Spring Break 2013

For Spring Break this year, I took the kids to Florida and on a cruise.  My husband couldn't join us because of a new job.  So, it was a mom/child vacation that brought many amazing new experiences.  We started and ended in Fort Lauderdale with a  cruise in between.  The below is submitted by my kids to get their perspective.

The Norwegian Sky

Submitted by: Emma Murphy (age 12)

            The Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship was a wonderful experience! There was definitely something for everyone on this particular ship. Whether you are a college student looking for a reasonably priced, quick get-away, or a parent looking for a fun cruise for your family, this ship would be a great option. From swimming to Ping-Pong, with plenty of restaurants, the Norwegian Sky has much to offer. The service was very good; I was pleased with how smoothly everything went. This particular cruise was short but sweet; a nice three-day trip to the Bahamas. Below, you will find my experience aboard the Norwegian Sky.

            The process of boarding the ship went extremely smoothly. Once we boarded, we couldn’t get into our rooms right away, so remember to pack swimsuits and any other items you might want in a backpack. Then you can join in on the fun right away! There were two pools, four hot tubs, Ping-Pong tables, lounge chairs, and a basketball court. A library, a few large rooms where parties and games were held at night, a photo gallery, and a theater could also be found on the ship. Many fun activities were available to participate in during our stay. Some examples included: Deal or No Deal, Music Trivia, Family Feud, $5,000 Bingo, comedy shows, and many more. There were also parties every night for young adults and adults, and many art and jewelry shows.

            We stayed in a balcony cabin on the Norwegian Sky. I really enjoyed having that fresh air. Being able to just sit, relax, and watch the ocean without a ton of people around you was a really nice escape. It was very peaceful, and I would definitely recommend a balcony cabin if you like to have some quiet time!  

Quite a few restaurants were scattered around the ship. One thing that I really liked about this cruise was that there was freestyle dining, so we could eat whenever we wanted. They had two buffets, the main dining room, and a few bars that served food at dinner, a steakhouse, and an Italian restaurant. Both the steakhouse and the Italian restaurant were ‘specialty dining’ which means that you had to pay extra (the Italian restaurant was only specialty at dinner). Our first and only lunch on board was at the Italian restaurant. They didn’t have a wide variety of options for lunch (only pizza and pasta) but it was yummy. We ate in the main dining room the first night. The food was really good. For breakfast every morning, we just got food from one of the two buffets, so nothing spectacular there. I think the highlight of all the meals, had to be the steak house. The food was fantastic! Sure, it cost more, but it was well worth it! I was very pleased with the dining options on this ship.

This cruise, as I said before, is good for any age. But, there are more things for younger kids than the tween-early teen age. Since I am twelve, not quite a teen yet, they grouped me with the younger kids. I didn’t participate in the kids program because I would be hanging out with eight year olds. My point is, there is not a ton of organized activity for kids my age to do. This was fine by me. My ten-year-old brother felt the same way. Since it was such a short cruise, and we were barely on the ship during the day anyway, this didn’t bug us. There is still plenty to do, just not necessarily ‘organized activity’.

Both full days on the Norwegian Sky were spent in port. Our first day we spent lounging in the sun, snorkeling, and parasailing on Great Stirrup Cay (the cruise line’s private island). There was a ton to do! Snorkeling had to be one of the coolest parts of the island. You rented your gear for the day, and you could use it as much, or as little as you wanted. There was a ton of really neat fish to see! It was such a cool experience, and unlike anything that I had ever done before. Another exotic thing that I had the privilege to do was parasailing. It was amazing! My mom was surprised that I wanted to do it, considering I don’t like heights. But I would’ve regretted it if I had never tried. I highly suggest going parasailing. It is so relaxing and peaceful, unless you have a little brother, like me, yelling, “We’re gonna die!!!!” J Snorkeling and parasailing were just a few of the many options at Great Stirrup Cay. You could go jet skiing, rent rafts, play beach volleyball, and so much more! All in all, our day was incredible!

         The second day of our adventure was spent at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau. We hung out at the famous water park the entire day. It was amazing! We went on so many cool slides, including the well-known ‘Serpent’, which sends you through an aquarium with sharks! There was a lazy river that flows all around the park and through a few rapids, and there were plenty of pools. Also, we didn’t swim with dolphins, but I did get to watch other guests play with them for a little bit. It looked super fun and it is definitely something that I would want to try. The Atlantis was huge! I felt like we walked a mile just to get inside of the water park! Something that really stuck out to me was how detailed everything was. The resort was just so pretty! I only had one thing to complain about the entire day: the guest service. This kind of surprised me because I know a few people that have stayed at the Atlantis and they all say how wonderful the service is and how nice the people are. I disagreed. Some of the employees that we encountered were just rude to us. That is my only complaint and it definitely didn’t stop me from having fun! We had a great time at the Atlantis, and if you decide to take this cruise, I recommend spending at least part of your day at the Atlantis Resort.
*One thing that you should remember if you choose to spend a day at the Atlantis: bring your credit card. They don’t take cash (we found this out the hard way)

            As you can tell, we had so much fun aboard the Norwegian Sky. I would recommend this trip to anyone who needed a quick, tropical get-away. I had an amazing time and this was such a great vacation! The Norwegian Sky was a great choice and I would be very happy cruising with the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) again!

 

The Lago Mar Resort, Fort Lauderdale

By: Liam Murphy(age 10)

The Lago Mar Resort was a great experience for my family. They had great service, and were very nice. At the resort they have two pools, a Ping-Pong table, a playground, two hammocks, a giant chess board (like in Harry Potter), and two beach volleyball courts, tennis courts, shuffleboard, and the ocean next to it all. It is a great place for kids; my sister and I really enjoyed it. Here’s how our days usually went: take a walk on the beach (it was beautiful!), swim, play ping pong, play chess, eat lunch, swim, walk some more on the beach, go up to our room and relax, and walk some more.

The Lago Mar Resort also has many restaurants. Our favorite was the Soda Shop. The Soda Shop was divided into three parts. One part was like a gas station. They had bottled water, soda, chip bags, candy, and things like that. The other part had the cash register and ice cream, which was delicious! The third part was the counter, where you could order food. The food tasted great, and we ate there for almost all of our meals! All in all, the soda shop was pretty sweet.

We also went to Mai Kai, which was a Polynesian restaurant. The food and drinks were delicious!  They had a wide variety of cool drinks for kids and adults. For dinner we had teriyaki beef, chicken, and shrimp. After dinner there was a show. In the show there were different Polynesian dances. They also did one fire dance where they threw up the sticks (which were on fire) and caught them. It was very cool!

We went to Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza one night, too. It was a quiet, little place, but the food was great. For an appetizer we had the Caesar salad. We also had the pepperoni pizza which was delicious. We left Luigi’s happy, that’s for sure!

All in all, it was a great trip!