When I was cruising with Carnival Cruise Line in the Western Caribbean, I got to experience one of the most AMAZING shore excursions in Mexico. After reviewing all of the fabulous shore excursion options, we decided to book the “VIP Exclusive Tulum & Cenote Swim With Mayan Lunch”. Since Michael was a history major in college, I knew we had to visit the Mayan Ruins on our trip, but deciding between the Tulum Ruins versus the Cozumel Ruins was tricky! After some research and talking to my family, we decided to visit the Mayan Temples of Tulum based on the great reviews! And boy was it the most PERFECT day for the four of us. I can’t thank Carnival enough for the most magical experience!!

MORNING: We debarked from the ship at noon once we got to the port in Cozumel, Mexico. After meeting with our tour guide and group, we hopped on a ferry for a 45-minute ride to Playa del Carmen and the Mainland. Next, we boarded an air-conditioned van for our day filled with a deep look into Mayan culture and cuisine!

Once we arrived at the majestic Temples of Tulum, we spent about two hours learning about Mayan history with our certified guide, Alen. We admired the main temples “El Castillo”, the Temple of the descendent god and the Temple of the Frescos. And then we went to the shore to get a glimpse of the most gorgeous beach!! I’m for sure coming back here for a swim next time I visit Tulum. I mean, how gorgeous is this view?!

After visiting the Mayan Temples, we hopped back on our bus to a private Mayan Village not open to the public. We learned about how modern-day Mayan descendants live today and got to cool off with a cenote swim. For those who don’t know (I didn’t know this either), a cenote is a huge natural pool in the jungle. To get to the cenote, we rode on a scenic kayak ride in the middle of an emerald green jungle.

The pictures don’t do this place justice. This cenote swim was seriously one of the most majestic experiences ever. Swimming in that water with the exotic flora backdrop was just so surreal and AMAZING! From here, we walked around the village and stopped to have a one-of-a-kind Mayan lunch. Our meal included chicken, local vegetables, salad, guacamole, rice, beans and coffee. For dessert, our hosts gave us a tasting of some of their favorite fruits from the village. The Mayans serve it with a mixture of sugar, salt and hot chili flakes that add a nice, sweet heat kick to an already delicious taste. I just want to say it was some of the freshest and most delicious pineapple I’ve ever had!!

It felt so nice to be connected to these families whom are part of this Mayan culture. There are a total of 13 families that live in this village. It was a grand adventure indeed and I can’t wait to come back to spend more time in Tulum one day!!

This post was created for Away We Go with Carnival, the destination for getting in the getaway state of mind. Head on over.

I’m ending 2016 on such a high note after an amazing cruise to the Western Caribbean thanks to Carnival Cruise Line! I can’t even begin to put into words how fabulous this trip was – and the ship was GORGEOUS GORGEOUS! It was my first time traveling on a large cruise, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but walking around the ship to people-watch and participate in all of the boat’s fun activities was one of the highlights of the trip. If you’re like me and you’ve never traveled on a multi-day cruise before, read below for some of my favorite travel essentials to ensure the ultimate cruise vacation.

When you’re going on vacation to somewhere tropical like the Caribbean, you’re number one friend will be sunglasses! Whether you choose to spend your day lounging by the pool or walking around the ship, a good pair of sunnies will save the day. I’m mildly (okay TOTALLY) obsessed with sunglasses so I brought a few pairs for me to wear during my 5-day trip.

Another cruise essential is a bathing suit! I found myself wearing my swimsuit underneath my clothes every single day so find one that is super comfy because you never know when a water adventure awaits! Our cruise had the most fun waterslide and you better believe that I took a lil water slide adventure every morning to get the day going! I also carried a small cooler bag with me almost everywhere I went. For one, cooler bags will keep your drinks cold which is essential in the sunny Caribbean with the hot sunshine. Luckily, my cooler bag has a giant happy face and makes for a cute purse as well. Here I am at our home port destination in Miami with my polka dot swimsuit and happy face cooler bag.

The next thing you have to pack are comfy shoes! I only brought three pairs of shoes: comfy sneakers for my off-ship excursions in Key West and Cozumel, flip-flips for on the ship and one pair of heels for elegant night on the cruise! I would suggest you to the same and not worry about over-packing tons of shoes.

And lastly, if you know me it’s that I LOOOOOVEEE sippy cups! So naturally I brought my pineapple sippy cups for Michael and I to use at the pool.

Come to find out that Carnival has its own sippy cups that they pass out each day with a different cup and drink!! The first day they had the most delicious fruity rum drink in an adorable blue fish sippy cup.

The second day, they had a yummy frozen piña colada in the cutest little orange blowfish cup. I’m so excited to bring both these back as fun keepsakes from the trip!!

Other must-haves that I recommend are: a hat, sunscreen (and lots of it!), a portable phone charger, and headphones to listen to music to while laying by the cruise pool. Now go check out www.carnival.com and see what cruise you want to go on next!!

This post was created for Away We Go with Carnival, the destination for getting in the getaway state of mind. Head on over.

Epic Shore Excursion in Mexico

Cruise Style (Like a Rockstar)