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Girl-Mom Travel - Carnival Radiance Cruise

Something about being on a cruise ship makes time move so much slower – the gentle rocking of the ship, the release of day-after-day single working mom responsibilities. I relished in the delicious food in every direction, tropical drinks and sunny decks with cozy seating.

I watched my 10-year old daughter make several cruise friends in one day and roam around the ship and jacuzzis in a pre-teen girl mob!

In mid-August we departed for 4 nights and 3 days on the Carnival Radiance cruise on the Pacific Ocean.  Two port locations – Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico and then one day at sea.  This was a first cruise for both of us.  I had my daughter 10 years ago and haven’t taken a proper vacation since then.  Now that she’s a little older, I plan to make her my travel companion and start teaching her about the world.

I reserved a room for us with a beautiful view of the ocean.  We could wake in the middle of the night and sit in the window and watch the black water and the white-crested wakes as we traveled to our destinations.

Our first port of call was Catalina Island.  This was just about 30 miles away from the port of Long Beach, CA.  The water was sparkling and turquoise in the harbor.  There were many boats docked there when we arrived by water ferry to the shore.  My daughter and I decided to rent a golf cart and zip around the island ourselves. Afterwards we had lunch at Luau Larry’s and did a little shopping.  We headed back to the ship mid-afternoon and proceeded to relax and party for the rest of the day and evening.  Although they did have some shows and a casino, our priorities on the ship were eating, resting, and socializing.  I think next time I will try to check out the on board entertainment more thoroughly.

The next day we were in Ensenada, Mexico.  What made this location special was the excursion we chose.  It was a Painting class on a vineyard.  We had to take a 40 minute bus ride there but it was well worth it.  I was able to sample some of the wine at the vineyard and we “finger-painted” these adorable tiles of a waterfall.  It was all finger-painting, which was strange at first but pretty cool to see how it came together and is something everyone can do.

We headed back to town and shopped briefly in the market area.  It didn’t feel incredibly authentic and seemed a bit Americanized but overall we found some special dishes and trinkets.

We were back on the ship by about 3pm again and had another evening of partying.  This night was kind of cute because it was a night where they requested everyone dress up and they offered a complimentary meal in one of the formal dining rooms.

The final day at sea was more of the same.  I am someone that has an intense schedule and is always busy.  Sometimes I am unaware of how much I move until I’m in a situation where I don’t have to.  I ended the day with an amazing massage in the ship’s spa. They had an array of spa services and next time, I will plan to book a few services.  It really makes a difference to take advantage of these.

We went to sleep that final night feeling satisfied, happy, and well-rested.  We disembarked early the next morning after breakfast.

I can’t wait to take our next cruise. It really is a wonderful way to treat yourself and your family and takes the stress out of planning everything.

“A journey towards an inspired life” is a phrase sprinkled throughout this website.  Crafting the life we want can be a luxurious and adventurous journey.  The key is to empower yourself to do the things.  Be bold with your plans and always embrace potential.  Life can hold so much magic and transformation if we just allow ourselves to dream beyond our current realities.