Yorton Family Vacation

Cruising with the Yortons
So as you may know, the Yorton family loves to cruise. I honestly think it might be something in the Yorton blood. Before Jacob and I got together, I never even thought about going on a cruise. To be completely honest, Titanic scared the ship out of me. I thought that every cruise ship was going to sink… I know a bit crazy of a thought… especially since a lot of cruises cruise where it is warm and NO icebergs (haha). But then, I went on my first cruise, 16 weeks pregnant with Marley and I had fun!
And I’ve been a cruiser ever since! The fact that this “floating hotel” can take you to different places to experience a snippet of their culture is so much fun for me. Seeing bits and pieces of a country then deciding if I want to come back and see more is totally fine by me. I love that I can spend some time on the beach or go shopping and get different things and experiences at each location. AND we get to go to multiple countries in one trip! I will take it!!
All Inclusive (basically)!
Another great thing about cruising: it is BASICALLY all inclusive. The only thing that isn’t included is drinks. On Carnival, you have the option of juices and coffee or tea with breakfast and then the rest of the day, you can have lemonade, iced tea, hot tea and coffee! We like to stock up on the juices in the morning and put them in our cabin fridge for the kids or for a fun “adult” drink with dinner. Carnival also allows a 750ml bottle of wine for each adult over 21 years old. If you like wine, it is a great deal! Wine on the ship can be pricey but if you can bring a bottle in, that can cut some of your costs!
There is so much FOOD on cruises. And the range of food is wonderful! You can have a hot breakfast buffet, continental breakfast, omelettes, tacos, or pizza for breakfast. And then there is also pizza, burgers, Mongolian, buffet, deli sandwiches, and tacos for lunch or dinner. At specific times during the day, you can also go into the main dining room for a meal! I love all the options! But enough about food.
One of my favorite aspects of cruising is the shows! These shows are high quality! There is singing and dancing! I wanted to get up and sing and dance with them. I did sing all of the songs I knew, very loudly! haha. My favorite show was America Rocks. I love LIVE music and this one had it! Honestly, I am not the biggest rock ‘n roll fan but I LOVE live music!
Carnival Magic
I want to tell you all about our recent trip on the Carnival Magic. This was Jacob’s 10th cruise, my 4th cruise, Marley’s 3rd cruise and Jackson’s 2nd cruise and all on Carnival. Carnival is such a family friendly fleet of ships so we keep coming back. Also, Carnival has wonderful prices! I mean I am 100% sure Disney cruises are worth the big price point but I (personally) would rather go on 2.5 Carnival cruises for the price of one Disney cruise!
This time we had a balcony cabin! Oh My Gosh! I loved it. We were on deck 8 so closer to the food and the fact that we could go out and enjoy the salty air at anytime was great! I drank my morning coffee every morning out on our balcony! It gave me a moment to myself before starting my day!
If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably seen some of my updates! I keep myself motivated while traveling because I always have fitness goals for myself. My goals are number 1 and vacationing is number 2. Meaning, yes I want to enjoy my vacation (and I did) but I will still work hard to make sure I am hitting my goals. Even with the temptation of all the food, I was able to enjoy what I wanted but in moderation!
So Much Fun!!
The kids had so much fun! This is the first cruise where I felt it was very much for the kids. They enjoyed Camp Ocean (the child care area). Both kids LOVED the water slide!! They loved the all you can eat ice cream…. Me, not so much (haha). But the only thing they did not like, getting off the ship. Three of the four ports we stopped at were basically shopping ports and the kids didn’t like the heat and walking from store to store. Shopping is my favorite so I had a blast with that!
We decided to not get off the ship when we got to Puerto Rico because we the two days before were just shopping ports and the kids did NOT want to get off the ship. It was nice to be on the ship with only a few people! This was my first time on a cruise were we stayed on the ship while in port. It was relaxing! We got to go to the water slides, the kids went to Camp Ocean and the lines for food weren’t long! It was a nice day, however, it rained a few times but I’ll take a Caribbean rain over a Wisconsin rain anyday!!!
Only a Few Issues
I will be completely honest with you. There were some small issues on this trip. I had a few instances were my food was cold, which I understand because they are serving 3500 plus people! Room service doesn’t have much for protein options for breakfast except dairy (dairy doesn’t agree with me). And the water slide put a hole in my favorite swimsuit. But it is all good, because, I just ate something else and I had 5 other swimsuits packed!
Overall, we had an amazing time! The kids got their fill of Mac and Cheese and Hotdogs AND ice cream. I got my fill of tiny peanut butter cookies! Jacob got his Chocolate Melting Cake. We all left happy and sad. Happy because we definitely needed that week vacation and sad because we didn’t want to leave the ship!
Until next time Carnival!
I have been on one cruise, quite a few years ago, and I really enjoyed it! If I ever go again, though, I would need to take dramamine, as I’m not a good traveler on the big water. Still loved it!
I use the patches to help with motion sickness and they are great!
Sounds like you had great fun. I’ve never done a cruise before but I’d definitely love to try one one day…
We had a blast! You should definitely try one!
Sounds to me like a good time was indeed had by all
Cruising is definitely one of my favorite ways to vacation. We almost always go on Carnival, so much that my husband is considered VIP with them! We haven’t been since having kids (yet) but want to in the next few years. And that Chocolate Melting Cake…. sooooo worth it!!
That’s awesome! Carnival is great!!
I haven’t been on as many cruises as you and your family have been, but I have been on a few and I really enjoy them as well! I believe we will do even more as our littles get bigger. They really are such a wonderful vacation!
Looks like you had a lot of fun with your family. Cruising is definitely a great way to enjoy the vacation.
I have always wanted to go on a cruise it looks like so much fun.
It looks like you had so much fun! Love that it’s all-inclusive. I’ve never been on a cruise, but this is something my hubby and I would like to do someday. And yes, I’ll bring a bottle of wine. Thanks for the tip!
I have never been on a cruise and I think titanic scared the skip out of me too. But now that I have nephews and nieces a cruise is looking to be the best all family vacation plan option! Sucks about your swimsuit!
It is a great family vacation! You can do your own thing during the day then get together for dinner at the main dining room!
A vacation on Cruise is always the best. You don’t have to worry about anything else. Just sit back and relax and enjoy some quality time with the familia. Such beautiful pictures.
It looks like you had a wonderful family vacation! I have never been on a cruise, but it looks like a blast!!
What fun. Your cruise looks and sounds absolutely fabulous. Confession: I’ve never gotten up the nerve to go on a cruise. Pretty frightful of water but my family is dying to take one. This helps me want to start planning! 😉
It is definitely worth it!!
This looks like it would be such an amazing trip. I love all the photos.
You have great taste in holidays!
A cruise really is something special that I would like to do again soon. I loved the last European one I went on and yes, there was a lot of food on that ship too!
Happy you enjoyed the vacation and was able to indulge in moderation in accordance with your number 1 goal of fitness. Looks like you’re whole family has a blast! 😊
Hanna x | missbeautysaver.com