[Hey, it's me, Susan, your MacKID publisher, but I'm putting on my travel agent hat for this one!]
What I wouldn’t give to be on a warm cruise ship right now in this endless wintery January! So I thought it would be a great time to do a little throwback to when I took the kids on our first cruise in October!
We decided to cruise out of the L.A. port (and combine it with our trip to Disneyland) because the airfare was a lot more reasonable heading to the west coast. There were also quick itineraries that got us out of the country just for the weekend, which was a plus. I reserved a balcony stateroom and splurged to add on The Key, which got us a few perks that are typically only for suite guests. We got priority boarding, access to reserved seating at shows, and reserved times for some of the amenities (including Flow Rider).
When we pulled up to the port it was a little crazy, this was all new to us! We had decided to only carry on, so we skipped all the porters with their carts and got lined up in our boarding time. Once they let us inside the building we did a quick check of our passports and then were quickly heading up the escalators to board the ship.
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Because we had The Key we were able to drop our carry-on bags with an attendant and explore the ship until our room was ready later in the afternoon.
Our first stop: the ice cream bar! The kids were so excited about unlimited ice cream, and it was the first of many visits to that particular food outpost. We also grabbed some putters and got in a round of mini golf before the ship was fully loaded. Then we headed to check out the climbing wall, which the kids enjoyed, and we also got a good look at the Flow Rider.
Then we headed to our stateroom to get settled. The rooms are definitely smaller than a typical hotel room, especially the bathroom, but there was plenty of storage for us to get unpacked and make it our little space for the next few days. And the balcony was so nice to have! Anytime we’d take a break in our room the kids would have their tablets on the beds and I could chill out on the balcony. That was one of my favorite parts of our cruise experience!
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On our first night, we grabbed food from the Mexican restaurant near the pool and then watched as the ship left the dock and headed out into the open seas. Then we headed to the ice skating show, with dinner following. The ice skating show had wonderful talent and was fun to watch. The show also included some spectacular entertainment with drones which was unexpected!
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We had selected free time dining, so could dine whenever we wanted, and going after the show made for a long wait, which was a bummer. But when we were seated we had a lovely three-course meal. Then we headed back to our stateroom for some rest after a long day.
On our second day, we woke up in Ensenada, Mexico – the birthplace of the fish taco! We had signed up for a beach excursion (I let the kids pick what they wanted to do), so we had breakfast at the Windjammer (buffet) and boarded a bus to take us to a private beach club. We enjoyed the beach and some yummy Mexican food and drinks for about three hours before heading back to the bus and re-boarding the cruise ship.
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That night we enjoyed dinner in the dining room again. My son was so thrilled that he could order mac and cheese as not only his main course but also his first course. And dessert was pretty yummy every night too.
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Our third day was our day at sea. We had rented a cabana so we'd have a landing place during the day, which worked out wonderfully. The kids would run off to the slides or the pool (which I had a view of) and I sat there enjoying the ocean view and the rum punches that came with the cabana. We went into the buffet and brought food back to enjoy in our cabana too.
The kids had the chance to do the Flow Rider twice during our quick adventure, and they loved it so much! The attendants were so helpful, and the kids felt really comfortable and were ready to challenge themselves, it was pretty fun to watch.
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The staff onboard the boat was all incredible, they really do a great job of creating a fun environment on the ship and bend over backward to give you great service. Our steward knew our names and always asked how we were doing, and there were cute little towel animals in our stateroom most nights after dinner. Oh and the staff at the entrance to the buffet singing a wash your hands song was particularly enjoyable!
We had a fun little adventure and the kids can’t wait to do it again! I’ve got my eye on Virgin cruises now too, which is an adults-only cruise line and seems pretty swanky!
It's not too late to book a fun Spring Break adventure for your family too! The cruise lines have been running some fantastic promos too! Email me at susan@elitetcagent.com.
A note about motion sickness: I was worried about getting seasick. I get vertigo and also am prone to motion sickness. Everyone said cruise ships are so stable and I would be fine, but I’ll be honest I could feel every movement the ship made during the first two days, and it was particularly bad when we were inside. I finally got used to the ship swaying, but then I could feel the swaying once we were on land and that made me feel icky again. I was only taking Dramamine though, and I've now read that the behind-the-ear patches are stronger, and that will be my plan next time! If I could do it again I’d talk to my doctor about options before going on the cruise and come much more prepared! So if you get motion sickness and have never been on a cruise, don't listen to everyone who says you'll be fine, have a plan to make yourself comfortable!
Want to plan your next vacation with Susan Troy, Elite Travel Concierge? Reach out to me at susan@elitetcagent.com or 708-207-3778. You can check out the website here: www.susanelitetcagent.com.
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