It was a rough night, in that the seas were really rough with waves up to 10 feet and wind gusts approaching 50 miles per hours according to the captains report. The boat was surprisingly stable considering the size of the waves we were seeing outside the window, but the boat was definitely moving. Due to the salt spray on our window I unfortunately couldn’t get a clear picture or video of the waves from our room. The ship wasn’t moving constantly but you could feel the motion when it happened. The winds were so strong that they closed the exterior decks on the side the wind was coming from.
We had all put our sea bands on before we boarded and overnight we all slept more or less okay. The motion of the ship did occasionally wake me up so I didn’t have a fully restful sleep. I had to take some of the empty hangers out of the closets because they kept banging against each other when the ship moved.
The room was surprisingly quiet overall. We didn’t hear anyone or anything outside the room. We either had quiet neighbors or things are well soundproofed. We got up around 7:00 so we could get breakfast and get early to the Splash Academy. The previous night they recommended we get there before they opened to ensure a spot. They expected to reach capacity fairly quickly due to it being a sea day and the difficult weather outside.
Breakfast
We went to one of the main complementary dining rooms for breakfast. They are called Taste and Savor respectively and they are exactly the same. One is on the port side of the ship while the other is on the starboard side. They even have the same decor, so we chose the one with the shorter line to get in.
The menu had fairly standard breakfast options as well as some specials. There was also a kid’s menu with things to color and some puzzles to solve. We all found several things we wanted to try. We had a relaxing and efficient breakfast and were finished within the hour. Then it was off to Splash Academy to get the kids checked in.
Splash Academy
We arrived at the Splash Academy about 20 minutes before it was scheduled to open at 9:00 and there was already a line with a dozen people in it. Rumor had it that there were many times more kids on this cruise than they had capacity. That is very believable since this was a cruise around a school break. They opened the doors about 5 minutes early and checkin was loud and frantic but relatively efficient.
To minimize the number of people in the checkin area they requested only one parent do the checkin. The parent presented the key cards for the kids and themselves to the counselor. The counselor scanned the cards and the noted where the parents expected to be. This was in case something happened with the kids. It would be easier to find the parents. They then gave the parents back the key cards and gave the kids a sticker with their name and age before letting them behind the desk and into the no parent zone.
There was a daily schedule of activities that were happening and the boys studied ever letter of it. They were sure to dictate which events they needed to attend. If only they paid that much attention to their homework!
Normally our boys are reluctant participants of kids clubs, especially at first. They warm up as they become more familiar with the program but the first days are normally challenging. This time was the opposite. They were all in at full speed from day one which was very nice to see.
Splash Academy was complementary during the day and was open from 9:00-noon, 2:00-5:00, and 7:00-10:30. There was an additional session from 10:30-1:30 that charged a nominal per child fee. The fee was pretty reasonable, but our kids would not be functional that late at night so we never considered using that.
The kids needed to be picked up before each session ended or risk being charged an overage fee. We usually got them 15-20 minutes before the session ended to make sure we weren’t caught in one of the last minute lines and charged an overage so we never really away from the kids for more than a couple hours.
Afternoon
We checked the kids out of Splash Academy a little before noon to avoid the rush. They had a great time that morning! We headed off for lunch at the same restaurant we had breakfast at that morning. The menu had several options including some seafood and chicken options in addition to staples like burgers and fries. The kids tried and loved the popcorn shrimp appetizer and ended up getting three orders of it!
After lunch we walked around the ship until it was time to check the kids back into Splash Academy. While it was still rough, my wife and the kids were not feeling any seasickness. I was starting to feel a little light headed, but nothing serious. There were a fain number of people feeling seasick, though. The crew even placed motion sickness bags on all the stairways.
I wasn’t fully seasick, but decided to take a Dramamine after lunch to make sure my light headedness didn’t progress into something worse. I spent most of the afternoon reading books and taking naps in the room. I’m not sure the sea bands were actually helping, but I sure wasn’t about to take them off to do a test!
When we initially got into our stateroom the previous day there had been an envelope with excursion tickets, but only for tickets to the Atlantis water park on Christmas Day. The envelope didn’t have the tickets for the Kennedy Space Center which was scheduled for the next day. Between naps I headed up to deck 6 to wait in a few different lines in the customer service area to get things sorted out. After a solid 30 minutes of waiting I had reprinted tickets in hand and was ready to go when we got into port the next day.
Dinner Time!
In the evening we had dinner reservations at Cagney’s Steakhouse which is a specialty restaurant which normally costs extra. We used one of our dining package credits for this when we made the reservation the previous afternoon. We still didn’t know exactly what this got us since the restaurant had prices for each of the items on the menu. We weren’t sure if the dining credit was for a certain amount against what we ordered or if we could order anything off the menu. We also didn’t know if we’d have to pay for something for the kids.
When we were seated we asked the waitress who kindly explained that the adults could get any one item from each section of the menu as part of the dining package (appetizer, salad, main course, dessert). The kids would order from the kids menu and that would be complementary. The kids could also share any of the food we ordered. This worked out perfectly for us though it would have relieved a lot of stress if they could have told us this instead of trying to sell us a dining plan for the kids the previous day. It’s not the type of information that helps them upsell people, so it’s sadly not in their best short-term interest.
We ordered two appetizers, salads, main courses and deserts and shared them all. The kids chose from the kids menu and we all went home very full!
The food was pretty good, though it wasn’t something I’d pay the listed prices for. This was an improvement over normal restaurant steaks, but not close to what you’d get at a high end steakhouse for similar prices. That said, the porterhouse I got was tasty enough and well prepared. The appetizers and salads were above average as well. Overall it was a nice upgrade from the complementary restaurant options.
Evening
After dinner it was back to Splash Academy for the kids. I was feeling well enough to get myself to the gym to work off some of the calories from dinner. The gym was surprisingly busy for 8:00pm though there were a few machines available. There were treadmills, elyptical trainers, and exercise bikes with breathtaking views of the water… during the day. At night there wasn’t much to look at since it was pitch black outside and acted more as a mirror. All the machines had a video screen that could display various things including a mode that simulated running/biking through some cities scenes. I chose San Francisco and one of the options there simulated a routes I frequent when I travel there for work which was neat. There was also separate area for weights which I didn’t use.
After my workout we retrieved the kids from Splash Academy and it was off to bed again. The next day is our first port at Port Canaveral and our first excursion to Kennedy Space Center!
Tomatico Travels 
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