Salty Kisses, Jungle Adventures, and Cave Tubing on the Berry Family Summer Vacation
If there is one thing you need to know about our family trips, it is that at least once a year we cruise. I am married to a pilot so the last thing Trey wants to do is get into an airplane to get to a destination so we do a lot of driving. Lucky for us we have a few ports within driving distance and we all win. There is no flying, which if you read my post earlier in the week you know I am way O.K. with that, AND we get to beautiful places and do amazing things! This past week was no different!
Royal Caribbean still caters to the young at heart! Graeme Loved all the characters! Especially King Julien!
Side note- we have graduated to the Royal Caribbean and I say this because we have done Disney Cruises in the past and they are WONDERFUL, but with two teenagers now they are past the Disney scene and Royal offers more activities for kiddos their age while still catering to the young. If you are reading this and you have kids that are younger and you are considering a cruise I highly suggest Disney and then you can graduate on to the Royal. However, if money is a factor Royal is probably half the cost of Disney and just as good so keep that in mind. Either way you go you will be happy!
Golden Ticket to Paradise! Your Sea Pass Card!
We set sail on Sunday on the Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas and I will tell you we kind of have this down to an art for our family until this time! We decided we would leave our house a little later and see how the boarding process went and let's just say that was not smart! With that being said I am not sure if it is always like this because I later learned they were having technical difficulties that day with getting everyone their sea pass card. Which speaking of, your sea pass card is as golden as your passport. You MUST have this card to get on and off the ship, it is the key to your room, you can use it to shop on the ship, order food that is not included, which there is plenty included, or for special drinks like Evian water up to booze. So this card is important and they issue it to every human on the ship and this particular day all of their systems on land were down so they only had 4 on board to work with. That was quite an ordeal considering there were 4000 of us! So that made for long lines in hot weather and that was not fun, but once we got through it the fun began! However, with that being said, I would still suggest getting to the port at 11 and then you get to enjoy the ship all day. Just pack a tiny bag with swimsuits, cover ups, sunscreen, and Yeti/waterbottles! Because remember that sea pass card I spoke of? Well it is the key to your room so you have access to your room immediately just not your entire luggage hence the reason behind a small bag with swim gear etc.
Once we finally boarded and got to our room we were all famished so we headed for some grub. Now food is never a problem on the Liberty as they have many options. At lunch the Wind Jammer is always open and they have all kinds of buffet style food from Chinese to hamburgers to salad to you name it they have it. They also have a pizza joint on Deck 5 that is out of this world and the pizza is FREE! There is a Johnny Rockets on Deck 11, however, that is not included in your meal plan so that will cost ya, but it is good. The milkshakes are on point! Once we had some grub it was time to get our cruise on and do what we came to do and that was to sit by the pool and REEEELAX!
Pretty much that is how our days at sea went. Get up, do our first 15, grab some breakfast. Next Trey and Graeme would hit the surf rider and I would hit the gym, all the while Will would sleep in because he stayed up way too late the night before with all the new and exciting friends he met from all over. We would all meet up around 10 or 11 for a check in, Graeme would go to kids club, Will we would not see again until dinner, and Trey and I would hit the pools and REEELAX! It is amazing! Dinner rolls around and some nights Graeme joins us and others he eats at kids club! On nights he would join us we would take him to kids club after dinner, Will again would split off, and Trey and I would have a date night! Yall 7 date nights in a row!!!!!!! It was so good for our marriage! We talked, we laughed, we cried, we dreamed, we danced, and we enjoyed each other. Some days we would even snag a nap or two! Cruising for our family truly is relationship building! We love it! Sea days on every 7 day cruise we have taken are the day you board and the next two days. After that you hit your ports.
Wednesday was our first port and it was beautiful! We were in the beautiful country of Honduras on the island of Roatan. This was my second time to the island and it is still as beautiful as the last and I felt very safe. We took the boys zip lining through the jungles with the group Tree Top Canopy Adventures. This was our second time with this group and I asked for our tour guide from our first experience and he was still there! IF you ever go and do this ask for Jeffery! He is AMAZING especially with the little kids! He is so funny and he makes you feel very safe! This excursion is something anyone who has dreamed of being in the tree tops or gliding through the air like a bird! You literally get to do just that through 28 acres of jungle and mountain terrain! It is so awesome! You cover about 2 miles above the trees and through the trees and it is a site to behold! Especially when you are zipping towards the ocean! By the end of the experience you truly feel exhilarated and on fire. After the zip lines they take you to a beach where you can grab a bite to eat and put your toes in the sand. The first time we went we were dropped at a quiet beach, this time we were dropped at a resort beach and yes it was nice, but there were a lot of people there pushing massages, hair braids, bracelets, blankets, etc on you. It was crazy! Before I knew it I was slammed onto a stool being lathered in oil where not one but THREE ladies were massaging me! I DID NOT even say yes! It was crazy and Trey just sat there watching and laughing because I TOTALLY got bamboozled! And listen people, while I love a good massage, sitting on a beach in the middle of the Caribbean, being slathered in oil, well, I just could not relax. All I kept thinking was this is a recipe for skin cancer! So my advice here, if you find yourself on a beach where you are being swarmed by pushy sales peeps, put your game face on and just say NO! Or else you too will find yourself being slathered in oil while your boys are getting Caribbeans braids in their gorgeous locks! Don't have SUCKER written all over you like I OBVIOUSLY did!
Our next port was Thursday and that was Belize City, Belize. I had never been to Belize and I was very excited about this stop. We decided to do the Cave Tubing Tour and we were with a group called VIV tour and our guide was Karim and he was so good. I cannot say enough about Karim! You start your tour in a car and he takes you on about an hour drive out to the jungles and the caves. All along the way he told us about his country and different sights etc. It was very interesting and even our seven year old was a part of the conversation. Once you arrive at the site you take about a 45 minute hike through the jungle and Karim was our guide and you learn about all kinds of things from trees, to bugs, to animals, to medicinal uses of leaves, and the list goes on. I was so amazed at everything we learned and Karim did such an amazing job of keeping even Graeme involved. It truly was a cool experience. Once we got to the caves we were all given a tube, a life jacked, and a hard hat with a light and we hit the sapphire blue water. You guys this was a very cool experience! You pretty much just get in your tube, lay back and relax as you float through the dark cave, but again Karim knew some very interesting information which just made our experience even cooler! Our float lasted about an hour maybe longer and we ended with the boys jumping from some rocks and just having a bang up time. We then grabbed some lunch from the little village there on site and it was delish! The beans and rice had an underlying taste that I could not put my finger on but I later learned from Karim was coconut milk! So cool! We then got back in the car and headed back to the ship. Our tour that day was amazing and Karim made it even more special. If you are ever in Belize you should look him up with VIV and take his tour. You will not be disappointed. You will learn things you never even imagined and experience the beauty of this beautiful country.
Our last port we hit Friday and it was Cozumel. This time we chose to go to Playa Mia I am not going to lie. If I have to do it again, I probably would not do this. It looks amazing and I am sure for kids it is, but it was more of a beat down for us. Our day in Cozumel there were 6 other ships so that meant 7 ships PLUS the normal tourist. If you did not arrive to this beach by 11 you were out of luck on getting a seat anywhere, luckily we did, and it was just stupid crowded. It was an O.K. time, but nothing spectacular and the food was awful. We probably stayed all of 2 hours total and decided we would have more fun shopping. Which we did so that was a good call on our part. If you go I have a few tips I think would of helped us.
Get there by 10
Great spot if you have multiple kids other than just siblings (Ie. cousins or friends) because Will and Graeme are too different in age to really play together on the water jungle gym which means I was doing it. It was fun, but you guys it is a full on work out in the ocean on that bad boy!
Maybe bring your own food unless you are just jonesing to try theirs, but I promise it is not good and I am not a picky eater.
Bring your own life vest if you have room for the water jungle gym otherwise you are waiting in line. Once you have one you can keep it as long as you are in the water, but once you get out you have to return it and if there are seven ships at port this makes for long lines.
Bring your own snorkel gear or goggles because you do see some cool stuff if you go a little out.
Bring Cash because there are extra activities you can do if you have the $$$$ Like jet ski or water tricycles.
So like I said, once we left there we took to the streets of Cozumel and had a ball. We bought all kinds of stuff and we had so much fun watching Will use his Spanish speaking skills and negotiate with all the people. I was very impressed on how well he speaks the language, but I guess when you have been playing Soccer for as many years as he has you learn things, Spanish being one of those things you learn.
Saturday we woke up to our last day at sea and we did not waste it! We hit the slides, the surf rider, the pools, the shows, the pizza parlor, anything we loved we did! We had a ball! So much of a ball as God as my Witness we have already booked our next cruise! This time we will be bringing JP as we had to leave him behind because he is in his school musical and had rehearsals, so we will have JP, our cousins, and Grandparents! So that will be a big time! It will allow for more intimate dinners and awesome talks, more family time, more date time, more awesome countries, and more vacation time, which all in all equals very blessed time! So there you have it! The Berry Summer Family Vacation! Soon I will share with you how I packed and some tips and tricks if you have never been on a cruise and are considering it! I have an amazing Contact who will set you up and once you step board on the ship your worries will disappear! I will share with you tips I have learned for excursions like what to bring etc. If you are considering a cruise don't miss it! I promise it will be huge because you do not need half the stuff you think you do!
Until then!
XO,
Amy
I have included some video to give you a feel of all the activities you get to do in seven days and this is just a taste! I am telling yall.....cruising is so fun if you are an active family like we are! I promise to send some tips this week and if you are interested but have questions you can message me and I will answer what I can. I even have a contact that can hook ya up! And no it is not me. It is my friend Brandon and I promise he will hook you up!
Hello, World!
Thinking of going on a trip soon? It is the end of the summer and you know what that means! Good deals on Swim Suits!
