Vacation plans go off track

I forgot to include on important thing that happened yesterday while we were at dinner.  So the captain comes on the intercom and announces that there were issues with the port authority at Nassau, Bahamas (where we were supposed to go the next day).  Basically they had overbooked the cruise pier and there was no space for us.  So, we would be going to Freeport, Bahamas instead.  Except now we would get to port at 2 pm and leave at 9 pm.

We were NOT happy about this.  To start with, Peter and I were really excited about going to Nassau and wanted to go to the Atlantis Resort.  It was a major reason we chose this cruise.  Next we were bummed about losing beach time.  If we didn't get to port until 2 pm that meant there would be shortened time on the beach since the sun starts setting at 5 pm.  What in the world would we want to do once the sun goes down?  We are going to these places to do beachy things...those things are done in the sunlight!  I'm not going to be dragging Max around an unfamiliar city after dark.  Also we didn't know anything about Freeport.  There were no excursions planned for Freeport that we could choose from and nothing on the daily cruise compass to give suggestions of things to do.

The ONLY good thing about the change in plans was that it meant we would have a half day at sea that we weren't going to get before so we could do a few more things on the ship.

We got up, enjoyed breakfast at the buffet, and hit the first toddler class of the day.  I really appreciated these classes and the toys they had available.  We brought only a few little toys with us in our suitcases so it was nice for Max to be able to play with a variety of toys.

While Max took his morning nap under Peter's watchful eye, I went to go play some trivia.  I joined an group of ladies and we did a great job!  We ended up winning so I walked away with a RCCL hat and a key chain.  I love trivia!!!

After Max woke up we hit the Toddler splash area.  This ship was great because it had a rare area where non-potty trained babies in swim diapers could play in the water.  Most ships just say that if they aren't potty trained they can't go in the water.  The splash area was perfect because the water was shallow, there were toys for the kids to play with, and there were a few fountains as well.

Can you tell Maxwell was enjoying himself?

Peter waiting in line to try out the "flow rider"

Video - Peter did awesome his first time ever doing this!

Max watching dad.

Video - Peter bravely tried to get up on his knees.  It looked like fun to me!

Video - Max was "dancing" to the music, can you tell?  This poor boy dances like a white boy. 

Nap time again.  By this point Max was able to fall asleep with a little light which was nice for the person "babysitting".  The only walking space in the entire cabin was between the pack and play and the dresser.  We didn't even get the coffee table since we had the pack and play.

Remember how I said we were supposed to dock at 2 pm?  Well, there were delays so we didn't end up docking until 3 pm.  3 pm!!!!!  That would have been okay if there was a beach next to the dock like there is at a lot of ports.  But there wasn't.  It would have meant a taxi ride in order to get to a beach and by the time we got there it would be getting dark shortly.  It just wasn't worth it which was a HUGE bummer.  It meant I didn't get to get the pics I wanted of Max's footprints in the sand.  It meant Max didn't get to play in the ocean again.  It meant that this port was basically a total waste! GRRRRRRR...



Peter and Max in the shops around the port.  They were small and standard. 

It was a pretty pathetic port area.  I was sooo irritated at the change in itinerary.  As we walked around I felt more and more irritation about it.  I felt like we were a herd of cattle that had been dropped off in order to spend our money for a few hours by buying stupid trinkets and eating/drinking at Senior Frogs and then we'd be herded back onto the ship.  As a result, I refused to buy anything.  This is the first time ever we've been at port and I bought nothing.  Not a key chain, not a deck of cards, not a water.  NOTHING.

In case you aren't aware how big cruise ships really are - here's a little perspective.

In the background on the right are some dumpsters.  Fits well given my opinions on Freeport.

We weren't off the ship for very long but you can see through the pictures how quickly the sun is going down. 

For dinner tonight we were not game to try the formal dining again so instead we did the buffet.  While it was better for Max, the food didn't compare to what we would have had in the dining room.  Max wasn't interested in trying many new foods during this vacation.  He was pretty picky except for breakfast.  For lunch and dinner he pretty much had either chicken breast, pizza, french fries, and pickles.  He did try jello, which he loved.  

We went to story time in the library before bed.

Max modeling mom's new hat.

We did a little shopping on board since it was our last night and then I went back to the room and Peter hit the casino.  He brought back 100.00 - good job Peter!  We enjoyed late night room service one last time.

A few things about Max on this cruise:

• He has learned to say that words "pizza", "jello", and "cookie"  (Does that give you any insight into his diet for the past few days??)
• While he is still incredibly shy he has started to say "hi" and "hello" more to people that talk to him.
• And people stopped to give him attention ALL the time.  He would usually smile at them then bury his head in Peter or my shoulder.
• He loved eating bananas
• He did a FANTASTIC job sleeping.  I was worried it would be an issue and it wasn't at all.  He took 2 naps a day with no fuss (which he wasn't doing at home).  We had the white noise going and of course it was always pretty dark since we had an inside room.
• He hasn't wanted to cuddle as part of his bedtime routine.  :(

Max gets to play in the ocean

For our second day on the cruise, we were heading to Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas called Coco Cay.  I didn't want Max to spend too much time in the sun so we weren't in any hurry to get off the boat.

In the morning after breakfast we went to one of the 3 toddlers classes that the ship had each day.  The classes were focused on children not old enough to participate in the "real" kids programs.  These classes required the participation of a parent and were usually free time with some focus and led by a cruise staff member.  This morning was about more about physical play with things like tunnels, mats, steps,etc. There were only a couple other kids there but that worked for Max since he's so shy.  (I KNOW there were a few more kids on the ship than that.  Those other parents must have been selfish and been more concerned with the buffet than letting their kids have some fun.)

Caught ya!!!  (Peter was checking out his muscles.)

After a nap (I stayed with Max, Peter wandered the ship), it was time to get ready to hit the beach!  We had to tender in to the island from the ship.

Ready to go

We had lunch on the island of hamburgers and hot dogs.  Max enjoyed a few bites of apple and cantaloupe but really only wanted to eat pickle after pickle after pickle.

Max's first time in the ocean!!

Video - Max starting to play in the water.  (Sorry for all the wind!  I didn't realize the mic on the camera would pick it up so much!)

The water was kinda cold but Max didn't mind.  He LOVED it!

Video - It's like a big bathtub with lots of opportunity for splashing!  He did a good job of taking the waves. (Again, sorry for the wind.)

We brought a pail and shovel for him to play with.

Dad wimped out due to the temperature of the water.  But Momma and Max had fun!

When Max started getting cold, we took a break and hung out on the lounge chairs.

Parent Fail of the Day #1 - Usually on cruises, your room attendant leaves beach towels for you on your bed before you are going to port.  This way you have beach towels to use and don't have to bring them from home.  We didn't get any on our bed.  I was going to ask the room attendant about it that morning but Peter was rushing us to hurry and get to breakfast.  I figured that since we were stopping at RCCL's private island, perhaps they had towels for us on the island so we didn't have to carry them with us to the island.  Once we got to the island we saw lots of people with towels.  I asked someone where they picked up their towel and they said, "on the boat".  HUH!?  Apparently you had to go up by the pools and they were handing out the beach towels up there.  There were no towels available on the beach.  I was so frustrated.  There was ZERO communication about this.  It wasn't in the daily planner that gives all the details about the day.  It wasn't announced (at least that I heard) over the intercom.  So now we were on the beach with zero towels for us to use.

Max was happy to sit here playing with the sand but didn't want to sit directly in the sand.

The afternoon was passing quickly so we went back in the ocean.  It was so much fun to play with Max and see him enjoying himself.

Our ship is in the background.  I love the beautiful Caribbean waters.

Parent Fail of the Day #2 - Max's lips were starting to go purple he was so cold, so we decided it was time to head back to the ship.  Since we didn't have a towel to warm Max up in, I wanted to get his cold swimsuit off him.  However, when I hadn't packed anything in our beach bag to change him into.  I had only brought an extra diaper and some wipes.  So we took his swimsuit off and I changed his diaper.  Here we encountered the first issue.  Wipes don't work well when trying to wipe away sand.  Max had sand all over him and I tried unsuccessfully to remove it.  I quickly realized it wasn't worth trying and just put the new diaper on top of his sandy bum.  Now I have my cold son in a dry, sandy diaper but nothing else and he's cold.  So we decided to put him in my swimsuit cover up and I'd just wear my swimsuit back to the ship.  (Which makes me uncomfortable but hey, my son comes first, right?)   

(Unintentional) Parent Fail of the Day #3 - I really wanted to take some pictures of the sweet little footprints Max left in the sand when he was walking along the beach.  But I put it off and then it was time to go.  Peter didn't want to wait any longer and pointed out that we would be back at a beach tomorrow and could do it then.  So, I didn't get the pictures I wanted.

Waiting in a LONG line to tender back to the ship.  He looks like a girl thanks to my cover up.  I felt like I should tell everyone around us that he was a boy.

Max and Momma

Silly boy.  I love his expression in this picture (ignore my fantastic quadruple chins).

Max wrapped up in his sundress.

Goodbye Coco Cay!

At least we had some snacks to give Max so he wasn't hungry, too.

He wanted to share with daddy.

After we got all showered and cleaned up, it was time for another toddler class!  This time the focus was on "art" so Max got to color.

There were also always fun toys to play with too.

Peter was so engaged, he fell asleep.

My cute boys.

Again, enjoying the wind.

Vacations are the best!!!

We got good at finding places that weren't too crowded where Max could run around and play since there wasn't basically zero space in our cabin thanks to the pack-n-play for Max.  We couldn't let him walk around just anywhere since there were many places that were crowded.

Video - Peter is such a fun playmate for Maxwell.

Sad Max.

Momma and Max before nap time in a dark cabin.

We decided to try the formal dining room again.  This time our strategy was to have them bring food to Max first rather than wait until we were eating our main courses.  That was a good strategy until Max was done eating (and we weren't even close to being done).  Again the meal turned into more torture than pleasure as we worked to keep Max happy/entertained while we ate.

Playing with the camera on the iPhone.

Coloring

More playing with the iPhone.

Enjoying my dessert. 

Where's Max?  Under the table playing with Peter's phone.  Oh yeah, we were THOSE parents.

Family pic in front of the GIANT Christmas tree.  It was fun to cruise during the holidays.  The decorations were fantastic.

Tonight Peter stayed with Max and I went by myself to one of the shows put on by the cruise staff.  It was fun but I wish I wouldn't have been alone.  Peter and I typically enjoy playing trivia during the day, the shows in the theater (which we didn't see once on this cruise) plus the comedy/game shows that go on late at night as well.  While we absolutely love being with Max, it's hard to not be able to enjoy all the things that we usually would, including dinner.