Our adventure on the high seas - part two

I promised when we were on the Anthem of the Seas that I would give you a detailed review of what we saw and did on the ship. It's taken me a while to formulate this and to take in all of the things we did. I was talking to my boy the other day about our 'mini-cruise' and he said, "Can we go on another cruise please Mummy ? On another ship next time ?" Well, I can't promise, but it certainly made an impression on the little chap and you can see why.

We arrived at the Southampton station to take the free transfer to the dock and popped our bags into the luggage hold and settled back. It took only a few minutes and when we arrived it took very little time to go through the airport style security as we had checked in already online. Armed with his Trunki and my wheelie luggage (borrowed from the in-laws) we made our way to board the ship. There was another check point before boarding and as soon as we were on board staff very kindly helped us with bags and directed us to the lifts to find our stateroom. It was ready for us and we had these groovy wristbands to use to unlock the doors and to pay for anything on board as they were registered to my account on board. My boy loved his band so much he wouldn't take it off at all !

We decided to explore the ship and found the Seaplex zone where my boy fell in love with this seat made of skateboards and we admired the bumper cars. He was too young to go on them as he's under 5, but riding in the static ones parked outside the rink still made him happy. We went to check what the age restriction was on the skydiving and he was old enough to take part so we both did it. He told me afterwards that it was quite scary, but I told him how brave he was and that I was very proud of him for trying something new.

We went to sign up for the kids club on board and despite it being partially open my boy still had a great time when I dropped him off there in the evening. If anything he was reluctant to leave ! I wanted him to get to sleep as I knew what adventures we had to come the following day.

I was booked in for a fantastic hot stone massage at 9am so we went for breakfast early and my boy barely touched his food he was so keen to get back to the kids club activities. I dropped him off and went to the salon and had the most relaxing time I think I can remember for a long time. 

I had a lull in the late morning so I decided to give the circus school a go and went on the trapeze - it was exhilarating and I'm so glad I did it, although I'm not a natural acrobat ! With a little bit of time to spare I took another stroll around the ship and found the gym and fitness class area where they have regular classes for all levels. Now that I can see I'd enjoy on a longer trip.

 

When I went to pick my boy up for lunch he wasn't even that bothered as he was having such a good time with his friends. The staff told me that they were taking the children for dinner at 5pm if he wanted to eat with his friends - silly question, of course he did ! We had a lovely lunch at Jamie's Italian and when I asked him if he fancied a swim with me before going back to see his friends at Kids' Club he said he just wanted to go back to Adventure Ocean ! 

After about a moment's hesitation and feeling a bit neglected - so much for bonding with my boy - I decided to go and watch a show and spent 2 hours singing along to We Will Rock You (apparently I know all the words to Queen songs !) I also realised that the guy who had been in front of us in a cafe the day before was the lead in the show. Everyone was amazing and had it not been for the movement of the ship I could have been in the West End. 

Knowing that the boy was eating with his friends I still went to check and see if he missed me - big fat no ! So feeling not at all guilty I put on a pretty frock and some make up and went for dinner. The food was very good and if I ate so well every day I'd need to be in the gym a lot, but it was only for a couple of days so I let myself relax a bit. When I went to pick up the boy he was tired, but very happy and went to sleep almost immediately. Bliss !

I practically had to peel my boy out of bed in the morning and as we had to disembark soon and I wanted to make sure we had something to eat and took one last stroll around the ship. It was much quieter and we enjoyed our breakfast with a view of Southampton and the other ships in dock. With a bit of time to spare he started watching Annie on the TV in our stateroom, but we didn't get to finish watching so I promised to get it for him when we got back. The movies were great and I watched The Imitation Game and he also watched Big Hero 6 while we were on board. It was so handy having access to movies in the room. With so much to do you can still have some time just relaxing and watching the ocean out of the balcony or a movie in the room.

We loved the quirky little touches on the ship - like the funky animal pictures in the lifts and these hands on the bar - is that the literal interpretation of 'all hands on deck ?'  We had a wonderful taste of what a cruise might be like and I can see us enjoying a holiday on a cruise ship as a family. There is so much to do and it just is not possible to get bored. In just a couple of days I was able to relax, learn new things, spend time with my son and we both got to make new friends. I can only imagine how much more we would do in a week or even longer.

Disclosure: The lovely folks at Royal Caribbean invited us to try out their latest ship, Anthem of the Seas on a 'shakedown' cruise. Thanks also to Mumsnet for inviting us. 

Guess what we did last weekend.

Now this is how to choose your food in a restaurant. I suspect the coolness and nostalgia was entirely wasted on my boy.

Jamie's italian retro menu for kids

In the Bionic Bar these robots mix any cocktail of your choice - including a few non-alcoholic ones.

The machines are mixing our drinks now 

Yep I had a spa treatment and went out for dinner - pampered and primped :)

A rare attempt at glamour

With a slight lull in the day and a boy in kids' club I decided to catch a show. It was 'We Will Rock You' and it was fantastic. I had no idea I knew the words to so many Queen songs (all of them). 

The Killer Queen

Balcony blogging - ah the glamour of the cruising life. I could get used to sitting in the sun and capturing bon mots al fresco. 

My new office (I wish)

Disclosure: We were invited on a 'shakedown' pre-inaugural cruise on Anthem of the Seas by the lovely folks at Royal Caribbean. These are of some of the activities we enjoyed while there. 

A sailor's life for me (sort of)

Ahoy there Sailor ! 

A while back I visited the world's largest cruise ship Oasis of the Seas and it was part of a new fleet being launched by Royal Caribbean - the Quantum ships. This weekend me and big boy are enjoying a pre-inaugural trip on the latest of this fleet, the Anthem of the Seas. As my in-laws live in Southampton we stayed over with Grandma and Grandpa on Friday evening so we could make an early start on Saturday morning. On arrival at the terminal building we were met by these jolly greeters who wished us a pleasant trip and went for the check-in which is all done online using handheld tablets. Security is airport style so we were prepared for this and it was all very smooth. We even managed to pick up some magazines in the terminal building, although - of course - we've been far too busy to read them !!

Mum airways

The lovely folks at Royal Caribbean planned a busy itinerary for us so we got on board promptly and made sure we found our room so we could get cracking with the activities. The first was this amazing skydiving machine called iFly which I thought was only for adults but my amazing and brave boy had a fly too. I was blown away by how well he did and even though he found it a bit overwhelming he made me so proud. 

Brave Boy

One of the cliches you hear about cruises is that you end up eating a lot of food as it's all there. Well, I can honestly say we've eaten a hell of a lot of food this weekend, but it hasn't been all buffets by any stretch. We ate in a Patisserie yesterday afternoon where they served a great hot chocolate for my boy and had a display of beautiful macarons and other petits fours that looked delicious. They were not available to eat, just to look at, but it's just as well really !! There is a lot of choice of places to eat on board and when you have little ones to feed that makes a lot of difference. Having the option for a slice of pizza or a quick bite in the afternoon or late morning can be the difference between a happy child and an almighty meltdown. 

La Patisserie 

Talking of which we also signed up for the kids club on board. Adventure Ocean is over two floors and provides childcare for children in age ranges from 3-5 (Aquanauts) 6-8 (Explorers) and 9-11 (Voyagers). There is also a room suitable for nursery age children. My boy loved it so much in the kids club I had to prise him out of it last night and he was raring to get back in there this morning. For child who isn't always keen on such things he really took to it. The staff are all fully trained and take great care of the children. On a cruise you would have a phone which they can use to contact you on the ship in case of emergency. Royal Caribbean also offer a babysitting service in room where 2 fully trained members of staff stay with your child. It is a paid for service and at $19 per hour I can honestly say it would give me peace of mind knowing I could go out to a show or for a meal knowing my children were being taken care of in room instead of by a monitor system.  

Decorative vintage aprons

Cruises haven't traditionally been seen as family holidays, but this ship has really given me pause for thought when it comes to taking my kids away. The kids club for one and the facilities on board for older children are amazing. On this ship there is a basketball court and circus school during the day and it's used for dodgems or roller disco at night. Then late at night it's a club venue for adults. I even tried my hand at a bit of trapeze this afternoon - photos to follow on social media no doubt. Finding time to do fun things for yourself can be a tough on a family holiday and that was one of my aims with this cruise. I have to admit it felt odd not having a child with me and to wander around thinking about how to spend my time, but it also was quite nice to have a spa treatment - hot stone massage, blissful by the way - and to go and watch a show with a cocktail served in my theatre seat. 

This is the life !

Admittedly, it's a different kind of holiday. The ship has different 'zones' for different interests so there is the pool deck and the Seaplex with games zones and fun areas for children. There are bars and cafes as well as formal dining and plenty of places to stop and have a quick bite or to get a drink. In fact my chosen blogging style is now a touch more decadent as I've taken to treating myself to a glass of bubbly before sitting down to write. I can see this being the way forward for me :) 

In a later post I'll tell you about some of what we got up to on the second day !

Disclosure: We were invited to try out the new Anthem of the Seas ship by the lovely folks at Royal Caribbean and Mumsnet. 

It's not quite Howard's Way is it ?

I've been a bit off radar this week, but I do have a very good reason. I was on a cruise ship. In case you're wondering how I got home so quickly I'll clarify that. I was invited onto the ship, but we didn't make it to the Caribbean (sad face). I did, however, get fed to within an inch of my life - I didn't need to eat until after 1pm the next day I was still so full !

The view from the lifts is amazing !

It would have been great to actually visit the Caribbean, but it was still pretty great to be invited by Royal Caribbean to have a nosey around the biggest cruise ship in the world. The Oasis of the Seas was in Southampton this week, so while they boarded actual passengers a few of us were invited on board to sample some of the delights of a cruise. I have never been on one before and haven't seriously considered booking to go on one as a family as the only people I know who have been on and enjoyed a cruise are my in-laws and my elderly neighbours. In my mind it's a pastime for the retired and not for families with children. That's exactly why they wanted people like me to come aboard and change our minds about what cruising is like.

Not a shopping mall but the main promenade

So first up the ship is absolutely massive - the main promenade is twice the size of any other cruise ship and it's like being inside a shopping mall rather than at sea. It took us a while to board, but that was only because so many passengers were checking in super early so they could peruse the ship and take it all in. We were assured that it's actually a process that would take no more than 15 minutes in real life conditions. Security is like at an airport so you do have to walk through arches and provide photo ID before boarding.

King Julian serving at lunch 

Luscious lunch 

It's Alex the lion !

Once on board we were given lunch at Giovanni's. There are a lot of food outlets included in the price, but Giovannie's is one of the restaurants that requires an additional cover charge.  The charge is actually very reasonable, the food was delicious and the service just wonderful. It's not somewhere I'd eat often, but would be great for a special meal. While we were eating our starters we spotted these characters who joined us for photos and even came to see us at the table. I have to admit I was more than a little star struck !

Touch screen guide

This is a wall mounted guide that has a touch screen so you can see where on the ship you are, where you want to go and what activities are on that day. I've mentioned the enormity of the ship and it is a concern that you might get lost or - horror of horrors lose your child. You are never more than a few feet away from a member of staff and they are very helpful and friendly. If you lose a child you notify one of them and the entire staff on the ship stop what they are doing and search their area. Apparently it takes no more than 3 minutes to locate a lost child on board.

Trevor the fresh juice man

One of the things that I love about going on holiday is the relaxation, the fresh fruit and the opportunity to unwind. On board there is a very well equipped gym where you can do spin classes and you can work out from early morning to 1am !! We also had a mini treatment in the Elemis Spa and that would be one of my favourite places to visit I can tell you. After a workout and a relaxing treatment I always look forward to a refreshing drink of some kind. Trevor is the man who can help make magic happen. I asked for a drink based on pineapple and he created something of beauty out of pineapple, banana, orange and (as he told me conspiratorially and with a twinkle in his eye) "a little bit of peach." It was heavenly !!

Lilting music 

There is a lot for adult passengers with on board entertainment including live shows and we were serenaded by a band that included steel pans to get us into the Caribbean feel. I was interested to see what was available for children though as my son is aged 4 and I couldn't imagine what would keep him occupied and enable me to relax while on a cruise. The kids' club is a series of rooms that have age appropriate activities including science experiments, sports, arts and crafts. It's clean, well set out and staff are trained and first aid qualified. You can leave your children safely and know they are being cared for.

Outdoor pool fun 

Kids' club playroom 

My major concern was that as I have a very active child I wasn't sure there would be enough for my son to do that would stop him going stir crazy. Then we went outside and I saw the amazing sports deck with a number of fun pools, hot tubs for grown ups, crazy golf and the zipline that is included in the activities package (as is the flow rider) and you can go on it as many times as you like. In good weather it would be amazing to spend the day outside having fun swimming, playing and being active and might go some way towards counteracting the overeating that can happen on a cruise. I did a zipline along the top of the ship - I wasn't sure why I agreed to it, but as I zipped along over the carousel I was not at all scared and actually enjoyed it :)

Enormous starter

Decadent dessert 

When you talk to anyone about cruises the topic of food is never far away. There is a lot of it and it is pretty much inevitable that you will eat more than you intend to as there is so much on offer. Our food was amazing and I genuinely didn't need to eat the next day as it was so filling. There is a wide variety of food outlets to try and some are included and others require an additional charge. I did wonder what my son would make of the food, but there is so much choice I'm sure we'd find something that he would enjoy on board. Also with a cruise that makes frequent stops we could go ashore and try different cuisines in the ports.

The zipline was great fun

Overall I did rethink my preconceptions about the kind of people who go on a cruise. I mean who on earth would have predicted that with my propensity for seasickness and fear of heights I would willingly clamber onto a zipline and career along the 15th floor of the ship way above the decks ? It is not beyond the realms of possibility that we would consider booking a cruise as a family. I'm not sure I'd like to be at sea for days at a time, but a Mediterranean cruise with stops at different destinations every day might appeal. Having seen it in real life I can see what an amazing experience it could be for children to enjoy.

Disclosure: Royal Caribbean kindly invited me and some other Mumsnetters on board to experience what a cruise has to offer for families. I was not paid for this review.