A while back David expressed a desire to go away on a holiday where he could 'switch off'. I started looking around at options and determined that going on a cruise seemed like a fairly good option for our family. It can be quite cost effective for what you get. Additionally, I didn't have to do too much planning. You unpack once at the beginning of the trip and pack-up again at the end. No navigating airports, different hotels etc with kids in tow. David wanted to 'switch off' and I wanted to avoid cooking and cleaning. Cruising ticked those boxes.
We decided on a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia. We didn't want something too full on, just lots of beach days and opportunities to relax. That is what we got, and we had a really great time. The time on the ship had lots of different activity options to entertain all, or you could do none of those things and just sleep/watch movies. But most importantly I didn't have to plan or orchestrate any of those activities!
Here is Clara on her bed right after we had arrived. I would say that the downside of the cruise was small rooms (unless you want to pay more $$$), which did start to feel a little claustrophobic by the end. The only other downside was a bit of sea sickness from the kids, but that was solved quickly with some phenergan.
Standing out the front of the ship while we were still docked in Sydney. We could see Ethan's school from the ship (but you can't see it in this picture).
During the safety drill.
Sailing out of Sydney. You can see the Harbour Bridge behind us.
Passing under the Harbour Bridge. Not a lot of clearance there - maybe about 10 metres.
Clara and David as we sailed past the Opera House.
Ethan and Erica
Mum, Clara, Erica and I attended a few of the craft lessons. I thought it might be useful to gain some ideas for my Faith in God class :) At this one we had made paper flowers.
The kids clubs have some mascots. There is a shark named Skipper and a turtle named TC. We went to a show for the kids where TC and Skipper 'sung' and danced. At the end the children could have a picture with TC and Skipper. Once we got close Clara decided this was NOT a good idea, and she was terrified of Skipper for the rest of the cruise. We crossed paths with Skipper at a children's party later in the cruise and Clara was not impressed.
Erica eating one of the many many desserts consumed during the cruise.
Clara requested fish and chips at nearly every meal. In the end the damage to our waistlines wasn't as bad as we had anticipated. I think it helped that we did a lot of snorkelling, swimming and walking around. You can see Erica and Nan in the background.
Playing a family game of Scrabble (Junior).
Clara in the little children's pool.
Clara with one of the towel animals. That one is an elephant. Clara loved these. She cuddled one in her bed one night.
The girls up early one morning to go out on deck and watch the ship sail into a port. David was really good at getting up early to watch the approach to ports. I tended to err towards sleep.
Clara getting a piggy-back from Nan as we sailed into Noumea. Despite Clara's attire it was a warm day (27 degrees Celsius), but it was windy on the deck.
I'll post some more soon. I have a massive collection of pictures and movies because every adult on the trip had a device of some sort for taking pictures. Mum and I were taking pictures with our cameras (Mum is particularly good at capturing most moments and a lot of the pictures I post on here will be hers), David had a Go Pro, the kids had their phones.
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