Come Cruise with Me-Oasis Review-11/2/13-Tons of Pics-Family Cruise #3 (Long)

[bionicman97]

Halloween this year (2013) was a struggle. I wanted to dress him up like Charlie Brown, as I absolutely love the Peanuts Gang. Heather takes Keith to the library twice a week, once in the town we live in and once in the next town over. The both have designated times for the kids to come with story time, sing-a-long, etc.

 

The week before Halloween, the library in the next town over had its halloween party. So we dressed Keith up like Charlie Brown. Heather said he had a good time, but when I looked at the pictures she took, with all the nice costumes, etc , and saw the picture of him just setting there in his plain Charlie Brown shirt and shorts, I knew we had to do something.

 

So, by the time the next library time rolled around, I'm sure you can guess who he was

 

 

 

The cool thing about this costume is when you take the mask off and loose the light saber, he becomes a friar.

 

 

Here is one of him in action, needless to say, he liked this costume better.

 

 

 

If you've made it this far, we've made it to two days before the cruise, so the pre-dinner entertainment is over.

 

Coming up a little later - packing, the road trip and arriving at the terminal...

[texnewbie]

YAY!!!!!

So excited to see a review from your trip!!!

Can't wait for more

Carolyn

[LBumb]

awesome start

[geoblond]

Yay! Bionic man review!

 

Really enjoyed the pics of your little guy. I think he looks like Dad. :)

[Canadian Tyler]

Can't wait!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[boaterette]

Wonderful start. You all make a beautiful family.

[rutgersgirl27]

Your son is so adorable! Really looking forward the review.

[bionicman97]

YAY!!!!!

So excited to see a review from your trip!!!

Can't wait for more

Carolyn

 

Thanks :)

 

awesome start

 

Thanks :)

[bionicman97]

Yay! Bionic man review!

 

Really enjoyed the pics of your little guy. I think he looks like Dad. :)

 

Thanks :)

 

He seems to flip back and forth every few months as to who he looks like ;)

 

Can't wait!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thanks :)

[bionicman97]

Wonderful start. You all make a beautiful family.

 

Thank you! :)

 

Your son is so adorable! Really looking forward the review.

 

He's a big ham too :)

[bionicman97]

So before we go any further, I suppose you should meet my "other" family. I say other family because one of them is always with me. They are near and dear to my heart. So here they are:

 

 

So, I guess some quick introductions are in order. For cameras, we have the Canon 5D Mark III, with a Speedlite 430, and the following lenses: 50mm F1.8, 24-105 F4 L IS UM & the 70-200mm F4 L IS UM (I didn't get the 70-200 until a few days ago, but it would be rude to the lens to make it sit on the sidelines for a family photo).

 

Next up, we have the Sony NEX 6, with the 16-50mm Power Zoom, the 55-210mm and a 50mm F1.8. We also have a Sony HVLF20M External Flash. Then we have the Go Pro 2, Panasonic HD Camcorder, Canon 10D Underwater Camera, Gorilla Mount Tripod, camera strap, spare batteries, and lots of cards. For electronics, we have an iPad 3, an iPad mini (now upgraded to retina) and an iPhone 5s.

 

At this point, you are probably thinking "Did we really take all of that stuff?". Well, the answer is no. It was a tough decision, with a lot of debating, but I just didn't want to carry that much stuff and the Canon equipment was just too expensive for me to feel comfortable carrying it while keeping an eye on Keith. So I finally decided to take the following:

 

 

After returning from the cruise, I think the pictures came out ok and I can live with it. It's tough not being able to jack up the ISO and take photos your used to taking with a full frame, but I think it also makes you a better photographer for trying to do more with less.

 

Anyway, I had to have some bags to lug this stuff around, so here is what I took:

 

 

I know what your thinking. "He has more bags then he has stuff!" and you'd be right. But, in my crazy system, you need a different bag for a different situation, so here is a nifty diagram to help explain how I easily pack them.

 

. The big bag on the right can carry everything but the bag on the left. That is how I carried it all on. The bag in the middle rear can hold all of the camera equipment and the iPad mini. The bag on the left can hold the Sony camera, a spare lens, either iPad, Keith's cup, snacks, wipes, etc. The smallest bag is used when I just want to take the Sony camera with the power zoom lens. So why two iPads? The mini is what I use, the big one is reserved for Keith's movies to keep some sanity.

 

You're welcome for that explanation too.

 

Up next - We finally talk about the cruise!

[bionicman97]

So this cruise was a little difficult for packing. The cruise left on Saturday, November 2nd. So we needed to leave home to drive down on Friday the 1st. Thursday was Halloween, so that wasn't very convenient to pack. We ended up packing everything on Wednesday.

 

Keith's stuff went on his play table

 

 

Heather and I agreed that this cruise was going to be different. For the first time ever, we would not be eating in the main dining room every night (we'll get into that later). We would also not pack more then one "extra" of anything and if we had to, we'd buy whatever we need. Part of the reason for this is it's just a hassle to lug so much stuff. The other thing is that after breaking my back in 2012, I wear down easier when carrying things. So we actually fit all of our clothes in one suitcase

 

This is the suitcase with all of my clothes packed

 

 

Here it is with both of our clothes packed

 

 

We had one other large suitcase, which held all of Keith's stuff, our shoes, that other camera bag and other things like the massive amount of sun screen my wife thought we needed (I assumed we were going to sell it onboard and expressed that thought. Apparently I was wrong).

 

 

Finally, it's worth mentioning that we did have to leave two members of the family behind. Fortunately, we have a cousin that house sits, so the dogs are only alone for part of the day and she stays with them in the afternoons, evenings and overnight.

 

Here is Nemo the one eyed dog (10 years old)

 

 

And Dory, who has just been diagnosed with Cushings (9 years old)

 

 

Up next - road trip!

[bionicman97]

So on Friday morning (November 1st), we got everything loaded up. My aunt was also traveling with us, so we have her luggage too.

 

 

At 12:15pm, we got on the road. For lunch, we stopped for BBQ to Sonny's.

 

 

Here is the big iPad getting used

 

 

Keith and I

 

 

Keith and Heather

 

 

And the food

 

 

Food was ok. Sonny's used to be a lot better. I can tell a definite difference in the quality of the meat over the last few years.

 

Up next - more road trip.

[bionicman97]

So around 1:30pm, we got ready to leave Sonny's.

 

Here is Keith and his papa

 

 

Here is what we are traveling in (Toyota Prius)

 

 

Keith and my aunt

 

 

and Keith giving me a crazy face

 

 

Here is the route we are basically taking

 

 

Up next - more road trip...

[bionicman97]

So as we made our way down the turnpike, we stop at these things called service plazas. I don't know how prevalent they are around the different states, but I've only seen them in a few. They sit in between the north and south bound lands and have a gas station, gift shops and fast food.

 

The first one we stopped at was called Turkey Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in case you have gotten confused as to which way you were going

 

 

Up next - more road trip...

[bionicman97]

This is the next one we stopped at. I'm not sure of the name

 

 

 

 

 

Up next - we arrive at the hotel...

[bionicman97]

So around 6:30pm, we arrived at the Hampton Inn in Plantation, Florida. We originally planned to stay closer to the port, but their was some boat show going on and it was somewhat difficult to find hotel space.

 

 

 

 

 

Keith likes to discuss world events every evening

 

 

If you'd like to see a video of Keith spontaneously dancing for no reason right after we arrive at the hotel, follow the link below.

 

 

Up next - dinner time...

[LissyTx]

Love your reviews. My husband would love looking at all your camera equipment... now that our DD has arrived (she's 2 months old) he ordered Adobe Photoshop elements and some sort of video editing program as well. ;)

 

Can't wait to read more. Thanks for sharing the trip with us.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Incredible job on packing! I always end up taking the kitchen sink!

 

LOL...on your other family...that sure is a lot to lug around, but every piece is much needed at one point or another.

 

***

[bionicman97]

Here are a few pictures of our room. It was nice. I think it was a little over $100 for the night with tax. They did screw up our reservation. We were supposed to have 2 queens and ended up with a king. They said they didn't have any other rooms

 

 

 

 

 

Our hotel was next door to a mall. We went over there and did a little shopping. We had dinner in the food court.

 

 

It was ok for fast food.

 

If you're still here, we've finished all the pre-cruise stuff, so next up will be breakfast, driving to the port and Day 1.

 

Well, I'm about done for the night, because regardless of when I go to bed, Keith will still be awake at 6:30am. So, coming next time...

 

[bionicman97]

Love your reviews. My husband would love looking at all your camera equipment... now that our DD has arrived (she's 2 months old) he ordered Adobe Photoshop elements and some sort of video editing program as well. ;)

 

Can't wait to read more. Thanks for sharing the trip with us.

 

Thanks :)

 

Congrats on the DD!!

 

Photoshop elements and Premiere (I'm assuming he got the accompanying video software) are great programs.

 

Incredible job on packing! I always end up taking the kitchen sink!

 

LOL...on your other family...that sure is a lot to lug around, but every piece is much needed at one point or another.

 

***

 

I can't even tell you how many times that one suitcase was packed, unpacked and repacked!

 

I also can't even begin to tell you how long I debated about which camera equipment to take along ;)

[subtchr]

Great job as always, Curtis!

 

I cannot tell a lie, I cheated and looked ahead at your pics on Flickr. Beautiful!

 

My kids are now in their 20s, so I can say from experience that you will always love having these pics of Keith and your whole family.

 

Can't wait to read more!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Thanks :)

 

Congrats on the DD!!

 

Photoshop elements and Premiere (I'm assuming he got the accompanying video software) are great programs.

 

 

 

I can't even tell you how many times that one suitcase was packed, unpacked and repacked!

 

I also can't even begin to tell you how long I debated about which camera equipment to take along ;)

 

Whew, I'm glad I am not the only one who packs, unpacks, repacks and I still can't seem to get it all in one suitcase!

 

***

[QTMichele]

Great prelude, Curtis! The family and I are boarding Oasis in February; your review is helping create some EXCITEMENT! :D

 

Sweet dream and sleeping in to Keith...

[iCruise717]

This review is really making me feel like I am going on vacation with you! Makes all this snow we are getting a little more bearable.

 

Great job and thanks for sharing with us!