The last full day of the cruise was a day at sea as we sailed from the southern part of Mexico up to Port Canaveral in Florida. This was my least favorite day because I wasn't feeling the best—I woke up with a cough and didn't quite feel like my usual self, and by that night, I knew I had a cold (and it turned out to be a doozy of a cold!). The other reasons that I didn't love this day were that we had to start packing up, and the knowledge that the next day you'll be leaving the ship and your vacation will be over is a bummer. But c'est la vie; that's the way it goes. And there were good things too, of course. In reality, it really was a nice day!
The boys liked being able to sleep in after three port days when they had to be up by a certain time for our excursions.
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It's probably a good thing that I didn't discover these delicious, fluffy chocolate-frosted donuts until the last day of the cruise! 😋
My mom and I went to the Captain's Corner, which is a weekly talk with the captain of the ship where the audience can ask him questions. I think that is such a good idea, and it was really interesting! The captain was a nice guy who was originally from Norway. I liked his accent and his sense of humor.
The next event in the theater was a celebration for veterans, and these treats and drinks were set up for it.
So nice!
So nice!
The woman in cabin 10 and the woman in cabin 14546! 😄
I liked these towel creations at the towel station in the Solarium.
How cute is this crab!?
Other than our stateroom balcony, the Solarium was my favorite place to relax and hang out on the ship.
I spotted John and my mom hanging out at one of the hot tubs and snapped a picture.
I went up to the top of the ship, took a selfie in a mirror, and went down the Ultimate Abyss, where the worker made my day by calling me "beautiful" (he probably says that to all the women, but still 😄).
I loved these dessert cups from Windjammer, along with their fruit punch. I mostly drink water, but on the cruise I treated myself to juice drinks more than usual.
Traveling by sea is such a fun way to see different places! I love it.
The triangle was our current location. Florida was coming too fast!
My mom and I went to the World's Sexiest Man contest in the afternoon. It was so funny. Two older men from Utah (of all places!) ended up being the finalists and winning.
Some of the men were indeed pretty sexy! 😆 I enjoyed the show (which was kid-friendly and fun! 😉).
The guy on the left won. They both had some funny and clever answers to the questions.
Stats about the ship from a shirt
One of my favorite things about the cruise was dinner in the Main Dining Room each evening. We sat at the same table, at the same time, with the same servers, Michael from the Philippines and Kashish from India. The food was great, the atmosphere was fun, and Michael and Kashish were wonderful and so kind. I found out when I got the final bill that they barely charged us for any of the special drinks we got. Kashish was funny and talkative, and I think we would have been good friends in real life. I actually really missed him for a few weeks after the cruise and wished I'd asked to connect with him on Facebook or something. I still miss you, Kashish!
I love this picture!
Sam and I went to InTENse because he wanted to see it again. I got better pictures this time because we were closer to the front. Do you see the tightrope walker high up above?
It's an excellent show!
And that was our final day at sea and of the cruise! I was very tired by the end of the day and definitely had a cold brewing by that point. When I woke up the next morning, I didn't feel well at all. If I had to pick up a bug (after 3.5 years of excellent health, I might add [again] 😁), I'm glad it didn't happen until the end of the cruise!
Other than me feeling sick and eating hardly anything all day (and the week following--that's one way not to gain weight from your cruise!), our trip home went fine. We had a quick layover in Atlanta before flying to Boston. Everything was on time, and our luggage all made it fine. Two thumbs up for Delta!
This is the one owl souvenir I bought, a pretty painted one from Costa Maya.
I am SO GLAD we went on this cruise! We had a really good time, and I feel that it was a well-deserved trip for us. We went through a hard few years together, and this felt like a reward for getting through it all. Of course, the far greater rewards are eternal in nature, but this was a pretty good worldly one. 😁 I've missed this kind of travel, and it reiterated to me that traveling truly can make for the best experiences and memories. I'm already looking forward to doing this again in the future!
Tags: #royalcaribbean #wonderoftheseas #westerncaribbeancruise
