We've just finished an 11-day Southern Caribbean cruise aboard the Norwegian Sun. This was our first ever cruise but hopefully it won't be our last.
Booking this trip was the result of a radical change of heart -- in fact, a complete one-eighty on the subject of cruising.
A decade ago we would have scoffed at suggestions we would EVER go on a cruise.
At about that time, we were hiking in Chile's Torres del Paine and sharing bus seats with live chickens in Bolivia. Not long after, we were spending Christmas Day at the Potala Palace in Tibet.
Back then.... the more far-flung and exotic and crazy the travel idea, the more it appealed to us.
Now... we're parents of two full-on little boys and all we want for Christmas is two hours of peace and quiet.
For many years my lovely mum had tried to convince us to take a cruise and I had always shot down the idea before she could even get rolling on the subject.
But numerous times during this trip I found myself looking to the heavens and saying "Okay mum, you can say it now" and hearing "I told you so" whisper its way back to me on the wind, accompanied by some eye rolling.
The big drawcard for us was of course the idea that there would be a kids club on board and that somebody else would take care of our children and give us a little break.
The concern was that the kids might not like it and that we might end up massively regretting our decision.
We thought it could go either way on the first day.
Indy of course couldn't wait and from the moment he entered "Kids Korner" he never wanted to leave. But Dash spied a kid in tears on the first morning and then took an entire day (including seeing all of the kids dressed up and parading about the ship) to warm up to the idea.
Then there were a couple of other moments during the cruise, especially when he was tired, that Dash chose to be with mummy and daddy over going to Kids Korner, but for the most part he was keen.
So we grown-ups enjoyed dinners (where we got to eat our food) and watched shows (where we got to see the show) and read books (that we got to turn the pages of) and sat in quiet contemplation (like, all peaceful and zen-like) - all of those things that parents rarely get to do. And it was bliss.
And the kids had a fabulous time too... So happy days all around!
The fact we got to explore five different places in the Caribbean and only had to unpack our bags once was a mere footnote for us.
We had always imagined this mode of travel would be super-restrictive, but we had complete freedom to eat whenever and wherever we wanted and we were able to do our own thing at all of the ports instead of following the crowds or going on overpriced tours.
The pool areas were of course rimmed with people frying themselves in the hot caribbean sunshine (mostly. Canadians trying to catch every possible ray before returning to winter snowstorms) and that was amusing, but because we're not lay-by-the-pool people ourselves it didn't bother us.
In the end, none of us wanted to leave the ship. What a massive turnaround for us.... And a lesson in always keeping an open mind!
