Isn’t that BEAUTIFUL? The last time we were in FL, the kids and I (and Tim’s mom) were able to spend an hour or so kayaking through the mangroves. We LOVED it and wanted to do it again this time. There weren’t nearly as many mangroves clear down by Key …

Emily turned 14 at sea! We brought a few presents that were small enough to fit into our suitcases (iTunes gift cards, socks, etc…those types of things), but we still wanted to do something more for her birthday. I really couldn’t see dragging a bunch of room decorations along in …

Josh is turning out to be a FINE YOUNG GENTLEMAN! He was always very kind to hold the elevator door for everyone, ask where anyone was going, etc. I couldn’t BELIEVE how rude some kids were. I can see why some people would complain about being on a cruise with …

Our ship was only in Key West for part of the day. We had to be back on board by 1:30 which gave us plenty of time to rest and relax before getting dressing for the formal dinner that night. There must have been something exciting that they were looking …

We left from Fort Lauderdale this time. Ft Lauderdale is actually where we saw some cruise ships for the first time a few years ago and decided we wanted to take a cruise. That was when we went to Disney World the first time and then drove down to Miami …

Before heading out there is a mandatory fire drill. Sure glad that cruise ship that sunk recently didn’t sink BEFORE we went on our cruise…. that would have scared the kids, for sure. Here we are all getting our life jackets on in our room. That’s where they are stored, …

Since we arrived a few hours earlier than the posted embarkment times, our vacation started EARLY! YIPPEE! We had a great time checking out the ship before the masses arrived. Here we’re just lounging around for a bit while the kids take turns playing shuffleboard. Amanda went to get figure …

This ship had two main outdoor type activity things… The Rockwall and the Bungee Trampoline. None of the kids did the Rockwall this time, but Josh did the Bungee Trampoline a few times. Above was his first time getting a look out at the open water from aways up and …

We don’t really know how to play shuffleboard (LOL), but we sure tried! The boys had a lot of fun and I enjoyed sitting on the lawn chairs soaking up some SUN! We arrived a few hours earlier than the scheduled embarkation time so we had a few hours to …