One of my favorite vacations I have been on was the cruise to Bermuda I took last summer. My family doesn’t often go on cruises, as there are so many of us, but this one was special. It was more of a graduation present to me specifically. I got to go with my best friend from high school, Megan, and my mom and my Aunt. As you can imagine, cruising with your best friend is an experience like no other.
With the four of us, it was basically just a really nice girls trip. Me and my best friend stayed in a room and my mom and aunt stayed in another. Before this cruise, the last time I went on one was when I was eight years old, which meant it was a completely different experience. Back then, I mostly cared about the arcade, fun pools, and the different boat activities. Being 18 this time around, I enjoyed more of the adult features of the boat for the first time. The cruise was part of the Royal Caribbean cruise line and had many different features. One of my favorites was called the Solarium. It was the area on the end of the boat that our rooms happened to be on and it was a 16 and over area with mini pools and spas and lots of lounging chairs. It was certainly quieter than the other areas since there were no little kids and me and Megan would lay in front of the giant windows facing the sea on the comfy chairs and just relax.
The cruise stopped at Bermuda for three out of the five days we were gone, and obviously this part was a huge highlight. We took a van driven by a local to the pink sands beach for most of the days. These were the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. The pinkish sand stretched into the clear blue water, in which we could walk in and still see our feet by the time we got up to our shoulders. The sun beat down hotter than ever and we could tan for hours and alternate between going in the water to cool off.
Another major perk of the island was that the legal drinking age is 18, so we got to get a taste of going to the beach-side bar and trying fancy island drinks. After spending a day on the beach, sipping pina coladas and tanning for hours on end, we got to go back to the boat and watch movies on the gigantic screen above the pool deck on lounge chairs.
Most of the time, me and Megan would separate from my mom and aunt, just doing our separate things, but we would occasionally catch back up for some events we went to together. On one of the last nights on the boat, we all went out to one of the fancier boat restaurants and ate sushi and then watched the sun set over the ocean from the side of the boat.
This whole experience was unforgettable and officially made cruising (especially with all adults) my favorite kind of vacation. The day we had to dock and leave the boat was devastating, but made me look forward to hopefully another cruise some time in the future.
February 14, 2020 at 5:37 pm
I appreciate the imagery that you provided in this blog. You were able to make me feel like I was a part of your vacation experience through your use of detail and descriptive language when talking about the pink sand beach and the cruise ship you sailed on. I can relate to the devastation you felt at the end of your cruise as I almost always feel the same way after any vacation or get away trip that I take. That feeling is really bittersweet just as you said because you are sad to leave this vacation experience but already start to look forward to the next experience.