Spending the day on a beautiful beach in the Caribbean seems idyllic when you're at home planning it all, but multiple visits ended up feeling like a mistake.
I took my family on a 7-night cruise on Icon of the Seas to the western Caribbean, which included four port stops.
The sailing began with with three port stops in a row: Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. And there was a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay at the end of the cruise.
I like spending time at each of these ports on their own, and even have a few must-dos in each port.
However, three beach days in a row is not only a "first world problem", it also felt like a missed opportunity. By the end of the cruise, we were all "beached out" and it felt like we overdid it.
Fun, but repetitive
I booked three separate beach days: Turquoise Bay, Maya Chan, and Paradise Beach.
Don't get me wrong, I had a good time at each of the beaches we visited. The issue was the getting up early, getting everyone ready, and then getting to and from the beach.
One of the top reasons I love to cruise are the places I visit, but I wish I had mixed up the activities instead of doing all beach.
Right after our second day in a row of beach time, the reality began to sink in.
It started with my kids asking what we had planned the next day because they were hoping for time to sleep in and rest after two early days in a row.
Ordinarily I don't take my kids complaining about getting up early seriously at all, but I had to admit they might have a point as I considered the ramifications of another early day.
My wife and I started talking about it and we realized that our plan made sense in a vacuum, but combining so many port days doing the same activity felt a bit tiresome.
We could have spent more time on the ship
Not only would have skipping a beach day been a way to relax more, it also would have been perfect on a ship as impressive as Icon of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean added so many fun things to do, including some of the best pools on any ship. I love the Swim & Tonic bar because it's a swim-up bar, but I never got a chance to go in.
The ship also has six different water slides to try within its water park.
Something experienced cruisers do often is stay onboard while a ship is in port to take advantage of these fun things without big crowds.
Those same pools and slides get crowded on sea days, and we only had two sea days on this itinerary.
In retrospect, we could have slept in and then hit the pools and waterslides in the morning.
I could have also booked a different activity
Something else I considered was doing something different from a beach.
I could have skipped the beach in Cozumel and taken a taxi downtown for shopping and eating. Or tried an ATV tour in Roatan.
I think mixing up activities is equally important to the rate of when you are on or off the ship.
In thinking about this, I might have gotten off the ship in the morning with my wife to enjoy some time in Cozumel and get some food, before coming back to the ship to take the kids to the pools and waterslides.
The other idea was to try something different in our first port stop of Roatan so it wouldn't be beach right off the bat.
Plan your shore days with the big picture in mind
My advice to myself and anyone planning a Caribbean cruise in the future is look at the itinerary in totality, and not just in a silo.
If variety is the spice of life, it applies to shore excursions as well. I didn't regret any single beach I visited, rather, the combination in a short span of time added up quickly.
While some people might absolutely love nothing but beach day after beach day, don't forget to take into consideration wake up times, prep time, and travel distances to and from the beach.
This is especially important when you're cruising with kids, as multiple early starts in a row takes their toll. And that applies to aging adults too, who enjoy late nights around the ship.
If you're sailing on a big Royal Caribbean ship that has so many activities, it makes the decision to embrace skipping a port day a good plan.
When we repeat this itinerary in November on the soon-to-be-launched Star of the Seas, I'll be sure to change plans to avoid so many beach days while also taking advantage of what the ship has to offer.
