soooo we did our first ever cruise this month!
and to top it off - it was a friends trip with s & f and their families!
this was such an incredible experience, so as usual, here i go with the details of every day!
DAY 1 - APR 11, 2026 - SAT
early morning we had our flight from toronto to fort lauderdale (florida) because that was where the cruise was taking off from
we got to fort lauderdale around noon and waited (a while) for our baggage - then we took an uber to the hotel we had booked nearby. this hotel was actually offering shuttle services for free, but my brain farts were strong during this trip (more on this later) sooooo i had forgotten
anyway, once we got to the hotel, we checked in, our room was ready, and esa and yasir and i took a bit of a nap
after i woke up, i went to the wendy's directly across the hotel parking and grabbed some food for the 3 of us and then esa and i went into the hotel pool
overall it was a great time in the pool and then we showered and got dressed and headed out
i looked up stuff to do in fort lauderdale and found that there was a boardwalk next to the ocean which was a nice walk so we did that for the night and then grabbed dinner at a local greek place which was FREAKING DELICIOUS and then finally ubered back to the hotel and went to bed
DAY 2 - APR 12, 2026 - SUN
this was the day the cruise was boarding and also the morning we saw s& f and families at dinner (they arrived late the night prior)
we saw them at breakfast at the hotel and immediately the kids got busy with each other and hung out
i had brought a few activities so i took them out and then s, f and i went to the local grocery store to pick up some drink cans and snacks for the cruise
once we were done, we got back to the hotel and basically packed up to get ready to board
we took 2 ubers collectively to get to port everglades where we boarded Royal Caribbean - Oasis of the Seas and the minute we got on the ship, i was in love! it was H U G E and BUSTLING and soooo coool
once we got on, we went straight for lunch at the windjammer (buffet) and got us and the kids fed
after that we were told our rooms were ready so we went and checked in to our rooms - i had booked an ocean view balcony room and oh man it was just lovely and soooo well worth the upgrade!
then we took a bit of a nap and then woke up, showered, and got ready to go for dinner as the cruise started its journey in the evening
that evening was the cruise wide prank for making your partners wear the same shirt - yasir of course took forever to get ready so we MISSED the big group picture. but we ended up getting there in time for a mini after picture so that was nice :p
once we did the pictures, we roamed around the promenade deck and the kids had a go on the carousel and then we walked through the central park deck and enjoyed all of that.
after that we met back up with s & f and families and had dinner at windjammer and then went to do some dancing at the main deck and then stayed up late for the balloon drop on day 1!
after balloon drop, we went back to our rooms and slept
DAY 3 - APR 13, 2026 - MON
this was our first port stop so we woke up nice and early and went for breakfast at the windjammer buffer
then we all got our stuff together and got ready to take the ferry off the ship to the port at nassau bahamas
we had done the royal caribbean private area excursion and let me tell ya it was SO WORTH it
we went first to the beach, however noticed immediately that the sand had a giant red flag stationed in it indicating that the water was FAR too wavy and strong and dangerous to actually do any swimming in
still, we managed to get wet and have fun and esa lost his bucket and it was just lovely
after the beach we took a break for lunch which was right there on the private island and then headed to the pool where we spent the rest of the afternoon just swimming and hanging and swimming and hanging
finally we got out, had some more food and drinks, and then headed back to the ferry to the ship
this time the ferry dropped us off WAY farther away from where it picked us up and all of us were nervously walking ahead to make sure we could get back on the ship on time
once we were back on the ship, we showered and we (y, e and i) went for a nap - or should i say a G L O R I O U S nap
after we woke up from the nap we went down for dinner at windjammer
after dinner we went to catch aqua 80 which we had made reservations for that night, however the show got cancelled due to ship wind/wave conditions
so instead we roamed around and ended up at the musical show in one of the theatres on the ship and watched that
it was my least favourite show - but that didn't mean it wasn't awesome!
DAY 4 - APR 14, 2026 - TUE
on this day, before breakfast, s and f had booked a "fab abs" class so we went to that - i barely did any of it but it was fun either way in the ship's giant spa/gym facility!
this was a sea day so after breakfast at windjammer, we went to the pool and the kids went into the splash pad and they played and played and played
we also spent some time in the ship pool but mostly the kids just played in the splash pad which was good enough for them so it was good enough for us :p
after a good looong morning by the pool, we grabbed lunch at the windjammer and then headed back to our room for - YOU GUESSED IT - a g dang nap :p
after the nap, we went to the family science experiment with f & family and saw a reaction immitating a volcanic eruption - the kids enjoyed it!
once that happened we went up to the deck to take some pictures and then we went to dinner
after dinner we went to watch the ice skating show and OH MAN WAS IT EVER IMPRESSIVE. the way the figure skaters skated was something else!
after that, we hung out, danced a little bit, and eventually we went to bed and that was that :)
DAY 5 - APR 15, 2026 - WED
on this day we grabbed breakfast at windjammer and had arrived at falmouth, jamaica and so we got off the ship and went to the beach
this excursion was just y, e and i and while i mostly stayed on the lounger at the beach and enjoyed a nap in the sun, yasir and i played and had a grand old time at the beach, playing in the water
it rained a tiny bit and there was a lot of sea weed on the beach, but y and e found a spot that didn't have a bunch and stayed there and it was great
then we went back to the port in jamica and while y was fully in the mood to hang out and explore the port, i was super tired and just wanted to get back to the ship, take a shower, and take a nap
so we hung out for a bit, esa got a little shark souvenir (and later asked to trade it for a guitar toy) and i got some ice cream and then that was it, and we headed back to the ship
once we were back on the ship, we went first to grab some lunch
after lunch, we showered and napped
after our nap we went to grab dinner with the rest of the crew and then went to watch the aqua 80 diving show which - oh goodness was SO FREAKING impressive i cannot describe!
DAY 6 - APR 16, 2026 - THU
on this day we had decided to steer clear of the pool and water stuff and just do all of the activities
so after breakfast we went and the kids watched the movie mario bros
s, f and i went and hung out at central park while they were watching and afterwards when the movie ended we took the kids to the little kid play area where they hung out and had a blast
after that we went and grabbed lunch
and this was also the day in the evening when we went ice skating (i took two STRUGGLE-FULL rounds around the rink while holding on to the edge the WHOLE time) and then had dinner
of course, in the middle of this day, we took one of our longest naps :p it was amazing
i think this was also the day we ported at port labadee in haiti - however we didn't actually get to leave the ship because of the social conditions in the country
instead the ship was dropping off humanitarian aid so that was something
DAY 7 - APR 17, 2026 - FRI
on this day we woke up, had breakfast, and then went to the pool
the guys and the kids spent all their time in the water and so s, f and i just got to hang out and enjoy each others' company
after the pool we grabbed lunch at windjammer
this was the ONLY DAY that we didn't take a nap (though paid for it by the end of the night when i couldn't keep my eyes open) BUT y and e did take a nap
while they napped, i went down with f & s and walked around the walking path of the ship
then we went back to our rooms and got ready to go to dinner
we did dinner in the main dining hall on this day (our last on the ship) and had the servers sing a happy birthday song for both esa and i (s's elder daughter) since both of them are april babies
then after dinner the girls went and picked out the pictures they wanted to purchase while i sat on the bench and contemplated the mistake i had made by not napping that day
after that i dragged myself to bed (but not before setting MULTIPLE SUPER EARLY morning alarms since i had absolutely NO energy to pack that night)
DAY 8 - APR 18, 2026 - SAT
on this day we woke up SUPER EARLY in order to pack everything
after packing it was basically breakfast time and the ship and already returned to dock at port everglades in fort lauderdale
so we took our baggage and walked off the ship
after walking off we headed straight to the airport where f and i were on the same flight and then hung out there for the next few hours
then we took our flight (slightly delayed) and came back home and went to my parents' place and stayed the night
DAY 9 - APR 19, 2026 - SUN
woke up nice and early and had breakfast
esa played a bunch with nano and nana and i
then y woke up and he had breakfast
eventually we got ready and headed back home
and that was that for our cruise vacation
that's all the memories i have to share right now - and somewhere i'm sure i've messed up the order of events. BUT OVERALL i think i covered it all lol