Live from the Independence 6 night March 22, 2015

[noodle]

I have never done a review on these boards much less a live from but my DH is going to get the unlimited internet plan so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

 

This will be our first time on Royal Caribbean so this will be a perspective from some fresh eyes. Who we are: We are a family of 5, myself a stay at home mom (40), dh (40), Beanie (9 year old daughter), Princess (5 year old daughter), and the Meatball (4 year old son). We are from Phoenix, Arizona so we will be flying into Ft. Lauderdale the day before. I am the family's travel agent so I have done all the planning and research.

 

My husband and I did our honeymoon on the Carnival Pride to the Mexican Riviera. Since then we have done the Carnival Spirit to Alaska, took an 18 month old Beanie to Europe on the Celebrity Millennium, and had a mother daughter bonding trip to the Bahamas on the Carnival Ecstacy when she was 7. She loved it and all three kids are super excited for this trip.

[FMZ]

Can't wait to follow your journey along! Thanks for taking the time. I also have a 5 YO Princess and a 3 YO Meatball!

[noodle]

Just created a flickr account to try and share photos. This is just a test. My friends dog.

[Clarea]

Just created a flickr account to try and share photos. This is just a test. My friends dog.

I see the dog photo, but only if I click the link.

 

If you want the photos to appear as part of the post, you might have to use the Insert Image button.

[noodle]

I'm sitting here trying to figure that very thing. Trying to do it from phone entirely.

[noodle]

[noodle]

Does anyone know if it is possible to insert flikr hosted photos via Tapatalk and the flikr app?

[noodle]

Can't wait to follow your journey along! Thanks for taking the time. I also have a 5 YO Princess and a 3 YO Meatball!

 

You're very welcome. I always enjoy seeing other family reviews and how the kids enjoy the experience too.

[Summerknight]

Following

[kinesiologynerd]

Just did this sailing last week. It was my first RCL cruise (first cruise period actually). Had a blast. Will be interesting to see your take. Be sure to check out "piano man" Dan Davies in the Schooner Bar at night.

[noodle]

Thanks for following. Hopefully I can figure out this picture thing to make it more interesting. I am resigning myself to not be able to do this all via my phone as the flickr app doesn't seem to give me the right link to use. But I think I have figured out how to post on here via the regular websites. So if my husband will not hog the computer to work remotely, we should be in good shape.

 

Testing by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

[Locobill49]

We are on Indy the week after you. Can't wait.

[noodle]

So I think I figured out how to embed photos via Tapatalk and using flickr in my browser (not the app). So here is the Noodle family cast of characters:

DH and I

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8644/16616828187_db80902e4c.jpg

 

Beanie

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7636/16636721030_a9ab4bd617.jpg

 

Princess

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8617/16823052402_ff20de51f3.jpg

 

Meatball

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8724/16638010229_6df1a225a5.jpg

 

Now off to pack the kids evening wear.

[Ocean Boy]

The picture of the dog shows in post #11 but only links are present in post #13.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Ocean Boy

[noodle]

The picture of the dog shows in post #11 but only links are present in post #13.

 

As the Meatball would say since he's like every other 4 year old boy in his love of talking about poop, "Oh Poop." I guess the live updates with pictures will need to be posted via computer.

 

Let's try this again, The Noodle Family:

 

DH and I

IMG_20150214_150113959_HDR by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

 

Beanie

IMG_20150308_155125064_HDR by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

 

Princess

IMG_20150228_095905707 by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

 

The Meatball

IMG_20150228_080328695 by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

[Ocean Boy]

Pictures are coming through now.:)

[mickev99]

Your kids are precious and can't wait to read more!!

[noodle]

Your kids are precious and can't wait to read more!!

 

Thanks! They are really fun, good kids. They can drive me bonkers some times but we really enjoy them and I'm excited that the two younger ones are finally at an age where I am more comfortable traveling with them to resorts, through airports and such.

 

Okay, so I know we are not live yet but I thought I'd share some tidbits so you get an idea on our perspective, then I will probably be pretty quiet until next weekend.

 

Some background on our travel style: We tend to go more luxurious for the adults only trips staying at 5 star properties and when we have the kids we tend to go more midmarket. We took all of them to Mexico when the Meatball was one year old and DH and I were so exhausted that we needed a vacation from our vacation. So we have stuck with renting a beach house in Oregon for the summers and a few trips to Disneyland, with a sprinkling of adult only vacations. I have been wanting to take them all on a tropical vacation and feel that they really hit the age when we can go and have some fun and DH and I won't feel like we've been hit by a semi by the end.

 

I like to start the vacation fun early. Something to get us in the spirit of vacation fun. For our Oregon trips I usually buy some beer from an Oregon brewery and Tillamook icecream for the kids. Before our cruise to Alaska I ordered Salmon from Alaska and grilled it on a plank. Today, well, I decided that we needed to prime ourselves for our drink packages. My version of Caribbean Rum Punch:

 

IMG_20150315_155433215 by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

 

We may be in Phoenix, AZ, but drinking this, I can almost feel the Caribbean breeze. ;) Can you tell I am excited?

[j&b'smommy]

We are sailing with you!

[hrrsamrovk]

I'm sitting here trying to figure that very thing.

[noodle]

J&b'smommy what fun it will be. Say hi if you see me.

[Baded]

My wife and I are on the same cruise, maybe we will see each other.

[jenembeckey]

Hi Baded!!! I don't remember seeing you on our Roll Call thread. There is no official Meet & Mingle on a 6-day cruise so we are planning an informal one on Monday (1st sea day) at 10:30 in the Viking Crown Lounge. Come by and say hi. It's always nice to make some new friends early.

[noodle]

I am not a funny writer or cleverly witty, so hopefully you'll still enjoy my observations of this trip.

 

Day 1 of the Noodle family almost not making it on vacation.

 

It was a close one. I woke up at 3 am musing about all the things I might have forgotten to pack. Pretty standard for me to not sleep well the night before vacation. So much running through my head and the fear of sleeping too late (has never happened but I fear it still). About 3 hours later we headed out the door to Phoenix Sky Harbor in what should have been plenty of time to park, check in, and make it to the gate with time to spare to feed the kids. We apparently have never flown out of Sky Harbor when Spring Training is in full swing. It was packed like nothing I have ever seen before. We flew US Airways to utilize some vouchers we needed to use by May and we looked longingly at the short Southwest lines and wished we hadn't. We made it to our plane as one of the last passengers to board and with 3 hungry kids. But we made it.

 

IMG_20150321_124843143 by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

This is Princess about 15 minutes before she spilled an full cup of apple juice onto her lap soaking herself thoroughly. She was devastated and wore her sisters sweatshirt while I waved her dress back and forth and an attempt to dry it. $42.00 worth of airplane food later and the kids were calm and satiated. Travel days with young kids are so much fun.

 

We booked Springhill Suites in Ft. Lauderdale to utilize points and they have a shuttle that picks up at the airport and transfers to the port. We also tend to like the springhill suites room layout as it suites our family of five. The sofa pulls out into a queen and there is enough room for us to spread out a little. Nothing fancy but definitely gets the job done better than a standard sized hotel. The shuttle arrived about 20 minutes after I called and we made it to the hotel in no time.

 

Springhill Suites

IMG_20150321_142541426 by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

IMG_20150321_142519864 by dcsnoodle, on Flickr

 

The kids and I headed to the pool while DH went looking for food. Across the street is a place I found on Yelp called Las Vegas Cuban so DH responded to my "hints" and went in that direction. When the kids and I came up to our room from the pool we discovered ants on the nightstand. We had cookies, pretzels, and various other snacks strewn about and I imagined the situation would get worse. DH returned with a pile of Cuban food while we were working with maintenance staff to figure out a solution. Since I didn't want our stuff in the room while they fumigated we had to move rooms. This involved repacking what had been unpacked and carting it all, the food, and the kids to a new room, while mommy was headed for a breakdown. We ended up eating in the lobby so we wouldn't attract ants to the new room. The food was really good. We had some grilled chicken breasts, roast pork, steak with some sort of chimichurri sauce, rice, beans, and plantains. It was delicious. Beanie said, "I could eat this chicken all day." I failed to take photos as we were starving from no proper meal all day and the stress of the travel. Bottom line: Highly recommend Las Vegas Cuban.

 

Settling in with a glass of wine while DH watches March Madness games and the kids watch a movie. Ready to hit the hay and see that ship in the morning.

[coppercruisers]

So glad you made it to FLL! Looking forward to following your family as we are two weeks away from the same 6 day cruise. Have an amazing vacation!