Cruise - day 4 (Victoria, Canada)

On Wednesday we arrived in Victoria around 11am, so we got off the ship after lunch. Before arriving in Victoria, we walked around outside on the ship. Yet again, it was a cold and windy day, but today we also had rain in the afternoon. I took the below picture to show how dead it was outside because of the cold. So far on the cruise, it has been too cold for anyone to spend any time at the pool or outside. At times they had to close the pools because they looked more like wave pools because of the rocking of the ship.

This is a picture of us at lunch before spending the afternoon in Victoria.

We didn't really have any plans for Victoria except walking to town and looking at the shops. Our first stop was (what else?) a potty, which was found at a Days Inn. The second stop was a bench in front of another hotel for the boys to have a snack since they were complaining they were soooo hungry. The doorman of the hotel was very friendly and came over to us to tell us about the baby ducks that were in the pond outside the hotel.

We asked the doorman for suggestions on what to do in Victoria. He suggested walking to Beacon Hill Park.

The park was beautiful, full of flowers and greenery.

It is a large park with walking paths, ponds, flowers, a playground, petting zoo and a potty (we couldn't miss that highlight!)

At the petting zoo, there were baby goats. The newest goat was born the day our cruise left LA a couple days before.

We did a lot of walking in Victoria and the boys were too tired to walk all the way back to the ship. We ended up carrying them back since we didn't have a stroller.

When we got back to the ship it was time for dinner then the ice skating show. The ice show was my favorite. It was a circus theme show. When we walked in, we were asked if Connor and Ryan wanted to ride on the train in the show. At first they were excited to do it, then Connor changed his mind, which led to Ryan changing his mind too. Luckily they changed their mind before the show started so we didn't have to deal with them freaking out during the show. The below picture shows the train that the selected kids ride on in the show.

It turned out that Connor made the right decision about not wanting to be in the show because he was fast asleep before the show even started. We definitely wore the kids out on this trip because they would fall asleep whenever they stopped to long, which is very uncharacteristic for them.

Cruise - day 3 (Astoria, Oregon)

On Tuesday the ship arrived in Astoria around 3pm. After lunch, the boys went down for their nap, so I spent that time out on our balcony. Can you tell from the below picture, that it was COLD outside? Definately not Mexico!

Our cabin was on the back of the ship, so I was able to watch the pilot boat following us from our balcony. The below picture shows the pilot boat that was following us. I think it looks like a toy boat in the picture.
We were just going to stay on the boat in Astoria since there isn't much there and we got in so late. But, we decided to get off the ship and walk to town and look at the local shops. Knowing that the boys wouldn't enjoy the long walk and shopping, we let them spend the afternoon at Ocean Adventures (the kids program on board) after their nap.

It was nice being able to spend the afternoon kid-free. We also signed the kids up to have dinner with the Ocean Adventure staff at Johnny Rockets so we got a quiet dinner for a change. The kid dinner was offered 4 times during the cruise, but we only took advantage of it once.

It was sunny but cold in Astoria. The temperature was about 52 while we were there. Everyone thought Ed was crazy to go out with no jacket.

Cruise - day 2 (at sea)

Day 2 of the cruise didn't have the best start. We got to breakfast and Connor was complaining about an upset tummy. I was a little worried since Connor was puking Friday night and Ryan was puking Saturday night but I thought Connor was over that since it was already Monday and he was fine for a few days at this point. The staff were "so helpful" and asked the boys if they wanted chocolate milk and asked how many they wanted. Connor gulped down two chocolate milks then was fussy and came to sit on my lap. All that chocolate milk came right back up... all over me. So, we went back to our room, got cleaned up and Connor puked in our room and got Ed this time. Laundry was our first on board charge. After getting cleaned up again and giving Connor a bath, both Connor and Ryan were ready for a nap. It was only about 10am, but the boys were asleep by the time they kit the pillow they were so worn from being sick. They slept until about 3pm and seemed to feel all better again. We decided to explore the ship and get some fresh air. Below is a picture by the miniature golf course with the boys trying to walk in the wind. It was very cold and very windy.
It was formal night and thankfully the boys felt fine by the time dinner came along, a big improvement from the morning. Below is a picture of Ryan getting dressed. He wanted button his vest all by himself.

Ryan was enjoying getting his picture taken and "posing" for me. His is such a little ham.

All dressed up...

The kids were getting a kick looking at themselves in the mirror with spiky hair. They thought it was so funny.

Oh, and then there was us. Our room attendant told us that we could get our formal outfits pressed for free. Ed gave him his tux and one of my dresses. Luckily I didn't hand over both dresses because we didn't get our clothes back until we got back from dinner (oops!). Ed didn't get to wear his tux on the first formal night, but at least he had a sports coat he could wear instead. And, yes, that is an orange in Connor's hand. It was from the fruit bowl we had in our room and Connor insisted on bringing it to dinner with us.

We came prepared this cruise. We brought coloring books and crayons to entertain the boys at dinner. It worked!

Below is a picture of Connor. Notice the shoes? He refused to wear his black ones. Oh well...

And, here is our little ham again making funny faces for the camera.

Connor had to join in too...

In the below picture Ryan is on Ed's shoulders to get a better view of the Captain.

And here I am with the boys as we wait for the show to start.
The food and nightly entertainment was awesome on this ship.

Pacific Northwest Cruise - day 1

Our cruise started on Mother's Day, Sunday May 10. On Saturday we spent the night in Carlsbad after a day at Legoland, then drove to the Port of Los Angeles on Sunday morning. We arrived to the port around 11am and had to wait until about 1pm to board the ship. Below is a picture of the boys patiently waiting.

The northbound "Mexican" cruise had it's advantage. Because so many people canceled their vacation when they found out the ship was no longer going to Mexico because of the swine flu, we got some extra perks. The ship was only about 3/4 full, so we got upgraded to a Royal Family Suite that had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room and balcony. It was heaven. Connor and Ryan both started the cruise sick, causing them to be extra tired. They took long naps just about every day, so it was nice that they had their own room and we could spend time on the balcony, watching a DVD, reading or just relaxing. Below is a picture taken from our bedroom to the living room. We even had a dining table, and we did take advantage of that with room service a couple nights.

Below is a picture of Ryan exploring our balcony. We had room service dinner out on our balcony the first night. When we first booked the cruise we were on the waiting list for main dining (6pm) but when the swine flu broke out we contacted our travel agent (actually a substitute travel agent since Dad was in China) and she confirmed that we had main dining. When we got on board it turned out we still had late dining (8:30pm). Since 8pm is bedtime for the kids, that was not going to work. Since we got upgraded to a suite, one of the perks was free room service from the regular dining room menu, so we did that and ate on the balcony.
It didn't take Connor long to find the bathroom and test out all the soap. It is nice that they are finally tall enough to reach the sink without having to be lifted up now. The balcony was complete with comfy chairs to relax in! Their was a library on board with kid books. In the below picture, I am reading one of the library books I picked out for the boys. The library was a nice feature since we didn't bring any bedtime stories.
Connor and Ryan both hate wearing their life jackets. We managed to get one picture before they came off.
Another perk for being in a suite was reserved seating at the shows. We didn't make all the shows because the kids were so tired all week, but the ones we saw were great.

Legoland

We went to Legoland today and had a blast. The park was open 10am-5pm and we were there the whole time. Connor and Ryan were not ready to leave when the park closed.

Connor and Ryan's favorite rides at Legoland were the race cars (pictured below)

and the helicopter. I thought the helicopter was pretty boring just going up, down and around in circles, but Connor loved it. He wanted to go on it again at the end of the day, but it was closed by the time we got back.

I guess there was a whole transportation theme... cars, helicopters, airplanes, boats, horses...

For the boat ride, there is no track, so you have to steer the boat yourself to get through the river. Connor and Chris rode in the first boat, Ryan and Ed rode in the second and Daneya was in the third. I was the last boat, but I passed everyone and made it through the course first. Ryan and Ed came in second. I think Connor and Chris got lost in the river...

The man and dog pictured below are made out of legos.

We saw this sign many, many, many times throughout the day.

I think this one turned out cute with Connor and Daddy.

This series of photos was at Ryan's request and I think they turned out pretty well. We were standing in line for a ride and Ryan was trying to climb all over Uncle Chris. Ryan wanted me to take a picture. So, I did. After a couple picture, I tried to put the camera away, but Ryan insisted that I take more pictures. So, here is the series of photos with Uncle Chris that Ryan wanted me to take.

Connor was in the bathroom while Ryan was getting his photo op. When he got back, he wanted in on the fun too. So here are some pics of Connor and Uncle Chris.

Two of the people in this picture are made out of legos...

And that was our day at Legoland.

We were lucky to have such a great day at Legoland considering Connor got sick in the hotel room the night before Legoland. Then, Ryan got sick in the hotel room the night following Legoland. Lets just hope everyone is well for the cruise tomorrow.

DISCLAIMER: This blog was posted in our hotel room using free internet access. Don't expect same day postings for the cruise. Internet is much too expensive on board.