It's been a couple weeks since we've been back from the cruise, but it's taken me awhile to get all the pictures in order. We have a shared google photos album going of everyone that was there- so, there's a lot to sort through (I gotta say I love that google photos puts them all in order of when they were taken instead of doing them by person).
Most of you probably heard about Asa's 40th birthday cruise. He's not a birthday guy (as we've previously discussed), but he's working on it. And one way to work on that is to have your mother in law offer to bring all your favorite family members on a cruise to the Bahamas. Unfortunately, Olivia had taken off for the UK, so we missed her. But, in her place we got my cousin, Jake to come along. He flew into Tampa the night before the cruise, and got us un full packing/panic/pre-vacation mode. I didn't even give the guy a hug when he showed up, which I feel awful about. Still, we managed to get ourselves all together and wake up early on Monday to head out for the Port.
Because my brother, my sister in law, my niece and my nephew were coming along- we had to go on Spring Break. They follow a traditional school schedule like nerds. But, because of that our cruise options were limited. We ended up needed to depart out of Fort Lauderdale rather than Port Canaveral (about half as far away) or Tampa (like half an hour away!) I didn't love this port set up as much as Port Canaveral, though admitadly it's hard when you're not familiar with a place--- especially if you're me with all my anxieties. But, we made it, we parked, and luckily the line to embark was pretty smooth.
Before we knew it we were heading onto the Liberty of the Seas. Fun fact: this was Jake's very first cruise! He even needed to get a passport for the event, so it was his first time leaving the country too.
Our staterooms weren't open when we first boarded, so we headed right up to the buffet for lunch. Asa and I have recently sailed on Independence, a sister ship to Liberty, so while there were some slight differences, we knew our way around.
I loaded up on the desserts while the Sattler family- Cort, Holly, Gwen, Garrett and my mom checked in and got on the ship. Gwen had a band competition the night before, so they drove through the night to arrive during their boarding time. Brave souls those Sattlers are!
We were just finishing up at the buffet when the announcement came that the state rooms were open. Because of booking later (just a few months in advance), and wanting to have our rooms close together, we ended up with two family rooms at the front of the ship on Deck 6 right next to each other, and an inside state room for me and Asa, because he really likes those inside rooms and then it would be just the two of us. Anyway, in the first family room we had Jake, Calib, Hayden and Garrett. Everyone could even have their own bed- thanks to two twin beds and some bunk beds. The couch even pulled out if someone was so inclined.
Because of the way we booked it, and the switching of people around rooms, our wine for being Platnum members ended up in their room. A nice touch nonetheless.
After dropping our stuff in our rooms, we met up with the Sattlers who were skipping the buffet and going for some pizza at Sorentos instead. My mom had so generously gotten us all the drink package- which included all the alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages we could drink, so Asa and I made a beeline to Cafe Promenade for our Iced Mochas.
About a week before we went on the cruise, Asa made me pinky swear I had no more birthday surprises. And, I did. Technically I(!!) was out of brithday surprises, though my mom did have one more in store- she had invited my Aunt Patti and Uncle Emmett to also come along on the cruise. Asa had no idea they were coming- so Aunt Patti snuck up behind us and covered his eyes while we were sitting at Cafe Promenade. Remember how I said I had everyone's pictures- well, here is that moment in a bunch of different angles.
Asa was VERY surprised to see them. As was Hayden. Turns out Calib knew (only because he was in the car with me and my mom in January on the way to Disney while we were talking about it), but I hadn't shared the info.
And now the group of 12 was complete!
Back up in the guys room, everyone had gotten their refillable mugs, so I brought along stuff to label to label everyones as not to confuse them. Sadly, there isn't any Freestyle machines on Liberty like there are on Independence, so we didn't use these a whole lot.
I had also brought along a birthday gift for Gwen. We were just about two weeks out from her 17th birthday, so I made her a pair of pirate ears. She had asked me if I had ever done pirate ears before, so I knew she was interested. And she loved them (and yet again insisted I could sell them- I'm starting to seriously consider it).
Meanwhile, mom, Aunt Patti, and Uncle Emmett were busy decorating mine and Asa's inside state room for the birthday boy!
But by now, it was about time for the boat to take off. I suggested we go out to the helipad, and we were one of the first ones out there so we got the very, very front of the ship- Titanic style. It was pretty windy out there, but it was a lovely warm breeze. That first picture there is Gwen getting every last minute of data she could on her cell phone.
We hung out on the front of the ship and watched as the first couple cruise ships in port headed out that day.
And then eventually it was our turn. So long, Florida- see you in a few days!
Back in our room, our door had been decorated. Fun fact: everytime someone asked me for my room number I didn't know it. I never had to look. We were the last door on the end, and it was decorated. No need to learn to the room number. Again, you get the same picture from various albums.
We had picked the early dinner time, so by the time the boat left port it was time to change and head to the Main Dining Room. While we couldn't quite get a table for 12 we had two tables of 6 sitting right next to each other, which was nice. We broke out some 40 glasses on the first night to celebrate Asa's 40th birthday!
And of course, with the drink package we were all able to get wine with dinner "free" of charge.
I told everyone how I liked to order dessert first in the Main Dining Room, so I wouldn't fill up and have no dessert room. I got Hayden on board with me, and my waiter happily brought me the dessert first- assuming they had some ready. Garrett is my foodie buddy on vacations. Apparently in his every day life he isn't a very adventerous eater. But a couple trips ago, we ended up sitting next to each other and I convinced him to try weird things with me. Ever since if I'm around, he'll try something new (which is awesome!) So for his appetizer the first night he tried escargot. And he liked it!! (They were very buttery, which made them pretty good.)
By now it was sunset time. Jake liked to make sure we made it outside for the suset each night (though most nights it was cloudy, so it wasn't a perfect sunset).
Still, it was pretty, and we all had changed into our swimsuits to head up to the pool afterward, and gotten ourselves some drinks.
The pools were a little crowded that first night (the ship was full, and having been on emptier ships, I could certainly tell the difference), but we found ourselves some room, and we even took up basically a whole hot tub.
We did decide we'd all meet in the theater for the Welcome Aboard Show- a comedian in this case. Cort apparently felt the need to climb all over everyone, which I documented.
The comedian wasn't great- lots of "kids today" jokes which were a little off-putting. But we were all together- so that was nice. And then we could all make his lame jokes the rest of the week, and that was fun too.
I'm surprised this is where my pictures end for Monday. I know we went to the late show in the theater, but we must have all gone to bed earlier that night than any other. Or at least, that's what I think happened. I was never quite sure what was going on in the guys room. Hayden had come and gone from teen club. Garrett would disappear and show back up, and Jake and Calib were like two peas in a pod. Anyway, that's it for Monday. I guess we all had been up early (or in the Sattler's case, through the night), and Tuesday was the only morning I wanted to be up early.
Up next: Perfect Day at Coco Cay!
No comments:
Post a Comment