MY FIRST CRUISE

When I first found out that my mom wanted to go on a cruise, I never thought she was actually serious.  I also never thought that I could have an opportunity to spend quality time on an astonishing boat with my loving parents.  I found out about the trip about six months before we departed.  My mom was going to turn 50 years old, and that is a big deal.  So she decided to celebrate by going on a cruise with her daughter, husband and she even invited a business friend to come with us.  Unfortunately we had to leave D-D (which is the dog) at home; bummer – right?  It was okay though, because he would bark out the whole ship; they would be so annoyed that they would have to jump overboard.  Anyways, back to the story – the wait for the cruise was painful.  The date was so far away, and I was so ready to feel those bumpy waves.  I told myself that if I enjoyed every day, the date would come soon enough, and it did!  Before I knew it, I was packing for Miami. 

The day before we left for Miami, I had returned from a class trip to Washington, DC.  I was so tired, because we did not get back until late that evening.  DC was amazing, but I knew the cruise would be undeniably better.  I was able to get a little sleep, then the next morning I kissed D-D, and we got in the car and headed for the airport.  I fell asleep and before I knew it I was at the airport, and heading for the airplane.  We whisked through security and boarded our flight.  I was so tired, so I fell asleep almost instantly.  I had to sit with a stranger, because the seats were two per side, but that was okay because I was sleeping (hopefully I did not snore).  We arrived at our next stop (Atlanta) a little delayed because of the storm, and the layover was so long.  We went to the Delta Club and I was able to sleep on the sofa almost the entire time.  We ate and then it was time to board the plane again.  This flight was larger, and I was able to watch a movie.   We finally arrived in Miami, got our bags and called an Uber. 

 

Making Memories

Life is better when shared with others.

MY VOYAGE CONTINUES

We stayed at a very nice hotel in Miami. When we arrived, the front desk told us our suite was not quite ready, so we had to go to the lounge, for what seemed like about 4 hours. The entire time I just watched YouTube and did some homework. My parents talked, took pictures and were on their phones. We got the call that our room was ready, and we were finally able to get settled; so let’s just say – this day for everyone was just a rest day.

Our Flight to Miami
My Dad in the middle. LOL
Miami, Fl
My room view
Day before cruise
What a view!
Boarding Time
Everybody all aboard

Fun Time on the High Seas

We got up the next day and it was time for the fun!  When it came time to leave for the ship, we called our driver and hit the road to board the Allure of the Seas.  We went through pre-check and everything; not to brag, but we were in like – high class, so we skipped a lot of the long lines and everything. We had someone take us up the elevator, get us checked in and it was smooth sailing after that. This is what I appreciate about my parents; they work hard so we can afford to do things like this, and they always make sure that I am taken care of.  We went to the 17th floor to our suite.  When we went in, I had NO WORDS.  The room was so pretty.  There were two floors – I had the whole bottom floor to myself, and my parents were on the top.  They had their own bathroom, and I had my bathroom downstairs. I went out on the balcony and saw all the fun things I could do and this made me so happy.

The Allure of the Seas was so beautifully put together, and I loved it!  We were greeted by many lovely staff members, and we even had our own butler.  I got myself situated in my room and we got ready to eat.  We met this cool dude named Oskar, who was our waiter for the rest of the trip.  He was so nice, and every night he showed us tricks and he had my favorite dishes memorized.  When we got back to our room on the first day, there was a nice greeting card and gifts from our butler and other staff, and there was a cake and beautiful flowers from my mom’s good friend Ms. Christina.  My mom was so happy.  Later that evening, we met Dexter, who was in the VIP Lounge.  He also took really good care of us while we were on the cruise.  We sailed for the rest of the day, and the next day we arrived in The Bahamas. 

My mom and dad’s business friend, Mr. Yuri was also on the ship with us.  We were so excited that he was able to cruise with us, and he made the trip quite memorable.  In fact, he encouraged me to keep a diary and write a report about my trip.  Each night at dinner, I sat with Mr. Yuri and he always had great things to share and he gave me some good advice about school and everything.

When we docked in The Bahamas, it was lovely, but extremely hot.  There was a breeze, and we met a lot of people and got many souvenirs.  We got back on the ship and this was formal night.  Everyone looked so nice and dinner was amazing, but I was extremely tired after that.  I woke up later with a sore throat, but I pushed through it.  I worked out in the fitness center for 30 minutes, got a smoothie and went back to my suite.  My throat hurt so bad, and we were sailing all day.  I rested up so that I could enjoy Mexico.  My daddy got me some medicine from the pharmacy on the ship, and this made me feel better.

For the rest of the time on the cruise, we did many fun things, took lots of pictures, and collected many souvenirs to treasure our special and precious moments.  This was a once in a lifetime experience with my parents.  Even if I do get a chance to go on another cruise, it would not be the same as my first time.  We met lots of new people from all over and I had an amazing time.  We visited Nassau, Bahamas; Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan Honduras; Costa Maya, Mexico and then returned to Miami, Florida.  I am so appreciative for my parents and I also appreciate Mr. Yuri for encouraging me to journal about this trip.  I cannot wait to go on my next cruise.

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