School is out. That means it's time for vacations! We have learned to take our big family vacation right after school is out so it doesn't interfere with other trips and camps we have planned later in the summer.
We took a 4 night cruise on Royal Caribbean to the Bahamas. We had two ports (Nassau and Coco Cay, Royal's private island) and one day at sea.
Our room was a Junior Suite that sleeps 6. We had a King bed, a sofa bed (double/Queen-sized) and twin bunks. It was spacious with lots of room for storage. It would have been perfect if it had two bathrooms, but you can't win them all.
Our first day was at sea, so we tried out the pool and the unlimited soft serve ice cream. The weather was beautiful as we sailed to our first destination. My son loved the kiddie water slides. He was a little too small for the big water slides on the upper decks, but my teens loved those! I enjoyed relaxing with a Lava Flow while the kids swam and played in the water.
Dinner was in the dining room each night at 5:30pm. We had awesome servers who took care of us each night. With the dining room meals included, our kids had the freedom to try new dishes. Two of my girls (and I!) even tried escargot.
After dinner, we would find an activity to participate in. We loved the trivia competitions (80's songs and movie tunes were especially fun). There were also a few game shows and, of course, karaoke. When the activity was over, we would head to the pizza shop for some midnight snacks. We even stopped into the candy shop for a treat now and then.
My favorite part? All 6 of us snuggled into one room each night while we chatted about the day's adventures. We were unplugged and loved spending that time together. Of course, there were fights when we all came back sandy and wet from our day on shore and everyone wanted to shower at the same time! But it was the price to pay for togetherness.
As we walked off the ship on our last day, my son asked when we would go on a cruise again. Honestly, I'm excited to go back and try another! Of course, no vacation is perfect. There are pros and cons to each method of travel.
Here's what I loved about the cruise:
-Meals were totally taken care of. I didn't have to do dishes. I didn't have to go to different restaurants to satisfy everyone. Because food was included, we didn't have to worry if the kids wanted to try new things or didn't eat it all.
-Quality time. We spent a lot of time together. Being on the cruise (without phones!) kind of forced us to spend that time together and we remember how much we enjoy that.
-Safety. We felt comfortable letting our teens explore the ship on their own. Of course they had to stay together (buddy system in full effect!), but they loved having that freedom and independence.
-Service. Every employee we encountered was wonderful and so helpful. There were several crew members that helped my husband with limited mobility, from helping him get to his seat, to assisting him on the gangplank, to helping him get food at the buffet. Our stateroom attendant had unlimited energy and she cheerfully greeted us every single morning. It feels really nice to be taken care of like that.
Here's what is hard about a cruise:
-The casino. We don't gamble and the casino is in the center of the ship. It is pretty big! It was annoying to have it be such a central part of the ship and even have to walk through it a few times to get to our destination.
-Internet. Because we didn't pay extra for our kids to have internet on their phones (some cruise lines do include this, though), we weren't able to get a hold of them as easily.
-Crowds. At some of the more popular activities and especially the pool, there were a lot more people. Our ship was a little bit older, but the newer ships (such as Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Icon of the Seas) have taken this into account and spread out the pool deck to avoid the crowding. Overall, though, we didn't really stand in line for anything on board (except for the elevators!).
Have you ever thought of taking a cruise? If you're hesitant about it, there are many shorter sailings you can take (3 and 4 nights to either Mexico or the Caribbean). If you'd like to find a cruise to fit your family's style, fill out my consultation form to set up a time with me to chat!