I'm Outnumbered! Parenting Alone Through The Panama Canal (EBPC 2017)

We stay in the same hotel on our trip in May. Do you remember your room number? Could you hear the trains? While we really liked the hotel, our room was right next to the train tracks and a bit noisy each time one would go by.

Kate
 
I love reading your reports! So glad to be joining in on this one. My dream is to do a PC trip (don't really care which way :))

On another note- I'm sorry for your loss of your parents and uncle.

Thank you for your kind words and the condolence. I can't recommend the DCL PC cruises enough. Definitely a dream worth striving for.

We stay in the same hotel on our trip in May. Do you remember your room number? Could you hear the trains? While we really liked the hotel, our room was right next to the train tracks and a bit noisy each time one would go by.

Kate

I don't remember our room number, but we did not hear the trains. I'd researched the hotel before we stayed there the first time, so I knew to request a room away from the train tracks and facing the port when I made the reservation. I've read quite a few complaints about the noisy trains. Sorry you experienced that.
 
When we return the Hampton Inn, we were all ready for some air conditioning and down time. The kids monopolized the TV, while I watched an episode of Outlander on my tablet. I love that show!

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By the time my episode ended, Emily was jumping on the bed, chomping at the bit to expend more energy.

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So, I offered to take her swimming.

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Jimmy had had enough sun for his tastes, so he stayed in the room watching TV and playing on his tablet. Other hotel guests must have had the same idea because the patio was empty.

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We had the pool all to ourselves.

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I found a comfy spot in the shade to settle into while Emily enjoyed the water.

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As you can see, it was a tad chilly when she first got in.

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It didn't take her long to get used to it, though.

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Now this is what vacation is all about!

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When she finished swimming, Emily decided to bask in the California sun.

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We returned to the room mid-afternoon. While Emily showered, I took a few shots of the construction going on outside our window. This same construction has been going on since our first PC cruise.

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The kids returned their attention to the television.

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For the next couple of hours, we lounged around watching TV and eating an obscene amount of junk food. Yup, what vacation is all about!

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I'm following along! I'm doing a Princess cruise in June to Alaska (not on that ship though!) and I'm having DCL blues so I turned to the boards for some happiness! Looks like a great start!
 
I'm following along! I'm doing a Princess cruise in June to Alaska (not on that ship though!) and I'm having DCL blues so I turned to the boards for some happiness! Looks like a great start!

Thanks for following! A Princess cruise to Alaska sounds wonderful! Cruising to Alaska is on my bucket list. You'll have to share your experience.
 
At 6pm we felt it was probably cool enough outside to enjoy the park again, so we stopped by the hotel lobby to grab some fresh baked cookies and headed across the street.

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The sunset was stunning.

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While there, Emily made her first friend who will be accompanying us on the cruise.

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While Emily ran off some of her excitement, Jimmy was feeling more Zen.

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Having my own excitement to burn off, I quickly gave up on finding my inner peace to play. Balancing on this disc swing is harder than it looks!

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At 8pm we got chilly so we headed back to the hotel. We got ready for bed and vegged for the rest of the evening watching a Treehouse of Horrors marathon. My kids had never watched The Simpsons before so they got a real kick out of it.

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At 11pm local time, we decided to call it a night. I am SO glad that we arrived in San Diego a day early to give us an opportunity to adjust to the time change. That was one complaint we had about our first EBPC cruise. The kids were fried by the end of dinner the first day onboard. Arriving the day before just wasn't enough.

If, like us, you are travelling with children and will be experiencing a 3 or more hour time difference, I highly recommend adding an extra day to the beginning of your vacation to relax and adjust if you can spare it. It made a huge difference to our embarkation day experience!


Up Next...All Aboard!
 
Enjoying your trip report. How old are your kids? Love their hair, until you posted the swimming picture I didn't realize how long your dd hair was in a braid. I'm guessing her hair is as curly as yours and your sons.

Great pictures. Sitting here while it is snowing makes me want to be on a cruise right now.
 
You look amazing, truly inspirational! And I mean that literally, b/c I'm about to go on a hike now! We moms put ourselves last too often, don't we?
 
Enjoying your trip report. How old are your kids? Love their hair, until you posted the swimming picture I didn't realize how long your dd hair was in a braid. I'm guessing her hair is as curly as yours and your sons.

Great pictures. Sitting here while it is snowing makes me want to be on a cruise right now.

Thanks for joining in. Jimmy is 13 and Emily is 10. Emily's hair is thick and curly like Jimmy's and mine. It's gorgeous, but to avoid tears we keep it back in braids except for special occasions.

You look amazing, truly inspirational! And I mean that literally, b/c I'm about to go on a hike now! We moms put ourselves last too often, don't we?

Thank you so much! Walking/hiking is my main form of exercise, too. Glad to see you, too, are doing something for yourself. I agree, we mom's need to do it more often.
 
Day 3, Friday, October 27, 2017, Embarkation Day

At 5am, the kids and I were all awakened by what sounded like a herd of elephants stomping inside the room over our heads. We had just begun to fall back asleep around 6am when fog horns from both the Disney Wonder and the Grand Princess made returning to dreamland impossible.


At 6:30am, I finally hauled myself out of bed and went to the window. She was here!

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The Grand Princess made it, too.

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Emily and I dressed and went down to breakfast. Now that the fog horns had stopped blaring and the elephants had stopped stomping, Jimmy hoped to catch a few more zzzs.

I forgot to take pictures of our breakfasts. Most likely because we got caught up in conversation with Emily's new friend from the park last night and her family. We were all very excited!


I did manage to take a picture of the breakfast I collected for Jimmy as well as the kids' dolled-up cocoas.

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Lucky bum! When Emily and I returned to the room, Jimmy was sound asleep.

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Even Baby was off to dreamland. I was so jealous!

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While Jimmy slept, Emily finished her cocoa and Jimmy's melted into a mess. So, when he started to rouse, I ran down and got them fresh ones.

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Yum!

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At 9:40am, James called to wish us off. He was in Minnesota for work. At present, he was at the Mall of America. At least he was having fun, too.

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It was sad to say goodbye, but we knew that we would all have adventures to share when we got home.
 
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We got off the phone with James and finished getting ready for the day. Packing was quick and easy.

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At 11:30am, we each took a suitcase and began our walk to the port. We were about to enter "The Happy Zone."

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We had to stop and get a picture with the ship. The weather was absolutely gorgeous!

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A kind soul offered to take a picture of all of us. Thank you!

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There was no line at the luggage drop-off point. Passing off our luggage was quick and painless. Inside the port was another story. It was PACKED!

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The line felt like it went on forever, but it moved quickly.

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Before long, we made it to the front of the line and checked in. When we finished, we were able to board right away.

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We skipped the boarding photos and found ourselves in another long line. So close, yet so far away...

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Eventually, we made it to the head of the line, and the CM announced our name. Since the kids couldn't agree on a fun name, we went with our family name. We were officially onboard! I can't describe the incredible giddy feeling I get when I first step onboard. We were really here!

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The atrium was decorated for Halloween.

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Now that we were here, we were ready to eat. We went straight to Triton's.

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We really enjoyed the Triton's embarkation lunch on our last PC cruise, I was looking forward to experiencing it again.

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The restaurant was really busy so service was a little slow. We found silly ways to pass the time.

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While we waited for our food, a lovely family joined us at our table. It was time to behave in a more civilized manner. Great conversation helped us pass the time until our meals arrived.

The kids and I decided to order a bit of everything and share. Jimmy ordered the empanada to start. This was fabulous! After sampling it, I ordered one for myself.


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Emily ordered the salmon. We all enjoyed it so much that we also ordered a second one of the these.

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Initially, I only ordered a main course - the pennette pasta. This was amazing! The kids ended up eating nearly the entire bowl. We ordered a couple more of these.

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For her main course, Emily had the steak. She enjoyed it, but liked the salmon and my pasta better.

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Jimmy had the muffeletta sandwich. It was okay, but not worth filling ourselves with in comparison to the other selections.

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We also ordered all three of the desserts. Emily had the sundae. She gave it a thumbs up.

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Jimmy ordered the Oreo cheesecake. He enjoyed it, but not as much as my...

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carrot cake. This was delicious!

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I know that the frosting looks overwhelming, but it was light, creamy, and not overly sweet. It was just right.

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I'm really glad that I'm eating a good lunch while I read this, but I'm still jealous
 
THE DESSERTS LOOK AMAZING!!!!!!!! Now I need to try and find something that comes even a tad close to those!
 
I was on the same cruise! In fact I recognized your son in Cabanas towards the end of the cruise. I've read so many of your trip reports it felt like I spotted a celebrity. :goodvibes

I became friends with that family in your picture of the busy terminal. Great people! In fact I am meeting up with them in Skagway in May. They live about one hours drive from there. Then we are all sailing together in November from Galveston!

Can't wait to relive this cruise through your report!
 
I'm really glad that I'm eating a good lunch while I read this, but I'm still jealous

I know what you mean. I get hungry every time I post the food pics.

THE DESSERTS LOOK AMAZING!!!!!!!! Now I need to try and find something that comes even a tad close to those!

They were amazing! I can't wait to have them again in April. Yum!

I was on the same cruise! In fact I recognized your son in Cabanas towards the end of the cruise. I've read so many of your trip reports it felt like I spotted a celebrity. :goodvibes

I became friends with that family in your picture of the busy terminal. Great people! In fact I am meeting up with them in Skagway in May. They live about one hours drive from there. Then we are all sailing together in November from Galveston!

Can't wait to relive this cruise through your report!

Greeting fellow cruiser! Jimmy would get a kick out being seen as a "celebrity." Glad to hear that you made such great new friends on the cruise. That's one of the things I love about cruising - new friends. Have a great time in Alaska!
 
By the time we finished lunch, our cabin was ready. We booked a GTY category 10C Deluxe Inside Stateroom. It was the only inside category available at the time I booked. We were assigned cabin 2145. It turned out to be the ideal size for us with plenty of room to maneuver. While we missed having James with us, he is a big man. The stateroom felt so much larger without him in it.

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This Gold Castaway Club gift was waiting on the bed when we arrived.

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