Cruise Vacation Day 1 ~ New Orleans

Last Saturday morning, we dropped the little man in Brookhaven (yes, I cried when I left him) and headed to New Orleans to board Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas for the next 7 nights.  Matt and I LOVE to cruise so we had "cruise fever" and decided what better excuse than Anna Lauren's 5th birthday to go on another cruise and not to mention Royal Caribbean had this particular ship in New Orleans for a brief period...we couldn't resist!

Anna Lauren sitting on the curb in front of Tim and Beth's house waiting on her first taxi ride...Tim and Beth were kind enough to let us park at their house, which saved us from having to pay to park in long term parking.

Not sure if she is more excited about riding in a taxi or going to the cruise terminal...

We were at our last check point before walking onto the ship and the computers went down...so...Daddy and Anna Lauren entertained themselves while we waited 30 minutes or so...

Anna Lauren's 1st stop on the ship...the pool!  And yes, it was FREEZING cold but her Daddy agreed to swim with her.  It was a short swim because like I said, it was FREEZING!

She then found her way to the kid pools, which didn't seem as cold...

Our first night at dinner...Anna Lauren with Ms. Laura, our waiter for the week.  She was truly treated like a princess all week!

Cruise Vacation Day 2 ~ At Sea...

We spent our 2nd day at sea, which was fine by us because there was so much to do on the ship...you can relax or play as much as you choose...we did a good bit of playing!

After breakfast, we put our swimsuits on and quickly made our way to the pool...

The slide FINALLY opened so Anna  Lauren was "happily" waiting in line to slide along with all the other kids.  It was Spring Break for many states so there were plenty of kids on the ship...

Anna Lauren and Daddy waiting in line to slide...

And even though the water was FREEZING, it didn't take much to convince Mommy to slide too!

Mommy trying to get off the slide before sliding into the "pool" of water...I'm telling you the water was cold...

After lunch at Johnny Rockets, Matt and Anna Lauren decided to try ice skating.  I took pictures and laughed, and laughed, and laughed...it was quite comical!

All ready to hit the ice...she just thought it was going to be a piece of cake...she had no clue!

Waiting on Daddy...

Off they go...Anna Lauren ended up having to hold onto the wall, but she went round and round the rink holding onto the wall...didn't bother her...

Matt convinced Anna Lauren it was time for a break...

And this was the "look" Matt had for most of the time...he was a little unsure himself...

All smiles after ice skating...

After ice skating, we headed back to the pool...this time, the hot tub seemed like a better option because the pool was pretty cool...it was warm outside, but the water was still cold.

Now off to get ready for FORMAL night...

Mommy and Anna Lauren ready for formal night...poor Daddy...we didn't even get a picture with him, and he was so handsome!

Our first towel creature...Anna Lauren came into the room every night anxious to see what the "creature of the night" would be...

Cruise Vacation Day 3 ~ Cozumel, Mexico...

We spent day 3 in Cozumel, Mexico...we went to Paradise Beach and actually met another family there that had two small children so we all enjoyed hanging out together and the kids had a blast playing together.  Anna Lauren will say the banana boat in Cozumel was one of her favorite memories of the trip...we rode on an 8 seater banana boat so all of us and the other family went together...it was super fun and the water was, well, just beautiful!  Obviously, no pictures of the banana boat as we were all on it enjoying the ride.

We started our day with breakfast in the dining room...our head waiter from dinner quickly realized Anna Lauren liked bacon so he made sure she had a "pound" of bacon when she ate breakfast in the dining room.  And then there was the "princess treatment" where she got things such as a heart on top of her straw...got to LOVE the service!

Matt and Anna Lauren thoroughly enjoyed watching us dock at the ports...this was them watching us dock in Cozumel...

And here we are at our first of 3 BEAUTIFUL beaches...

Anna Lauren and Matt quickly hit the inflatables...one of the main reasons we choose this beach...

Anna Lauren jumping on the trampoline with her new friends...Andrew and Tiffany from Oklahoma

So funny to me how quickly kids can make friends...we were walking down the pier and I realized Anna Lauren and Andrew were holding hands...

Anna Lauren trying out Andrew and Tiffany's skim board...their dad to her right giving her instructions...

A little kayaking adventure with dad...

Sliding, sliding, and more sliding...

So...the child wanted her whole head braided...I call them corn rows.  However, we compromised and got one braid.  This doesn't mean she didn't point out every child all week that had braids,but she was happy with her one braid thankfully!

You just eat kind of crazy when cruising...big breakfast, late lunch after playing at port, snack, and then late dinner.  On our way back to the ship, she was thoroughly enjoying her fruit loops we packed as a snack.

Please notice the "blue" water...so pretty!

So proud of her maracas she got for herself and Cooper walking through the market on the way back to the ship...

Self-portrait before dinner...and yes, she wanted a pony tail with her braid out so everyone could see it...this was the case most of the week.

Cruise Vacation Day 4 ~ George Town, Grand Cayman

Day 4 was spent in Grand Cayman and it just happened to be Anna Lauren's "special" day...it was her 5th birthday!

I still wanted her birthday to be "special" even though we were not at home...so I packed the traditional birthday things...a birthday banner, balloons, candles, birthday hat, and of course, presents!  She woke up to birthday balloons and presents!

 

This 5 year old was all smiles...

Opening her new swimsuit from Pop Pop and MeMe...so, so cute!

$5 for the 5 year old from Nanna...and yes, we had to spend it before we could do anything else in Grand Cayman.  She picked out a darling dress, which of course, required a little of our money too!

I posted a long time ago that I couldn't believe I was buying Twinkle Toes...well, I've bought another pair!  At least these don't light up!

Ballet skirt from little Cooper...

Playing shuffle board while waiting to get off the ship...getting off in Grand Cayman took a while due to it being a tender port and 6 ships being in port that day...

Finally on the tender headed to port...

She immediatly spotted Dairy Queen and got her a "birthday" dilly bar...

We found the 7 mile beach...

Her banana boat ride was so fun in Cozumel that she convinced Daddy to go on another one in Grand Cayman...

All ready...

She decided she wanted to ride in front...this ended up being a bad idea...half way through the ride they had to stop and switch places...that water was splashing in her face...

At the ice show...her favorite show on the ship...it was FABULOUS!  However, Daddy convinced us to sit on the front row so at one point one of the skaters came over the rail and tried to give her a kiss...we thought she was going to go into the row behind us...scared her to death!  The rest of the week people would stop us and say, were you the little girl at the ice show?

She took her own candles to dinner and wanted everyone to sing to her...well, when everyone sang, she decided to be shy and hide her face...crazy girl!

Just being Anna Lauren...you just never know with this kid!

And the perfect end to a perfect birthday...now...can I spend my birthday in Grand Cayman?