together that big groups/families and pictures are a natural combination.

One evening, while the boys were using the bathroom, Sam, Marcia and I were hanging out in the atrium watching the photography action.  I love to people watch and very much enjoy seeing people get their photo taken.  The photographer (named August, but born in September) was having fun chatting with Sam while this big group was forming.  August, who was Asian, was going to be their photographer.  The group that was gathering were all African American and all were wearing white. White tops, white bottoms, white dresses, white on white on white.  They were stunning!

With a group this big, they had to position themselves on the curved staircase.  There were so many of them!  I went up to one of the women and said, "You all look beautiful, how many are in your group?"   She answered with "46".  Wow!   The photographer had a great sense of humor and took quite a big risk saying this out loud while they were making their way up the steps, "All the dark people in the back, all the Asian's up front".   Hahahha!

The boys finally come out of the bathroom and we are ready to keep making our way to the theatre to watch the show.  As we are waiting for the elevator to arrive, the doors open and another 8 or 9 people come out.  Clearly they belonged to this big group and were making their way to the staircase for the picture.  Sam takes one look at people coming out of the elevator and says quite loudly, "MAN, HOW MANY OF YOU WHITE PEOPLE ARE THERE?"

It was very funny on so many levels.  She would never think to comment that there were so many African Americans in one space, but you couldn't help but notice that they are all dressed in white, head to toe.  I am so nervous that the kids will say something inappropriate or politically incorrect; either about color, height, weight, disability, etc.   Sam commenting about all the white people who were clearly black was definitely never in my radar as a possibility.  heehehehehehe

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This is me and Ken.  Ken is the Maitre D in the Normandie Dining Room.  Once we got on the cruise ship I had to let him know I was gluten-free.  As instructed, I told Ken and from that moment on, I felt like I was treated like a celebrity.  Everyone knew my name and I was offered the menu the night before to let them know what I wanted to eat for dinner the following night.  It was pretty awesome and the family enjoyed getting a preview at the menu too.  No dish was off limits and everything was able to be altered for my food allergy.  I had GF bread waiting for me each night too.  And, without me asking, in addition the dessert I ordered, they ALWAYS brought me a chocolate melting cake.  I was given 2 desserts each night!  How much do I love cruising!?!?

Anyway, back to Ken.  Every single evening during our dinner hour, Ken would sing for us.  By the 3rd night I noticed a pattern that he was singing Frank Sinatra songs each time.  I commented to Ken how much I enjoyed hearing him sing as I'd leave the dining room at the end of dinner.  By night 5, I started guessing on the way in which new Frank song Ken would sing.  I never guessed correctly, but Ken got a kick out of my guesses and made one of the songs "Witchcraft".   (Side note to mom:  This was for you!  Think back to New Orleans.).   I had a lot of fun with this.  Even though our table was in the back of the room and Ken was singing towards the front of this huge room, I'd stand up and he'd give me a little wave.  

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Ian and Sam loved getting back to their cabin at the end of each day and seeing what new towel animals had been created. 

The class they gave on how to make these towel animals was pretty fun.  It is amazing how intricate and complex the elephant is.

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!