Rob and I decided at some point, we would take each of Rob’s sisters kids on a cruise before they graduate from high school. However, time got away from us and the oldest is graduating soon. It ended up working out for us to go after Christmas. It was a great trip. Abi and her friend, Em were great travel mates. Here’s a quick run down of our cruise on the Carnival Liberty.
New Orleans
Picked up the girls from their respective homes and drove to New Orleans.
We walked around and ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde.
Dinner at Mother’s
Beautifully decorated Roosevelt Hotel we passed by on the way back to our car.
Day 1 – Boarding the Carnival Liberty
Had breakfast at Terrytown Cafe
Ubered to the cruise port
Enjoyed watching as we sailed down the Mississippi from our aft balcony
1st dinner getting to show the girls what assigned seating and meeting our wait staff for the week
Day 2 – Fun Day at Sea
Lots of fun around the ship and on our balcony
Good food…Love the French Onion Soup
Yay for towel animals
Game show before dinner, Deal or No Deal
Sunsets on the balcony are the best
The girls dressed up for the White Hot Night party
Day 3 – New Years Eve on the Cruise
More relaxing times on our balcony
They put up the big New Year’s Banner
It was formal night, so we got all dressed up.
We enjoyed a nice dinner from our Special New Year’s Eve menu
All 4 of us, rang in the New Year on the Lido deck with music and champagne. Best NYE ever!!
Day 4 – Gumbalimba Park in Roatan
Arriving into port with a balcony was top notch! Loved being able to go out and see where we were
Took a bus to Gumbalimba Park
Ziplining
Watching all the iguanas
Getting to hold McCaws (McCaw Refuge)
Also getting to hold monkeys
The excursion was over and it took us
Day 5 – Altun Ha in Belize
An hour and half ride to ruins in Belize called Altun Ha
Walking around and climbing up these ruins from an ancient Maya city
On our way back it was our turn to drive the jeeps, but we let the girls drive
We made a stop to get lunch that was included with our excursion
Abby drove the rest of the way back
It started sprinkling, which it was supposed to be raining all day. On the shuttle boat back to our ship, it monsooned and we got drenched
Day 6 – Swimming with Dolphins in Cozumel
The excursion had us get in taxis to take us to Chankanaab
We got to swim with dolphins, which was so exciting. However, no photos of this. They don’t allow phones or anything and they charge $250 for all the photos. That is nuts!
After that there was all you can eat and drink, which wasn’t great, but it was something.
The girls went snorkeling, while Rob and I walked around and enjoyed just hanging out.
Day 7 – Last Day at Sea
Just a chill morning, enjoying being on board
Had to pack up that afternoon 🙁
Free drinks at the Diamond and Platinum Reunion
More ice cream!
Day 8 –
Early, foggy morning docked in New Orleans
Off the ship early
Traveled home in terrible rain
Gonna miss this huge deck!
Gonna miss these girls too!
I asked the girls a few questions about the cruise…
Abi (our niece)
Favorite food on the cruise: i think it was a lobster pasta? or crab?
Favorite event on the cruise: new years celebration
Favorite port of call: honduras
Favorite activity off the ship: walking around the shops and getting to see monkeys
Thing that surprised you the most about the cruise: it was a lot bigger than i imagined but it also got a lot easier to navigate it
Any else you’d like to say about the cruise: It was so so much fun and I am so so thankful I got to experience it with the best family and friends!
Em (her friend)
Favorite food on the cruise: The strawberry acai bowl thing
Favorite event on the cruise: New Year’s party
Favorite port of call: Honduras
Favorite activity off the ship: Monkeys and Ziplining
Thing that surprised you the most about the cruise: the large amount of food we could eat
Any else you’d like to say about the cruise:It was so fun and I’m so glad to have been invited!
More photos: on flickr
Aw, that looks wonderful! Aren’t you just the greatest and most fun aunt and uncle ever? I am sure she will treasure these memories for many years to come.