Why Booking a Cruise is Worth it

First off a huge shout out goes out to Anthony and Laura for including us in your wedding festivities. We are honored to have been included and had an absolutely amazing time that we never would have experienced otherwise. When we  booked a  cruise it was a significant investment at around 2,000 total for two.  We honestly feel that with all we ate, drank and experienced there is no way we could have gotten the same from another vacation at that price. An added plus that made this financially plausible for us is that you can book it and then make payments up until about a month prior to the trip. We were able to pack everything you could want in a vacation into just one trip and celebrate the marriage of great friends.

All Inclusive

We have experienced an all-inclusive resort in the past and it is great option for a really stress free and enjoyable trip.  The Royal Caribbean cruise took this concept to the next level. Food was available 24 hours a day , with multiple options including room service; all included. Ryan loves to tell the story about our first night at our assigned dining room.  He asked if he could order two appetizers and was advised by our waiter he could order as many appetizers , main entrees and desserts as his heart desired. Lets just say we indulged! We were on the boat for American Thanksgiving and they even had special meal options so we could still enjoy thanksgiving favorites. We chose to purchase the full  drinks package as well and we are so glad we did. Something about being able to go up and order any fancy mixed drink we wanted without a thought to cost was really liberating and made us feel like high rollers. All the inclusive aspects were excellent but the drinks package especially so.

World Travel

What makes a cruise  really special is the fact that you are cruising.  You get to travel to multiple countries in one trip without the hassles that comes with road trips or air travel. Considering we were getting on and off the boat in multiple countries they made the loading and unloading very straight forward. You did need to bring your passport and go through customs but it was nothing compared to customs off an airplane. We were able to make stops in Jamaica, Haiti and Mexico. The stops are generally within Royal Caribbean owned areas which has the pro of safety and continued inclusive food and beverages but the con of not having an authentic experience of the countries we were visiting, just the tourist version of them. That said, we were only there for a single day in each country, so we weren’t exactly going to be able to get a full experience of a place regardless. Bottom line we were in four countries in one week which would be impossible to make happen at that price point, timeline and with no planning on our part.

On Board Activities

I struggle to write this section without literally making it a list. During the day we enjoyed the poolside activities.  Artificial boogie boarding and surfing, hot tubs with ocean views and  water slides were all on the top deck. At night there was live music in multiple locations and dance clubs, karaoke and shows. During all of which we continued to enjoy our all inclusive drinks package. There were some luxury shops aboard.  And there was an ice skating rink we didn’t even get a chance to check out. We could have booked a two week cruise instead of the one week that we did and even if we had I can’t imagine us running out of things to do.

Off Board Excursions

In addition to all the things to do on board there are even more things you can book off board. You pay additional fees for each excursion at varying price points. In Haiti we tried out the zip-line that starts on the mountain and goes down over the ocean and beach. It was really exciting, with a fantastic view and like a rollercoaster, a fairly short ride. In Jamaica we did a package excursion that included river tubing, zip lining in the trees, and four wheelers. This excursion also included a jerk chicken lunch and had an aviary, rum tasting and other high ropes activities. It was a full day of experiences. In Mexico we went rogue and instead of booking an excursion through the cruise took a taxi to Paradise Beach. Our mate had heard about and it was lovely. We paid a minimal entrance fee to enjoy their beach and pool. You could additionally pay for a wristband to use a ton of inflatables in the water , utilize jet skis or get lunch and drinks all of which we took advantage of. And to top it all off the restaurant randomly had these gorgeous parrots walking  and climbing around as they pleased. There were tons of options at each stop so you would surely find something that you would enjoy. You additionally always have the option of staying on the ship or getting off and staying within the Cruises off-board areas at no extra cost.

All in all we had a trip we will never forget with great family and friends. So much so we are looking to book  the other half of the Western Caribbean cruise because we had such a great time. If you are considering a cruise or even just looking for a great vacation we highly recommend a Royal Caribbean Cruise (and they haven’t even pay us to say that). It had everything we wanted for a perfect holiday.