A big reason we booked our most recent cruise was because of one of the ports it visited…Aruba has been on our bucket list for a while! We had the best day there at De Palm Island!

After a lot of research prior to the cruise, I decided I wanted a relaxing day for Judd and I! The kids stayed at Camp Ocean and we headed to De Palm Island.

De Palm Island is Aruba’s only an all-inclusive area, it is BEAUTIFUL! We took a shuttle to a dock and then took a short boat ride to De Palm Island. Whether you want to relax or want a day of adventure, it has everything!  Included in your day is unlimited food and drinks, snorkeling (more to come on this), kids water park, body drop slides (this was closed for maintenance while we visited), banana boats, area to view flamingos, salsa lessons, and other daily activities.

Since we don’t get many breaks from our kids, we decided to splurge and get a private Beach Cabana.  This includes your own cabana on a reserved cabana beach that has several chairs, a refrigerator with a bottle of Prosecco, table and chairs, a shower, towels and concierge service.  This area was really quiet and peaceful!

They also have an area filled with flamingos! I’ve never seen a flamingo on a beach so we thought that was really unique!

I mentioned above that they have a snorkeling area, this was some of the best snorkeling we have ever seen!! We were so impressed by this!  The snorkeling area is hard to even explain, this video does a great job!  Here are several pictures we took with our underwater camera.

We can’t wait to visit Aruba again someday! You can read more about our cruise here or about Bonaire here.

We just got back from my favorite vacation that the 4 of us have ever taken! We did an almost 2-week cruise through South America and the Caribbean on the Carnival Sunshine! I’m going to cover a lot on this post: what a normal at sea day looks like for us, food and entertainment on the ship, Carnival’s Camp Ocean, and 3 of the 6 ports we visited.  I already shared about one of our ports, Bonaire here Blissful and Breathtaking Bonaire.  I will share about another port in the future too as well as a post about my cruise tips/hacks.

We boarded the ship and immediately started unpacking and decorated our door.  I’ve always loved how people decorate their stateroom doors. This cruise I decided to join in on the fun and I also thought it would be easier for the kids to find our door…it was. I bought these from StudioSeabyMe on Etsy and LOVE them! The owner is so sweet! We received many compliments. 🙂 I kept the decorations to use on future cruises too!

What a Normal Day at Sea Looks Like for Us

I have to admit before we had kids and had a lot more energy, days at sea weren’t always my favorite. However, in time I’ve learned how to appreciate these days! They make you relax because you can’t leave the ship.  Now, I LOVE LOVE LOVE days at sea!  A normal day at sea for us with the kids consists of room service for breakfast then we do an activity in the Sports Square like miniature golf or swimming in WaterWorks prior to Camp Ocean opening.

We drop the kiddos off at Camp Ocean (more to come on that) which they just adore!

Judd and I go to the pool or Serenity Retreat (3 story pool deck that’s adults only) to relax until lunch time!

One day we did the ropes course which was really fun!

We pick up the kiddos and eat lunch.

The kiddos and one of us (usually Judd, thanks babe) goes back to the room for a nap while I go back to hang out in the sun.

Once the kiddos are up, it’s time to get ready for the evening! About half the time we eat dinner together but honestly, the kids would rather eat with their friends at Camp Carnival, so Judd and I go to dinner and enjoy the evening entertainment on the ship (more to come on this too). Then it’s time for bed!

Camp Ocean

I really can’t write enough about Camp Ocean; we are so impressed! I did a LOT of research on Camp Ocean prior to booking this cruise because I am definitely over protective of my kids. I was impressed by everything: the activities, the set-up, the staff which has to be highly trained and goes through extensive background checks, and their policies.

They have a daily schedule that looks something like this!

It is filled with the sweetest staff that loved our kids! Everything was VERY clean, in fact they close down for a little bit on most days just to clean. We felt so safe leaving Camden and Ella there. They also give parents a phone and they will call with updates or you can even call! I didn’t take a ton of pictures because there were other kids in the area and I didn’t get their parents’ permission to post pictures. 🙂

They provide so much entertainment.  My kids had way more fun with them compared to us, haha! They had dance parties, they did tons of crafts, they played games, watched movies, and had themed parties!

Look at all these crafts they made! This isn’t even all of them!

If you’re like me and research everything. I found this information very helpful: Camp Ocean, Youth Program, Penguins (group my kiddos were in), Night Owls (we didn’t use this but I heard great things),  and meals (below is Camden and Ella eating with their friends and the Camp Ocean Staff).

We even got to go on two excursions by ourselves, they watched our kiddos!

Food

I am a foodie! One of my favorite things about cruising is the food.  Carnival Sunshine really outdid themselves and should be really proud!

Breakfast

I’ll be honest, we’re not huge breakfast people so we get room service every morning.  We love this because we can start the morning off just the four of us in our pajamas!

However, on the last at sea day, we went to the Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast and had a great time! It’s only $5 a person so to do this, so worth it!

Camden and Ella wore their Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes from Halloween.

The entire dining room was decorated for the event and it was ADORABLE!

The menu was super cute and the food was really tasty and was designed to go with the theme! We were really impressed! How cute are these dishes?

The characters even came out for a visit!

Lunch

For lunch, we either hit the Lido Marketplace (main buffet), Guy’s Burger Joint (my favorite), or Blue Iguana Cantina for tacos! They also have a create your own stir fry and pasta by the Havana Bar, we did that a few times!

I wish I had gotten a picture but Carnival has really stepped up on the desserts especially at lunch! They had an amazing cake section every day where a server would cut pieces for you, it was some of the best cake I’ve ever had!

Ella ate her weight in bread on this cruise. 😉 She kept telling us how good the bread was, haha!

Dinner

I was so impressed by the dinner options on Carnival Sunshine!  You can eat the buffet (we never do for dinner), the main dining room, or pay a little extra and eat at Cucina del Capitano (Italian), JiJi Asian Kitchen, or Fahrenheit 555 (steakhouse).  This is the first time we did anything other than the main dining room for dinner and we had a great experience!

In the main dining room, I usually get a Caesar salad, an appetizer, one of the main dishes, and then a dessert (LOVE the Melting Cake) and a cheese plate (you can also request to take this back to your room for a late snack)! Everything is always delicious!

Fahrenheit 555 is out of this world delicious! I’m pretty sure I could eat there every night, haha!

Cucina del Capitano  made us feel like we were back in Italy! Everything was fresh and homemade! We loved this one too!

JiJi Asian Kitchen was Judd’s favorite! It was tasty and just really fun to try different dishes!

Behind the Scenes

I was invited to a Chef’s Tasting and a behind the scenes tour while I was there! The food was amazing and the information was very interesting! I learned so much about how the food is prepared, how everything is handled, and how the menu is selected. I was shocked by how much food these cruise ships hold and how much food is made every day! This cruise spent over $400,000 in food alone!

Entertainment

Another reason why I love Carnival so much is I love the entertainment they provide especially in the evenings! On a normal day, there are 4 different times to see a comedian at The Punchliner Comedy Club, there is always a movie playing that you watch under the stars with popcorn and blankets, they usually have one big show a night. On our cruise we were so lucky to see a hypnotist, the Love and Marriage Show, a mentalist, and a Christmas show (my kids were even in it!). We had an absolute blast!!

Watching movies under the stars with popcorn is my favorite!

Judd was pulled up on stage to be hypnotized.

Camden and Ella loved all the music on the ship and were constantly dancing!

My kiddos participated in the Dr. Seuss Parade and story time and many other Seuss at Sea activities!

This is from the Christmas show! Ella stole the show and sat on the Cruise Director Mikey’s lap for most of the show.

They finished the show by seeing Santa!

We sent letters to Santa one afternoon.

The ship also has an amazing spa and gym (if you’re crazy and like to work out on vacation ;-))

Staff

With this being a journey cruise (a longer cruise), we really got to know the staff.  I have SOO much respect for the Carnival Sunshine crew. They were nice, hard working, and all around good people! I have to especially thank Camp Ocean (Claudia, Emma, Rebecca, Hazel, Mary Joy, Hanna, Marko, Dyna, Cassia, Joanna, Billy Jean, Maria, and Alejanadra) for taking such good care of my kiddos.  My kiddos had the time of their life thanks to you! A huge thanks to our room steward, Budiarta and his sweet assistant! Dragana, our floor supervisor! They made sure we had everything we needed! The wait staff was incredible! A BIG thanks to our favorite server Ivan from Ukraine! He always told us the best dishes and made sure we got out in time for our evening entertainment.  I should have taken more pictures of the staff but I completely forgot!

This is Miss Claudia and Miss Hazel! We adored both of them!!

 

St. Thomas

The first port that we stopped at is one of my favorites and one that we’ve been to several times, St. Thomas.  You can find out about our first time going there here.  This time we decided to go to Magens Bay which is rated one of the prettiest beaches in the world, year after year! I was told Oprah has a house here too!  A taxi from the cruise port was $8 per person and then you pay $5 per person admission to the beach (kids are free).  We rented 2 chairs and umbrellas from the Magens Bay Beach Bar and had a great experience! The staff was so friendly and they set up our umbrella and chairs for us!

It was a very relaxing day!

 

Turks and Caicos

Judd and I booked an excursion just the two of us to go snorkeling on this day! It was BEAUTIFUL! The water was so clear and there were beautiful fish and colorful coral everywhere.

We snorkeled at two different sites and then a boat dropped us off at the beach where we ate lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon.

Princess Cays

Our final port was Princess Cays. This was our first time here and it was great! This is a private island that is run by the cruise line! We rented a cabana and a float, and spent the day relaxing, eating and playing on the beach with the kids!

You can read about our time in Bonaire here! I will be writing about Aruba after Christmas.

Overall

I know I am forgetting a million things about this cruise! If I think of more, I will come back and add to this! Overall, we had the best family vacation and it was a great way to end 2019. Thanks for an amazing vacation, Carnival! If interested, you can find more about our ship, Carnival Sunshine here. If you’re considering a cruise with your kids, do it! I’m telling you, we all had so much fun together, the kids had an amazing time at Camp Ocean, and Judd and I had time just the two of us!  So far, we’ve taken at least one cruise a year since we’ve gotten married and we don’t plan to stop! We will continue cruising through life one port at a time. 😉

I thought it was finally time to share about our tour of the White House!  Let me first say that we were incredibly honored to be invited to tour the White House and it was a once in a lifetime experience.  However, if I’m being completely honest, it was also a crazy experience for us!  For whatever reason, that day Camden and Ella were being a little “extra”.  They are two so they are always a little crazy but they were definitely on an entirely different level this day, haha!  I actually was really sick and they probably had a little bit of my bug too.  Enough about that…here is a little bit about our day visiting the White House and some tips if you were to go!

Our Experience

I honestly expected the staff to be a little stiff and unfriendly just because security is so critical at the White House. I was VERY wrong. The staff was so amazing…they were friendly, nice, and made us feel welcome and safe.  Camden at one point started yelling for no reason and one of the staff got down on his knees to talk to Camden, it was so kind.

We made it through security and then started walking into the White House…talk about goosebumps! It felt so surreal.

It’s a self-guided tour which worked out really well for us since we have young kids that have a short attention span.

One of the first things we walked through was a log hallway that houses portraits of former presidents and their families.

Then we walked past a window and I couldn’t help but notice the soccer net outside for Barron Trump, that was pretty cute to see!

Next, was Family Theater! I remember seeing pictures of Presidents and their families in here!

That’s when things started getting a little insane. Camden and Ella decided they wanted to sit on the floor, play with the White House pamphlet, or scream…

Next was the Vermeil Room.  They use this as a display room specifically for gilded silver or for a formal event as a ladies sitting room.

The China Room was next! This was awesome, this is where they display the White Houses’ collection of state china.

Next up was the East Room.  This room is beautiful and is the largest room in the White House! They use it for receptions, ceremonies, press conferences, and other events. It also displays the famous Portrait of George Washington.

Then we headed towards Cross Hall.  I didn’t see much information on this on the tour but Judd and I both knew it looked very familiar.  Turns out, it’s used a lot.  It’s actually where Obama gave the famous speech about the death of Osama bin Laden.

Next up…the Green Room. This was Thomas Jefferson’s dining room and now is used for receptions and ceremonies.  At this point in our tour, both Camden and Ella wanted to be carried which would have been fine but they both weigh 25 and 30 pounds and only wanted me to carry them.  My arms thought they were going to break by the end of the tour and I was super jealous of my husband (the kids wouldn’t let him hold them) so he got to enjoy it a little more than I did.  He did an amazing job taking pictures even of the crazy moments though! We love you, Judd!

Onto the Blue Room…This is a regularly used room now, the President uses it when he has guests.  The White House Christmas tree is placed here every year.

The kiddos might have been a little extra but they sure looked cute! 😉

The Red Room was next.  This is apparently the favorite room of many First Ladies.

We walked into the State Dining Room next. This looks bigger in pictures compared to in person.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still big! It can hold 130 guests and is often used for formal dinners and luncheons.

One more family photo inside.

Then we headed outside to the White House lawn and driveway. We took way too many pictures here because I was determined to get a good family picture!  Thanks to all the people who took millions of pictures for us.

Camden and Ella ask to go back to the White House all the time now.  We just laugh every time…that’s not happening anytime soon, kiddos! 😉

Well we survived and won’t ever forget this exciting and crazy day!

I wanted to share some information that I learned that might help you while planning your future trip to the White House…

Getting Tickets/Tour Invitation

Public tour requests must be submitted through one’s Member of Congress.  These self-guided tours are available from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays (excluding federal holidays or unless otherwise noted).  Tour hours will be extended when possible based on the official White House schedule. Tours are scheduled on a first come, first served basis. Requests can be submitted up to three months in advance and no less than 21 days in advance. You are encouraged to submit your request as early as possible as a very limited number of spaces are available. 

Good to Know

• There are no bathrooms! Make sure you go before you enter security.

• No food or drinks allowed!

• No bags are allowed, not even diaper bags or small purses.

• No strollers are allowed.

• Parking can be difficult, it’s hard to find street parking. We paid for valet parking at a hotel close by, The Willard InterContinental Washington, D.C. It wasn’t cheap but made the day less stressful. Make sure you figure this out prior to the day of your tour because DC traffic is CRAZY!

• Make sure you have a government issued ID with you.

• You can take pictures with your phone or small cameras but no video recorders are allowed.

Thank you to The White House Staff for having us (and not kicking us out), this is something we will never forget!  If you want to read more about our trip to D.C. and our stay at the amazing Georgetown Suites, check out this blog post.