February Cruise!

For Christmas, the kids' big surprise gift was that we were planning to take them on a Royal Caribbean cruise in February with our friends Doug, Tanya, Scarlett and Oliver. We were counting down the days to the trip!

Fortunately for us, the cruise was just before COVID-19 started spreading around the world and was declared a pandemic. Still, the cruiseline took lots of extra precautions and no one on our ship contracted the virus. Whew! 

The kids only missed two days of school, Wednesday and Thursday, because Friday and the following Monday were school holidays for Presidents' Day. We made the drive down to Galveston early Wednesday, but our plans to get on the ship early did not pan out, since the ship was late docking due to the heavy fog. We killed time and met up with our friends while waiting in the cruise terminal.

The kids are wearing the shirts I made with Stephanie's help as part of their Christmas surprise!

Finally, we got to board our ship, Enchantment of the Seas.

We had to wait a little while to get access to our stateroom, and then we headed straight to the buffet for a VERY late lunch.

We toured the top deck...

...and Audrey wasted no time getting into cruise mode. Keep in mind we were still docked in Galveston, Texas in mid-February!

Noah, Oliver, Audrey and Scarlett kicked off the cruise with the first of MANY ice cream cones!

They hit the hot tub before anyone else!

Wednesday evening, we had reservations to dine at 7:45 and we were fortunate to get the best waiters on the ship! We loved our table and servers so much that we made sure we would get the same ones each night. The kids were blown away by the delicious food and all the choices. Plus, they were super spoiled by our servers with all the desserts.

After dinner we checked out some of the game shows and other entertainment options going on around the ship.

Thursday was our first full day at sea, so we had a relaxing sit-down breakfast together in the dining room. The kids could grab pastries, fruit, waffles and so on from the buffet but we also ordered eggs, omelets, eggs benedict, French toast, and more from the menu.

We brought some board games and art supplies, so we found a quiet spot in a lounge and enjoyed the ocean view and conversation while the kids played games.

Some played table tennis, too.

And, naturally--ice cream.

We decided to play a photo scavenger hunt on a whim, so the next several pictures are from that game! I think we ended up tying for second place.

Scavenger Hunt: A photo with people playing cards

Scavenger Hunt: A photo pretending to ride a horse

Scavenger Hunt: A photo slow dancing with a stranger

Scavenger Hunt: A photo with someone who speaks another language

Scavenger Hunt: A photo hugging a stranger

Scavenger Hunt: A classy photo with artwork

Scavenger Hunt: A photo of a romantic gesture

Scavenger Hunt: A photo with at least five strangers making goofy faces

Scavenger Hunt: a high five with shoes

Scavenger Hunt: A photo in front of the Orpheum Theater

Scavenger Hunt: A photo with a towel animal 

Scavenger Hunt: A photo with the ship captain

Scavenger Hunt: A photo with fruit

Scavenger Hunt: Another slow dancing photo, since the original one should have had two members of our group!

Scavenger Hunt: A photo of the whole group dancing

 We spent the rest of the day at sea exploring the ship, playing games, and just relaxing.

Noah and Oliver discovered shuffleboard. I'm pretty sure they made up their own rules, but they made new friends and enjoyed playing it the entire time!

Audrey swam, even though it was not very warm and kind of misting throughout the day!

Before dinner, we caught a "Broadway Hits" show in the Orpheum Theater.

Scarlett did the girls' eyeshadow before the show.

 Our waiter had promised the kids a surprise for dessert, and it was a success!

Some little piglets ordered a dessert AND got a surprise!

 We were all dolled up for formal night!

 

After dinner, we watched a game show where the audience tries to complete the lyrics to songs chosen by volunteers. 

The kids are all sitting in the chair next to the dance floor, but we couldn't get them to volunteer!

Eventually, Doug volunteered--or, as he introduced himself, "Jim Bob from Rendon."

Friday was Valentine's Day and our special day would be spent on a pre-booked excursion in Progreso, Mexico!

The first part of the excursion was a long bus ride (over an hour) to some Mayapan ruins.

Finally, the weather felt tropical! Warm and humid for our time exploring the ancient ruins.

Our tour guides gave us a little history, then set everyone free to explore and climb!

Of course, we had to climb the steep ascent to the top of the temple to the Mayan gods.

There's me at the top of the temple!

Noah and Oliver took off together, attempting to climb every structure they could.

Tanya and the family making their way carefully back down the temple!

I spot Audrey!

Noah and Oliver at the top of another structure

Chris reenacting the human sacrifices

We loaded back onto the bus and continued on to our next destination, the underground river and cave (cenote) located at a historic hacienda that has been converted into a small resort.

We changed into swim suits and put on life jackets before heading down to the entrance of the underground river!

The water was very cold but beautifully clear! We just floated along in our life jackets, taking it all in.

Here comes Tanya!

 I took a lot of pictures of us in the river and in the cenote (cavern), but my phone was in a waterproof pouch. That, combined with the low lighting, made for some photos that are not the best quality, but I hope you can get a feel for what we experienced!

Doug and Oliver

  

Scarlett, Oliver, Noah and Audrey in the river!

We floated beneath this little waterfall!

We were truly underground!

 

We exited the underground river and walked a little further to the cenote, an underground pool of water that was enclosed within a cave. There were some blue lights installed beneath the water so that we could see; we picked up snorkel masks and our guides had head lamps to help us experience the cavern. 

It was eerie at first but once our eyes adjusted, it took on a magical quality. We were swimming in crystal clear water beneath stalactites and other cave formations. 

Water streamed in through one narrow opening

 

Noah, Christ, Scarlett, Oliver and Tanya

We were reluctant to leave the awesome cenote. None of us could get over the beauty and one-of-a-kind experience!

We headed back along the man-made walkways that were next to the river we had floated.

 

After turning in our life jackets, we stayed in our swimsuits for an open-air Mayan lunch.

Noah gobbled up the food, but the other kids were not quite as adventurous.

We had a little bit of extra time, so some sunbathed while others swam in the resort pool!

We took the bus the long way back to the port, and spent a little time in the shops there.

 

Once we were back on the ship, we went straight to the Jump Zone to bungee as the ship embarked!

Oliver

Scarlett

 Some of us also thoroughly enjoyed watching the belly flop competition!

The kids headed to the other end of the ship to check out the rock climbing wall!

For our Valentine's Dinner, we dressed up again. Audrey wore the little Mexican dress I bought her as a souvenir.

Scarlett and Oliver surprised Audrey and Noah with some little gifts!

The ship was decorated for Valentine's Day!

  

Another delicious dinner and dessert!

We went to the piano lounge where a fantastic pianist was taking requests! Noah was really into it.

The girls--not so much.

Saturday we woke up to sunny skies in Cozumel! Our plan was simply to find a beach and relax all day. We asked someone at a taxi stand for a recommendation and he sent us to the Aquarium Beach Club. It was a good choice because of the fun inflatables in the water, and the complimentary use of the snorkeling equipment, kayaks and paddleboats. 

 

I was easily persuaded to purchase this photo of the kids holding a trained macaw! They also held an iguana. 

After a couple of hours in the sun, Audrey could easily blend in with the locals.

The photos don't do it justice--the water was turquoise! So clear and beautiful!

Noah's legs sticking up on the inflatable!

Later in the afternoon, we headed back to the shops for some leisurely souvenir hunting.

Back to the ship!

Another yummy dinner!

We caught the end of a fantastic cover band from the Philippines. They were unbelievable!!! 

Adults' night out listening to some live music and chatting while the kids played games in our staterooms.

Sunday was our last full day at sea. We suddenly remembered, at about 9:30 a.m., that we had signed Noah and Scarlett up for the egg drop challenge to take place at 11 a.m.! They quickly came up with plans for their vessels.

Noah found a head of lettuce at the breakfast buffet. He snagged it and used it to line a watch box. He called it "Captain's Egg Salad" and hoped it could withstand the drop.

We arrived and to our dismay, everyone else had apparently NOT forgotten about the challenge. They had all made parachutes and constructed what looked like lunar landers for their eggs. 

Plus, we hadn't really paid attention to the height from which the eggs would be dropped... oops.

There they are at the very top--on the 8th deck, dropping down to the 4th!

Well, Noah was not feeling very optimistic about dropping what was bacically a box with an egg inside. I have to say, it was incredibly entertaining, though!

There's Scarlett and Tanya, about to drop their egg!

Scarlett's wasn't any better. She had a Pringles can stuffed with a squash or something like that. So funny!

Well, we didn't make it very far in the egg drop challenge, but that was quickly forgotten when we checked out the special cake buffet in the dining room! Cake for lunch? Why not??

More table tennis and beautiful, warm weather made for a relaxing rest of the day.

Noah and Scarlett playing the Switch and enjoying ice cream cones

 

After we got dressed for dinner, we joined an impromptu dance party in the centrum area.

Before dinner, we were treated to a great comedy show! 

Dinner was a bittersweet affair--our last dinner with our amazing servers Eri and Jomet. 

 

My suddenly adventurous eater ordered the Asian street tacos for an appetizer--and loved them!

Audrey ordered her usual--chicken strips, fruit, and the special dessert!

It was Doug and Tanya's anniversary, so the staff helped us celebrate them!

We had to have a group picture with our new friends Eri and Jomet. 

Eri is from Indonesia and has two daughters. He works on the ship for seven months at a time, with a couple of months off before he goes back. Jomet is from India.

The entire dining room staff sang everyone a little departing song for our last dinner.

I took some photos of our stateroom so you could see how we lived onboard. The kids' bunk beds were stowed away each morning, then pulled down and made for them in the evenings.

I was amazed by the efficiency of the space and by all the storage! We were able to unpack all of our bags and stow them under the bed; there was more storage than we even needed.

It was a treat to look up and see this sleeping beauty.

Monday was disembarkation day in Galveston, but as we got up and prepared to eat breakfast in the dining room, we learned there would be delays due to the fog.

 

We weren't in a big hurry to get back to reality, anyway! More shuffleboard...

You can see the fog situation...

The cruise director added a few fun activities, like a cornhole challenge in the centrum.

Tanya

Noah qualified for the second round, which meant he went up to the next deck to try to get the beanbag on target. 

We didn't disembark until around noon, and then we made the long drive home. We loved sailing with Royal Caribbean and made lots of awesome memories. The kids keep talking about our "next" cruise!