Transatlantic #2

I previously posted that I was taking Maisie on a little adventure and now, after thee weeks away I have computer access again and can post all about our trip.  Two years ago when Maisie and I took our Disney transatlantic cruise we had a wonderful time so when we hit upon a great deal this year to do the whole transatlantic thing again, we jumped on it.  (2010 Disney transatlantic cruise posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)  This cruise was a bit different as it wasn’t a Disney cruise and it wasn’t just Maisie and I as Eammon was also able to join us this time. 

Our cruise this time was two weeks on the Norwegian Sun.  We sailed out of Port Canaveral with ports of call in Ponta Delgada (Azores) and Amsterdam before finally docking in Copenhagen.  My one regret with our previous transatlantic cruise was that we didn’t add any extra days to the end of our trip to really visit our final port of Barcelona so I didn’t make that mistake again.  This time when our cruise ended Eammon spent one night with us in Copenhagen and we all visited Malmö, Sweden before he had to head home.  Maisie and I then spent a few additional days in Copenhagen followed by a quick visit to London to see Maisie’s Grandma and some of her Aunts & Uncles before finally heading home.  Actually Maisie got to visit with both of her Grandmas and her Grandpa as we spent a night in Florida with my parents both before we left for the cruise and the night that we flew back to the states as they were so kind to drive us to the cruise port and then pick us up from the airport when we returned.

The ship was less than half full as I heard that they had blocked out at least half of the staterooms so that work could be done onboard before they started their season in the Baltic.  It actually worked out really well as there were only about 900 passengers yet a full contingency of staff so there were never lines or waits and we were all really well taken care of.    

With the limited number of guests there were very few children under 18 on board… Nine to be exact.  There was one “older” teenager and twin two-year-olds so they never attended the Kids Camp.  Of the children who actually attended the kids camp there were two 4-year-old boys who paired up very well together and then the remaining four children, Cecily (who just turned 6), Maisie (6), Shannon (8) and Elam (11) all became fast friends and planned their time together, going to Kids Camp, lunchtime, some dinners and even going to the evening shows or out for late night snacks. 

Because there were only six children and I think five staff at Kids Club, they really let the children decide what they wanted to do so face painting which was on the schedule maybe twice was done as often as the kids desired. 

We’re all working on catching up on sleep and getting the laundry done so more pictures coming over the next few day.

The day before we left my Improv Cooking Challenge recipe for Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars posted over on Cook Lisa Cook.  The bars are super delicious and simple to make so I hope that you’ll click on the picture and check out the recipe.

Other recent recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon Frosty,  Mango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake, Malted Pretzel Crunch, Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing, Apple Pancakes, Baked Egg & Avocado, Health(ier) Peanut Brittle, Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms, Broiled Sushi, Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter, Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Baked Meatballs, Skinny Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad and Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Enjoy!