This cruise was super different than our last Carnival cruise. And the one before that. And the one before that. I’ve been on a few now, and they’ve all been very different depending on the time of my life I was in or the people I traveled with. Which I guess is sort of the appeal– there’s a lot to do (on and off the ship) and unless you hate absolutely everything, there’s fun and adventure or complete relaxation to be found for everyone. We had a bit of both (the fun and the relaxation) on this cruise. This time around I wanted something a bit more low key— I needed that break from this chaotic year. I wasn’t looking for late nights or any craziness (though I had a blast with those in the past). I just wanted to go to bed early, wake up with the sunrise, and enjoy the sunshine and my family each day. I got to do that. It was good.
We always travel with Marlowe. Sure, there was our honeymoon and a few overnight trips here and there that Alex and I got to have our solo time, but we really enjoy traveling with the kiddo. We want her to be a little citizen of the world and explore often and taste new food often and just learn more. We have a few trips coming up this year that we’re not sure if miss Marlowe will be joining us for– they’re more adult themed with two weddings and such, but for the cruise it was a no brainer. She LOVED the first cruise— and this time I thought it would be super rad to bring my dad and step mom — which it was. Not only was I able to sort of (not really, but I tried) to repay them for all their kindness they’ve shared, but also just enjoy our time together. And as a bonus, when traveling with family, it often time means you get an on hand babysitter as needed. We used this to our advantage a little bit, but mostly, we just loved running around as a family. And Marlowe loved it too, her favorite activity by far was leading the way throughout the ship– up and down flights of stairs, through hallways and rooms to see where we’d end up or what we’d find. It was a nice way to spend our time and get a bit of exercise in too 😉
The lazy times were great too. Like I said, we full on planned for relaxation and downtime on this trip and took full advantage of comfortable beds with sunshine flooding into the windows and a bit of tv too.
morning routines shared. Gotta keep those teeth shiny and bright for smiling 😉
We shared most meals with my family. My half brother, Chris came too. He was less thrilled by the game of letting Marlowe lead the way, but was always a good sport about it 😉
I’m not going to lie, I highly dislike mini golf. Marlowe and Alex love it though— which means they got to play a lot— and I got to enjoy the sunshine and quiet time.
Hi dad! Maybe my love for hats is genetic? //
We did not even eat half the amount of french fries we ate last time. I’m not sure why. But I do want them now.
Still my favorite part.
Morning hangs with this rad chick on the balcony.
Off to Grand Cayman with my step mom (and the rest of the family— who missed out on our “girls only” selfie).
Submarine! Alex and I decided to explore Grand Cayman by ourselves while Miss Marlowe went off with my family on a submarine trip! We all would have gone, but I think I would have panicked a bit too hard underwater like that 😉 Marlowe however? LOVED it.
A fun lunch on Grand Cayman.
We then met up with them after the submarine ride to enjoy a vegan place called, Bread and Chocolate. All vegan, lots of bread and chocolate. So basically, my dream. With my restricted diet, I had to be a bit more careful— but then, I realized they had gf brownies– so we ordered one— with ice-cream and caramel on top. And then Marlowe, Chris, and I fought hard over it— like children—each person trying to get the bigger piece. In their defense, they are children 😉 In my defense it has been a long, long year without chocolate. Then we ordered a second one. And then we fought over that one too 😉
Our way back to the ship.
With a silly kiddo.
Back on ship. Time to explore.
Marlowe took a lot of photos– most of them just blurs though. She did however get some really good ones of me and Alex completely passed out when she woke up from our nap and we both slept an extra hour 😉
We did fulfill Marlowe’s wish of going to Camp Ocean. We didn’t really need to send her since we had family, but she really wanted to. They made some pretty rad kids t-shirts. Which I fit into… because I’m apparently a child.
She legitimately still thinks it’s hilarious that she made a kids shirt that fits me.
Some days were long! They started off with loads of energy and adventure and required hard naps in-between.
Showing her Tulum.
Days that we were close to the last ones back on the ship and would throw on sparkles, throw up a tangled top knot, and run down to dinner 😉
And finish off with cinderella on the deck. Thank god for the vacation naps in-between!
I think it’s super funny, but one of Marlowe’s absolute favorite things about cruising is having food delivered to the room! And I mean, we can’t say no, it is free after all! It was perfect for the days we planned to sleep in a bit too late for my early bird rising family 😉
All in all we had an amazing super kid and family vacation. It’s great for us to enjoy so much of our time together— no problems, no stress, just family love and fun 🙂
This post was created for Away We Go with Carnival, the destination for getting in the getaway state of mind.
