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How to Do the Southern Caribbean with Kids

Wet winters and bright days don’t always go hand-in-hand, that is, unless you decide to go on a South Caribbean adventure—which Naomi and I did a few weeks ago. We packed up the boys and headed for Aruba, Bonaire, La Romana and Grand Turk by way of Carnival Cruise on their newest ship, Carnival Vista.

If you’ve been on a cruise or are researching one, then you know not all cruises are created equal, especially when it comes to kids and cruising. Carnival’s Vista finds the sweet spot between being kid-friendly while keeping all the adult appeal of cruising.

My boys especially loved the Twister Waterslide and everything else at WaterWorks, Carnival’s onboard waterpark. I loved that they even offered life vests for our toddler, but by the pictures you can see my toddler wanted nothing to do with them.

We would have done the water park every day, but on windy days the slide is closed. On those days, head for what you see below:

Billiard soccer. A game my boys are still trying to convince me that I need to build for them.

Miniature golf, a first for Connor and an exercise in patience for Cole as he waited for his little brother to actually connect the club with the ball at each hole.

What’s a game park without foosball? Naturally, Naomi and Cole high-fived their victory while I was trying to justify my loss as a direct result of having to hold the little man.

And of course, like any proper cruiser, I had to teach my boys the art of playing shuffle board.

From outside to inside, the ship is filled with things to do. But you’ll need to tune into the second installment of this series to see the indoor activities and the excursions at port. Until then, jump to Naomi’s site for tips on how to enjoy the best eats while on board.

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