Cruzin' the Caribbean

Our family recently took a vacation. We were celebrating both Mr.Perfect and my mom, Nana's, zero ending birthdays. My theory is that vacations help the birthdays go down, just like sugar helps the medicine go down.

Deciding where to go on a group vacation tends to be a big pain. Throw a kid in the mix and you're in real trouble, literally Trouble. We opted for an Caribbean voyage on the Carnival Victory.

There are a million different reasons why we chose to take a cruise but mostly we really love the amount and variety of activities that are available on a ship. Everyone in our group always had something to do or a fabulous place to relax. Trouble was a big fan of the mini golf.

All of the boys thoroughly enjoyed the waterslide.

Papa on the waterside

My mom and I loved reading and relaxing in the adult area... the view could not be beat!

The childrens program, Camp Carnival, was great. Trouble was able to hang out with other kids on the ship doing fun stuff like pirate hunting and disco dancing. So while Mr.Perfect and I went scuba diving in St.Kitts, Trouble was safe on the ship having a blast with his new friends.

Trouble The Pirate Hunter

Excursions offered by the cruise line are a great way to explore the ports and try new things. Although they tend to be on the expensive side you are always well taken care of. We gave snuba a try in St. Lucia and had an amazing time.

At some ports we opted to explore on our own. In St. Thomas we took a taxi and boat to the island of St.John for a day on the beach in Trunk Bay, which by the way has to be the most beautiful beach I've ever seen.

In Barbados we took a taxi to a beach and spent the day relaxing in the crystal clear water.

My parents were in the cabin next to us and we were able to open up our balconies to widen our view and give us more shared space (where we enjoyed many a cocktail and the fantastic view). Trouble loved being able to escape to Nana & Papa's cabin when his parents were being a drag... and we loved it too.

With a tear in my eye I said good bye to our cabin steward who always made my bed, took out the trash, tidied up, left fresh towels and chocolates on my pillow. (Then I told Mr.Perfect that he totally had some competition in the 'perfect department' because if Mr.CabinSteward could have fit in my suitcase I was seriously considering taking him home with me.) We all had a terrific vacation filled with unforgettable memories!