We spent last week aboard Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas with 36 other family members from my moms side of the family (so there were 39 of us total on vacation together!) We had such a blast getting to spend time with everyone and enjoying the outrageously beautiful weather at sea, in Cozumel -Mexico, Georgetown - Grand Cayman, and Falmouth - Jamaica! It was sunny and 87 almost all week long...picture perfect weather, especially once we learned it was cold and snowy in Michigan while we were gone.
We (Scott, Me, Aiden, Papa, Grammy & Uncle James) left home on Thursday, March 30 and drove straight through the night to New Orleans, Louisiana - about a 15ish hour car ride. Aiden did great! It was really nice that we traveled mostly at night on the way down and he slept most of the way. When we got to New Orleans it was a bit early to check into our hotel so we spent sometime in the French Quarter, at Jackson Square and had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe New Orleans. It was sunny and HOT and because our luggage was so tightly packed into the van we all suffered in our long pants - but it was worth it for the afternoon.
After we were able to check into the hotel (or is it motel - since the rooms opened to the outdoors?) and the rest of the Terpstra clan that was staying there arrived, Scott and I headed back to do the Bourbon Street thing and get some gumbo for dinner with James, Amber & Uncle Jeff and the kids (Aiden stayed back with Grammy & Papa). We walked along Bourbon Street - which was crazy busy because the college basketball Final Four tournament was in New Orleans that weekend - at dinner at the delicious Gumbo Shoppe and got dessert at Cafe Du Monde (yum!!).
Saturday, March 31 was our departure date. We were up and at the docks early - and couldn't believe how BIG the ship actually was - pictures do not do it justice. The ship towered over the city buildings near the docks and you could see it from a long ways away as you traveled the highway down to the port. After we all boarded the ship we got a HUGE group picture of all 39 of us on the helo-pad on the bow of the ship. Just about dinner time is when the ship was finally all loaded and pulled away from the docks and headed down the Mississippi River towards the Gulf of Mexico (it took 7 hours to reach the Gulf from the Port of New Orleans).
Sunday, April 1 was our first full day on the ship and it was spent "at Sea." When we got up and went for breakfast we had the most breath taking views of the Gulf of Mexico stretched 360 degrees around us. It was crazy to see nothing but blue water as far as the eye could see and not another ship in sight. We spent most of the day by the pool and played a scavenger hunt game with our huge family group that had us running (literally) all over the ship. Sunday was also our first formal night for dinner and boy-oh-boy did everyone look sharp! We also were able to have the wait staff bring a slice of birthday cake for my cousin Heather since it was her birthday and everyone sang to her when the desserts were served.
Monday, April 2 found us at port in Cozumel, Mexico. The ship pulled into port while we were still sleeping so when we got up for breakfast our view was of the sea and the coastline of Mexico. After breakfast we disembarked the ship with Grammy & Papa and grabbed a cab ride away from the port to the shopping district. We wandered around there for a few hours and bought a shot glass for Aiden (he collects them when we travel) and vanilla to take back home. We headed back to the ship for lunch and after lunch Aiden stayed with Grammy & Papa and took a snooze in their balcony room while Scott and I headed back into Cozumel hoping to find a beach near port. There were no real beaches close to port and we didn't want to take another taxi ride, so we ended up on a tiny patch of sand next to Senor Frogs and the port area. It was pretty empty of people and just enough for us to be able to sit in the sand and put our toes in the ocean for a bit.
Tuesday, April 3 we were in Georgetown, Grand Cayman after cruising overnight from Cozumel. This was the only port that we had to tender into, so it was kind of interesting getting off of our HUGE ship on to a much smaller boat that was bobbing around in the water and taking a short ride to shore. In Grand Cayman we did an excursion to Stingray City Sandbar and swam with the stingrays! It was such a cool experience! After touching the stingray once, Aiden decided he did NOT like the "big fishies" and was kind of afraid of them. The stingrays have been fed at this particular sandbar by fishermen and now tourists for the last 70 years...so generations of stingrays and they are so used to people they just brush up against you and swim right around your legs in the water. On our way back to the island one of the guys on our tour boat dove off of the top portion of the boat (the boat had double decks) and swam to the bottom of the ocean and brought up star fish for everyone to see. They were so cool and Aiden loved to touch them! After our stingray excursion we wandered around the port and shopping area for a bit and Scott, me, James & Aiden stopped off at Jimmy Buffetts Margaritaville for something to drink and a snack before tendering back out to the ship.
On Wednesday, April 4 we were in Falmouth, Jamaica. Like the other two ports we stopped at - it was HOT HOT HOT in Jamaica! Since Scott and I had already been to Jamaica on our honeymoon we choose not to do an excursion there. Instead we slept in a bit and then after breakfast decided to get off the ship and walk around the port and the small city that popped up around it beyond the port gates. Our goal was to get some Blue Mountain coffee for Scott - and we got a great deal from a vendor - 2lbs for $30. Typically this coffee (ranked in the worlds top 3 coffees) for for $25-30 per one pound! We also got a beautiful carved wooden fish and stingray at one of the road side vendors and then we headed back to the ship and ate lunch, Aiden took a nap and we did some swimming in the pool while we waited for everyone else to get back to the ship.
After Jamaica we set course for New Orleans - we were going to have 2 full days at sea to end our fun filled vacation! As we headed back to New Orleans our captain came over the ships PA system and informed us that we were going to have to go slightly off course to do an emergency evacuation of a passenger that was very sick and needed more medical attention than what was available on board the ship. So we got to see the lights of Cancun, Mexico and watch as the Mexican coast guard/navy met up with our ship and transported a passenger off Voyager of the Seas onto a much smaller boat for the trip into port. It was very interesting to watch. After the medical emergency was taken care of we continued back to New Orleans. While at sea we enjoyed more sunshine, swimming in the pools, great food and some pretty funny on-board entertainment shows! We had a great vacation and had such a nice time being able to see everyone since big gatherings like this don't happen too often these days with everyone busy schedules. Can't wait for another family vacation....maybe another camping trip perhaps?
