“You’ll never take me alive” shouts Raff as he leaps straight off our balcony, having nabbed the last remaining chocolate that’s been generously left in our accommodation as a treat. His annoyed little sister follows straight in after him, intent on revenge.

But I’m not worried by their dramatic exit. Our balcony? It’s actually a deck and we’re soaked by their wake as they hit the water. You see, this is just any harbour hotel, we’re enjoying an indulgent sleepover right on Sydney’s magical Harbour in the luxury 45-foot yacht, James Chin.

This gorgeous vessel is just one of a sophisticated fleet of charter yachts managed by the team at Sydney by Sail, one of the oldest sailing businesses in Australia, led by Olympic yachtsman Matt Hayes.

Departing from the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, we’ve toddled around Sydney Harbour on a two-hour afternoon sail, our friendly skipper teaching the kids the ropes. Turns out they’re fast learners and are soon hitting us up for ongoing sailing lessons once this particular seafaring adventure is over.

While they take the wheel, I kick back and soak up the sights like an overindulged sloth. But they can’t help but join me on a break from all their “hard work”.

Then its time to make a brief pitstop in in Athol Bay, right alongside Taronga Zoo, for the kids to enjoy some salt water shenanigans before the sun goes down.

Throughly drenched, we set sail for secluded Ball’s Head Bay to drop anchor for the evening. While we enjoy a little more lazing on the teak decking of our luxurious yacht, champagne in hand (Appletiser for the kids), the skipper discreetly departs for the night, leaving us to a sultry Sydney sunset and a feast of food.

Everything has been taken care of with professionally catered gourmet food, to order, which we enjoy serenaded by the soundtrack of our choice from the yacht’s state-of-the-art entertainment system. We’ve chosen to indulge in the seafood platter, complete with fresh king prawns, slabs of smoked salmon, fresh Sydney rock oysters and marinated octopus served with with lemon and cocktail sauce. It’s accompanied by a tuna tataki salad with brown rice, cabbage, shallots, kale, carrot, coriander, edamame, crispy shallots, seaweed salad and spicy sesame dressing that is so good I have to fight the kids for my share.

So what does a family do on a yacht after the sun sets? We dive downstairs for a hot shower (there’s a full bathroom below deck) and enjoy a little gazing in wonder at the sparkling sight of the city spilling neon light over Sydney Harbour. But most of our evening is giggled away on a raucous fill-in-the-blank game of Cards Against Humanity (the PG family edition, of course). And with no neighbours to complain about the noise, the sound of our laughter ricochets around the harbour like canon fire.

When a sun kissed Sugarpuff decides to retire to her cabin for the night (she’s opted to share with Mummy, while the boys are taking the second berth) we all head below deck to the comfy cabin where the boys catch up on a little TV and I read until I’m gently rocked to sleep to the rhythmic sounds of water lapping on the hull.

In the morning, we wake to coffee, a bacon and eggs breakfast box that is capably whipped up in the galley by Raff and a breathtaking sunrise over the harbour.

After the kids have finished washing up after breakfast, there’s plenty of time left to don their swimmers for more high kicking, belly flopping fun before our skipper returns.

To their great regret, said skipper arrives just in time to avert a mutiny by my piratical twosome who were busy planning to commandeer the yacht to set up a permanent floating home. I suppose it should come as no surprise that the kids would take so enthusiastically to the Sydney sailing life, given how deeply rooted it is in their DNA.

This harbour was their Poppa’s truest love. He protected and patrolled it for almost four decades and I like to think he still is. Or that he is at least watching over his other true loves, my wee salty sea pups, as they follow in his watery wake.

Sydney by Sail offer a choice of four Overnight Stay Sails on Sydney Harbour including their overnight Sydney sailing for families package, an experience offered the kids the chance to live life like a sailor for one perfect night.

And, quite frankly, I think it kinda suits them.

Sydney by Sail 
National Maritime Museum,
2 Murray St,
Sydney , NSW
PH: (02) 9280 1110

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Nestled inside the world’s largest lagoon, the island of Maré is a raised coral atoll and the southern most of New Caledonia’s three Loyalty Islands. And though it is just half an hour’s flight from Noumea, it is one of the Pacific’s best-kept secrets.

With its stunning coastline, pristine beaches, sharp limestone cliffs and an interior honeycombed with grottoes and pretty freshwater swimming holes, it is small wonder that Maré’s beauty has inspired legends.

Today, it is inspiring me to take a break. A real break. Not a trawl the shops for souvenirs and find the best restaurant for lunch kind of break … because there aren’t really any. More the drop everything, pull up a towel, crack open a coconut and dig your toes in to the sand kind of break. Which is exactly what this family needs.

We’ve sailed in to Maré on Carnival Spirit, and its 2000 plus passengers have swollen the island’s welcoming Kanak population by almost 50%.

But while the cruise ship crowds bring a welcome income stream to the Melanesian island, it certainly hasn’t affected Maré’s authenticity. With little tourist infrastructure, a single hotel, few organised tourist activities and only a pop up marketplace that forms along the beach to coincide with cruise ship schedules, it’s the lack of all the usual things that makes Maré really something.

We’re first to disembark the tender at Tadine Bay, the island’s main centre, and are on the bus to the beach before the cruise ship crowds descend. Our luck in getting here early means we have our pick of the best spots on the beach, but given that on this glorious strip of sand they’re all the best spots, we settle under a tree at one of the beach.

Beside us is a young Maréan boy hacking open fresh drinking coconuts with a machete.

Behind us slabs of fresh papaya, pineapples, island style fish curry and huge banana fritters are being prepped in a makeshift stall. So as well as shade, refreshments and lunch are sorted!

My husband, having risen from his sandy grave, has joined me to nosh on the remains of our coconuts, which my machete-wielding friend has kindly hacked in half so we can scoop out the delicious flesh.

My sunscreen-slathered kids switch between gathering shells, bits of coral and discarded coconut shells to decorate their monumental sand castles, snorkelling amongst a myriad of fish and splashing about wildly in the warm turquoise water. I move only for the occasional dip in the tropical waters and a cheap but fabulous massage on a palm-leaf mat along the beach.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing about visiting Maré with kids is the connections they make. Raffles and Sugarpuff quickly befriend a couple of local kids of similar age. The Kanak children speak both French and the indigenous language, Nengoné, my kids have only English and a little Mandarin to fall back on. But they quickly discover that a combination of wild gesticulations and interpretative dance is as effective as speech.

Thank goodness for that, or they’d have had to fall back on Mr Eats World’s smattering of schoolboy French, which doesn’t really stretch past ordering “un bier” and shouting inappropriate swear words, which I’m guessing wouldn’t have gone down too well with their new friends’ parents.

Even without the benefit of a mutual language, Raffles is like some kind of junior Pied Piper and has soon gathered a following of local tots who follow his every move and laugh wildly at his buffoonery.

But there is one, gorgeous two-year old Alain, who takes such a shine to my gregarious boy that they practically start a wiggling, giggling dance party on the beach… when Alain isn’t pulling at his new pet human’s blonde curls or riding him like a pony into the ocean.

Despite Maré’s wild beauty, the warm clear water, the delicious food and gorgeous weather, it is playing with the local children that Raffles declares the best part of this visit and he is happy to entertain his little friends for the remainder of the day, waving goodbye to them and this glorious patch of paradise only when its time for us to make our way back to our fab floating home, Carnival Spirit.

The post New Caledonia with kids: There’s something about Maré appeared first on boyeatsworld.

Imagine an all-inclusive island holiday where instead of long sleepless flights, tedious waits in transit with tantrum-chucking tots and tweens and stodgy, dodgy airplane food, you wake to a new location every day in your own bed, with an incredible variety of fun activities and a surplus of dining options at your disposal? It may sounds like the stuff of family holiday fantasy but on Carnival Spirit, it’s an everyday reality.

With accommodation, meals, activities, childcare and transport all included in the one price, a Carnival Spirit cruise holiday stretches your holiday dollar further. With everything packaged together, its all simple to organise. You don’t need to search for accommodation, cheap flights, activities, or even where to eat. Just book, pack and board and everything you need is right there ready and waiting as you float across the ocean to your destination.

So smitten were my wee kittens by our recent Carnival Spirit cruise to the stunning Pacific paradise of New Caledonia that when I sat down to write about it, a little he said, she said ensued as the kids started regaling me with their individual happy memories.

And so instead of another story about cruising on Carnival Spirit with kids, eight-year old Raffles and five-year old Sugarpuff are sharing the inside story on Carnival Spirit by kids with their top 14 cruise highlights.

1.The daily activities

On Carnival Spirit boredom is not an option, and with 45 plus activities on board each day our kids were kept in a perpetual state of dizzy bliss. From family arts and craft sessions at Creative Cove, sports, trivia, and crew-led fun, there’s something to float everybody’s boat, if you’ll pardon the very intentional pun.

He said: “The Hairy Chest Competition was really funny. I was a bit sad my dad didn’t enter though becasue he’s so furry he would have nailed it. I also liked Wiggle for Westmead where we got to dance and be silly to help raise money for sick kids in hospital.”

She said: “My favourite thing was painting my own special beach bag with mummy with the arts and crafts lady. Mine was prettier than mummy’s though.I also liked going to the spa and getting my nails done.”

2. The Carnival Waterworks

This fabulous water play area on the top deck includes a SplashZone for little cruisers with mini-slides, water play and tipping buckets. Bigger kids, and their parents, can try the two-storey Twister waterslide and the free-falling, 65km/h Green Thunder waterslide that snakes out over the water while you shout words that sound uncannily similar to ship.

He said: “The water slides are epic! I loved the twister and I went on it at least a billion times. It took a bit more convincing to get me on Green Thunder though. It was so steep and so fast, and it went over the edge of the ship. But eventually I decided to just go for it. It was super scary and I went about 63,000 kilometres an hour but it was over so fast and was so fun, I just had to do it again. And again.”

She said: “I really loved the pink waterslide in the SplashZone. It was only little but super fast. There was water spraying everywhere so we were always wet. I loved the Twister too. I was really brave and went on it lots of times and it was so swirly and so fun and it made a big splash at the end.”

3. The facilities

There are so many family friendly facilities on board Carnival Spirit besides the water slides and splash zone. There’s a games arcade on deck 4, a sports deck with table tennis, mini golf, a netted sports court for football and basketball and the Lido deck, home to three swimming pools, including an adults only retreat for when the kids are otherwise ensconced in the kids’ club.

He said: “My favourite place besides the pool and water slides was on the sports deck where I played mini golf, ping pong and totally thrashed my dad at basketball. I even won a foosball comp.”

She said: “I liked ping pong and mini golf and playing basketball with daddy.”

5. The kids’ club

While there are so many things for families to do together, occasionally parents and kids need space to do their own thing. Camp Ocean, devised by an expert panel of specialists in children’s engagement along with actual parents, offers hundreds of educational ocean-themed activities designed by age and stage. It is divided into three age-appropriate areas including Penguins for two- to five-year-olds, Stingrays for six- to eight-year-olds, and Sharks for nine to 11-year-olds.

He said: “I’m not usually a big fan of kids’ clubs because I prefer to hang out and annoy my mum and dad, which I am a bit of an expert at. But Camp Ocean on Carnival Spirit was really good. That’s because they separate the kids into different age groups and I got to hang with a bunch of cool kids my own age.”

She said: “I went to Penguins and I loved it so much because I got to do craft and paint my own t-shirt and the girl who looked after me said my colouring was so good that she gave me a trophy.”

5. The Seuss at Sea program

One ship, two ships, Dr. Seuss was on our cruise ship! From a Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast where the kids dined on Seuss-themed goodies alongside the some of Dr Seuss best loved characters, to a Seuss-A-Palooza Character Parade along the promenade, interactive story times and other Seuss themed activities and events, the Seuss at Sea program was a winner with my Seuss fans.

He said: “I first saw the Cat in the Hat dancing on the deck as we sailed out of Sydney. He had some seriously good moves. There were loads of Dr Seuss activities on board but the best was the Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast. I hung out with Thing One and Thing Two and actually got to eat Green Eggs and Ham! And I did like them Sam I Am. I also liked the yoghurt parfait schlopp, and not just because of its funny name.”

She said: “I got to cuddle Sam I Am, the Things and the Cat in The Hat. He was soooooooo tall. I ate yummy French toast covered in coloured crunchy things and I drank Goose Juice, which tasted a lot like apple juice. It was so fun.”

6. The nighttime entertainment

As night falls, the activities don’t slow down with “Dive In” Movies by the pool, piano bars, game shows, karaoke, rock bands, comedy performances and epic Broadway shows, most of which are family friendly.

He said: “The movies by the pool were really good. They gave us popcorn and we grabbed ice creams and laid on deck chairs to watch them. The shows were awesome too but my favourite thing was being allowed to go to a pub to watch a rock band for the first time ever. The band was called Music Manilla. They were really good and played all my favourite rock songs. I even got to see my friend Jennifer sing with them and she kicks butt! I think she sings Sweet Child of Mine even better than Axl Rose (but don’t tell him I said that).”

She said: “I loved the movies and the Red Frog Pub because I got to dance with my mum and my friend Jennifer and I got a special drink with an umbrella in it.”

7. The Pharaoh’s Palace

The three-level Pharaoh’s Palace is the place for family-friendly Broadway style theatrical extravaganzas, mesmerising magic shows, guest comedians and the fun and interactive Hasbro, The Game Show.

He said: “We were really lucky and got to go behind the scenes at Pharaoh’s Palace where all the costumes and props for the shows are kept. It was super cool but not as cool as actually seeing the shows. Hasbro, The Game Show was fun, even though I missed out on getting to join in and I totally picked who the murderer was in The Cluedo Show. I also saw an awesome magic show! The magician was hanging upside down doing acrobatics and everything and I couldn’t work out how she did any of her tricks. I think she might be really magic. But my favourite show of all was Epic Rock, which really was so epic that I went to both shows.”

She said: “I really, really liked seeing the dancers and singers in Epic Rock because they were so cool and the songs were nice and the boy dancers were so strong.”

8. The movable feast

Be prepared to come home a few kilograms heavier because there’s more than just one place to eat on board Carnival Spirit. Along with the Empire dining room (more on that in a moment), there are special events, casual dining at the International Food Plaza, barbecue delights at Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ, tacos and burritos at Blue Iguana Café, and incredible burgers at Guy’s Burger Joint. And they are all included in your cruise fare. For a small surcharge you can (and we did) indulge in delicious Japanese inspired dishes at Bonsai Sushi or nosh on prime cuts of beef, seafood and lobster at fine diner Nouveau.

He said: “I still have dreams about the lobster ravioli at Nouveau, it was so good. And I must have eaten about 100 tacos at the Blue Iguana Café. Then there were the burgers; they were so delicious, especially the Chillius Maximus. And learning how to make the ship’s chocolate melting cake was so cool.The breakfast pizza and eggs benedict in the food plaza were awesome too, but my number one tip is to not miss out on the breakfast burritos because they are the bomb!”

She said: “The macaroni cheese at Nouveau was the best thing I’ve ever tasted and I really liked the sashimi at Bonsai. But my favourite place to eat was a candy store called Cherry on Top.”

9. The Empire Dining Room

The glittering two-deck a la carte Empire Dining Room is not only the place for a fantastic breakfast, lunch or dinner – with a great selection of to-order dishes including the ship’s famous warm chocolate melting cake – it is one of the most fun places you’ll ever eat with impromptu performances by the talented wait staff each and every night.

He said: “Dinner in the main dining room was so cool. Not only did we get to choose from an awesome menu with amazing dishes like grilled lobster, it had a different theme every night, so we got to dress in crazy Mexican hats, ugly neon clothes from when my mum and dad were kids (the eighties) and fancy schmancy clothes on formal night. But the best thing was the waiters who sang and danced every night. They were so amazing and they had me up dancing every single time.”

She said: “I loved dressing up for dinner and the singing and dancing waiters and hanging out with my new friends. And the desserts are yum.”

10. The High Tea at Sea

We donned our craziest hats for the Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea party, where we ate and drank our way through an enormous spread of teas, coffees, hot chocolate and tables laden with delectable canapés, cakes, and sweet treats. We were even joined by a certain white rabbit, the wicked(ly funny) Queen of Hearts and Alice herself.

He said: “OMG! I couldn’t believe it when we went for High Tea at Sea. There were huge tables heaving with delicious savoury snacks, scones and cakes and a huge ice carving of the mad hatter. There was so much food it was almost enough to fill even my belly! And the Senior Maitre d’, Dessi, who is like the funnest person ever, was dressed as the Queen of Hearts. Awesome.”

She said: “I loved the high tea so much because I got to eat about 2,353 hundred macarons and they were so yummy. And everything was so delicious and pretty. Especially the Queen of Hearts’ dress.”

11. The Divine Dessi

From our kindly room steward, Jayson, through to Captain Adriano Binacchi, every one of the 930 crew members on board Carnival Spirit deserves high praise. They are warm, friendly and went above and beyond to make our holiday a magical one. But there was one person on board who the kids, and every other passenger, took a particular shine to. I’ll leave them to tell you all about her.

He said: “All of the staff on board were super nice to us but Dessi was just about the funnest, and busiest person, I’ve ever met. Even though she was looking after thousands of people every night in the Empire Dining Room and a huge staff, she was really easy to talk to, went out of her way to make everyone happy, and never made us feel like we weren’t important because we were just kids. I love her.”

She said: “I loved Dessi so, so much. She was so funny and wore the prettiest dress at the tea party. She gave me a hair clip and drew a moustache on me for Mexican night. She even painted my nails for me in my favourite colour. But I like her most because she gave me nice cuddles.”

12. The ice cream

Kids and ice ceram go together like, well… kids and ice cream. So you know they are going to love Carnival’s free-flowing ice cream from the two 24/7 poolside ice-cream stations.

He said: “It’s so epic that they have ice cream and frozen yoghurt on tap. I ate so much it was practially spilling out of my ears. I don’t know why mum wouldn’t just let me lay down under it and guzzle it straight from the tap all day.”

She said: “I loved the swirly chocolate and vanilla ice cream. It was so yummy. I got really good at making my own and one time I even had two ice creams at once.”

13. The Stateroom

There’s nothing worse than toting tired kids through airports, but cruising means an end to the “are we there yets”. Being able to fall asleep in one destination and wake up in another every singe day without tantrums in transit equals family holiday bliss. Our comfortable and modern balcony stateroom on Carnival Spirit proved the perfect home away from home for this little family. You can find tips on choosing a stateroom for you family here.

He said: “On Carnival Spirit we had our own balcony where we could sit and watch the water and we got to sleep in bunk beds just like at home. Best of all we never had to wait around to get anywhere. We’d just go to sleep and wake up somewhere new. Magic.”

She said: “I loved how every night a cute little towel animal would be waiting on our bed. I loved the doggie best of all.”

14. The Ports

While Carnival Spirit proved to be a destination in itself, we also enjoyed delightful experiences in the stunning islands of New Caledonia. Much of this thanks to Carnival Spirit’s shore excursion crew who proved to be genius at pointing families, at least this one, in the right direction.

He said: “New Caledonia is so beautiful. We spent a day on the beach in Mare and I had so much fun playing with the local kids who were so cute.

In Noumea, we went to a place called Amedee Island where I got to jump off the dock and swim in turquoise water with giant green turtles, which was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had.  The giant feast the island people served us for lunch was right up there too. The Isle of Pines was like another world. The water is so blue and the trees so green and I went on a speedboat where giant manta rays and reef sharks swam right alongside us in the clear water. We even saw an enormous loggerhead turtle. But the best thing of all was eating platefuls of giant garlic butter forest snails and the most enormous barbecued snapper I ever saw.”

She said: “I loved all the islands because we got to spend every day on the beach building sandcastles and swimming in the water. My favourite place was Amedee Island because mama let me eat two plates of dessert at lunchtime and I loved playing with my new friends on my giant pink flamingo.”

For more tips for cruising with kids head here. 

The post He said, she said: Cruising on Carnival Spirit by Kids appeared first on boyeatsworld.

Cruising and the Eats Worlds are a bit of an unlikely combo. I mean, while the kids and Mr Eats Worlds love a leisurely loll around a pool, I’m more of a hard-core traveller. I’m always desperate to explore new things and have a tendency to get bored if I sit still for more than 30 seconds. Lolling is not my bag. I’m annoying like that.

Needless to say, until I tried it, cruising was my idea of a floating pastel purgatory. In fact before our first sojourn at sea I had visions of being trapped at sea with nothing but bingo and buffets to keep us entertained. But despite my delusional imaginings, we’ve all become big fans of cruising. They’re all inclusive, there’s no toting tired tots through airports or on long drives and no endless searching for suitable family friendly accommodation, activities or places to go. Everything is ready and waiting onboard.

Seriously, what could be more appealing when organising a family holiday than doing absolutely nothing? Not much.

So you can imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth when I tell my clan that I’ve been offered a writing commission and two tickets for a three night cruise on Explorer of the Seas, the newest and biggest cruise ship to call Australia home… so only one of them can join me! It is like audition time for Cruise Idol.

And credit should be given for their creative attempts to be the chosen one. Raffles insists it is he who should go because he is the eldest. Sugarpuff takes the opposite approach by suggesting I cant possibly leave her because she’s only a baby. They both turn on the charm, tossing a barrage of compliments my way and telling me how much they love me. I think they’re pretty much ready to draw swords when Mr Eats World suggests that selling both of them on eBay would solve everything.

In the interest of fairness we decide to pull a name out of a hat and, though I love Raffles to the point of dribbling lunacy, I’m secretly chuffed that Sugarpuff is the winner as some mother and daughter time is long overdue.

So my girl and I farewell a showy Sydney for three days of fun afloat.

And while we are both sad to wave goodbye to our boys, Sugarpuff is beside herself about the prospect of having the exclusive use of her mummy for the first time ever.

To be honest, as excited as she I’m afraid she will miss having her brother to play with because he’s a hell of a lot more fun than me. But there’s so much in store on Explorer of the Seas for kids, it soon becomes clear that there isn’t going to be time to miss anyone!

The ship features all the best signature Royal Caribbean amenities including a rock-climbing wall that soars 61 metres above sea level, a nine-hole miniature golf course, three swimming pools, a 3D cinema, poolside movie screen, ice-skating rink, mini-golf and a host of stage shows. Indeed, we’re going to struggle to fit everything in. But Sugarpuff has a plan!

She insists on beating me at mini-golf immediately after breakfast each morning.

We hit up the Vitality Spa for matching mother and daughter pedicures, which she proudly shows her newly blue nails to every single person who looks in her general direction during a poolside frolic.

Each afternoon she wants some “adult free time” and heads to the Adventure Ocean kids club for crafts and fun with the other kids. In fact, Royal Caribbean works hard on their kids programs offering incredible age appropriate kids facilities and plenty to entertain the kids while providing the perfect opportunity for parents to indulge in adult activities or just enjoy a little peace and quiet.

This, she insists, is to be followed by a post-play ice cream and more watery fun in the pool. Loving this special time with my girl, I am happy to indulge her every whim.

Sugarpuff also loves dressing up for dinner each evening, something the male members of our family aren’t so keen on. But she also loves the incredible choice of food too, eating more than I’ve ever seen her consume before.

In fact, she did her ravenous brother proud in the scoffing department, especially at specialist restaurants, Giovanni’s Table and Izumi. There was also a fair amount of pizza consumed at Cafe Promenade, the 24-hour café located on the ships lengthy Royal Promenade.

While we didn’t take advantage of it on this occasion, preferring to make the most of our bonding time, Explorer of the Seas offers “My Family Time Dining”, a fabulous option for families that lets kids finish dinner in the main dining room in 45 minutes, so they can be collected by Adventure Ocean counsellors to head to the kids’ club to play while Mum and Dad enjoy a leisurely dinner.

When Sugarpuff and I aren’t submerged or inhaling soft serve (because if you can’t eat ice cream all day when you’re on holiday, what’s the bloody point?) and pizza, we catch a flick in the 3D movie theatre, shake our groove things at the family disco and watch Explorer’s dazzling on board ice-show.

Inspired, we show off our own awesome moves during the a public skating session. I confess that these moves mostly consist of us falling on our arses. Speaking of arses, I also make one of myself on Explorer’s new FlowRider surf simulator as I somersault inelegantly off my board, then bounce off my face with my butt in the air and my legs akimbo. All accompanied by the hysterical laughter of my pint-size travel companion.

Empathy is not her thing.

Towel animals however are!

Each night after watching the sunset over the sea,  we head back to our comfy balcony stateroom, eager to find out what kind of kooky towel creature our lovely room attendant had left for my girl.

And each night she falls asleep cuddling her new towel pal, her mind buzzing with plans for another day of mummy and me adventure onboard our floating fun ship

Disclosure: While we travelled as guests of Royal Caribbean it was for a commissioned story for another travel publication, not for this blog. We simply enjoyed our trip so much we wanted to share.

The post Girls own adventure: Explorer of the Seas for kids appeared first on boyeatsworld.

My scurvy wee scourges of the seven seas are fanatical fans of cruise holidays. So, on the eve of Australia’s 2015 summer cruise season, able seaman Raffles gets the inside story on family fun afloat from Jennifer Vandekreeke, Vice President of Carnival Cruise Line in Australia. 

Over to the cruisome twosome…

Though we didn’t leave port, I’ve been lucky enough to have had a little sample of your epically awesome ships, Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend, on some Sydney fun days.  It must be so cool to be the boss of such a cool cruise company, but don’t you think it would be even more epic if your office was actually on board a ship?
You make an excellent point. However, if my office was on the ship, I’m not sure I’d get any work done! I’d constantly be running off to take a ride down the waterslides or challenging someone to a game of foosball in the RedFrog Pub.
Sounds like a pretty good office to me…

Which do you think is more important, the ship or the destination?
Hmmm, that’s a good one. And in reality it depends on what you’re looking for. There’s a ship for every cruiser and in the case of Carnival – we’re perfect for free-spirited fun lovers. So, I’d say find the brand that fits your holiday dreams and then choose the right itinerary on that brand.
I’m usually looking for fun, adventure and something to eat!

Mum tells me that Carnival Spirit has some brand new features including new restaurants, which are just about my favourite thing ever! Can you tell me about the Boomerang Burger?
On our Facebook page, we asked Aussies what ingredients were required for a true blue Aussie burger and the resounding response was “Beetroot”. You should have seen Guy Fieri’s reaction when he heard that. But then he tried it. And he liked it! So, he created a special beetroot relish and added bacon and cheese to create the Boomerang Burger – because it keeps you coming back for more. 
Sure sounds like something I’d come back for more of…

I hear you have planned some super spooky Halloween fun on board your cruise ships this year. What are your tips for a ghoulishly good night?
Halloween is one of my favourite holidays ever. My top tips for a great Halloween include:
1. Make sure your costume is comfortable so you can focus on fun instead of itchy make-up or stuffy masks.
2. Many people feel like they’re supposed to dress scary for Halloween, but it’s not necessary. I recommend wearing a costume that is just a little bit crazy… how often do you get to wear something silly in public?
3. Always trick or treat with friends (and a parent, of course). The more the merrier I say. And, you can swap lollies afterwards so everyone gets what they want. And in case you were wondering…I always like the dark chocolate lollies.
I love everything about Halloween and dark chocolate is my favourite too. I can’t wait to dress up for this year, it’s going to be epic!

I love your Splash Parks. How many times have you been on Green Thunder? Did it make you go green?
Would you like to know a secret? I was the third person EVER to go down Green Thunder when it first opened in 2012. And I’ve been down lots of times since then. I get such a huge rush every time I do it…it never gets boring.
Whoah! You’re an awesome adult!

You must have been on a lot of cruises. What is your favourite ever cruise destination?
Yes, I have been on a lot of cruises… and I think you have too! To be honest, I’ve actually lost count… how spoiled am I? My favourite destination is Port Vila – the locals are so warm and friendly and there are heaps of outdoorsy active things to do like playing in the cascade waterfalls, sailing through the sky on the Flying Fox and of course splashing in the warm tropical waters.
I like Port Vila too, especially the waterfall. Oh, and the scary warriors at Iarofa Village.  

What was your most memorable moment on a cruise?
I love playing with my kids when I’m on a cruise.   One of the most memorable days we’ve ever had is when we spent the day on Amadee Island, which is a shore excursion you can take from Noumea. It has a beautiful white sandy beach and amazing snorkelling. We chased sea snakes, built houses out of sticks and palm fronds and splashed the day away. It was heaven!
That sounds like a perfect day. 

What makes a Carnival Cruise so awesome for families?
Did you know more families sail on Carnival every year than any other cruise line? We just love families. I don’t know if it’s the children’s clubs, the waterslides, the pools, the mini golf course, the yummy pizza and ice cream (free 24/7!), the Hasbro Game Show, Seuss at Sea brunch, family friendly comedy or all the family activities that make it great. I think it’s probably that every family gets to choose the perfect combination for them.
The Green Eggs and Ham at the Dr. Seuss Brunch is totally genius! And mini golf is one of my all time favourite things…

What do your kids most like to do on board the ships?
After eating pizza and ice cream…they find some new obsession on each cruise. One time Chase just wanted to play minigolf, non-stop. Another cruise, he wanted to play foosball in the RedFrog Pub all day. And I can never get them out of the pool on a sunny sea day.
They sound like smart kids!

What are your top tips for a fun family cruise?
1. Bring your swimmers in your carry-on bag so you can jump right in the pool the minute you get onboard.
2. Choose your shore excursions early and get them booked. The team at the excursion desk will guide you to the right ones for your family. They know all the great spots to visit and will help you choose the perfect shore experiences to bring the destinations to life for every member of the family.
3. Grab the children’s club schedules and make sure you mark down the “can’t miss” activities for your cruise. (Mum… now you know when to book that spa treatment!). My kids really like the scavenger hunts.
4. We always have cocktail hour every night and watch the sunset as a family. We’ll have the amazing bartenders at Alchemy Bar custom design a mocktail for the kids and cocktail for the adults and then we grab one of the family pods on Deck 10 and trade stories about our day as we watch the sun set over the Pacific. Bliss!
They’re all really, really good tips, Jennifer. I’ll make sure we use those on our cruise.

Thank you so, so much for sharing.

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Our little sailors have taken to cruising like seagulls to chips. Speaking of chips, the food on board Radiance of the Seas is fantastic. All 70 tonnes of it. Which incidentally is about what I’ll weigh after our cruise!

There are so many dining options to choose from, it’s easy to find something to float your culinary boat, if you’ll pardon the pun. There’s a la carte dining in the elegant 1000-seat Cascades Dining Room. The extensive menu changes nightly and it is here Raffles is seduced by snails with a plate of garlicky buttery escargot and where, I’m proud to say, wee Sugarpuff too nixes the kids menu for the a la carte options.

There’s also a waistline expanding selection of delectable desserts that I, being a happily undisciplined glutton, am unable to resist.

The buffet in the ship’s timber-lined Windjammer Café offers an enormous variety of cuisines from healthy salads to curry and pizza via noodles, soups and roasts. It is also where we watch on in fascinated horror as Raffles practically dons a feedbag and consumes his own body weight for lunch each day, hence us renaming it “The Trough”.

And of course there’s all that lurking by the ice-cream station… but Radiance offers a whole lot more for serious scoffers at sea. In fact, with 12 restaurants on board, Radiance of the Seas offers the most extensive range of dining options, other than her super-sized big sisters Oasis and Allure of the Seas, in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

And those options are impressive. From gourmet hot dogs at the Boardwalk Doghouse (we dig the Bratwurst and the Sicilian) and Mexican flavours at Rita’s Cantina to Poolside BBQ’s where even the Captain joins in with the tongs!

For those seeking more salubrious surrounds there is great Italian fare at Giovanni’s Table, Churrascaria style deliciousness at Samba Grill Brazilian Steakhouse and fine dining at Chops Grille steakhouse.

Not to mention our favourite, Izumi, where we devour freshly-prepared sushi, sashimi and sizzling seafood cooked on hot rocks at our table.

The giddy euphoria that the four course “Chocolate Breakfast” served in the main dining room unleashes in my small people can’t go without mention.

Raffles and I are lucky enough to score a meeting with Executive Chef, Costin Giurouiu, and Izumi head chef, Christopher Aquelo, to chat about what it’s like feeding a ship full of hungry people.

As Executive Chef Costin is responsible for the 70 tonnes of food that is delivered at the start of every cruise as well as the management and ongoing training of a team of 145 who produce a staggering 15,000 meals per day for the 2350 passengers and 850 crew on board. His team includes an Executive Sous Chef, six Sous Chefs, 14 Chef de Parties, four qualified butchers and 11 pastry chefs who, aside from baking all the delicious pastries and sandwich bread on board, produce a staggering 6000 fresh bread rolls every day, not including those for the specialty restaurants.

Remind me not to bitch and moan next time Raffles and Sugarpuff demand two different breakfasts.

However when it comes to the in-depth story, the absolutely delightful Costin and Christopher allow me to hand things over to my four-foot food freak and grant junior journo Raffles his first ever interview, which goes something like this…

Raffles: How many meals do you make on each cruise?
Costin: On this ship we prepare 15,000 meals per day.
Raffles: That should be just enough to fill me up, but what will the other people eat!? Raffles: How can you run 12 restaurants at the same time
Costin: I have a lot of help.
Raffles: What is your favourite meal to cook and to eat?
Costin: Oh, I don’t have just one favourite. That is why my belly is so big.
Christopher: I like to make Japanese food of course, but I am from the Philippines so I also enjoy eating and making Filipino dishes.
Raffles: What do you do like to do on your days off?
Costin: The catering crew don’t get days off. All the staff work 10 hours a day every day of the week. But sometimes we can manage a short break in the day to go ashore for a special lunch or to try a local restaurant.
Raffles: (to Christopher) Oh, I was hoping you’d hang out with me.
Raffles: Then can I just have some sashimi and another one of your yummy snow crab rolls?
Christopher: Of course!

Move over Barbara Walters, this little guy is asking the BIG questions.

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“Avast me hearties, let’s commandeer the ice-cream machine” squeals rapscallion Raffles, as soon as we board Radiance of the Seas. His swashbuckling sibling, Sugarpuff, hearing only the words “ice” and “cream,” draws her imaginary cutlass in readiness to storm the soft-serve station with her roguish brother.

I suspect my small scourges of the seven seas are already excited enough about our nine-day Pacific Island Cruise without topping them up with sugar but we’re on holiday and if a pair of pint-size pirates can’t bend the rules on holiday, when can they?

We quickly check into our surprisingly roomy ocean view stateroom which, as well as a queen size bed and bunks, has a sitting area with sofa which we can curtain off from the sleeping area when the kids drop off.

The convenient location about 100 metres from a bar serving perfectly good alcohol is an unexpected bonus. Cap’n Raffbeard inspects his bunk bed (read climbs up and down the ladder before swan diving off it onto our bed) while Sugarpuff checks out the resident wildlife.

Then we grab our swimmers (we always pack them in our hand luggage so we can hit the pool as soon as we board) and head for the pool… but only after pillaging that ice-cream station.

After a refreshing soak there’s still time before we set sail to head off and explore what this gorgeous galleon has in store. Oh, and to grab a tankard or two of rum. Or gin gimlets if I’m being completely honest, as I can’t abide rum, but the effect is much the same. Hic!

Radiance has too many bars to count and 12 restaurants, including the main dining room where this dashing chap turns heads on formal nights.

Non gluttonous facilities include a sports court and nine-hole mini golf course.

Three swimming pools, one of which is just for kids, and an awesome water slide.

A soaring outdoor rock-climbing wall.

Plus table tennis, shuffleboard and pool tables that are stabilised by a computer-controlled gyroscope that adjusts the table with the motion of the ship! Seriously! Not to mention a poolside movie screen, an indoor cinema, a video arcade where Cap’n Raffbeard acquires a serious addiction to air hockey.

And of course there’s all that pillaging, hornswaggling and keelhauling… if one is so inclined.

On Radiance of the Seas, it is little swashbucklers who rule the waves… and not only because the grown ups are terrified of them.

At his request we head to Adventure Ocean to register Cap’n Raffbeard for Aquanauts, one of the five age-based kids club programmes on board. Having visited briefly on another Royal Caribbean cruise he can’t wait to plunder its booty of crafts, toys and games and has disappeared into the expansive play area before I’ve even finished filling out the forms.

Sugarpuff doesn’t miss out on a boatload of fun either, as The Royal Babies and Tots Nursery offers supervised fun for baby buccaneers three-years and under and a Fisher Price toy lending program that allows us to borrow and exchange toys to play with in the comfort of our stateroom.

But it is the kids pool that draws them back again…

And again…

And again…

There’s so much to do on this floating resort that it proves a destination in itself, which is lucky because my scurvy seadogs think that heading ashore is for the birds.

In fact our first attempt at getting our kids back on dry land is fraught with tears! Luckily the Pacific’s pretty beaches, azure lagoons, waterfalls and warriors quickly win them over.

But it is Radiance that is their true love and as much as they enjoy a little landlubbing they are always keen to return for a little interpretative shuffleboard (which is pretty much just random poking of the puck with a stick).

Cap’n Raffbeard and I head off to see “City of Dreams,” one of the ship’s spectacular Broadway style shows. Now, as anyone who’s ever met me would confirm, musical theatre is something that I’d usually cut my own eyes out with a rusty cutlass than sit through. It’s just not my thing. But I find the show enjoyable (leaving with both eyes in tact) and it has my all-singing and all-dancing boy (who, unlike his mother, LOVES a show) jazz-handing his way around the ship for days.

Our night out proves such a hit that my son and I share several more dates during the cruise… which all seem to end with my escort under the influence and rolling about on the floor. It’s like a blast from my dating past. Though admittedly most of those other guys were under the influence of more than sugar.

Our final day at sea proves the most memorable as Cap’n Raffbeard is beckoned from his banana chair for an audience with the charming Captain Goran Peterson… which is how I come to witness my plucky pirate, armed only with a balloon sword, storming the bridge. I turn an attractive shade of red and thank my lucky stars that the good-humoured Captain doesn’t lock my mutinous munchkin in the brig.

Instead we’re pardoned and allowed to return to the rest of our crazy crew for more laughs and lazing on the sundeck.

And for another gimlet. Or six. Arrgh!

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Raffles, Sugarpuff and I are sitting by the Harbour waving our old friend and resident megaship, Carnival Spirit, out of Sydney. It’s been a wee while since our clan of clowns ran away to join her cruising circus but watching folk frolicking merrily on deck as she sails gracefully away has us reminiscing about our own shipboard shenanigans.

A cruise on Carnival Spirit had been sold to us as a holiday where every guest of every age can set their own pace. Now, given that on a scale of one to ten Raffles and Sugarpuff go to 11 on a quiet day, there’s no prizes for guessing at what speed we spent most of our time.

We also knew that our short cruise would only offer us to sample a few of Spirit’s many temptations so, once we’d unpacked in our stateroom which incidentally came complete with enormous balcony and bath tub (fist pump), we made a hit list to make sure we missed nothing.

Predictably with Raffles, that list included filling his stomach, a round of mini-golf, filling his stomach some more, hitting the pool, and stopping for ice-cream. In no specific order.

To get the obvious priority out-of-the-way we started our Carnival Spirit experience at La Playa Grill, the ship’s casual style buffet and just one of 20 restaurants and bars on board. We indulge in a slice or seven of the excellent made-to-order pizza and some barista-style coffee, for us of course, not the kids. Could you imagine adding caffeine to those two nutters, they’d become airborne.

After our leisurely lunch we stumble across a soft-serve machine and ticked another chocolate and vanilla flavoured must-do off my boy’s cruising bucket list. As an ice-cream fuelled Raffles kung-fu danced his way at high speed around the ship we happened to stumble across Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ, an open air American style char-grill. This proved a slight problem as we’d already eaten a small mountain of food. But it was irresistible so I grabbed a little of their pulled pork for a taste. It was good. So good in fact that my wee boy, whose spare stomach had already kicked in, insisted on a whole pulled-pork roll of his own and we watched on in gobsmacked awe as he devoured it … I swear that given the chance that kid could eat a hole in the space-time continuum.

The sparkling pool beckoned but a little digestion was required so we resisted its watery temptation and instead hit the 18-hole mini golf where I had my my arse handed to me by a 4-year old. Twice.

Humiliated by our mini-golf thrashing, we set off for Carnival Waterworks and the SplashZone area where we let both kids loose among the tangle of mini-slides and waterplay equipment while we plotted our parental revenge!

Something that proved easy when an unsuspecting Raffles copped a drenching from a giant tipping bucket full of water.

The kids played happily for hours in the Splash Zone, slipping this way, sliding that way and generally enjoying the watery wonderland until it was mummy’s turn for a bit of wet and wild fun.

You see, Carnival Spirit also boasts two twisty turny (and that was just my stomach after riding them) water slides including Green Thunder, the steepest and fastest water slide at sea.

While the kids are too small to take on Carnival Spirit’s star attraction (height restrictions apply on both slides), it’s up to me to take on the three seconds of heart pumping pant-soiling wow! The free falling, 65 km/h slide snakes out and over the side of the ship, yes over!

Having already shouted something that sounded eerily similar to ship when I first dropped into the bright green tube, by the time I’d hit the overwater bend my vocab had further deteriorated and the words pouring from my potty mouth rhymed more with luck, which incidentally is something I thought I’d run out of as my life flashed before my eyes in the slippery green tube of hell.

By the time I’d reached the bottom the slide wasn’t the only thing rocking a vivid shade of green. But  it only took me about three seconds to decide to head back for another twisty turn. Which would also give me time to work our how to explain the new words my children had just learned from their foul mouthed parent.

All this and we hadn’t even set sail yet! When we did finally bid adieu to Sydney to the hooting of horns and the hollering of happy passengers we decided a change of pace was in order.

After all that action, and given that I was still a little wobbly from all that slip sliding stuff, it was time to seek out a little of that zen they’d been talking about  and Camp Carnival (the ship’s kids club for two to fives) came to our rescue, spiriting away our children for some pre-school friendly fun.

Luck yeah!

We seize  the rare moment of childlessness and head for the Serenity deck.

The open-air, child-free space gives parents (and non-parents) the opportunity to soak up the sun and cocktails from a day bed and enjoy 270-degree views of wherever they happen to be.

In actual peace!

No ship!

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After watching the floating behemoth nearly take out the Harbour Bridge we applauded her impressively elegant reverse park into Circular Quay – done with such precision you’d swear she was no bigger than the average family hatchback. Clearly she has power steering.

The buxom beauty is now moored directly opposite our lounge-room window and Raffles has spent the morning mournfully gazing her way and reminiscing over our previous adventures on board (which I wrote about here and here).

He’s entirely convinced that his clever Dreamworks pals King Julian, Po & Puss’n’Boots have something to do with her presence in Sydney. “They must have tied up the Captain and stolen the ship so they could come to Australia to see me, mama. Because they missed me so much and wanted a cuddle!”

So it would appear that my son has an ego as healthy as his imagination. Or he’s a sociopath! I carefully explain that, though I’m sure that his Dreamworks friends do miss him terribly, Voyager is actually here so lots of other families can have their turn on board. And that without a ticket we can’t join them. He’s not thrilled with my explanation.

“But why can’t I just visit them? Or King Julian and Boots could just come to our place for a play date. Maybe Po could come to Kung-Fu with me on the weekend? Please??”

I guess the sight of “his” beloved cruise ship and her resident rascals so near but so out of reach is hard to comprehend for a pining pre-schooler.

Since it would be a tad illegal (not to mention highly impractical) for us to just lob on board and commandeer a 1,000 foot long, 137,000 tonne ship, I’ll just have to get creative in my efforts to ease Raffles melancholy.

To cheer him up I’ve decided to use the fool-proof mummy method of fresh baked biscuits. And though I may have gone a little overboard, these cruisey little cookies have certainly buoyed my little man’s spirit.

To make the cookies I’ve adapted a Mexican Cookie Ring recipe that we’ve had success with a few times before, to achieve a buttery, almost cakey style biscuit. The icing is a basic royal icing made with far more colouring than can be good for you (I prefer to use Queen’s natural extracts for colouring as these are happily devoid of all those evil “numbers” that I prefer my children not to consume), to match the vivid orange of Voyagers life rings.

THE RECIPE

“Voyager” Life Preserver Cookies

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
125g butter
¾ cup white sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 19O degrees Celsius.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add egg yolks and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy.
4. Sift dry ingredients together and blend into butter mix.
5. Roll dough into 3cm balls. Push your thumb through centre of each and then shape into a ring.
6. Place onto a lined baking tray and bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cool on racks before decorating

Royal Icing                       

Ingredients:

3 cups of icing sugar, sifted
2 egg whites
Squeeze of lemon juice

Method:

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
2. Gradually add in sifted icing sugar on low-speed until thick.
3. Add lemon juice and food colour.
4. The icing takes around 2-3 hours to set hard.

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I’ve always said it’s not the size that matters, it’s what you do with it that counts. Of course, I’ve usually been lying. But when it comes to my kitchen, which is essentially a cupboard with a gas burner, it’s the truth. Regardless of its compact size it’s served me well and I’ve prepared some extravagant and elaborate meals in it. It’s fed my family for the past ten years, catered cocktail parties for 40 and even  managed to produce a seven course degustation dinner for seven guests even with the restrictions of only two feet of bench space. Did I mention I could juggle plates?

So when we enter Voyager of the Seas massive commercial kitchen on a private back of house tour with executive head chef Patrick McCabe, Raffles is a touch surprised. “Mama, this is bigger than our kitchen” he kindly points out to me. No shit, Sherlock.

This colossal kitchen boasts a staff of 204 that prepare around 17,000 meals a day for the ships 3000 plus guests… with impressively little wastage. And yes, I have noticed that it’s a touch bigger than our kitchen. In fact, I’d say it’s about the same size as our local park. Do I envy them their space? Sure. Do I envy them the task? Not a bit.

The sheer amount of food we see being prepared is breathtaking. But I do love that Raffles is offered the opportunity to see the work that goes into making dining on board a delight. We see all the food we’ll eat at the lunchtime buffet in the ships Windjammer Cafe being prepared first hand. He’s impressed by the sheer scale and loves seeing “all the big boys” working away busily amidst the steam and clattering of pots.

There’s pastry being stretched and kneaded. Cake being mixed. Salads being dressed. Chocolate Brownies being sliced. There’s something happening everywhere we look. But no matter how much is going on, Raffles pays rapt attention, actively seeking out those brownies at lunchtime.

The tour has given my little man a respect for all the effort that goes into the food we eat when we’re not at home, so much so that he orders his dad to finish his meal because “Daddy, lots and lots of guys worked really hard to make your lunch, so you can’t waste it, ok?”

That’s my boy.

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