Spring Break 2026 aboard Norwegian Joy

Our Spring Break Caribbean Cruise: What We Loved, What Went Wrong & What We Learned

April 2026 | Cape Canaveral → Dominican Republic → U.S. Virgin Islands → British Virgin Islands

There are cruises where everything goes according to plan.

This was not one of them.

Our April 2026 Caribbean cruise included an expensive pre-cruise mistake, packed pool decks, swimming with nurse sharks, snorkeling with sea turtles, some of the clearest turquoise water we've seen, a surprisingly fun Colombian band—and a port day that disappeared completely because the weather wouldn't cooperate.

Looking back through our travel journal, though, that's what makes this trip worth writing about. It wasn't a picture-perfect version of family cruising. It was what traveling with a family actually looks like.

And we learned quite a bit along the way.

Getting There: Indianapolis to Florida Wasn't as Simple as It Sound

We left Indianapolis on the evening of April 1.

Flying into Orlando would have been the obvious choice for a Cape Canaveral cruise, but flight schedules complicated things. Spirit had the only nonstop option that worked for us, and its return flights didn't fit our plans. Southwest had possibilities, but they were expensive and the times weren't ideal.

So we flew into Atlanta, rented a car and started making our way south.

Picking up the rental car at ATL was relatively easy.

Everything after that became less convenient.

There was an issue adding my spouse to the rental agreement, so I ended up doing the driving. Rather than make the entire trip to Cape Canaveral that night, we stopped in Valdosta, Georgia.

The next morning we continued south.

And that drive felt long.

It was our first reminder that saving money or getting a better flight schedule doesn't necessarily mean you've found the easiest way to start a vacation.

Our $300 Kennedy Space Center Mistake

We had planned to visit Kennedy Space Center before the cruise.

As we got closer, I started questioning whether we should go. But I'd already told Ollie we would, so we went ahead with the plan.

That turned out to be a mistake.

The place was packed.

The lines were extremely long, we couldn't get our military discount, and we ended up spending around $300 for what amounted to roughly 30 minutes there before deciding we'd had enough.

Ollie wasn't enjoying it either.

This isn't really a criticism of Kennedy Space Center itself. We simply chose a terrible time to visit and didn't have enough time available to make the cost worthwhile.

That's an important distinction.

Our lesson: Don't squeeze an expensive attraction into the day before a cruise unless you actually have enough time to enjoy it.

Afterward we headed to our hotel near the cruise port.

Returning the rental car became another headache, and getting back to the hotel required an expensive Uber.

By the end of the day, we were more than ready to get on the ship.

Embarkation Day: Five Ships and a Very Busy Cape Canaveral

When embarkation day arrived, there were five cruise ships departing.

Transportation around the port was expensive.

That's when we realized another small logistical mistake we'd made.

We should have transferred as much as possible from our backpacks into our checked luggage before leaving the hotel.

It's a minor detail, but these are exactly the things we've started writing down because they make the next cruise easier.

We'd also learned something about Ollie from previous trips: we needed to pack dry clothes that were easily accessible.

He no longer wanted to stay in wet swim clothes around the pool all day, so having something dry nearby made everyone's life easier.

First Sea Day: The Battle for a Pool Chair

We slept in on our first full sea day.

That was nice.

Finding somewhere to sit afterward wasn't.

By the time we reached the pool, practically every chair was taken.

The ship carried roughly 5,000 passengers, and you could definitely feel it around the pool deck.

Ollie eventually decided he'd rather be inside and went to Splash Academy while Hellen and I spent some time around the Observation Lounge.

That evening became one of the unexpected highlights of the cruise.

We went to Sugarcane and found a Colombian group called Caribbean Feeling performing.

We danced.

And had a blast.

Sometimes our favorite cruise memories aren't things we researched for months or paid hundreds of dollars to book. They're things we stumble into once we're onboard.

Dominican Republic: Swimming With Nurse Sharks

Our first major excursion was at Ocean World in the Dominican Republic.

We'd booked an experience that allowed us to swim with nurse sharks, which was easily one of the more unusual things we'd done on a cruise.

But Ocean World had considerably more than sharks.

There were dolphins, stingrays, sea lions and a rainforest-style area with birds. Lunch was included and was actually pretty good.

There was also a snorkeling area that was essentially a giant contained tank.

For a family excursion, there was a lot to see and do in one place.

After returning to the ship, Hellen and I headed back out to the pool because Caribbean Feeling was performing again.

Ollie?

He wasn't interested.

He stayed in the room while his parents apparently decided they were on a Colombian dance cruise.

U.S. Virgin Islands: Great Snorkeling, Too Much Waiting

Our next stop took us to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where we'd booked the Castaway Cat for a snorkeling trip to Turtle Cove.

The excursion didn't start until around 12:30 p.m.

That sounded fine when we booked it.

In practice, it meant standing around in the sun for quite a while.

There were a lot of people on the excursion, followed by another long line and then about a 15-minute walk to the catamaran.

Once we finally reached the snorkeling area, though, things improved dramatically.

The snorkeling was good.

We saw plenty of fish and several sea turtles.

Ollie even spotted a large barracuda near the boat.

Our biggest mistake had nothing to do with the excursion itself:

We should have brought snacks.

That's now firmly on our excursion checklist, especially when an activity has a late meeting time.

British Virgin Islands: The Water Won Us Over

Then came the British Virgin Islands.

If you're judging purely by the water, this was our favorite of the two Virgin Islands stops.

The turquoise color was beautiful.

Our snorkeling excursion left early, so we brought our wetsuits—and that turned out to be one of the smartest decisions of the trip because the water was surprisingly cold.

We headed to Norman Island, also known as Treasure Island, including a snorkeling location we'd previously visited in 2024.

This time, the marine life was noticeably better.

We saw big barracuda, large tarpon and even an octopus.

At the beach we spotted a large sea turtle. We were told there was also a shark and another octopus nearby, although we never managed to find them.

It was a great snorkeling day.

And it reinforced something we'd already started learning about Caribbean cruising:

If snorkeling is important to you, don't assume every island—or even every visit to the same snorkeling site—will be identical.

Conditions can completely change the experience.

Another Sea Day—and Another Fight for Pool Chairs

By our next sea day, I'd learned my lesson.

I went to the pool area at around 7 a.m.

The crew was still putting chairs out.

And passengers were already claiming them.

That gives you an idea of what pool-deck competition was like on a ship carrying around 5,000 people.

We eventually got to spend time around the pool and, once again, caught Caribbean Feeling performing.

That night we ate at the ship's steakhouse.

Our journal's sophisticated culinary review:

"Pretty decent."

More specifically, we compared the style to somewhere around LongHorn Steakhouse or Texas Roadhouse.

Not life-changing, but enjoyable.

The Port We Never Saw

Our final scheduled port was Great Stirrup Cay.

We never made it ashore.

The sea was too rough to safely operate the tenders, and it was raining at the island anyway, so the port call was canceled.

Just like that, our port day became another sea day.

Surprisingly, it wasn't a disaster.

We stayed in, packed, walked around the ship and eventually went back to the pool to watch Caribbean Feeling one more time.

The unexpected sea day went by pretty quickly.

Still, this reinforced our growing dislike of relying on tender ports.

Weather can cancel any port, but when tender boats are required, rough seas add another reason you might never make it ashore.

What This Cruise Taught Us

Our travel journal is increasingly becoming a running list of mistakes we don't want to make twice.

This cruise added several good ones:

- Don't overcomplicate the trip to the cruise port. A cheaper or better-timed flight isn't necessarily better after adding a rental car, hotel, fuel, driving and Uber rides.

- Don't cram a major attraction into a short pre-cruise window. Our Kennedy Space Center visit cost around $300 and lasted roughly 30 minutes.

- Move unnecessary backpack items into checked luggage before embarkation.

- Keep dry clothes accessible for Ollie after swimming.

- Bring snacks on excursions, particularly ones with late meeting times or significant waiting.

- Consider wetsuits for early-morning snorkeling, even in the Caribbean.

- Don't count on getting a pool chair by sleeping in on a very large ship.

- Treat tender ports as weather-dependent. Great Stirrup Cay disappearing from the itinerary was a good reminder that a scheduled port isn't a guaranteed port.

But there was another lesson that wasn't written as a checklist item.

Family Cruising Is Changing for Us

As Ollie gets older, the way we cruise is changing.

When he was younger, spending hours at the pool could fill much of a sea day.

Now he doesn't necessarily want that.

Sometimes he'd rather go to Splash Academy. Sometimes he'd rather be inside. Sometimes Hellen and I want to sit by the pool or listen to music while he wants absolutely nothing to do with it.

That's okay.

We're slowly figuring out that a successful family vacation doesn't require the three of us to enjoy the exact same thing at the exact same time.

And that might have been one of the most useful things we took away from this trip.

Would We Do This Itinerary Again?

There were definite highs and lows.

Swimming with nurse sharks in the Dominican Republic was memorable. Turtle Cove delivered good snorkeling and sea turtles. The British Virgin Islands gave us gorgeous water and one of our better snorkeling experiences, including barracuda, tarpon, turtles and an octopus.

Great Stirrup Cay?

We'll have to try again someday.

And somehow, a Colombian band we'd never heard of before boarding became one of the recurring highlights of our entire week.

That's why we keep the journal.

Years from now, we might remember the sharks and turtles.

But without those handwritten pages, we'd probably forget waking up early to fight for pool chairs, the $300 Kennedy Space Center mistake, wishing we'd packed snacks, or dancing beside the pool while Ollie decided his parents were far less interesting than whatever he was doing inside.

Those are the details that make the trip ours.

And they're exactly the lessons we'll carry onto the next one.

Trip details

Approximate cost: $3,000

Highlights: Norman Island Snorkeling

Disappointments: Missing a port

Family stress level: Low

Our verdict: Do it again!

Ratings for this sailing