Our summer vacation plans took a bit of a last-minute turn! I had planned for about a year now a trip out west to Yellowstone. I had it planned day by day with all the stops and meals planned out. then, two days before we were to fly out for the first time in history(!) Yellowstone flooded. I received an email notifying me that our reservations had been canceled. I spent the next 3 days trying to cancel all the rest of the trip and get our money back...which was not an easy task. But one I wasn't letting go! I ended up getting all our funds back with credit for airfare; the only problem was... due to volleyball for AB, we had two weeks to plan and go on a vacation during dead weeks. So we started looking around at the Bahamas and other locations and ended up getting a waiver to update passports but still no trip. Our friends the Gentrys and Hills were headed on a long overdue cruise, but it was fully booked..that is until a week before we set sail. One room opened up and I spent the rest of the afternoon changing airfare and getting hotel and cruise details set up. We flew out that Friday and landed in Orlando. We took a 45-minute uber ride to Cocoa Beach, where we spent the next 24 sightseeing and waiting to board the ship. We had a great time exploring the beach and even got to hear some of our favorite 90's songs that evening by a local band.
And then, the next morning, we met up with the whole crew to set sail on a 7-day cruise to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten with a few days at sea. We went on Royal Caribbean and our ship, Harmony of the Seas, was the 3rd largest ship on the sea! It had everything! An ice skating rink, Broadway shows water and dry slides several stories high, tons of specialty restaurants and bars, shopping, pools and spas, and a running track the entire length of the ship. It was pretty amazing!
The whole crew plus an added Chad...poor thing got Covid and spent most of the trip in bed so we had to photoshop him in so he didn't miss out on the group pic!
We spent the first night exploring the boat and slides and ported the next morning in the Bahamas at Cocoa Cay, their private island. And we were off for adventure and lots of water slides!
We did so many waterslides!!!!
The kiddos seemed to enjoy just playing in the sand while we visited.
Ab even got invited to play in a 3-on-3 beach volleyball tournament and did well with the big kids!
We rushed out one morning to watch as the boat pulled into port in St. Thomas...it was quite the sight to see!
A few of the next pics will be intermixed but I will do my best to identify them!
The first at St. Thomas....
We spent both days on the islands, just our family of four explorings. We went from beach to beach to make sure we didn't miss a thing and met some of the most incredible locals that way. The first stop was Magen's Bay!
The next beach, Coki Point, was probably my favorite because it was run by locals, and everyone there was local. We picked up a few new scents..ha! But they were so friendly and wanted to share all about the island with us. They even taught us a cool trick to attract the neat fish...dog milk bones! They worked like a charm, as you can see by the photo below!
Then as we left and decided to just take off walking and see what we found we ran into the nicest man who gave us fresh count juice!
We just started walking when we left that beach and discovered Margaretville was right around the corner so we decided to sit and stay a bit.
Pulling into St. Maartan
Just a little late-night dancing with the fam. We loved this band and went every night to hear them play. Each night they celebrated a Motown artist, one night Whitney Houston, one night Michael Jackson. They were sooo good...and dad taught the girls a thing or two on the dance floor.
Our favorite dinner spot was, by far, Wonderland. There were several restaurants on the ship and, of course, the typical dining rooms that are included with your trip. We decided to venture out with the group on three dining excursions at the restaurants. We went to a steakhouse one night, Chops; the second night was spent at the Hibachi, which was great and the third at Wonderland.
Everything they brought us was an experience, from the cool drinks to the food. I never take pics of food, so that should tell you something because I couldn't put the camera away. The menu even disappears!
Dessert was covered in hot lava...and melted in your mouth.
Another favorite treat that was right up there with the restaurant was the frozen yogurt...I don't know how much we ate each day?!
Another favorite that we ate way too much of.... 24-hour pizza! That is just wrong, having it so easy to grab!
B and I on a morning walk around the put put course and we see an island directly ahead!
And finally, we arrive at St. Maarten
Iguanas were everywhere!
Later that day, as I was a bit out of order, we headed to Maho Beach, famous for the largest airplanes that fly directly over your head!
Can you see the plane in the distance?
St, Maarten, Great Bay Beach Adventures with the Whole Crew
More Mullet Bay
Trying our best to look cool until a huge wave takes us both down!
Ab took lots of pictures on our drive around St. Maarten...we went all over the island and she got some amazing shots of the cityscapes and views of the ocean from all angles!
More pics from Mullet Bay
The last stop was great...now back to the boat for the last two days at sea!
Silly girls having fun one night at the teen club...they were so excited to get away from their parents for a bit. But it was pretty nice getting some one on one with the hubby for a change!
A really cool show...the girls and I enjoyed an evening with a ventriloquist from America's Got Talent!
A view from the top with AB, B, and Harper
Some more pics from Great Bay Beach with our ship in the background
Ab and Avery
Relaxing!
Our last night on the boat was another water show that was equally entertaining, followed by a family dinner and some impromptu sunset pics!
It really was a great vacation! it wasn't at all what we had planned but seemed to work out better than we could have dreamed! And it was a win, win because after mine and Mitch's first cruise, I never thought I would get him on a ship again...and bonus, he actually had a great time! Maybe next year Yellowstone! But for now, I will take lots of amazing memories with great friends and my precious family!!
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