Since being in Europe we have had the opportunity to travel quite a bit. We have gone by pretty much all means of transportation...planes, trains and automobiles...but the ultimate is by far the cruise ship. This trip was our second family cruise and I want to just give those travelers that have not considered a cruise as a means of transportation a little inspiration.
I am convinced that a cruise is by far the ultimate mom vacation. Both of our cruises have been with Royal Caribbean and we are beyond impressed with all they have to offer. They offer something for parents, singles, couples without children, retirees and even the kids. Our kids absolutely love cruising because Royal Caribbean has an incredible program for the kids called, "Adventure Ocean". This place is the bomb diggity for kids of all ages. During "at sea" days, Adventure Ocean is open for most of the day to entertain the kids. Basically...it really is a glorified childcare program, but the kids LOVE every second of it...and it is free of charge. They play games, do science experiments, have friendly competitions, arts and crafts and so much more. It is a place for all the kids on the ship to make friendships and do activities appropriate for their ages. During "port" days Adventure Ocean does stay open for those children that do not wish to get off of the boat (or parents that wish to explore the port city without children in tow). Adventure Ocean has sessions throughout the day. They have the morning session (9-12), the afternoon session (2-5), the evening session (7-10) and the coveted late night party session (10-2 am). The late night session is for a small fee, but that is when they have themed "party" nights. Our kids literally wait outside the door until it is time for them to go in for each session. They just can't get enough of it. During our first cruise we learned very quickly how this could benefit Chad and I. We made the kids come to the "fancy" dinner our first night on the ship. These "fancy" dinners are basically a 3-5 course meal, depending on how much you want to eat. The kids were full and fussy after the first course. The kids much preferred the "buffet" style dining. So from that point forward we would take the kids to the "buffet" style dinner and get them off to Adventure Ocean and then Chad and I could get dressed for our "fancy" dinner and have a quiet and enjoyable dinner, just the 2 of us, EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! Wow....that alone is well worth Adventure Ocean.
The food...well you certainly cannot talk about a cruise and not include something about the food. Our ship had multiple dining rooms. The Windjammer Café is the "buffet" style of eating. They had a breakfast spread each morning to include: made to order eggs, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, sausages, bacon, assorted pastries, yogurts, cereals and really any thing you might have for breakfast, they offered. Lunch was usually different pizzas, salad and a ton of toppings, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, pasta and then a country theme. The kids' favorite were the fish and chips days. Dinner's in the café were actually pretty similar to what you might find in the main dining rooms, just in a much more casual fashion. They also usually had fresh sushi and an Asian inspired rice and/or noodle dish along with a soup. They had soups and breads in the other part of the café along with a sort of tapas/antipasto assortment such as salamis, cheeses, olives and breads. In the main dining rooms they also served breakfast, lunch and dinner. We only really discovered what the dining room had to offer for other meals besides dinner on the last "at sea" day. It appeared that there was actually a menu to choose from. I don't know if it was the same each day or different. I wish we would have discovered it and were able to utilize it more, but again, with the kids they prefer the buffet style of getting to choose what they want from a huge array of choices, so they were not happy the day we sat in the dining room for lunch. The dinner in the main dining areas are really a huge part of the "cruising" experience. We opted for the My Time Dining option where we could make a reservation for a different time each night if we wanted to. This also allowed for us to eat just the two of us each night, but I don't think we would have minded being with a group at times either. I think half the fun of a cruise is all the different types of people from all over the world that are on the boat as well. The dinner is a true multi-course meal. You could choose a starter, soup and/or salad and an entrée or you could get multiple starters and multiple entrees if you wished. For me, it was too much food. I started out having a starter, salad or soup and an entrée, but by the end I was down to a starter and an entrée. It was so much. The starters usually included luxuries such as escargot, scallops, shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, and so much more. There were usually 5 different choices of starters a night along with 2 different soups and salads. Then the entrée...well they were all so yummy. Prime Rib, lamb, steaks, pastas and again, much more. There was usually a theme in the dining room as well. Depending on what port we were in influenced the ingredients. Last, but not least...DESSERT!!!! Holy Cow, like we had any room at this point. All of the desserts were divine and I was not disappointed in any of the offerings, chocolate cake, cheesecake, chocolate mousse, key lime pie and on and on and on...
I think most people, myself included, are/were afraid of the whole cruising process. It seems a bit daunting and can get expensive. I think what I have learned is that it really can be as expensive or as cheap as you'd like. Obviously it costs money, but there are so many stateroom options. You can be in an interior stateroom, which can start at just $100 a cruise day/person all they way up to balcony suites starting at around $200 a cruise day/person and in all rooms I believe the 3rd and 4th passenger are at a discount. No matter what sort of room you stay in you still enjoy all the same amenities as a cruiser staying in a fancier suite. You still get all the same food options, can enjoy all the same shows, partake in all the same activities, lay out by the same pool and the list goes on. We have opted for the balcony suites both cruises. This is partly because we do spend time in our room. I would much rather be in the sun reading my book on my own balcony then with a ton of people on the top decks, but I also take part in that experience from time to time. Another expensive part of cruising is the excursions. For ease and enjoyment we do usually book the excursions through the ship, but this is not necessary. There are many books out there helping you plan your DIY excursion at many popular ports. This can save a ton of money doing your own excursions. Of course you will incur, possibly, depending on where you live, airfare to the cruise port location and any lodging before or after the cruise.
Another thing I think about when I am planning our cruises and "justifying" the price is what would it cost to do everything on our own. On this last cruise alone we saw 5 ports spanning over 3 countries and a few islands associated with those countries. If you tried to plan a trip seeing all the locations that you get to see on a cruise ship I think the cost would be much more expensive. Cruising is one of the few vacations that I, a mom, can actually RELAX!!!! I don't know that I ever really relax to that level. The kids get to go to Adventure Ocean and play with other kids their age, we all get incredible meals prepared for us for every meal of the day (that I don't have to prepare nor clean up nor shop for), Chad and I get a "romantic type" dinner EVERY NIGHT, Chad and I actually get a few hours each day ALONE, we get to see incredible sights all around the world and I didn't have to plan out all the specifics of what to see and how and I can just sit on the balcony and read my book and watch the waves. For those reasons alone this experience is truly PRICELESS!!!!!
I could go on for hours on the benefits of cruising. I can't even begin to explain all there is to do on the boat itself. There are multiple bars that appeal to different sorts of people, there are Las Vegas type shows every night, there is shopping and eating, casino, discos, spas, our boat had an ice rink, rock climbing wall, miniature golf, basketball court, swimming pools, hot tubs and an inline skating rink. The lists just go on and on. We certainly have had the "ultimate" cruise experience just with the fact that we are already in Europe. I can't speak much on the destinations from the states, but I will certainly be looking into it for when we return to the good 'ol U S of A. I don't know if we will be able to squeeze in one more cruise next summer before we return, but we are going to try. We really do love every second of it and hope that you will take a moment to look into it for yourselves. Remember, there are many companies that provide cruises, many different destinations and if you choose and book early you can pay it off a little each month.
I hope you enjoy the idea of possibly planning your next vacation and coming soon you can read all about our incredible destinations...the first destination will be Messina, Italy on the Island of Sicily. I will tell you about our excursion to include a volcano, cannoli's and a cute little village overlooking the water.
Our ship was the Navigator of the Seas and was just incredible.
THANKS MARSHA! Well shared experience of cruising. I am sure that you enjoyed every single moments of cruising. We also booked mini cruise in first week of October and quite excited about it.
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