Girl's Trip- April's 40th Birthday Cruise

 I just got home from the best girls trip. I was able to leave for about a week to celebrate my sweet friend April and her 40th birthday. We booked a cruise about 6 months ago and we finally got to go. It was the best. I love these sweet friends and our tradition of celebrating our 40th birthdays with a girls trip. Three years ago we celebrated Erin’s 40th and three years from now we will celebrate mine but this time it was all about April.  

We went on a 5-night Carnival cruise that left out of Galveston and had two ports in Costa Maya and Cozumel. 

We boarded the ship on Monday and we could not have been more excited. Naturally, I had to make us 40th birthday crew shirts to celebrate April. 

Monday was spent relaxing on the ship and getting unpacked. Then we went to dinner and hit the hot tub afterwards. 

Tuesday we also spent relaxing. It was super windy outside so we never got really hot but we were able to get some sun. I read and relaxed. I took a nap on the sun deck and we also ate all the yummy food. The “Guy’s Burgers” are my favorite part of a Carnival cruise. 

Tuesday night was our formal night and we got all dolled up and took some pics together. 

Tuesday night after dinner we changed into our comfy clothes and went to a comedy show. The comedians weren't as good as on our last girl's cruise, but we still had fun.

On Wednesday we were set to port in Costa Maya, however, the winds were too high and the ship couldn't port. It was super sad but we still enjoyed a quiet day on the ship. We watched a movie and then went out to the deck to lay out and relax. We ate our sad feelings in pizza and burgers and got over it pretty quick. We were lucky because we didn't have any excursions booked so we didn't lose out on anything but a lot of the passengers were pretty mad. But we did our best to enjoy our day. 

Wednesday night we went to another comedy show.

 Before dinner though we went up to the top deck to catch the beautiful sunset. We did this multiple times during the week and it never failed to impress. 

Then we went to a "Silent Dance Party" and it was so fun. I've never been to one before but I loved it. 
Basically you put on a set of headphones and there are two channels you can pick from and each has it's own DJ and music. So only those who have headphones can hear the music and so everyone is dancing but its completely quiet. It was so fun. Erin didn't feel like dancing but April and I had a blast. 

We danced for like an hour straight. 

Thursday morning we got up and going early because we had booked an excursion for our Cozumel day. We debated because it was kind of an expensive excursion but we decided for the amount of time and the number of activities it was worth it.  We wanted to do something adventurous to celebrate April's birthday. We had gone parasailing for Erin's 40th and we all loved it. We wanted something equally as adventurous for April's. 
So we booked a day excursion to "Xplor" and we had the best time.

We had to take a ferry from Cozumel to Cancun, but because we booked our excursion through Carnival, they arranged all the transportation for us. 

We hopped on the ferry early and it took about 40 minutes to get to Cancun. 

 We got to "xplor" and immediately took off to enjoy all the activities.

 We went ziplining, drove amphibious atvs, went cave swimming in an underground river and did a hammock swing. We also enjoyed a delicious lunch. I would love to take my family back here some day. It was incredible and we laughed the entire time. 

I don't know what activity I liked best but I think we laughed the hardest during our atv ride. It was so bumpy and our post-baby bladders were struggling. It was hilarious. April and I took turns driving and it was so fun.

We all enjoyed the buffet and the waiter brought April a delicious birthday cake. 

After lunch we did the hammock swing and I thought it was pretty awesome. 

We also managed to squeeze in a cave river swim. I was a little nervous for this because I was nervous about snakes but the tour guides said that we would be fine, so I was brave and I'm so glad. It was gorgeous. As we walked through the cave to get to the start of the river, we took all sorts of pictures. 

We eventually got to the start of the river and began our swim. The water was cold but you got use to it quickly. 

The rock formations in the cave were awesome. 

We had the best time at "Xplor" and we were completely exhausted by the time we got back.

It was the perfect way to celebrate April's birthday and we all had such a blast. 

Thursday night we were tired but we got showered and ready for dinner and then went up to the pool deck to watch a big outdoor movie. We watched "Valentine's day" and even though I've seen it multiple times, a good chick flick never gets old. 

Friday was our last day on the ship. We relaxed on the serenity deck and ordered delicious fruity drinks.

 

It was so nice. I also took a nap and we watched a movie. We laughed because never before have I watched one of the complimentary movies shown on the tvs in the staterooms. But we watched multiple movies through the week and we loved it. It was so relaxing. We spent lots of time in our pjs. That's what's awesome about good friends- you can do everything and nothing together and still have the best time. 

We had to get up bright and early Saturday morning to get off the ship on time. 

We eventually got back to our car and started our long drive home. But again, we just enjoyed talking and laughing the whole drive home. Happy birthday to my sweet friend April and thank you for the many years of friendship. I'm so grateful for these sweet friends and all the good times we've shared together.