Family Caribbean Cruise: The Birthday Cruise

The gang of nine!

Our Caribbean vacation was a nine day stay on Royal Caribbean’s “Anthem of the Seas” cruise ship with most of the family along with us. Frank and Anne Supsic; Lorraine, Guy, and Amber Carey; Keith, Sarah, and Aiden Supsic; and Ben Corbin all set sail from the port in Bayonne, New Jersey on this 2^nd largest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Our hotel on the ocean, the Anthem of the Seas

Our 9-day cruise hit the islands of Bermuda, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Haiti then back to Bayonne. The best part was having the family there to enjoy the fun and experiences together.

Our cruise was designed as a family vacation for all to celebrate our 20^th wedding anniversary, Frank’s 70^th birthday, Anne’s 65^th year, and to give our two grandchildren (Amber & Aiden) a special birthday to remember on the sea. Their birthdays are both coincidently on the same day (August 4), at which time Amber Carey would be 12 and Aiden Supsic would turn 14.

The gang of nine ready to explore the Caribbean
(plus our driver Nick)

August 3, 2017 – Embarkation Day

The cruise began when J & J Transportation picked up our crew of nine people at our house in an executive van and drove us to the port of Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey. Our always affable driver Nick kept us entertained with stories for the 2-hour drive. We’ve used Nick before to shuttle us to various places, and we knew he would be a great start-up personality for the trip.

We made it! On board Deck 8 of the cruise ship
and ready to go!

We got to the Anthem of the Seas by about noon and proceeded to board this behemoth beast-of-a ship immediately. The boarding for this 16-deck ship of 4180 passengers was surprisingly smooth and effortless. We were all in our cabins on the 8^th deck by 1:30 PM. Unlike other ships we’ve cruised on, the Royal Caribbean crew delivered our bags almost immediately after our arrival. Very quick service and boarding!

Ben beside his "virtual balcony!"

The family was very happy with their cabins. Our daughter Lorraine and her family, and ourselves had balcony cabins, a first for us and we really enjoyed the extra space and open air. Our over-sized balcony also came in handy as a meeting place for drinks and good family conversation before dinner each night. Ben and Keith had inside cabins nearby with a unique feature: “virtual balconies.” These virtual balconies were actually floor-to-ceiling LED screens providing live feeds from outside the ship. Not as good as a real window, but not bad.

The North Star ready to lift passengers 300 feet
above the ocean

Of course, we were all hungry, so our gang hit the Windjammer Restaurant on the 14^th deck for a bite to hold us over till dinner. We also did a little exploring around the ship to get the layout of our floating “hotel on the sea” for the next 9 days. The kids hung out in the pool, and a few of us rode up on the North Star, a hollow, metal/glass jewel-shaped ball with full-sized windows that lifts 14 people up about 300 feet above the ocean to see the entire ship and seas from above. Neat perspective and great vehicle for picture taking.

We missed our 6:00 p.m. dinner slot, so we returned to the Windjammer this evening for a fun and somewhat abbreviated dinner with a fabulous view of the sea.

Amber at her cabin door on her birthday

August 4, 2017 – Happy Birthday Aiden & Amber!

Grandma and Pop-pop snuck around late after all others were in bed, and quietly decorated Aiden and Amber’s cabin doors with “Happy Birthday” stuff, so that everyone would know they were celebrating their birthdays. And celebrate they did! Several of us started the day with breakfast at the Solarium Bistro, another great venue with a peacefulness not found in the Windjammer.

Aiden rings the bell!

Then it was off to the rock-climbing wall where Aiden, Keith, and Sarah made it all the way up and rang the bell. Amber did not get as far, but she but gave it a good try and is always a good sport.

Amber on the rock-climbing wall

The gang prepares for a flying adventure!

Later that afternoon, Aiden, Amber, Ben, Keith and Sarah all tried the RipCord iFly, simulated sky diving.

Individuals were put into a cylindrical glass tube with a continuous blast of air from the floor that sends each person floating on a column of air. The body is situated in a horizontal position. An instructor is in the air chamber at "flight time" for safety.

Aiden takes flight -- look Dad, no hands!

It was almost like an anti-gravity chamber. Looked like lots of fun and was one of the most memorable activities.

Celebrating in the Silk dining room

When we arrived for dinner, we discovered that we had been assigned to the dining room known as “Silk,” an Asian-themed room with lots of red silk everywhere. With our large group, we were given a lovely long table all to ourselves in a quiet corner by a sea portal window. A perfect spot to celebrate the grandkids birthdays!

The Birthday kids -- Aiden 14 and Amber 12

We were also lucky to have two congenial waiters, Wesley and Aleat (pronounced like “Elliot”), who were attentive to our group’s every need and helped us celebrate the kid’s birthdays with candles and chocolate cake, and of course, the singing of the birthday song. They really made this day memorable for all of us but especially Amber and Aiden.

Lorraine and Amber splash in the surf
(while Ben snorkels on the left) at Horseshoe Bay

August 5, 2017 -- Bermuda

Our 1^st port of call was the Royal Dockyard in Bermuda. The group had all been here exactly 5 years ago, so we all knew what to expect and exactly what we were going to do.

Keith and Sarah have a romantic moment

The gang caught a taxi out to Horseshoe Bay where we swam in the warm, clear, beautiful, blue waters.

Amber buries herself in the sand in Bermuda

It was hot, but the lukewarm waters provided a comfortable and entertaining respite from the unrelenting sun. Amber buried herself in the sand and found relief from the sun and heat in her own way!

Breakfast at the Solarium Bistro
(Photo courtesy of Aiden Supsic)

August 6, 2017 – At Sea

We all ate breakfast at the Solarium Bistro and then headed to the stern of our ship to locate the Flowrider. Guy, Amber, and Sarah all tried the boogie boarding, and of course, the rest of us watched.

Guy takes on the Flowrider challenge

The Flowrider is a small rectangular pool of fast-rushing water designed to let guests try surfing on a short half-sized surfboard. The sides of the pool are well padded, and the floor is a suspended heavy rubber canvas that looks pretty soft and bouncy.

Amber shoots the whitewater on the Flowrider!

All three of the kids did well at surfing, including Amber who hung in there really well for her first time. In fact, Flowrider became one of Amber’s favorite activities on the ship. Frank wanted to try, but chickened out when he saw the ferocity of some of the wipeouts! Not pretty.

Amber figures out how to lift the Coke can out of the cup
without touching it (One of Wesley's nightly puzzles)

We had another fun dinner at our special table in the Silk dining room. In fact, this table was reserved for us for the rest of the cruise. Wesley entertained us with some puzzles, and Sarah was so good at solving them that Wesley took on the challenge of trying to stump us every night.

Bon Jovi imitator was a big hit

This was a good night for entertainment, and we enjoyed an interpretive dance and acrobatic show with Donovan and Rebecca, but the big hit was the Bon Jovi tribute band called “Wanted.” Great music and great fun!

Aiden likens his dad to a string bean that he found
on St. Maarten

August 7, 2017 -- St. Maarten

Our day in the port of Philipsburg, St. Maarten went especially well for the group. “Action Jackson”, our 63-year old tour driver, shuttled the family around the entire island in his van, showing us much of the southern Dutch part of the island (St. Maarten), and then to the North to get a feel for the French side of the island (called St. Martin).

Action Jackson stopped at a few Vista points along the way for some marvelous views of Simpson Bay (the largest bay in all of the Caribbean) and at the famous Maho Bay, aka Airplane Beach. Airplane Beach is adjacent to an airport, where large airplanes, when landing, skim over the beach of bathers.

Plane over Maho Beach aka Airplane Beach

Altho each plane is much higher above the beach than it looks, it feels like you could just reach up and grab the landing gear of these incoming planes, thus the nickname “Airplane Beach.” BTW, several tourists have been killed when standing next to the fence across the street from the beach where the jet-blast from planes taking off is dangerously close. Lots of cautionary signs are posted everywhere, but the death toll continues to rise because of those who don’t observe the rules.

Keith on gorgeous secluded Friar's Bay Beach

Near Marigot, the capital city of St. Martin (the French side), our driver Action Jackson found us a quiet, secluded beach where we could swim in the clear warm waters of the French part of the island. This beach was called “Friar’s Bay Beach,” and it was just what the doc ordered!

Lanky Aiden leaps for a coconut

We all swam for over an hour and had a blast. It was a hot, hot day and somewhat windy on the beach, but the warm water was excellent for a memorable family swim. Anne, Ben, Aiden, and Amber had brought along their snorkels, and all of them saw lots of fish in the crystalline waters. What a great opportunity for the grandkids to hone their snorkeling skills!

On the streets of colorful San Juan

August 8, 2017 -- San Juan

When the Anthem of the Seas reached San Juan, Puerto Rico, it docked right in front of the Old Town – a perfect location for our self-designed walking excursion into the town. No cabs, no busses needed; just a casual stroll into one of our favorite cities. Our time in San Juan was unfortunately short, so we had to hustle to see enough of the city to make it worthwhile. We strolled along Princesa Street (Paseo de la Princesa) soaking up the splendor of the flowers in the Princesa Gardens and horsing around on the fun exercise devices placed along the old city walls for the tourists.

Las Raices Fountain at the end of Princesa Street
in Old San Juan

We also stopped at the famous “Las Raices Fountain” at the end of Princesa Street, one of the most romantic spots in old San Juan, where we took some family shots by the bay.

Sarah and Amber under the Banyan tree

Then we continued along the waterfront promenade, checked out a few of the many banyan trees, and eventually re-entered the city through a gate in the old walls.

Cathedral de San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist)

We walked into the city toward the Cathedral de San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist), and all opted to go in and see this famous landmark. Dating back to 1521, it is the second oldest church in the western hemisphere. It is also the final resting spot of Ponce de Leon (first governor of Puerto Rico and the man who chased after the fountain of youth) and the Roman martyr St. Pio, killed for his faith. The wax-covered mummified remains of St. Pio are eerily displayed in a glass case. Anne was totally disturbed by the rotten teeth of this relic, easily visible within the open mouth.

The family sauntered along, checking out the colorful pastel buildings around the city; we all stopped from time-to-time for some pix of our picturesque walks.

Amber was overwhelmed by the
attack of the pigeons!

Next, we strolled over to the Plaza de Armas, a 2-block or so park area surrounded by shopping places and souvenir shops. The grandkids found lots of pigeons to feed and play with in the plaza, so we stayed for a while, entertained by the antics of our kids. As our group of nine proceeded back to the ship, we stopped at various shops along the way, picking up several mementos of our day in San Juan. The kids even found a cute little doggie to fondle as we neared our ship, ready to board.

Arriving in Labadee, Haiti

August 9, 2017 -- Labadee

Our final port day was a visit and a swim in the beautiful cove at Labadee, Haiti. The ocean was calm, the water was turquoise blue, and the weather hot, so we all disembarked early from the ship and headed for Columbus Cove, about one mile inland from where our ship was docked.

Columbus Cove on Haiti

The gang settles in under the palm trees at Columbus Cove

The continuously-running tram there took all nine of us to the cove, thru pretty palm groves, along lazy lagoons, and past the many aggressive hucksters selling their wares in huts along the main path. We finally got to the beach where we found a few palm trees to shield us from the blistering sun and set up our beach chairs for a day of relaxing and swimming.

We were in pig-sty heaven!

Sparkling waters of Columbus Cove
with cruise ship in background

The water was a perfect temperature, but one thing we noticed was that the water was very salty. In fact, most of the beaches we swam at over the past few days were unusually salty. No problem with it at all, just interesting that it would be noticeably saltier than other oceans in which we’ve swam. Also, some of our kids complained they were being zapped by tiny jellyfish. We did not experience this. Maybe the jellyfish were just in their minds………?

Pop-pop hitches a ride on Amber's raft!

After a great day of excellent swimming (except for the imaginary jellyfish – heh, heh), we walked along the path of hucksters, popping in and out of their vending places, buying small but authentic odds and ends, so-called products of the island of Haiti. One dish that Anne picked up said – Product of Haiti. On the other side of the dish was a tag that said, made in Peru. Haaaa. But this stop was more enjoyable then we expected even though it is certainly not the real Haiti. The beach area we visited is leased by Royal Caribbean from the Haitian government, and although we could not see this, it is actually fenced off from the rest of the country.

Roller skating on board the cruise ship

August 10 & 11, 2017 – Days at Sea

We spent the last two days at sea, steaming our way back to Bayonne, New Jersey. The kids all partook of the ships entertainment whenever possible, doing the Flowrider boogie-boarding several more times, indoor roller skating, rock climbing, swimming in the many pools on deck, hanging out in the hot tubs, and riding the North Star.

Wesley, Frank, and Aleat

Dinner time was also a highlight, enjoying the camaraderie of the family and fun with Wesley and Aleat. The food on this ship was exceptional every night. A favorite menu was all-you-can-eat lobster tails, prime rib, and Key Lime pie for dessert!

Amber looooved her Bolognaise

Amber became a confirmed Spaghetti Bolognaise eater at our dinners; before this trip, she didn’t even know how to pronounce bolognaise!

Bionic bartender at work

Another fascinating feature on the ship was the Bionic Bartenders, two robotic devices that mixed up drinks for passengers. What a hoot! The robots collected ingredients from upside-down liquor bottles hanging above. The best part was when they shook the drinks – looked like they were short-circuiting! And we can’t forget the evening entertainment get-togethers in the theaters on the ship. The best one was a rock musical based around the music of Queen called “We will Rock You.”

Incredible Caribbean sunset

We also spent time out on the deck looking for flying fish and loving the beautiful scenery, the endless water, and especially the incredible cloud formations at sunset. We really love this family; they all made the event a success with their willingness to compromise and work together as a team and look after each other.

Breakfast at the Clinton Station Diner

August 12, 2017 – Back to Bayonne

We had one last surprise in store for the family. We treated them to breakfast on the way back to our house. John, our J & J driver picked us up promptly right in front of the port exit when the ship docked at 7:30 a.m. this morning. John was a former New Jersey boy and spouted off facts and figures about NJ as he drove along. He kept us entertained and pointed out the “Animal Overpasses” on Rt. 78, extra-wide, greenery-covered bridges that allow wildlife to safely travel from one side of the highway to the other.

We stopped for breakfast at the Clinton Station Diner in the town of Clinton along Route 78 (near the Pennsylvania border) for our last big family hurrah. All had a good time feasting on eggs, pancakes, French toast, et al, before we hit the road to go back to the Supsic home

where it all started.

Pop-poparazzi doing his thing

A big thank you to Pop-pop for taking most of these pictures. The kids now call him "Pop-poparazzi!"

Always good to get home, but we heard much murmuring and regret among the troops that the trip was now really over. We hope they will never forget our family Caribbean Celebration Cruise!