Izzy Takes on the Caribbean

My family sweated and saved, cursed and cried until we finally stepped on the gangplank leading to the Carnival Dream and our dream vacation getaway.

Getting on the ship, Saturday, September 20^th, 2025. My family and I had to go through TSA at customs. My mom and I got sniffed by the police dog and had to go to this area with other people who got sniffed by the dog. One lady got caught with drugged gummies. Once we were done, my family and I got on the ship. Our room was a nice room on the 8^th deck with my parents and me.

Day one, Sunday September 21^st, 2025, our first day at sea. Not much happened during this day because there is not much you can do on a cruise ship when you’re under 21.  My brother and I played basketball for a little while and we just hung out all day. My parents were mostly at the casino.

Day two, Monday September 22^nd, 2025, Key West, Florida. Once we first got there, it was very hot. I do not know the exact temperature, but I would say it was over 80 or 90 degrees. We had an event planned to go parasailing. It was my first time parasailing, and it was very fun.

The captain of the boat and the person taking us parasailing said that we were over 300 feet in the air over the beautiful south Florida water. After we finished parasailing, we walked around the city a bit and then rented a golf cart. Key West had so many roosters and chickens just walking around on the streets, I thought we were in a cartoon.

I learned that Key West was originally a pirate island, that’s why there are so many chickens and the birthplace of Key Lime Pie. Key West also had huge bright green iguanas that walked around foraging and climbing the trees to get in the shade and out of the intolerable heat.

Day three, Tuesday September 23^rd, 2025, Celebration Key, an island in the Bahamas owned by Carnival Cruise Line, the cruise line I sailed on. For Celebration Key we didn’t have anything planned, so my brother and I got off the ship early to hang out and walk around for a while. The water was a beautiful blue and very clear.  We started walking to the beach when the lighting first started. We went in the water anyway and were there for about 20 minutes when the lifeguards told everyone to get out of the water. The sky was getting greyer, but we walked around more then decided to head back to the ship. On the way back, it was so crowded that you couldn’t even take two steps. Then the worst happened. It started to rain. So now there are over 150 people standing in the rain. I would say it took about 30 minutes to get back on the ship.

Day four, Wednesday, September 24^th, 2025. We docked at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas which I believe is also owned by Carnival Cruise Line. There we had no plans to do anything other than to just do whatever. My brother got off early, so it was just my parents and me. The water is beautiful; it is so clear and blue you can see the fish swimming around when you first get off the ship. On the beach there were no shells which I thought were a little weird. But we went to the beach and when I was in the water, I was getting very itchy and felt like I was getting stung everywhere. But it wasn’t too bad, so I stayed in the water.  Once a jellyfish came past me, I realized that there were stray jellyfish tentacles in the water that I couldn’t see. A school of big bone fish swam right between my dad and me and then a barracuda swam very close to everyone.

Day five, Thursday September 25^th, 2025. Our last stop, Nassau, Bahamas. Nassau had a lot of mini shops and dealers. There were so many people that would get in our faces and try to sell us stuff. There was also a set of rules sent out for this day. “1. Do not get on a jet ski or boat from a stranger saying they are tour guides. 2. Do not wander alone or away from your group. 3. Do not take taxis from anyone. 4. Do not take excursions that are not connected to Carnival.” These rules were confusing when I first saw them but once we walked around a bit, they made more sense.

Day six and seven, Friday and Saturday September 26^th and 27^th 2025. These last two days were just days at sea. Just like the first day at sea there wasn’t too much to do so I took a lot of naps. My mom and I went to the art gallery on the ship and did the scavenger hunt they had. Then on both days I ate at the ramen bar. That is really all I did in the last two days.

This trip was the best family vacation I went on. I had so much fun with my family and I am so glad we did it. Everything was perfect and I would not have it any other way.