Hey hey Tuesday!
You guys, it’s PART ONE of our Spring Break Southern Caribbean Cruise Vacation!
Can I share a few little details before we begin?
First, I am by far our agency’s worst client. I sit here at my desk every single day and literally every.single.one.of.our.vacations comes across my desk. That means that I look at easily over a thousand vacations a year. Easily. What does that do to me? It makes me want to go on allllllll of them. I will *think* I know where I want to go and then, I’ll look at the next vacation that crosses my desk and think “Oh wow, I want to go there too! Maybe I should switch my destination?!”. The girls that work for me, bless them, know I’m the worst too because I’m always asking them questions/trying to decide/picking their brains…needless to say, where we go is a group decision.
I say all of that to say, this year, I had a completely different vacation booked and paid for for our family for Spring Break, but when the amazing Brooke (my cruise specialist) showed me the brand new Norwegian Viva for another client, I did a 180 and got my fam on board that ship. BEST DECISION EVER.
On Sunday night, at 10:00 PM, when we were deliriously tired and so very hungry driving home from DFW after a long flight delay, we all six agreed that we would turn the car around right then and there and do the entire vacation all over again. Every port, every excursion, every meal…we would repeat the entire thing right then. We had such an amazing time on this cruise, and I am SO HAPPY that I made the switch and put us on board.
Now, ready for some deets?!
Spoiler alert: you’re going to want to go too 🙂 .
Hello Puerto Rico! This itinerary was round trip San Juan, so on Saturday morning, the six Shulls flew from Dallas to Puerto Rico in order to arrive one day early (better safe than sorry when embarking on a cruise!).
We arrived, we checked into the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel and immediately put on our swimsuits and headed to…
…the pool.
Where are my other pics? Well, I don’t have any. I left my phone on my chair and enjoyed a few hours at the pool, down at the beach and eating poolside with my fam before showering and heading to bed. We had such a nice afternoon, and it was the perfect way to kick off our week.
The next morning…
…we slept in, went to the gym, and got ready to head to the cruise terminal. Um, HOW CUTE ARE MY SHORTS?! Since we knew we wouldn’t have our luggage for a bit once we boarded the ship, we hopped on with our swimsuits under our clothes and our POOL BAG already packed.
Eeeeks! We were so excited to see the ship when we pulled into the terminal. We have sailed many, many times with Norwegian, so we were extra pumped to be on board their new ship.
At the terminal oh so excited to board! Side note, you can find their entire outfits HERE from Old Navy 🙂 .
Let’s go!
When we arrived on board, our cabin was ready…and it was perfect for the six of us. We had a two bedroom Haven cabin which easily slept all six of us PLUS the extra amenities, private pool, bars and restaurants were a huge bonus.
We had a Haven cabin on our Hawaiian cruise and loved it so much we wanted to do it again. My very favorite part though was how easy it made getting on and off the ship. Haven cabins have private elevators and can get on board/off the ship in their own dedicated area instead of going with the masses…which makes you feel like you’re on a ship with only a few instead of on a ship with over three thousand.
I say all this to say that we have a lot of clients that ask us about the differences, so please know that when we talk to you about your next vacation on the phone, we’ll give you all of the little details and specifics to help you find the best cabin for your trip. We were so happy with our cabin!
We were about to head to the pool but first…
…sweet little Mades wanted to watch the safety video two more times. Bless her. We kept assuring her we’d get her to the lifeboats, but she said she wanted to memorize the video in case we forgot what to do.
Not a bad way to spend a day on the Viva.
Love these guys so much!
Mades lost her smile in this photo (but it’s a rare photo of Teen 1 and Teen 2!)…but no worries…
…she found it here!
We swam, we snacked and then we showered and cleaned up for dinner…
Amazon dress? Yes, please!
Awwww! Love these two.
One family pic before sushi and hibachi! We basically ate our weight in both. It was SO GOOD!
They were posing for the photographer at the restaurant. Those are my four babies. My mama heart loves them all SO MUCH. They are all getting SO BIG!!
Day One on the cruise was a huge success!
And that’s PART ONE!
Of course, of course, of course Mix and Match Travel Agency would love to help you with your next vacation! We would love to get you on board a cruise, send you to Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, Australia…maybe down to Mexico or Hawaii? And course, we love Disney and Universal vacations too! Please reach out to us today for more information. It would be an honor to help your family make memories too.
Also, don’t forget this…
…I have my FIRST TIMER’S GUIDE TO CRUISING if you’re thinking about your first cruise!
Want to see a few more posts from our previous spring break vacations?! Here you go…
Um, what about that time we went inside the actual West Wing and to the Oval Office and they let Madeley sit at the Vice President’s Desk? Um, that was an insane Spring Break trip to DC.
Eight small children, four parents and a Disney Land & Sea Spring Break for the win!
Aulani, baby! The best of Hawaii in this one amazing spot 🙂 .
Alright, you guys, IT’S THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING! I am going to soak up all the little bits about the season starting today. You know, I used to dislike spring but now, I love it. I wrote a post last year about why I finally decided to love this new season we’re in.
Happy happy SPRING! I’ll see you tomorrow! xx
Elspeth says
What a fun start to the trip! Looking forward to the next part!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Sheaffer says
Can’t wait to follow along for the rest of the vacation!
Kristi says
The Haven is a dream of mine 🤣. My family mostly sails Norwegian. We sailed NCL Encore to Alaska because I read your posts and we loved it! The Viva looks amazing, also because if has the go karts. My son loved them on the Encore.
S says
What an absolutely stunning trip! Also, I can’t get over how big your kids have gotten!
Love the tropical shorts you’re wearing (before you boarded the cruise ship). Would you say they run TTS? Or a bit small? Thanks!
Mix and Match Mama says
They ran TTS! And I know…they are all SO BIG now!
Grace says
Okay, little Mades wants to watch the safety video two more times… So cute! The trip looks lovely! Seems like you all had a great time. I am looking forward to part 2!
Michael Schultz says
So beautiful! Looking forward to more pics!
Lindsay says
I can’t wait to read all about this! We have cruised 3 times, always on Royal Caribbean. I’m intrigued about Norwegian, can you share why you prefer this cruise line? Thank you for letting us peek into your travels!
Mix and Match Mama says
I think, based on my experience, once you cruise on a line that’s in a higher tier than RCCL (Norwegian, Disney, Celebrity, Princess), you’ll find it harder to go back. Food, service, attention to detail, the number of crew per passenger ratio…it’s all “better” on several other lines including NCL. We send clients on RCCL and they have a great time…but it’s a different experience. Many would maybe say it’s a bit more frenetic/chaotic…something like that.
Lindsay says
Thank you so much! That is very helpful!
Kay says
Shay – looks like such a fun vacation – can’t wait to see part 2. Complete random question – have you watched “Only Murders in the Building” w/Steve Martin & Martin Short? My girls and I just finished watching it and really like it (some seasons more than others). So many of your movie favorites are mine as well, so I think you’d like it! Martin Short is hilarious.
Mix and Match Mama says
I watched Season 1 and thought it was hilarious! I need to go back and watch the other seasons now too!
Erika Slaughter says
This looks like the perfect way to spend a Spring Break!
Courtney says
OK, inquiring minds need to know: where was the originally planned spring break location? 😉 Also, look how many pics Smith allowed thus far! LOL Looking forward to your next recap. Have a great Tuesday, Shay!
Mix and Match Mama says
Well, I don’t know that I want to say because I don’t want anyone doing that particular trip to think less of it (as it’s still amazing!!), but this was clearly the trip for us. Smith was a pretty good sport on this trip…pretty good 😉 .
Kristen says
I am usually a Royal Carribean gal.. do you prefer Norwegian better.. are they comparable or a step up? Pics look amazing and can you link K’s dress! Thanks.
Mix and Match Mama says
We send many clients on Royal Caribbean, but I find that most people never go back after going on Disney, Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity, Holland America or MSC.
Linda says
I’ve been on many many Royal Caribbean ships as well as Celebrity. I wouldn’t say Celebrity is a step above or a higher tier than RC. My family definitely prefers RC versus Celebrity and even Disney (let’s not even talk about the cost of Disney!). I guess it’s a personal preference, but I think RC has hands down the best entertainment and amenities on most of theirs ships than any other cruise line.
Kit says
Can’t wait to see the rest of the trip!!! Can you link the open heart necklace you have on with the Andrew necklace?
Mix and Match Mama says
It’s an oldie but goodie. I don’t even remember who made it? I love it though 🙂 .
Stephanie says
So glad you loved it! We surprised our kids and left 3 days after Christmas for that ship and itinerary! It was pure bliss! We were only the 3rd sailing so it had the “new” smell and everything was top notch! Highly recommend!! And yes the Haven makes it that much better 🙂
Marci says
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to hear more. How would you compare a NCL to a Disney Cruise? We’ve loved Disney but I like the NCL itinerary. Curious about your thoughts and which has better food!
Mix and Match Mama says
When it comes to those two cruise lines in particular, I think it depends on who is traveling (ages of kiddos, etc) and the specific itineraries. Both have amazing ships and service.
Chrys says
I LOVE your cruise posts! We are platinum on NCL and clearly big fans, haha. However, we are trying RCCL for the first with friends this Spring Break. For the summer we originally had the Viva booked for the Mediterranean, but it was port intensive and we felt like we wouldn’t have time to explore such a gorgeous trip. So we pivoted to another NCL ship and itinerary. So I am thrilled you are recapping the Viva and this gorgeous itinerary because it is on our list!
Kristy Moore says
I need to know where the original trip was going! Now I’m curious!!
Christy says
Our family loves cruising too and I’ve been really looking forward to reading your review! We also have four kids 12 year old twin boys, a 9 year old boy and a 6 year old girl….how do the kids clubs compare? Our kids LOVE the kids clubs on Disney’s cruises.
Mix and Match Mama says
This year, my kids didn’t try the kids clubs, but in the past, they’ve enjoyed the ones on NCL. Disney Cruise Line, for obvious reasons, has the BEST kids clubs though.
Makila says
With kids also with celiac, how do you handle the food on the cruise?
Mix and Match Mama says
They go above and beyond on cruises for food allergies/intolerances. At every meal, she was catered to.
Gilda Grant says
Omg we were on the same trip. Loved loved the haven—now we will have to book the Haven only. We saw you and your family on the ship but had no idea you were from mckinney. We live in prosper. We traveled with my daughter son in law and 2 grandkids who thought they were in heaven…,we love to travel and happy to hear you own a travel
Agency. We are heading to Europe on the prima in October.
Mix and Match Mama says
I wish I could have met you while on board. You are going to LOVE the Prima this fall too!!