What I Remember from Our Cruise

The beginning of this year has got me reflecting. Reflecting on the past, things I miss, things I wish I could go back to. But also, things I can’t believe I haven’t done yet. New things I’m adding to my bucket list. New things I want to do in this year that I haven’t being doing previously.

And one of those things is reminding my family how grateful I am for them.

COVID-19 took away a lot of family time last year. No big Fourth of July hangouts, no Easter get-togethers, no big Thanksgiving feast and no cousin-forced-singing at Christmas. Although, that’s one thing I think I can live without….

Overall, I see now how much of my years have been spent with family and how precious that time is to me. And it got my thinking back to simpler times, aka when we went on a family (grandparents, uncles, cousins, aunts and all) cruise!

This was about 11 years ago, so my memory is a little hazy on all the details. But, remembering the small things brings me so much joy.

I remember we flew down to Puerto Rico before making our way along the islands of:

• Aruba
• Curacao
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Martin

Strangely, the memory that sticks out to me the most, doesn’t even involve me. It’s the fact that my brother and my youngest cousin would always be at the free ice cream dispenser on the boat. If we ever wondered where they were, we knew to find them there. I’m not entirely sure why this is the brightest memory from that time. Maybe it’s because it’s so funny or because it’s one everyone collectively talked about during and after the cruise.

Other random memories that stick out to me is that we took a group photo to submit to be in the Omaha World Herald. Although I’m not sure why people reading the newspaper would care that we were on a cruise?

Activities I can vaguely remember we did on & off the ship:

• Ice skating (on the ship)
• Rock climbing (on the ship)
• Segway-ing around a beach (off the ship)
• Tours around the islands (off the ship)

On top of everything else, I vividly remember getting one of my first periods while we were at a beach. Being very young at the time, I remember having a not so fun day.

It’s sad, honestly, that this memory comes to me, despite all the fun I do remember having. I guess it’s there to remind me that even on vacation you can have off days and that’s okay. Not every day has to be great, even when you’re on a cruise.

Of all my travel memories, I am surprised I remember so much from this trip considering how young I was at the time. I think it’s seared in my brain because of all the family time we had, all the days we were stuck on a ship and couldn’t get away from each other. These memories stick out to me especially when I haven’t seen too many of them over the past year.

What do I want to remember going forward in 2021 and beyond? I want to remember how much my family means to me and to tell them that, even when I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like.

---

This is not an informational post about the Caribbean or even cruises. But rather a look at what family trips can do for people. So, if you’re thinking about taking a family cruise, or even a regular vacation, know that they might not remember everything, but they’ll remember the things that count.

**have you ever been on a cruise?
**Do you take family vacations?
**What’s something odd you remember from an old trip?

Like this post? Pin it!