It's almost a year to the day since I left rainy England to go on my first ever cruise around the Caribbean with my parents and gran. It was my first holiday in about three years, the joys of self-employment, and also the first time away with my parents for about five years so needless to say I was very excited.
We left the port at Fort Lauderdale to take a seven day tour of the Caribbean visiting St Maarten, St Thomas, and Princess Cays, a private island in the Bahamas owned by the cruise company (mental). Our ship was the Royal Princess, which is one of the newest ships in Princess Cruise's fleet.
My parents go on cruise holidays every year, and after my first trip I can totally see why. To say we were treated like royalty is a total understatement, we could not have been more accommodated for. There truly is something for everyone and that means everything from the food, to the activities, to the excursions.
The People
The ship had people of all different ages from all around the world. There was everyone from elderly couples, to party groups of friends in their twenties, to children. The ship is big enough that you can live very different lifestyles without stepping over each other too much.
The Food
If you lack will power and have a big appetite then be warned - you will put on weight! I am such a foodie and felt like I was in heaven - every meal was a feast! Breakfast and lunch are served in the different buffet restaurants and are open from morning to evening. You get to eat as much as you want whenever you want - food is all inclusive with the ship. There were foods from every continent - Indian, Italian, American, English, Chinese, Japanese - as well as a huge assortment of desserts, cheeses, and salads.
Dinner is slightly more formal, and on entering the ship you get given a set time for your meal that you stick to everyday. I must say I struggled with this because my parents like to eat late whereas I like to eat early so I would often skip the more formal meals and just eat at the buffet, which is also open in the evenings for a more casual dinner.
There was a different theme for dinner every night too such as American night and black and white night to name just a couple of the themes, and so people would dress up accordingly. My mum loved the opportunity to be able to dress up as she doesn't get to often at home, whereas my dad, being a typically northern man, hates the fuss and so would go eat at the buffet.
The Gym
Possibly one of my favourite areas of the ship was the indoor gymnasium, which had panoramic views of the sea! As well as the indoor gym there were gym apparatus lined along the top deck of the ship alongside the running / walking path so you could workout in the fresh sea air! With so much excess eating, I forced myself to hit the gym or go on a run every morning, and I have to say it was a treat with those views! There were people of all ages in the gym, and different classes on too - such as sunrise pilates on the main deck. Bliss!
The Daytime
For the days spent on the ship, I would spend my time lounging by the pool area on the top deck. Straight after breakfast there was a morning film; this was definitely one of my favourite parts of the day (after the food!), and me and my dad would usually watch it together before I would head to one of the quieter pools away from the noise of the entertainment (games and live music). Don't get me wrong, the live music was great, and the games and competitions looked fun, but for me I wanted the trip to be relaxing.
On the days we docked, we would leave the ship to take excursions around the island and take in the local culture. My gran would always stay on the ship in the shade because she found it tiring to be walking around all day.
I loved seeing the islands, and there were so many excursions and water-sports you could book from the ship before arriving, or you could just do your own thing. There were also BBQ lunches at different locations on the island which were free to us too :)
The Evening
My absolute favourite part of the night would be the Movies Under the Stars. There were two different show times every night - at 7pm or 10pm, and you were given blankets and popcorn and could lay on the deckchairs (or in the hot tubs) to watch a film. Depending how tired I was or if I ate with my family or not I would watch either screening. I remember thinking to myself that I was actually living the dream.
My parents and Gran loved all the performances happening on the ship - there'd be dances and singers covering every genre of music imaginable. I went to the big band night, which was amazing as I love the classics by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
Some nights I would head to the casino with a couple of friends I made on the ship. I never gamble in the UK, but a friend I made from Texas was a semi-professional poker player so it was fun to go down with him and be taught some tricks. I actually made some money that I used as my spending money on the islands!
Some nights I would also venture into one of the nightclubs or bars - I had so much fun one night learning to line-dance to Pitbull songs until the early hours! Yeehaa!
There were also shops where you could buy jewellery, clothes, and even art - my mum liked to browse the shops in the evenings. And there were professional photographers dotted around the ship so they were always on hand to professionally capture your holiday.
I had such a great time on the ship, writing this post has made me nostalgic. The greatest thing about going on a cruise is that you can truly have whatever type of experience and holiday you desire!
Have any of you guys been on cruise ships? I'd love to hear about your experiences. In the mean time, I'm just going to dream of where I might go next.
You can find out more information on Princess Cruises on their website.
Until next time... x
