When we left off on our cruise story earlier this week, we had decided to just put on our happy glasses and go forward with our cruise (Part one: The Drama).
So, did we have fun?
YES!
At no point did we regret going on the cruise. At all.
Travis and I had gone on a few cruises before we had Jack – including one where he was in my belly – so we were curious how the experience would differ with a 4 year old. Jack’s a pretty adaptable kid, so we didn’t think it would be too different from going out to dinner at home and/or visiting the beach in Ocean City. And for the most part, we were right.
What REALLY surprised us was how much Jack liked their kid’s activity camp, Camp Carnival.
I had told Jack about the camp before we left, but we decided to just leave it up to him whether he wanted to go or stick around with us. Well, basically from the first time he visited he begged for us to take him back.
What we did on our At-Sea Days
On our at-sea days we got into a nice little routine of lazing around the cabin in the morning and then going to breakfast together at either the sit-down restaurant or the buffet. After breakfast, we’d drop Jack off at the Camp for an hour or two. We’d use that time to hang out in the ‘adults only’ part of the ship called the Serenity and do some sunbathing, book reading, and drink sipping.
We’d pick Jack up around lunchtime and then all three of us would settle in the room for an afternoon nap. And by that, I mean Jack and Travis napped and I read quietly on my kindle. One day I left them all snuggled up and got a “Fire & Ice Pedicure” at the spa, which was pretty darn amazing.
Oh and we also used afternoon nap time/quiet time as a chance for Jack to use the potty. I had brought our little potty from home and stuck it in the shower so that he had something he was comfortable with.
After nap time, we’d play in the room for a bit (I had packed Jack a backpack of some of his favorite toys) and then get dressed to have a nice dinner. Our waiters were fantastic and the food was incredible. And plentiful. And we ate it ALL.
After dinner, Jack would go back to the Camp for a couple hours. While he was entertained, Travis and I would go see a comedy show, stop by the casino and donate money, hang out and watch some live music, or just relax. One night we caught part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on a big screen movie by the outside pool.
Oh and we totally tried to get a good family picture where Jack wasn’t making some weird face. This one turned out pretty well:
More about Camp Carnival
Like I said, we have cruised before but never with a kid and OHMYGOSH was I impressed at the Camp offerings! When we arrived I got a daily activity schedule for the whole cruise and picked what I thought Jack would like. At least once a day there was a themed activity or craft project and it was all included in the price of the cruise.
Some of Jack’s favorites were: the Royal Gala for Princes and Princesses, Big Top Circus Fun, Jungle Adventure Theme Night, Pirate Adventure time (with hats, maps and a treasure hunt!), T-shirt time to paint your own t-shirt, and a fun Kid’s Farewell Dance party.
Oh, on a related note Jack’s new favorite song is “Single Ladies” and he just repeats “All the single ladies! All the single ladies! All the single ladies!” over and over and over again…
They also had some Camp family events where parents could participate, like the one where we stuffed Jack a penguin (or Peng-Juan as Jack calls him). We also participated in a Dr. Seuss Afternoon with a Seuss-a-paloosa parade and story time. Yup, my kid was in the parade and there was SO MUCH cuteness!
What we Did on Our Beach Days
We ended up getting into port at Nassau earlier than planned, so we actually had two beach days… which was a nice surprise. For our first day in Nassau, we hopped in a taxi and took a 10 minute ride to Junkanoo beach, a free beach with some clear teal water (buyer beware: we did find some random glass pieces in the sand). I had packed some of Jack’s sand toys, so he was pretty happy just digging in the sand and water for a few hours before we walked back to the ship.
On our Freeport day, we took a taxi to the Grand Lucayen Resort and paid $20 per adult to have full access of their facilities and their beach. Totally worth it. The beach was beautiful, the lounge chairs were included and the pool was pretty great too.
This is Jack and my “let’s be a seagull” pose.. and we actually caught a seagull flying by in the left side of the picture.
While I would have preferred having the stops of our original itinerary, we really made the most of our cruise and had a lot of fun. Of course, the best part is that I get to plan another one for the Fall!
Oh and I have one last cruise post coming next week to talk about outfits. And to tell you about the random lady who pet my arm and tried to smell my tattoo…
Have you cruised before? What was your favorite part? Are you like me and kind of jealous of Jack for his Camp Carnival fun?
