Around this time every year, my husband Matt and I plan to go on vacation. Last year, we went to Grenada for our honeymoon, and this year we opted for another relaxing trip – a cruise with Royal Caribbean to Roatan Honduras, Costa Maya, and Cozumel.

This was my first ever cruise. I’ve always loved the ocean and the beach, but somehow had never thought too much about booking a cruise vacation instead of flying or driving to my destination. But now I know, THIS is the way to travel!

We were so impressed by the whole experience – the views, the food, the service – it was all incredible. I definitely recommend traveling with Royal Caribbean! I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

 

When you try to take a selfie with a DSLR….

 

Roatan, Honduras

 

Our first view of land in 2 days – taken from our porthole window in the morning as we arrived to the island.

Matt with our tour guide “2 Tall”

 

Costa Maya, Mexico

In Costa Maya (a fishing town actually named Mahahual on days when it’s not a tourist destination), we booked a tour through The Native Choice Tours to see the Kohunlich Mayan Ruins, and it was awesome!

When deciding what to do at this port, we realized quickly that Mayan ruins were the thing to see. I noticed at least 6 different tour options that took you to see different ruins, but we decided to travel to the Kohunlich ruins over 2 hours away, because we figured this area would be less crowded.

We arrived expecting to see one or two pyramid shaped structures and nothing more….but we were so wrong! There was a TON to see at these ruins, because it was the largest Mayan city in the area. Our tour guide Kaci – a Mayan herself – did an incredible job of explaining the history and pointing out details along the way to help tell the story of the people that lived and worked there.

We’re standing in front of the Sun God temple. Only the ruler of the city was allowed to climb the steps to the top…but we did too.

Our guide told us that these stucco masks were only revealed in the 1970’s when sometime blew up this structure in the middle of the night. The Mayans added on to their structure in layers, so this hidden layer wasn’t known of until then.

The view from the told of the Sun God temple. Human sacrifices were once made right in the place we were standing.

Matt attempted to make his own towel monkey… not bad for a first try. The head was the hard part haha

 

Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean | Ship: Liberty of the Seas | 7 night cruise vacation leaving from Galveston | Mayan Ruins Tour: The Native Choice Tours | Snorkeling: Jolly Rogers Snorkeling booked through Royal Caribbean Shore Excursions

 

 

Read: How to Take Your Vacation Photos to the Next Level

 

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