Our First Cruise (Day 1 to 4)

Explorer of the Seas: Day 1 to Day 4

We recently went on our first family cruise with Royal Caribbean, on one of their newly refurbished ships, Explorer of the Seas.  My last cruise was also with Royal Caribbean, 12+ years ago, and our last as a family; pre-weddings (my sister’s) and pre-children.  While that was fun cruise, I was unlucky to bring home a hitchhiker: a parasite that required flushing!  (Don’t ask me which one, I’ve blocked it from my memory) So yes, I was put off cruises for some time.  But now that MrE is at a good age (read: he can participate in some of the activities on board) for this type of travel, I was open and excited to re-experience cruising.  Also, not having to go to the airport after this past year was very appealing to me (see our Year in Review).

Cruising is becoming very popular in Australia.  We are very much like a big island so flying anywhere international can already blow the budget.  With cruising, we are lucky that the passenger terminal is accessible by public transportation so it was less than $10 round-trip!  We chose Royal Caribbean mostly because of the on-board offers – rock climbing, ice skating, and surfing!  (Plus being from the US, I still can’t bring myself to go on Carnival although it is a very different cruise line in the Southern Hemisphere)

We had a lot of fun over our 8 day cruise which means I have a lot to share with you!  This post will cover Day 1: Arrival to Day 4: Isle of Pines, our first port of call.  You may have already seen some of these pics from my Instagram feed (now also on here!)

Day 1: Arrival

I cannot tell you how good it felt to turn on my out of office, added to the fact that I was completely offline (we did not opt for the connectivity package).  We were excited to board the boat... but let me backtrack a bit…insert flashback sound here.

On the Sunday before our departure, we received an email regarding delayed boarding times due to increased sanitation efforts due to illness.  Then the news hit: gastro!  After my last experience, I was concerned to say the least so I immediately stocked up on hand sanitiser and anti-bacterial wipes.  Then on Tuesday, a super stormcell hit Sydney (gale force winds, hail, thunder and lightning) and continued onto Wednesday (departure day).   

It's raining cats and dogs!

After watching the rain radar, we weighed up forgoing our public transport plans and calling a taxi but suddenly we got a break in the rain.  We acted quickly and frantically threw our luggage and kids in the car.  MrH drove us up to the closest sheltered bus stop where I waited (dang those snorkelling fins are heavy!) while MrH dropped the car back at home and back to us in time for the next bus. As the bus crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge we could see our ship!  And it was BIG.

Bon Voyage!

Finally it was our stop but we had to drag our luggage (and kids) 1.4k to the Overseas Passenger Terminal.  Only with 400m left, the sky was threatening and we more or less jogged to the boat… just in time too.  No sooner were we inside completing our customs forms when the Syd-nado struck.  We had no idea of the chaos and damage it was causing outside!  I was very impressed with the check-in process for the cruise.  We were exploring the ship within 35 minutes of entering the Terminal!

We were lucky enough to have the first boarding time (1:30PM) this meant there were no delays from earlier groups.  As I mentioned the boarding process was easy: we had tagged our luggage before leaving home so on arrival, we dumped and ran at luggage check-in and were swiftly in the queue.  The first queue was to check that we had passports and signed cruise documents in hand – check!  Before heading upstairs for full check-in, we received bottles of water (save these!) and pre-packaged cookies to snack on.  My also kids got their treats for being good and compliant during the public transport and 1.4k walk here.  There was a queue here but all counters were open so it moved quickly.  From here it was onto Immigration, again there was no queue and it only took as long as it took to complete the Immigration Forms.  (If I had known, I would have had this pre-completed as well.  I keep some at home!)  If you didn’t pre-purchase your beverage package (we missed the deadline) you can do so here.  This worked in our favour as the costs were cheaper now!

From Deck 5: Royal Promenade

Once through immigration, we were on the boat!  After grabbing a bite to eat, we located all the activity decks, booked our standing dinner reservation (we were on My Time Dining), purchased a Dining Package to try the 3 fine dining restaurants on board (again, cheaper) and most importantly registered the kids for Adventure Ocean.  Whew!  As we had rest over coffee and fresh baked cookies; we heard our stateroom was now available.  Yippee!  We had a balcony stateroom on Deck 9.  The cabin location was fantastic; it was close enough to the elevators and stairs.  If the lifts were busy we could use the stairs to get to the Windjammer (buffet) and pool on Deck 11.  It was also a straight shot to the entry of Adventure Ocean and the Sapphire Dining Room.  We had a queen bed and a sofa bed.

#9356
(I brought a mini-Christmas tree with us)

Just as quickly as the Syd-nado came, the skies were calm again.  Our departure was delayed until 8PM due to airport closures so after our first dinner at Sapphire Dining, MrH took the kids in the pool and I watched the sunset as we sailed away. 

Sailing away

Back in our stateroom, we looked out our balcony at the perfect time!

Additional note: Cruise stateroom must-have’s

1. Pump handsoap for the bathroom - this made washing hands so much easier and more hygienic than bar soap (thanks Maree!)

2. Peg garment dryer for air drying swim suits - the stateroom had a small clothes line.  It was only big enough to fit one pair of board shorts across it so this enabled us to dry all of swim suits.  I picked mine up at Daiso ($2.80) so when a few of the pegs broke, I wasn't too bothered by it.

3. This last one is my must-have anytime I travel longer than 2 days - a pop-up hamper for dirty clothes.  It folds down flat so takes up no room in your luggage.  Again, another Daiso purchase ($2.80).

Day 2: At Sea

We had a quiet start to our cruise.  We were all exhausted so we were in shutdown mode.  The kids decided they wanted to go to Adventure Ocean (the kids club) so we grabbed Starbucks (yes, on the boat!) and leisurely walked around the ship.

After lunch, we caught the 1PM family movie (Pixels) and had an afternoon swim listening to the sounds of Umoja (amazing Jamaican band), and suddenly it was time for our separate dinner reservations.  The kids were off to Adventure Dining and us to Chops (restaurant 1 of 3 of our Dining Package).    

Huckleberry Cheesecake
MrH claims this is the best cheesecake he's ever had!

After dinner, MrH and I had a drink at Dizzy’s Lounge then I tried to get him to karaoke with me but failed miserably.

Dizzy's is on Deck 14

Won't sing?  Fine.  I'll just drink bubbles then.

Poor MrE wasn’t faring well at Adventure Ocean.  When he wants to go to bed, he wants to go to bed.  We found him curled up on the lounge trying to listen to stay awake and listen to a story.  In our stateroom, we found Wo-wo and Scout made a friend!

Day 3: At Sea

This morning we tested the rock-climbing wall.  MissE was bribed with an ice cream for trying.  I gave it a try too – it was my first time rock climbing!  It was a lot harder than it looked.  MrH said it’s all about your legs.  I was clearly doing it wrong because my shoulders and arms were pretty darn sore the next day!

That's MissE!

That's me!

And MrH made it to the top!

Unfortunately, it got very windy on the decks after this so we headed indoors.  Everyone else seemed to have the same idea so the games room was carpet only.  Most of the board games were already taken so after a round of “Go Fish”, I found mah-jong tiles and set-up “Turtle”, a game I fondly played in my childhood.  MrE really enjoyed it and asked to play a few times during the cruise.

We again watched the 1PM family movie (Big Hero 6) and had pool time (MrE’s favourite time).  We had dinner at the Sapphire Dining Room and then met friends at the Family Disco to boogie the night away – only until 8PM but for MrE, that’s late!

Everyday I'm Shuffling...

Did you say you already had friends on board?  Yes!  We were lucky enough to know several people on board, one being a co-worker and the other, a Mummy Group (from MissE) friend so the Two E’s were happy to see MissC and MissS!

Day 4: Isle of Pines

Our first port of call and LAND!  My body didn’t seem to want to be on holidays as I was still arising early.  I would get up, quietly make a tea, grab my book and sit on our balcony but this morning, I knew in advance the importance of getting tender boat tickets.  It paid off!  We were on a tender boat within the first hour.

Unfortunately it was very windy on land too; MissE’s favourite hat blew straight off her head!  We walked to the Kanumera Bay first.  Due to MrE’s age, we were unable to book any of the excursions.  We didn’t have anything in mind but to play on the beach and see some fish anyway.  Here’s the thing: MissE is petrified of fish in the ocean.  A few times at the beach, we pointed out the fish swimming around us which quickly ‘beached’ her for the rest of the day.

The sacred Le Rocher

The only fish photo I still have (insert unhappy face)

I went in first while MrH talked her into it and made sure her equipment fit properly.  The fish were amazing!  I swam in to excitedly show MissE but that lasted 30 seconds, and those 30 seconds was me swimming her out.  Sigh.  So we played in the shallow area for a bit then I explored a different section where we could stand and look at the fish.  We talked her into trying but a boy came over and told us he saw a poisonous fish.  Thanks for that.  We failed miserably to get her close to the reef after that.  It was lucky we were packing up when someone spotted the sea snake in the water!   Eden on the other hand, happily held onto my back and put his face in the water.

Before heading back to the boat, we spent some time splashing around and cracking coconuts at Kuto Bay.

The water was just perfect - warm, calm and so blue

The coconut was dry so we used it to make a friend instead.

Tip: Bring your own snorkels!  You can purchase ones on the cruise starting from $80 USD for children’s ones or rent on the island for the day, but given the germ situation – no thanks!

After a quick shower, we had a late lunch at Johnny Rockets at Sea.  It’s $6.95 per person, all-you-can-eat, with milkshakes and dessert extra.

With happy bellies, we met MissC for ice skating.  At dinner the night before, MrH and I decided to bring a new “rule” in: to try something new every day.  This was to set-up Eloise for snorkeling and Eden to try ice skating and it worked!  We got MrE on ice!  He gave it a fair shot… and me a good work out since I dragged him, half-limp around the rink a few times.  He sat the rest of the session out (last 5 minutes) but we are very proud of him for trying.

After dinner, the kids went to Adventure Ocean while we watched Skyfall by the pool and played evening trivia.

We loved the poolside (and afternoon) movies.

Hello, Turtle!

COMING SOON… Day 5: Mystery Island to Day 9: Disembarkation, plus Christmas

POSTSCRIPT: SINCE BEGINNING TO WRITE THIS, I LOST MY OLYMPUS TOUGH CAMERA WHICH I USED TO TAKE ALL MY UNDERWATER FISH PHOTOS BEFORE I DID A BACK-UP SO UNFORTUNATELY I CAN’T SHARE ANY OF THOSE.  SEE “MISSE TURNS 7”.