Cruising Through The Caribbean

One of Collin's favorite things to do in the entire world is go on a cruise vacation. He and his family have been cruising for years and years and it's their favorite kind of vacation. There's never ending activities to do on the ship, the workers are so fun to meet and the best part, if you don't buy the internet package, you get to disconnect for an entire week!

I had never been on a cruise until meeting Collin and I love cruising, too! I'm not obsessed like him and his family, but I enjoy it! We just went on a 7 day trip to the Caribbean and we had such a great time! We went to three ports that were so relaxing!

sunglasses + collin's sunglasses

Our first stop was Labadee, Haiti. Labadee is a small portion of the island of Haiti that is owned by Royal Caribbean. It's all inclusive, except for extra excursions. This was our second time visiting this island and it was just as fun as the first time! We typically go to a small beach that is in a little cove. It's perfect because there are tons of beach chairs, close to food/drinks and your view is a cruise ship and a hillside that is filled with beautiful greenery.

One of our favorite excursions that we've done on Labadee is the aqua park. In the ocean, there are trampolines, slides, balance beams and so many other fun activities to play on. They give you a time slot and you have an hour of unlimited fun. I did it on our last cruise, but I couldn't do it this time because I was pregnant. It's definitely something I'll do again in the future! This time Collin, his parents and his cousin ended the day with a zip line. They drove up to the top of a mountain and zip lined all the way from the top of the mountain, across the ocean and ended on a beautiful beach. There are two options, a sitting and one where you lay on your belly, and they chose to lay on their bellies. They said it was an amazing experience and they're glad they did it! They probably won't do it agin, but it's worth it to do it one time! What I love about Labadee is that all the workers from the ship actually work on the island for the day. We ran into our waiter while sitting in the dining area and we were able to chat with him and get to know him a little better. It's definitely an island vibe on Labadee, but it still feels very quaint and personable.

my bathing suit + beach pants + cheetah beach bag + collin's white tennis shoes

The next stop we made was in St. Thomas. This is a beautiful US Virgin Island. It was so beautiful with all the trees and the teal water. On this island, we started our day by snorkeling! We hopped on a catamaran (our favorite kind of boat) and we set sail to a smaller island about 45 minutes away from the ship. We ended up in a little cove that was filled with fish, an octopus, barracudas, turtles and so much coral! I could be under water all day. It's so beautiful to see all new creatures and how they live in their own world. We rented snorkel gear and they give you about an hour to explore. Fastest hour ever! It was such a fun and easy excursion and it was so easy to book through the ship. We were finished pretty early with this excursion because it started early, so we had time to explore other parts of the island. We drove to Meghan's Bay, which is about a 15 minute taxi ride. They drive on opposite sides of the road, so that was...interesting...but we made it and had such a relaxing day laying on the beach and soaking in the blue water. There were more turtles and so many more fish. At Meghan's Bay there is a snack bar and a drink bar, so you never go without! After a bit we headed back towards the ship to do some shopping. There are tons of jewelry stores, so if you're on the hunt for something special, this is the place to get it! We got a couple t-shirts and some goodies for our family back at home and our favorite dog sitter and then we hopped back on the ship. It was a perfect day in St. Thomas!

Our last stop was Perfect Day and Coco Cay. This island is also owned by Royal Caribbean. They turned the whole island into a big play area, splash pad, entertainment space by adding a water park, cabanas on the beach and so many pools and bars. This is one of our favorite places to visit. Since Royal Caribbean owns it, the drinks and food are all inclusive. You can upgrade by purchasing a cabana, a ticket to the adult pool and other fun areas, but if you just want to find a spot by the pool and relax for the day, it's totally doable. We went with lots friends and they rented a cabana. We visited them and it was amazing! It was beach front and they don't let anyone on the beach in front of you so you don't have an obstructed view. You have your own private waitress, you get unlimited waters, there's a private food menu and a floating dock with a bar on it. It was beautiful and provided shade for when it got really hot, but a cabana comes at a price. Most everything goes on sale at some point, so make sure to look out for that! The boys all decided to go to the water park. I had originally purchased a ticket to the water park, but had to cancel that too because of baby boy. I've been to the waterpark before and it's a blast! They have so many slides, obstacle courses, a wave pool and even spots for the littles. If you're bored at Perfect Day, you're doing it wrong!

Our other four days of vacation were ship days! There is so much to do on the ship. You can wake up and hit the gym and grab a smoothie, you can grab some chairs by the pool, play in a pickle ball or dodge ball tournament, ride the zip line, buggy board on the flow rider, watch shows in the theatre, go to comedy shows, sing in karaoke. I mean really, you can't run out of activities on the ship. We love cruising and it's because you get so much bang for your buck! It's perfect if you're doing an adults only trip or if you bring all your kiddos with you! We've done big and small groups and it's perfect both ways!

We were sad that it came to an end! Typically when on board, Collin and I book our next trip for the next year, but this time was different because we'll have our little babe with us and they can't go until they're six months old. We like to cruise early in the year before it gets too hot, so next year we'll skip a cruise, but Collin will book one as soon as baby is old enough! We only sail with Royal Caribbean and we can't recommend them enough. They are such an amazing cruise line and we happily refer anyone and everyone to them. We also recruit a lot of people to join in soon the fun with us!