Feidler Family: Carnival Triumph

Just now posting on our summer vacation. Sad.

Mike and I loved our first Carnival cruise so much. We mentioned several times how we wished the kids could be with us to enjoy the excitement of being on the ocean, seeing the shows and visiting other countries.

After a little research and tossing the idea around, we found a great deal for a family cruise and took the bait. It was a wonderful trip and as expected, the kids had a great time! We took the Triumph ship this time and went to Cozumel and Progreso for our summer vacation. The kids were split into age groups and went to different activities throughout the week, making friends along the way. The shows were great fun and of course we enjoyed the all you can eat buffets. What a disappointment for the kids to return home only to find that my buffets, well, don't exist.

The kids did have many firsts!

It didn't take much to talk Maddie into her first karaoke to a crowd of strangers. I sang my signature Dixie Chicks song, Earl, and Maddie sang some Taylor Swift. She did awesome!!

All three got to snorkel for the first time in the middle of the ocean. I don't know who was more nervous for them, me or them, but they were naturals.

I guess Maddie hadn't gotten enough of the spotlight with karoake. Here she is dancing with our waitress. One of my favorite parts of the cruise is when the wait staff entertain. It's bitter sweet because they are singing their goodbyes (and collecting their generous tips) on the last night of the week. We are tired and just about ready to go home, but also a bit melancholy knowing this is the end of such a sweet vacation. If I wasn't careful, I could have shed a few tears.

First time any of us has played on a jungle gym out in the ocean. Slides, tumblers and climbers for your entertainment. As if snorkeling and the cruise itself wasn't enough. :-)

We were all a bit mesmerized by this dude who somehow managed to carry several drinks on his head at once across the restaurant. We had fun trying different foods but were sure to stay away from the water that wasn't bottled!

Here we actually ventured out from the bus and tourist attractions to get a feel for the real culture. We found all sorts of interesting activities including the selling of dead chickens hanging upside down next to the hanging sausages. We wimped out and finally settled on a Dominoes right smack in the middle of town. They took American money and had free wi-fi. HELLO! Did you forget who we were with???

Two cruise ships side by side was quite the sight.

Elegant night in the dining room, with suits and all! The kids were so worn out by this time it was all they could do to at least look the part. I loved that the kids were able to experience the formal dining room with dishes like duck, salmon, lobster and steak galore. Not that these are my favorites, but it was fun to try different things. And then there was the chocolate molten cake..... oh, how I miss it. Sigh.