Day 2: Boarding the Ship

We were back in the car and headed to Charleston. Next stop: cruisin'

It was a bit of a process getting on the boat, but thanks to having a two year old we were given priority booking. That meant we were sent straight to the front of the line. Then we boarded our ship and met up with my parents and my sister and her family. 

This free food thing is pretty great. Side note: when we got our bill at the end of the cruise we realized nothing was really free. They make you pay a gratuity charge of $50/person. With 5 people that adds up fast). The other thing that surprised me was the fact that there was only one pool, a rather small pool. Especially for 900 people. 

The picture above was taken right after we boarded, but for the entire trip there were a minimum of 30 people in the pool at all times, and the hot tubs on either end were always full as well. There were two more hot tubs for 21 and over at the end of the boat, but that area got no wind and was extremely hot, so being in a hot tub never really sounded appealing. The cool showers, however, just right. 

After our luggage came in we were ready to get wet. The boat did have a really fun slide area. The kids loved this deck. It almost compensated for the small pool... almost.

Alex went down all of the slides, even the big ones. That boy is not afraid of anything. And Amelia and Ella loved the slides too. There's Amelia coming right behind her brother.

We ended our first day on the ship with dinner at the buffet. The kids were in love with the all you can eat ice cream. Really, who wouldn't be?