Crave To Connect | Building Better Relationships

Our First Family Vacation On a Cruise | Crave To Connect | Ep18

• Karina and Michael • Season 1 • Episode 18

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Crave To Connect is a candid, honest, and sometimes hilarious conversation about the messy realities of relationships.Hosted by Karina Paxton, a certified clinical EFT practitioner, and a trauma informed coach, and...

Michael Calderon, a licensed clinical social worker (LSCW) and a licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor (LCADC) specializing in mental health, addiction, and relationship dynamics

The goal is simple: Real conversations about real life and real real relationships.

With their unique backgrounds in trauma recovery, therapy, and emotional healing, Karina and Michael bring two different perspectives to topics like toxic relationships, healing, personal growth, and understanding human behavior. 

Expect relaxed conversations, unexpected insights, and the occasional awkward moment, because that’s what real conversations look like.

Pull up a chair, get comfortable, and join the conversation.


To get in touch:

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https://www.instagram.com/liveyourlife.coach?igsh=dHJpcm1zZmQ3c3Ex&utm_source=qr

Website:

https://linktr.ee/liveyourlife.coach

Book a Call:

https://calendly.com/liveyourlife-coach/30-minute-discovery-call-helena-guest

Michael Calderon:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/michael-calderon-hackettstown-nj/1044394


SPEAKER_02

Welcome to Crave to Connect with your host, Karina, the recovering men hater, and Mike, the former emotionally unavailable therapist. Sit back, get comfortable, and relax. Our whole vibe with this podcast is to casually dive into all the messy, hilarious, and sometimes confusing parts of relationships. Whether it's with yourself, all the humans, no pressure, just good chats, and maybe some awkward moments. Hi everybody. Welcome to Crave to Connect. Today we're gonna do something a little different. Yeah. We're gonna talk about our first family vacation on a cruise.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, your first cruise was.

SPEAKER_02

My first cruise.

SPEAKER_00

Your daughter's first cruise.

SPEAKER_02

My daughter's first cruise, and you are you've been a cruiser for a while.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I'm a little bit of a veteran. I think it's been six or seven cruises I've been on now.

SPEAKER_02

Right, but we have never done it. And um I really came up with the idea because I am turning 50 tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, happy birthday.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you so much. So we are actually recording this the night before my birthday. So this is my last couple hours of being 49. Yes. So Mikey actually made us a little cocktail here, so we're gonna say cheers.

SPEAKER_00

Cheers. Cheers to Chocolate Martini.

SPEAKER_02

Chocolate, absolutely delicious. I'm a chocolate, so this is unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00

So and happy birthday!

SPEAKER_02

Thank you very much. So Mike brought us over, and I was like, let's do a mattini because this is after hours. We usually record during the day. Right. And it's dark out and it's after hours, and I just thought this was brilliant to like celebrate my last couple hours in my 40s. Yeah. And we had originally talked about sharing our experience on the cruise as we were cruising, but we ended up having too much fun. We didn't want to take the timeout. We didn't like the timeout. Yeah. So we decided to come home. So we've been home for two days now, right? Two full days. We came home Sunday morning. Early Sunday, right? Early Sunday, and it's just Monday today, so a day and a half. Really, we've been home. So we thought, let's talk about this now, while it's so fresh in our mind, and we are still on the vacation high. And I'm also thinking this could be really helpful for people out there who has never cruised, sure, right? Who was like me, who was like, I don't think cruising is for me, just to share our experiences, what we loved, things that we maybe didn't love so much, and things we might do different next time. But I think most importantly, this was our first our first vacation as a family, right? You and I and my daughter who's 11. And um, for a lot of people, they would think, Are you are you crazy? Nine days. Nine days. Yes, yes, nine nights. And uh most people were probably thinking, Are you crazy? Like you've never been on vacation together, and you are uh going on a cruise. Stay I called it a uh 12 by 12 prison cell. That's what we stayed in. So we had a balcony that's not a crazy cruise. We did have a balcony, it was the tiniest little room, and um and you know, there was a bed for us, I think it was a queen-sized bed, and there was a pullout couch for my daughter, and when that was all the way pulled out, very comfortable for her, by the way. Right, we had a tiny little walkway from from the door from the bathroom to the little balcony, but we made it work, yeah, and um, you know, we were just I think we were all just so open to this, and we were like, we're just gonna see what's going to happen, and um, I think we got along great, but I feel like this could also be just be helpful for people that maybe are to have just started dating and how to get along, right?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, what were some of the things that we we did um during the cruise, and it was all very natural. And by the way, it's just I think worth mentioning. Um at the beginning of every year, Karina and her daughter both do an affirmation board, and interestingly enough, both of them put cruise ships, they took pictures out of things that they would like to do or see or accomplish, or right? And um, and a cruise ship was on both. I said, Well, we should, and we were like, yeah. And then you found travel agent, you called, and you found this amazing deal that we got, and it was nine nights, which was cheaper than other five-night cruises. And uh, we said, Yeah, and we're all excited, and then there were some times where we're a little both of us were at different times, a little bit like, oh my god, what if you know this this could be this could go sideways, you know, it's a lot of time.

SPEAKER_02

It really could like we are coming up in a year, right? Like August 8th, which is you know, it's almost July, so we come up in a year. So, I mean, we've been together a significant amount of time, but it's still fairly new. And for most people, spending 24 hours together, right, on vacation, that it's a lot, but yeah, married couples have took trouble at that. Very and not only that, you and I going married for the first time, but you know, we brought my daughter, who is 11, who was staying with us in the room. So, you know, when I when we think about it.

SPEAKER_00

Quite the preteen.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, she's yeah, quite the preteen.

SPEAKER_00

She's she's very uh advanced. I mean, she's probably where I was when I was 13.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Oh, she is, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So everything's embarrassing. Everything is embarrassing. Absolutely. No, nothing's cool enough, and I'm definitely not cool enough.

SPEAKER_02

No, you're definitely not cool enough. No, you called Mr. Embarrassment.

SPEAKER_00

Well, and I go out of my way to try and line things up with her. So you do, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

You become a little child too. But I think also this might help people that are in our position too, right? And maybe just started dating or dated for for a while and just thought, can I go on vacation? Like, should I? And what is it gonna be like? And of course, everyone's experience is gonna be unique, but I thought maybe we would just start from the beginning. So for me, I just thought, I don't think I'm a cruiser. I have done like all enclosure resort several times in different vacations, and I enjoy that so much because you literally leave your brain at the door and everything is planned for you, and and you the biggest decision when you wake up is what am I gonna eat and when, right? And yes, and you can go on excursions if you want. But for some reason, and I have several friends and clients who have cruised, and for some reason, yeah, around New Year's Eve, when I put that cruise on my vision board, I just I sort of became curious, and I thought, what would it be like to be on a floating island? That's literally what it is.

SPEAKER_00

It's like a city, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Right on the on the ocean, and then you know, practically live on the ocean and then get off at certain destinations. And I think the reason, several reasons why I was hesitant. I was worried that the crowds would be too insane, right? This is like thousands of people we're talking about, and I was worried that I wouldn't find it relaxing because I love to be by the pool, and I just imagined there would be so many people and impossible to get a seat, right?

SPEAKER_00

And there were a lot, it was difficult times.

SPEAKER_02

There were a lot of people, and I honestly I was worried that it was gonna be like a little, a little tacky, a little American way so much food and all that. Um, so those those were definitely some of my hesitations, and also I was worried about getting sick because you hear oldie stories about people in cruises, right? Like, because you're breathing in this same air, right? In the hallways and the cabins and everything, and you hear stories. So I was worried about them. Like, what if we all get stuck on a cruise ship? There's nowhere to get off, and like we're sick, right? So I had and you were so cool about it. You're like, I've done it right six times. Like, I'm fine, I've never been sick. Never been sick. So I did my wheels just started turning, and yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

What happened before we went? I got sick.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00

I ended up with a respiratory infection the Monday before we left. We left on uh Friday.

SPEAKER_02

On Friday, that's really what happened. Yeah, you seem fine all weekend, and then you called me Monday and you were like, I'm not feeling well. And I was like, You gotta be kidding me. And we had spent the whole weekend together, so you were not well.

SPEAKER_00

No, I didn't sound well at all. You didn't sound well at all. I'm still, I still have a little bit of effect on it.

SPEAKER_02

You never got a fever, but you had a cough, you had like an upper respiratory thing.

SPEAKER_00

I had the the uh congestion, yeah. I was I had a cough that I was had a pretty bad cough, and even a couple of days into the cruise, I was still coughing, so it took it.

SPEAKER_02

And you were exhausted and you were working a million hours because we were going away for so long. So and you had to pack and get your house ready. It was it was a lot. Yeah, but thankfully you felt good, not a hundred percent, but you felt good Friday.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, no, I felt really good. I just I had a cough.

SPEAKER_02

You had a cough, right? Right. So that wasn't fun, but you kept saying, uh I'll take it now, as long as I'm better on Friday.

SPEAKER_00

Beat the hell shit out of me now, yeah. Whatever it wants to do, as long as I'm good Friday.

SPEAKER_02

And it worked, so so thank very grateful, very grateful you were better. My daughter and I did not get it, so very grateful.

SPEAKER_00

Grateful for that.

SPEAKER_02

For that too. So, so what we decided, what I decided to do was once I start thinking about the cruise, and and I have friends who has traveled on cruises, done many different cruises, and just the idea of it, I'm like, it's a little overwhelming. So I literally just Googled rural Caribbean, and the reason I did that was because the cruise leaves right from New Jersey Bay onwards. Yeah, yeah. And just the thought of flying with the gas prices, everything going on, I just thought that just seems overwhelming. I wanted something easy, so we literally just got in that car and we drove about an hour and 40 some minutes.

SPEAKER_00

An hour, I was like, oh, over an hour, right?

SPEAKER_02

But it took about 45 minutes to get on. Right, right.

SPEAKER_00

We were online trying to get to the cruise.

SPEAKER_02

But so easy. We could pack whatever we wanted because there was no and we did. And we did there was no, there was no weight requirements, they didn't they didn't weigh you stuff. You could bring whatever you wanted. Thank god. And what we learned is the three of us are terrible packers, we are overpackers. We brought so much stuff you would think we were gone for like a whole month.

SPEAKER_00

I used most of what I brought though.

SPEAKER_02

We did all do that. Me too.

SPEAKER_00

I mean it gets really hot, so there were days I changed my clothes three times. Yeah, yeah. And so I'm I'm I think I had about four extra shirts and uh extra pair of pants and a couple of maybe one or two extra pairs of shorts, but that was it, because I don't like wearing, you know, I'm bad with vacations, I don't like wearing my stuff more than once, and I'm certainly not gonna wear a shirt, I sweat in more than once.

SPEAKER_02

So And if you spill something on it, like what are you gonna do, right? So we were well prepared, we had options, yes. Right? So what what I did was I literally Googled Royal Caribbean because that was a cruise line that left Bayonne Jersey, and this blog came up. There was his mother that wrote this blog, and she mentioned this travel agency and she who sp that specialized in cruising, and she raved about them, and I just thought, oh my gosh, this could be helpful. So I emailed them and I got like an email back within a second, and phenomenal, so helpful. And she is really the one that got me excited about the cruising because she had done it not out of AM. She was in Florida, but she has cruised many times, and the way she described it, the way she explained it. I just felt so at ease. I I got really excited, and and then I had her send me prices and stuff, right? And and dates and things, and I really I was hoping to do it on my birthday, right? Which didn't happen because the July price was crazy because the 4th of July. So we just decided to leave right after my daughter got out of school and then be back two days before my birthday. And I'm like, this is perfect, because then we can nine nine days, it was nine nights.

SPEAKER_00

Usually, but it's you know, if you I've taken seven-day cruises, you're ready to go home, and we were not ready to go home. We were not ready to go home. Cora was ready to go home, but we were not.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, my daughter missed her animals, her room. She I think she had a mouth up. She had never been. Special friends. Sharing her room with us and the bathroom. She she was not happy, but I could I could have I could have stayed on. But so for anyone out there who's like, How am I gonna plan a cruise? and this seems overwhelming, like highly recommend it. And I've used a travel agent in the past too, and it doesn't cost you anything. No, they get kickbacks from resorts, so they can literally just help you like book whatever trip that you want, excursions, everything else.

SPEAKER_00

And you got like a uh credit, right? Which you use towards a facial and the sign.

SPEAKER_02

I got all the credit too, and it was just great. Like, you know, for someone who's never done it before, she just helped us with everything. So that was amazing, right? So we had that booked. I think we booked it in like January or February.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, we're all excited to show you guys videos you could not believe. Could not believe out because about what was on the ship, which we maybe we should talk about that, right? Yeah. So you get on the ship and uh on the top deck where the pool is. Well, there's a 17th deck, but the 16th deck was a you know, that was a small deck. There's three water slides, there's um a zip line, there is uh a dry slide. Excuse me. There was um two sets of rock climbing walls. Um three pools. Three three or three pools? And like tubs. There were more than three hot tubs. There was like probably because they had the one on the side, there were probably six hot tubs that was facing you could still you could look over the ocean on the couple of them where they were right up against the glass. They had a um we walked through a solarium, which is oh my god. It was like the it was you had to be 18 over to go in there, and it was like this really nice setup. They had beds, they had chairs, it was in the front of the shed. It was quiet. It was hot, it was two really nice hot tubs that were really warm. It was a beautiful pool with a big fountain, um, and we stuck in there for two mornings.

SPEAKER_01

We did, we snuck out.

SPEAKER_00

We uh we told her daughter we were we have to whisper that we were going to work out. Um and we went Karina was so excited, it was so cool to see. She was like a little kid, she was so excited when I presented the idea. What if we said we were gonna work out? But we went to the adultery because she actually told me I'm brilliant, right?

SPEAKER_02

I didn't say you were brilliant. So we had so we did it for two mornings, we had two hours ourselves, and it was great too, because then my daughter got to sleep in because she does not get up early, and she was happy with that, and um it so that was like so nice to have a little a little time like that, right? That was amazing. Um but that that was yeah, that was beautiful.

SPEAKER_00

That's a the Tiffany Ice Pro, right? They had an ice skating rink, they had an aqua arena for shows. Um, they had a pavilion, pavilion, is that what they called it? The uh was that the the a boardwalk deck five where yeah, boardwalk where it had giant rockets and a carousel, arcades, sports bar, arcades, sports bar, right? All this interactive gaming.

SPEAKER_02

They had an ice cream parlor, old school ice cream parlor, and candy, like ice cream candy, like an old school where you rake it into your bag. Right, like it was just so impressive how everything was was just done, right?

SPEAKER_00

And we had a spa right on the floor we were on that had these phenomenal smoothies and coconut water that I mean like real coconut water.

SPEAKER_02

It was unbelievable. And we actually worked out twice, like for real. We did.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, there was a track you can walk around the ship on, yeah, and and then of course your favorite deck, which I'm gonna let you talk about.

SPEAKER_02

My favorite deck was Central Park. Yeah. And we had read about it, and I just I just thought, real life trees? Like what?

SPEAKER_00

It's hard to imagine. It kind of I thought it might have been a little cheesy, but it was stunning.

SPEAKER_02

It was stunning. It was literally like walking into a little corner of Central Park. The the real trees, there was little like these like little bistro tables where you could sit in the afternoon.

SPEAKER_00

They could chessboard, like chessboard built into the table just like Central Park.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, they had like a live musicians that came every day in the afternoon, and they would just sit and play gorgeous.

SPEAKER_00

Restaurants and cafes, and then above it they had rooms that looked in apartments. Yes, just like you would see, right?

SPEAKER_02

That looked right down.

SPEAKER_00

There was uh lizards and you sometimes heard birds, and there was this the way they built it, there was this amazing breeze. Yes, you love the breeze. You love the breeze. You love the breeze. It's every time you walked in there, it's amazing breeze. Um, and they had a nice little bar set up with lights, beautiful little one.

SPEAKER_02

Um and what we also did, and this was your idea, we bought the deluxe beverage package.

SPEAKER_00

Yep, and highly recommend that, even if you're out there and you're like, I don't really drink, which I didn't think I did either, but I still get like 15 drink limit per day, and it's like uh I forget the gratuities included, but you also get any anywhere we went, whether we were paying for dinner, we went to um a place where you would normally pay for things, Johnny Bronckets, everything was included, drink water, everything else, and at the and that was one of my favorites too, at the fitness center, there was this smoothie bar, juice smoothie bar.

SPEAKER_02

Right, all included. And I thought that one must be extra, but it was not. So we would have a delicious like protein smoothie in the morning after workout, fresh squeezed juices, they had the most incredible coconut water I've ever tasted in my life. They had like healthy banana bread, like these little granola bars. It was just it was just unreal, and that was all included.

SPEAKER_00

So that was right outside our door, right outside our door.

SPEAKER_02

We were l we were just we were on the best floor for sure, on the best deck, I think it's called. So highly recommended that. So if you're out there and you're like, I don't really drink, like, even if you don't drink a lot of alcohol, like you are going to take advantage of all of the other things because everything on board is anywhere from like 10 to like 16 dollars.

SPEAKER_00

And you always tend to drink, yeah, and you always tend to drink. I mean, Karina does not drink a lot, and she drank more than I've seen. But what's interesting is you're spreading out through the day, yes, you're sweating things out. There's not a there was not a night that we felt inebriated, right? We just truly enjoyed our drinks, we enjoyed our time. We did we're in the moment, um, but yeah, highly recommended, and also on Royal Caribbean if you do that. So we went to um our destinations were Nassau and the Bahamas, Coquet, which is owned by that's in the Bahamas and owned by Royal Caribbean. Yeah, and then um the Dominican Republic went to Porto de Plata. But when we went to Nassau, part of the package was we also got a pass where we got to eat and drink for free in Nassau. To the beach club, to the beach club, and we also got internet for free for the day because we didn't pay for internet, right? Um, and then in Coco Kay, everyone got food and drink for free. Yeah, um, as long as they had a drink package, even if it wasn't the upgrade one. By the way, with our package, not only did we get all of that, but we got all the upper, you know, the top shelf liquor as well included. So anything we wanted, we had.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, highly recommend, absolutely. It was it was definitely worth it. So let's see. So we walk on this incredible ship, and they have you come right in on deck five, right? And it looked like an indoor mall. There were just there was a pizzeria, that was a cafe.

SPEAKER_00

That was where they right, that's oh no, the carousels one floor one.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, there were, you know, stores, geocache.

SPEAKER_00

Promenade, that was a promenade deck.

SPEAKER_02

There that was on the other side.

SPEAKER_00

But there was just just in there was a bar, like there was a bar that would that you get on and it would uh it would rise through the floors all the way up to Central Park, six floors. So from uh what did that start? Five? Five. And it would rise all the way up to eight, right?

SPEAKER_02

And you wouldn't even feel it moving, so you would get on there, you would sit, and it almost felt like you were in a spaceship, right? You would order you a drink, and you would sit there at the table, and then they would close up and just very slowly, like you would just literally be you felt like you were flying in the air. It was amazing, and then you got up to Central Park and the floor, and then the doors would open, and you could get out.

SPEAKER_00

If you wanted, yeah, or you could ride it back down.

SPEAKER_02

It was it was it was just something else, right? So, so we get in, and you know, you have to drop off your luggage. So we came in without our luggage, and then we had to we were trying to find our stateroom, and that was a little hectic. I for the first day I was definitely very overwhelmed because I'm like, this is there's so many people, I know I do where anything was, nobody knew where anything was, right? But we found our stateroom, we found out how to get there. The key is literally right outside your door, right? So easy to get in.

SPEAKER_00

Yep, right on your door.

SPEAKER_02

Right on your door, and then my friend who who cruises a lot had told me she's like, You're gonna come in with all your bags, you're gonna open the door, and you're gonna be like, Oh my god, where do I put my stuff? So it's a picture of us, three people. Each of us had this huge suitcase, right? We had a kick big suitcase, each of us. We had a carry-on. We had a little like a little duffel, duffel bag. You and I had a Garmin back. You had two other backpacks or something.

SPEAKER_00

Like that was my two carry-ons, right?

SPEAKER_02

It was it was it was crazy. So we walk into this little room and we're like, what are we gonna do? But I have to say, we got super creative, right? So there was the closet, and I mean, like, big points to the Royal Caribbean because they I think they did an incredible job with a little bit of space that there was, right? There was a there was a closet, there were plenty of room on top, on the bottom, there were shelves.

SPEAKER_00

They had a a bar that we could put like bags or whatever, um, open in the closet. So there was plenty of room. I kept all my stuff and some finding in a lot of room, but I had a couple of shelves. I had a top shelf, and then I had I had half the closet to hang stuff.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, half the closet.

SPEAKER_00

And uh, or a little less, and we you know, we made do there were other drawers and the bathroom had enough space for all.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, the bathroom did too, and they were where by what where my daughter was sleeping, right? There was like a little a little vanity type of thing that had shelves and drawers too. So so we made it work. But my favorite part about that room was really the balcony with ocean view. Highly recommend that. We spent a lot of time out there, right? It was just it was big enough. There was a table up there, there was two chairs. Yeah, we brought the vanity chair out there, and the three of us sat there a lot, right? In the morning, at night, we played Uno, like unbelievable to sit there and just watch.

SPEAKER_00

I don't light on the deck out there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, at night and just watch the ocean around you and think that we are literally in the middle of nowhere, like it was unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00

So then the other amazing thing, which I wasn't really, you know, I've I've sailed on Caribbean or um, I'm sorry, Carnival. Um, celebrity wasn't a big fan of celebrity. If you like it was an older crowd, um, not a lot going on, not a lot of activity, um, certainly good food. Um I I'm not I feel like I'm not old enough for celebrity yet, even though I'm 54. Um, I've been on Carnival, which is like a party ship, a lot of fun, a lot of activities. They really know how to get the crowd going. Food is not too good, um, but inconsistent. They have, you know, the buffets are right, and they have uh uh Bobby Flay burgers, which are very good actually in open, you know, EMA time. But on Royal Caribbean, um, they had a lot of restaurants that you could pay for, and they had the main dining room, which normally the main dining room on a lot of cruises is like, yeah, it's alright. You know, it's edible or it's pretty decent, whatever. It was phenomenal. Unbelievable. We loved it. We ate there every night, except for our last night we had paid for hibachi. We had that, that was phenomenal too. Oh yeah, that was so good.

SPEAKER_01

Delicious.

SPEAKER_00

I would have to say on Royal Caribbean, they had an Italian night, and I'm half Italian. My mother made a really phenomenal lasagna. I think that was the best lasagna ever.

SPEAKER_02

That was your favorite meal. Oh my god. You were you were so happy in heaven.

SPEAKER_00

I also had the cheese tortellini, because by the way, for those of you who don't know, you can order as much of anything as you want. And we it was one night we ordered four entrees between us.

SPEAKER_02

We ate, I mean, I think I ate more on this cruise than I probably did in a month. Like it was unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00

The food was so good.

SPEAKER_02

Outstanding. I was not expecting because being having been on an all-inclusive resorts, like the food is just so so. But you expect it, you're like, whatever, it's fine. But this was like delicious. The presentation was unbelievable. The portions were small enough that you could order several to try a little bit of everything. The menu changed every night. Sometimes there would be the specific.

SPEAKER_00

So it was like themes, usually, but they always had some dishes on the menu.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Our server Esteban was phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02

Shout out to Esteban, he was unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00

And also um Francis was his assistant. They were so nice, so accommodating. Nice as people gave us different tips about, especially Esteban about excursions. I mean, they were phenomenal. We they really made our we love the food and everything else. Our first night, Esteban says, you know, if you'd like, you can request this table every night.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And Karina's like, well, I'd like to sit by the window. And we're kind of like, well, people are sitting by the window, we're probably gonna request that table every night, right? We liked Esteban. We were like, all right, you know what? Let's and um he was just amazing. The longer we were there, he was just a phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02

And like that was incredible too. So just imagine, like, that's all included. So every night we would. I had booked us a dinner reservation at 7.15, and we would show up, and eventually, right after a couple days, they would just say, Oh, just go right in, you know where your table is, so we would just go right in.

SPEAKER_00

We knew he was getting 18%, you know, no matter what service he gave, and he gave us we we did tip him extra.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, so that was that's another wonderful thing is that gratuity is all included in the price. So before we even get it.

SPEAKER_00

With your drink package, everything.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so you pay for everything on up front, so you don't have to think about it. You don't tip, but you can tip extra, which is what we did.

SPEAKER_00

We gave them 50 50 extra.

SPEAKER_02

Because they were just they were just fantastic.

SPEAKER_00

They were really good. We, of course, and they do encourage you to tip the people who clean your room a little extra, which we did.

SPEAKER_02

We did that too. Of course.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, um, but it was just fantastic.

SPEAKER_02

And what was so fun, like I think we should definitely talk about how we felt on this trip, because you know I'm all about that feelings, but it was so fun at night, and I had helped you before we left because you asked me to help you. No, I think I suggested if you want me to help you pick out outfits because you said that was a little I get anxiety packing. That was a little nerve-wracking to you. So we did that, so we picked out outfits together, and that was fun.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_02

And then at night it was just so fun. Like we would all take turns showering, and then we would get dressed, and we would help each other what to wear, and right, my daughter would do her hair, and she would help, you know, comment comment like what I was wearing and what I should do with my hair, and it was like we never get dressed up, right, in the real world, and to be able to do that every night, like I just thought that was so fun, right? We all looked so good, we were so fresh, like we had a little little change.

SPEAKER_00

So when you go on a cruise, uh there's always one formal night. If you go seven or more, there's often two. So there's two. There was two. So um our formal night, you had on a beautiful dress of decor, and I had on a uh jacket and tie, and you know, trousers, and then um whatever I smell sold, right? Khakis, whatever. And then and then we went, um, and then there was uh Latin night, which was all white.

SPEAKER_02

I love that. That was like my favorite.

SPEAKER_00

Like a white linen shirt, a white linen pants.

SPEAKER_02

Like everybody wore white. It was like so pretty. I love that. Everyone looks so good, yeah, right? That was just that was just so fun. So yeah, so different themes, and then it was like casual resort, right?

SPEAKER_00

Resort casual, which many could wear short, you know.

SPEAKER_02

You could wear whatever.

SPEAKER_00

Couldn't wear bathing suits or whatever, but you know, and not bathing suits, you couldn't. No, so you couldn't wear bat, you couldn't wear bathing suits or like uh, you know, anything like that. But you would have to cover up. Could wear like t-shirt and shorts or button shorts, and then they had a Caribbean night. Yeah, I actually wore uh which I'm usually against, but I wore like a Hawaiian shirt. You did, but it was and a lot of people did, including our servers.

SPEAKER_02

It was a nice Hawaiian shirt, right? And then on some nights, what was so fun too is you know, they would introduce the waiters and and then the chefs, right? And everyone would clap, and just like it's and my mind is still blown. Like, I want to have told a story to some of my friends already. I'm like this the operation, like how everything is so organized. Yeah, how in the world they feed all of us at the same time, right? The food would come out so quick, it was warm, it was delicious, it was fresh. Like, it still blows my mind how they did everything that they did.

SPEAKER_00

It was just on un and then the turnover after we left, how quickly they had to turn it over for the next uh for the next cruise. It was it was just it was just and everybody, you know, it's always one thing about cruises, it's very clean, it's all about customer service.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, very clean.

SPEAKER_00

We were on the cruise and we were in Central Park, and they were cleaning the bottom uh where the where the railing is bolted into the sidewalk, they're cleaning the base of the railing. Like it, I mean, it's just they it's no joke. I mean, and it's it's like that on almost every cruise. The cleanliness is really something. It was really unreal. And the service. I mean, you just leave your stuff, they're always have a smile. I mean, our our guy Lucas, right at the uh at the smoothie place in the spa. I mean, the guy couldn't have been any very nice nice, he was always smiling, wanted to give you whatever you know, just was so it was he took pleasure in making people happy.

SPEAKER_02

They're all wonderful.

SPEAKER_00

Why don't you talk about your spaxperies?

SPEAKER_02

Oh my gosh. So before I left, uh, a very sweet friend of mine gave me a gift card for me to use on the cruise, and she said, I want you to go and get a facial and massage or whatever you want. And you were like, Absolutely, you go do that, and I'll take care of Cora. And that's what you did. So just for I mean, this was just really good knowledge too, is what if you use the spa on four days, they have like incredible like specials.

SPEAKER_00

But you have to wait to book it.

SPEAKER_02

You have to wait to poke it on that on that day, right? So in the morning I woke up early and I went down to the spa, and so I was able to get a massage and a facial for 75 minutes. And she gave you more than that. And it was just absolutely heavenly. So we did that on the Coco Kay Day. Right. Um, and we I was able to book it at like five o'clock, which we had to be back at 50.

SPEAKER_00

Right, she booked it before we back.

SPEAKER_02

I did not miss anything on Coco King.

SPEAKER_00

And the price you paid, you would have paid anywhere, not just on a curve.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, even more than that. It was like it was it was very reasonable, which I was not expecting. So no, me neither. That was an incredible treat, and and the Msuseus was she was incredible, and it was just it was just amazing. So if you like massages or facials or whatever, like just do it. It's like it was like I came back and I was like, And they pamper you. They do. I was ready to go to sleep. It just felt it felt so incredible. It was like amazing. So you want to talk about the excursions that we did.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so one thing that Karina did was she did some research, which I truly appreciate, and she found excursions that weren't offered through the ship. Um, and we had booked two through the ship. Um, but one of them uh they changed the time and she wasn't happy about it, so she wanted to do something else and couldn't find anything and did some research, and they had this uh swimming with the pit with pigs, right? And famous pigs, I might add, I think you said. Yeah, and um and snorkeling, and that so we booked it, and that was amazing. And we had a great time. The pigs were adorable, right? Uh they I would the only complaint I have about it is I wish they told us how to breathe in the snorkel because it had been so long since I'd done it. Yes, and I was really struggling, especially because I was already dealing with respiratory issues, but yeah, I agree too.

SPEAKER_02

So I booked that through Biotor, and it was very reasonable, unlike the excursions from the cruise. Those are those are very pricey, most of that. Very pricey. So it was so cool. So they picked us up, so they told us exactly where to go, right? So we went there, we walked, and then we all got in the boat, and it was about 30 minutes, I think, right? On this gorgeous, gorgeous turtle.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

This feedboat, right? There was maybe how many 50 of us, 25 of us on the road.

SPEAKER_00

25, maybe, 25, 30.

SPEAKER_02

Out to this gorgeous little island, right? So we all get off, and there's an enclosure with these like adorable little pigs, which it was new for all of us. So we got into the water, and so they told exactly what to do. We had to go waist deep, and then they all gave us a little cup with fruit and a skewer. And hot dogs, and hot dogs, and they told us exactly what to do, just you know, and they they said the pigs are going to swim around you, and they're gonna eat from the skewer, and you could cut them. So here they come like galloping towards us and we in the water. It was the cutest thing, and they swam around you. They were like different, all different ages, they were all different ages and sizes, and they would just grunt, grunt, they lift a little shroud out, and we would like feed them, and it was it was like amazing. And then in the end, we got to hold them and take pictures. It was so well done. That was great. And then they took us out, we had a choice, they took us out on this boat, and that's what we went to snorkeling. Right, but just like you said, and I forgot to, I've only done this one snorkeling, and my daughter had never done it.

SPEAKER_00

You were the one that really told me what to do because I was struggling.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I just I somehow I figured out. My daughter had never done it, she really wanted to do it, and um, and she figured out before any of us did. Yeah. So she's a swimmer. And she is a swimmer, she she loves the water, she was so comfortable. But once I learned, I and I put it, you know, put the stomacho thing on, and I was doing too shallow, like too fast, like I was definitely a nervous breath in the beginning. And something in me was just like, just relax, and then I start taking really deep inhales and exhales, and then I got really relaxed, and then I told you to do the same.

SPEAKER_00

Well, and I had water in my mouth in my nose and my mask, and it was going up my nose. It was just not good.

SPEAKER_02

So, for us, I don't think that was our favorite part.

SPEAKER_00

But my my too bad at the very end, I got it, right? And I really was able to stay under you know, my face in the water for quite a long time, but it was at the very end, yeah. Yeah, but I would have enjoyed it more. There wasn't a lot going on in the reef, unfortunately, that day.

SPEAKER_02

So but it was cool, and then they so they took us back to the beach, and then we got to eat lunch there, right? It was like some beautiful buffet that they made, right? It was delicious. So we ate in the beach, and then we swam a little bit in the gorgeous turcourse water, and then they took us back to the ship. So, like that was lovely. And then the second excursion I had booked that was Coco Kay. So they had a way to cancel it. I had booked kayaking from the cruise itself, but when we got there, the waters were a little rough. So they said, Do you want to come back or do you want to do it now? But you have to be experienced, and none of us were experienced.

SPEAKER_00

When we went back, it was the same story.

SPEAKER_02

Same story, so we canceled it, so we didn't do that. So Coco Kay is like you said, their private island, so you only will get to Coco Kay if you sell the Royal Caribbean.

SPEAKER_00

And they have pools and tons of places to eat and much much of the same amount of food, beach, drink, so there's beach and water, and or like tiki huts. It was very hot. It was very hot. It was cool. It was something that we had said if if and well when we do it again, um, you know, we'll see about destinations, but they almost always go to Coke that we'd probably do a half day and then go enjoy the ship for half the day without anybody on it, right? Without many people on it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we did that.

SPEAKER_00

So, and then our third day was very cool, and again, thank you to Karina. She went and found this outside of the cruise.

SPEAKER_02

That was on TripAdvisor.

SPEAKER_00

TripAdvisor, and we did uh we had a tour where we got to spend time with spider monkeys. Yes, they were adorable, adorable, and they would like jump on you and you'd feed them, and then they you know took pictures, we had pictures with them all on us, and um and then they talked about their you know, one of their crops or whatever cigars, and so we learned about cigars. They were very disappointed, nobody wanted to buy any on the tour.

SPEAKER_02

Um, and then uh we got to drink their hot chocolate that they made there. That was unbelievable. Oh delicious, delicious, right?

SPEAKER_00

Yep, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

Um that was amazing. So this was all done. And their coffee coffee was so good. And you liked your coffee, and I'm not a coffee drinker, but it's okay. And uh, and this was all done. This was a private tour. So we were in this like white shuttle bus with another family and um and two girls, they were friends, they were staying at a resort, and the family was from the ship, so it was just lovely. So, this guy this he was phenomenal too, this great tour guy, right? He drove us around, so we stopped at the monkeys first, and then we went to something called the umbrella streets right in Puerto Plata, which were above the street, it was cool, very cool, these like colourful umbrellas, and then we went into a store and we came out and it was a coin of downpour on umbrella street, but we rained on the umbrella street.

SPEAKER_00

The rain still hit us, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And he, the tour guy, got us all on in undercover. Our tour guy was amazing. He was amazing, so we didn't get wet.

SPEAKER_00

He was with us the whole time, drove us everywhere.

SPEAKER_02

He was so great, and then we went to something called the Pink Street. The whole street was pink, it was raining a little bit again.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, the street, the building, the whole thing.

SPEAKER_02

So cool. Yeah, and um, and what else did he do? Then he had us wait in the cathedral, right? So we all went in there and took pictures, and he went to get the shuttle because traffic was crazy. Favorite spot was the chocolate factory. Yes, so he literally drove us to the chocolate factory, and just walking in, the smell I was like in heaven, I was so excited like a little child, and so they explained how everything was made from like the beans itself, right? Everything is so pure.

SPEAKER_00

And one of the largest, you know, Dominican is like 70% of the world's cocoa or something.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, and we got tasters, they had a brownie mix that had like five ingredients in it. I had to taste the hot chocolate, and we got a little tour, and it was just so we I think we we bought the entire store.

SPEAKER_00

We bought the brownie mix, we bought two different types of hot chocolate, we bought chocolate bars, which I ate some today, it was just which were rum infused, they were delicious, rum-infused, unbelievable. And Karina was like a kid, such a like a kidney candy store, literally. She was so excited, it was so adorable. Um I was very excited, absolutely, and and our our guide then he we had asked about lunch, and Karina had asked about that, and they said, Well, mention it to your tour guide. So she did, so he brought everybody back, he dropped us off at a he goes, You guys want the lunch? So he dropped us off at a local place, brought everybody back to the ship or wherever they had to go, came back for us. Yeah, we hadn't eaten yet, waited for us. Yes. Um, we ate some authentic Dominican food, it was delicious.

SPEAKER_03

Delicious, delicious.

SPEAKER_00

Um, we met we were eating with a uh couple women that were in a resort on the Dominican that were part of the crew uh the uh tour. He brought us back. I mean, he was phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02

He was very sweet, very sweet.

SPEAKER_00

So I was through TripAdvisor. Um we had their card. I remember uh you know, maybe we'll give them a little uh promotion next next podcast because we'll talk a little more about this.

SPEAKER_02

They were just they were he was just fantastic, and this was his own company with his friend, and they were just fantastic.

SPEAKER_00

He was phenomenal. I mean, we got we got great service all around, and really do one thing I will say or recommend to all of you is if you're cruising to to do your research and take a look at these other excursions because the two excursions we did were phenomenal. They were I don't and they were much cheaper than the cruise. Much cheaper, yeah. And there was like lots of different stuff. I mean, you can wait to get off the ship and they're there to offer these things, but you can book them in advance.

SPEAKER_02

This is a feel safe too, right? It's like you get off, you have no idea who's legit and who's not. So I like the idea that we had somebody that was booked and right, Regal, they had good reviews, like we knew what they were doing. So it was just it was just fantastic. So we went back in the ship.

SPEAKER_00

And he he would give us education, that guy. Oh, yeah. I mean, it was it was phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02

So we went back in the ship, and then we had two days left, and we cruised back to New Jersey, and I loved that so much because I just loved the mix, right? We had relaxation and then we had some excursions, and then we had two days where we could just be on the cruise and do whatever we wanted, right? And just fully relax before we got back to New Jersey. That was like incredible.

SPEAKER_00

Yep, and you know, we we had uh pictures taken and let's talk about pictures, Mikey. I was gonna say, should we save that for the next podcast?

SPEAKER_02

No, we should definitely talk about that now.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, because uh people might want to talk about the funny stuff in the next podcast.

SPEAKER_02

No, no, we should definitely talk about that.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So every night we wrote we all got dressed up, like we mentioned, and then they would have dressed for dinner, whatever that was, right? They would have photographers and they would say, Oh, come here. So we went to Central Park, my favorite place, right? We got a lot of pictures there because the setup was absolutely stunning, and I just I am not a fan of those like really posed pictures, but there was this adorable Asian woman, and she did have this.

SPEAKER_00

Was what, our second night? Was I wearing a shirt and tie that night? Or was it the light out?

SPEAKER_02

No, that was yeah, that was the um I think that was the formula night. Very Very adorable life. And she certainly did have an accent, and it was a little hard to understand her. But why don't you explain to everybody what happened during the photo shoot?

SPEAKER_00

You want me to explain, or would you rather explain? So you know everything's great. We're doing all these photos, and then she said, I thought to put my head on her chest. And so I did, and she's like laughing. She goes, No, your hand on your chest. I'm like, oh, it's that kind of picture. I'm like, put my hand on her chest. And what she was trying to say was she wanted Karina to put her hand on my chest. But I didn't have a hard time. And I'm like, you know, like, I don't know. You tell me what to do. You tell I'm not a poser, so I'm like somebody who poses whatever. So I'm like, listen, and I'm doing what she said. So I'm like, I put my hand on her chest, and her daughter has let me forgot it since. And she was like, and everybody that was waiting is dying. And I'm like, what's everyone laughing at? And then she goes, No, put your hand on her chest. I thought, I'm like, really? Okay. Like that kind of picture. Like your daughter's here, but whatever. She's like, no. And going into her laughter's like, no, my hand on your chest. I'm like, oh.

SPEAKER_03

Because a photographer waiting for people to take pictures. And everyone was what they were dying, and I was dying. I almost peed my pants.

SPEAKER_02

My daughter was dying. It was just the funniest thing. It was like we could recruit all of itself.

SPEAKER_03

So after that, my daughter did not.

SPEAKER_00

I have not lived it down here.

SPEAKER_03

No. So every minute she would be like, Mikey, come. And she would she would do the pretend with the head on my children.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, more team pictures. She goes, do it. Do the do the pose again. Put your head on our chest. I'm like, oh, okay, you're beating a dead horse now.

SPEAKER_02

It was it was just it was and you were just such a good sport about it. Like you and we still laughed.

SPEAKER_00

But it was two two mishaps I had. And then I wanted to so then we're we're on an excursion, the first one, right? And we're waiting for that speed boat.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

And we're all standing right there, and people were getting on this boat. So I jump on the boat. Well, turned out it was a private cruise. Guy goes, What are you doing? I go, Getting on the boat. He goes, and then the sort of the crew guy comes over and goes, This is a private boat. Are you supposed to be here? I'm like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02

And you had to get the wife goes, He's not with us. Very upset. And I look down at you, we're standing up there, and I go, Stop calling the game back up.

SPEAKER_00

So then I go to get up and then the boat moves and almost killed myself, right? As I'm jumping up on the dock, the boat moves and I like nearly split and fell into the water.

SPEAKER_03

My daughter like grabbed your wrist and I grabbed your backpack and we still have that you pulled up and back up again.

SPEAKER_00

Well, the shit happened to me on this one.

SPEAKER_03

Oh my god. And everyone behind us was like, ooh.

SPEAKER_00

And laughing again.

SPEAKER_03

Oh my, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And there were these two British sisters.

SPEAKER_03

They were very sweet.

SPEAKER_00

And I'm like, I said something they're like, well, we're right behind you. We thought it was the boat too.

SPEAKER_02

They were ready to all of us thought that. Like, I was like, you go first. So you can help us. And I mean, we all thought that was the boat, but it was not the boat, so it wasn't just you, but it was it was it was something else.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But before we wrap up, let's let's talk about how it felt. Like for you to write, you have cruised before, you've cruised with your father before.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_02

Right? But never, never obviously with a single mother. Like, how was that for you? No.

SPEAKER_00

It was great. You know, the one thing that we we made every decision together. Um and it wasn't about what I want or what Karina wants, it was about what we want. So it was always it was always this collaborative decision, which you included Cora almost all the time. Um and so it was great. Um, you know, I was a little worried about the room, and Cora was already claiming the bathroom, and I'm like, no, like we all know.

SPEAKER_02

Well, with her products, because she has a she has a a massive amount of hair and she has a lot of hair products, so she was worried about skin stuff, and skin stuff. She has more skin stuff than I ever owned in my life.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, she's yeah, really into products.

SPEAKER_02

She's loving, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And uh so, but that was all fine. We all compromised well. I mean, there was a couple of times I think all of us got a little irritable, and especially for me when I was super hot, like somebody's extremely very, very hot. So by the time it was over, I was tired and hot and kind of you know, I was a little, I know I was a little irritated. There was one time I said I could feel that I had to be irritable, and I apologized to Karina. But you know, it's about owning your stuff and what do we want to do collectively?

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_00

And if you want, and when we want to do something personally, we would talk about it. So, you know, I wanted to go to the casino. Karina doesn't gamble, and plus somebody had to be, of course. So, and she was great about it. I said, you know, I'd like to play once or twice on the cruise. I I, you know, I don't get to a casino often. I do I like to play blackjack, so um, and so she was great about it. And then when she wanted a massage, I was like, absolutely, you know, and Cor and I went and got pizza at the pizza place, and then we got, you know, there was unlimited ice cream on by the pool. So we went to get ice cream, then we played uh we were playing a board game she brought, and you know, until mom came back, until her mom came back, and it was great. So I mean I enjoyed it. I feel you know, as far as I was concerned, this made me feel even closer to you. Um, if I'm being honest, even more in love with you after this, you know, nine days of constant togetherness, and and I want more of myself. It was good.

SPEAKER_02

You said that the whole time, and that was like incredible because 24-7, that's a lot, and then you have a child.

SPEAKER_00

And we got along phenomenally. We had our moment, a few very limited small moments, but otherwise, and it wasn't like you know, neither of us took it personally.

SPEAKER_02

It was like No, I would I got hangry a lot, that's what I get. I get hangry, right? And you definitely had meltdowns when it came to the to the weather. My daughter's the same way too. The two of you both were overheated at times. It wasn't a big deal.

SPEAKER_00

Maybe one night we were on top deck, and you and Cora you wanted to read on top deck, and and uh it was the first excursion, and I passed out. I fell asleep. But it was stomach.

SPEAKER_02

I am still shocked how easy it was for all of us. Easy going. It was just so comfortable, and I feel the same way. I feel like we got a lot closer because we literally saw each other in every single moment we could imagine, right? And so there was nowhere to go.

SPEAKER_00

It was just like we were together, but we talked about everything, and even like in the pool, and you know, we were you know we were just we were always together, we had a great time, and I didn't want it in any other way, even even though I wanted to play, and I still played, but there was a part of me that didn't want to play because I didn't want to I was having so much fun, so much enjoyment with you guys, but I would have felt like I missed out if I didn't play a little.

SPEAKER_02

But I'm glad you did, and what was great too is it gave my daughter and I a chance to be together, and you were very good with that. You said to me from the beginning, I want you to tell me if you want time, because that's important. So, what we did was we went duck hunting, and that was something that you didn't know about, right? Because you have never been on a bruise with a child, and my little adults do it too, I found out. Yeah, my friend told me about this. So you actually bring ducks, either like rubber ducks, right? The size that you like rub real rubber ducks like a duck you might leave on a Jeep, right?

SPEAKER_00

That size.

SPEAKER_02

Or like in a battu baby. Or what was really well, I think what was even more famous was the tiny little ducks. They were seed like yeah, and they were made of what?

SPEAKER_00

Plastic. Plastic, but tiny little ducks, so and they were all different colors and whatever.

SPEAKER_02

So you bring them if you have a child, you bring them, you can get a mailbox, which we didn't do, that you hang on your state door. We didn't know about it, yeah. So we didn't know about that, and then you know, people put ducks in, so you you grab a duck and you swap a duck, and they had duck swaps all over.

SPEAKER_00

Right, they had they actually had people join up in the promenade to to exchange ducks. It was so cute, so that was and they hid ducks all over the all over.

SPEAKER_02

They would hide ducks, so that was one of my doors.

SPEAKER_00

We were at uh I found one duck. We were at uh the uh Royal Caribbean shop, and they were ordering this rabbit that they embroidered with a name, like a sucked rabbit. And um, like and I'm standing there with them and I'm looking around, and I look down and there's a rack of sweatshirts, and in the pocket of one of the sweatshirts is a pink duck.

SPEAKER_02

That was a duck that someone had that someone had that someone had saved, right? So that was adorable. So if you do go with children, definitely do that. Bring ducks and go find them. Like we had such bring lots of ducks.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, it's crazy. We love ducks. And people, they were adults that were all over the ducks, and you could find them in the stairwells and in the letters on like the different floors. Yeah, I mean, it was like crazy where it was, it was it was nuts, but they went duck hunting, and I'm like, I'm like, you know, it was like, okay, well, first of all, the hallways are narrow, so like three people, you can't walk three people deep, right? It was hard enough with you and I walking holding hands, and so they were doing that, and I'm like, yeah, so one time I hung back to read, and another time I was like, Oh, well, I'll go play then, and it gave her time, you guys, time together, and then you did other things together.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it was just so important. So we loved that, right? We did we did that.

SPEAKER_00

Karina was the primary focus. We all wanted to be with Karina, they wanted the Karina time, and you and I had our adult time in the solarium, and I yeah, and I think we did a great job, right?

SPEAKER_02

Because that was also one of my not really concerns, but we talked about that a lot. My daughter and I have been on vacations alone together several times, and now you were gonna be part of it, and I did not want her to feel left out, but obviously I also wanted to spend time with you. Yeah, but we were all good with that. I think it I think it worked out.

SPEAKER_00

There was a couple times we noticed where she was getting a bit possessive, and then I was like, you know, whatever, that's when you kind of did the thing with her. Yeah. And so it it worked. Well, most of the time, I mean, Cora was incredible as far as like wanting the three of us to be together, including very inclusive with me, very complimentary even at times. And I think you guys got me on nice out a bunch of times.

SPEAKER_02

I think you guys got closer too. She got very affectionate with you, which is a good thing. She was laying on me a lot. It just melts my heart to say that. Like it was beautiful. But really, before we end, I think one of the most important things that happened, and I have it right here. So this is called This Is the Goat. So, um, and it says goat vacation game champion. And what we did was, and this was your idea, we played Uno. From day one, we kept score.

SPEAKER_00

The whole vacation.

SPEAKER_02

The whole vacation, and this was your idea. You said, Do you want to play throughout the entire nine days? And then the last day, whoever wins, whoever has the most, right? Or the least, the most, the least, whatever it is, the least, will be champion, and I will just have to share, tell everybody. I was way behind, right?

SPEAKER_00

I was like in well, we we all had our moments, and by the way, while we're in the Dominican, I had some internet service, so I actually ordered it while we're in the Dominican. You did and the trophy from Amazon, of course.

SPEAKER_02

And that was your idea. So you said, so whoever wins, right, Uno, on this trip, gets to keep the trophy for a year or whenever we go on the next trip, and then we'll just do it every vacation. And I thought that was just absolutely pissed.

SPEAKER_00

And we would we call it the game because we might change the game, but we'll play it the whole vacation.

SPEAKER_02

It was amazing. We it was so fun, and I think it was so fitting that I won.

SPEAKER_00

And you came from behind. She we she was up quite a bit at one point, and then we caught up. Yeah, we all had turns at number one. We did, and I was up going into the final few games, like over a hundred points on her, and they crushed crushed me.

SPEAKER_02

And I just I was and she ended up winning by over a hundred points. I did. So we were in Central Park, and that was we had to agree, that was gonna be the last game, and I literally got up and I did a happy dance, and my daughter was mortified because that's embarrassing. She was also embarrassed about the trophy because it's a goat, but I think it's the most dumb.

SPEAKER_00

She didn't want to win it after she knew I ordered it.

SPEAKER_02

So I have it and it's on my mantle, and I'm probably gonna have it.

SPEAKER_00

She hates it on the mantle.

SPEAKER_02

My daughter does, but I'm probably gonna bring it to my bedroom. It's just cute, so I get to have it full of year. Yes. So I just that was like the icing of the cake that I won. You were very excited that you won. I was very excited than I wanted to go. So this was just a long now recap of our nine days together. But we just wanted to share it, right? For people out there who might not know what cruising is like or might be like, how am I gonna do this with maybe a new partner, maybe with a child? And this is a good thing.

SPEAKER_00

And the most important thing we did was what we always say keep talking, we communicated with each other. Yeah, we let each other know if something was bothersome or if we wanted to do something rather than holding it in and letting it fester or and creating because that's how resentment starts. And so we we talked it out, you know, and like whatever if there was a frustration or something we wanted to do, or you know, making checking in with each other, make sure we were good. And I mean, you know, one thing about our relationship is we think alike, so it makes it easy. I really do, and we enjoyed mostly the same things, not all, but mostly. And so it it was easy in that regard, but there were some things that you know um we had to work out, but we talked about it. Like I remember there was one thing in Coco K where um Cora wanted to go shopping and we were trying to fit in the kayaking, and and I'm like, well, why don't we go shop? You know, there was a point where because you had to take a tram around the island, and so the shopping was near the kayaking. I'm like, why don't we go earlier? We can go do the shopping and then go to the kayak and get it out of the way because you were talking about doing it much later. And you agreed with me that it made sense when I explained what I was my thought process was, but we were open to hearing these kinds of things.

SPEAKER_02

But it was just a conversation, like there was really nothing that was a discussion, right?

SPEAKER_00

But nobody was locked in completely on anything. No, we all think that was the key.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we all shared what we wanted, right?

SPEAKER_00

We were all open and flexible, yeah, right. And if there was something somebody really wanted, then we would it would be said and we would talk about it, right?

SPEAKER_02

It was incredible. Yeah, we had a great time, and I am definitely a cruiser, and so is my daughter. And you want to go again next year? And I want to go again, and we want to definitely do this again. So it was so much fun. I just I loved it. I loved everything about it.

SPEAKER_00

It was I loved everything about it, and it was fantastic, and you know, and I said this to you before. My my favorite part was watching how excited you you were, and right behind that was seeing how excited Cora was. But Cora doesn't get as excited as you do.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so I I become like a child.

SPEAKER_00

She gets very excited. The coat chocolate factory winning the goat. Oh my god, did you get excited about the goat?

SPEAKER_02

And I really I just I I agree with you. I think it brought us closer, right? It could have gone either way, but I think it brought us closer. And um, right, and that's like what do we do now? Much closer. Yeah, yeah. So that was wonderful. We just we had the best time. So we hope this was entertaining, right? And we hope at my expense, of course. Yeah, your expense, that was amazing, and um, I'm so glad you can laugh at yourself because we certainly all did. Like it was just great, and that's the kind of relationship we have.

SPEAKER_03

We all like it.

SPEAKER_00

I'm glad you can laugh at yourself because we did.

SPEAKER_03

We just love to laugh at you because you're so good, you're such a good sport. So that was amazing.

SPEAKER_02

So if you like this episode, please give us a five-star review. And and how you do that is if you scroll down to the bottom of the episode, you will see there's five stars right there, and you just click on the fifth star so they all light up. And underneath that, you can write us a review, and it just really helps to get the podcast shown to more people. And if you click the follow button, that's the three dots on the upper right hand corner, then you're gonna be notified every time a new episode drops, which is every Monday at six a.m. Eastern, so you don't miss an episode. So thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_00

Keep talking.

SPEAKER_02

Keep talking. Bye.