Touch You Last

It’s Sunday, so we all head to mass in the morning. Sarah had been recruited during an earlier mass to sing hymns, then on the spot, Veronica gets recruited to be an altar server. Mass is in the Coral Theatre (where they have all the shows) and Veronica looks nervous – and I totally feel for her. Because it’s this familiar thing that is suddenly very different: on a literal stage, no procession, no gowns, one tenth the normal altar server duties required (mainly she just has to stand beside the priest.) That said, the priest is a really nice guy – he’s Lebanese and had a parish in rural Quebec for most of his career. He thanks his volunteers in the end and also makes a call-out to Teddy and Susannah for being quiet and attentive (because he`s a man who understands siblings.) We do the usual breakfast and kids club. Sarah meets with the future cruise team to book another cruise (different that the one she booked the day before). After the experience of yesterday, it’s clear that g...

It’s a new day and all ship services are open – hooray! But not until 10am – boo!   So, there’s a little more waiting. Sarah goes to daily mass and I take the kids to breakfast. We’re at this great stage where most kid stuff is getting easier. They’re older, have decent judgement, can find a bathroom and hold a table by themselves. (It’ll all go to hell again when they’re teens, but we’ll enjoy the slide into easiness while it lasts.) I get all the kids settled with food and tell Veronica that she’s in charge of the table. I get my cutlery, a plate, then turn around and see Veronica behind me. She’s looking for juice. I say, “But I left you in charge.” She says, “And then I put Teddy in charge.” Eight years old and already a master of delegation. Second breakfast highlight: Susannah receives the bravery award for trying all liking hash browns. We can now serve seven different things to our food phobic kids! (To Susannah, at least.) On the way out of breakfast, Teddy runs in...

Embarkation is always a hurry-up-and-wait kind of day and this was worse than most. We had breakfast at the hotel, killed time in our rooms, and then grabbed cabs to get to the cruise terminal. Our cab driver was exceptionally personable and funny. As mentioned, the EDM festival was going to start later that day. Our driver, on the subject: “You’re lucky you’re getting out of here now. The Beyond Festival is tonight. It’s madness. *gesturing to a group of 20-year-olds walking down the street* It’ll be wall-to-wall with those people. They seem nice now, but wait until they’re all on molly…” At the terminal, we immediately run into Jim and Darlene, a couple that we spent the day in St. Lucia with last year. Admittedly, we’re both regular cruisers, but it’s still a pretty random coincidence (and we proceed to see them on board about five times after that). We get our passes and everything straightened out in relatively short order, and we spot a few other kids which is good news fo...

Poor Veronica had a dream about this cruise a month and a half ago and was bummed out for about two weeks because the real date was still so far away. We’re in Miami right now, still a day away from getting onto the ship, but it was good enough for the kids. Just a hotel with an ice machine is enough to make them thrum with excitement. We’d spent the night in a Holiday Inn by the Montreal airport the night before so we could easily make out flight at 7:55am. We all skipped breakfast but Sarah’s mom brought a bag of fruit and snacks for the kids. She was advised by security that customs might confiscate it. Sarah–rebel and customs-thwarter that she is—stuffed the bag into Teddy’s carry-on and advised us all not to say anything about it. We had no problem at customs, but we were about two-and-a-half steps away from the agent when Teddy announced, “I’ve still got the fruit!” Ultimately, no one cared and no shots were fired. The flight was fine and stress free, and we actually landed...