Swashbuckling Fun on the Bluefoot Pirate Family Adventures in Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Disclosure- We sailed for free on the Bluefoot Pirate Adventure in exchange for this review. All opinions are 100% our own.20160723_145900

AHOY MATEYS! 

Bluefoot Pirate AdventuresThere are many hidden treasures in South Florida and we recently discovered one. Last weekend my family and I went on a Bluefoot Pirate Family Adventures children’s pirate cruise around the Intercoastal in Fort Lauderdale. When you first pull up to the dock the first thing you’ll notice is the big black and yellow ship flying a pirate flag. Upon arriving at the dock children can get their face painted and don pirate gear. The face painting is included in the price of the cruise and children can borrow a pirate themed vest to wear for the duration of the cruise. Want to get even more dressed for the part of pirate? For $7.50 you can purchase a Junior Pirate Pack which includes a plastic sword, eye patch, and pink or black bandana. They also have other goodies for sale.20160723_145508 My girls are almost 11 and 13 which, in my opinion is a little past the target age range for this adventure so they were too embarrassed to get their faces painted and dress up like pirates. TWEENS! I think the experience is perfect for pirates 10 and under. My girls might not have wanted to become pirates but that didn’t stop my husband form joining in the fun and getting his face painted.
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Once we got on the ship the 1st Mate taught the little pirates the parts of the ship and some pirate speak as well as an enchanting tale of stole treasure. Meanwhile the adults got comfortable in the back of the ship while enjoying the cool breezes and the tales told by the captain of the history of many of the gorgeous houses that are passed along the voyage. It was very cloudy when we sailed so I didn’t need to put sunscreen on my girls but the kids do sit in the front of the ship where it is uncovered so make sure to bring sunscreen with you. If you get thirsty they do have water available for sale so bring a little cash with you.

My girls felt that they were too old to participate in all the pirate adventure but they both enjoyed cruising down the Intercoastal and looking at the beautiful houses and other boats along the way. I wish I had taken them on this adventure when they were younger. I know they would have really enjoyed it as much as all the young kids who were on our cruise did.


The expressions on the little faces when the “villain” Barnacle Bill sailed past us were priceless. They all got into character and were so excited to shoot the water cannons at Barnacle Bill to defeat him and get the treasure. My younger daughter stopped being a “too old tween” for a moment and had fun shooting the water cannon, too. 😉
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The 1st Mate gives a thumbs up as Barnacle Bill surrenders to the little pirates.20160723_153619Once the special key is discovered, the treasure chest is opened to reveal the booty! Each child gets a baggie of booty (plastic coins and gems) to take home with them and a certificate to remember their adventure.
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Even with my girls thinking they were too old, in the end they both admitted to having fun and we all enjoyed the cruise. As an added bonus when you go on the Bluefoot Pirate Adventure you can park by the Bahia Mar hotel for just $5 for the whole day. We took advantage of this and brought our beach gear with us. When we got off the pirate ship we were able to walk across the street and enjoy Ft. Lauderdale beach!

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Bluefoot Pirate Family Adventures also does birthday parties and they have a special coupon right now. Get $50 Off a Booked Birthday Party with Bluefoot Pirate Adventures Florida!

Make sure to grab this coupon, too- BOGO Deal for Tuesdays and Thursdays – Buy one get one 50% off!!!

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Tips and Tricks For Traveling and Cruising With Children

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cruisingWe recently took a family cruise on the Carnival Glory for my 40th birthday and along the way I came up with some tips to help you keep your sanity, especially while cruising with your children.

1. Pack a roll or two of paper towel.  They will come in handy to clean little messes, wrap fragile items when you pack to go home, and a million other uses that you’ll find while you’re in your cabin.

2. Pack a small bottle of laundry detergent.  I saved a few samples I’ve collected recently.  The ships usually have a laundry room where you can purchase detergent but it was nice having my small travel size so I could spot clean items that I needed to or hand wash a few small things and hang them to dry in the shower on the clothesline.

3. Pack a few garbage bags for your dirty clothes.  Then when you repack to go home you won’t have to put dirty clothes against your clean suitcase.

4. Pack disposable coffee cups with lids.  I love iced coffee and it was nice to be able to put my iced coffee in a disposable cup that I could take off the ship with me or even walking around the ship and not worry about it spilling.  They came in handy for my husband’s coffee and iced tea for my girls, too.  Seems silly but being able to take a drink around with a lid was great and unlike bringing our own sports bottles, etc. we didn’t have to worry about saving them.  Not very eco-friendly but we were on vacation. 😉

5. Bring a case of water with you.  I wish we had done that.  Water getting off the ship was a few dollars and we really needed cold water on each island.  I wish we had brought a case of water on the ship with us and kept some cold in our refrigerator like we had seen others do.  If you aren’t local, stop off at a CVS, Walgreens, or grocery store on your way to the pier.

Ideas for cruising or even just traveling with kids:
I bought both of my girls their own purses that were VERY roomy and had lots of compartments.  Here’s what was in each of their bags to keep them comfortable and busy on our trip.

~mini note pads
~pens
~pack of colored pencils
~crayons
~a chapter book or two
~sunglasses
~sweatshirt/sweater (yes it was hot on the islands but sometimes my girls were cold indoors)
~Mad Libs and other gaming pages
~battery operated fans
~hand sanitizer
~tissues
~small digital camera (I bought them each an inexpensive digital camera.  They cost almost the same as disposable cameras and developing and I didn’t have to worry about developing any bad pictures.)
~deck of cards
~Uno or other card games
~hair ties (I have girls!)
~hidden picture pages (I bought a Highlights Magazine hidden picture book and tore out pages for each of my girls to keep in their bags to keep them busy.  They both LOVED these.)
~mints and/or gum
~package of nuts/trail mix
~water botle
~baseball hat
~sunscreen
~a wallet (my girls liked having a few dollars of their own so they could haggle and shop in the straw markets)

YES, all of the above fit into EACH of their bags believe it or not.  Notice what wasn’t in their bags?  Electronics!  We all went ELECTRONICS FREE for the entire week and loved every minute of it.  We didn’t have to worry about charging our girls’ Kindles, Nintendo DSs, etc.  When they were “bored’, had to wait for their meals, etc. they had books to read, puzzle pages, etc. and honestly I don’t think any of us missed our electronics at all!

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