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I got so many questions about our recent family vacation and am so excited to finally share all of the details with you. This was our family’s first cruise experience and we had an amazing time! We teamed up with Royal Caribbean to get an early look at their newest ship Symphony of the Seas before it comes to the U.S. The trip was a 7-night Western Mediterranean itinerary that started in Barcelona, Spain and stopped in Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Marseille, France; La Spezia, Rome and Naples, Italy. Cruising is such a fun and seamless way to explore so many places in a short amount of time. Typically, when traveling to multiple countries you have to pack up and move from hotel to hotel and with kids and all the luggage, that sounds exhausting. It was SOOOO nice to have all of our belongings on the ship without the hassle of moving from city to city. We would have never been able to experience and explore all the cities we visited on our trip if it weren’t for being on the ship. One of our favorite stops on the cruise was Naples, Italy!! We did a Private Journey through Royal Caribbean where we learned how to make pizza. It was so fun and delicious! My kids had the time of their lives (Jackson slept in his stroller through the pizza making part but woke up in time to eat it)! You can also plan your own day onshore, but we really enjoyed having everything set up for us in advance!!
The destinations were absolutly amazing, but there were a few days we opt'd to stayed on the ship, which ended up being a blast and it gave us time to rejuvenate. My kids were in heaven! It is impossible to be bored on the ship because there are so many things to do!! One of our family favorites was the free, all you can eat soft serve ice cream. Every night when we were walking back to our room from dinner we would make a stop for ice cream together (we would bribe the kids with a ice cream stop so they would be good and sit in their chairs during dinner- worked like a charm ;).
Both Isla Rose and Jackson were obsessed with Splashaway Bay too, an aqua park that has colorful waterslides and fountains designed for young children. I loved that it was only for kids their age, so they could safely play and go down the slides. We enjoyed rides on the Boardwalk-themed neighborhood’s carousel and walks through the ship’s Central Park, which was full of thousands of plants (and is where one of my favorite restaurants is located, Jamie’s Italian). We also did a cupcake decorating class at the ship’s new sweet shop, Sugar Beach. The entertainment was really family-friendly and impressive too. One night we went to an ice skating show and both Isla Rose and Jackson were mesmerized the entire time. There were tons of adventurous things for parents and kids to try together, or on their own like mini golf, ice skating, a zipline, a surf simulator, and rock climbing. One of the coolest things onboard was the Ultimate Abyss, the tallest slide at sea. Drew was the only one brave enough to go down, but the kids loved cheering him on! With so many fun activities it was so easy for us to find something for the whole family.
This was the most adventurous trip we have ever taken as a family. We got to see so many cities and loved our time on the ship. You can have a chance to sail on this amazing ship yourself! Symphony of the Seas is going to sail from Miami to the Caribbean beginning this fall! The itinerary includes Royal Caribbean’s very own private island Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas. Our family had the best time on this cruise and all of you who have DM'd me with your questions about the trip know this but I highly recommend it if you are looking for a great family vacation! We created lasting memories I will cherish forever and I am grateful to Royal Caribbean for being part of those memories and for sponsoring our trip!
