Nate and I went on a cruise with some of Nate's family members at the beginning of February and we had the best time!! It was truly one of the best couples vacations we've ever been on and we loved getting to spend quality time with family! All of Nate's siblings and mom were invited but not everyone could make it so in the end it was Gary and Jen, Aaron and Samantha, Nate and me, and Nate's mom.
Kind of a crazy story: The day before we were supposed to leave we did our mandatory Covid testing. Covid protocols were still in full force. We had to buy the kit to do it ourselves while a nurse online watched up perform the test. Somehow Nate got a positive result! We were shocked because he had absolutely no symptoms! So he did it again and once again he was positive! It was so weird! So we called Nate's family and my parents who were planning to babysit and let them know we most likely wouldn't be going. We could not be Covid positive and still go. It was so sad because it had been so long since we went on a trip sans kids! In the evening, Nate decided to search for a testing location that was still open and try one last time! He found a random place up by the airport and drove up there as fast as he could. And his result came back negative!! We could go afterall! Needless to say, once we were finally on the cruise we were so relieved and so happy we were there! It was a very stressful few hours trying to make the trip happen!
We flew down to Texas with Aaron, Sam, and Diane and met up with Jen and Gary in Galveston at the port. It was the first cruise for all of them except for Nate so it was fun to experience it all with them!
The ship we went on was actually the same ship Nate and I went on 10 years before for our Caribbean cruise. It's such a fun ship with a Flow Rider, pools, ice rink, waterslides, game room, theater, etc. Nate tried out the Flow Rider and was a natural at it of course!
The full day of the cruise we hung out, ate tons of yummy food (that's what cruises are the best at!), went to some great shows, sat in the hot tub, and got all dressed up for our fancy dinner that night! It was so nice to not have a crazy schedule to follow and get to slow down and enjoy some quality time together that first day!
We had the best servers the whole trip too! Neil and Cyril were SO friendly and made sure our cruise was amazing!! Since cruises were out of commission for so long because of Covid, the staff on the ship went months without work! It was so sad to hear of how much they were affected by Covid. They made sure our time on the ship was wonderful and made our cruise extra special!
Every night we ordered as much food as we wanted! I was adventurous and tried some different things and Nate stuck to his usual ;) Everyone especially loved the apple pie each night for dinner! My favorite was the chocolate lava cake. It was so rich and delicious!
We had so much fun doing karaoke one night! Nate and Gary rocked it at Hotel California! It was quite entertaining! Some people take it very seriously and some not so much.
The towel animals were so fun each night too!
The weather wasn't quite as hot as we were hoping but the further south we travelled the hotter it got! So the third and fourth days on the cruise were the warmest! Every time the sun came out we tried to soak it in as much as possible.
All you can eat soft serve ice cream was a plus too!
Our first port was Costa Maya!
It was such a fun atmosphere. These men reenacted a Mayan tradition of falling and dancing and playing music around this pole. It was fascinating!
We split up for our excursions and Aaron & Sam and Nate & I went on a rustic tandem bike ride through the jungle to a beautiful cenote. The bikes were a little rickety but we had fun riding around ;) The cenote was breathtaking and so relaxing and beautiful! It was in the middle of no where. We swam and hung out and then the tour guides made us the most amazing authentic Mexican fajita meal with homemade guac and tortillas. The food was incredible! We finished off paddleboarding at the beach and walking up the coastline. It was such a fun and relaxing excursion and a huge highlight of the trip!
The next day our ship stopped at Cozumel! We had another fun excursion in this funny little cars! We drove around the island, stopped to do some snorkeling which was so fun!, and then headed to a beautiful beach and lunch by the ocean. All seven of us were together for this excursion which was fun!
That one time we held an iguana and then the guy tried to sell us a picutre of it for $40...then $30...then $20...and so on ;) We still never bought it. Jen snuck in this picture ;)
The last day was just a day at sea. It was pretty stormy outside so we stayed inside the boat most of the day playing games, going to shows, watching the Superbowl, and eating more food of course!
A picture of Nate's lunch:
This is why Nate loves buffets ;)
When the cruise was over we had some time to kill so we went out to Lupes with everyone (best Mexican food ever!!) and then hung out at the airport for a few hours before our flight.
While we were waiting there this beautiful Muslim family came and sat down by us. They had five or six kids and lots of baggage so you could tell they were just moving her. The two teenage daughters sitting by us were so friendly even though we didn't speak the same language. They had beautiful henna designs on their arms so I told them it was beautiful. Before I knew it my arm was in their lap and they drew this beautiful henna design on my arm. It took a long time and they did an amazing job! When their uncle showed up to pick them up from the airport we were able to talk to him because he spoke English. He let us know his brother and wife and kids left Afghanistan months ago and have been living on a random Air Force base waiting to get approval to move to Texas by him. The day had finally arrived in their new home of Houston! He shared some of the trials and hardships they've faced so it was even more amazing that the kids had smiles on their faces and were genuinely happy despite their circumstances. Once we got home from our trip, I put together a care package for the new family to thank them for their kindness. It was such a beautiful experience and I hope to remember it forever!
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