Cruisin' into 2019

Don't hate me for that "Cruisin' into 2019" pun, I had no choice but to throw a cheesy title into this. So, a few years ago, Cody's family decided we would skip our traditional Christmas celebrations and instead take a family trip. We decided on a Carnival Cruise in January of 2019. It seems like it would take forever to get to that date, but here we are and it has come and gone faster than I could've imagined.

I had no idea what to expect, as I've never been on a cruise before. In fact, we were pretty much all cruise newbies. Many thanks to Pinterest for prepping me on what to bring, what to buy and what to expect. Packing was the hardest part and I most definitely brought way too many outfits, but hey, you can never be too prepared, right? After several weeks of prepping, we were finally ready to make our way down to Galveston, Texas.

We set off on our trip early on New Year's Day, meaning we called it a night as soon as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. Our long drive was filled with many snacks, new song discoveries, lunch at a noodle shop in Dallas and finally, our arrival in Houston. We spent the evening in Houston and to be honest, spent most of it searching for somewhere to eat. This is always a fun adventure in a place you've never been to. After plugging places to eat into our map apps, we found a burger place that turned out to be a tiny closed-down building, a taco place that ended up being in a closed student center and finally (after 30 minutes) found ourselves at what seemed to be a Texas-loved place called Taco Cabana. Basically a larger, alcohol serving version of Taco Bell. Needless to say, we were all passed out by 8 p.m. that night.

The next morning, after an extremely interesting visit to a nearby McDonalds, we made it to a rainy Galveston. We had time to kill before checking into our Air BnB, so we explored their cute, colorful downtown area. Popping in and out of different shops while cruising the street with a strawberry daiquiri in hand. Our Air Bnb was the cutest seaside bungalow and the ocean was just across the street. After all parties had arrived, we went to a well-suggested Mexican restaurant named Salsa's to celebrate and kick-off our trip. We called it another early night and prepped our bags for embarkation in the morning.

It was cruise embarkation day. We made our way to our parking lot, got our things together and arrived at the terminal, all while in the pouring rain might I add. Our check-in process was pretty quick and seamless and we moved through the lines and onto the boat in no time (thank the lord for early check-in). Once boarding, we made our way to the Lido deck, bags in hand, to have our first lunch. The food options were overwhelming and limitless. After our rooms were ready, we headed to Deck 1 to unpack. Our room was so much bigger than I had imagined and we even had two little porthole windows to see out. After a safety briefing, sail away party, and grabbing some drinks, we made our way to dinner in the dining room. The menu made it hard to choose and we all ended up ordering way too much food. But isn't that the point of a cruise? After dinner we explored the casino and the other things to do on the boat. By the end of the night and some 24-hour pizza from Pizza Pirate, we were looking forward to day two.

Day two was Ruth's birthday and we started it off by watching the sunrise on the boat with coffee in hand. It was beautiful, serene and a moment I don't think I could ever recreate. We then brunched, wandered around and ended up laying out in the Serenity Area (the adults-only area). We watched what is something I'd never had the pleasure of seeing before--a hairy chest contest. This was hilarious and one of the best parts of that day. Guy's Burgers was the choice for lunch and may have just been one of the best choices I've ever made. If you have the chance to try it, run don't walk. That evening was formal night, which was perfect for celebrating Ruth's birthday. We all got fancied up and had another amazing, delicious dinner where we got to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Ruth followed by a Happy Anniversary cake from the server (we are thinking they ran out of happy birthday ones?). That night we went to two comedy shows by John Wesley Austin, one which was PG-13 and one that was R-rated and wow, he was pretty funny. The night ended at the Small Steps dance club listening to some good jams.

Day three was excursion day! Our cruise stopped in Cozumel, Mexico, but our excursion was in Playa Del Carmen. After a 30 minute ferry to the mainland and a bus ride, we made it to Xplor park. The park was so incredibly fun. We rode rafts through a river in a cave where we paddled with scoops on our hands, as challenging as it sounds. We then swam through another cave river, which was freezing, but ended up taking us through a really pretty waterfall. Next came driving ATV's through water, paths and caves where we also saw a deer in our path. After a lunch that was out of this world, we did our last adventure. We zip-lined through eight different towers, one of which was 175 feet up in the air. It was exhilarating and allowed us to see beautiful sights above the trees. After a ferry ride back to the ship, we got back on and got ready for dinner. Needless to say, another delicious dinner. We watched a Hasbro Life Size game show, a Love and Marriage game show and spent the evening at the piano bar singing along to great songs.

Day four was our last full day on the boat. It was the sunniest and warmest day, so we spent the day laying out by the pool. During lunch, the ship had a 'Chocolate Extravaganza' where there were cakes, cookies, ice cream, fondue and so much more. We indulged to say the least. Before dinner, we searched for an empty space in a hot tub and finally prevailed. Watching the sunset on a ship in the middle of the ocean while in a hot tub was another irreplaceable memory. Our last dinner was equally as great, but slightly harder to get through as I don't think any of our stomachs could take much more. After one more R-rated comedy show from John Wesley Austin, casino time, arcade games and more piano bar, it was time to call it a night.

The next morning we arrived at the port at 8 a.m. We were stuffed, tired and ready to get on land. After one last breakfast we started our debarkation. It was a little crazy and hectic, but we made it off the ship and to our cars. Our original plan was to stay one more night in Galveston, but we were so exhausted and ready to get home to our homes and dogs, we drove back that day. 10 hours later and we were home from a fun, adventurous, memorable family trip.

The trip was a success. We had safe travels, amazing meals, incredible staff, good laughs and a trip that created memories that will last a lifetime. I couldn't imagine starting 2019 a better way with a better group of people. After coming home and sleeping for a full 24 hours, I can say that I am recovered and ready to kick-in that gym New Year's resolution.