Traveling and Setting Sail!

We left Saudi on the 15th and headed to Bahrain to catch our flight to Rome (via Doha). Our flight wasn't until 10:15 AM and so we thought we had plenty of time but we didn't account for the traffic in Saudi. Everyone was trying to get to work when we were leaving and it was crazy. We finally got to the Bahrain airport, rushed into the airport, checked in and made it just in time. And we made the quick flight to Doha and then the five and a half hour flight into Rome. Peyton was great as usual and Graham was great for his age but it is next to impossible to keep him sitting still. The kids interests are running, climbing, jumping, screaming with joy and loud toys....all of which do not go well on airplanes. We didn't bring a car seat since we didn't need it when we got there and so I know that made it harder but either way....I am DREADING flying home with that boy. We finally got to Rome, got our bags, found the shuttle to take us to our hotel, found some food and we got everyone to bed. A long day...


The next morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel and got Graham down for a nap thinking we had several hours until our driver was supposed to come and take us to the cruise ship. As soon as I got Graham down and John and Peyton went for a walk around the town we were at....the driver shows up. I forgot I asked for an earlier pick up time....UGH! He was still a little early so I just worked on moving bags from our room into the hall and as soon as John and Peyton came back we were off to the cruise ship.

We cruised on Royal Caribbean International's Mariner of the Seas and it was wonderful! Tons of praise for the staff both on the shore and onboard, the boat and amenities and how much cruising with kids made things easier. Our check in went smoothly and we got on board and found some lunch and then got settled in our rooms. We booked two adjoining interior rooms and that is the way to go when traveling with little ones. I will do a later post when our cruise portion of the trip is over and convey specific kids and cruising tips and advice. 


We took some time to walk around the boat and familiarize ourselves with everything....Graham LOVED looking at the ocean...

I don't remember much else of that day besides the muster drill and then being tired and wanting some rest and knowing that we would be in Sicily the next morning so that precious day at sea which equals rest and relaxation was two days away....but Graham decided to start early and watch us sail away from his lounge chair.

That night we set sail away from Rome and heading towards the island of Sicily....

Volcano we saw on our way to Sicily