A Day Aboard the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas

When we were invited onboard the Royal Caribbean, Navigator of the Seas, I was a little sceptical about how much I'd like it, I mean sure, I'd like the boat and it would be impressive but I didn't think it would be for us.

I thought that being confined to a boat would probably drive us all mad, so little space and nothing really to do other than sunbathe. Well I was wrong, hands down wrong!

We spent the day before our trip on the Navigator or the Seas in Southampton, we visited the city itself searching for the Zany Zebras currently residing in the town, we had dinner and we headed down to the quay to see if we could see the boat. It wasn't there yet, as it wasn't due to arrive until early Sunday morning.

So, when we pulled out of the hotel car park and saw this huge ship, I gasped and asked my husband if that was it? It was just huge and I honestly couldn't control my excitement, enthusiastically asking the children 'can you see that'? It really was something to behold and having never seen a cruise ship before I was amazed at how big it was.

We pulled up and headed to the departure lounge where we were given our passes for the day, each colour coded depending on your tour guide. When we eventually boarded, we walked along the passageways, up an escalator and onto deck 4, what we were greated with was lights, glitz and glamour and I couldn't believe we were there. I think at this point I was sold, imagining this being our holiday.

We started with a tour of some of the activities on board, with everything from a theatre, cinema, ice rink and casino I don't think we'd run out of things to do. Then with restaurants like something out of the Titanic I just couldn't stop the oohs and aahs! There are two main restaurants on the ship where the food is included in the price, then there are other restaurants around the ship which charge extra, these are something a bit different and offer the opportunity to have something a little bit special.

We then headed to the staterooms, also known as the bedrooms to me and you. We started with a suite with a balcony, this wowed us and I think would be the place I'd want to stay, with a separate master bedroom and a twin room for the kids, this was like a home from home expect being on a ship and having a balcony looking out into the ocean. It was just amazing and if we could afford this I'd be there every year.

We then went on to look at some of the other rooms which although they had a balcony, only had a bed and sofa bed, so unless we knew we were going to be spending every waking minute out of the room I think we would struggle for a week with two adults and two children in one of them.

The outside room would still be preferable to the inside rooms though, if you are at all claustrophobic or have sea sickness then these are not the rooms for you, with a large mirror instead of a window, there is a definite box feel, these really are only for people looking for somewhere to sleep in my opinion. I am sure that for many people these rooms are just fine, given the many other areas of the ship you can spend time and that they are the least expensive way to stay onboard.

Next on the tour was one of the Owners Suites, which had a swivel television, lounge area, balcony and jacuzzi bath as well as shower, it was very opulent and an amazing room, we would have to save up for a long time to afford this level of luxury. It was divine though and I can only imagine how it would be to spend a fortnight in this room.

We went on to see some of the other options of rooms, including one with a separate bunked area for the children, even these were nothing compared to the suite we first saw, with separate bedrooms and a balcony it would be the most amazing way to spend two weeks.

After we had viewed the rooms we headed to the sun deck, the perfect place to chill and relax and with a pool and bar, I couldn't wait to have a quick dunk later. We stopped off to have a look at the wave rider, it looked like a lot of fun, but maybe better suited to the sunny Med or Caribbean, than a british "summers" day, there was a mini golf, basketball court and climbing wall here as well, offering something for even the most adventurous of cruisers.

We then had an hour of free time to either explore or visit the pool so we headed to the pool area, there are two of these in fact, one for adults only and then the family area. With two pools and four jacuzzi's this was a great area to relax, enjoy some sunshine and an occasional dip as well as great cocktails and drinks in the bar pool.

This area in the evening even gets turned into an outdoor cinema, this ship really did have everything and I just could feel myself getting more and more excited about the prospect of maybe one day going on a cruise.

After a dip in the pool, which was just a dip as it was so cold and a good half an hour in the jacuzzi we headed to meet our guide David, who took us for some lunch. I have to say at this point how great David was, so knowledgable about the ship and open to answering any of my more mundane and boring questions.

We headed to Johnny Rockets, an American burger chain which to be honest on a ship I wasn't expecting much. However it had a real 1950s American vibe, with booths, cola floats and cheery music it was a welcome break to sit down and by this point we were all really hungry,

The fries and onion rings were on a constant flow, and something to munch on whilst we chose our burgers, I had the #12 which was Cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, white onion, pickles, mayonnaise & our signature “red red sauce®” (chili ketchup with a kick), it was really good and the cherry coke was the perfect accompaniment. My husband and son both had a Smoke House and my son ate every single bit. My daughter had the hot dog and since she couldn't manage it all I had to help finish it off,  it was rather tasty!

This is one of the restaurants where you have to pay a little extra for, I don't think it was a lot though possible an extra $7 or $10 a head which covers all your food, for a special lunch I'd pay this though and my it was good!

Feeling too full to even have puddings, we headed to see the childrens activity centre, here you can leave your children whilst you have some time for yourself. Now I have always been up until recently one of those parents who would never even consider leaving their children in holiday clubs, and a holiday is about all of us, together. However on seeing some of the other activity based holidays it occurred to me that myself and my husband only have so much to give our children in terms of energy and after a weekend of camping, they made friends and ran off to play without a second thought for us. Problem was, we were always worried about them and where they were, could we trust them etc. 

As much as I love spending time with them, wouldn't it be nice for me and hubby to have a meal together without worrying about whether I bought crayons and a colouring book with me, wouldn't it be nice to have a swim and relax without worrying about whether they were safely away from the waters edge, to be able to read a few pages of a book and generally manage to unwind on a holiday. 

Well, after seeing the activities on offer on the ship it made me think that maybe for a few hours a day we could leave them, they'd make friends and probably never want to come back to us anyway! It really was an eye opener to see what opportunities there are.

As well as all of this there are boutique shops and bars and with so much to explore during the shore days, with shore excursions or you can just make your own way round the port to explore, or you can just stay on the ship, great for a bit of peace and quiet.

So how do I feel now?

Well I would most definitely go on a cruise ship holiday, the thought of not having to drive anywhere, everything being in one place and hopping from one country to the next excites me and I am most definitely a convert. Certainly for the European visit you can drive down to Southampton, board the ship and thats it, no flights, no luggage to worry about finding at the other end. Everything there in one place, with plenty to do for all of the family and more food than you can shake a stick at, this really feels like a holiday to save for.

With all my worries of sea sickness, what happens if the norovirus strikes and if there enough lifeboats put to rest by David, I most definitely can see us on a cruise.

Thank you to Royal Caribbean for inviting us on the ship, it was truly a wonderful experience and we hope one day to see you onboard again.

NB: We were invited by Royal Caribbean for a day out on the Navigator of the Seas, lunch and travel were provided, all other expenses we paid for ourselves.

Following The Zebra Trail in Southampton

Since we were heading down to Southampton to visit the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas we decided to make a weekend of it and head down the day before, we've never been to Southampton before so we thought it would make a nice little weekend break.

I had seen about the Zebra trail on the Southampton Tourist Twitter page, so was looking forward to visiting them whilst we were there, there are many parks in Southampton city centre, so we decided to walk down through the parks and then on to the City Art Gallery before heading out for dinner.

To be able to walk through some wonderful park land, with plenty of space for a picnic, a huge park for the children and a little fair on for the summer, was a great way to entertain the children and as it was hot we stopped for an ice cream too.

The zebras were everywhere, we found one in the city centre and then they pretty much popped up everywhere we walked after that. This one was by the band stand and it wasn't until afterwards I noticed the delightful bit of rubbish standing with it.

We walked down towards the the art gallery and found this beauty, with zebras eating ice creams it was the perfect zebra for the day, with so many different Zebras and no two alike, they got us talking about the shapes and colours used.

I hadn't realised you weren't allowed to take photos in the gallery but managed to snap this beauty before my husband told me it was no photos, thankfully this meant I side stepped the shame of being asked not to take photos by the staff there.

Outside the gallery was I think one of my favourite Zebras, covered in wonderful bright bees with a hidden Where's Wally style bee, you can just see him hiding behind my sons shoulder.

After our evening stroll down to the quay, we headed back to the hotel but not before stopping to see a few more Zebras, the shark was my second favourite after the bees and such a fabulously zany idea  but every single one of them was brilliant and as beautiful as the last.

I loved this idea, it gets people exploring areas of a town they may not have seen before, looking at other peoples ideas on a different kind of paper. So if you happen to be in Southampton this summer then do check out the Zebras, they are well worth a visit and I only wish we'd had the time to explore more of this wonderful city.

A Visit to The Tower of London

Back in January, we visited London for a couple of days as a family, during our trip, we took in a few of the wonderful museums that London has to offer, including the Museum of London and the Tower of London.

I've been wanting to visit to the Tower of London for years but it costs quite a lot of money, however we were reviewing a new app called The Entertainer, using this, the tickets were two for the price of one. So, onto our visit, the tower is steeped in history and even today is a working palace/castle, with the Beefeaters, as they are so fondly known, living and working there to protect the crown jewels and should she need it, the Queen herself.

We headed to the crown jewels first but as photography inside is prohibited, I didn't get to take any pictures of the breathtaking crowns worn by past and present royalty, it was an honour to see it all though. The work and craftsmanship that has gone into the gold and the jewellery was just unbelievable, certainly worth a visit if you like all that glitters gold.

Then we moved onto The White House, this is the Castle Keep and stands in the middle of the tower complex, it is such a wonderful building to look at and really is the centrepiece to the attraction.

The White House is home to the line of kings, an amazing display of over 500 years of armoury, the detailed silver and engraved armour was divine and it was wonderful to see so much history in one room. The armour once worn by Henry VIII, with it's rather large codpiece was quite amusing.

Years of history from all over the world are brought to life in the wonderful exhibitions, my son particularly liked this dragon trophy. Trophies were made as a way of showing off the strength of an army, this one was made up with everything from scrolls to maps and rubies to bits of armour, the effect is brilliant and he was very imposing.

After a visit to see the ravens and the slightly gruesome tower torture exhibition, we headed out onto the riverside to see Tower Bridge, a big monument of London and something I have longed to see for some years, even against the grey sky it was beautiful and if we'd had time I'd have loved to walk over it.

We had a great time visiting the Tower of London, however I would say that had the children been slightly older maybe 8 or 9 it would have been a more enjoyable visit. A lot of the information and displays weren't really that easy for the children to understand, however they enjoyed looking at the armour and the jewels and seeing the ravens. After this we headed to the British Museum which I will blog about at a later date.

The Entertainer App London Review

For the last few years, we have headed down to London on New Years Day to visit the many wonderful museums that it has to offer. We decided this time to stay overnight to make the most of our day whilst also getting to see some of the many Christmas lights and decorations at night.

On day two, we used a new app called The Entertainer, this app has been around in few countries for a while now and has now launched in London, it allows you to get access to great offers throughout the capital. It is free to download the app and there are some offers included, although to unlock the best offers, you have to pay a yearly subscription of £40. This sounds like a lot but considering we saved £32.65 on the our one day out alone it could be rather useful app for someone who lives in London or who visits the capital a lot.

Available to use in restaurants, attractions, shops as well as at beauty and fitness venues around the city (and some further afield) it is a great way to save money as well as find new places to see and visit.

We chose the Tower of London as our first stop (more on our visit soon), you can search by location or scroll through to see what takes you fancy, you can also view on a map to see if there is anything close to you.

There are different offers at different venues, but the details are listed for you to see easily. Once you have decided the best option for you then you select the offer and it comes up with the redeem screen, you enter a pin and pass the phone to the member of staff who enters their code, it then gives them the reference for the discount code. Simple!

Since this app was newly launched, the lady who served us at the Tower of London wasn't aware of the app, however after a few discussions with her colleagues, they managed to sort it out, with a venue this big and so many staff we more than understood how it may have not yet filtered down to the front line.

Our second trip of the day, to the thai restaurant chain Busaba, was more successful, they were aware of what they needed to do and it all happened as smoothly as something this new possibly could of. The app allows you to see in your redemption history how much you have saved, although this isn't entirely correct as it is based on the average saving at that venue.

If you are looking to visit London this year, I highly recommend this app, not only might you find somewhere to eat or drink you didn't know about, you could also save yourself some money.

Nb: This is a collaborative review post.

A Visit to CONKERS! in the National Forest

We have seen the signs on the A42 for CONKERS! many times but never really thought to head over there with  the children, as we normally head to the north of Nottingham. So, when we were invited to spend the day there I was really interested to see what it had up it's sleeve.

The day was planned out with a few tasks to get us exploring the site, we started with some orienteering, this not only tested out map reading skills to find the letters around the park, but there were also clues that got us using our heads to work out a password that would get us some extra treats later.

We figured out the word, which was amphibian, and headed to the meeting point in the Bush Craft area, a wonderful wooded location where we were asked to make our own den/shelter and fire. My two are seven and four and both relished this task, with each of them helping both mum and dad to find wood for the fire and sticks for the shelter.

We were shown how to build a fire and then set about lighting it with flint, steel and some nice dry cotton wool, my son was really good at it and Daddy was alright but Mummy excelled at the task, certainly makes me wonder whether it was cave man or woman that had this sorted?!?

Once we had the fire going (with a little help from the lovely Becky at Baby Budgeting and her family, thanks for sharing your fire guys) we were on our way to marshmallow toasting heaven. We all love toasted marshmallows and it is a really great experience to share with the children, really getting back to the basics.

Once we had finished toasting our marshmallows and had basked in the almost success of den building we headed to the Barefoot Walk, we saw one of these at a farm we visited in France a few years ago but never got to do it as the children were too young. Both said they'd give this a go and, although it was cold when walking through the water sections and slippery on the mud parts, we all really enjoyed it.

After lunch we had free reign over what we did next so we headed to the sensory trail to see what we could see, smell and feel. This was something we had done previously elsewhere and I have to say this one wasn't as good, some of the contents of the boxes were worn and the plants for smell etc long dead and it certainly wasn't as good as it could of been, none the less the children didn't notice and enjoyed running round the woods.

Afterwards we explored the labyrinth and went over to see the low and high ropes, a new installation for July which looked awesome. We didn't have time to book on to one of these otherwise I think my son and husband would have liked to gone on them. This is an extra charge but I don't think it's too overpriced for what is a very unique experience, even without this, there are plenty of trails and assault courses (for teenagers and adults only) to keep you busy which don't cost anything extra.

There were so many of the other areas that we didn't get to visit around the site, we could have spent all day just exploring the woodland and countryside as there was so much. There is a huge playground over at the Waterside Centre which is accessible by the conkachoo train and more woodland to explore but that will have to wait until another time.

Before we left, we did pop into the Discovery Centre, sadly a few of the interactive exhibits were broken and in need of repair, the toilets were covered in toilet paper as the dispensers were empty and new rolls just left on the side. This was a slightly disappointing end to the day and there seemed to be very few staff about at this point, the staff members we did come into contact with though were helpful and polite.

Overall we did have a great time and I think we would go back again, there were so many butterflies, insects, flowers and trees, if you like exploring the outdoors then this is certainly a great place to go. As the children get older and can go on more too, I think it will be the perfect place to take them for a run about.

NB: We were given free entry for the day to the park to form this review, all opinions are my own.

Exploring Clumber Park

At the weekend, we were invited to Clumber Park, to explore the grounds by bike and enjoy some of the facilities on offer.

When we have visited previously, we walked around the pleasure grounds near the chapel and played on the woodland play park, so the cycling was a first for us, not just here but I don't think I had even sat on a bike since I was about 12 or 13!

After parking the car, we headed first to the cycle hire centre, where the staff kitted us out with bikes, helmets, a lock and a map of the cycle routes, as well as offering advice on which route to start off with and where not to ride. 

As the children do not ride, my husband had my son on a tagalong bike and I had my daughter on a seat on the back of mine. It was a bit wobbly at first, but got easier as we went along. Traveling by bike meant that we got to see parts of the park that we had not seen before. Past the village of Hardwick, on the other side of the lake, there are fields, full of butterflies, insects and birds of prey, it was wonderful to be able to stop and look at these.

The view from the other side of the lake is amazing and I am quite sad we haven't seen it before, it is definitely a walk or ride we will be taking again. The cycle paths are flat and steep in equal measures, though if you don't mind dismounting, then you can follow the flat path along the edge of the lake.

With the kit Clumber Park gave us, we had binoculars and bug spotting kits so the children enjoyed being able to spot the wildlife across the lake and beyond.

After we'd been round once we stopped for lunch, there was a short wait for lunch from the restaurant itself so we opted for the BBQ outside. 

My daughter chose the child's lunch box which contained a freshly made sandwich, mini cheddars, cheese and crackers, yoghurt, biscuits and a drink, not bad for £4.50. I had the pork cob, hubby had the burger and my son had the sausage cob, with two portions of chips and a couple of beers it came to £31, it certainly filled us up for the rest of the day.

Afterwards we payed a visit to the second hand bookshop and the discovery centre, this is a great little spot to chill out with lots of space to explore, sit and read, learn and play.

After another cycle round the lake, we headed up to the walled garden, you have to pay to get into this area unless you are a National Trust member, it isn't much though, it's free for children and then £3.65 per adult without Gift Aid.

You could spend a good hour and a half  to two hours in the garden and they run talks and tours too, as it heads towards the summer holidays they also have lots of activities for children with the new Sunflower Alley opening this week.

There are so many beautiful flowers and areas to explore in the gardens, from the fruit and herb gardens to their many varieties of rhubarb. It was great to be able to get up close and personal with so many different plants, many of which we hadn't seen before. There was a bug house kit in the bag of goodies we were given so we took a look at the ones in the garden, which made the children excited about making this.

We really had an amazing time at Clumber Park, getting to see so much on the bikes was great and although my legs ached for days afterwards, it was by far the best way to see and explore. As a final treat before we left we headed over to the cricket pitch where there was a match on, we had an ice cream and then took it in turns to fly the pocket kite from the gift shop.

These things are normally something we might overlook in the shop, but actually they made our day out that little bit more special.

Clumber Park is a great place to visit this summer with so much to offer, see and do whether it is just to kick a ball around, go exploring in the woods or go biking round the lake.

NB: We were given free entry to the park, cycle hire and meal voucher to form this review. All opinions are my own.