In February 2019, I went on an incredible holiday starting in Orlando and after a week, boarding the Oasis Of The Seas cruise ship to sail the Caribbean for a week. This was my first ever cruise and also my first time in the Caribbean. Heres what I thought!
DAY 1: SET SAIL FROM PORT CANAVERAL
The first day was so exciting. It was mine and Courtney's first-ever cruise so neither of us knew what to expect. When we got onto the ship it took us ages to find our cabin; we spent so long wandering up and down the endless corridors. Seriously, its insane how long the corridors are on that ship!
When we got in our room, one of the first things we did was spend an ungodly amount of money on WiFi; I was and still am so ashamed of myself but I guess it was worth it. Then we experienced our first super loud, super long tannoy from the captain (which plays in several languages).
After this, something very surprising happened. I put my trainers on and actually went to the gym! It was good for a while but I really was not adjusting well to the rocking of the ship. Courtney went to bed after the gym, but I went for an explore. It was night time by this point, I went to the very top deck and was planning on having my very own Rose Dawson moment. I got to the top of the steps and could see nothing but black beyond the railings. There was nobody else up there and all I could hear were the waves crashing. It goes without saying that I totally shit myself and ran back down.
I then went and curled up on a deck chair in the outdoor theatre and watched a movie. After a week of running around Disney World, it was amazing to just sit down -alone- and soak it all up.
DAY 2: THE BAHAMAS
This day was an emotional rollercoaster.
I'll start at the taxi. As soon as you step onto land you are immediately bombarded with taxi drivers. Me and the family followed a man down the road to his minivan and piled in. This was the weirdest taxi Ive ever been in. One of the seats was barely staying upright. There were no seatbelts. There were condoms all over the floor. And my favourite detail, the sliding door of the van didn't actually close. We then set off to The Atlantis (fun fact: a random man just jumped into our taxi whilst we were at a stop sign). We bribed the workers at the private hotel beach to let us stay there and we set up for the day. We chilled out and sunbathed for a few hours which was nice.
Now for the traumatic part.
Before we set off back to the ship, we decided to have a walk around the hotel. There were waterfalls and giant Turtles, it was beautiful. Then we all went to the bathroom. When I came out however, everyone had gone. Now might be a good time to mention that nobody had there phones on because the network rates in The Bahamas are insane and Courtney was carrying all my money in her bag. I did another lap around the lobby area and I couldn't find them, so I decided to go back outside to the pool area where we had just walked through to see if they were there. It was at this point that I was approached by a security guard who had probably noticed that I wasn't wearing a hotel wristband. Already pretty panicked at this point, I tried to divert all her questions by asking if she had seen my family.
SECURITY: Can I see your room key please?
ME: Oh my god have you seen my family, Ive lost them and Im really scared. I cant call anyone because of the network rates
SECURITY: Just connect to the hotel wifi, all you need is your room number and the name its booked under. Can I see your room key please?
ME: Urm, I don't have my room key because my cousin has it in her bag. Can you please just help me find them?!
SECURITY: Sorry but if you haven't got any proof that you are a guest at this hotel I am going to have to escort you out.
Basically, we hate that woman.
So I got escorted off the premises by security and was left on the beach front. I paced back and forth, crying and having the worst panic attacks of my life for about 25 minutes. Wondering what was going to happen. The only plan I had was to trade my phone with a dodgy taxi driver for a lift back to the ship; I just hoped that I didn't get human trafficked and that my family were also on the ship. Fortunately, it didn't come to that and someone actually found me. Safe to say I WENT OFF when we all got in the taxi.
DAY 3: SAILING
Day 3 was the first day of just fully chilling out. Me and Courtney got up and headed to the top deck to sunbathe however that didn't quite go to plan. It was so incredibly windy. We kept having to get up to chase our flip flops, it was so annoying! Later on, we met up with the rest of the family at the back of the ship. This turned out to be the best place to chill; I loved just laying in the sun and watching the waves that the ship made as we moved through the water.
Day 3 was the first day of just fully chilling out. Me and Courtney got up and headed to the top deck to sunbathe however that didn't quite go to plan. It was so incredibly windy. We kept having to get up to chase our flip flops, it was so annoying! Later on, we met up with the rest of the family at the back of the ship. This turned out to be the best place to chill; I loved just laying in the sun and watching the waves that the ship made as we moved through the water.
DAY 4: ST THOMAS
Day 4 began with me and Courtney going for breakfast and ending up hanging out with the sweetest old man ever. He told us how he was a pinnacle member of the cruise line because he practically lives on cruise ships. He was really sweet and told us that when we got off the ship that we should head to Magens Bay, which we of course did.
The Taxis in St Thomas were again very very different from our standard UK taxis (a Toyota avensis). They looked just like this and once again they did not have a door. I sat at the end of one of the rows and it was so scary! Magens Bay was on the other side of the island so we were in this taxi for quite a while, speeding up and down hills whilst I hung out the side. Whilst we were driving across the island I got to see where the residents lived and it broke my heart. They were all tiny tin-roof shacks that were seriously falling apart. St Thomas is a US Virgin Island and yet they get so little support from the US government despite being constantly devastated by hurricanes. It's awful.
Day 4 began with me and Courtney going for breakfast and ending up hanging out with the sweetest old man ever. He told us how he was a pinnacle member of the cruise line because he practically lives on cruise ships. He was really sweet and told us that when we got off the ship that we should head to Magens Bay, which we of course did.
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Later, a bunch of use used Cheetos to lure this little animal out of the bushes. No one could figure out what it was. Apart from me obviously who did some research and discovered that it was, in fact, a mongoose!
DAY 5: SAINT MAARTIN
Our day in St Maartin was one of my favourite days of the cruise. We went to Maho beach, the one by the airport where the planes fly right over your head. It was a beautiful day, clear skies, nothing but sunshine, which was a huge relief after the crappy weather in Nassau. We spent the day at the Sunset bar which was right on the beach; it was super busy and the atmosphere was amazing. It was Valentine's day so they had an MC up on a little stage running games. Courtney won the Hoola Hoop competition. Her dad Kristian won the 'who can drink a bottle of Corona the fastest' competition. Everyone got involved, and when all the prizes are alcohol-based, you can imagine what state we were in. In the heat, it didn't take many shots of tequila and frozen cocktails before we all plastered. There's a really embarrassing video of me being knocked over by a wave and not being able to get back up, all whilst a plane flies right over me. In it, you can here my uncle Kristian getting panicked over not knowing whether Courtney should be recording the plane or me, floundering in sea.
When we got back on the ship, we all went to the hot tub and continued to drink. We were in there with another family who was from Devon and me, being stupidly drunk, decided to further embarrass myself by bringing up Devon custard. Unsurprisingly, no one found that funny.
Our day in St Maartin was one of my favourite days of the cruise. We went to Maho beach, the one by the airport where the planes fly right over your head. It was a beautiful day, clear skies, nothing but sunshine, which was a huge relief after the crappy weather in Nassau. We spent the day at the Sunset bar which was right on the beach; it was super busy and the atmosphere was amazing. It was Valentine's day so they had an MC up on a little stage running games. Courtney won the Hoola Hoop competition. Her dad Kristian won the 'who can drink a bottle of Corona the fastest' competition. Everyone got involved, and when all the prizes are alcohol-based, you can imagine what state we were in. In the heat, it didn't take many shots of tequila and frozen cocktails before we all plastered. There's a really embarrassing video of me being knocked over by a wave and not being able to get back up, all whilst a plane flies right over me. In it, you can here my uncle Kristian getting panicked over not knowing whether Courtney should be recording the plane or me, floundering in sea.
When we got back on the ship, we all went to the hot tub and continued to drink. We were in there with another family who was from Devon and me, being stupidly drunk, decided to further embarrass myself by bringing up Devon custard. Unsurprisingly, no one found that funny.
DAY 6: SAILING
DAY 7: SAILING