Before we left for our cruise late last year we had many armchair travellers weigh in on whether we were making the right choice with our travel budget. We heard from some who said the cruise would cost us a lot more than we intended to spend. (It didn’t really.) We also heard from many who hinted it was crazy to take kids on a cruise. We heard from even more who said a cruise is a big party. One told me: “You are going on the party boat? You don’t take kids on that cruise.” Well happily here…
Remember how I told you we went on a cruise? (I might have mentioned it once or twice.) Our first port was Costa Maya, Mexico. We have been to Mexico several times. Most recently I was there with my older daughter visiting Puerto Vallarta back in June for a media trip. This time we parachuted in so to speak on a short time frame. We just had the day, really. It was our first stop out of four. I mentioned Roatan here last week. We left the United States from Tampa and travelled for a full day getting used to…
This was our last day of 2014. We took a chance and disembarked the cruise ship and set aside the entire day to explore Belize with a tour guide, of course. Our first stop was a small speed boat that led us out into the ocean to explore a reef together. The four of us snorkelled together. My husband loved this excursion. It was his first time snorkelling. This is Payton. my oldest daughter, getting ready to explore family travel in Belize. This is her right before she hopped in and remembered salt water stings your eyes and had a…
It’s Tuesday and that means it’s time to link up your awesome travel photos or blog posts and share the love of travel with each other. This was my magical travel moment he first week of January. Midway through our recent cruise I woke to find this! Magical and amazing. We sailed all night and slept like babies and woke to find we were in this gorgeous place we had never been before – Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras. Honduras alone was captivating to me as a first time visitor. I hope to return to see more of this beautiful travel destination.…
We always avoided family cruises, at least up until this past month when we took our first ever family cruise and we were hooked immediately. Family cruises can be budget friendly and worth the time and effort. Here are my top ten reasons why we will take family cruises again. Top Ten Reasons to Take Family Cruises. 1. The service is exceptional. Incomparable. The closest I can compare there experience to is staying at a Disney resort. That’s how well taken care of you are. The staff ratio to tourist ratio was something like 1 to 3. It was outrageous…
We ended 2014 and started 2015 with our first cruise together ever. It was fantastic. Service was amazing and there was always something to do. The ports were stunning and the excursions each topped the next until we landed in Grand Cayman near the end of the trip and it was beyond gorgeous. This is my Wordless Wednesday post. It’s hard to be wordless about something so incredible. This is my new favourite form of family travel. It was our first cruise ever, but I am pretty sure it won’t be our last. Our first impression here the day we…
I don’t know if I can even put into words how much I love active family travel. We just returned from a New Year’s cruise. It was our first cruise ever and after a week at sea I am slowly getting my land legs back. My heart is still warm from the time spent with family and the many awesome excursions we did together. Swimming with stingrays on a reef just along the coast of Belize rocked. Snorkelling alongside my husband and daughters while stingrays, looking prehistoric and unfazed by our presence, swam just beneath us was something we all…
There is a saying in martial arts that my kids repeat over and over each time they grade. My husband knows it too. I am paraphrasing a bit but it’s a little like this – I come to you with empty hands. If I should be forced to use them. These are my weapons: my empty hands. It’s the end of 2014 and so everyone is wrapping up their year with little red bows and packaging it away to start fresh on January 1st. There is beauty and peace in that. We are building our resolutions, hopes and plans. We…
By now you know that gifts from the World Vision gift catalogue 2014 matter. They matter to children like these girls who are able to attend school in Colombia thanks to sponsorship and often thanks to donations from the gift catalogue. They matter to the boys in this picture playing soccer and building a healthy outlook for life in an area where drugs, gangs and poverty are very real threats to children. They matter to children you might never meet all over the world in so many countries that need help. Tonight on twitter, we are talking about the impact…
Johan Espinosa has been linked to World Vision for most of his life. He was sponsored at the age of five and grew up to be sponsorship coordinator in Bucaramanga, Colombia where I visited recently with World Vision Canada. His journey from sponsored child to inspirational leader building futures for sponsored children in Colombia is nothing short of remarkable. His story is a beautiful illustration of what becomes of sponsored children in Colombia. One of Three Brothers Espinosa was one of three brothers. They lived with both parents and their father worked, but they were still barely getting…