Spring Break Cruise

We had such a great time on the Oasis of the Seas! It was a much different experience than the Disney cruise we took back in 2018. Not only was this cruise on Royal Caribbean, but the kids are old enough now that we let them roam the ship at will. We stopped at several different ports, but we barely got off the ship! We were all mostly interested in staying on board and enjoying everything the ship had to offer.

Highlights of the trip: sliding down the Ultimate Abyss from the 15th floor to the 6th floor; playing Jenga a million times (MJ lost every time); eating unlimited ice cream (Little Man had 6 cones one day for lunch); the different towel animals our steward made every day; our hilarious waiter and assistant waiter who even got MJ and Little Man to dance one evening; the ship's zip line; playing mini golf on the top deck; the Aqua80 show (amazing!); the cupcake-decorating class the girls and I took; and the ice skating show plus skating ourselves. 

We didn't get to our planned stop in Haiti because of civil unrest, so we went to Nassau instead, where Sweet Pea had four braids put in her hair. We loved our day at Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean's private island, and saw a massive iguana sunning himself. Our other stop was Jamaica, where we were disappointed not to get our passports stamped -- Jamaica only stamps your passport if you stay for at least 24 hours.

One at-sea day, MJ and I took an in-depth tour of the ship, which was really interesting. We visited the bridge, the engine control room, the kitchens, and even learned about the elaborate waste processing that happens on a huge cruise ship. The water that day was such an incredible, deep blue -- I couldn't stop taking pictures of it.

Otherwise we relaxed on our balcony, or lounged on the pool deck early, before it was too mobbed. The kids' favorite restaurant was the Windjammer, the huge buffet. But MJ and I preferred some of the other restaurants we tried, like Chops Steakhouse, where Little Man polished off a 16-ounce ribeye and still had room for red velvet cake. 

We told the kids they could each pick a souvenir on the trip. Not surprisingly, all three of them chose a Jellycat stuffed animal from the gift shop. Little Man picked a dragon, Blaze. Sweet Pea picked a sea turtle (because we saw one in the ocean), BooBoo. And CC picked a unicorn, Coco (Cay).

Our stateroom was considered a "suite," but it wasn't; it was just a slightly-larger-than-normal room in order to accommodate 5 people. We knew there would be a king bed for me and MJ; a pull-out sofa for two of the kids; and a final bed that folded down from the ceiling. What we didn't know is that the ceiling bed was directly above the king bed! Definitely not an ideal setup -- MJ and I couldn't even sit up without bumping our heads!

The kids are pretty sold on cruising now. And it was pretty great for me and MJ as well -- we enjoyed plenty of time to ourselves, including a decadent couples massage. But it was also a wonderful family vacation, with memories to last us a lifetime.