Family Vacation: What I Won't Do Again
This year, we decided to take our first family vacation. It all started in January. His parents had already picked out a location. All I had to do was swipe my credit card and show up.
Our family vacation was a 5 day Carnival cruise to the Bahamas. We visited Nassua and Freeport, but it wasn't anywhere near what I expected. The plan was to take tours of the sites. That idea turned into a riding tour that paused outside of the sites for only a few moments. Not even long enough to take photos.
What I Won't Do Again
First off, I will never travel with that many people. Ever! I understand that this was our family vacation, but there were 16 of us total. Of that 16, there were only 7 adults. The teenagers clung to my husband and I, because we are the most laid back. What was supposed to be fun turned into me being annoyed by how childish and unruly they were. It felt more like babysitting than vacation. We eventually ditched them.
Second, I will stick to my own plans. We had ideas of how we wanted to spend our days. The kids wanted to go to the beach. We wanted to do a walking tour and spend time exploring the city. Somewhere along the line, everyone decided that we should just follow the more experienced travelers. They had already been to the island multiple times, so they would know all of the good places to go. While the Baha Mar resort was nice, our visit was limited to 30 minutes.
The vacation was fun, but I found myself letting my attitude get the best of me. I snapped at my fair share of people, and the last night was a complete disaster. Life is a learning experience, though. I learned that family vacations need to be focused on our family, and not the entire family. Next time will be better.
I will make another post soon with the photos of things we did get to experience.
Aw nah. 16 people? That was a disaster waiting to happen. Too many opinions.
It ended up being no opinions, lol. I think everyone just decided to do what the hosts did. Keep the peace. Next time I'll know better, but I doubt there will be a next time.
I definitely couldn't travel with that many people. I couldn't handle all of that, considering I'm already a very introverted and private person.
I remember visiting the Bahamas when I was a teenager. It's definitely in my bucket list to go back. I stayed in Nassau as well, but we found that there wasn't a lot to do. It wasn't very family oriented. The restaurants and shops closed very early so we had to eat early dinners every night. It was so inconvenient. Next time I go, I think that Paradise island would be better. It was beautiful though. The hotel was beach front with such a beautiful pool. I still made the most of it.
If we go back, it's definitely not going to be a cruise. It seems perfect for a weekend getaway.
I've been avoiding a family vacation for years. My people are from Jamaica and they'll be visiting this August. I think there will be 8-10 people on the trip and I don't want to be apart of that. Large groups give me anxiety anyway. When I get home at night I need a moment before I decide to talk to anyone. My last partner knew that I needed at least an hour to myself if we were spending the day together. Imagine a family vacation that I have be there the WHOLE time?! NO THANKS.
At least you survived it like MAYA said "Once you know better, you do better"