Cruise, Part 2

Here's another installment of our cruise vacation! As I mentioned, we sailed on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas out of Los Angeles. We were at sea for two days, then we spent the next three days at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Peurta Vallarta, before enjoying our final two days at sea. My parents (peeking out from behind the sign) sailed with us, which was an extra treat!

Here we all are... well, except for me, of course. I'm usually on camera duty. This was taken before we set sail.

The boys wasted no time at all in hitting the pools! You have to remember... it's been a long time since our boys have been able to swim outside! The mountains don't tend to have outdoor swimming pools.

Sweet shot of Maddox and Daddy...

Reunited with CooPop! We haven't seen him since Thanksgiving!!

This trip held lots of new sights for little Maddox...

...until he pooped out! This was taken on the ship's Royal Promenade - right down the middle of the ship, it had several shops, an ice cream parlor, entertainment, and a cafe. Mom & Dad had an interior stateroom, but it had a window in it that overlooked this promenade.

The ship also had a climbing wall! This shot shows you how tall it is...

...and a close-up reveals Mason up there!

And Morgan had a go on it a few days later:


Both boys made it all the way to the top. I imagine all of their cycling has given them quite a bit of upper body strength.

Here's a couple more of my favorite swimming shots. Most of our swimming took place during the first couple days of the cruise while it was gorgeous out. Our last two days at sea were cloudy, windy, and downright chilly!


Below is the only photo I have of our stateroom attendant, Dale. He was a super nice guy and it would be a gross understatement if I said that Maddox adored him.

Any time we were heading down the hall toward our room (or leaving our room, for that matter), Maddox would look - no SEARCH - for "his buddy". It got to the point that all the other stateroom attendants knew Maddox and knew exactly who he was looking for. They'd point down the hall or into a particular room, and then Dale & Maddox would spend the next 5 minutes high-fiving and carrying on like a couple of school chums. It was the sweetest thing!

Stateroom attendants are also important, because on a cruise, you come to expect the fun towel animals!

But I suppose the most important person on the cruise staff is the Captain. As we did on our last cruise, we had the pleasure of meeting our Captain - Per Kristoffersen. He was such a fun guy, with a dry sense of humor, and since he has a little guy at home, he felt right at home posing with our boys.

Well, that's it for this installment... next time I'll show you some of the entertainment and the photos from our formal nights.

Michele