Saturday morning we got up, packed our things, & was out of the airbnb by 9am. We made a quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast & drove 4 hours to Miami.
We've never really explored much of Florida besides Disney so driving down to Miami was nice until we hit the city. The car rental people told us to fill up right before taking the car back to avoid fees so we planned to fill up as we came into the city. We couldn't find a single gas station anywhere. We were flabbergasted. There was NO GAS in the city. We decided just to turn it in anyway & see how much the fees would be, so we drove to the Sixt return & they told us they would charge us $20 per gallon if we didn't fill up the tank which was way more than what we actually paid for the rental in the first place.
We've never really explored much of Florida besides Disney so driving down to Miami was nice until we hit the city. The car rental people told us to fill up right before taking the car back to avoid fees so we planned to fill up as we came into the city. We couldn't find a single gas station anywhere. We were flabbergasted. There was NO GAS in the city. We decided just to turn it in anyway & see how much the fees would be, so we drove to the Sixt return & they told us they would charge us $20 per gallon if we didn't fill up the tank which was way more than what we actually paid for the rental in the first place.
The nearest gas station was over 30 minutes away. It was literally worst case scenario for us. There were road closures & one way streets all over the place & we just kept getting lost. 40 minutes later, we found our way to the nearest gas station & paid $5 per gallon to fill up the tank (which wasn't terrible). Then we had to fight all the traffic, road closures, & one way streets back to the Sixt station, but we made it.
We grabbed a taxi & had him take us to our port where we would board the ship. We met up with Lorien & Elijah there, dropped off our luggage, & made our way onto "The Icon of the Seas."
The very first thing we did was find both of the ice cream stations on the ship. We at 3 ice cream cones in the first 30 minutes of being on board. We had a family goal of eating 150 ice creams during our week on the boat. We didn't know if we could do it, but thanks to Canyon, we pulled through. I ate a grand total of 17 ice cream cones in my week (& that was enough for me). Trek, Elijah, & Bladen all had a few less than me. . . Taya & Lorien were in the 30 range, but Canyon carried the team with 61 ice cream cones on his own.
Video: Ice Cream Stats from our cruise
We explored the ship for a bit. The kids were so excited about the 6 water slides, the many pools & hot tubs, the rock climbing wall, the ice skating rink, surfing, & more. It was the perfect ship for families.
We eventually got our luggage & got into our staterooms later in the afternoon. Lorien, Elijah, Craiger, & Bladen all had one room. Trek & I, Taya, & Canyon were in the other room. They were right next to each other so we could visit each others rooms anytime we wanted.
The first thing Taya found on the ship was the crepe shop. I think she ate over 30 crepes that week. They were SO SO SO good.
The kids enjoyed all the shops, gardens, & fun things to do & look at.
When 5:00 rolled around, we met up with everyone for dinner in the main dining room. Trek's parents were there, as were his brother Tuhk, & his brother Talon with his family. Talon's wife's parents also came. It was really fun to have everyone on board with us. We all got each dinner together every night. It was great. The food was amazing. My favorite thing I ate the entire trip was the peanut caramel bars. I had one for dinner, then found more at the windjammer buffet later that night. When everyone else was eating ice cream sundaes, I was pigging out on these. SO GOOD.
The sunsets on the boat were always gorgeous. We loved being out on the deck at night. The weather was beautiful & the views were spectacular.
We loved the "Dueling Piano" show. 2 Pianists would take requests & just play their pianos & sing. It turned into a sing along & we had SO MUCH FUN with it.
Video: Dueling Pianos Show Sing Along
After the show, we went back to our bedrooms & played some boardgames as a family. Some of us went to bed, but Trek, Bladen, & Canyon went to the balloon drop at midnight. They got a kick out of all the balloon falling.
Video: Balloon Drop - Welcome Aboard Party
It was a great 1st day on our cruise.
No comments:
Post a Comment