Our son,
Christopher, and his wife, Monica, recently took us on a cruise with their two little
ones, Diego (5) and Mia (4). This was a
Royal Caribbean Cruise, which we were on one of their cruises many years
ago. The one thing I found different was
that the gratuities were paid in advance.
I liked that. We gave a small
extra tip to our dinner servers and the room steward. That takes the pressure off everyone. As you can imagine, all the cruise workers
were very nice and helpful.
Leroy and I
had an interior room with a double or queen bed (not sure which). There was room to get around the bed on each
side. There was a love seat and desk
area along with a mini fridge. There was
a fairly large closet, room to store luggage under the bed, and the bathroom
was small but adequate.
Here
are two of the towel animals we found on our bed.
Our guy did not do this every day, but most days we found animal towels.
We had three
stops on our weeklong cruise. The first
stop was at Coco Cay, which is an island owned and operated by Royal Caribbean.
Who knew they had their own island? We spent an entire day there. There was more to the island than we
saw. But we took the kids to a splash
area, which they LOVED. Then Monica
found a beach area. Once Mia landed at
the beach that was the end of the exploring. That girl is a beach baby if there ever was
one. We all had a wonderful day
there. Very relaxing. There was food there as well, which was all
included in our package. There was also
transportation to and from the ship.
Since we were all a little tired, we took the ride back to the
ship. That was a big hit with the kids
and the adults did not mind it either.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPwgGJ32sESVNeVYK8RCq2kvpc2vLMSrtjlwwtyFreFRvA1pAjVttLoUUeDYoJbuhSFXPqlEGvKPkOzxytGcEs_P-_6j7XU3xtOTO2tbqxD0Oc63yTw4c4C0ka_i2bEnUT7whS9zSLBCuJ76O6XazRWCkUn_XKd3Ps9-SxHwlhHwmm2BJV9A_AiqTs7g/w400-h306/1st%20set%20of%20pics.jpg)
We basically
sailed a day and landed a day. There was
plenty to do aboard the ship. Swimming
at the pool, listening to music, shopping on board, working out at the gym, and just enjoying the view to name a few.
There was a kid’s program on board and Mia
and Diego had a blast going to that.
Our next
stop was Jamacia. It turned out to be a rainy
day. The four adults went onshore just
to shop at the shops. The kids went to
the kid’s club at that time. We went
early before the rain. We each got some
souvenirs. And yes, the guys found out
they paid too much for the rum, but oh well that’s how it goes. I was able to shop with Monica for her
birthday. She picked out a beautiful
pair of earrings with a matching pendant.
We got a deal on some coffee, I got a bathing suit coverup and Leroy got
a shirt.
Our last
stop was a fun one with the kids, West Bay, Cayman Islands. Our dolphin and turtle encounter. We were not allowed to take pictures of the
dolphins, but we got into a tank area with two dolphins. All six of us got to interact with the
dolphins. That was an experience. I am so glad Chris made the decision that we
should do that. Once done at the dolphin
place, we walked across the street to visit some turtles. The kids LOVED the Cayman Turtle Center. There were lots of turtles there and a
playground. We bought lunch there. Fun for all.
We were on
The Explorer of the Seas ship. There was
great food everywhere on the ship. We
had dinner together every night. Most
nights the adults went to see whatever show was playing while the kids enjoyed
the kids club. All in all, it was a
great time, as you can see from the pictures.
Memories were made.
I know that the
last picture is a little blurry. Mia moves too
much to get a non-blurry picture. She is
so funny.
If this blog
doesn’t make you want to take a cruise with your family, nothing will. I hope you enjoyed learning about our little
vacation.
Have you ever been on a Royal Caribbean Cruise or any cruise for that matter? We'd love to hear about your adventures. Comment below ↓
Until next
time.
Rhonda – The Middle Sister
🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢🚢
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