In December, I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise with my family. We flew to Fort Lauderdale first. That was an adventure; I thought I was literally going to die. We didn’t fly directly from Baltimore to Florida either. We had to go to Nashville first to try and save money. By the time we got to Florida, it was night. My dad got lost and traffic was scary. People were flying in and out of the lanes at high speed, but we made it.

We got up the next morning and toured the Everglades. It was amazing. We rode on an airboat and saw alligators and rare plants. My mom held a real baby alligator. Then we spent the afternoon in downtown Miami. The following day we got on the ship. That’s when the real fun started!

My dad thought it would be a good idea to book an interior room. It wasn’t. The room was the smallest room I’ve ever been in. My mom had to sleep in the top bunk. It was hilarious watching her climb up and down the ladder. The ship was full so we couldn’t have changed our room even if we had the money to.

We sailed to Nassau, Bahamas first. My mom and I went to Atlantis. That was incredible. We went on the water slides, toured the aquarium, and walked on the beach. Everything was really beautiful.

Next, we went to Royal Caribbean’s private island which is also in the Bahamas. We had to ride on a smaller boat to get there. The beaches were amazing; there were lounge chairs as far as you could see! We had an incredible picnic there too. I haven’t seen that much food in one place ever in my life.

Finally, we went to Key West, Florida. I think that was my favorite. We went on a walking tour then we went shopping. My mom and I found a hilarious t-shirt shop. We laughed so hard we cried. We found a special one for my brother since he couldn’t come with us. The food was great too—especially the key lime desserts.

Overall, I had a terrific time on the cruise. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who likes spending time on beaches, and doing a lot of walking.