Cookbooks to Gift | 2022
Cookbooks to Gift | 2022
Halloween Inspired Charcuterie Board
I am back with another charcuterie board but this time and I have wanted to do a smaller Halloween theme for so long but have never gotten around to doing it. But this is the year, it is time! If you have been around, you might remember the HUGE Halloween Charcuterie Board that I did a few years ago- that thing covered my entire kitchen island and it might have been one of my favorite projects ever! For this board I wanted it to have spooky elements but not gross because that’s really not my style at all!
Now let’s take all these ingredients and make something really cool!
WHAT I USED!
Moon drop grapes
Pomegranate Seeds
White aged cheddar
Blue cheese
Blueberry and cinnamon coated goat cheese
Mini Brie Wheels
Mike’s Hot Honey
Milk chocolate covered almonds
Merlot Bellavitano cheese
Almonds, dried cranberries and dark chocolate mix
Herb Coated Salami
Prosciutto
I also added in these little skulls that came in a pack from Target and the bag was secured with the even littler skulls that added a fun touch! Lastly, the spiders were a fun addition and I got those in a bag with some fake spiderweb decor which was also from Target. You can shop the skulls here and the spiders here!
The star of the show though was the CUTEST charcuterie board that I grabbed! I literally couldn’t walk away without this coffin charcuterie board. I liked that I could use it for a cheese board but it also doubles as home decor! After I got done with making the charcuterie board I put it up against the wall in front of an outlet in the kitchen and put the skull candle and a pumpkin in front of it for decoration!
WHAT TO READ NEXT
September Favorite Five
SEPTEMBER FAVORITE FIVE
| DECORATIVE BATS FROM AMAZON |
I’m sure that you have seen these everywhere on Instagram and Tiktok but they are SO easy to decorate with and they really have that minimal Halloween vibe. We used these in our apartment in Boston and they looked so awesome! I will mention to NOT use the sticky tack that they give you because it will absolutely ruin your walls.. trust me, we know from experience! Instead, just use a little piece of tape and it will work just the same!
| OUR VINYL SHELVES |
We have been working on this project for a while now and it’s nowhere near done but the shelves that we bought to create our vinyl wall in our not-so-formal living room have been so great and we love the look of the acrylic shelves on the black wall! We obviously have many missing records, but eventually, this space will be a cool hang- spot! We plan to put a couple of funky chairs and a table for the record player under the records to have a little hang-out spot across from the daybed!
| SALTED HONEY CANDLE |
This candle is freakin DELISH. I love the color and style of the jar and will definitely reuse it when it runs out. I will also be sad when that happens but I feel like I am going to need to stock up because I never want this scent to go away! It’s a scent I have never smelled before but it’s fantastic!
| SHANIA TWAIN RECORD |
Like most people I know, I grew up listening to Shania and love that crap out of her. I found her record on Amazon and couldn’t press “place order” fast enough! The seller said it would take up to a month, but it came in just over a week, so I was impressed with that! This is “The Woman in Me” Record and it has ALL the good songs on it like Any Man of Mine, Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under, (If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here! and so many others!
| WYOMING TEE FROM TARGET |
I grabbed this tee when I did a Target try-on for you guys last month and I keep grabbing for it in my closet! It’s not as oversized as I am used to but I kind of like it! I like to pair it will the joggers that I got that day or if it is warmer I will just front-tuck it into some jean shorts! I got an XXL and I really like the fit of it. It is the Wild Fable Brand so the XXL is pretty normal for me, sizing-wise!
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
Things to do in Orlando
THINGS TO DO IN ORLANDO
Have an event you would like me to add? Fill out the form here and I will add it to the calendar!
This will be a landing page for the Orlando Activities Calendar that I will be updating as I see new events being posted near us! I will be updating this often so be sure to check back!
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
Large Fall and Halloween Roundup | 2022
LARGE FALL AND HALLOWEEN ROUNDUP | 2022
HOW am I already posting about Fall and Halloween finds for you guys? I am blown away by how fast this year is just flying by. It feels like this year we have jumped from big exciting things to big exciting things and I am really looking forward to intentionally slowing down the next few months and taking the time to do things here in Orlando and maybe use my annual pass a bit more! But that was just a random tangent, now onto the GOOD stuff! I rounded up fall and Halloween items from alllll over the internet to share with you guys! Literally everything from Etsy to Target to Baublebar to Pottery Barn and a little in between. Plus I am sharing a ton of finds over on Instagram stories, I have been putting them in my highlights so you guys can reference back to them on your own time!
Happy reading!
TARGET HALLOWEEN FINDS
TJ MAXX HALLOWEEN FINDS
DISNEY HALLOWEEN MERCH
MY TARGET HALLOWEEN PURCHASE
POTTERY BARN FINDS
KINGDOM THREADS CO HALLOWEEN
ALL OF THESE LINKS CAN BE FOUND WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE PHOTO!
ETSY HALLOWEEN FINDS
BAUBLEBAR X DISNEY HALLOWEEN FINDS
TARGET FALL FINDS
MORE FALL FROM TARGET
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
Nashville Bachelorette Party Details
NASHVILLE BACHELORETTE PARTY DETAILS
FOR THE BRIDE
| SUGARFINA CHAMPAGNE GUMMY BEARS |
| MINI BOTTLE OF PROSECCO | LETS GO GIRLS TEE IN BABY BLUE |
| WHITE TUMBLER | BRIDE COWGIRL HAT | BRIDE ACRYLIC PURSE |
| WHITE BEADED EARRINGS |
DECOR FOR THE AIRBNB
GAMES FOR THE HOUSE
| FOR THE GIRLS | BACH AND BOOZY BINGO | DARE CARDS |
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
Fall Wedding Guest Dress Inspo
FALL WEDDING GUEST DRESS INSPO
These will be linked from left to right, top to bottom!
| MAUVE MIDI DRESS | BLACK TANK JUMPSUIT |
| MAUVE SATIN WRAP DRESS | EMERALD VELVET DRESS |
| SATIN DUSTY ROSE JUMPSUIT | MUSTARD SATIN TANK MIDI DRESS |
| HIGH NECK ROSE SATIN DRESS | BURGUNDY SATIN WRAP DRESS |
These will be linked from left to right, top to bottom!
| FLORAL SMOCKED SKATER DRESS |
| ONE SHOULDER EMERALD JUMPSUIT |
| COWL NECK MIDI DRESS | FLORAL EMERALD GREEN DRESS |
| BURGUNDY DEEP V DRESS | MAUVE ONE-SHOULDER JUMPSUIT |
| FLORAL PRINT DRESS | BOHO V-NECK WRAP DRESS |
| RUFFLE TIER CUT-OUT DRESS | BODYCON SPLIT HEM DRESS |
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
Drugstore Mascara Review
Back in 2020 when I did my Sephora Mascara Review, I had always planned on doing some sort of drugstore mascara review as well. I just didn’t anticipate it being two full years later but here we are. I tried 17 different drug store mascaras so you don’t have to! Some of these were requested by you guys and some were just ones that I had read good things about or heard about on TikTok or saw in an end cap at the store. So for each mascara, I wanted to share the price, how many colors it came in, what it claims to do to your lashes and what my thoughts were on it. SO, without further ado, here is a very lengthy drug store mascara review!
PRICE: $7.99
PURPOSE: Lengthening, Volumizing
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: This was literally the messiest mascara I have ever put onto my eyes in my life. The box was also ridiculous to open. Initialy I wasn’t dissapointed with the application but then throughout the day it was down my face and around my eyes looked so smudgy. THEN, on top of that it took THREE days for it to fully come off of my eyelashes. I tried so many things to get it off and then when I thought I had it all off, I would wake up the next day and it was still showing up under my eyes. This mascara is truly the worst.
PRICE: $11.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Curling, Lengthening
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: I honestly hated this mascara, halfway through I was in actual pain because the bristles are so tough. They were hurting my lash line, they aren’t bendable at all and it made it very painful. Besides that, it was a fine mascara but the pain to me was not worth the price or mascara at all, I know there are better ones out there!
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: I had really high hopes for this mascara but it took a lot of effort to put it on and there was really nothing to show for it afterwards. It took a lot of time to even get a little bit of product onto my lashes and it was really messy. I also had a hard time cleaning up the mess around my eyes after putting it on. It did lengthen them but it didn’t make them any longer or fuller. Then throughout the day, I felt like it was irritating my eyes. The longer that I had the mascara on the more I just wanted to take it off.
PRICE: $3.19
PURPOSE: Lengthening
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: I thought that I was going to like this when I first put it on, but I think I was trying to force myself to like it because of the price point. It honestly flaked off my lashes within a few hours of wearing it which is so frustrating. I reapplied mascara before the afternoon was over! Such a bummer because I wanted it to be a good mascara for just over $3, but if you go up $2, you get my favorite one out of the whole experiment.
PRICE: $10.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing Waterproof, Lengthening, Curling
COLORS: Black, Blackest Black, Black Brown
REVIEW: I had never heard of this before purchasing it but wanted to give it a try because it was on an end cap! It is waterproof and honestly pretty awful. After putting it on I felt like I knew why I had never heard of it before. It took a TON of effort to put on and it felt like after all of that effort I had no mascara on my eyes. Another thing that was a fail for me was that it was so hard to get a grip on my lashes to even put the product on. As a result of it being so hard to put on, it was just completely messy from how many swipes it took to get the product onto my lashes. I was excited because. the brown shade this one came in wasn’t great at all. Even after JUST putting it on, it looked smudgy under my eyes
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Lengthening, Thickening, Volumizing, Waterproof
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: I was not impressed with this mascara really at all. I felt like there was no product on the wand and I couldn’t get my lashes to do what I want. I did mention in the video of my initial thoughts that I thought it would be a good layer over your regular mascara because it separated my lashes nicely and it is waterproof so that could be nice. But I wouldn’t repurchase this mascara by any means, it really just wasn’t that great. Even though it had a good wand shape, It was also messy to put on. It didn’t lift or lengthen or anything it just colored my lashes.
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Curling, Volumizing
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: This is a very light and natural mascara that went on very easily. It’s not what I am looking for in an everyday mascara because it is much too light on my lashes because I tried really hard and it wasn’t buildable. But towards the end of the day, my thoughts were that the serum that was in the formula made the mascara come off of my lashes all day long and gave me that super awesome raccoon look. I wouldn’t recommend this.
PRICE: $7.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening, Thickening
COLORS: Glam Black, Classic Black, Glam Brown
REVIEW: I have used this before! It is waterproof so I wouldn’t use it every day. One downside is that it transferred a lot to my lid which with it being waterproof, I struggled to get it off and then had to redo parts of my makeup. This honestly could have been a “me” thing though. I had this mascara on for a whole park day it did last the whole time, it’s just not my favorite overall.
PRICE: $10.99
PURPOSE: Lengthening, Curling, Thickening
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: I don’t know if I just picked to do all the worst ones first or what but I feel like I have really only liked one I have tried so far. This mascara wasn’t horrible but I wouldn’t spend my money on it again. I did mention that I am trying another version of this mascara this month so maybe it is like the new and improved version? This one just took so much time to get a normal amount of product on my lashes and it really felt like there was zero product on the wand the whole time. It is $10 and not worth it, IMO.
PRICE: $6.00
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: Its not bad, and I was surprised to see both of the Elf mascaras that I tried right next to each other in the line up. This mascara definitely lengthened them but it didn’t really lift them. It took a lot to put the mascara on but I didn’t mind it on once it was on there!
PRICE: $8.00
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening
COLOR: Black, Pitch Black, Deep Brown
REVIEW: My first reaction I was excited about the wand but when I was using it, it took a TON of swipes to even get anywhere near having enough on my lashes. Originally I thought that it was $3, but it is $8 and not worth that money. I was impressed with how well it lengthened my lashes but there was definitely no lift to them. It also seemed like there was a ton of product n the wand but there really wasn’t! It wore fine throughout the day, it didn’t have much fall off but I wasn’t THAT impressed. I would say it’s a nice everyday mascara.
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: I think this is the new and improved version of the Milani Highly Rated mascara. Initially I was worried about the bristles being painful, but they weren't! I did feel like I had to put the wand in the tube over and over to get more product out of it. That could potentially cost you more money in the long run. But I really like how it lengthened my lashes and it did lift them as well!
PRICE: $17.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening, Thickening
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: My first thoughts were really impressed by this mascara and pleasantly surprised! I didn’t have to stick the wand back into the tube to get more product, there was enough just on the wand. I couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t fair because this mascara has a primer and mascara in one. It made me think I should use a primer with all of them but ultimately decided it didn’t matter because of the price point difference between this and the others. This one is $18 but I do think that it is a very nice everyday mascara. The primer lengthened my lashes, and then the mascara went on so well over top. It didn’t lift my lashes but if you were to use a lash curler, I think it would be nice. Apparently, I don’t have an eyelash curler anymore! It also looked nice throughout the entire day!
PRICE: $8.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening, Curling
COLORS: Blackest Black, Brownish Black, Very Black
REVIEW: I was initially excited about this mascara because of the shape of the wand and let me tell you it did not disappoint me. Even days after testing this mascara I found myself grabbing for this one! I love that it lifts and lengthens, I am a big fan! It lasted all day long and I am more than happy with the results of it!
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening
COLORS: Blackest Black, True Brown, Cosmic Black, Very Black
REVIEW: I feel like this one was popular with a lot of people so I had high hopes and it did not disappoint! I was so impressed and it felt like I had tried so many duds in the process so I knew when I really liked this one because I didn’t have any complaints. It went on really easily, it lengthens my lashes really well. It didn’t transfer all over my lashes so that was good. The wand was pretty bendable but I felt like I got used to it by the end of the application process.
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening, Thickening
COLORS: Black, Blackest Black, Black Brown, Mistique Black
REVIEW: I mentioned this in my review video but I have tried this in the past and it used to be one of my go-to’s until I found It Cosmetics Superhero! It lengthens, lifts, and is definitely buildable. You can make your eyes as dramatic as you want. I love this mascara and how easy it is applied and stays completely put throughout the day while not being hard to get off at the end of the night! I think this mascara will always be one I keep on hand as a backup or something I use when I run out of my others! It does a great job of lengthening while making my lashes look fuller and it’s perfect.
PRICE: $4.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: WOWOWOWOW. I am impressed with this mascara. My first reaction within the first couple of swipes onto my lashes I knew it was going to be good. It lasted all day long without falloff and I can’t even believe that this mascara is less than $5! Like seriously that is insane. I like it just as much as my It Cosmetics mascara from Sephora. One thing that someone did mention to me was that when the tube is half gone it doesn’t apply as well. But I will defiantly make an update to this review when I finish half of it and let you guys know. But WOW. So so good!
I always give myself only one month to do these reviews, and having such a tight schedule makes it more complicated for me to finish them. Going forward, I will just start a review and finish it in a more reasonable timeframe. I set this one for one month and it ended up taking almost four months instead. I would love to hear your thoughts or if your favorite mascara is on this page, I want to know about it! If there is anything else you think I should add to any or all of them, let me know that, too! If you have any questions, drop them below or you can email me at tarynintotravel@gmail.com!
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
August Favorite Five
AUGUST FAVORITE FIVE
| BAUBLEBAR MICKEY HAIR CLIPS |
When I first saw these I KNEW that I needed to have them. At first, I was going to just get one color but when I couldn’t choose between the two I decided to get both, and I don’t feel sad about that in the slightest. They are the perfect size and I can’t wait to wear them in the parks! Which one is your favorite?
| LIZZO VINYL RECORD |
I have slowly been adding to my record collection and I was so excited to see that this one was on sale a bit! I got it from Amazon and it came last week and it has been on repeat since then! Definitely recommend this if you have a record player. It has all the good ones on it like Juice, Cuz I Love You, Tempo, Exactly How I Feel, Truth Hurts and so many more that I didn’t know that I loved!
| RECORD STORAGE HOLDER |
I know I mentioned the Lizzo Record as my favorite but another thing that I am loving this month is the record holder that I got to hold mine! Up until I got this I just had them laying flat but was so excited to get this to have them actually displayed! Also, stay tuned for a fun project that we are working on in our formal living room! I can’t wait to show you guys the progress and obviously the final product!
| FREE PEOPLE SET |
I got this set from Stitch Fix in their little shop! I love getting things from them because I can use credit if I have it and then it’s a nice way to try new things from different places! The set that I got was like a periwinkle color but the colors on the Free People website are navy, gray, black, a grapefruit color, and a mauve color! I think this set is so comfortable and casual but still feels put together!
| MINI MIKES HOT HONEY JAR |
I have known about Mike’s Hot Honey for a long time, but I had absolutely no idea that they made them in little jars! I put them on a couple of charcuterie boards over the last month and they have been so popular on the boards! I like the hot honey with brie and I also like it with an aged white cheddar! I got this blueberry goat cheese from Aldi and I think I want to try it with that next, it is so good!
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
Carnival Cruise Review
CARNIVAL CRUISE REVIEW
Back in July we went on our first cruise ever and I feel like I have SO much to share as a first-time cruiser.. (is that even a word? haha). We went on a Carnival Cruise line because we didn’t want to spend a ton of money on something that we 1. didn't know if we would like and 2. didn’t know if one of us would be sick the whole time. But we actually ended up loving it and spent a lot of time on that cruise looking for the next cruise to go on! We definitely want to try out a ton of different cruise lines but this was a good one to start out with!
GETTING ON THE SHIP
We went on Carnival Freedom Ship! This was a four-day cruise where we had one day in the Bahamas, one at their private island, Princess Cay, and then a day at sea! If you are going on your first cruise this felt like the perfect amount of time. You definitely get a feel for what cruising is like plus you get to visit a couple of places.
For checking in we needed to have a negative covid test (this could change at any time), and then we brought passports, driver’s licenses, and our vaccination card, and that was it! Check-in was so easy, we chose the 10:30 AM slot so we had more time on the ship and I am so happy we did that!
One thing I recommend doing is to make sure you have a few things that you might need in a backpack for the first day. We were able to go into our rooms at 1:00 PM and then we didn’t get our suitcases until around 4:00 PM. In a backpack or like a beach/pool bag I would be things like medicines (prescriptions or Dramamine), tampons, cash, maybe a bathing suit, etc. I wish I would have known this or maybe just have worn my swimsuit onto the ship because we were in street clothes for a while before being able to change.
SHIP REVIEW
Like I said before I had never been on a cruise before this so I had no idea what to expect. Let’s start with our room, I really liked our room and felt that we had plenty of space and room for our clothes. there were three closets with tons of hanging room and hangers, and shelves and there were a lot of drawers. The bathroom had plenty of shelves to take our stuff out and actually have a place for everything. The couch was since to have because it didn’t feel like we had to sit on the bed the whole time. We were on the 10th floor with a balcony and I don’t think I will ever cruise again without being at least on the 9th or 10th floor and having a balcony because it was a nice place to escape the business of always doing something on the ship!
As for boat activities, I thought that what they had was good but I do feel like there could have maybe been more. We loved the piano bar and the Love and Marriage comedy show but there weren't THAT many things to do at night. We obviously had fun with what we had but I think a larger variety of shows would have been nice. Our cruise director, Christian, was absolutely hilarious and seemed to be EVERYWHERE and in every show. I would be interested to see what kinds of things there are to do on different cruise lines.
Amenities might have been my least favorite or the thing that I was less impressed with. We had a great spa and gym. I got a 90-minute massage on the day in the Bahamas and it was great! The gym looked really nice as well. Other things were just really outdated like the mini-golf area and the slides that really didn’t slide for lack of better words. Another thing that is a great concept is the serenity deck which was adults only, it had a private bar and two hot tubs but it was completely enclosed by glass so we were basically just in a sauna the entire time we were up there. A pool on the serenity deck would have been a nice way to cool off! The two pools that were on the ship were FULL to the brim with people the entire time they were open. Like there was ABSOLUTELY no way any of us were getting into that because EW, nobody ever got out. *insert puke emoji* It ended up being okay though because it felt like there wasn’t really time to be in the pool.
They did play movies on the deck each night and they were good ones like Uncharted with Tom Holland and Dune, The Lost City, The Matrix Resurrections, and some others! There was never a shortage of live music which we loved! The casino was actually a lot of fun and we found ourselves there quite a bit. I will also say that there were a ton of things that we didn’t make it to like a bunch of mixers (LGBTQ+, 40+, Singles, etc.), we never went to the club but they had different themes which were cool, there was a comedy show each night (in addition of the Love and Marriage one). There was a lot to do and maybe we were overwhelmed and didn’t know where to begin? I feel like we will be more willing to try new things on the next cruise!
FOOD + MY ALLERGY
The first thing I did when I got to the food court-type place was I went up to the lady that was working at the allergy desk and she sort of gave me an overview of the things that I could and couldn’t have. She told me I could always come to ask her questions or if I had any problems she said to let her know. There was always someone working at that desk which was nice just in case I needed anything extra!
Apparently, this is the ONLY picture I took of my food the entire time I was on the cruise…
I was pleasantly surprised by the options that they had for my gluten allergy. For breakfast and lunch, there were always food options for me. They had about 5 different restaurants in the main lunch area and there was only one that had no options for me which were Guy’s Burgers. And really there were options it was just a bunless burger and there were better options at other places so I just never ate there.
My favorite was the sandwich place, I was able to customize my sandwiches quite a bit because of my allergy and they always changed their gloves and made mine in the back. My favorite was the turkey wrap that I made into a sandwich and it was DELISH. I couldn’t have the fries there but that was okay, I would just go get a salad from the salad bar as my side.
Another really good option was the pizza place. They also changed gloves, cooked mine to order in the back, and had like 6 options for different kinds of pizzas for me to have. My favorite was the white sauce pizza and then I had them add mushrooms to it! It took about 5 extra minutes but it was so good and so worth the wait.
On one of the days for a snack, I got the California roll from the sushi bar but and it was VERY good, but it wasn’t included and cost $6 per roll. They also had sushi bowls but I never ended up trying that one. The last place was a Mongolian grill place and I had that on the first day. I could really only have the rice noodles and one sauce but it was good!
As for dinners, we sat in the same spot every night and got to know our waiter really well! We had about 3 people waiting on us and they were seriously the best. Each night for my allergy I would pick what I was going to have for dinner the following night. I was so impressed with all of my food options and they took such great care of me to make sure I wasn’t going to get sick. I had things like short ribs, grilled chicken, seafood pasta, bread, and butter special for me, appetizers like salads, soups, shrimp cocktail, and so many others! They would also surprise me with special things here and there like an extra appetizer that I didn’t order or a dessert that I was able to have that I didn’t know about. I LOVED their molten lava cake with ice cream and one night they surprised me with an apple streusel that was SO good!
LOOKS I BROUGHT
DAY AT THE BAHAMAS
The first full day at sea was our stop in the Bahamas. Getting off of the boat was super easy, we just scanned our cards, and off we went. It didn’t take long at all and when you got off the boat we walked up the dock and were right in the middle of all the action pretty much right away.
A few things to note, be prepared to be bombarded with offers to be taken to the beach, offers to have your hair braided, rides to Atlantis, and offers to buy pretty much anything under the sun. We didn’t get an excursion this day because none of us had been to the island before. We all agreed that we wish we would have gotten an excursion because getting off of the ship we had so much freedom to do whatever we wanted and not a lot of direction of where to go.
We ended up walking to the beach that was next to Margaritaville and the waterpark. When we got there, there were a couple of people selling beach chairs for $10 a chair and an umbrella for $15. We got two chairs, and an umbrella and decided to get in the water! The water was crystal clear and absolutely gorgeous, not to mention all of the fish that were around us! It was so pretty! There were a ton of people though who seemed like they might have been in our boat of not knowing where to go so we all ended up at the first beach we found. But even though there were a ton of people it wasn’t that crowded in the actual water.
After being at the beach we decided to head back to the boat for lunch but stopped and did some shopping along the way to get a few souvenirs. I was a bit nervous about eating on the island with my allergy because I had no way of knowing where I could eat or where to even start. To get back on the boat, again, was a super easy process. We gave the people at the border patrol area our driver’s licenses and our ID cards from the ship. Then we walked back up the dock to the ship and went through a security sensor, scanned our ID cards and that was it! Getting back to the ship was even faster than getting off because when we were leaving SO many people were leaving but when we were coming back, people were just sort of trickling back at different times.
When we all got back to the boat we went up to the room and got changed to head down for lunch! When we were sitting there at lunch we were talking with my parents about how it might have been easier to prebook an excursion and that it might have felt a bit less chaotic trying to figure out what we were doing. Which was totally our fault and not the cruise lines at all. But now I feel more prepared going forward! After lunch, I was absolutely exhausted so I took a nap and read on the balcony a bit before dinner festivities started.
After dinner, we went to this comedy show called Love and Marriage where they brought couples up on stage and asked them both the same question and then compared answers. It was hilarious! After that, we went to the piano bar which is where we ended all but one of our evenings. It was a blast and Felicia, the singer, was absolutely amazing and the atmosphere was so much fun!
DAY AT THEIR PRIVATE ISLAND
This was a much more calm day. We had an excursion planned and everything went pretty smoothly. We had breakfast and then headed down to the small boats that were taking us over to the island. Once we were over there we waited for the boat driver and then got on their boat which took us to an area to scuba dive. I cannot stress this enough, TAKE DRAMAMINE before you get off the cruise ship. The smaller boats are really hard to be on for a long time. Also if you do get seasick and you are on an excursion, my advice is to stay in the water and float- DO NOT get back on the boat, you will feel AWFUL. The snorkeling was really cool and we saw SO many fish!
After we were done with the snorkeling excursion we headed back to the boat to have lunch and layout on the Serenity deck! We read and relaxed and I napped in one of the canopy things that they had. After that, it was time to go shower and get ready for dinner. Dinner was great as usual and then we decided to go to the casino for a while and then we listened to some live music that was in the Red Frog Pub. We came here a few times for different periods of time for the music and the games. It was usually pretty chill in there!
After going on this cruise we would and will 100000% be going on more cruises! For starters, it is SO easy to go on them very affordably living here in Orlando. We would be able to do last-minute cruises at a discounted price and that is so nice! Another thing is that we like the ability to see a lot of different places in one trip. We spent so much time on this cruise planning and searching for new cruises to go on. We want to try ALLL of the cruise lines though, we want to know which ones we like and don’t like. Obviously, a Disney Cruise would be a dream as well. We can’t wait for the next one and I will share all the things with that one as well! If you have any questions or feel like I left something out, PLEASE don’t hesitate to ask! You can comment below or email me at tarynintotravel@gmail.com and I will get back to you there if that is better for you!
