Family Cruise (minus Kevin) on Carnival Celebration

In honor of Connor's upcoming graduation, we decided to book a family cruise on Memorial Day weekend. Originally we had planned to cruise with several other families, and we thought it would be fun and different to book a weeklong cruise on a large ship out of Miami. As it turned out, the other families backed out, and unfortunately Kevin couldn't join us due to his limited vacation time. We were disappointed but we wanted to make the best of it, and we were just ready for some much needed downtime after the hectic spring (and the arduous 18-hour drive to Miami, iyknk, ha)!

For our first cruise since 2017, we had high hopes for our fun week ahead. After picking up Collin from the airport, we were excited to board the Carnival Celebration in the Miami port. It was the largest ship in their fleet, and we couldn't wait to explore the ship and enjoy the amenities. We were most looking forward to the food, with pizza and Guy's burgers high on the list, but we also were excited to cruise on such a new and expansive ship. 

We didn't waste any time in having fun onboard. Kaitlynn tackled the ropes course, and the kids competed in a mini golf tournament on our first evening. Our evening meals in the large dining room quickly became a family favorite experience, trying new meals and devouring the delectable "chocolate melting cake" that was our table's favorite dessert night after night. 

After a day at sea, our first stop of the cruise itinerary was Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos islands. We debarked from the ship and found our own transportation on a family-sized golf cart so that we could explore the island on our own pace and time. We had such a fun and relaxed day of carting around and exploring the beauty of the island. We stopped at the National Turks and Caicos museum, which was a unique and interesting spot. We also visited a local bar on the beach, where Connor enjoyed his very first beer with Collin and Jeff - chased by a Sprite to get out the taste, ha! We had the best day and capped it off with another nice family dinner followed by a pickleball tournament on the ship, where Collin and Connor were quickly bested by another couple who clearly took pickleball very serious, ha!

The next day, our stop was Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. We debarked and rented a car so that we could drive around and explore on our own. The funniest thing was that the car had built-in WiFi, and everyone was so happy to finally be connected again after days without it (WiFi aboard the ship is ridiculously expensive)! The car rental office had given us some suggestions to explore during our day in town, and we first decided to visit the Puerto Plata cable car, known locally as the Teleferico. It's an aerial tram that takes you to the top of the Isabel de Torres mountain overlooking the city. It was a beautiful day to visit, and at the top of the tram there was a botanical garden, nature reserve, gift shop and restaurant, and a mini-sized statue of Christ the Redeemer like the one in Rio de Janeiro. We really enjoyed exploring and had some fun taking photos before we left.

We loved our visit in Amber Cove, and we were excited to have a fun day at sea the next day. It was probably around this time that we noticed how unbearably crowded the ship was becoming when we tried to enjoy various activities and amenities. For example, one of our favorite meals on board was Guy Fieri's burger stand, but it seemed like no matter what time we went, there was a minimum 20-minute line to get a burger. There always seemed to be a wait no matter what - waiting for an elevator, waiting for entrance into a show, waiting for food, you name it. It also seemed like many activities required an extra charge, like the Bolt roller coaster on board the ship, and that just wasn't our speed. We were having a great time, but we decided that the big ships might not be ideal for future cruises. For our days at sea, Kaitlynn found us a nice secluded corner of the ship where we could relax and get some sun. And our family dinners were definitely one of the best parts of our day. It was now standard to get not one but TWO chocolate melting cakes and vanilla ice cream to top off the meal. 

On Day 6 of our cruise, our final port stop was in Nassau in the Bahamas. We again rented a vehicle and explored the island on our own, stopping for some photos along the way. The landscape was beautiful, and we enjoyed visiting a local brewery as well. The kids and I were ready to head back to the ship while Collin and Jeff continued exploring, and we all met back up for dinner later in the evening. On our final day aboard, we relaxed, enjoyed the comedy shows, and ate way too much of the amazing food and chocolate melting cakes. Connor set a record of eating THREE of the cakes on the last night, they were that delicious! We also enjoyed watching the guys do some gambling in the casino, which was another favorite activity on board. All in all, our cruise was so fun and relaxing, and we soaked in the family time together for the first of many fun trips in our summer ahead. So thankful!