Bobby and Nelly Go on a Cruise

After their adventures in Copenhagen, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly went on a cruise to Norway with Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich. A cruise is a vacation where you stay on a big ship and go to different places. At each place, you can get off the ship and explore. When you’re done exploring, you get back on the ship and the next day the cruise ship is in a different place to explore. It’s sort of like a big floating hotel that goes to different places.

The cruise ship that Flat Bobby, Flat Nelly, Aunt Davia, and Uncle Rich went on is called the MSC Grandiosa. MSC is the name of the company that organizes the cruise. MSC is one of many cruise lines in the world. The MSC Grandiosa is huge! It is one of the biggest ships in the world and is over 1,000 feet long! That’s more than 25 school buses lined up one after the other. It has 19 floors and is more than 200 feet tall.

The MSC Grandiosa is quite a piece of ship!

Thousands of people can travel on this ship at one time. Over 4,500 people are on vacation on this cruise ship along with Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly. In addition to the passengers, there are also many workers on the ship who do everything to keep the passengers happy like the chefs that cook the food, the attendants that clean the rooms, the officers that steer the ship, and the engineers that ensure the engines are working properly. On a ship, the workers are called the “crew.” With over 1,500 crew onboard combined with the 4,500 passengers that means there are over 6,000 people on this ship at one time. It’s like a small city.

One of the 1,500 crew members on this ship prepared this french onion soup. It tasted great, but Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly thought it looked like what might happen if you don’t flush the toilet

There are pools and lounge chairs in which people can relax and read a book or take a nap. Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly had a lot of fun exploring the ship and finding different ways to relax.

Flat Nelly reads a book on her Kindle and relaxes on a lounge chair with the Norwegian scenery in the background while Flat Bobby reads The New York Times

There are also lots of stores and shops on the ship. This way if you want to get a souvenir for someone or if you need an extra shirt or forgot to bring toothpaste, you can buy it (and the cruise line gets even more money in addition to what you paid to get on the cruise in the first place).

The shopping area has lots of stores and it even has a fancy screen on the ceiling that shows moving colors and images

There are also lots of interesting things on the ship that serve no practical purpose but are just fun to see and look at.

This is a fancy, sparkly staircase on the ship to help people who spent a lot of money to go on the cruise feel special

On thing that everyone does on the ship is eat! There is a ton of different food to choose from and it’s all included with the price you pay to go on the cruise. You can eat as much as you want and there’s no limit, which can make it quite a challenge to stay healthy while you’re on the cruise.

This is where Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly sat in the dining room. They had a great view out the aft of the ship. The “aft” is a special word that means the rear end of the ship. Learning all the specific words about ships can be a real pain in the aft.
You can even order room service any time of day! Room service is when you have fresh food delivered straight to your hotel room so you don’t even have to get out of bed. MSC is an Italian cruise line, so it was not a big surprise when Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly discovered that their pizza is widely regarded as the best pizza in the cruise industry.
Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly also enjoyed afternoon tea, where they got to enjoy different types of teas from around the world in addition to small cakes and snacks such as scones.

After learning some of the basics about being on a cruise ship, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly begged Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich to let them explore by themselves. Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich were not sure if that was a good idea. After all, they’re flat children!

Eventually, Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich told Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly that they could explore the ship on their own if they followed three basic rules:

  1. No swimming without an adult
  2. No gambling in the casino
  3. Make sure to read all the signs and don’t break any rules

Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly quickly agreed to the rules. But before they left, there was on thing they asked of Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich.

Can we have some money?

– Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly

Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly asked Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich for some cash because they said they wanted to buy some gifts for Fleshy Bobby and Fleshy Nelly. Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich agreed. Because they visited three different countries during their vacation and each of those countries used different kinds of money (called currencies) Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich gave them three different types of money. The cruise ship visits places all over the world and is used to accepting different types of money.

Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich gave Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly money from three different countries: Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. All three countries use the word “kroner” where us Americans would say “dollars,” and each of the three countries has a different version of the kroner.

With their hard-earned cash, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly set off to find some adventure. How do you think it will go for them? Do you think they’ll be okay? Do you think they’ll follow the three rules? Keeping reading below to find out…

Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly Go to Jail

Things started out innocently enough. First, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly decided to find some souvenirs for Fleshy Bobby and Fleshy Nelly.

Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly made a stop at the candy store where they sell fancy, overpriced chocolate. I wonder if they bought anything there 🤔

After some shopping, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly went up to the pool deck where they made their first mistake. They saw the hot tub and could not resist going in, even though they did not have an adult with them and hot tubs are for adults only.

Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly went in the hot tub even though they were not supposed to

Although the hot tub felt nice, without proper adult supervision, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly stayed in the hot tub too long and became uncomfortably hot. They were so hot they began to feel sick and did not know what to do. They broke rule number one! Luckily, they found a solution to help them cool down.

This trough of ice near the bar is usually used to keep bottled beverages cold, but Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly used it to cool off after they overheated in the hot tub

After they started to feel better, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly realized they were right by the casino. A casino is a place where people can gamble. Gambling is when you risk money you have in the hopes that you win even more money. Sometimes you win more money, but most of the time you lose all of your money.

After gambling at the casino, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly have now broken rule number two! Even though they won some money, children are not allowed to gamble — especially flat children.

Feeling elated from winning in the casino, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly decided to push their luck even further. They saw a door with a sign on the front of it that said “CREW ONLY” and wondered what might be behind that door.

Curiosity got the better of Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly, and they had to see what was behind the forbidden door

Lo and behold, behind the door there was the steering wheel! The steering wheel for a ship is called the “helm.” Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly took turns at the helm, steering the ship.

Unfortunately, the Captain of the MSC Grandiosa and the rest of the crew realized the ship had gone off course. When they went to the steering wheel they noticed two unidentified flat children at the helm. Even though the door clearly said “CREW ONLY,” Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly went through the door anyway and took command of the ship. They broke the third and final rule. In fact, they had broken all the rules.

There is a special place on a ship for people who break the rules. It is called the “brig.” The brig is a jail that is located on a ship. Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly were sent to the brig for breaking all of the rules.

Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly were sent to the brig

Eventually, Aunt Davia and Uncle Rich heard that Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly had gotten into trouble. Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly promised they would never break any rules again. They must have been quite convincing, as the Captain took them at their word and let them free.

With the relief of their newfound freedom fresh in their minds, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly decided they would never break the rules again. However, they still had the money they had won from the casino and decided to do some more shopping before bed.

Even though they had broken they rules, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly decided they might as well spend the money they had won. Maybe there will be something in store for Fleshy Bobby and Fleshy Nelly when they get home.

After their troublesome first day on the cruise ship, Flat Bobby and Flat Nelly were looking forward to seeing what Norway looks like, since that’s where the ship was headed.

1 Comment

  1. Love, love, love Flat Nelly and Flat Bobby adventures. So happy they got out of the brig. Did they ever see a fiord?
    Safe travels home.
    We miss you
    Grandma xox

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