We got to spend some quality time in New Orleans before and after our cruise in February. Most of the time was spent walking around and/or eating (which is not a bad thing 😜). This was also not my first time in New Orleans; it will not be the last. Next time, I want to take a Ghost or Voodoo tour and enjoy more nighttime stuff.
One more day until our Disney Cruise! I’m revisiting some of our past cruise vacations to get us pumped and ready to go.
This past February, we enjoyed a 7-day Caribbean cruise on the NCL Getaway. This cruise was memorable for many reasons. We celebrated my husband’s birthday, cruised with friends, and flew to our port this time (instead of leaving from New York). We also stayed at our port location, New Orleans, for a few days (one day before the cruise and a few days after).
This cruise was more relaxed for us. I booked a few things in advance, but kept it flexible to accommodate all our friends. We got the drink package, the wifi package, and the digital photo package. I also paid to decorate the room for my husband’s birthday. My daughter didn’t do the kids’ club this time, but we got some pool time.
It’s definitely a different experience when you go with a group. We made time to explore on our own, but also made time to do things together. I also didn’t pressure myself to do everything. I made a list of what I wanted to do, and we checked it off (in the best way). We are going on our Disney cruise with our family, so I want to set the same expectation.
Some photos of our experiences.
Two more days until our Disney Cruise! I’m revisiting some of our past cruise vacations to get us pumped and ready to go.
In October 2024, we enjoyed a 7-day Caribbean cruise on the MSC Meraviglia to celebrate my birthday this time. We learned a lot from our first cruise in February! For our NCL cruise, we waited to book everything on the ship. Frequent cruisers know that booking packages in advance is the way to go; it’s cheaper, and you have more options. So we bought everything in advance! We got the drink and wifi package (worth it to us), we got the specialty dining package, and enjoyed four amazing restaurants. I prebooked excursions, spa treatments, and little goodies throughout our cruise. I even booked a little photo shoot for us. It was all worth it!
We had the best time! Learning from our February cruise, we took advantage of every amenity we could. Our daughter participated in the kids club this time, while my husband and I enjoyed the spa and the nighttime entertainment. We also got to enjoy some shows with our daughter. She slept through one show (lol), but she enjoyed the acrobatic one, in the carousel lounge. My daughter was better potty-trained this time, so we got to take advantage of the pools more. The one negative we experienced was the weather. It definitely wasn’t on our side, and we only made one of our ports, but we made the best of it on the ship. The ship had tons of activities to participate in. We plan on going on another MSC cruise in February 2026!
Next week, my family and I are going on our first Disney cruise. We are so excited and are counting the days (4 more to go!). In the meantime, I’m revisiting some of our past cruise vacations to get us ready.
In February 2024, we enjoyed a 10-day Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to celebrate my husband’s birthday. It was also extra special because it was the first cruise with our daughter.
We had a fantastic time! The boat was gorgeous, and the food was amazing. One regret I did have was that we didn’t take advantage of all the amenities on the ship. We didn’t make it to many of the shows and did not end up using the kids’ club services. We took advantage of excursions during our port days, but some of the ones we were looking forward to got canceled due to the weather. However, we still had a blast and ended up hooked on cruising!
Here are some indoor play areas/activities that are fun to try when you want to beat the heat (or cold), when it rains, or just for fun.
Twinkle Playspace in Williamburg
PLAYDAY in Long Island City – heavy on art classes vs playground. We attended a birthday party, but they have so many cool offerings: bookmarking, cartooning, collage creations, fashion design, painting and drawing, and printmaking.
Dream City in Forest Hill
Puzzles in Astoria – have seasonal special events, snapology, STEM based and sensory activities.
On Saturday, we celebrated my daughter’s baptism and Pre-K graduation. The baptism was held at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Astoria, and the after-party/reception was at Astoria World Manor. We were truly blessed to have so many people celebrate with us.
Today is my Dad’s 83rd birthday!
We went to London Lennies, one of our favorite restaurants, to celebrate.
I celebrated my cousin’s 40th birthday on the Hornblower Atlantica this past Saturday. It was so much fun! We had the whole boat to ourselves. She had a package with drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and a buffet. She also had a fun DJ. The best part was catching Manhattan’s Hudson and East River views.
I had so much fun creating a bucket list last year that I knew I wanted to do it again this year. Aiming for a blackout, let’s go summer!
Can’t complain, I had a very low-key 4th of July.
Filled with
and fireworks 🎆.
The Casual Explorer 