Baby on the High Seas - A Fantasy Eastern Caribbean Trip Report *new 4/15*

[schmass]

Really enjoying your report as we are considering doing a cruise for the granddaughters first Birthday. Your observations and things that you did with Rory are very helpful. And he is a cutie!

Thank you! You should definitely do it!

 

[schmass]

Day 5 – Part 1 – St. Thomas/St. John
This morning we had an early morning, as we were signed up for a DCL excursion and had to meet at 7:45. I woke at 6:15, quickly got ready, went to grab a latte, and came back around 6:45 to a waking Rory.

Ready to go!

We went up to Cabanas for a quick breakfast, stopped by the room for the bags we were bringing on our excursion, and headed to our meeting point, the theater.

We were doing the St. John Island Tour. I chose that one because I had read that St. John is really beautiful and a must-see. This excursion was really the only St. John excursion that a baby could go on, since any that involved the beaches there also involved snorkeling, so the minimum age was 5. Our excursion was scheduled for 8:15, so the 30 minute wait was a bit much for Rory.

He was kind of an animal until we realized that he really just wanted to sit in his own seat. The problem was, he was too little and light for it, so it kept folding up on him. He thought it was funny, though.

We eventually left the theater and got off the ship.

We walked a bit along the dock and finally made it to a water taxi which would take us from St. Thomas to St. John. This one was much larger than the one we had taken the day before. Unfortunately we were some of the last people to board, so we ended up sitting outside on the top deck, rather than inside. The sun was beating down on us and it was hot! Rory needed to sleep but wouldn’t (I feel like this is a theme?), and was having fun with the people behind us. 45 minutes later and we arrived in St. John. We were led over to all of the open air buses that were being utilized for the tour, and hopped on one. We drove about 10 feet and then the tour guide pulled up in front of an interesting little building and said it was our last chance to use the restroom. After a quick stop, we were on our way.

St. John truly is a beautiful island.

The water was so blue and I just wanted to jump right in it. I kept hoping that we’d be able to at least put our feet in it, but that didn’t happen. We pulled over a few times so that our guide could explain some things and we could take pictures, but we only made one true stop. We got out for about 10 minutes or so and walked up to the old sugar mill to do a little exploring.

The tour lasted about 3 hours, and Rory fell asleep on me towards the end of it. We were back at the water taxi at 11:15, and it wouldn’t be leaving until 12. We debated walking around, but since Rory was sleeping and we wanted to keep him that way, we decided to board the water taxi and at least get inside seats this time. Although we just sat there for a while, it was worth it to be sheltered from the hot sun. Rory woke up on the ride back, and was having fun looking out the window and just being a toddler.

Overall, we all really enjoyed this excursion, and thought it was a nice contrast from our beach day the day before!

Up next: Back on the ship!

 

[KatMark]

Rory is looking in his shades.

Wow....St. John really looks beautiful. You keep posting these pictures and I'll be taking a cruise one of these days.

I'm glad you got a seat on the inside of the bus as opposed to the outside on the way back.

 

[pixiedust1125]

Loving your TR!!!!!!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Rory's outfit for the day is adorable! And combined with the sun glasses it is even better!

Seems like you had a nice excursion to St John. The pictures of the island are amazing. But what a shame that they did not at least take you to a beach for being closer to the water!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Seems like a very nice way to see a lot of the beautiful island - though getting more than 10 minutes off the bus might have been nice. Like you said though,a good contrast to the beach day the day before

I feel like we have spend a lot of time having to hold down our sons theater seat with our knees or something as the same thing happens with him with the folding seat wanting to fold up on him

 

[Dugette]

Sounds like a fun excursion! I love boat rides, though. Beautiful island!

 

[robin19871]

Great trip report so far. Your Rory is so cute. I am partial to his name as I also have a Rory who just turned 15..

 

[schmass]

Rory is looking in his shades.

Haha, yes he thought so, too!

Wow....St. John really looks beautiful. You keep posting these pictures and I'll be taking a cruise one of these days.

It is sooo beautiful. You should definitely take a cruise - it is seriously an amazing experience!

I'm glad you got a seat on the inside of the bus as opposed to the outside on the way back.

We were, too. It was worth waiting there for a while so we didn't melt/burn on the way back.

Loving your TR!!!!!!!

Thank you!

Rory's outfit for the day is adorable! And combined with the sun glasses it is even better!

Oh, thank you! The outfit was actually one of Michael's when he was a baby.

Seems like you had a nice excursion to St John. The pictures of the island are amazing. But what a shame that they did not at least take you to a beach for being closer to the water!

I know, I would have been happy with just 5 minutes to put my feet in the water.

Seems like a very nice way to see a lot of the beautiful island - though getting more than 10 minutes off the bus might have been nice. Like you said though,a good contrast to the beach day the day before

It was nice, and it was relaxing. I think next time we'll try and make it to the beach though.

I feel like we have spend a lot of time having to hold down our sons theater seat with our knees or something as the same thing happens with him with the folding seat wanting to fold up on him

Oh, that is a good idea to hold it with your knees. Fortunately Rory didn't mind being folded up in it!

Great trip report so far. Your Rory is so cute. I am partial to his name as I also have a Rory who just turned 15..

Aw, thank you! Yay, another Rory! I don't hear of many others.

 

[schmass]

Day 5 - Part 2

We got back to the ship and headed up to Cabanas for lunch. Afterwards, Rory still seemed tired, so we put him in the stroller and took him up to Deck 11, thinking maybe he’d sleep up there while we relaxed by the pool. For a while it looked like that might actually happen, but eventually we gave up on that idea. We quickly got him into his bathing suit and I brought him to Nemo’s Reef for a while. When I got back to our lounge chairs, Michael was fast asleep – at least someone was taking a nap! Rory woke him up and then the two of them went to the room, while I took a few pictures of St. Thomas from the ship.

I decided I wanted to go to a pilates class that was at 4pm, so while Rory napped, I did that. It was a nice class – there were only about 6 of us there, and I think it lasted for about 45 minutes. Michael opted for the Rainforest Room instead of working out, so he did that when I got back. I quickly showered and got dressed while Rory continued to sleep.

We were headed to Palo for dinner that evening, so I was going to take Rory down to Enchanted Garden for his dinner. As I was getting him ready, I noticed that the Navigator said today’s dress code was Cruise Casual or Halloween, so I quickly put him in his puppy costume.

There was some sort of Halloween party going on in the lobby prior to dinner, but we got there right at the very end. We did get our picture taken with the Halloween tree, but unfortunately we didn’t buy the photo, so I have no evidence of it!

We headed into the dining room, and it was kind of funny with just Rory eating dinner at our table for six, and in a puppy costume, at that. He got so much attention from our servers and other diners. It was pretty funny. I was trying to have him eat quickly, because we wanted to see the early show that night since we’d miss the 8:30 show due to our Palo reservation.

We met Michael at the theater and watched the show, which was a duo called Buckets and Boards. They were funny, and played music on well, buckets and boards. Haha. They were entertaining, and Rory did pretty well during it. I don’t think we lasted through the whole show because Rory wanted to run around a bit, so we took him back to the room, changed him out of his puppy costume, and started making our way over to the nursery.

Rory was being a goofball on the way over.

Then we ran into another goofball, Stitch! Rory did much better at this character interaction and even gave him knuckles and a high five!

I'm not sure why I look pregnant in this picture!

We got a few pictures with him and then checked in at the nursery for our reservation. We thought Rory would sleep through his nursery time, but he saw this little boat, and suddenly had tons of energy!

We said goodbye to our little guy and then headed up to Palo!

Next up: Palo!

 

[KatMark]

Can I just say cutest puppy ever? I love all the attention Rory was getting at dinner.

And way to go Rory on the high five with Stitch.

I think it is just the fold of your dress that makes you think that way. It's a great family shot.

Funny how our kids always find energy when they find something fun to play with.

I can'nt wait to hear about your dinner at Palo.

 

[jedijill]

Rory is the cutest puppy baby ever! Love seeing him "drive" the boat!

Jill in CO

 

[TheMaxRebo]

very cute puppy! That is kinda funny to picture him, dressed up, as the only one at the table eating.

He really has taken a shining to wheels and steering!

Can't wait to hear about your Palo dinner!

 

[Kiren]

Subbing in! This is so adorable! I couldn't imagine cruising with a little one but I guess it's possible!

 

[schmass]

Can I just say cutest puppy ever? I love all the attention Rory was getting at dinner.

Thank you!

And way to go Rory on the high five with Stitch.

I was so happy he was finally happy to see a character.

I think it is just the fold of your dress that makes you think that way. It's a great family shot.

Aw, thanks.

Funny how our kids always find energy when they find something fun to play with.

I know, it's amazing how he'll go from zero energy to hyper and then crash.

I can'nt wait to hear about your dinner at Palo.

Coming right up...

Rory is the cutest puppy baby ever! Love seeing him "drive" the boat!

Jill in CO

Thank you!

very cute puppy! That is kinda funny to picture him, dressed up, as the only one at the table eating.

Ha, it really was funny.

He really has taken a shining to wheels and steering!

He is all about methods of transportation - boats, cars, airplanes, trains, you name it...

Can't wait to hear about your Palo dinner!

Coming up soon!

Subbing in! This is so adorable! I couldn't imagine cruising with a little one but I guess it's possible!

Thank you and welcome! Definitely possible to cruise with a baby - DCL makes it so easy!

 

[schmass]

Day 5 - Part 3 - Palo

We arrived at Palo, and once again we were asked to take a seat in Meridian, the bar adjacent to Palo and Remy. We sat for only a minute before they said they were ready for us. The hostess offered to take a picture for us.

We sat down and Ian, our server, came right over to greet us. We expressed interest in ordering some champagne, since we were celebrating Michael’s birthday which was the next day, and Ian sent the sommelier over to us. After a quick consultation regarding the champagne options, we made a decision and our champagne was ordered. Next the Antipasti cart was brought over to our table. Our server took a picture of it for us.

It was kind of funny that he was the one to actually have the idea to take the picture before any of us mentioned it.

While we enjoyed that, Ian went over the menu with us. There was a Wine Experience menu (for an additional fee) or the regular menu. There were some items that were exclusive to the Wine Experience menu, however he said that we could order any of those courses if we wanted. He recommended the appetizer from that menu as his favorite. It was a Grilled Portobello Mushroom with Polenta. It sounded like something I would like and with him raving about it, I went ahead and ordered that. It was by far my favorite thing that I ate during the entire cruise. It was amazing.

For my entrée, I ordered the Grilled Tuna with Truffle-Infused Potato Risotto with Garlic Marinated Artichokes and a Veal Tarragon Jus.

This was also delicious. It was, however, a little over-salted. If there were a plate of it in front of me right now, though, it would disappear very quickly .

Michael ordered the Beef Tenderloin Palo topped with melted Gorgonzola cheese. He has never met a steak he hasn’t liked, and he really enjoyed this.

In addition, we had ordered a pasta to share – the Pappardelle con Aragosta - Lobster, Parsley, Fennel, with Chili and Fresh Tomato Sauce. We were more than halfway through our entrees and the pasta was a no-show, so eventually Michael asked Ian about it. The look on his face was priceless; he was like a deer in headlights. He mumbled something and walked away. When he came back, he sheepishly admitted that he made a mistake and forgot to put the order in. They rushed it, and it came out a few minutes later. It was pretty good, but I didn’t like it nearly as much as the rest of my meal. It could also have been that I was pretty full by then.


Ian mentioned to us partway through dinner that if we were interested in the chocolate soufflé, that we should order it then, as it takes a long time to cook. We went ahead and ordered two for the table. Throughout the evening when people heard we were going to Palo (while I was at dinner with Rory, in the nursery), I heard the recommendation to order the soufflé, and that it is amazing. I was excited to try it…and then I was disappointed. I guess I really don’t like soufflé! I had tried two others during the course of the cruise and didn’t care for them, but I still held out hope for the Palo chocolate soufflé! Nope, not for me – oh well!

Overall our dinner was wonderful, but Michael and I both agreed that we much preferred the Palo brunch. While dinner was nice, we wouldn’t have to do it on each cruise, unlike the brunch that has become a must-do for us.

We realized it was 10:30, and I had only reserved the nursery until 9:30. We had forgotten our wave phones, but we let the nursery know that when we checked in, and they said they’d call us at Palo if they needed to get a hold of us. We felt pretty confident that everything must have gone well, otherwise we would have heard, right? Well, when we got there, we found out that he had JUST fallen asleep. Apparently he was pretty cranky almost the whole time. They wouldn’t let Michael go in to pick him up, so they ended up waking him, which meant he was cranky once again. He was actually screaming, but the poor thing, it was waaaay past his bedtime.

We took him back to the room and decided that he was definitely going to sleep in the next morning, and we were looking forward to getting a late start since it was a sea day.

Up next: Final Sea day!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Dinner sounds very nice, especially your appetizer - though I can see if the whole meal didn't "wow" you like brunch has being a little disappointed. You just need to get them to add that appetizer to the brunch menu

Oh, that is sad hearing about Rory being cranky and upset ... I get why they have the rules but still sucks that they had to walk him out of the nursery.

 

[Imagineer5]

Wow, St John is gorgeous! So nice to get out and do an excursion with your little man too. Dinner for just him sounds pretty funny, but at least he was dressed cute! The evening sounds nice and the food looks delicious! Maybe we'll plan a late-night dinner, that way we wouldn't miss any shows? hmmm. That is sad that he was so upset in the nursery though I would have been mad that they didn't call me. Nice that he can sleep at the nursery though vs. the kids club which Aria would have to stay awake during her time in there...

 

[KatMark]

It sounds like a lovely adult dinner out. I don't do mushrooms so your appetizer would have been out, but I have to say that Michael's dinner has me drooling all over my keyboard.

I'm with you...not a big souflee fan either.

I'm sorry that Rory was rather cranky while you were away, and hope he got a good night's sleep.

 

[chicagolaw]

Great report. I am enjoying reading this. I will be going on the Eastern cruise in 2 months and am getting very excited. Can't wait to read more.