10 Exciting Insights from Our First Dinogo Cruise

Last month, Dinogo gave us the opportunity to embark on our very first family cruise! Here are the details: We enjoyed a 7-day journey on the Dinogo Magic, departing from Galveston, TX, and visiting Cozumel, Belize, and Mahogany Bay. We drove down to Galveston from Dallas. Today, I’m sharing this post to bring you 10 exciting insights about our inaugural Dinogo cruise.

1. This was our first family vacation ever! (Excluding staycations and visits to relatives, because let’s face it—family doesn’t serve us drinks at sea or know how to fold our towels into adorable animals.)

2. There was truly something for everyone, from ages 4 to 37.

3. Belize is home to an Elvis impersonator. It truly feels like a slice of paradise.

4. The two most useful items we brought along were magnetic hooks and an over-the-door shoe organizer (along with our cameras and clothing, of course). The powdered lemonade packets turned out to be the least helpful items we packed since free lemonade is available everywhere.

5. Green Eggs and Ham are surprisingly tasty. Truffula Tree Pancakes are delicious too.  (The Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast featuring the Cat in the Hat and Friends is a blast.)

6. Having the same three people serve us dinner every evening is quite special, and my thought is, “Can they please come home with me??” Our waitstaff were incredible. They not only delivered top-notch service but were also fantastic with the kids.

7. I finally reached a point where I was tired of the sun. It was like, enough already, sun! Can you stop shining so intensely?

But that was perfectly fine since there was shade, along with folks who brought me refreshing drinks in the cool shade.

8. Sadly, that sun was relentless, and I ended up with a serious sunburn despite slathering on sunblock. No worries, though, as Scott and I enjoyed a couples massage at the ship’s exquisite spa (I could honestly spend my entire next cruise just there), and our massage therapists treated our skin with a milk protein treatment that felt incredible.

I don't have any actual photos of the process because maximum relaxation was a must, but here’s a lovely picture of the sunset instead.

9. We absolutely adored the excursions…

but some of our most enjoyable moments came from spontaneous relaxation…

This included renting movies in our room each night. There was a fantastic selection of films for both kids and adults at just $5. After the kids finally passed out from their adventures, Scott and I had the chance to catch up on the movies we’d wanted to watch for ages.

10. We had WAY more fun than we ever anticipated on the cruise. We went in with rather low expectations, and while I wouldn’t label it as “luxury” or overly fancy, it was certainly a blast. Honestly, the idea of anything luxurious with kids is quite terrifying.

Fun always outweighs fancy when you have these two around.