February 24, 2020, My Dad turned 60! It was no ordinary birthday celebration. My Ma, sister and I gave him a surprise cruise. That's right, he had an all expense paid, week-long, trip to the Western Caribbeans. When I tell you he had no idea, he really had no idea. We convinced him a month earlier that he needed to take time off from work to celebrate in Clear Water Beach, Florida. So we had to enter full stealth mode as a family when planning every aspect of the trip.
As we drove through Florida in our Lyft, we were sure that he would notice all of the cruise terminal signs and start putting it together what we we really doing. Nope! He never realized it. We were able to turn directly into the cruise port and shout surprise with him being none the wiser.
All of our months of hard work and planning truly paid off. We had the best time together. We ate til our stomachs were ready to burst, took part in entertainment and dancing, lounged poolside and simply relaxed.
On the islands we took part in new excursions on the beach, took in the sights, and had new experiences together. The weather was perfect and being with my family made it all the more enjoyable.
I even found myself conquering fears. I swam out into the middle of the ocean and played on a giant water inflatable. The hardest part was climbing the 12 feet, to then go down the slide back into the ocean. Sitting up there waiting to slide down, I was terrified, but there was no turning back. I remember emerging to the surface, shouting with triumph.
Cruising with the Royal Caribbean cruise line is a way of life that I could get used to. It was my third cruise and it was like sailing for the first time all over again. I can't wait until things are back to normal and its safe to set sail again.