Spring Break Cruise Vacation ~ Day 1...

In July of 2019, Matt and I saw a Facebook post that Royal Caribbean was moving a ship to New Orleans that would go to Key West and the Bahamas.  We started looking into it immediately, and without much hesitation we booked it for Spring Break 2020.  

Anna Lauren had a clue that we had booked the trip, but we didn't officially tell them until they opened their Christmas present from us on Christmas Eve.

One of our favorite things to give them is a trip...

Seeing their faces when you tell them makes holding the secret for so long totally worth it...

We give them a Christmas ornament every year on Christmas Eve...my favorite ones to pull out and put on the tree each year are the ones that make us think about all the memories we made while traveling.

A month or so before we were to depart on our cruise, the corona virus chit chat started.  A couple weeks before we were to depart, we started getting e-mails from Royal Caribbean that if you had traveled to certain countries you would not be able to board the ship.  We never thought that our cruise wouldn't go, but we were still a little anxious for all the reasons you would expect.  

At the time we boarded, you just had to have your fever taken.  Anna Lauren, Cooper, and I walked right through the fever check with no issue.  Matt's temperature would not register for probably the first five attempts.  We were all like surely this is not happening.  He finally got through, and we walked right onto the ship.  Needless to say, we were all smiles and so happy about being on vacation the next seven days!

The kids like to spend the first day checking out all the things on the boat.  Cooper knew he was going to the basketball court first, and he wasn't scared to play 1 on 1 against a 10th grader.  

Matt and I were so happy to be on vacation/unplugged even if we were just chasing kids around a ship.

Next...they "thought" they may swim so they put on their swimsuits.  Swimming ended up being sitting in a hot tub with way too many people because it was just too cold.

And then pizza breaks are just a must.  I do not know what is so good about the pizza, but I promise you we all eat no less than 6 slices a day.  It's really that good!

And ice cream cones...we will not dare count the number of ice cream cones Anna Lauren and Cooper eat in a week.

Anna Lauren had to try out the rock climbing wall...

She actually really likes it and surprisingly is pretty good at being able to get to the top of the wall.

The rare day you see the pool deck this empty...it was cool and windy the day we departed New Orleans.  As you can see, it was pretty much hot tubs only.

Matt got a kick out of this...how many college students can you get in one hot tub?

Cooper found him some warmer clothes and then decided to give the rock climbing wall a try.  He will do it but doesn't love it as much as Anna Lauren.

All cleaned up and ready for a show and dinner.  Since we were on a smaller ship we knew the rooms would be smaller so we went with two adjoining rooms.  The kids had their own room...
(fun fact: magnetic hooks for our rooms ended up being the BEST purchase we made for this trip)

And Matt and I had our own room.  It ended up being the perfect setup for the week.

Headed to a show and dinner with a man who loves a cruise probably more than anyone else I know.  Good thing the rest of us like one too...ha ha!

The Royal Caribbean singers and dancers...

We didn't have dinner until 8 PM every night.  If you know Cooper, you know he plays REAL hard.  So this was just the first of many nights he fell asleep at dinner.  Worked out perfectly for him because our table for dinner had a bench on one side so he could just lay down and fall right asleep.  It was a good first day of vacation!

Spring Break Cruise Vacation ~ Day 2...

Day 2 was a day at sea and didn't go exactly as we had hoped due to the wind, which made the ship really rocky.

Shortly after we sat down at breakfast Cooper said he thought he was going to be sick and wanted to go back to the room.  I was not feeling the best myself so I quickly agreed to take him back to the room.  Cooper and I pretty much spent the entire day in bed.  He threw up several times throughout the day.  I felt so bad for him but explained maybe God just knew we needed a day of rest.

Meanwhile Matt and Anna Lauren went on about their day and would stop in periodically to check on us...

One time they checked on us because they needed a picture with life jackets for a scavenger hunt they were doing...

Anna Lauren was all about the scavenger hunts...she probably did 4 or 5 throughout the week.

This particular day they actually won and got themselves a medal.

Matt and Anna Lauren were really sweet and would check on us periodically.  They would bring us food, drinks, whatever we needed.  But thankfully they still enjoyed their day roaming around the ship, going to a show, and dinner.  

Spring Break Cruise Vacation ~ Day 3...

We were suppose to be in Key West on day 3.  When the announcement was made the afternoon before that we would not be able to stop in Key West due to the wind, we were so disappointed.  I was most excited about this stop, and Cooper and I had told each other just one day of being sick on the ship and then we can get off/get a break from the rocking.  These are all things you know can happen when you cruise so you have to just let it go and move on.

On day 3, Cooper woke up a new person.  He was not sick and was ready to take on the day.  Matt and I were thrilled for him because he was SO pitiful the previous day.   I however was still not feeling the best.  I did manage to spend a little time at the pool that afternoon, but other than that, I was in bed most of the day.

He was back to himself and loved every minute of the magician.


We all went to bed SUPER excited about being in the Bahamas when we woke up the next morning.

Spring Break Cruise Vacation ~ Day 4...

Matt and I have been to Nassau several times and always enjoyed our time there, but we couldn't quite decide what we wanted to do there with the kids.  At the last minute, we booked a shore excursion to the Blue Lagoon and oh my goodness...we LOVED it!!!

Off the ship and waiting to get on the ferry to Blue Lagoon...

It was about a 30 minute ride on the ferry to Blue Lagoon, and the sweetest little boy sat beside his momma :)

She gets her love for adventure from her Daddy, and they always have the best time together because she will do all the "crazy" he wants and vice versa.  Coop and I are just happy chilling by the pool or on the beach.

The ride on the ferry to Blue Lagoon was so pretty...lots of pretty houses and the bluest water.

We got off the ferry and the view was just breathtaking...

We were greeted by dolphins as we walked along the pier to the beach area...

We stopped for a quick family picture...

Before we knew it, Cooper had himself a life jacket and was living his best life on the inflatables in the beach.

You could swim with the dolphins, sea lions, or stingrays.  And if you didn't want to actually have an "encounter" with them, you could walk around and see all of them/watch the encounters from the pier.

We actually swam/snorkeled with the stingrays...not because that was top on our list of things to do but because it was the cheapest excursion to get to Blue Lagoon.  We booked the excursion and decided once we got there we would decide if we actually wanted to swim with the sting rays.  We all swam with the stings and then the boys snorkeled with them.  The water was way too cold for Anna Lauren and me.

Just living our best life in the Bahamas while the boys snorkeled...

One of my favorite parts about cruising is that for the most part everyone just seems happy...I mean look at this guy photo bombing our picture.  He was clearly having just as much fun as us!

So...this is the Atlantis.  When you hear Nasau, Bahamas you typically hear Atlantis.  Matt and I have been and just couldn't  justify spending the money to go there for the day when there are other places just as nice/pretty.  But win win...now they can at least say they have seen it in person.  

Before we got back on the ship Anna Lauren got her hair braided.

Umm...not at all what she told the lady to do.  Needless to say it came down the next day.  

We had the most PERFECT day in Nassau...

And who knew when we got home that this little baseball loving boy would not be playing baseball for some time...

This is how Cooper feels about a day of vacation in the Bahamas...pretty much sums up how we all felt :)