Coco Cay!

We spent our last day in the water park at Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas). Originally we were unsure if it was worth it to pay extra for a water park, but we’re so glad we did! It was a blast! The slides were really long, fast and so fun. 

Even after sleeping in, I woke up dizzy with a sore throat, but felt much better after working out and drinking a fresh squeezed orange juice. 

We’d debated on reserving a cabana, but found reviews confirming there were plenty of beach chairs — especially if there was only one ship in port that day. We’re glad we didn’t spend the extra money because the only cabanas still available were on the other side of the island. There was indeed plenty of umbrellas and chaises to have sun or shade and we were running to the different slides most of the time. 

A giant four-person tube going over “the slingshot” was the longest wait (45 minutes) but everything else went pretty quickly.

The racer slides on mats were so fast and such a blast with zero wait. In the afternoon we did the two-person tubes in the same area twice because they were so fun.

A big drop slide. Also one where you stood on a platform and it dropped away. And the biggest water slide in the world: the dare devil (I actually am not positive that’s the name!) But its the tallest red slide. Nick waited in line for an hour to go on it and reported it was worth it.

Dan and I went later in the afternoon and only waited 30 minutes, and yes, it was the funnest slide I’ve ever been on!

Park review is a thumbs up and worth every penny.

Last night after 31, and after gambling, the boys went to the piano bar and got roasted by the pianist. They couldn’t wait to get back tonight. So we all joined them for a final hurrah. He was talented. He was also crude. And the boys loved it.

We’re worn out. The boys have been delightful to travel with. So gracious, very responsible, independent and fun. They’ve stuck together but everyone is ready for their own beds and their own rooms. Including me! 

We feel so lucky that Nick has such good friends. Also that we were able to actually have a vacation even while traveling with 10 teens! 

Vacation Vacation

As we left dinner last night we all agreed we were looking forward to a day at sea to sleep in.

Dan and I also had breakfast at the Windjammer buffet, walked around the track and read all day.

Spent some time reading on our balcony and some time reading in the Solarium.

Walked through Central Park and had lunch at Johnny Rocket's.

We'd intended to do some more things we hadn't done yet like go down the big purple slide

and try the rock climbing wall. But, in the end, we enjoyed sitting around too much.

We did walk out on the glass deck and it was super freaky.

We did try the water slides yesterday after we got back from Cozumel.

One was so slow I stopped twice and had to push myself forward.

But the one with the funnel was a good time.

Formal night and lobster for dinner. Surf 'n turf for the boys and Dan who are all still regularly eating two main courses, multiple appetizers and dessert. 

I was absolutely exhausted after dinner, so I passed on all night plans, got into my pajamas and got caught up on my blog. Meanwhile, Dan sponsored $100 for a game of 31 with all the boys and the Moffats.

In the end, Will was the winner, and then he promptly bet it all on red in roulette in the casino and lost.

I'm pretty sure the boys are learning that while it can be fun to gamble, the house always wins in the end.

Meanwhile, the Rigby's are staying at our place in New York and Courtney got to use their extra

ticket and go to MJ with them. Kid swap!

A Slow Day in Cozumel

 We had a “cenote hopping” excursion at Casa Tortuga which turned out to be 45 minutes of playing in cenotes with three hours of travel, three hours of waiting around for the travel to happen, and two hours of shopping time at a mall at the ferry dock. 

To be fair, the cenotes were really lovely with crystal clear water and the boys didn’t mind the inefficiency. It was kinda nice to have time to close our eyes throughout the day on the shuttle and ferry trips.  

We weren't sure what to expect as the itinerary said "hiking" to the cenotes, but in reality it was a park where you followed a guide and walked 100 yards between each swimming hole. The first two were caves and the guide encouraged everyone to jump off the low edge before leading us underground and through the cave.

The second cave was similar and then they took us to larger exposed pools with jumping platforms. They let the boys flip and have fun with the only rule being not to dive head first, but they didn't get mad when anyone over rotated or chickened out on their belly flop and ducked their heads first. Dan and I jumped twice too, but I was content with "jump" being my trick.

We arrived late morning so it wasn't crowded.

I would probably plan another excursion -- maybe to Tulum -- in tandem so it felt like we saw and did more with the day. But when we mentioned it to the boys, they were surprised we thought it was lacking. We had a quick lunch then headed back to the ferry terminal where Dan took the boys to second lunch and then shopping.

While the boys got some treats and souvenirs (and we all were offered weed and "coca"), I found a tiny palm tree with a spec of shade on the beach and read my book for a couple of hours. 

The waters of Cozumel are turquoise and clear except for the seaweed washing up on shore.

It was a gorgeous place to rest.

We got back to the ship just in time to shower and get ready for dinner. Afterward we hung out with the Moffats in the piano bar until 1:00 a.m. talking about life and families.

Looking forward to another sea day tomorrow and a vacation from our vacation! 

Verrry Short Sail and Snorkel, Roatan

 We’ve all been sleeping so well being gently rocked to sleep each night. As soon as the boat pulled into port this morning and the engines bumped and the boat came to a stop instead of swaying, I woke right up. Dan hasn’t snored at all. If only every sleep could be like a night on a big ship!

 Today we had a snorkel excursion in Roatan, Honduras.
Our catamaran pulled out of the small harbor and anchored about 200 yards from shore. In other circumstances, we might have been disappointed that our sail wasn’t that at all, but given the rough waters, we were actually relieved to stay close. I wondered if it was safe to snorkel with such a strong wind, but we had a couple of our crew in kayaks looking out for everyone and snorkeling was perfectly manageable. 

The reef ran deep and the caves and alcoves were different than Nick had ever seen before and he said it was the coolest snorkel he’d ever done. We also saw a leopard manta right off the bat, so that started our adventure on the right foot.

After snorkeling, we had chill time while the crew made lunch. Beside our group of 12, about 13 other people were on our tour, but there was plenty of room for everyone to comfortably lay down in the sun, or the shade, if they preferred. 

While we were relaxing, Gage got his mission call! He chose to wait to open it until he got home so he could be with his parents. But wow, exciting stuff! It’s getting real for these guys!

After lunch everyone, young and old, women and men alike, jumped off the side of the boat into the ocean over and over. When we had our fill of thrills, the crew got a little dance party going for 30 minutes before it was time to head back. 

Waiting in line to get back on the cruise ship, we ended up next to Joe, the sexiest man. He was thrilled to be recognized and the boys were thrilled to get a picture with him.

Every night most of the boys eat two entrees and about one of everything for dessert. 

So fun to get to indulge for the week!

We all turned in early tonight because we have to leave the ship at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow for a full day in Cozumel.

Bonus Sea Day

 Today I woke up earlier (than yesterday's 11:00 wake time) to go to the gym to lift and do a stretch class. We discovered if you have the beverage-plus package, the spa offers protein smoothies (for Dan) and green drinks for me (celery, cucumber, apple, lemon and ginger). Yum! Also fresh squeezed orange juice.

I was so happy to get another sea day to relax. We are thrilled that the boys are great at entertaining themselves and keeping out of trouble and Dan and I are enjoying a vacation more than we expected we’d get to. We’ve crammed ten boys in two rooms so one in each room has to sleep on the floor. One boy brought a blow-up mattress but in the other, Nadia, our room attendant suggested they take the mattress from our trundle bed to theirs. This is a huge relief that no one is going to tattle on all the boys staying together. And the boys are thrilled to not have to take turns on the floor. There is not an ounce of extra space in those rooms, though!

We went back to the Solarium to layout and have lunch (across from Jason P., of course). Hung out on our room’s balcony and verified that the “larger than the U.S. seaweed ‘blob’” is an overstatement and not a blob at all but long strands of Sargasso growth. 

We went to the ice skating show then to a Queen tribute after dinner. 

We’re ready for adventure off the ship tomorrow.

Sexiest, Ahem, Men

The highlight of the day—and at the same time the hardest thing to watch of the day—was the boys dancing in the sexiest man contest. I sent some stills to the Mom chat, but spared them the videos. The boys had moves no mom should have to see her son make. Nick, Will, Luke and Ryan all took part, shaking their backs—and fronts (!)--for five women voters. 

Interestingly, before the contest began when the MC asked the ladies what qualities they found the most sexy in a man, they answered a man who was: happy, adventurous, could make them laugh, and a good dancer. 

It was a lot of fun, lots of laughs and cheers from the crowd and everyone was a good sport. My videos aren’t loading, but we realized Nick has a hidden talent—doing the worm. He even got a shout-out from the MC for such terrific control he didn’t even make a splash. 

The winner, Joe, was a crowd favorite -- surprisingly fit when he took his shirt off and danced without being gross and funny. No surprise that he won. 

The five lady voters.

The rest of the day Dan and I walked/ran on the track which was .38 mile round, laid out, read and had lunch in the Solarium (the adult space), explored the ship, got soft serve ice cream, went to Grease, the Musical, watched part of the dive show before dinner and met up with the group for formal night. 

At dinner Dan asked ChatGPT to write a 350 word missionary farewell talk and read it to the boys. A religious time-out since today is Sunday. ChatGPT’s talk was perfect except for the absence of personal stories. Also had it compose a 300 word talk on how to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Also dead on. We’re entering a whole new world, people.

After dinner we changed and went to a couple's game show which was good for laughs

and piano and sing-along at the Schooner Bar. 

There's a guy on the ship that looks just like Jason Packham. 

He was at name that tune last night, on the track this morning (where I walked next to him for a second and determined it wasn't him) and in the game show tonight. Now we're just referring to him as Jason Packham.

The seas and weather are a little rough so our stop in Costa Maya got cancelled and we’re having another sea day tomorrow and I’m thrilled!

Sailing Out of Miami

 We stayed in the crappy Miami Airport hotel last night. 
Nick barfed on arrival and again in the middle of the night 

but he's feeling better and now and we're just hoping no one else gets sick!

It's so exciting to be cruising again since Covid ruined the glamour for a while.

Ten boys and us, plus the Moffats. But they've got excursions planned separate from us.

Here we go! 

Boarded smoothly and checked our muster stations. 

Got our cups for our drink packages and signed up for internet. 

Ate pizza at Sorrento's while we waited for our rooms to be ready.

First fun stop: Flowrider

A blue band means you've "passed" a test and earned the right to surf during advanced surfer hours.

The lifeguard was super strict and only gave it to two of our boys even though a couple looked pretty close. I thought they'd be annoyed, but in fact they're excited for the challenge.

There's a lesson in that somewhere.

When open flowrider hours ended, the boys ran off to mini-golf and then check out the ship.

Dan and I admired the view as we left port until an advanced flowrider

DRENCHED us by cutting a wave and sending it over the edge and down our backs.

As if we'd had a bucket of water poured over our heads. 

Glenn took this pic from his condo in Key Biscayne. We think its our ship.

It gave us the excuse to peel away from the view and head to our room to unpack and get ready for dinner.

The only rules with the boys is be smart, get up to be on time for excursions and show up to dinner each night. We've got two tables so we can all be together and hear about the day.

Unfortunately, a family misunderstood their dining time and were at one of our tables and the waiters didn't realize it. So all the boys but two were at one table tonight. The other two were across the room with us and Moffats. We've been assured we'll be together the rest of the time. 

After dinner John and Tammy and Dan and I went to "finish that tune."

As we were leaving we walked through the casino wondering if the boys were there. They weren't.

But, we spotted them in a different area -- playing roulette in the smaller smoke-free casino.

They can gamble at 18 on this ship in international waters and they're all SO excited.

Tammy and I found a slot machine and I ended up not being a lucky charm.

But Will won $35 on his slot and now the boys think slots are winners.

So we added another, well, not rule, but word of advice.

Set a spending limit and stick to it. We'll see how it goes.

Happy to be on vacation in the sun on such a pretty ship!!