Yay for Vacay!



Long time no see!!

Excuse me for my absence the past week but I took a much needed vacation with my wonderful husband! In 2015 when we got married we went to Virginia for our honeymoon for a week, 2016 was such a terrible and crazy year and really took a toll on our marriage so we didn't do anything other than day trips with the kids. SO in 2017 we got back on track and decided we needed some husband and wife time and left the country! We took a cruise on Royal Caribbean to Nassau Bahamas, St Thomas and St Maarten. We had such an incredible time, we went swimming with dolphins in the Bahamas, then we had a beach day (a little rainy) in St Thomas but we got to swim in the Caribbean! In St Maarten we went kayaking in the Caribbean and then we went snorkeling! Which ironically is not my thing haha. I loved the kayaking but snorkeling not so much. Got to see a few things in between inhaling salt water and hiking myself back to the beach! The ship was absolutely incredible! We had a stateroom with a balcony to the ocean which was beautiful. We spent a night eating dinner together on the balcony (super romantic!). Everything was included so if you ever want to cruise you better start fasting! Ashley spent the weekends with my parents which she obviously loved. She made Mothers Day presents for me and her mom! We came back to dirty jersey and unfortunately back to the real world and work! But here I am back at my marketing desk at Deborah trying to catch up on some work! In a few weeks we have a family reunion at my parents house which is super exciting! Were also preparing for our family pictures on June 4th with Ashley and Brianna. We have our dresses and I'm super excited to update our pictures! So now with my wonderful new tan and thinking back on my romantic week with my husband I've attached a list of things for new cruisers! I did a lot of research before the cruise so this is what we experienced and my advice to anyone who wants to go! I've also attached some pictures! As always email me with any questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. My book is still in production so between that and getting back to work and all of the other chaos this month I'll do my best! have a great day guys!


1. Get the ships WiFi package
Always always get this, when we were on St. Maarten we were technically in the Netherlands and France so we had zero service. Put your phone on airplane mode before you rack up an insane bill. On the ship we bought the wifi package so we could update during the week and facetime back home without being charged. It was only around $150 for the streaming package for two devices and it was totally worth it. We could check email, FaceTime, update Facebook and we had zero connection problems!

2. Get the alcohol package
This one was a hard decision because I don't drink at all and Mike is really only a beer guy. The package was $380 so I decided against it. When we got on the ship I quickly realized a bottle of beer was $7 at least so that easily added up pretty quickly. The alcohol package is pretty much the ultimate one, it also covers soda (which we don't drink either), water (which can be found free in any restaurant on the ship) and premium juices, teas and coffees. Again all of those other beverages can be found for free anywhere on the ship. But to cover the alcohol alone is totally worth it. Trust me.

3. Get a balcony with an ocean view
We totally did this and it was super worth it. We paid a little bit more for it but it was nice having a romantic dinner on our balcony while the sun set ;) we also kept the door open some nights so you could wake up to the ocean in the morning which was also super nice. Our next cruise we'll definitely upgrade to the junior suite next time we go considering we'll probably take the girls with us also. It's bigger with a bigger balcony. Continental breakfast is complimentary but if you order any other room service it's no longer free, it's a $7.95 fee so we only did that once.

4. Specialty dining is sort of worth it
I got a deal through the cruise ship called "The first night done right" and it gave us a specialty dining option the first night of our cruise for $30. That was worth it, any other time it wouldn't be. I ended up getting a 9oz filet mignon steak which was cooked perfectly at medium rare, mike got a pan crusted tuna dinner which was equally as amazing. For the $30 we each got an appetizer, a dinner and dessert which was definitely worth it. Any other time you're paying out of pocket and with all of the free food options this wouldn't be worth it. Trust me, between main dining, the wind jammer, the wipeout café it's all free. So unless you get a deal, stick to the free dining.

5.The solarium is awesome
This was our spot to be! The solarium is an adult only place. It has it's own bar, hot tub, pool and bistro plus awesome seating. We ended up snuggling on these huge couches everyday looking out at the water. Its not completely covered so you get the sun and the breeze and it's nice being able to cuddle together during the day. We spent a lot of time in the hot tubs and did some time in the pool together. The hot tubs was a nightly thing and definitely romantic ;) Make sure you bring two bathing suits! I had one that was for relaxing and laying out and the other one with more coverage for our excursions. We laid them out on the balcony to dry but it would have never worked with only one suit. So bring two!

6. Snorkeling is not all it's cracked up to be
My parents went snorkeling a while back when they were on a cruise and they hated it. But as always I had to find out the hard way. I booked a snorkeling and kayaking adventure in St. Thomas. The kayaking was fun, it was a two man kayak. We went around the rocks and to the other beach. Mike ended up not going snorkeling because the water was getting really choppy. Me and my usual excitedness put on my flippers and snorkeling gear and swam out! well. I ended up getting super sea sick from the harsh waves and was exhausted having to swim back. I ended up inhaling an incredible amount of salt water and the flippers irritated my feet BUT I can now say I went snorkeling and kayaking in the Caribbean! It also started to torrential downpour right before we had to kayak back so we ended up going back to the other beach by walking and sat at the bar! haha. Either way me and mike were soaking wet and freezing but the standing there wrapped in his arms was always amazing :) Sometimes crazy things happen and they make you fall in love more.

7. Essentials to bring and not to bring
- ALWAYS bring enough sunblock. We brought two spray cans because when you're out on the beach nobody wants to rub in lotion. Do make sure you rub in the spray though otherwise you end up like mike with random red islands hahaha. poor guy.
- Bring a beach bag, I got a huge one from victorias secret like this one. It was great for when we docked and went on our adventures. I could fit two changes of clothes, two towels, water and everything else we needed for the island that day. It was also my carry on bag for the airplane which ended up being a life saver. I also wore my Michael Kors cross body bag with the small wallet. Here's a similar one at a better price It made it easier and I didn't have to hang onto a purse when we were shopping at the ports.
- You get a seapass card that Is what you need for purchases and to get on and off the boat. I have a Deborah phone thing on the back of my phone that holds my ID, debit cards and my sea pass card. So if you get one of those phone wallets that would be really convenient otherwise you won't be going anywhere! Here's a similar idea that also works great.
- You definitely don't need to bring a blow dryer, just your wand or straightener. They have a blow dryer in the room and you'll need all the room in your suitcase you can fit. I just brought my hair products and straightening iron. Beach waves were mostly my thing while I was there anyway.
- Bring your lady products. Seriously. Just don't it. It's not worth the $14 if flow decides to show up. throw some in your carry on or suitcase. it's worth it. trust me.

8. You definitely don't need an outlet extension thing.
I debated buying an extra one but like I said we had a stateroom with a balcony and we had six outlets so we were able to charge our ipads, fitbit, apple watch and both phones with no issues.

9. Wait for the sales.
Seriously just do it. They have all kinds of duty free and tax free shops on the ship which is great. But you're going to end up paying $50 for a shirt that isn't worth it. I ended up not bringing my jeans and a jacket which bit me in the butt. That wind really kicks up on the ship especially in the morning. I waited until Thursday and they had a 50 percent off sale so I got a nice long sleeved shirt. Then by Saturday they had port of call shirts that were 2 for $20 which is a great deal considering one is usually $20. We ended up getting our Nassau Bahamas shirts that way. We bought our Saint Maarten shirts on the island but if you walk around a bit you'll find some good deals. We got the girls sand in bottles also and shirts from the Islands.

10. ALWAYS SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS
This is the last thing I have for you guys and definitely the most important. My parents bought us the dolphin encounter adventure for Christmas in 2016 and it was totally worth it. Definitely expensive but worth it. It was at the Bahamas and you take a 20 minute boat ride to the blue lagoon island. You get in the actual water with the dolphins! Our dolphins name was Salvadore and he was a handsome fella! He danced with you, hugged you, kissed you and everything. He spit on Michael and gave me a kiss ;) He also flipped over so you could rub his belly and touch his teeth. He did all kinds of tricks, it was kind of amazing. I've posted pictures below!

All in all the cruise was an awesome experience and something me and Michael really needed. We needed time to get away from the drama and the nonsense. It's easy to fall into a lull of cohabitating and just living with everyday problems. We really got to reconnect between the plane ride, the experiences, stepping out of our comfort zones. It gave us time to rebond and be together and really appreciate us and the kids. The week we had together was definitely worth it and we'll absolutely do it again. maybe next time with Brianna and Ashley! So now that you have my tips go book your cruise! I need to go plan my family pictures and get myself ready for this reunion! see you guys soon!

Kristen