Yay! It is finally cruising day! Despite being a bit overly tired for about 3 days in a row, I had the energy to be excited about cruising for the next 3 days. I was very grateful that our friends were willing to try a cruise for their first time and it was fun showing them all of the great perks when it comes to a cruise vacation.
I have only sailed with Royal Caribbean (this was my 4th cruise with another upcoming one in May of this year), so my knowledge is limited to this particular cruise line. I am very partial to it though (Clean, friendly, interesting itineraries, plethora of activities, delicious food, consistently an enjoyable experience, etc.).
Let’s briefly talk about food (I am sure you heard, no one is ever hungry on a cruise ship)! I am pretty content always eating at the casual dining restaurant, Windjammer, where it is a buffet. There are always plenty of options, old favorites and new things to try, as well as being able to eat when I’m actually hungry (and not wait for my reservation time). With that said, I completely understand how nice it is to have other dining experiences on board such as a hibachi, pizzeria, Johnny Rockets, upscale dining, and so forth.
Our friends were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food in Windjammer and they enjoyed the many choices offered. We had “our spot” every day at the back of the ship by the windows so we could always have a view – especially of the sunset each night.
We also had a great time taking in a musical theater show on Saturday night and a pretty hilarious comedian on Sunday evening (I was truly in tears laughing at the comedy show). I tend to be a homebody in the evenings so when I am on a cruise, I am motivated to attend shows in the evening, walk the promenade, play trivia, and/or listen to music at a pub, etc. Everything is so easily accessible – Just walk up or down a couple of flights of stairs and so much entertainment is at your disposal. I’m all about convenience, comfort, and being casual – all of which a cruise ship encompasses.
This particular 3 day cruise only made one stop to their private “island”/cay in the Bahamas and then we had a full day at sea to relax after playing on Coco Cay. So, I’m going to highlight a few of the things we did on the island.
One tip is to ALWAYS leave early to get to the island (or for any event concerning a cruise for that matter). We were off the boat and heading to the island by 8:30 a.m.
We found our ideal place by the lagoon in the section called “Chill Island.” We were ideally situated by the water and a short distance to the Chill Grill restaurant, island shopping, and restrooms. Here you can rent paddle boards, floating mats, kayaks, and snorkeling gear. It was definitely a chill area – quiet and peaceful.
Our friends had rented 2 floating mats (which they loved). We played in the Caribbean water for hours (My inadvertent sunburn can attest to that!). The food was excellent at the Chill Grill and we thoroughly enjoyed our day in the sun, sand and water.
Afterwards, our friends wanted to explore the island a bit since it was their first time there. Jerry encouraged me to check out the hot air balloon ride that I said I really wanted to do but he knew I was too chicken to do it on my own. Pushing oneself out of a comfort zone is MUCH easier when someone else is with you!
There wasn’t much of a wait to ride the tethered hot air balloon and the cost was reasonable for the experience so we decided to end our day giving it a try. The balloon goes 450 feet into the air which makes it the highest point in the Bahamas. I was questioning my decision about half way up, but having Jerry with me certainly helped (He later admitted he was questioning internally if I was going to be ok as we were ascending)! Turns out, it was worth doing!
The view was spectacular and we learned and saw things we would not have, had we not ventured onto this ride. Side note, last year on this island, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to join our kids ziplining….glad I did it, but you won’t find me writing about that this time around.
While one of the best parts about cruising is being able to see other countries and cultures, this time around was mainly about introducing the cruising experience to our friends (who both agreed they would do another in the future) – So, that was a success!
Another cruising tip is if you plan to cruise the Caribbean, Jerry and I have found that January through Mid-February is ideal. The waters are calm. The weather is generally wonderful and warm (not too hot or stormy). And the crowds are typically at their lowest before Spring Break and the summer crowds hit. This was the latest we had ever cruised in the winter and we noted the uptick in crowds. We did notice though it was a very international group of passengers so perhaps last week of February is a “break” time for many other countries around the world before it is spring break time in the U.S.
Overall, showing our friends South Beach and the cruising life went as best as it could have gone (fabulous weather certainly didn’t hurt). They were already entertaining spending more time in Florida and willing to take future cruises before the trip even ended – win, win all around!
Thank you for joining me on this series. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask, I’m happy to share what I have learned with you.
I’ll be writing next about our upcoming Mediterranean Cruise in May. See you soon!!!!
Thoughtful Travels 