I love cruising. I mean, I really, really love cruising. Angeline jokingly said once while on the Carnival Freedom, “this is like a hotel that takes you to paradise.” So, so true! A cruise has everything you could possibly want in a fantastic vacation: a lovely room, delicious food available to you 24 hours a day, free room service, fun comedy shows, Broadway-style entertainment, gambling, expert bartenders, a free, built in camp program for the kiddos, inexpensive nighttime childcare, and my favorite part?
Exotic locations at your beckon call!
I was invited on this complimentary cruise to check out the new Carnival Seuss at Sea themed activities and spaces, as well as the all-new Camp Ocean kid’s program. You can read all about the Camp Ocean and Seuss at Sea programs that are a part of the FunShip 2.0 update available on the Carnival Freedom here.
Today I want to show you some of the amazing places we were able to visit for a day, courtesy of our ports of call.
Let’s begin with Grand Turk, in Turks and Caicos. We have been to Grand Turk before, but we did a snorkeling excursion on that trip. Last week, we just sat on the beach and soaked up the sun.
We found a beach vendor selling $5 wifi access and caught up on emails, shared our fun day with our Instagram followers and then headed over to Margaritaville, where the pool water was as blue and warm as the ocean just yards away.
Next up was La Romana, in the Dominican Republic. We went on the Bayahibe Beach Break shore excursion through Carnival Cruise Lines and spent the day basking in the sun, watching a group play water polo in the pool and taking advantage of the free swim up pool bar!
Of course no day is complete without a little fresh coco frio…which were free upon arrival!
Our next visit was to the tiny island of Curaçao, which is part of the ABC Islands – which are Dutch!
We visited a few lovely beaches and then I crossed the famous Queen Emma Bridge to explore the local shopping and dining scene.
Just my luck…the bridge opened and I was stuck across the bridge from the girls for almost an hour. I had to grab a ferry back!
We went on the De Palm Island Snorkeling Excursion while in Aruba. While it wasn’t the best beach on the island, there were tons of tiki huts and lounge chairs, which most beaches lack. It was also a prime spot for snorkeling, and there was a water park for kids!
People just went back and forth between the snorkeling, water park and pretty beach all day! Drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) were included in the excursion, as well as a free buffet!
De Palm Island really had everything you could possibly want in a tropical island excursion. The girls had a blast snorkeling right off the beach for hours!
You can read more about these ports in the following posts!
The Best Beaches of the Caribbean
5 Things to do with Kids in Aruba
