Rare GenerationX Posted July 24 Author #76 Share Posted July 24 1 hour ago, LouChamp said: Aloha. So happy you are having a nice time. Just wondering if at her age you are considering perhaps Disney World or cruising in different parts of the world? Please don't mind my intrusion but just providing my opinion based on how we transitioned from the Caribbean and cruising in the Caribbean to the world stage. Aloha! It’s funny you ask because Mini Me and I were having a conversation about this at dinner last night. When we walked past future cruises yesterday there was a video playing of Flora and Gen Z told me how desperately she wants to go on a Galapagos cruise. Then at dinner she mentioned that a friend she made at camp at sea did a Japan cruise with her grandparents and said it was the most fun she’d ever had. I told Mini Me that a trip that grand has to be earned (especially if she’s going to be usurping Jeremy’s place in my Galapagos savings account) but if she works very hard with her tutor this year and gets a top grade in math (her hardest subject), we’ll do one of those cruises as next summer’s mommy and me. I’m probably going to go to future cruises next time she’s busy at camp and quietly put a deposit down because Gen Z comes from a long line of EXTREMELY ambitious women. 😂 15 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DaKahuna Posted July 24 #77 Share Posted July 24 6 hours ago, GenerationX said: right around the same time I think I’ll be calling in law school favors to get FBI caliber background checks done on somebody’s son who wants to take my treasure out to a movie. 😂 I found answering the door when her date arrived wearing a side arm and holding a shotgun very effective. 🤣 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DaKahuna Posted July 24 #78 Share Posted July 24 21 minutes ago, GenerationX said: Then at dinner she mentioned that a friend she made at camp at sea did a Japan cruise with her grandparents and said it was the most fun she’d ever had. We both loved our Japan cruise this past May. It is such a wonderful couintry rich in culture and history. She would love Miyajima Island, which we visited when the ship stopped in Hiroshima. They have deer there that are very tame and you have to be careful when eating something as they will come up and try and take it away from you. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisetonowhere10 Posted July 24 #79 Share Posted July 24 49 minutes ago, GenerationX said: Aloha! It’s funny you ask because Mini Me and I were having a conversation about this at dinner last night. When we walked past future cruises yesterday there was a video playing of Flora and Gen Z told me how desperately she wants to go on a Galapagos cruise. Then at dinner she mentioned that a friend she made at camp at sea did a Japan cruise with her grandparents and said it was the most fun she’d ever had. I told Mini Me that a trip that grand has to be earned (especially if she’s going to be usurping Jeremy’s place in my Galapagos savings account) but if she works very hard with her tutor this year and gets a top grade in math (her hardest subject), we’ll do one of those cruises as next summer’s mommy and me. I’m probably going to go to future cruises next time she’s busy at camp and quietly put a deposit down because Gen Z comes from a long line of EXTREMELY ambitious women. 😂 Ha ha. Love it. I teach middle school math…very developmentally connected as well. When it finally clicks it’s so cool… 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpark895 Posted July 24 #80 Share Posted July 24 Happy Birthday, Charla! It's nice to have another trip report from you including Gen Z, who is growing up to be quite a young lady. Enjoy the rest of your cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hcat Posted July 24 #81 Share Posted July 24 What a great goal, and incentive for her to excel! Galapagos sounds so cool! So blessed that your hard work makes it possible! Would be great if all 3 of you could go! BTW.. if you ever cruise from Tampa Fl, they have a world class aquarium, a fabulous Tampa zoo and many other places nearby... See Manatees in nature, etc; close to Busch Gardens, Dinosaur World and all the Orlando attractions! ( not just Mickey & Minnie!) Can't wait for the next adventure! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 24 Author #82 Share Posted July 24 Good morning from our sail into Grand Cayman! We have a late morning arrival time today so Gen Z and I slept in a bit. She was also determined to get an hour in at camp this morning for a boat building competition, so we grabbed a quick breakfast in the buffet. While Gen Z is enjoying her kid time, I’m enjoying some grown up time with an iced lavender haze at Al Bacio. We had a late night last night that kicked off with the 8:30 Le Petit Chef dinner. It turned out to be a show we’ve seen before, but it was a menu we both really enjoy. I think the short rib entree may be one of the best dishes on the ship. Gen Z got the alternative branzino last time so it was her first time eating the short rib. She once again ate all of hers and half of mine. I think I may have found the secret to avoiding my usual cruise weight gain: bring along a tween with a voracious appetite who eats all my food. It was so good Gen Z asked our waiter to send her compliments to the chef. The restaurant manager did us one better and actually brought the head chef out to the table so Gen Z could give her compliments personally and we were thrilled to see that said boss chef was a woman! After dinner we headed to Eden for the Dreams show. This time we got there about 10:20 for the 10:45 show and had to stand on the balcony on the second level and watch the show from the back. At the show, we bumped into one of Gen Z’s friends from camp who was doing the late night (extra charge) session in kids club and asked Gen Z to join. Normally you need to RSVP for the late night kids club, but I told her we could go down and see if she could get in last minute. It turned out she was in luck, and I took the opportunity to make my first martini bar visit of the cruise and made a stop at the 80’s party in the club. As I was leaving to pick Gen Z up and the martini bar was closing down, I asked a bartender for a couple of bottles of Evian to take to bed. It turned out that so close to closing, they’d already given out the last Evian in the fridge. But instead of trying to give me the classic package bottled water, he asked if I minded if it wasn’t chilled and when I said I didn’t, one of the guys ran to the storage room and lugged a whole new case of Evian up to the bar just for me. We finally made our way into bed around 1am. So the caffeine in this coffee cocktail is MUCH needed. Well, it’s just about time for me to go collect Mini Me so we can change and get ready for our excursion to the turtle sanctuary. I’ll check in again later this afternoon. 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hcat Posted July 24 #83 Share Posted July 24 (edited) 1 hour ago, GenerationX said: edited.... The greatest age! pre teen and so grown up, & sophisticated but still love their " plushies!" Edited July 24 by hcat 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted July 24 #84 Share Posted July 24 Aloha! Love your posts and food pictures lol. Glad I was able to channel positive vibes your way. My wife and I actually have reservations for a 45 day Japan/Asia cruise next year. Our daughter and her husband spent a few weeks there before she was with child last fall. My cousin lives there and a cruise in that region would be priceless for mini-me. We did many cruises when she was young mixed with short weekends to Bermuda and the Bahamas. Presidents week found us on a Caribbean cruise and then off season at Disney. Summers were camp and then a three week trip either in Europe or South America (during the winter holidays) or the Pacific including Hawaii of course. I was blessed to follow my parents teaching me about travel and it’s a beautiful thing to see that you and Jeremy can instill love of travel and the priceless education it provides. All the best!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccqueenanne Posted July 24 #85 Share Posted July 24 8 hours ago, GenerationX said: Aloha! It’s funny you ask because Mini Me and I were having a conversation about this at dinner last night. When we walked past future cruises yesterday there was a video playing of Flora and Gen Z told me how desperately she wants to go on a Galapagos cruise. Then at dinner she mentioned that a friend she made at camp at sea did a Japan cruise with her grandparents and said it was the most fun she’d ever had. I told Mini Me that a trip that grand has to be earned (especially if she’s going to be usurping Jeremy’s place in my Galapagos savings account) but if she works very hard with her tutor this year and gets a top grade in math (her hardest subject), we’ll do one of those cruises as next summer’s mommy and me. I’m probably going to go to future cruises next time she’s busy at camp and quietly put a deposit down because Gen Z comes from a long line of EXTREMELY ambitious women. 😂 Given her love of sea creatures, and the fact that she seems very comfortable with adults, I'd highly recommend Galapagos for Gen Z. Assuming that you'd do this during the school holidays, there is a better chance that there would be other families onboard (though it does skew very adult as there aren't kid clubs, etc.). It is an incredibly special trip. If she's comfortable with deep sea snorkeling there's a strong likelihood she'd get to see/swim with turtles in the wild, plus so much more. The youngest person on my trip was 13, and she and her older brother seemed to enjoy it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 24 Author #86 Share Posted July 24 A completely exhausted Gen X checking in here from Grand Cayman. According to my Apple Watch I did more than double my steps goal today and that in 90 degree heat. But it was totally worth it as Gen Z has proclaimed today the best day of the cruise so far. Today we took the ship’s excursion to the Cayman Islands Sea Turtle Conservation Center. I did this excursion on one of my solo trips and had a feeling my little sea life enthusiast would love it. I was not wrong. The bus to the conservation center this time was much larger, cleaner and had better air conditioning and this time thankfully they didn’t throw in the surprise tourist trap stop at Hell on the way back to the ship. We were given a short group tour on arrival at the center and then had about 3 hours to explore on our own. The center has hatched and released over 30,000 turtles back into the ocean. Gen Z has now added to her travel goal list taking a land trip back to the island to help with one of the releases. I and every other human may as well have been invisible for the first hour of our day because Gen Z only had eyes for all the turtles. Only her rumbling stomach reminded her that she’d better acknowledge the lady with an AAvantage card tagging along behind her so that she’d have funding for lunch. We hit the center’s restaurant to cool off with a Caribbean cocktail and a vanilla smoothie and then had a yummy island fare lunch of coconut shrimp and conch fritters. After lunch, we swam around in the center’s pool for a while and Gen Z tried out the waterslide. Then we spent some time at the aviary and shark tank before grabbing icees and a few souvenirs at the gift shop. Our bus got back to the port about 45 minutes before last tender back and as usual at that time, there was a long, hot line for the tender wrapping all the way through the port. There were crew members passing out iced towels and cold water to everyone waiting. When one of the crew saw Gen Z’s grey seapass card around her neck he said “oh you are retreat guests? You have priority tendering. Please come with me” and pulled us out of the line and took us to the front. After such a late dinner yesterday, I asked our butler to move up our dinner reservation at Rooftop Grill tonight. So after we relax and rehydrate a bit we’ll get dressed and go listen to our acoustic guitarist in Eden then eat. When we got back to our room this afternoon we had a note on our bed about some upcoming special events for retreat guests. I’m REALLY hoping that I can convince this kid to turn in early tonight. I may resort to bribing her with offers of an ice cream stop for second dessert after dinner and a third dessert of room service crème brûlée in bed…I’ll even allow 10pm French fries. Anything. Just get mama to bed ASAP. I’m too old to keep up with this club life. 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DaKahuna Posted July 24 #87 Share Posted July 24 3 minutes ago, GenerationX said: Just get mama to bed ASAP. I’m too old to keep up with this club life. i am surprised to read this from the lady who not long ago was posting about closing the Sky Lounge on S-class sailings 🤣 1 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris816 Posted July 24 #88 Share Posted July 24 About an hour north of Fort Lauderdale in Juno Beach is the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. It might be a great side trip next time you cruise out of Port Everglades. They also rehab and release turtles as well as mark all of the turtle nests on the beach to make sure they aren’t disturbed. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stem to Stern Posted July 24 #89 Share Posted July 24 9 hours ago, GenerationX said: I told Mini Me that a trip that grand has to be earned (especially if she’s going to be usurping Jeremy’s place in my Galapagos savings account) but if she works very hard with her tutor this year and gets a top grade in math (her hardest subject), we’ll do one of those cruises as next summer’s mommy and me. Pooooor Jeremy!?!?!😩🤗 1 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stem to Stern Posted July 24 #90 Share Posted July 24 27 minutes ago, GenerationX said: When one of the crew saw Gen Z’s grey seapass card around her neck he said “oh you are retreat guests? You have priority tendering. Please come with me” and pulled us out of the line and took us to the front. Hmmm. Sounds like an excerpt from a YC TR. IYKYK. 😉😉 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mac_tlc Posted July 24 #91 Share Posted July 24 Interesting mention of Disney ... and cruises ... and Japan in one sentence. I was just discussing with my DW a Spring trip to Tokyo Disneyland next spring followed up with a 16 day cruise to Vancouver !! Might be our first Silver Sea experience. Charla, great TR -- hope you enjoy (enjoyed?) Rooftop Grill. We finally did in on Ascent in January and liked it a lot. Even went back for lunch. mac_tlc 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lola2013 Posted July 25 #92 Share Posted July 25 I wanna be GenZ when I grow up 😉. She’s a lucky, lucky girl. Susan 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 25 Author #93 Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said: Hmmm. Sounds like an excerpt from a YC TR. IYKYK. 😉😉 Bless Celebrity’s heart they’re trying their best to keep me from going fully over to the dark side. 😂 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 25 Author #94 Share Posted July 25 A mother’s desperation to be in bed with a glass of wine immediately will have her caving to all kinds of requests… After a 4 course dinner tonight, my kid got a chocolate ice cream cone with sprinkles AND jelly beans on top followed by room service crème brûlée. Oh and now she’s making me stream and watch a “fascinating” 3 part documentary about…wait for it…bread. Nobody tells you about this part at your baby shower. 🤷🏽♀️🤦🏾♀️😂 6 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DaKahuna Posted July 25 #95 Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, GenerationX said: Bless Celebrity’s heart they’re trying their best to keep me from going fully over to the dark side. 😂 We've encountered this in a couple of ports of call with Celebrity, most recently during our Japan cruise where we were walked to a special counter for immigration in Hakkodate, as well as being taken to the foot of the gangway bypassing a long line of returning cruisers in another port. It is not as overt with Celebrity as it is with MSC but sometimes it is there. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palmersruca Posted July 25 #96 Share Posted July 25 Love your report! So wonderful you can make these special memories with your daughter!! My daughter is 20, I miss those younger years but i look forward to what lies ahead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapcreator Posted July 25 #97 Share Posted July 25 I want to go visit the turtles, especially if I don't have to stop in Hell. What a wonderful cruise for you and Gen Z! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted July 25 #98 Share Posted July 25 20 hours ago, mac_tlc said: Interesting mention of Disney ... and cruises ... and Japan in one sentence. I was just discussing with my DW a Spring trip to Tokyo Disneyland next spring followed up with a 16 day cruise to Vancouver !! Might be our first Silver Sea experience. Charla, great TR -- hope you enjoy (enjoyed?) Rooftop Grill. We finally did in on Ascent in January and liked it a lot. Even went back for lunch. mac_tlc Aloha. I’m in favor of all the above. Enjoy!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hcat Posted July 25 #99 Share Posted July 25 (edited) yeah..the stop in hell is....h e l l! There's a park on GC where Blue Iguanas roam... on my list but maybe next time fun for Gen Z..not sure if she's a fan?? Edited July 25 by hcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WrittenOnYourHeart Posted July 25 #100 Share Posted July 25 11 minutes ago, hcat said: yeah..the stop in hell is....h e l l! After the stop there on the Turtle Center tour I took from the Edge, one of the kids on the bus said "Well, Hell is boring" when we got back on the bus. Her mom and grandmother said "Please remember that when you get older..." 🤣 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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