It's a new year! Before the new year started, during the last week of December, I had the pleasure of taking my first Royal Caribbean cruise! How exciting! Last year my family decided that we would start taking cruises during Christmas time and this year we continued the new tradition.

We have taken four cruises, including the one we had just finished, which in a way makes us practically veterans when it comes to cruises. However, it was our first time sailing with Royal Caribbean. I had heard of Oasis of the Seas and the new boat Harmony of the Seas, but I NEVER thought I'd see the day that I'd actually be taking one of those cruises.

Comparing it to Carnival, a lot more families who have children my age (young adult), are more likely to been seen on these Royal Caribbean cruises. Carnival, as my brother would say, was a cruise for your average family that just wants to get away for a while and so was Royal Caribbean. There was just something different about it.

Minus the fact that, Royal Caribbean had an ice skating rink, wake boarding, rock climbing, and a Johnny Rockets inside, it had been a cruise I never thought I'd actually be on. So, on Christmas day, I was actually on the road heading to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to get on the cruise and meet with my brother, who had gone to Dallas for a Military Bowl game.

On December 26th, we boarded the ship and immediately off the bat there were several things better than the past cruise ships I had taken the year before. Going through security to get on the boat was faster, checking in so we could get our Sea Pass cards had been faster, and the boat itself was just ten times larger!

My brother and I shared a stateroom, which was fine, but it had been a little smaller than the one on Carnival. Plus, the Carnival one had a window while ours on Royal Caribbean did not. Food wise, the food was okay if you ate during the day, but the cuisine at night was a totally different ball game.

Our cruise ship, Independence of the Seas, had two restaurants that the passengers could try for a few dollars extra and we went to both places. The first night was Chops Grille, which I preferred over the other restaurant. Chops Grille served steaks, which is one of my favorite foods. The steak was so tender that it practically melted in my mouth, so if you have the decision to get a good steak, spend the extra money and eat there one night.

The other restaurant, Giovanni's Table, was alright. Their speciality was Italian cuisine and I personally am not a huge fan of Italian food, but they were serving lamb chops and I love lamb chops. The night we decided to go to the restaurant was formal night — and of course I dressed to impress! That night, the servers seemed to be making mistakes left and right. Dropping plates, spilling tea on customers, taking a long time. It was just a mess. I was really surprised, but it was probably an off day and I'm sure they were better the next day.

Out of the two, I'd pick Chops Grille, but if you want some Italian food I won't stop you. The one thing I loved about being on the cruise this time was that I was finally 21, so I could drink alcohol. The last cruise, I was 20 and I couldn't drink anything or do any of the "adult" activities on board. But this year, that was a different story.

Every day on our cruise compass, the cruise would have a drink of the day and my favorite one was the "Royal Lemonade", which was vodka, spiked lemonade, and sprite — It was delicious! I don't drink often, but I tried this drink and I immediately wanted another one. I didn't have any others, but the drinks on the cruise looked really good and will have to try them next time.

The main reason to go on a cruise is to visit exotic places and we did just that! We went to Labadee, Haiti and Falmouth, Jamaica! I had never been to either one of those places, so it was good to go somewhere we hadn't been to before. In Labadee, Haiti, it was my entire family's first time being in Haiti and it was warm and beautiful. We just walked around in Haiti mainly because we didn't do an excursion, which was fine since we had one in Jamaica.

We were going to go zip lining, but then decided against it because we could have been pushing our departure time. I did a little shopping and then boarded back on the boat, got in the hot tub, and I was even able to practice my dances for the upcoming semester.

The next day, we had an excursion in Jamaica. I was a little disappointed that we didn't have a better system of everyone getting off with their certain excursion rather than everyone get off at the same time, but we found our meeting place and we went on our merry way. Just like in the Bahamas, Jamaica drivers drive on the left side of the road. According to my tour guide, when they were a British colony and then had their independence in 1962, they kept a lot of the same customs the English have, including having English as the native language.

Our excursion was a three-in-one package deal. The cruise had the incorrect information on their excursion sheet, but we still had fun nonetheless. We drove to Ocho Rios, which was about an 80 minute drive, where we had a tour of the plantation, made jerk chicken with our own sauce, and then had to pick between dune buggies, camel riding, and horseback riding. My dad and brother went to do dune buggies, while my mom and I went horseback riding. I hadn't been horseback riding since I was kid, so I was on my own for the hour tour, riding a horse that wouldn't stop eating.

After being late to our port call, as well as many other passengers, we made it back in time to buy some rum cake and one of those spirit jerseys you see at tourist destinations. I'd definitely go back to Jamaica again. Haiti, as well, but I would have to do an excursion to keep busy. There were several activities, not as many on port days, that any age group could do, which was great. From performances, to open skating, and bingo the possibilities were endless!

On a scale from one to ten, I'd give the Independence of the Seas an eight out of ten. Would I take that cruise again? No. Would I take a different boat? Yes. But don't take my word for it, go out and see for yourself!