After years of hearing my mother rave about the cruising lifestyle, I finally bit the bullet and joined her (and some of the fam) on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Last month we all flew from YYZ to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and boarded one of the world’s biggest ship, Harmony of the Seas!

If you love staying in resorts you’ll equally love being on a cruise ship. It’s not necessarily my style of travel because you are confined to one place for a period of time with a schedule of when and where to eat. But when it came to eating, I LIVED for the endless amount of American style buffets – mac & cheese, steak, curry, and brownies all on one plate. All. Damn. Day.

After a full cruise day our first stop was Labadee, Haiti. This northwest corner of the country is leased to Royal Caribbean so it does resemble an amusement park filled with zip lines, water slides, and souvenir vendors galore. The best beach in Labadee (from what I could tell) is Columbus Cove. It is a bit of a walk from the port but it has smooth sand, crystal clear waters, and a ton of palm trees to nap under. See my vlog below for some bad ass beach b-roll.

Since this particular part of Haiti is quite commercialized, I didn’t get to see Haiti in its raw form. I would love to go back and explore the country, learn more about the culture, and meet the people. I remember Conan O’Brien visited Port-au-Prince and I fell in love with the spirit of Haitians. See below for a little history lesson.

The waters in Labadee were glorious and I wish I had more time to float around. When you’re here I recommend getting up early and snatching a prime spot on the beach, play volleyball, do some shopping, and walk around Dragon’s Breath Point before heading back on the ship.

A travel vlog for you! Oh how I miss shooting and editing, I think this probably means I should travel more? Sigh, I wish. See more action on the ship as well as touring around Labadee, Haiti below.