Liberty Of The Seas Cruise- Honduras, Mexico, Belize

We decided after repatriating that we needed a good long relaxing vacation to unwind from all the stresses of an international move. We thought a cruise was the perfect way to make that happen, and we also wanted to see some more of North America. We left Samantha at Grandma and Grandpa Cards house and road tripped to Texas to catch our Royal Caribbean Cruise ship- The Liberty of the Seas. We both hadn't been on a cruise since about 2012 so we were pretty excited to reacquaint ourselves with the endless laziness and gluttonous food choices. Have you ever road tripped halfway across America? Texas. is. freaking. big. ya'll. We decided to take a day off of driving and visit the water park "Schlitterbahn." I grew up going to Raging Waters so I was a bit unimpressed but it was really interesting that they were using fresh river water. It was a cool (and cold) experience. 

The day we boarded in Galveston Texas! We were very excited to peruse the amenities and explore the ship. We checked in and got ready to spend a long time...doing nothing. Just us and the open sea...And about 3,000 other cruisers. 

The ship was huge and had a little mall/shopping/dining area right in the middle of the ship. There was even a Ben & Jerrys' and Johnny Rockets on board! 

This is where we did a majority of our dining. The dining hall was very impressive with huge chandeliers. We had some great food while on the cruise. Lobster, shrimp, steak, fish, and even sushi. I was glad I packed my fat pants, for sure. 

On "cruising days" we spent the hours sitting by the pool, taking naps, reading, swimming, going down water slides, and Peyton took a stab at the Flowrider. It was an exhausting vacation, for sure ;) They even had an ice skating rink on ship! That was a first. Skating on the sea. 

Our first embarkment was the location of Roatan, Hondouras. While there we decided to book a  zip-line activity. It was fun, and of course we got put with the other Mormons. We sure know how to spot one another! After that we were taken to a place to swim and relax and enjoy the beach. This was actually one of my least favorite beaches because the shore was just packed with tourists. 

Everyone who goes on a cruise talks about the endless food options. At every meal they bring you a menu and you can pick out a starter, main, and dessert. Sometimes (like lobster/crab night) you order multiple plates. We were so happy that our table mates had the same dedication to food that we did. There was no shame at that dining table. We thoroughly enjoyed discussing all the choices. 

The next day we disembarked in Belize. We missed (my minutes) our Lamani tour of the pyramids  but to make up for our disappointment they offered us a free tour of another historical site, the Altun-Ha pyramids. We were a bit bummed because we wanted to see the sites that is talked about in the Book of Mormon, but we'll just have to go back! They were still pretty impressive! 

Our last port of call was Cozumel, Mexico. This was actually my favorite stop, it did not disappoint. We went to a great resort and just decided to vege out on this last stop. The weather was perfect and the chicken nachos hit the spot. (Like we were hungry after all that cruise food). 

The last 2 days were spent on the open sea and Peyton braved the rock climbing wall (at an impressive speed). We also caught the ice skating show (phenomenal) and the show Saturday Night Fever. The entertainment on the ship was really fun, they always have something to do! We went to a few activities like "pub quiz" and "Name that Tune". If you are scared of being bored on a cruise, don't be. They jam pack those days with lots of fun things to do. 

Our dinner group/seat mates were awesome and we enjoyed getting to know all of them. They were from Texas, Arizona, and Kansas City. Our servers were very attentive and fun, also. They didn't get us too hard of a time at ordering multiple dinner plates and desert. 

Ali and Zac were our ship besties. We got along great and enjoyed every dinner with them. They are both EMTs and they amazed us with all their horror stories of scenes they have dealt with. We liked to pull pranks on each other and order each other room service and prank call one another. It was fun. We want them to come out and visit us! 

(excuse Peytons lazy eye. Poor guy must be tired from his long vacation.) 

After two long weeks we were ready to get back to our little toddler. We missed her so much, but we were rejuvenated and refreshed from our lazy time at sea. It was a fun vacation.