Neither of our boats had refers or any other "conveniences". We survived with two kids, up to two weeks weeks on board in Fla and the Bahamas ... You will learn cooler management, anchoring and with any kind of luck at all, just how surprisingly good you and Connie are at this. We found (as we did a couple of weeks ago on the Bay) that we enjoyed reading books, improptu snoozes, and each other as people on the boat due to the "isolation" from the normal day to day routine of just living.