A Pirate's Life for Me!!

"Help me mini pirates, help me !’ cries Tinkerbell from the clutches of the evil pirate Hook. The task here for all of you to fight off the evil pirate hook in a legendary sword fight. If you win, Tinkerbell will be freed and be able to give you the next clue...

Last Friday the Anastasis was transformed into a world of sea-worn pirates, mystery and buried treasure.

We decided to take advantage of the fun it is to live on a ship and had a little fun for the young and the young at heart. Two fella's on board have a particular love for the topic of piracy and prepared a lecture- with some some history, current day events and fun questions to ponder such as: "Did pirates really walk the plank?"

At the same time, we were having a lot of fun in the Med Lounge as we were helping to create many small pirates and maidens for the night :)

Creativity abounded as we came up with things to make eye patches, swords, and parrots for all the kids. Here was my favorite. It's a mango with a beak added to make it a parrot. It's being held on Andrew's arm with a surgical mask!

After learning some pirate terminology and tips for their journey, Ben gave the kids a captivating and magical account of his grandfather's dealings with pirates... (some exaggeration perhaps ;) )

And with that, our crew of pirateers were ready for their treasure hunt.

I had the older batch of pirates, and we were ready for our hunt... Years of experience had prepared us for "such a time as this"...

Our first clue:

• Blimey pirate heroes, It’s a dark and scary adventure – a secret hiding place where the pirate leaders have secret conferences. The room is red and lined with mirrors

We knew we were heading to the Lido conference room where we had a task to complete:

• Sharp eyesight and pirate courage will be needed to find and rescue one armed crazy pirate Pete from the dungeon of never never land. Tread carefully and slowly and bring Crazy Pete into the light where your bounty - the next clue will be waiting.
  

(We had so much fun preparing the Lido conference room. EXTREME MAZE BUILDING was what it was. Using resources we have on board: blankets, different colored flashlights, chairs, tables, black construction paper and lots of string for webbing... we made a dark maze lined with red light that led to the dungeon of Crazy Pete. )

Once we made our way to Crazy Pete and rescued him, we were given our next clue:

• Okay buccaneers time for your next clue - Where is the busiest time of the ship at 6:30 am, 1 pm and 5 pm...

We were heading to the Pacific Dining Room...

• Pirates be brave, sometimes new and interesting things are discovered in bowls of goo and mush mash. Use your hands to find the hidden clue in one of the bowls…… and beware of the baby crocodiles...
  

A coin was to be found. Once we had our piece of gold, we were off to our next destination.

• There is a wise pirate who sits by a place where he cannot Pee Pee and must shower first. Go and prepare for you will use your brain, you must outwit this wise pirate before he goes insane.

(For those of you at home, one of the funny parts of the Anastasis ship is the sign that resides over the pool. It reads: Pee Pee and Shower First... Just something you need to know in order to understand this clue.)

Ahh!! We had to remember our pirate trivia and terminology to pass this next test!! Could we do it??

• Arrrrrrrr me maties, quiz time it is…
  If you can answer wise pirate Crooks tricky questions correctly then you can fish the next clue from the water.
  

We finished with no time! (I had some smart pirates on my side!)

• When the fire drill sounds, it is one place to go……. Located between hatch 2 and hatch 4. Tinkerbell is waiting to be freed but beware…. There is an evil pirate lurking ready to pounce.

Tinker! We had to go save Tinker Bell!! This was by far the best station. As I was going around with my team, I was hearing the screams and squeals from some of the younger kids.


Bowie and Andrew made these young pirates fight hard, but they proved to underestimate the will power of these little pirateers. In the end, Tinker was safe and sound... Peace was restored to Never Never land.

Our prize? Our beloved TREASURE MAP.

After some time of deciphering of the landmarks and clues... we were off... our destination?? The B deck laundry room! Someone must have buried our treasure while they were doing some laundry. Alas, the tasks we had to complete were difficult, the journey long, but in the end... worth it... (then again chocolate and candy always is!)

After a lot of hard work, we were done! The night was a hit and we all relaxed out on Aft deck to finish out the evening watching Hook. A great night for all of the families on the ship :)