I just recently returned from my first cruise vacation. My aunt and I sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. Although I sailed the first week of my summer vacation, I feel like I learned at least as much as I do during a week in school.
22 Things I Learned on My First Cruise Vacation
1. Irie, a new word I learned in Jamaica means you “feel superb” or “gratified”. For example, “I experienced irie during my first cruise vacation.”
2. There are no problems in Jamaica, only situations. Every situation has a solution.
3. Jamaicans use the term Ya, Mon which means “yes” or “Yes, I understand.”
4. I learned that it’s easier to climb the rock wall when you only weigh a 100 pounds and are very flexible.
5. People like tips.
6. When you sail on one of the world’s two largest cruise ships, you can walk a lot. On average, I walked 11,000 steps each day.
7. In Jamaica, both sugar cane and bananas are grown on plantations.
8. When you are on a cruise is a great time to try new and different foods. (I liked fruit soups and bread pudding.)
9. I learned how to boogie board on the ship’s Flow Rider.
10. During the week, I learned how to how to harness up and how to land when going on a zip line adventure.
11. When going to a show, it’s worth going early to get a front row seat. Sitting in the front row of the ice skating show was amazing! It was almost like a 3-D movie!
12. Ocean water on the beach near Cozumel, Mexico isn’t as clear as the water on beaches in Haiti and Jamaica.
13. Royal Caribbean handles waste water by running it through a filter. This process makes the water clean, and then it can be released right back into the ocean.
14. All of the water we drink on the ship is originally from the ocean.
15. Some of the swimming pools on the ship contain salt water instead of fresh water.
16. The ship holds more than 8,400 people. This includes about 2,200 crew members and up to 6,296 passengers.
17. On average, 45,000 pounds of fresh fruit is consumed in one week on the ship.
18. 24 different restaurants and food courts are scattered on the ship. Containing sea food, Chinese food, cheeseburgers, and much more.
19. The Aqua Theater Pool is 17.9 feet deep. Under water there are underwater cameras, spotlights, and equipped divers to help out during the shows.
20. The tallest diving platform on the ship is 60 feet high, and is located in the Aqua Theater. The board is used by professional divers during the aqua shows.
21. “Recombobulate” was a new word I learned in the airport; to my aunt this means to get in order or to become organized after going through security.
22. Always make sure you have your boarding pass in your hand while boarding the plane! (My aunt took my boarding pass on the plane with her, but she finally remembered to bring it back to me.)
Would you like to cruise on the Oasis of the Seas? Why? Please share in comments below.
This post is written by Justina, a 12-year-old from Iowa who just completed sixth grade.
Justina enjoys reading, dance, swimming and tennis, as well as hanging out with her friends.
Exuberant in every way, she embraces adventure, whether zip lining, Flow Riding or attempting a flip off of the high dive.
To learn more about Justina’s first cruise, check out these other posts detailing our Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas adventure:
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Making the Most of the Last Sea Day on the Oasis
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Para-sailing from Cozumel, Mexico
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Snorkeling and Climbing Dunn’s River Falls from Falmouth, Jamaica
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s Private Resort in Haiti
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: A Day at Sea on the Oasis
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: Boarding Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: Driving, Flying and Trying New Foods
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel
- A Look Inside Interior Cabin #10425 on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas