I’m a Princess (part 1)

Well… I’m a Princess cruiser… Yep!   Who would have thunk it?  Cruising to Paradise?  Well, actually, ME! I’ve been dreaming of blue waters and white sand beaches for a LONG time. And my sweet husband knew that…  After all, living in Texas, the beach we see most often is Galveston… Where the water is brown (ugh) and filled with jelly fish on the yucky beach. Bleck.

So last fall Robert announced one day that he found a heck of a deal on a cruise heading out of Ft. Lauderdale (where we could fly to using frequent flyer miles) and that would sail to …paradise! Oh Em Gee!!! Madi and I were beyond thrilled. Jack started getting more excited once we told him you could eat anything you want all day long and that the ship had a basketball court! Ahhhh, simple pleasures.

Our journey began with an early morning flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Our airport was beyond packed ! We were shocked by the crowds. Many people missed their planes that morning! For some reason, we ended up with one FIRST CLASS seat on the airplane. For some other reason, Madi claimed it and ran ahead lol. Robert, Jack and I were in the VERY LAST row of the airplane; an extra-long airplane, none the less. When we landed and finally got off, Madi said she was starting to wonder if we were even on there. As she had gotten off nearly 25 minutes before us… ahhh the pleasures of first class.

She then proceeded to aggravate her starving brother by asking if we too chose the pasta over the pork! WHAT??? We didn’t even get pretzles lol. She said she asked the flight attendant if there was a charge when she came by to take Madi’s order. Sweet girl. She didn’t want to get a bill for the food! She also wasn’t quite sure what to do with the hot towels they passed out! Ha ha. She was however, sure what to do with the yummy chocolate cake!

Anyhowwwwww. We then took the free airport shuttle to the Rodeway Inn (about a 10 minute drive) and had a delightful stay at the brand new remodeled hotel. A yummy lunch for the 3 non-pasta eating airplane riders and then we headed to the hotel pool for some swimming and RummiKub! So beautiful with all of the flowers and palm trees.

That night we ordered yummy calzones from a local pizzeria and then headed to bed. Sunday morning we enjoyed a delightful *free* breakfast and then waited for our free shuttle to the port (10 minute drive). Upon arriving at the port we were excited to see all the large, beautiful ships. Our excitement was growing! Once boarded (about a 30-40 minute line) we were ON! WE WERE OFFICIAL CRUISERS!