Weekend Cruise to Bahamas, Day 2

About 8 years ago, I went on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas and I enjoyed it. However, after coming back I concluded that I would rather spend 4 full days in an island instead of just a few hours in each port. Since my priorities have changed so much, I now consider cruising a great option for traveling with kids. There are many things to do, food options just in case you have a picky eater like my daughter, a child care center (for kids older than 3) and when you get to a port you only need to bring the basics for the day. 

Our plan for the day was to spend the day at the beach at the Atlantis Resort. I had been there before but I wanted to return. My friend had never been there and Emma loves the beach. We paid $10 for the taxi from the port and $69 each (Emma was free) for the beach/hotel access and lunch. Emma absolutely loved the paradise lagoon inside the resort, she didn't want to go anywhere else. I wanted to go to the beach at least to see it but it was almost Emma's nap time and then it was time to go back to the ship. Having a stroller was not easy around the outdoor areas of the hotel; the ramps were far and the elevators sometimes didn't work. This was a relaxing day and I loved every minute.  

Paradise Lagoon

We took a taxi back to the port for $4 per person, we shopped for some souvenirs and rum cake in a store close to the port and headed back to the ship. We decided that we wanted to go to the sit down restaurant that night. The food was good and the service was great. However, the "difficult hour" of the day for a kid is typically around dinner time. I have to confess that thanks to YouTube and Baby Einstein videos I can eat dinner many nights. I had my ipad but with no internet connection I was not fully prepared to keep Emma entertained for that long. She didn't eat anything for dinner except a few pieces of banana. We went to bed early again and this was basically the end of our cruise. The next morning, we woke up in Miami and we needed to be out of our room by 7:00 AM. We stayed a little longer, until around 8:00 AM. On our way back to Tampa, I upgraded to first class for $45 and it was a completely different travel experience. I was exhausted by the time I came home; nonetheless, I was proud of Emma for being such a good traveler and of myself for traveling alone with her.

Weekend Cruise to Nassau Day 1

What does a girl do when her husband can't come on a cruise? She calls a friend (me), and asks her to come. When my friend asked me if I wanted to take her husband's place in a 2 night cruise to Bahamas I said YES. I only had one request: I had to come with Emma. At the time, I had never spent a night away from her. Also, this was the perfect opportunity to start taking long weekend trips with Emma. Emma and I were lucky that my friend had reserved a balcony stateroom in the MSC Divina and we had plenty of room for the 3 of us. Since we went to bed early, it was nice to have a good view from our room. 

We flew from Tampa to Miami on Friday afternoon and the cruise sailed for Bahamas Saturday at around 7:00 PM; just before sunset. As the cruise departed, there was a live latin band playing salsa, merengue and reggaeton. Emma was enjoying the music and she was running around the deck. I was running behind her, trying to eat a slice of pizza as my dinner and enjoying the music. The good thing about her new found energy is that she is sleeping the whole night.  

Sunset over South Beach's skyline

We all went to bed early and our plan was to disembark in Nassau as early as possible. 

Pre-boarding privileges

Last weekend, I took Emma with me and a friend to the Bahamas. It was a short cruise from Miami and I decided that it was easier to fly there. Emma still hates the car seat and our only flight experience last summer was great. I got my plane ticket on American Airlines, packed our bags, checked in the car seat and headed for security feeling like super mom. I managed that part like a pro. I folded the stroller, took my shoes off, made Emma stand next to me while I passed her diaper bag, the stroller, the bin with my shoes, and my camera bag (I know, I shouldn't have). I carried her, walked through the metal detector and collected everything again. I got her bottles tested by a TSA agent (no big deal) and continued to our gate. We ate a quick lunch and she walked the whole terminal. When it was time to board, I was already exhausted. I assumed that we were going to board after first class or worst case after group one. I had a group 3 boarding pass but I didn't really worry about it until it was time to board and nobody called for families. When I approached a gate agent, he informed me that American no longer allowed families to pre-board. He wasn't even nice. I had to wait until half the airplane boarded before we could go in. I had to fold and turn the stroller at the gate which requires both hands, watch that Emma wouldn't run, carry the bags hoping for available overhead space. I'm lucky that Emma now walks and she walked (slowly) towards our seat. The people behind us were not too patient, but a 28 pound toddler is a lot to carry for me these days. It would have been a more complicated situation with an infant. The flight was perfect. Emma loves to fly, she doesn't even cry. The trick is to give her a pacifier or something to drink for her ears. 

I started to check online to see if my good experience with Southwest was only to be expected from Southwest. I contacted AA on Twitter and they responded; at the beginning not very helpful and I finally made my point that they need to improve their service. I hope that they do change this policy. I understand that children that are older don't need help, but those with infants or traveling with a stroller need more time.  I read that Southwest, Delta, jetBlue, Alaska and Virgin still allow families with small children to pre-board. However, American and United do not. I'm planning to use all of our miles on a few flights and stop accumulating them with American. I find it the worst airline of all. Their airplanes are old and their service is not great. I stay loyal only because the milage program is the best. I am a loyal AA member and I am very sad that now that I am a parent I do not get a few more minutes to make the travel experience more comfortable. I didn't know how much work it was to travel with a child. I do not want to stop traveling and from now on, I will have to travel with those airlines who treat families well. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to our return flight. I upgraded to first class on our way back. It was the best $45 that I ever spent. We had leg room and we boarded first. I'm happy to say that Emma and I made it though a long weekend trip alone. She is my travel buddy now and I am SO proud of her.  I will upload pictures from the cruise soon.