Serenade of the Seas January 3, 2015 **FAMILY EDITION ~ PHOTO REVIEW**

[lemonade-sails]

AKA

 

MOMMY AND DADDY SAIL AGAIN ~ WITH THE KIDS

 

CREW

Me - the mom

DH - the dad

Grandpa - the grandpa

Grandma - the grandma

#1 - son 16yrs

#2 - daughter 14 yrs

#3 - daughter 11yrs

#4 - son 9yrs

#5 - son 7yrs

#6 - son 5 yrs

#7 - son 3 yrs

#8 - daughter 10 months

 

 

 

BACKGROUND

Two years ago my husband and I were preparing for our first cruise. You can read about our adventure, how it came to be, and how we survived our week at sea without the kids HERE. Our once-in-a-lifetime vacation was fabulous and I think about it often.

 

Pretty much the very day that we returned from Navigator a couple of our young sons started their own "cruise funds" in washed-out peanut butter jars. Every time they wore their souvenir shirts they reminded me that they were their "Jamaica shirts". They planned to go on a cruise and wear their shirts IN Jamaica some day. I really hoped they would be able to cruise and see for themselves how great it is.

 

18 months, and a new baby daughter later, DH and I are discussing Christmas plans for 2014. It's always a bit of a challenge trying to complete all the shopping and keep track of presents and dollar amounts for so many kids. Last year, 2013, was especially hectic as I had a master list of who bought what for whom and how much it was. This was compounded by two sets of generous long-distance grandparents who had sent money and asked us to shop for the kids from them. After all, we knew what they wanted and it saved on shipping costs.

 

As Christmas drew near, I nervously anticipated the mayhem that was sure to come. Imagine my joy as, on Christmas morning, the list matched up with the presents unwrapped and nothing was forgotten. Six months later, however, I couldn't remember what we even got the kids for their gifts. The thing that stuck out to me most was the craziness of trying to accomplish it all. However, I could remember almost every day of our trip to the gulf coast and our week at the beach the year before. That, combined with a desire to create solid memories with the children, ignited a plan to gift the kids with some kind of family trip.

 

The choices were seemingly endless. We discussed the mountains - too far to drive from our home (I shudder at the thought of more than 4 hours in the van). Disney came up in conversation - again, too far and ticket prices are outrageous. I couldn't justify spending truckloads to wait in long lines. We contemplated cruising - but who DOES that with so many kids? How would we all fit? Where would they sleep?

 

We talked off and on never settling on anything in particular. Grand Canyon? Washington, D.C.? New York?

 

That's when Royal started their summer sale where 3rd through 8th passengers were free. I crossed my fingers and called for a price quote - just for fun. Then they added the WOW sale with OBC offers and reduced deposits. Hmmm. Maybe we should rethink this cruising idea.

 

It was during a whispered conversation after the kids were in bed that my husband said something to the effect of, " . . . we live so close to a port city, we might as well take advantage of it. Let's do it!" He's brilliant, that man! We called his parents to ask them if they wanted to come along and they agreed.

 

That night we booked the beautiful Serenade Of The Seas for January 3, 2015 out of New Orleans.

 

 

 

 

This would be a mirror image of the trip we did two years before, and the kids would get to visit Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, emphasis on Jamaica.

 

 

Then the planning began.

 

[LuCruise]

Wow...this is a perfect deal for a large family of yours. Must have been so special. Looking forward to hearing more.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Good start.

 

By the way, it's funny how out of proportion the itinerary map is. When did Africa get so close to South America?!

Edited January 12, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[lemonade-sails]

***DISCLAIMER***

 

I thought I'd better mention upfront what this review is not. I did not do a ship photo tour. Serenade is beautiful and has many fabulous venues. She's a very classy ship and there are other reviews on CC with great deck-by-deck photo posts. With the size and ages of our group I did not take the time to do a dedicated tour with extensive pictures of the ship.

 

Also, while this is a family review, our experience with the Adventure Ocean program is limited (read nearly non-existant). So, if you're looking for in depth reports of kids club activities, this review will not provide that.

 

So, for anyone who hasn't clicked away, I'll be sharing my family's experiences and some tips for sailing with kids.

 

Spoiler: We basically had a blast!

 

PS: Please be patient as I have hundreds of photos to go through and mountains of laundry. I'll do my best to finish in a timely manner :)

Edited January 12, 2015 by lemonade-sails

[Raxter54]

We'll be on the Serenade in 48 days and am looking forward to your review...

[lemonade-sails]

*****Note: I know a lot of people complained about the "kids sail free" not being a good deal, but with the number of people we had, it ended up saving us a lot - even with the increased price of the 1st and 2nd passengers. With three cabins in our group, we were getting 6 people for taxes and fees only. *******

 

I had to call in a couple of times to correct some things and link all of the reservations together. We were forced to select MTD as it was the only choice available. Not an issue as we had planned MTD anyway.

 

Later we relocated from our interiors on deck 4 to interiors on deck 8. I had booked deck 4 originally because of the convenience to the centrum. I decided to move to deck 8 to be in the middle of everything - 3 decks up to Windjammer and pool and 3 decks down to dining room and promenade. I hoped I hadn't made a mistake.

 

 

 

 

 

As Christmas got closer I couldn't wait to tell the kids. They had pretty much given up on ever taking a cruise. The "cruise funds" had been tapped into for more immediate rewards like candy and movies. The "Jamaica shirts" had been passed down to younger brothers. I wanted to tell them so bad but tried hard not to spill the beans. Christmas couldn't come fast enough!

 

I realized we would be sailing 9 days after Christmas and I determined to do as much as I could ahead of time so those days would not overwhelm them (I mean me).

 

I began a packing list for each kid and a general list of all the things we would need to take with us. It was a long list. I poured over reviews involving babies.

 

I started amassing a small pile of cruise things. A lot of great suggestions from those who had gone before me. Most I'll mention in future posts.

 

Going in we had $520 of OBC. We booked two cabins during the WOW sale ($200 total) We scored a small price drop in September ($120 total). We had also just opened a Royal Rewards Visa ($100 for new accounts) and used it to pay for off the cruise ($100). This was a great contrast to our first cruise where we had no free OBC and instead ordered OBC ahead of time and actually got most of it back on the last night. But, we were taking the kids and planning on using that OBC this time.

 

At about 90 days out, I attempted to make our dining reservations for MTD. You can make online reservations for groups of up to 10 - which would have been fine except we had the grandparents coming along. So this had to be done on the phone. (This will come into play later on)

 

 

*****NOTE: At this time I thought I would mention that sailing with a large group makes telephone calls loooong. I was always verifying everyone's names and had to be placed on hold numerous times for them to check things etc. All of the agents I spoke with were always very friendly and accommodating, so no issue there. Just very long process - whether It was a price drop or making the dining reservations. *****

 

We made reservations for 6:30 pm every night except the first. We wanted to try and duplicate our first cruise where we had dinner the first night by the back windows of Windjammer on Navigator watching NOLA and the river go by behind us.

 

Nothing else to do now but wait. I started formulating a plan to surprise the kids somehow for Christmas.

Edited January 12, 2015 by lemonade-sails

[bubba83]

So excited to read about your trip...our kiddos will have their first cruise in April 2016... They will be 3 and 5.5

[jb0913]

Can't wait to read more!

[lemonade-sails]

Once I started online check-in I ran into an issue or two. As I was setting up on board accounts I found I could not be responsible for more than 9 passenger accounts so I removed the baby’s charging privileges :p. Not really an issue though, as I figured if she wanted anything, her daddy would get it for her :D.

 

 

At around 52 days out I completed online check-in and printed our set sail pass. I noticed on the example luggage tags that one of our rooms was in a different "letter zone". I hoped this didn't mean different muster stations.

 

 

At 49 days out our documents were ready so I printed one set and extra luggage tags. It was at this point that the dreaded "repricing" happened to me. I had been accessing my reservations through My Cruises on the website without issue. However, after reading on CC of other people having their cruises repriced, I decided to go in the "recommended" way by the "Before You Board" link. And that's when I saw some $900 plus still due on one of our reservations. Another while on the phone and all was well again. Go figure.

 

 

About 20 days out I realized I hadn't started packing yet. Less than three weeks to go and I couldn't break out the suitcases because the kids would know I was up to something. It was driving me crazy so I started stashing things in empty cardboard boxes. Not exactly the same as packing, but at least I could start collecting things.

 

Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll remember that this trip was a combined Christmas present for the family. As part of the charade, I mentioned to the kids that they should make Christmas wish lists, an annual tradition for us. Most often they get stuck to the refrigerator for safe keeping. I love the shaky letters spelling out candy bars and Minecraft.

 

 

 

 

 

Even as they asked me how to spell "Hulk", I reveled in the notion that my time at the store would be minimal and relatively pleasant this season. I tried to figure out a very clever way of doing the big reveal on Christmas morning, but my husband had a different idea. A local store was having a sale on luggage so we bought one bag for each of 6 of the kids. The oldest had one already and the baby didn’t need her own. We got headphones for the oldest and a small thing for the baby. Basically each child got one present from us. Added to the confusion was that the 6 bags were all shaped the same. My daughters shivered at the notion that their present would be the same as their little brothers.

 

“Did we all get the same thing, Mom?!?”

 

I just smiled.

 

 

 

[NoobCruise]

The anticipation is killing me! ;)

[lemonade-sails]

Christmas morning dawned and the kids opened their stockings, had breakfast and opened their presents from us. They were surprisingly excited about the luggage and we told them that they might use their bags for sleepovers or camping. We progressed with lunch preparations, lasagna (yummy) and gathered the kids around the table. DH mentioned that maybe we forgot one present and he brought it out. We had taken one of the plastic cruise fund containers and wrapped it. Inside was our set sail pass. They were confused at first until one of the older kids sheepishly asked

 

"Are we going on a cruise?"

 

When we said "Yes!" There was much screaming and running around. This was followed by more screaming when we told them that Grandma and Grandpa were coming along. And then again when they found out we were going to Jamaica.

 

After the screaming ceased, I brought out a RCCL brochure so they could look at pictures and deck plans and also a countdown I had made of nine color photos of Serenade laminated to hang on the wall.

 

 

We would be sailing in 9 days.

 

Would we be ready in time for boarding???

 

Up next: the gear

[lemonade-sails]

I thought I would do do a post on some of the gear that we brought along with us.

 

 

Stroller:

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FBENL5G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

This stroller was perfect. We didn't use it that often, but I was glad I had it in case I wanted to carry the baby in it. It was narrow enough for the hallways - even with housekeeping carts in the way - and fit through the stateroom door perfectly. It is also very light so we were able to take the baby out of it and carry it up the stairs from deck to deck if we didn't want to wait or weren't near an elevator.

 

Three other important features are the reclining seat, sunshade and nice storage basket underneath.

 

Stroller Caddy:

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005PK1G76/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The stroller above does not come with much in the way of storage for the parent. There is a cup holder that hooks onto the side, but in our use at home before the trip we found it to be unreliable in staying on the stroller so we purchased this. It attached by velcro straps and stays put. There are two spaces for glasses or water bottles and enough room in the middle for a snack or whatever else you may need to bring along.

 

Secure a Toy:

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y3BGYE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

We used one of these to strap a toy to the stroller. Pretty self-explanatory. Not an absolute necessity.

 

Wet Wipes:

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043D68YW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Another self-explanatory item. We used these in the windjammer after each trip to the buffet.

 

Diaper Disposal Bags:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009F98SQU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Also self-explanatory. We used these for our benefit and that of our stateroom attendant. It's just common courtesy and worth every cent. Also very easy to pack and use.

 

Inflatable Bath Tub:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AO6ZQ6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I brought this along on the recommendation of other parents on CC. Small box for packing and we did use it on the pool deck and in the shower. Would bring again.

 

[lemonade-sails]

Disposable Bibs:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008O816S0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

While I would bring these again - they are easy to pack and take up little room, we didn't end up using them. I think by the time we sat down I was busy entertaining/feeding the baby and didn't take the time to put a bib on. It turned out she wasn't that messy in the long run and I had packed extra clothes for her anyway.

 

Disposable Place Mats:

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00119MR2S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Same exact story as the bibs. I used a wipe to wipe the table or highchair tray and felt it was clean enough. I didn't end up using these but would bring them again in case I felt they were needed. They are easy to pack and take up little room.

 

Power Strip:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016IXEWG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Brought this on in our carry on and had no trouble getting it through. Used it every day to charge cell phones etc.

 

Medicine Kit:

 

 

We bought this plastic box with a secure lid and filled it with bandages and any medicines we felt we may need during the week. It fit snuggly in one of our carry on bags and we were glad we had it.

 

 

Packing:

 

On the topic of packing, as far as clothes for the kids, I went with this basic list for my boys.

 

Undies x9

White socks 5

Black socks 5

Long pants - dinner 2

Dinner shirts - 5

Tennis shoes

Dress shoes

Flip flops/sandals

Shorts 5

T shirts 8

Pajamas

Buddy

Hat

Sunglasses

Toothbrush

 

My older three basically used the same guidelines with the exception of dresses for dinner for the girls. And the list for the baby included extra every day outfits and diapers/wipes. I only expected them to re wear dinner pants. It may sound like we brought a lot (and we did) but I was glad to have a fresh outfit each day on the kids. Also, I didn't know how messy they would get throughout the day.

 

What worked for us was to have them get ready for bed and put on the next days' shorts and t-shirt to sleep in. That way, in the morning, they were ready for the day after just putting on sandals. Less struggle than wrestling sleepy boys into clothes while the family waited for them for breakfast.

 

For the 5 youngest kids I packed each days complete outfit in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

 

 

You can also see the dinner clothes there on the table. These were hung in the closet and the bags were put into the drawers in the stateroom. This made it very easy for even the youngest to get ready for the next day. It also helped me out since the kids were spread out in the cabins and I would not be able to be there to help them pick out shirts and shorts. It worked out very well for us. Before we left I explained to them the difference between their formal and casual dinner wear so they would know what to expect.

 

For myself I packed an outfit for each day and 5 dinner dresses - a mix of formal and casual. I also packed two swimsuits and a cover up.

 

Everyone had a pair of sandals or flip flops, dinner shoes and water shoes packed.

 

We planned for everyone to wear long pants, tennis shoes and a sweatshirt on boarding day.

 

Two days before we left the grandparents arrived at our house. The night before we loaded the bags into the van.

 

We had made it! We were ready!

 

Up next: Day 1!!

 

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2015 by lemonade-sails

[BillOh]

Good start.

 

By the way, it's funny how out of proportion the itinerary map is. When did Africa get so close to South America?!

 

Funny, I didn't notice that! Being a Geography nut it should of. Maybe I haven't looked at enough itineraries out of NO.

[lemonade-sails]

Wow...this is a perfect deal for a large family of yours. Must have been so special. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

Thanks for tuning in! It was a good deal for our group and we had a great time!

 

Good start.

 

By the way, it's funny how out of proportion the itinerary map is. When did Africa get so close to South America?!

 

I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out. Funny!

[lemonade-sails]

We'll be on the Serenade in 48 days and am looking forward to your review...

 

Hopefully I will be done before you go! Are you doing the Western Caribbean or the Bahamas itinerary?

 

 

So excited to read about your trip...our kiddos will have their first cruise in April 2016... They will be 3 and 5.5

 

I bet they will have a blast!

[lemonade-sails]

Can't wait to read more!

 

Thanks for following along. :)

 

The anticipation is killing me! ;)

 

Hopefully I'll get this done without too much delay. Thanks for following!

[lemonade-sails]

Day 1 ~~ BOARDING DAY

 

We woke up early this morning. The alarm went off early in anticipation of our first day of vacation. With everyone showered and/or dressed we ate a quick breakfast. I believe it was a combination of oatmeal and scrambled eggs. Perfect for clearing out the fridge.

 

We had loaded our van the night before and generally prepared the house for our absence but I was still surprised when we hit the road earlier than expected. After a quick stop for coffee and a couple of checks on the birth certificates we were on our way.

 

Several months prior to the cruise I had contacted the Port of New Orleans to make sure our 15 passenger van was not considered over sized for the Whale Lot. For our first cruise we parked in the Fulton Garage and had a very good experience. However, our van does not easily fit into parking garages so our plan was to park right in the open lot at the port. This would prove to be the low light of our trip.

 

 

We had no trouble getting to the port area and soon we were driving past the Erato terminal and on to the Julia Street terminal.

 

 

We were directed to take a left onto Julia street where there were luggage handlers and carts waiting. We parked there temporarily and unloaded our bags and tipped the gentleman. They had no problem taking our cases of bottled water.

 

After unloading we had to turn right onto Convention Center Boulevard past the Whale Lot to Poydras Street. There was an entrance to the lot off of Convention Center Blvd, but they were not allowing cruise passengers to enter there. We took a right on Poydras, and around the levy wall, doubling back to the port and turning right onto Julia Street and an immediate right onto a service road of sorts leading to the parking lot entrance.

 

I had a hard time picturing this as we were preparing for our trip. I made a map to illustrate for those of you who are planners, like me, who want to have a clear idea of what to expect.

 

 

In the map above the blue star is where we offloaded our luggage and the green star is the Julia Street Terminal where you check in for Royal Caribbean.

 

After turning onto the service road we ended up in a line and waited for an hour for the lot to open at 10 am.

 

 

Each of the attempts to get information, by us and the other people in the vehicles ahead of us, were met with vague excuses and no actual information. We were told they were still waiting for the lot to clear, although there were plenty of spaces. All the while, people were entering from Convention Center Blvd and parking to go to the Riverwalk mall.

 

When asked when the lot would open, we were told they didn't know and they could not open the lot for us. When I asked what time the lot has opened for cruise passengers on Saturdays in the past, I was told there was no set time and we would be okay. When I told them we had several people who wanted to use the restroom I was told to take them upstairs into the mall. So, basically zero info, zero help. Not sure how hard it would be to tell us all we could expect a 10 am opening. We would have left home later had we known we would not be allowed to park.

 

When the gate finally opened we watched one of the girls working the booth picking her teeth with her fingers. It was this same girl who took our credit card for payment. We were so grossed out we didn't pay much attention to what they were handing us back. But I did sanitize my card after it was returned.

 

As we drove into the lot we were directed to the far right - right by the whale mural. This may be of interest to some as it's pretty much the opposite of where you need to head for the terminal. So there was a bit of walking involved.

 

We decided not to drop anyone off at the terminal and stayed together as a group instead. This turned out to be a good decision as I wouldn't have wanted to stand around inside for an hour with the kids waiting for DH to park.

 

We unloaded our carry on bags and gathered up our group to head for the terminal.

 

 

There was basically no line once we got into the building. Because we are gold members we had priority check in and were allowed to go ahead of the few people in the general boarding line. They let us all check in together. With our large group they pulled us aside to check birth certificates and the grandparents passports. The grandparents had failed to print their set sail pass, but this was not as an issue.

 

We headed straight to the security line and were ushered right through. No line. I had to fold up the stroller to send it through the machine and hold the baby away from my body as I went through. No issues there. Then onto the check in desk where we used our own pens to fill out out the health questionnaire and have our sea pass cards issued. Because of the number of us it took a little while, but again, there was no line at this point.

 

A quick stop at at the bathroom and then we found seats in the waiting area. It was starting to fill up. I sent a couple of photos to the other set of grandparents to let them know we had made it through check in.

 

We looked over the information we received at check in.

 

 

 

 

Up Next: We're On!!

 

 

[lemonade-sails]

 

Day 1 ~~ Continued

 

 

It was about 11 am when they started boarding. We decided to board our family with gold and get some tables in the Windjammer. The grandparents were not allowed to board with us but would meet us for lunch.

 

We headed onto the ship.

 

 

The kids' eyes were huge as they made their way on board. We got in line to have our photos taken and hear that first "bing". I held onto all the kids sea pass cards until we could get them hole punched. We took a group boarding photo and headed inside for the elevators. A quick ride to deck 11 and we got in line for the Windjammer. It hadn't opened yet.

 

Everyone in line was happy and nice. After a little while the doors opened and we were sanitizing or hands in anticipation of our first of many meals in the WJ. As we made our way inside we headed to the right and grabbed the first two 6-top tables together that we came upon.

 

 

One was right at the window so the kids had a great view of the river traffic. I sent a final text letting family know we were on board and said goodbye for the week.

 

About 10 min later the grandparents arrived and joined us for lunch. The food was really good and the passengers were all in a great mood to start the week.

 

After lunch it was nearing 1 pm when our rooms would be available. We headed to deck 8 and saw some of our luggage in the elevator lobby. The hallway door was closed and a crew member told us we had to wait, but another crew member came by and said it was okay to go to the cabins.

 

We headed down the narrow hallway to our homes for the week. The first order of business was to get out our wipes and wipe down or cabins. We met our room steward quickly who told us he would be back later to set up the pack n play for the baby.

 

 

We had rooms 8631, 8633 and 8635. All inside cabins on the starboard side of the ship. The location was very quiet and proved to be very convenient throughout the week. The kids quickly became familiar with the ship layout and were comfortable navigating. I was glad we had relocated from deck 4 as it was a quick trip back from anywhere for bathroom breaks and diaper changes.

 

I was really impressed with our inside stateroom. On Navigator two years ago we had the coveted aft corner 7688. I was genuinely concerned that I would go crazy in the inside. I found the opposite. I felt we had plenty of room for 4 and enough storage as well.

 

 

I ended up sliding the queen bed to one side of the room and the baby slept with us so we decided not to have the crib set up.

 

 

This is a very blurry cell phone photo from later in the week but it gives you an idea of how we placed the beds.

 

 

In the middle of unpacking the room stewards began checking rooms in anticipation of the muster drill. Because we had the stroller we headed for the elevator.

 

Because we had kids, they put us in the front of the group. We didn't have to wait for anyone so the drill was over soon and we were allowed to leave before the crowd.

 

We made a stop at the Guest Services desk to have all of our sea pass cards hole punched and to have the kids charging privileges suspended. All except our 9 year old son as he had some OBC on his account due to him being the first name on the reservation for the second room. Because the OBC wouldn't show up until day 2 we weren't able to move it over to our card and close out his.

 

We headed back to the room to finish unpacking. After all of the bags were unloaded I slid them under the beds. They fit perfectly. Our water had not arrived yet so DH went out to the elevator area and brought back one of the cases.

 

I emptied out out the refrigerator and put the contents onto on to the top shelf of the cabinet above the television. Then I wrote a sticky note to our steward to let him know and to ask for ice.

 

 

 

We hung up our over-the-door shoe holder and filled it. I was glad we brought this. It was a very convenient way to store things and keep the clutter to a minimum. I will definitely bring this again.

 

 

As you can see, it doesn't take up much room in the cabin.

 

Up Next: Sail Away!

 

 

[lemonade-sails]

 

Day 1 ~~ Continued

 

Then it was time for sail away. We headed to the helicopter pad and watched as a lot of ships passed us by. The captain came on to let us know we would be leaving in about 15 minutes, as soon as the river was clear.

 

 

 

We waved to the steamboat Natchez and watched as a couple of large container ships passed by.

 

 

 

 

Soon we were pushing way from the the dock. The kids loved sailing past New Orleans.

 

 

 

 

It was cloudy and very windy at the bow.

 

 

My young boys had a blast running around. After a bend in the river we came across a couple of ships anchored in the water. On the back of one were several young boys playing basketball. We waved and they waved back. It was starting to get dark so we headed inside.

 

We went up to the Adventure Ocean area to register the kids. We weren't sure at this point if we were going to utilize the kids club or not but some of the kids wanted to get lanyards for their sea pass cards.

 

This would turn out to be the one and only time we were at the kids club. I registered everyone, but no one really wanted to go. This was fine with us as we had booked this trip as a family vacation and wanted to spend time together.

 

We headed to the cabins to finish unpacking. We had plenty of storage for everything and placed the empty suitcases under the bed.

 

Next Up: Windjammer Dinner

 

 

 

 

 

[lemonade-sails]

Day 1 ~~ Continued

 

 

We had planned to have dinner in the WJ buffet this first night. We headed for the back open air seating area and grabbed two tables at the railing. The kids were excited to see the city lights and the lights of the bridge in the distance while they ate. The food was good and plentiful. We developed a system where the youngest three would be seated at the table while their food was brought to them.

 

The WJ was pretty empty, which I expected for dinner. It was a great meal with a great view. We finished dinner and headed to the cabins to put our sheets on the beds and get ready for a good nights sleep.

 

At this time my 3 year old discovered that his favorite part of the ship was the stateroom bathroom.

 

 

The funny part was that he would run out of there after flushing the toilet because it was so loud. He got used to the noise by the end of the week.

 

We packed a stool for him so that I wouldn’t have to lift him up to use the toilet and sink all week.

 

 

It turned out that I needed that stool. I was glad I made room to pack it. Would bring it again.

 

After settling down a bit we went up onto deck 12 to see if we could see the lights of the oil platforms, but a thick fog had settled in and we couldn’t see anything.

 

We headed back to put the kids to bed.

 

That night DH and I sat up in bed looking over the next day’s compass. We were still awake when we hit the gulf as you can tell a difference in the rocking of the ship. That awesome feeling of being rocked back and forth. I had missed it!

 

Up Next: Day 2

[kags711]

I'm loving this trip report! We will be on the Serenade at the end of March with an 8 year old, 6 year old, 3 year old, and two 9 month babies! Loved seeing the items you packed -- it's very helpful!

 

 

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[lemonade-sails]

I'm loving this trip report! We will be on the Serenade at the end of March with an 8 year old, 6 year old, 3 year old, and two 9 month babies! Loved seeing the items you packed -- it's very helpful!

 

 

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Thanks for following along. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

[Madsofa]

Great review so far, can't wait to read more. My husband and I had been on a couple of cruises and decided to take our girls for the first time when they were 5 & 3. We're two months out from taking the girls on their 3rd cruise, they love them! We too, took advantage of the WOW sale when it came out last May and ended up with two connecting cabins for less money than the oringinal one cabin we booked. 😄

Looking forward to reading more! Thanks for taking the time.

[Shekim]

I'm curious on the sleeping arrangements. Did I miss you posting that? Anxiously awaiting more!