THE DESTINATIONS

Royal Caribbean has so many amazing destinations to choose from, but our day at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas, the first in their new Perfect Day collection of private island destinations, was probably our favorite stop yet! Honestly, I could put together a whole post just on the island – there was so much to do! It’s the perfect destination for families who have different speeds or interests (or both :). Cody and the kids are really adventurous, so they got their thrill with the helium balloon, Up, Up & Away (which gives you the highest view in all of the Bahamas!), Thrill Waterpark (which has 13 slides, including the tallest water slide in all of North America), and a 1,600 foot long zip line — did not disappoint. Then, over on the other side of the island is the most beautiful beach, Chill Island, where you can lounge and relax. The water is warm, super clear and a gorgeous color and when the tide is right, you can walk out really far (a couple hundred yards). We even found star-fish on the beach, which was a huge hit. There were also tons of great food options on the island. I could go on forever, but Perfect Day at CocoCay really had something for everyone in the family, and all in close proximity so you don’t lose any precious daylight going back and forth between different activities.

The view from the ship as we pulled up to Perfecy Day at CocoCay.

Getting ready to go up on Up Up & Away!

It’s the highest view point in The Bahamas — so cool to be able to go up and see a view you can’t get anywhere else!

Next stop – Thrill Waterpark!

Last but not least, the most beautiful beach!

You know it’s a been a good day when you can’t keep your eyes open, haha.

THE FOOD

Food is half of the experience of a cruise, so you definitely want to choose a cruise line that has the good stuff! Royal Caribbean has so many great options. I love good Mexican food so we hit up the taco spot, El Loco Fresh, every day for lunch while on Navigator of the Seas. Cody and I got the steak and chicken tacos every time and the kids’ quesadillas were really good, too! We also tries Jamie’s Italian one night for dinner and the food was amazing. Call me crazy, but the kid’s spaghetti was my favorite. And the desserts alone were worth the trip. 😂 And last but not least, the unlimited soft serve ice cream – I swear it is every kid’s dream come true! Strawberry swirl all day long!

THE WIFI

It’s the last thing you think about when you book a fun vacation, but one of the first things you think about when you are out at sea and start to lose cell coverage. I love that Royal Caribbean has Voom – the fastest at sea Wi-Fi – so we can stay connected to family at home. Plus it meant we were able to share some of our highlights in real time ;).

THE JOURNEY

Whoever said it’s all about the journey and not the destination was probably thinking of cruises haha (although the destination was pretty hard to beat!). We were on Navigator of the Seas which has so much to do on board that it was impossible to do everything. It has one of the longest waterslides at sea, The Blaster, and also The Riptide waterslide – which actually twists and turns over the water – the coolest view and feeling like you are floating in air! Wes also rode the FlowRider surf simulator for the first time. Wes got up so easy; that kid is so naturally athletic. It’s so cool to experience so many firsts with the kids… One of my favorite parts of traveling!

The FlowRider is so much fun to watch, I can’t even imagine how fun it is to actually do it!

The waterslide went over the water it was so crazy! The coolest waterslide! It felt like you were floating above the ocean.

Mara, Wes, and Beckam splashing on the Navigators of the Seas pool deck.

THE SUNSETS/SUNRISES:

Ok, we need to come to terms with the fact that all of my travel guide must-dos will include a sunset or sunrise view! I love a good sunset no matter where I am in the world, but there’s something about being out at sea and having the full horizon light up the sky with so many colors! I will never get tired of it!

Special moments aboard the Navigator of the Seas.

Have you guys cruised with Royal Caribbean before? What are some of your favorite ships or destinations? I would love to add to our must-do list!

XX, Christine

*In collaboration with Royal Caribbean.

The post 5 Reasons to Cruise with Royal Caribbean appeared first on Hello Fashion.

DETAILS: BLACK PRINTED TOP | MATCHING SHORTS | MIRRORED SUNGLASSES

Hey guys!! I have soooo many travel guides still in my saved drafts I need to post still so I’m telling you guys here and now that I’m going to post them with in the next 7 days! I think by writing it down it holds me accountable haha but I’m excited to share our travel diary from our trip to Punta Cana earlier this month. It was our first time to the Dominican Republic so we were super excited to go! We stayed at the Nickelodeon Punta Cana. They opened about a year ago, so it’s really nice and new still. The kids said it was their favorite trip we have done, and honestly Cody and I went with the intention it was going to be super kid focused but it was actually super fun for adults too! With that, here are 7 reasons to visit the Nickelodeon Punta Cana Resort:

DETAILS: BLUE STRIPED BIKINI TOP AND BOTTOMS| WHITE TORTOISE SUNGLASSES (SIMILAR HERE UNDER $50!) | MICHELE DECO WATCH

1. There’s something for everyone. Going to a themed resort, we were expecting it to be more geared towards the kids but I was surprised at how adult-friendly it was! There’s the full-fledged kids area and water park, but then there is an area with several pools and direct beach access with cabanas, food, endless Pina coladas and the perfect body surfing waves! So it appealed to the whole family, not just the kids!  Every day we would see at least a couple characters around the resort, but they weren’t out 24/7 so the magic and excitement at seeing a new character never went away.

KIDS DETAILS: MARA’S PINEAPPLE SWIM | BOYS SWIM TRUNKS (SIMILAR HERE)

2. The accommodations. If you guys followed along on Insta stories at all, you know what I’m talking about. The villas are insane! They have tons of different options for rooms that are all amazing- this one even had a pool in the villa. Especially when you are traveling as a family, the room is always high on my list because the kids need a break from the sun sometimes so it’s nice to have a spacious area to come relax. Also they had an outdoor shower and tub and it was my favorite part of the room!! The kids took a bath every night outside and Cody and I would wake up and relax in the tub. Seriously I highly suggest the upgrade! Also one of the villas is the shape of a pineapple – Spongebob’s House!

Mara took this pic.  The kids have really gotten into photography it’s so cute to see them just pick up the camera and take their own pics of each other 🙂

3. The Waterpark Foam Party. This reminded me so much of a kid-friendly version of spring break haha. They had the foam party a couple days a week and foam up parts of the water park, which ends up flowing into the lazy river and kids pool. Definitely a highlight! Make sure you do it! The water park in general is super nice! They have tons of water slides for all ages and so the kids were entertained for hours!

DETAILS: RED POLKA  TOP | CUT OFF SHORTS | SUNGLASSES

4. The beach. Direct beach access is SO NICE! The stretch of beach right in front of the resort had little waves (it might have just been windy the day we were there). Cody and the kids loved it because it was perfect water for body surfing. Yes I went a couple times, but you guys know how scared I am when I can’t see the bottom of the water (shark phobia!)  I know so pathetic so I only went for like 15 minutes before my anxiety would set in! haha please tell me someone else gets it?? But the water is also super warm so it’s easy to get in.

If you walk super smooth water you can walk not even 2 minutes to the left, the water is totally calm so you really had the best of both worlds right there. We took a taxi to another beach about 5 minutes away which was also amazing but I’ll be sharing that in a full post soon!

(The Italian restaurant – so pretty!!!)

5. The food! At a lot of the inclusive resorts we’ve found that even if you eat at different restaurants, the food starts to feel the same, but that wasn’t the case at all here. The food was so good. Our favorites were Verdello (Italian – loved the bolognese spaghetti and the lasagna!) and Wok Wok (Asian Fusion – the fried rice was amazing!). There was also a cute little coffee shop that had the best caramel macchiato I’ve ever had! They had ice creams and gourmet desserts around the clock so the kids stopped every couple hours for a treat 🙂 They said the ice-cream was their favorite.

We also did a character breakfast one morning. You can either do all the characters of ninja turtles. The kids opted for ninja turtles and Wes was so excited. He got the most into it, Beckam liked it for a second then got scared haha.

6. The kids’ zone. The kid center was really nice. They had a different character theme every day – one day was Dora the Explorer theme complete with a treasure hunt. They also had a Paw Patrol day (Beckam’s favorite!) and a cool Paw Patrol slide like the show. The kids loved it and always wanted to go back, so it ended up being perfect timing for Cody and I to sneak in a spa service 😉

DETAILS: ORANGE JUMPSUIT (UNDER $50) | BAMBOO CIRLCE BAG (SIMILAR HERE UNDER $50) | GREY SUEDE SLIDES

5. The entertainment. Every night the Nickelodeon Punta Cana Resort had a different show going on. It was fun to have something to look forward to every night! Our favorite was the circus show. They also play a different kid movie on a big projector in the common area with free treats and a old school popcorn machine. They put out toys like hola hoops and stuff for the kids to play with. Mara and Wes made new friends from New York and still talk to them even since we’ve been home 🙂

6. The spa. I wish I had a good picture of the spa. If you saw my stories you know the joke lol. I asked Cody to take a pic and he said got it and it was a blurry one of me with my eyes closed lol. Haha we all can relate! But the spa was so so nice. We got a couple massage. Make sure you go to the back serenity and pool area to relax. It’s so peaceful.

7. GET SLIMED! I think this was what Wes was MOST excited about. He literally was shaking he was so excited. We all got slimed big time!! Wes loved it so much we did it twice 🙂 For sure a must do!

I still have tons of pictures from our trip to share so let me know if you guys have any questions about the resort or Punta Cana that I can address in my next post!

XX, Christine

*Thanks to Nickelodeon Punta Cana for hosting our family!

The post 7 Reasons to Visit the Nickelodeon Punta Cana Resort appeared first on Hello Fashion.

Love this gingham bikini!! Can’t get enough bikinis right now.

DETAILS: GINGHAM BIKINI TOP | GINGHAM BIKINI BOTTOMS ( (LOVE THE HIGH-WAISTED VERSION) | BAMBOO BAG (SIMILAR HERE UNDER $50) | NECKLACE | WHITE BUTTON DOWN (SIMILAR HERE)

We made it to the Dominican Republic! It’s our first time here! The weather here is beautiful but we woke up a little late. The time change is 4 hours but it’s so pretty and warm. I always get cabin fever in the winter (I know I can’t be the only one!) so we try to fit at least one family beach trip in to see the sun after Christmas so I’m always stocking up on new swimsuit. Amazon Fashion has so many pretty beachwear options right now. I showed you guys on insta stories this gingham swimsuit a couple days ago and you all voted on the high waisted version but I ended up keeping the regular bikini. Cody liked the regular bikini a little more and I felt like I have been buying a lot of high waisted swim pieces lately so I went with the regular 🙂 I also got this bright orange bikini and love this one piece under $100 (comes in 3 colors – love the Raisin shade!). Also how cute is the bow detail on the back of this one?

Hope you guys are having a good week!

XX, Christine

*Sponsored by Amazon Fashion.

The post Palm Trees and Bikinis appeared first on Hello Fashion.

Obsessed with this swim under $20!

DETAILS: ORANGE BIKINI (UNDER $20 – MORE COLORS HERE) | BLUE MIRRORED SUNGLASSES (UNDER $50)

CODY: COLORBLOCKED SWIM SHORTS

HAPPY MONDAY Fam!! We were in St. Lucia at the new Sandals Over Water Bungalows last month and it was seriously magical!!  One of my favorite islands we’ve been too (working on a full travel guide :)! I’ve gotten a lot of questions on this bikini and I just found it on sale for under $20 so I had to share before it sells out! It’s one of those really unexpected colors that looks flattering on everyone. It makes any tan look 10 times better, so don’t shy away from this statement color. I fell so in love with the orange I just ordered this bikini and this orange ruffle one piece. I love the detail on this one too.

I know bright colors aren’t everyone’s thing, so if you want more of a softer neutral the orange bikini I’m wearing above comes in like 5 other colors here.

More colors here:

And more great orange swimwear options here:

XX,
Christine

The post The Designer Swimsuit That’s Now On Sale Under $20 appeared first on Hello Fashion.