GeorgiaMomof4

Thursday -Costa Maya

I was still bummed, but we did decide to go ahead and get off the ship in Costa Maya. We didn't have an excursion planned, we were just going to the beach and to Tropicante - our favorite place in Costa Maya.

I decided it would help me keep my mind off it if I was doing something other than sitting in the cabin waiting on guest services to call.

Several months before I had emailed Steve and told him how many of us would be coming and ask if he would reserve us some loungers and some tables. He said he was happy to do so, so we caught a taxi and headed on to the Tropicante.

We were greeted by his staff when we arrived and were quickly shown to our loungers and tables. The guys all just wanted to hangout at the table and us girls headed to the loungers.

This makes several trips to Costa Maya for me and I'd never seen the beach like it was on this day. It was full of sea weed and I mean FULL of sea weed. They told us that as bad as it was that day, that it had even been worse on Wednesday. I'm certainly glad we weren't there on Wednesday.

The boys played and we lounged and rested. Tropicante is a wonderful place to go because Steve and his staff take care of anything you need - food,drinks, massages, snorkeling, bikes, etc.

I decided to have a massage - $30 for a 1 hour massage right there on the beach and itwas great. We ordered the fried mini burritos for lunch and they are amazing. Hope snarled her nose and said she didn't want one, but then we ended up having to order more because she liked them so much!

The only downside to Costa Maya is that is always seems to be a short day. Before long, it was time to load back up and head back to the ship. It was ok with me though because that meant I could check on my phone again.

Straight to guest services I went and still no luck - no one had turned my phone in. The boys were exhausted so Hope took them back to the cabin for a nap. Glen and I went up on deck and hung out until we had left Costa Maya. He decided to go back to the cabin but I stayed out and read and took a nap before since I hadn't slept much the night before. Seemed like too quickly it was time to get ready for dinner - tonight was our 2nd elegant night.

We did dress for dinner tonight, but not quite as fancy as we did the first night. The boys sure did look handsome though. Collin didn't dress up and go to dinner with us tonight - he was too busy playing basketball and hanging with the new friends he had made on the ship.

I'll be honest with you. I know guest services said that if a crew member found my phone that they would turn it in. We all know unfortunately that everyone isn't honest and I have a sneaky suspicion that one of the waitstaff got my phone and didn't return it. I know for a fact that it was on our table and we were the last to leave the area we were sitting in for early dining.

I continued checking with guest services, but my phone hadn't been turned in.

We went to the 88 Keys show but Glen was tired and so was I and we really didn't care for the show so we decided just to head back to the cabin. The boys were restless as well. I ended up packing up some things that I knew we wouldn't be needing to try and get a head start on getting ready to head home.

Wednesday - Roatan - continued

Here is where my trip took a turn for the worse!

Collin loves the strawberry bisque soup that they have on the first night of the cruise. He always asks if they will bring him some each night of the cruise. Well, he didn't come to dinner and the waiter had already brought his soup out. I asked our waiter if he would bring me a cover for it and told him I would take it to him.

We ate dinner and were getting ready to leave. The boys jumped up and followed Donna and Shane out and Glen and I got up quickly so we could be sure that they had met up with them. I grabbed the soup and Glen said he would go get us a seat for the show. I told him I would run the soup down to the cabin fridge and meet him there.

Our room steward was cleaning our room so I talked with him for a minute, put my soup up and headed to the theatre. A few minutes after I got there, I realized I didn't have my cell phone. I knew I had it with me in the dining room because I had made some pictures and send some through Facebook to Whitney and Lindsey back at home. I didn't really panic because I figured I had just put it down in the cabin when I was putting my soup in the fridge.

As soon as the show was over I headed back to the cabin to check on my phone - it wasn't there. Ok, still didn't panic too much -headed to our table at the dining room - late seating people were there and I asked our waiters if they had seen my phone when they were cleaning our table and preparing for the late seating. Theytold me no that they hadn't seen it but to check at guest services someone might have found it and turned it in. Now I was panicked! I went straight to guest services and you guessed it - no one had turned it in.

I was assured that if a staff member found it, they would immediately turn it in to guest services so to be sure and keep checking back.

I was devastated and heart broken. I had just purchased this phone - an iphone X in December after having my other phone for years! I wasn't as concerned about the phone as I was all the pictures I had on my phone. I wasn't sure how long it had been since it had been backed up by icloud and I was so afraid I had lost all my pictures from December to now.

I called my daughter at home to see if she could do anything as far as "find my iphone" and she did what she could. I also had Donna send an IM saying that I would pay a reward, no questions asked.

Needless to say this put a huge damper on my cruise. I didn't sleep hardly at all Wednesday night because I was so hoping that someone would be honest and turn my phone in. I actually went back to the dining room at 4:30 Thursday morning to look for myself. There were some security people in there and I told them about it. They said they would look into it, but I never heard a word from them. I went back to guest services too but no luck.

I was literally sick to my stomach. It was all I could do to eat breakfast and I didn't even want to go into Costa Maya and it's my favorite port!

Wednesday -Roatan

We arrived in Roatan at 9 and wanted to be off the ship quick because we wanted to get to the beach. We debarked quickly and pretty much as soon as we set foot off the ship it started to rain. Now, I don't mean sprinkle, I mean rain. A clothes, shoes, everything drenching rain. We stood under the tent right outside the ship until it slacked off a little and then headed on toward the beach. It eventually quit raining and turned out to be a nice day.

Hope, Collin, Steven, Tia and Shiloh were doing some kind of wild life adventure excursion today so they all met up and headed to where they needed to be.

We decided to take the chair lifts over to the beach since Glen is limited on his mobility and I also figured I would end up having to carry one of the boys to the beach or for sure back from the beach because they would be so tired.

The beach area right off the ship was nice - all the front row chairs had already been reserved so we found some loungers a few rows back. We could still keep an eye on the boys and they had their puddle jumpers on as well, so I didn't have to worry about them too much. We ordered some cheese sticks to eat and munched on those. Glen and Ronnie decided to go sit in the restaurant and have something to drink. I just enjoyed the sun, water and my book.

We stayed at the beach the majority of the day and headed back around 2 or 2:30 so the boys would have time for a nap. I did a little shirt shopping at the Del Sol and got back on the ship too.

We just chilled out and napped until time for dinner and then we went to dinner.

Tuesday - Belize

We had decided before we ever sailed that we would probably just stay on the ship in

Belize. We didn't have any excursions planned and thought it would be a good day for the boys (and Mom and Dad) to catch up on their rest and enjoy the water works and ship when it wasn't so crowded.

We got up and I headed down and collected some breakfast for everyone. Hope and I decided we would go into Belize for a bit just to say we had more or less. Glen and the boys stayed in the cabin and chilled out.

We had purchased FTTF so we had priority tendering. We went to the dining room, waited about 5 minutes and then were called to our tender. It was about a 15 minute ride to Belize. We walked around for a little while, Hope got a Henna tattoo and we headed back to the ship.

When we got back, I got the boys ready for the pool and waterworks and we headed up there to enjoy the day.

It was an absolutely beautiful day. Sometimes when you are anchored or in port it can be very hot on the ship since it isn't moving and you don't get any air, but the wind was blowing that day and it made for the perfect pool and waterworks day.

The boys finally ventured out and played with the water guns and rode down the small slides. They had a ball. I just enjoyed watching them, soaking up some sun and reading my book.

We stayed out most of the afternoon until they got tired and then Glen took them back for a nap.

I had almost forgotten, but today was the Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea party. We wanted to take them down and let them pick something out because they had never done anything like that before. It was at 4:30 and there were quite a few kids down there. It was very organized and we were out probably by 5:15 or 5:20. Both boys decided they wanted a shark so they ended up with a shark, a pair of clothes, a bag to carry it in and a little St. Jude shirt for their sharks as well. It was a costly event - about $90 total for both sharks, clothes and bags - but they do love them!

We went to dinner - I don't remember what we had but I'm sure it was fine, I certainly didn't go hungry as you can tell by looking at me!

After dinner we went to the Country Road show in the theatre and then to the Guess that Motown Song with Dr. E in the lobby.

I haven't really said much about our CD Dr. E. He was ok. I've certainly had better and I've certainly had worse. I enjoyed his difference voices, but he just didn't seem as personable as some of the cruise directors we have had in the past.

The Guess that Song was one of our favorite things to do on both our trips on the Fantasy but I believe it was because of Mikey the CD. He is super awesome and makes everything so fun. I'm very sad that he won't be the CD in May when we cruise the Fantasy again.

Time for bed again because tomorrow we will be in Roatan.

Sunday -sea day continued

After dinner we took the kids back to change and took them to Camp Carnival for the first time. We knew we would need to leave them there on Monday evening when we went to the Steakhouse so to break them in for a little while first. We knew William would probably be ok with it,but Justin tends to want to stick with us - he is the baby after all and rotten. They did great when we left them so we were happy about that.

We decided to go see the show "Flick" in the Showtime Theatre and it was wonderful! Probably one of the best shows that I've seen. We have seen some great shows and this one isn't at the top, but it was at least in the to 5. If you have the opportunity to see it, I highly recommend you do so!

After the show we went back to get the boys because tomorrow would be Cozumel day and we had a full day ahead of us!

Monday - Cozumel

Our plans for Cozumel had been made for some time because we pretty much always

do the same type thing. We have a driver that we use and have used many times who we love like family. His name is Crescencio and he is wonderful. Since our party was larger this time - even though 6 of our group were doing other things, Crescencio didn't have a van that would accommodate all of us so he recruited a friend and fellow driver to help him out that day.

I had been in touch with Crescencio through Facebook and we decided since our ship docked at 9, we would meet him at the taxi area around 9:45. That would give the ship time to dock and start debarkation and give Glen plenty of time to make the long walk down the pier.

He and Alex (the other driver for the day) were there waiting on us when we reached the taxi stand area. We divided up and all of my crew and Donna's crew went with Crescencio and Ronnie, Lisa, Andrew and Megan went with Alex.

We had a few first timers to Cozumel so we drove through part of the town and they showed us some of the hi lights and talked about their schools, hospitals, insurance, etc. It's interesting to me to know how different countries handle things like that.

We always enjoy a drive around the island to see the "wild side" so that's what Crescencio did for us. We stopped at a beautiful place where you can walk up on the rocks and get pictures of the water and waves crashing into the rocks. There is a small gift shop there as well. I'm sorry, but I don't remember the name of the place.

We did have something interesting happen there though - Andrew proposed to Megan and they are now officially engaged. It happened before I even knew it so I missed it - not uncommon for me it seems.

She was happy and excited and I hope they have many wonderful years together.

After a stop there, we drove on around the island to Playa Palancar. We really enjoy our stop there every time we visit Cozumel. Everyone is super nice and the beach is always pretty and we enjoy snorkeling there. Crescencio always includes 1 hour of snorkeling (equipment included) if we go to Palancar. I bought me a full face snorkel mask last year though so I don't have to use their equipment.

It was a very beautiful day and the boys played in the water and the ladies enjoyed the sun while the men sat in the shade.

A little guy came by and asked if we wanted to ride the banana boat. Well, we had never done that before so we thought- what the heck - sure we will try it. So, Donna, Brandi,Hope and myself walk down the beach and get on the banana boat. I told him to take it easy because I was old and couldn't afford to have something broken lol! He was easy at first but then we ended up hitting some waves and off we all went! It would have

been fine except Donna and Brandi ended up butting heads and I'm not sure but I think

Brandi may have had a concussion. They hit really hard! You should have seen all of us trying to get back up on that thing in the ocean though - it was a sight to behold. I wish I had pictures but Donna has them on her go pro and I haven't gotten them from her. I'll post those later if I end up getting them.

Soon after our ride we decided we would head back toward the ship. We all loaded up and Crescencio headed back to the port area. We had to make a pit stop at a pharmacy because Collin had informed me that he couldn't find his toothbrush. Now remember, this is Monday and we've been on this ship since Saturday - and he is just now telling me he doesn't have a toothbrush! I would have thought he would have told Steven this by now since he was staying in the cabin with him. Boys - you have to wonder sometimes!!!

We got back to the ship and headed to the cabin for a short nap. We had reservations at the Steakhouse for 6 and had to have the boys ready and up at the Lido deck to eat with the other Camp kids at 6 and then head down to the Steakhouse.

I was afraid the boys would pitch a bit and want to come with us, but they were troopers and stayed there on the Lido deck to eat.

The Steakhouse has changed their menu from last February when we last visited a Steakhouse. It was actually on the Magic then as well.

My go to steak was still on the menu thank goodness. I love the spice rubbed ribeye. Oh my, it's like heaven. It's flavor and tenderness are wonderful. There were 8 of us who ate there and we all opted to do the "Art at your Table" for dessert. While the actual dessert part wasn't the best, there were several different things to try, the show of them actually doing it was really neat. Let's face it,after you've eaten your special item from the chef, an appetizer, salad and a huge steak with a side most everyone is ready to explode anyway and can't even hold dessert so it worked out great!

As soon as we finished eating dinner we went to the theatre for the Love and Marriage Show with Dr. E. It was a cute show with the couples who participated. When it was over we headed to pick up the boys at camp and it was a good thing. Justin was crying because he had fallen asleep and I guess woke up and didn't really know where he was. I picked him up and carried all 37 pounds of him back to the cabin and tucked him and William in for the night. They'd had a really big day and were worn out!

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures to show you - I'll tell you all about that when we get to Wednesday!

Great pictures for formal night. I just turned 75 (most people think I look younger), and I love to dress up for the formal nights. I am amazed on the compliments I get to be this old, but people liking what I am wearing. I loved the blue in your dress. You may have posted this, and I probably passed over it. Are the two youngest boys twins, or just close together in age? I have twin wons myself, and then 11 years later after having cancer surgery, we had another son together. Sort of like the old program on TV years ago, "My Three Sons." :)

Thank you so much - I was happy they turned out so well. I don't have to dress up for work and we don't really dress up

for church either so it's nice to do it when we cruise. My dress came from Ross - it's my new go to place for formal wear for our cruises. You just can't beat their prices.

Our boys aren't twins although we are asked that all the time. I bet there were 25 or 30 different people who asked us that

while we were cruising. They are close in age though - 17 months apart. William will be 5 in June and Justin will be 4 in

November. We have been foster parents for almost 13 years and they are our newest (and last I should add) permanent additions to our family. William was 9 months old when he came to live with us and then Justin was born 8 months later

and was 2 days old when he came to live with us (we actually picked him up from the hospital). They were birth Mom's number 9 and 10 children - but don't get me started on that! We certainly hadn't planned on adopting a child much

less 2 at our age, but God had different plans I guess. That's wonderful that you had another child after having cancer. Eleven years difference is a lot - our oldest likes 5 days being 20 years older than our youngest. Her birthday is November 7 and Justin's is November 2!

Thank you again, they mean the world to us!

What a beautiful family! So nice to see you all dressed up.

Thank you so much! This is really the only time we get to dress up so it's nice to see every now and then.

A few more elegant night photos - I hope I'm not on photo overload - but aren't they so cute and handsome!

Sunday -Sea Day

Everyone was tired so we didn't get up until about 8 and by the time we all went for breakfast and made it out to the pool and waterworks area - it was hopping. We did snag some chairs in front of the water works so we could watch the boys play - or so I thought. As it turned out, it was windy that day and they didn't really want to be in the water.

A side note about Chair Hogs. When we got to the Lido deck it was probably around 9:00 or 9:30, I don't really remember. There were tons and I mean tons of towels, books, shoes, etc. laid out in all the chaise lounges and I would venture to say that 80% of them didn't have a person in them or no where around. It's very frustrating when you are going to be there but can't find a seat because everyone has"saved" them but are nowhere to be found.

OK - enough ranting - back to the review.

We hung out there at the chairs we had and Glen took the boys to play mini golf and do a few other things. They were already tired again, so he went with them back to the cabin for a nap. I probably need to add here that he was ok with being the designated one to take them back for a nap. He had knee surgery 3 weeks before we left home so he still wasn't up to par and was probably ready for a rest as well!

I should have taken some notes on what we did the rest of the day, but I didn't. I'm sure I stayed out most of the day and Hope wandered around the ship.

This was our first elegant night so we went in early enough to get everyone showered and ready for dinner.

Getting myself, 3 boys, a husband and a teenage girl ready for elegant night was a chore. Amazingly, the little boys didn't really complain when they had to get dressed which was amazing but I made sure to tell them that they would be matching big brother Collin. Glen hates to dress up but knows I enjoy doing it on the cruise so like the great husband he is, he does it without too much complaining. Hope got herself ready, including about 1 1/2 hours on hair and makeup!

I think we clean up pretty good though don't you?

We took a few photos before dinner and then headed to the dining room. The menu was standard elegant night fare with prime rib and lobster. The lobster was ok - but it seems to me the portions have gotten smaller and smaller and it just wasn't as good as I've had before. I'm not complaining - just stating my opinion.

All four of your kids are beautiful, but I loved the 3 boys in their vests and ties! How adorable!

Thank you very much! I actually have 6 in total - 3 girls and 3 boys. Kind of like the Brady Bunch I guess lol!

Nice photos. I love how your husband's royal blue tie matched your royal blue dress on the formal night. Very nice!

Thank you! I always try my best to co-ordinate all of us but with so many sometimes it's really hard!

We used Irie tours for their West Side beach hopping tour. It was fabulous! Curacao is now my favorite island. It is stunning. From the first contact with this company to our goodbye from Eddy (our guide) was a great experience & I highly recommend you consider them. 3 stunning beaches & a national park.

How much time did you have to spend at the beaches?

Once on board we headed straight to our cabin to put our carry ons down and to checkout the cabin since this was the first time we had booked a Deluxe Oceanview cabin. Ours was Cabin 1390 and although the cabin seemed to have been about the same size - it was spacious enough for us. I don't think I would have wanted 5 adults in the cabin though. I really liked the 2nd bathroom with the tub. It was great for the boys. We did have an extra closet in this room which came in handy as well.

After checking out our cabin we all headed up to Lido for our first meal of the cruise. I was looking forward to a Guy's burger and William and Justin wanted pizza. Glen and I divided and conquered and got our food and the boys food. William pretty much just sat and looked at his food but Justin ate some of his pizza and then decided he wanted some of my burger.

After lunch we looked around a bit and then headed back to the cabin to see if our luggage had been dropped off. It hadn't been so we decided the boys should probably take a quick nap before the Muster Drill so they wouldn't get thrown overboard by a fellow passenger who didn't want to hear them whine and complain. Yes, they are mine and I love them but when they are tired no one wants to be around them- trust me!

After our short nap it was time for Muster and our station was E3 which was located in the lower section of the Southern Lights Dining room - which also happened to be our Early seating dining room. It was painless, well except for the fact that Justin DID NOT want to wear his bracelet. He pulled and tugged and tried his best to get it off! The funny thing about this is that we have now been home for 10 days and he still has that dang bracelet on and won't let me cut if off - I ask every day! Sorry - getting back on track, we did have to wait on a few slackers but it was over pretty quick and we were released to go - didn't have to go up on deck to the lifeboats!

It was nowtime for sail away and we went up on the upper decks so the boys could see allthe people waving at them and see everything going on. They were very impressed with the"Mickey Mouse Ship" they called it. I'd love to be able to take them on a Disney cruise one day but don'tsee it in our future unless we win the lottery!

After getting out into the ocean and cruising a while we headed back to the cabin. Luggage had arrived and we quickly unpacked and put all that stuff away. I could finally relax knowing all that had been taken care of and we were officially at sea!

By now it was getting close to time for our early dinner and we all got freshened up and went to dinner. I had hoped that dinner would be the one time all day that we could all get together and see what all everyone had done during the day but it didn't really turn out that way. Before cruising I had gotten in touch with John Heald and requested that we have 2 or 3 tables close together since our bookings were all linked. We really enjoy the round tables so we can all talk and not have to yell down to the other end of the table so that's what I had requested. We ended up being at 3 tables - a 12 top round and 2 4 top booths which were right beside/behind the 12 top. It was a great place for us even though during the whole week everyone was never there at the same time. Oh well, I tried.

Our wait staff introduced themselves and did a good job. They were definitely not the best we've ever had (that was on the Dream in 2011), but definitely not the worst we've ever had either (that was probably on the Sunshine).

I don't have a clue what I had for dinner that night, but I do remember that each night we ate there the food was good - not great but good. What was supposed to be hot or warm was and what was supposed to be cold was - so that's a plus.

Having 2 small boys in tow, we really didn't want to spend a whole lot of time at dinner even though we do enjoy the dining experience. Some nights took longer than I would have liked - others around us seem to get their courses much quicker and finish a lot earlier than we would even though we were always on time and didn't take too long ordering and eating.

We usually always go to the Welcome Aboard Show but didn't make it this time. Like I said, this cruise was really difference for us because of having the boys. We decided to take in the Dive In Movies and even though they weren't kids movies, they loved it. The first one that night was Going In Style with Morgan Freeman. We watched it and then the boys and Glen we retired so they headed back to the cabin. I decided to stay and watch Home Again with Reese Witherspoon. It was a cute movie too!

Our first official day was over and tomorrow was a sea day!

Thank you everyone who is following along.

Been a busy weekend but I hope to post more tomorrow.

My mind seems to be going in a million different directions today, so if I get some of this out of line or have to make side notes - please bear with me! I'm getting old and sometimes I think of something I want to add out of the blue.

Saturday -Embarkation Day!

We were all up early and ready to head to the port for boarding. The Best Western did have a free breakfast so we all grabbed something to tide us over until we got on the ship to hit the Lido deck!

Justin has chocolate chip cookie in his mouth - I know it's only 8:30 am - but we are on vacation!

Steven and his crew left Jacksonville about 6:30 so they could meet up with us at our hotel and we could all travel together on to the Park and Cruise. We have always used Park and Cruise to park and then be shuttled on to the port. The staff there is great and work really hard to ensure you get to the ship as fast as possible and back to your car when your vacation is over.

Unfortunately, there was a really bad wreck on I-95 and they had to take a detour. We decided we would just meet at the Park and Cruise instead of the hotel. It wouldn't have really mattered if we all boarded at the same time, but I had Collin's birth certificate with me and Steven would need it at check in.

A note on ark and Cruise. You can book directly through their website but always call and ask for a discount code. They always have one and normally it will save you 10 or 15%. I know it isn't much- but it could mean an extra drink on the cruise right?

Timing worked out perfect. We actually arrived about 9:45 and they didn't open the gate til about 10. We had just pulled into the lot and had unloaded our bags when Steven and his crew pulled up so it couldn't have been better. When we told the lady there was 19 of us, she said she would need a bigger van to haul all of us so we had to wait until the next shuttle but it was only about a 5-10 minute wait. We almost filled it up - but had a few extra seats so a few more people loaded up and went with us to the port.

They dropped us off and the porters immediately took our luggage. They told us to get what we wanted to carry on with us and leave the rest to them. We always tip them well because I want to be sure my luggage gets on the ship. I've had nightmares about seeing it floating in the water!

Side note here - We all wanted FTTF so that we could get on as early as possible and also so we could drop our carry ons off in the room as soon as we boarded. I knew we would probably be weighted down with stuff since we had the littles with us this trip. We also had a tender port this cruise - Belize, so it would be helpful with that as well and who really wants to stand in that long line at guest services if by chance you need to go there. I had been checking and last May when we got off the Fantasy, Donna and I decided to check and see if any had opened up because we had been checking before and there were none available. You guessed it - several had opened up so we snagged FTTF for all the cabins we had booked which was 6!

The walk down the sidewalk and around to the priority entrance was a good distance and Glen was starting to slow down some. We finally made it though and were directed right in and right up to have our passports, birth certificates and boarding passes checked. All went well until it was time for Glen to be checked in. As it turned out some how or the other when I printed the boarding passes, it had printed 2 of little William's instead of 1 of each. I guess that's what happens when you have a William, Jr. and a William, III. No problem, she called someone over and they printed the one we needed and we headed on through security and on to get our sail and sign cards.

This whole process was probably 20 minutes or less and that was from stepping off the shuttle to getting our embarkation photo made. I've said it before and will say it again - Port Canaveral has embarkation and debarkation down to an art!

Justin wasn't being very cooperative!

Finally got some pictures -

William and Justin enjoying the beach in Ormond!

Sorry - couldn't resist!

Nice pictures Angela!!! (y):cool:

Jeff -

Thanks - but that isn't how I wanted to post them!

I've emailed you- can you email me back and walk me through posting individual pictures?

Just got off 5 days ago and there really aren't any that you'll need to do anything special for - just show up!

There is a Motown - name that song type thing in the Atrium Lobby one night around 9:15 that's pretty fun.

Get there early though, especially if you want a seat. I think we sat up on the sofas on deck 4 and had a

great view and a seat!

Sorry - kind of got side tracked.

So, in my family it was myself, DH, Hope - 15, Collin - 13, William - 4 and Justin - 3. This was William and Justin's first

cruise. Then we had Steven, Tia, Shiloh, Jeff, Logan, Donna, Shane, Brandi, Brylee, Ronnie, Lisa, Andrew and Megan.

As I said earlier, our school system completely messed up winter break but we decided to take advantage of it. I worked on

Thursday, came home and packed some last minute items and we loaded up and headed out. Collin was riding down with his

Dad so it was just the 5 of us.

We stopped off in Atlanta to eat dinner with Lindsey (our daughter who attends college in Atlanta) and to visit with her for a little while. Afterwards we were back on the road. I made reservations for us to stay in Valdosta for Thursday night. Glen has some health issues and has trouble riding for long distances so this would help to break up the trip for him and the driving for me. We arrived in Valdosta about midnight or a little later. I had gotten us a room at the Howard Johnson's kind of last minute. It was a decent price and the hotel was ok for 1 night but I wouldn't have wanted to stay longer - no free breakfast either.

You would have thought that since I'd only slept about 4 hours Wednesday night I would have been exhausted but I guess I

was all wired up and couldn't sleep. Seems like it was 2 or 3 before I finally dozed off. We were up again about 7:30 and showered and hit the road again.

We had a planned stop in Ormond Beach, FL just above Daytona for the day on Friday. We own a timeshare there and were

gonna spend the day at our resort and let the kids play on the beach and swim. We got into Ormond about 10:45 and made a pit stop at the Walmart and got some sandwich stuff and headed on to the condo.

It was a gorgeous day and I just put my swimsuit on and sat on the beach while the boys played in the water. I thought the water was cold but it didn't seem to deter the boys. We'd had about a week of rain before we left home so Glen decided he

would take the car and have it washed. We just hung out all afternoon and then headed on to Titusville to spend Friday night.

Now, we normally would have stayed Friday night in Ormond and driven to the port on Saturday morning but when we booked

our cruise it didn't even occur to me that it was Speed Week in Daytona. Rooms were outrageous even with our owner's discount. Luckily I had found this out early and we booked rooms at the Best Western Space Shuttle Inn in Titusville for about $55.00 on Priceline. We had 3 rooms there as Ronnie, Lisa, Andrew and Megan had one, Donna, Shane, Brandi and Brylee had one and we had one. Steven and his crew decided they were gonna spend the night in Jacksonville and drive down to Port Canaveral from there on Saturday morning.

We all met up Friday evening and decided to go eat dinner at the restaurant onsite at the Best Western called Durango's Steakhouse. It was good - standard steakhouse type food. The menu resembled Texas Roadhouse or maybe Logan's and the prices were about the same - maybe a tad higher.

Everyone was tired from travelling so we headed back to our rooms to get ready for our big day on Saturday.

I do have a few pictures, but I'm having trouble getting them uploaded and posted here. I'll keep working on it but unfortunately there aren't many pictures that I have to post for this review.

More tomorrow - hopefully!

Trying to test pictures!

Looking forward to seeing if you enjoyed the Magic as much as we did. :cool:

We did enjoy it - just had some hiccups! I'm honored that you're following along - won't never be able to live up to

a Jamman review! Love the reviews you and Patti do!

Looking forward to your review!! We'll be sailing the Magic on May 19th!! :-)

Looking forward to your review. I'm booked on the Magic Western Caribbean in October with my grandkids and their parents.

Thanks for following along!

Thanks for following along!

Looking forward to more!! This sound like a cruise review soap opera style!!

Gosh it does, doesn't it? I didn't mean for it to - it is what is it I guess.....