Cruise Review is Finally Here!

*Warning* This post is EXTREMEMLY LONG! Maybe grab a snack or something ‘cause this may take awhile!:)

What can I say other than we had the most AMAZING time on our cruise of the Mediterranean! I’m not even sure where to begin! I guess Day 1 it is.

Day 1: Cody and I awoke early Tuesday morning (7/8) to do last minute packing, errands, and double-check to make sure we didn’t forget anything. Our super cool manager picked us up around 9:30 a.m. to drive us to the airport. We made a stop at JCPenny on the way to have them remove a security tag from a sundress I had just purchased the day before. I don’t think a big WARNING pin on my right hip would have been so cute. Well we made it to the airport around 10:30 a.m. We checked in our bags together and then found our boarding gate. We were plenty early so we just played card games until they called us. Well once our flight was called, it didn’t take long for us all to board. They were only a total of fifty seats on the plane! We were on row 11 of 13! Cody’s head practically hit the ceiling as we walked down the isle. Haha. Well the flight to New York took just under 2 hours. We basically played two games of Skip-o, enjoyed peanuts and a beverage, and we were there! Once we were in the JFK airport, we tracked down Casey and Dad C. to grab a bite to eat before our plane took off to Rome. (They were taking a charter flight and Mom C, Derek, and Tay’s flight didn’t come into New York for another hour.) We enjoyed some yummy pizza (a little preview of Italy) and then took the air train thing back to our terminal. So we get in line for our security/passport check and it turns out we have to get an official boarding pass for Alitalia…our Delta ticket from SLC just wouldn’t do. So we run back to the ticket booth and the first thing they say to us is, “Where have you been?” We were a little shocked…we thought we still had 30-40 minutes. Okay…so we were pushing it a little. The Alitalia representatives scrambled to get our boarding passes, called a personal escort, and the next thing we knew we were sprinting through the airport, a few feet behind our escort, racing to catch our plane! It was craziness! I felt like we were in a movie or something. Well we were the last of the last to get on our plane and once we found our way to the back of the plane, we found our seats were already occupied. So then we’re checking seat numbers with those who were in our seats, and the flight attendant gets all huffy because the plane is about to take off (we actually took off 20 min. early). She asks us to sit on the other side, has the people in our seats move to the front and leaves our actual seats vacant. Not sure why…but it didn’t matter to us where we sat. Well, let me just tell ya…8.5 hours in a plane is not the most glorious of experiences. Our time, we were flying from 3:45 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Rome time, we were flying from 9:45 p.m. to 6:15 a.m. So we really wanted to get some sleep, considering it would be time to start a new day once we arrived. I think we would be stretching it to say we got an hour of sleep. Haha. Well after card games, a movie or two, and lots of shifting of weight in our seats, we finally arrived in ITALY!!!

Day 2: Our flight made great time; it was actually 5:45 a.m. when we arrived. So we make our way to baggage claim and patiently wait for our luggage. We found Cody’s bag super quick and then waited… and waited… and waited… and waited… and WAITED for mine. I got tired and found a bench while Cody made a few rounds to other baggage claims. We looked a little more and the knowledge that my luggage may have never made it on our plane at all began to sink in. We made our way to Alitalia Flight Services and reported the missing bag. I was a bit worried but figured it would turn up soon. Well, considering we were going to be at sea the majority of the trip, it was deemed impossible for the airport to deliver my bag once it arrived. We had two choices: 1) Chase down my bag and have no guarantee from Holland America (our cruise line) that it would be tracked down or 2) Go on the cruise with the clothes on my back and one extra outfit in my carry-on and have the guarantee from Holland America to get my luggage back on July 16, the day we head home. WHAT IS A POOR GIRL TO DO?!? We decided it’s better to get the bag back then not at all! Plus, it would be the biggest headache trying to communicate with Alitalia who only speaks Italian and make a plan of where to meet at one of our stops. So there I was, on the most luxurious adventure of a life time, with nothing but our documents, chapstick, cell phone, sunglasses, card games, lotion, and the clothes on my back plus one in the carry-on. Just lovely. But hey, at least I had all of our irreplaceable documents and such. That was definitely a blessing! Through out the day I just kept thinking…“What can I learn from this? There must be something I need to learn!” Well the day didn’t end up so bad. Things cheered up pretty quick! We had a great time exploring the ship, going through the ‘Lost & Found’ clothes left by prior guests (all cleaned and pressed of coarse), had a mini-fashion show of all the little things we found, competed in a Cutler ring-toss tournament, devoured the beautiful buffets of never-ending food, and stayed up until 3 a.m. playing Phase 10! For those of you who are familiar with the game…it can last FOREVER! And though I tried to persuade them, those Cutlers just won’t quit! I was pretty much done around phase 7, but they pushed me to move on after Derek fought me with the pillows and then I finally lost my feat after I banged my head hard into Tay’s bed hanging from the ceiling. So I pulled through (along with Cody) all the way to Phase 10. The other’s were close behind at Phase 9. Then…get this! The second Cody laid down his cards, everyone threw their hand down and left! Can you believe it! They knew they had lost, but I still had a chance to also lay down my cards and steal the game from Cody! Those stinkers didn’t even give me a chance when I was the one that almost quit 3 phases earlier! Can you believe it?!?:) Tee hee. I just love ‘em.

Day 3: I finally changed out of my flight attire and pulled out my one little spare outfit. It felt great! Our first stop was in Taormina. We took this day to explore the city on our own as a family. The city was so darling! It looked medieval in character and had several little shops, narrow cobblestone streets, fountains, and the cutest stair ways covered in plants going up in between buildings. We visited the Greco-Roman Theatre ruins and enjoyed the views of Mt. Etna and the sea. BEAUTIFUL! On our way back to the shuttle we stopped at a shop to buy a swimsuit for me so we could all go to the beach. Not the best of swimsuits…but it worked! Those poor Cutler boys…they were so great trying to help me pick one out. Tay found some cute board shorts for me and lent me her tank top so it didn’t really matter what the swimsuit looked like anyway!:) Well, the beach was soooo fun! First thing we did when we got off the fairy, was jump in right at the dock. It was Casey’s first touch of water since his mission and he was gitty! Those boys were super brave to jump off the wall near the dock. Tay and I were spazzing because we wanted to do it but were stinkin’ nervous! I finally got all the guts I could bare and sprinted from 15 feet behind the boys and just went for it! I even forgot to take off my sunglasses that were just propped on my head. I got to the surface and luckily they were still there! I attempted to chuck them up to Cody but it hit the top of the wall and came right back down into the water! I thought I had lost them for sure when a little Italian boy dove in and found them! He saved the day! I scratched up my elbow pretty bad from the rocks, but it was so worth it! Well we eventually made it to the beach after walking past all the “must pay $” beaches. The one we found was kind of dirty and the water was full of trash, but hey…we found a free beach! We had a bunch of sand throwing wars, took turns flippin’ everyone out of the water, had a “octopus” scare when Dad C. started chucking a plastic bag around he found in the water, and then we coaxed Mom C. into getting in the water for a bit. It was a blast! We got back to the ship, showered, dressed for dinner (same outfit for me;) and then enjoyed the comedian show.

Day 4: Mom C. was a huge life saver and spared me an outfit for the day. Not to bore you with what I wore each day…but it was quite the task ya know. Second stop was in Malta. The family got up early to tour the city while Cody and I decided to stay back to get some extra sleep and explore the ship without all the crowds. We also got word from the airport that my luggage had been found! Halleluiah! I probably got overly excited and wanted to do everything we could do get the luggage to the ship. Cody and I spent 2 hours on the phone with the airport trying to coordinate a place to meet up. However, they didn’t have any flights going out the next day to Dubrovnik, Croatia and we were going to be at sea all day Sunday. We figured if I can make it to Monday, then I can make it to Wednesday. So that’s when I finally had closure on the whole “hope for reuniting with my bag before our last day” thing. If felt good to just put it all behind us and make the best of our sweet cruise. Maybe I making it sound overly dramatic, but it kind of was dramatic ya know? Haha, anyway…the family rejoined us on the ship and Casey wanted to get a little sun so we headed to the top deck and played….what else? PHASE 10! This was just too hilarious. Mom and Dad C. joined us this time around and I’m not so sure Dad enjoyed it at all. He’s so funny. We tried to help him each play, but I think he just gave up towards the end. We got through about half the phases and then decided to dress for dinner. That night we decided to go all fancy. So with a combination of Mom and Tay’s clothes…we made it happen. After dinner we took a stroll around the entire deck and checked out some of the pictures the cruise ship had shot of our family. Later that night they had a Dessert Extravaganza! Oh boy, was it an extravaganza! We’re talking giant chocolate castles, ice sculptures, white chocolate swans, fondue fountains, and every dessert you could possibly imagine! It was OUTRAGEOUS! Check out the pictures on this one for sure.

*Days 1-4 Pics*

Note: If you’re wondering why we are holding up USU bags in a bunch of the pictures…we are entering into a contest in the Fall of what we did on our summer vacation. We’re entering in pictures of what we did (holding up the bag) and can win up to $500! Which one do you think has a shot?

Day 5: Dubrovnik, Croatia! We’re talking a whole new country folks! I LOVED THIS CITY! Cody and I signed up for a day of kayaking and snorkeling. What can I say? It was bliss! Cody and I shared a kayak. He covered the back and I took the front seat. We were a team through and through. That’s the only way to control one of those things! We had a water proof camera and went nuts! We kayaked to this little inland and had some lunch. Then it was snorkel time! Oh boy, was Cody gitty! He LOVED it! It was my first time so it took a little bit to get used to breathing only through my mouth through a little tube. Cody was a pro! He would swim to the bottom and join all the little fishies! I headed back to the shore just as the group was wrapping things up. I turned back and Cody had swam way far off. I could just see his little tube sticking out of the water. The guides were ready to go and no one could seem to get Cody’s attention. Within a minute or so, the whole group was whistling and calling his name. Haha…I just had to giggle at my cute fishy hubby. Well eventually Cody heard the whistling and we were back on our kayaks. The water was perfect and the sun was starting to go down. Later, we met back up with the family and walked the great wall around the perimeter of Dubrovnik. It felt like we were in the “Lady and the Tramp” movie….little alley ways, clothes lines from every angle, little cafés and shops, etc. Now keep in mind, I had come to grips with not retrieving my luggage until are departure day….which means, the JFK airport would reimburse me $100 per day for clothes purchased. This is approximately 59 Euros. Not bad. So what did we do?!? We went SHOPPING! Cody and I didn’t have a lot of luck at first. Everything was either way too expensive or just not really something I could see myself wearing long-term. But then we hit the jack pot! Great prices and super cute clothes all at one store! We got a skirt, a bunch of shirts, tennis shoes, and socks. And hey…I found out my shoe size is 38 in Croatia sizes!:) Who gets to figure that out in a lifetime? We also began our mug collection in Dubrovnik. We’ve been trying to decide on something to collect on all of our adventures since our honeymoon, and we finally settled on mugs! We ended up with a total of four by the end of the trip: Dubrovnik, Naples/Pompeii, Pisa, and New York! We still need to collect one from Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, Tennessee, Cancun, and Tijuana to catch up. Well, we got back to the ship pretty late that night. I loved the look of the ships and huge sail boats resting just off the shore all lit up. It was beautiful! We got back just in time to catch the last half hour of the BBQ on deck. Everything looked so good, you just wanted a little bit of everything! After dinner, the boys (Cody, Casey, and Der) played basketball on the highest deck with a bunch of the servers from the ship. They had a blast! The guys were super funny and it was fun to see them out of their “server character.” Mom, Dad, and I were the cheerleaders on the side line. We rooted for both teams though ‘cause there was always at least one Cutler on each team, haha.

Day 6: The ship was at sea all day on Sunday. Because our rooms were so dark it was easy to all sleep in ‘til about 3 pm! Once we finally woke up, we had some lunch by the pool as a family. Tay and I decided to brake off from the family for a few hours, get some sun on the observation deck, and have some sista talk. That girl is growing up so stinkin’ fast! I love her to death. Well after a while the family tracked us down and surprised us with some fruity drinks. They were so yummy! Then, if you can believe it…it was already time to dress for dinner. Prior to dinner, we all met in Mom and Dad’s room and had a family devotional. Casey, Cody and I spoke and Mom and Dad shared some thoughts also. Our discussion went from preparing to enter the temple, righteous marriage, work ethic, and obedience. It was great to take some time to recognize the Sabbath.

*Days 5-6 Pics*

Day 7: Naples, Italy! We took a tour in the ruins of Pompeii. It was incredible! It was perfectly preserved since the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD. They have recovered about two thirds of the city and are still working on the last third. We saw baths, theatres, temples, markets, etc. Some artwork still showed its radiant color…amazing! After the tour, we stopped to shop for some souvenirs in the little market. We got another mug, a bracelet and necklace for me, and an Italia zip-up sweater for Cody. We didn’t do so well with the bartering down on our first item, but with everything else we totally rocked it! When the tour bus dropped us off, some of the workers from the cruise ship had a stand set up with cookies, lemonade, water, spray bottles and wet wash cloths to cool us down. They were so great. I seriously loved all the workers. They were so cheerful and helpful in every way. We had our pillows fluffed twice a day and chocolates waiting for us every night. Sometimes they would even leave a bowl of fruit and bring us breakfast in bed when we requested it. Talk about being pampered!:) Well after we cooled down a bit, we headed to a quaint little Italian café where Mom and Dad C. treated us to the most fresh pizza I’ve ever tasted! I loved it! Later that day the family went swimming and tried to get a tan. It was hilarious with the whole family lined up with towels over our heads to keep the sun out of our eyes (check out the picture;).

Day 8: Lucca and Pisa! We took a guided tour of Lucca which kind of got a little boring so Der, Tay, Cody and I broke off and did some exploring on our own. We took some pictures of Italian street performers and checked out some of the shops. (Check out the picture…the saxophonist was seriously like “What???” when I asked him (in English) to hold up the USU bag…haha:) We met back up with the group and took off to Pisa! It was exactly what we expected…a leaning tower. It was way cool to see it in person though! There was also a hospital, baptistery, and cathedral. Cody picked up a new tie on our way out for just 5 Euros and then we headed to the ship. That night, after we packed our bags, we had another gourmet barbeque by the pool and then we watched “The Debaters” in the movie theater. It was an intense but way good movie. We were so hooked to the show we couldn’t motivate ourselves to go back to our rooms and get our luggage ready for pick up…not that I really had any, tee hee. We got our bags all set just in time and spent our last night searching for Der. No one had seen him since before dinner. We assumed he probably just made some friends, but Cody is a caring and protective older brother and just wanted to make sure he was okay. We made a few rounds around each floor of the ship and eventually just waited in our stateroom for him to return. We were glad when he returned within the half hourJ Even after being on the ship for a week, we still discovered a bunch of new rooms during our search. Who would have ever thought a ship could be so big?!?

Day 9: It wasn’t easy saying our goodbyes to a spectacular time on a luxurious cruise ship. We enjoyed our last breakfast and then waited for them to call our number to catch our bus to the airport. Once we arrived at the airport, it was time to reunite with my luggage! Yeah! An escort took me to Alitalia’s service desk, then to a storage room to identify my bag. We found it on the back wall. I was so relieved to find it with nothing missing! We had a lotion spill, but it wasn’t bad at all. I was so excited to be reunited with my bag, I gave it a big bear hug!:) The flight home went really well. Cody snoozed the whole time…I was really happy for him because he has a really hard time sleeping in such a cramped place. This was my first flight where each passenger had individual T.V. screens to play games, listen to music, and pick their own movies. It was great! Tay and I played a bunch of card games which made the time go by pretty quick. In New York, we met up with Dad and Casey, said our goodbyes, and then Derek, Cody and I went one way and the rest of the family went another. Derek flew home with us to Columbus to sell pest control for the rest of the summer. The flight from New York to Ohio was seriously so quick! Our itinerary said it would take just under two hours and we were there in 45 minutes! We were hallin! It was a bumpy ride, but at least we got home sooner!:) That night we all went grocery shopping and picked out a bunch of “Derebear food.” We came home and crashed! We were exhausted. It was 4 a.m. Rome time.

*Days 7-9 Pics*

So what was the lesson I needed to learn from losing my luggage??? It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing, if you have make-up on or not, what products/appliances you use in your hair, you can always, always, ALWAYS have fun!!! It’s amazing what you can live without!

Here are a few advantages to losing your luggage:

1. Free express laundry service while on board.
2. Complimentary toiletries from Holland America.
3. No dirty laundry to do when home.
4. Find out Croatian shoe size.
5. Italian clothes!

Since we’ve been home, Casey has joined us to also sell pest control. We’re having a blast and love being together as family. We had such a great time meeting Casey in Pennsylvania prior to our vacation. You could tell he was an incredible missionary, worked hard, and everyone just loved him. He bore a strong testimony that really invited the Spirit. He and Cody sounded great on their duet. They have a beautiful blend. It was definitely an emotional night, especially for Casey. We are grateful for the opportunity we had to be there with him.

Well folks, if any of you actually finished this entire blog post...word for word...I am SHOCKED and UTTERLY IMPRESSED! Way to go! Loves to each of you!

C&C