Hughes Cruise 2018

After a very busy summer it was FINALLY time for our real vacation...The annual Hughes Cruise!  Matthew and I took our first cruise ten years ago for our honeymoon and we've been going ever since. This was Kyndall's third cruise and she loves it more and more every year. 

We decided to sail on the same boat that we took last year, The Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston. We loved that ship and we can't beat the convenience. This time, however, it would take us to different ports than last time so it gave us something to really look forward to. 

This is a week's worth of stuff just for me and Kyndall! I always pack way too much when we go on a cruise.

Since the cruise didn't leave port until Sunday afternoon, we decided to head down to Houston on Friday afternoon and we used Saturday to explore the Johnson Space Center, something I've been wanting to do for a while. Ever since I was a kid it's been my life's DREAM to be an astronaut. I had big ambitions of being a wife/mom/astronaut someday. I even went to space camp at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral as a teenager. On this day my childhood dreams were revisited as we spent the day exploring JSC.

Touching a real piece of the moon!

Space shuttle toilet

Hughes!

Using the space simulator....

Later that night we met up with our friends Glory, Jereme and Caroline for dinner and a movie. We've been close friends since we moved to Jackson almost six years ago and although we have all since ended up in Texas, we don't see them nearly as much as we would like. It was good to catch up and let the girls spend some time together too.

Sunday morning finally arrived and it was time to make our way to our floating oasis!

Our home for the next seven days

I gave Kyndall one of my old digital cameras to take on the trip and she had a blast recording and taking pictures of everything she saw.

Even her stuffed animals needed to be included in the photos. 

Leaving the port of Galveston, headed for Cozumel! Check out the gun on the front of that coast guard boat. 

We spent the afternoon exploring the ship, getting our things unpacked and then it was time for our show, followed by dinner in the formal dining room.

Sunsets are even prettier when you're in the middle of the ocean

Only Kyndall would get dressed up for a four course meal and order a grilled cheese and french fries.

A game of shuffleboard after dinner

Followed by a poolside movie to end the night

Hughes Cruise Day 2--We ate, we swam, we lounged by the pools, we ate, we rode the water slides, we explored the ship, we ate, we played mini golf and shuffleboard and ping pong, we got dressed up all fancy and ate some more, we took in a show and went to bed TIRED but full!

A little flashback from last year's cruise

Ice cream by the pool

Matthew's splash....

Kyndall's splash.....

I think we each ate several entire pizzas throughout the week

Things I find on my phone...This one made me laugh!

Exploring the ship....A stop on the helipad at the front of the boat

My FAVORITE place on the entire boat is the bow, which sits at the very front of the ship and sticks out further than any other part. If you stand there and look out over the water it really does feel like you're flying! It's amazing to think how small you are in comparison to the massive ship behind you.

Another day, another game of shuffleboard

From the front of the boat to the back. It's equally as impressive to me to stand at the very back of the ship and look at where we've just been.

Everyday we'd head back to our room around 5:30 to chill and watch TV for a little while before getting all showered and dressed up for dinner.

Formal night

The chocolate cake and the cheesecake were our favorite desserts

We LOVE going to the shows after dinner and we also love indulging in the non-alcoholic fruity drinks.

Hughes Cruise day 3---We stopped at our first port in Cozumel, Mexico. We spent the day at Playa Mia Beach where we swam in the crystal clear water, tried our hands at kayaking, drank more (non alcoholic) pina coladas than I can even count, raced on the water slides, played in the water park, shopped with the vendors and tested the limits of my compromised immune system with an all day outdoor Mexican buffet. Then it was back on the ship for some chill time before dinner and a show.

Look what I found!!!

Kyndall had so much fun using the underwater camera

Kyndall and Matthew racing.....

Me and Kyndall racing....

Kyndall picked out a handmade, personalized bracelet as her souvenir from Cozumel

Our ship is the big one!

That's a big boat!

Matthew and Kyndall picked up some Mexican candy in one of the gift shops and when we got back to our cabin they took turns figuring out which pieces were the good ones and which were the nasty ones.

Pizza in the bed while watching cartoons. If that doesn't scream vacation, I don't know what does!

All dressed up and ready for dinner

One of the things we always love most about our cruises is the thoughtful wait staff that spoil us all week long. Kyndall always gets so attached to them and this is why....
Our head waiter, Calbert, took extra time to show Kyndall how to make unique napkin creations--In this case, a boot!

Opening the door to our stateroom with her own seapass card is one of her favorite things to do

Hughes Cruise Day 4--We swam with the dolphins in Grand Cayman followed by an afternoon on the beautiful 7 Mile Beach. We were too tired to get dressed up so we skipped the fancy dinner and opted for the buffet and watched the ice skating show. We also checked out the onboard arcade!

When you dock in Grand Cayman you have to take a tender boat from the ship over to the port

It allowed for some fabulous views of our amazing ship

Being the animal lover that she is, Kyndall got a kick out of seeing random chickens running loose all over the island. She tried really hard to catch one but as she quickly learned, those things are fast!

The pool behind us is where we swam with the dolphins. This was our second time doing a dolphin encounter and it is truly an amazing experience!

7 Mile Beach was beautiful!

A snow cone for the boat ride back to the ship

Dinner with a view

Kyndall was fascinated by the food creations on the buffet

The ice show was fabulous!

She loved the arcade

Hughes Cruise day 5--Snorkeling on the reef in Falmouth Jamaica, lounging on the MOST beautiful beach we'd ever seen, lunch at Margaritaville and shopping in the craft market. Dinner and a show back on the ship and a 70's dance party to end a very fun day! This was our first time in Jamaica but we all agreed that we'll be returning very soon to stay a while!

Look what I found in Jamaica!

Our catamaran that would take us to the reef to snorkel

We had the best guide who took Kyndall on a tour of the reef and picked up and showed her all kinds of neat sea creatures. This allowed me and Matthew the freedom to explore on our own without having to worry about her. She was never far from us, but having her own personal guide was great!

The slide on the back of the boat was her preferred method of entry into the water!

Here she is coming off the slide and into the water

Here are a few pictures and videos that we took using our underwater camera....

See the stingray??

Somehow this thing ended up coming home with us. I have no idea how it made it through the security check point as we were getting back on the ship!

After snorkeling the catamaran took us to a private island to enjoy a beach day.

Kyndall and her guide were best buds 

Back on the catamaran and headed to the ship. I couldn't get enough of this gorgeous water!

Once the snorkeling is over there are unlimited complimentary drinks for all passengers and as usual, things got a little rowdy. Kyndall didn't quite know what to think! Ha!

Kyndall's face makes me laugh every time I watch this!

Eventually she decided to join in on the fun....

Lunch at Margaritaville made complete with non-alcoholic pina coladas...Our family's favorite!

Shopping in the craft market

Kyndall's treasures from her shopping adventure 

Back on the ship for a show, followed by dinner

The kid who eats NOTHING green discovered a new love for caesar salad

We ended with a late night 70's disco dance party where Kyndall got very lucky and caught a pair of glasses that were thrown out into the masses of people.

Hughes Cruise day 6....A sea day meant sleeping until 10:30, lots of pool time, water slides, lunch at Johnny Rockets, playing in the arcade and our usual yummy dinner in the dining room for formal night.

The moon was SO gorgeous that night and we could even see Mars glowing brightly to the right of it. Beautiful!!

Hughes Cruise day 7....All good things must come to an end. We spent our last day at sea trying out the onboard ice skating rink, hanging out by the pools, riding the water slides and enjoying the beautiful sunshine. Saying goodbye to our wait staff at dinner is always the saddest part of the week. Kyndall gets so attached to them and if you've ever been on a cruise you know exactly why! We ended the day with a midnight game of ping pong on the upper deck. 

A full breakfast buffet and she chooses a bowl of cereal. I will never understand.

She was excited to try ice skating for the very first time....

But that excitement quickly turned to terror as she realized it was not as fun (or as easy) as she thought it would be! Matthew and I enjoyed it but as you can see, Kyndall did NOT.

We watched the womens belly flop contest and that was....interesting!

I'm certain he ate his body weight in soft serve ice cream over the course of 7 days

Likewise, I'm certain I drank my own weight in non-alcoholic pina coladas over the course of the week!

Kyndall and I raced down the water slide several times during the week and I finally beat her on the very last day!

VICTORY!

Dressed up for our very last dinner

One last show....

One last gorgeous sunset

This was our view from our dinner table each night

Calbert was our fantastic head waiter for the week and his last name happened to be Hughes as well!

After dinner we decided to go explore a few parts of the ship we hadn't seen yet so we headed to the chapel....

She would've spent all her time (and all our money!) in this arcade if we would've let her!

A midnight game of ping pong to round out an AMAZING vacation!

We were off the ship and on the road back home to Dallas by 9:00 the next morning and apparently the week's activities caught up with this one, who never sleeps in the car!

Breakfast at Cracker Barrel on our way back home

Our third Hughes Cruise as a family is now in the books and we're already looking forward to the next one!