Esther and William’s Granny pointed out to me recently that they are becoming seasoned day trippers.

And they are.

Since Tilda died we have been out and about much more than we usually would.

Wanting to keep busy, wanting to be away from home and bad memories, wanting to make life the best it can possibly be for Esther and William.

It is about finding ways to escape just for a little while from the pain of missing Matilda Mae.

Not for us, the pain is always there for us, but for it’s impact on Esther and on William.

None of what has happened is their fault.

I want them to have a childhood full of fun and wonderful memories, of experiences to be treasured.

I am forever grateful for the opportunities that writing this blog has been able to provide for us, for them, over the last few months.

I am forever grateful to the friends that know and understand what I am trying to do and go out of their way to make it happen.

Cafe Bebe’s Karin is one such friend. This beautiful lady was asked to invite a family on board a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship for a day and she invited us.

It was a wonderful opportunity for the whole family to get on an ocean liner and explore this enormous floating holiday resort.

Something we would never otherwise have had the opportunity to do.

Thank you Karen and to all the people who made our day such a wonderful one.

This is what we got up to.

On the Friday we left our house mid morning and headed for our ‘holiday hotel’. Esther and William were very excited as they love sleeping in their ‘holiday beds’ (Graco travel cots). They were also looking forward to having a swim in the hotel pool.

Royal Caribbean put us up at The Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton and it was lovely. We had a swim before toddler tea on the terrace and then dinner for us in the restaurant which was just delicious. I was really impressed with the hotel, the staff and the service. We left our baby monitor in the hotel room and they returned it to us by post within just a few days. Esther and William were also very impressed to be welcomed at the hotel with ice creams!

On Saturday morning we woke up early and as promised when we opened the curtains we could see our ship Independence of the Seas at the dock. It was indeed an enormous ship! It was an amazing sight to see and I am not sure Esther and William could fully comprehend the size.

We had breakfast and then met up with the other Royal Mums in the hotel lobby. We then drove to the docks to board our Royal Caribbean cruise liner for the day.

The security was stringent even for day trippers which was reassuring and the staff were wonderful and obviously used to dealing with young children. Esther and William thought it was all very exciting. When waiting to board we watched mini fork lifts loading boxes on to the boat which William loved.

As we made our way on to the ship you could not help but be impressed. The sheer size of the ship is breathtaking.

Once on board we had to walk past grand staircases, mirrors and chandeliers. I kept thinking of the grandeur and glamour of Titanic.

We rode in glass elevators. It was stunning and felt very grand. Esther and William were taking everything in. They loved the lifts with lights in the bottom. They also loved all the bridges and stairs. They are really very easily pleased. So when we were taken to an adventure area just for them they really could not believe their eyes.

To start our day with Royal Caribbean Esther and William had the chance to be Aquanauts!

The children were shown how to use digital cameras and were then sent off to the explore the children’s area to find little animal toys and take photographs of them. The Aquanauts area was lovely. It had an art area, an IT area, soft play and a boat to climb into with a slide. Esther and I also visited the nursery which was lovely with toys that looked clean and well looked after. The nappy changing area was wonderful. Spotlessly clean and comfortable for adults and children. The little things had been thought of like little light shows for the children to watch if they are fractious during a nappy change. Little ones were definitely planned for on board.

After our Aquanaut exploration it was time for some water play in the H2O Zone.

This I thought would be our highlight of the day. And the children did love it. There was an incredibly warm baby paddling pool with a box of water toys to be enjoyed. There was a fun splash pool with sprinklers and fountains.

There was a small swimming pool and a children’s hot tub. Esther and William love a hot tub and so this was a huge hit and the one thing that Esther and William kept asking to go back to. We were so blessed with the weather. It was a glorious day for messing about in the water. And so we did!

After our water play we went to a cup cake decorating workshop which we all really enjoyed. Daddy and William worked together and I had Esther. It was nice to do things that way round as most often I am with William. Daddy and William did a far better job than Esther and I but we all thoroughly enjoyed the activity, and Esther and William loved eating the cake!

After all the excitement of splashing and the magic of turning cakes into burgers it was time for some refreshment and respite from the heat of the day as we watched an ice dance show. This it turns out would be Esther and William’s highlight of the day. They absolutely loved it! They were totally engrossed in the show, their eyes never leaving the dancers and they talked about it and relived it incessantly for days afterwards. William especially just loved the ice dancing. Daddy loved the rum punch!

And me? I loved the stars. Beautiful pink stars on the ice. A sign from Tilda? I shed silent tears for my daughter in the darkness. Tilda is with us everywhere.

After the show ended it was time for lunch in the main restaurant. It was very posh with a grand staircase and beautiful chandelier. But it was comfortable too and informal enough for William to play with his cars on the floor and for the children to have their lunches accompanied by ketchup faces.

The staff were wonderful, the food was delicious and William was beside himself when he got to meet The Captain, ‘the man who drives the boat!’

The Captain was a lovely man and had so many tales to tell. Our table was next to the lovely Sally Gunnel and her family. Sally is an ambassador for Royal Caribbean and it was lovely to talk to her about cruising with children. I hope one day my children will get the chance though Daddy is still going to need a lot of convincing.

After lunch we had some free time to explore the ship. We went up to see the Flow Rider which just looks like so much fun. We then had a walk around the deck looking at the climbing wall and the different swimming pools. Esther and William wanted to race round the running track and William mentioned more than once how perfect it would be for trains!

It was really very hot and there was a really nice atmosphere as people were busy boarding and exploring the ship, settling in ready for their departure. People were enjoying drinks and ice creams and admiring the enormity of the vessel they would be spending the next week or so on. I have to admit to feeling really rather jealous. A week alone on a cruise ship has a real appeal right now. But I think I would have my three year olds clambering to join me and jumping straight into the pool!

As a family I can imagine cruising around the Greek Islands. David and I have always talked about sailing around the Greek Islands in a small boat. I spent some time in Cyprus as a child and would love to visit the Greek Islands.

The Independence of the Seas really caters for families with facilities and activities on board. We did not see any accommodation which was a shame. I would like to see what the cabins are like before going on a cruise. I would not want to share a room with my children for a week.

Esther and William would like to cruise though I think. On our day trip they loved the pool, they liked exploring the children’s activity centre, they liked decorating their cupcakes and eating them! They loved the ice show, they were incredibly well behaved during lunch and most of all they loved the lifts and the stairs and the bridges. They could easily spend a week exploring those!

This was a whirlwind tour, a taster, a tease. David and I chatted all the way home. Would we, wouldn’t we?

To be honest for us the jury is still out. Perhaps because our children are so very young. The one thing that truly tempts me though is cruising to the Northern Lights. I know I would feel close to Tilda there and that would be a journey worth making.

Esther and William I am sure would get back on the boat tomorrow and happily drift out to sea.

William would very much like to see where The Captain does the driving before training to be an ice dancer. Esther wants to relax in the children’s hot tub after decorating a beautiful cupcake!

We had a wonderful day, a taste of life at sea, a glance at how it might feel to go on a cruise and how it could work for a family like ours.

I felt very privileged being a Royal Mum for the day and so grateful to Karin for inviting us and for Royal Caribbean for making us feel so welcome.

What a wonderful way to escape from it all!

Just for one day x

We were guests on board Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas for one day. I was not asked to write this post and all views are honest and my own.