I’ve been on a looong hiatus from writing. I miss it 😭 Even though I’ve been out of my writing pocket, the summer was full of adventures galore. My phone is literally bursting with photos! We got to try blueberry picking at Blase Family Farm, both girls got to ride horseback at a friends birthday party, we stacked mad legos at Rouge Brick, we got to pet and learn about a chinchilla at the local library, they got to go bowling at Main Event, took a trip to The Illusion Museum in Dallas, and visited Disney Princess friends at Nebraska Furniture Mart 😅

Would you believe that all the previously mentioned escapades were only the prelude to the crowned jewel of our summer? This year’s family vacation was a 4 day cruise on Royal Caribbean’s newest ship Utopia Of The Seas! Last year my in laws surprised our whole family with tickets, so needless to say we were overwhelmingly grateful 🙏🏾.

Before I dive into all the fun pics and insight, I must say, I have been on only one cruise before. It was long ago. It was Carnival. I was NOT impressed 😑 So leading up to my second cruise, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Yes, I had seen all the pictures of gleaming pool patrons sipping daiquiri’s to the backdrop of a lush sunset. However, I didn’t want to over promise my senses, so I opted to take a more neutral approach.

To my pleasant surprise, the cruise was fabulous! We all had such a great time. There were 11 of us in total including some extended family from both sides. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Now without further ado, let’s get into it 🙌🏾.

Day 1: We started our adventure by flying into Orlando 2 nights before the actual cruise. I planned it that way on purpose just to give ourselves time to ease into the journey before us without an overwhelming need to rush.

I booked our hotel at the Double Tree near the airport 1, for the convenience and 2, (most importantly) for the cookies 😋 Have you ever had a Double Tree cookie??? These things are magical with every bite. They’re served warm and gooey and FREE to hotel guests. The girls certainly got a kick out of it.

Day 2: Was our free day so we chose to meet up with the parents and bro in law for lunch and then after rest time we decided to take the kiddos to Disney Springs.

It was cute. We walked around visiting several Disney themed stores. The girls each got one toy and a treat from Goofy’s Candy Co. We also took pics in front of their favorite Disney Lego Characters.

After our Disney Springs trip we headed back to the hotel to get a goodnight’s sleep for our big ship boarding day.

Day 3: We got up and moving ready to start the real vacation. We patiently waited in the hotel lobby for our shuttle bus. Once we got going, the excitement began to climb. Pulling up to the port the girls could see the massive cruise ships docked and ready for boarding. Our driver dropped us off right in front of our port. There was plenty of time to get through security check in and get our birth certificates reviewed.

As soon as we stepped on the ship all we could say was WOW. The best way to describe it was if a water park, mall, theme park, and hotel had a baby. It was so glitzy and open. Rows of restaurants and stores lined the walkways while metal sculptures or decorative art pieces lined the center. There were people everywhere, but somehow it didn’t feel too overwhelmingly crowded (something I had been concerned about).

We started off immediately to sign in at the designated safety zone check point while taking in all the sights along the way. Once that was complete we were free to head to our room and drop off our few carry on bags.

The room was fresh and quaint. I especially liked the set up of the king bed plus a pull out sofa for the girls to share. My favorite part had to be the balcony though. It just added to the openness and I loved being able to view a sunset backdrop against all that glorious water.

We didn’t pause too long in the room because excitement was building and we wanted a good bit of time to find food and explore the ship. After a quick slice of pizza we decided to make our way to the Boardwalk area.

The Boardwalk is a kids dream zone! There’s a netted jungle gym and a sparkling merry-go-round housed right next to a sweets shop. As if that’s not enough, we were met with The Ultimate Abyss; the largest dry slide at sea. That monstrosity snakes its way 10 stories down and exits at The Boardwalk.

I don’t know what possessed me into thinking it would be a good idea to try this slide, but of course I did 🤦🏾‍♀️ Hubby and I caught an elevator to the top and waited in line to see what all the fuss was about.

I can say with all confidence, I am too old for this particular slide. The ride down didn’t feel like I expected. First off, they seated us on a fabric mat to increase speed and cut down on friction. Then it whipped us around the curves like rag dolls 😅. My body went one way and my brain another. Even though it was exhilarating, it left this lingering dizzy nausea feeling. My curiosity had been cured. That was my one and only time on The Ultimate Abyss lol.

After a moment to catch my brain up to the rest of reality, we went back to the room to chill a bit before dinner. We had assigned seating and I was excited to try out this dining experience.

It was really nice. Our server was super accommodating and walked us through the menu options. Me and hubby decided to be adventurous and try the escargot. It was…interesting. I don’t think I need to try it again, but it was worth the experience. I also had a yummy crab cake, pan roasted fish with veggies and simple yummy cheesecake for dessert.

The next thing on our list was to hit up the pool before our booked evening show. Since other ship patrons were having dinner, the pool was not crowded at all. The girls got a nice splash in.

After that we went to the ice rink for our first booked show. It was really fun. The energy was high for a late night showing and the skaters engaged the crowd with a great time. I would say we wore ourselves out quite nicely for a first day on the ship. Next day would be arrival at Nassau, Bahamas port.

Day 4: This day we woke up to beautiful turquoise water and a cotton ball like cloudy sky. Me and the girls lounged on the balcony before breakfast while hubs made a trip to the gym.

Once we were up and going, we exited the ship to explore the surrounding port and find a tourist trek towards Junkanoo Beach. The walk to get to Junkanoo was much longer than I anticipated. The sidewalks were overflowing with tourists and locals trying to pull you in to shop for trinkets or rent an atv.

The heat didn’t help either. We almost gave up hope that we would ever arrive to the beach, but then on a sliver of grace we finally got to see where the beach started and hope was revived.

Once we arrived a young man hustled over and guided us to an overpriced umbrella and two seat combo to situate our belongings. This is one thing I did expect because Nassau is super touristy so we were at the mercy of the typical price gouging that goes on. Still we didn’t let that stop our fun. We came all that way for the beach so in we hopped!!

The water was nice and the girls enjoyed getting a swim in their little corner of the ocean. They even made a game out of collecting beach sand to swim it over and rub it on our skin (spa like exfoliation results).

It was nice to chill in the water for a bit and enjoy what we could of the beach. It didn’t take long to tire ourselves out and begin the long trek back to the ship. We stopped at a local shop for a quick frozen treat to put some pep in our step along the way.

Later on that evening we got all fancy for dinner in the main dining area. We caught up on adventures of the day and even celebrated our cousins birthday with a nice slice of cake.

After dinner we saved up the last bit of energy for a diving show on the Boardwalk deck. I have a whole new respect for these performers. They incorporated high diving, synchronized swimming, and dancing into their routine. That show was my favorite of all the activities we did on board.

Day 5: After a hearty breakfast the girls finally got a chance to take the upper deck splash pad for a spin. They really enjoyed standing under huge buckets of water waiting for it to tip over on them lol.

And of course…more ice cream

Once the afternoon got underway we decided to check out Royal Caribbeans private island Perfect Day at CoCo Cay.

Walking up we were met with yet another monstrous slide. It was a lovely back drop to this photo, but I already knew I wouldn’t be taking the plunge.

We headed straight for the beach where the kiddos could play in the sand and get in that glistening blue water.

After a full day of water and sand, it was time to head back to the ship. We grabbed an ice cream treat to help us on our way lol.

We were welcomed back to our room with this cute little guy. Our final night was really relaxing. With nothing pressing on the docket, we hung out with family and explored the ship until bedtime.

Day 6-8: We said goodbye to Royal Caribbean with an early morning debarkation. Our next vacation spot was a trip to Palm Harbor, Florida to visit my wonderful Aunt and Uncle. They hosted us for 2 days while we eased back into life on land. We went shelling with the girls, ate delicious food at an authentic Greek restaurant, lounged around the pool, and got a chance to check in on the various Olympic Games in Paris.

All these precious summer moments really made me appreciate my family all the more. These are memories that we will take with us for years to come and every time I look back on the photos, I can remember how amazing of a time we all had! Til next time, happy Summer-ing ☀️