Southern Caribbean Cruise - First Few Days
Well, in the way of many vacations, time is both fast and slow. It seems like we’ve had a lot of time to relax and play and yet we just haven’t found time to post about our days yet. So, here is a wrap up of the first 4 days.
Day 1 – Our flights went well. We enjoyed our trip on Continental much more than our last flight on American. The staff were all friendly, they took off a little late but arrived in Houston on time. They even served food with no extra charge. The flight from Houston to Fort Lauderdale was also a good flight and we got our rental car with no issues and were in our hotel about 1:00 am to get some sleep. “It’s hot here!” was Laura’s comment when we got to the hotel.
Day 2 – We all woke up about 9:00 or so and went down to the hotel breakfast. It wasn’t the greatest, but it least got us a start on the day. By about 11:00 we were leaving the room and headed towards Miami to get on the Cruise. We were loving the soft warm air already! We did a quick stop at Target for a few last minute items and then we were off to the port. About 1:00 we were on board and headed towards the buffet for a nice lunch while we waited for the rooms to be ready. About 1:30 we went to see our room. It was the smallest room yet we’ve had on a cruise, but at least it has a balcony. At night it is a BED room – all bed and only the tiniest bit of walkway. It is actually kind of fun.
Then we went and checked out the kids club and got the kids all registered. After that it was time to swim at the pool and do to the waterslide. At 4:30 we had to do the mandatory Muster drill and then it was off to the Sail Away party on the Pool deck. We finally found the Hancocks at the Sail Away party and the kids went back to the swimming pool for a second round of swimming and water slides. We did a late dinner at the Buffet and then the kids did about an hour at the Kids Club while the Adults wandered the ship a little and hit the Casino.
Day 3 – This was our first full day on the Norwegian Pearl and the first of 3 Sea Days. Today started out in the pool (of course!) with a lot of swimming and water sliding. We did lunch out on the pool deck so that we could continue to enjoy the weather. After lunch we decided to try bowling. The first game was without bumpers and the kids struggled a bit. The second game the Hancock’s joined us and we were able to get a lane with Bumpers and the kids enjoyed it much more. Dan managed to get a couple strikes without help from the bumpers but Chris & Emily both had bumper assisted strikes. Nate also had a Chris assisted strike. After the bowling it was back to the pool for more water fun. Are you seeing a pattern here? The pool and waterslide are a big hit! For Dinner we went to a restaurant called the Blue Lagoon that supposedly served comfort food, but nobody found it overly comforting. The kids went to Kids Club for a while and the adults wandered the shops.
Day 4 – Samana, Dominican Republic
(As reported by Alex) We had to tender in to Samana. The tender ride was really fun!!! There were big waves and the boat went really fast!!! Every time we went over a really big wave we went straight down the rest of the time we just got really wet. Unfortunately mommy got the wettest.
(Since we’d like to try to get this posted this morning, we’ve kicked Alex off the computer but she will report more as the week goes on) We’d heard that there wasn’t a lot to see in the town of Samana, so we booked an excursion to Caya Levantado, a small island with the most glorious beach. There were lounge chairs for us and soft, light brown sand. The water was wavy and the kids had fun jumping the waves. Dan took them for a few snorkel attempts but there wasn’t much to see and the water was kind of murky. However, we found some amazing conch shells on the beach which the girls were very excited about. The water was so warm and there was a cool breeze. It was a great beach day! Sadly, we must not have gotten everyone well with the sunscreen on the final application as we all returned to the boat with a bit of sunburn. We’re all using aloe and will cover up as much as possible today.
We were back on board in time to shower and clean up for dinner. Dinner was a Mambo’s, a tex mex, tapas like restaurant. Not too bad. Alex had her heart set on a burrito and her burrito came without beans or cheese and she didn’t really like it. So, we found her some dinner at the buffet and then made an early evening of it. We settled into bed with our books and the rocking of the ship and everyone is much better rested today!
Day 1 – Our flights went well. We enjoyed our trip on Continental much more than our last flight on American. The staff were all friendly, they took off a little late but arrived in Houston on time. They even served food with no extra charge. The flight from Houston to Fort Lauderdale was also a good flight and we got our rental car with no issues and were in our hotel about 1:00 am to get some sleep. “It’s hot here!” was Laura’s comment when we got to the hotel.
Day 2 – We all woke up about 9:00 or so and went down to the hotel breakfast. It wasn’t the greatest, but it least got us a start on the day. By about 11:00 we were leaving the room and headed towards Miami to get on the Cruise. We were loving the soft warm air already! We did a quick stop at Target for a few last minute items and then we were off to the port. About 1:00 we were on board and headed towards the buffet for a nice lunch while we waited for the rooms to be ready. About 1:30 we went to see our room. It was the smallest room yet we’ve had on a cruise, but at least it has a balcony. At night it is a BED room – all bed and only the tiniest bit of walkway. It is actually kind of fun.
Then we went and checked out the kids club and got the kids all registered. After that it was time to swim at the pool and do to the waterslide. At 4:30 we had to do the mandatory Muster drill and then it was off to the Sail Away party on the Pool deck. We finally found the Hancocks at the Sail Away party and the kids went back to the swimming pool for a second round of swimming and water slides. We did a late dinner at the Buffet and then the kids did about an hour at the Kids Club while the Adults wandered the ship a little and hit the Casino.
Day 3 – This was our first full day on the Norwegian Pearl and the first of 3 Sea Days. Today started out in the pool (of course!) with a lot of swimming and water sliding. We did lunch out on the pool deck so that we could continue to enjoy the weather. After lunch we decided to try bowling. The first game was without bumpers and the kids struggled a bit. The second game the Hancock’s joined us and we were able to get a lane with Bumpers and the kids enjoyed it much more. Dan managed to get a couple strikes without help from the bumpers but Chris & Emily both had bumper assisted strikes. Nate also had a Chris assisted strike. After the bowling it was back to the pool for more water fun. Are you seeing a pattern here? The pool and waterslide are a big hit! For Dinner we went to a restaurant called the Blue Lagoon that supposedly served comfort food, but nobody found it overly comforting. The kids went to Kids Club for a while and the adults wandered the shops.
Day 4 – Samana, Dominican Republic
(As reported by Alex) We had to tender in to Samana. The tender ride was really fun!!! There were big waves and the boat went really fast!!! Every time we went over a really big wave we went straight down the rest of the time we just got really wet. Unfortunately mommy got the wettest.
(Since we’d like to try to get this posted this morning, we’ve kicked Alex off the computer but she will report more as the week goes on) We’d heard that there wasn’t a lot to see in the town of Samana, so we booked an excursion to Caya Levantado, a small island with the most glorious beach. There were lounge chairs for us and soft, light brown sand. The water was wavy and the kids had fun jumping the waves. Dan took them for a few snorkel attempts but there wasn’t much to see and the water was kind of murky. However, we found some amazing conch shells on the beach which the girls were very excited about. The water was so warm and there was a cool breeze. It was a great beach day! Sadly, we must not have gotten everyone well with the sunscreen on the final application as we all returned to the boat with a bit of sunburn. We’re all using aloe and will cover up as much as possible today.
We were back on board in time to shower and clean up for dinner. Dinner was a Mambo’s, a tex mex, tapas like restaurant. Not too bad. Alex had her heart set on a burrito and her burrito came without beans or cheese and she didn’t really like it. So, we found her some dinner at the buffet and then made an early evening of it. We settled into bed with our books and the rocking of the ship and everyone is much better rested today!
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