Windstar in Costa Rica & Panama with Guest Keryn Means

Join us with travel creator Keryn Means of Twist Travel Mag and Twist Cocktail Recipes as we talk about cruising on Windstar’s yacht, Star Pride, in Costa Rica and Panama over Christmas, with her husband and two teenage boys along for the adventure.

We dig into the Costa Rica and Panama itinerary, including a full Panama Canal transit, plus what it’s really like to travel on a small ship as a family without a kids club. Keryn shares which Windstar excursions worked especially well for teens, what tendering and Zodiac landings were like, and why the beach BBQ was a standout day.

We also talk about onboard life on Star Pride, from suite-style cabins and room service to spa time, Wi-Fi strength, and holiday touches like Christmas dinner and Hanukkah celebrations. 

If you’re curious whether a holiday cruise with Windstar can be relaxing, flexible, and genuinely fun with teenagers, this episode will give you a clear picture of what to expect.

Follow Keryn’s adventures in travel and cocktails: 

• Twist Travel Mag: @twisttravelmag
• Twist Cocktail Recipes: @twistcocktailrecipes

For more Windstar info, listen to our episode about Windstar in Iceland.

Chapters

• 0:35 Windstar in Costa Rica & Panama with Guest Keryn Means
• 2:40 Family Yacht Cruising Through Central America (& the Itinerary)
• 6:47 Surprising Teenagers with a Family Cruise
• 8:33 Excursion Highlights: Horseback Riding & Waterfalls
• 12:51 Floating Yacht Marina Fun
• 13:55 Tendering into Ports
• 16:39 Exclusive Beach BBQ in Costa Rica
• 18:56 Onboard Cabins, Suites & Room Service on Star Pride
• 21:01 Rejuvenating in the Spa, Pools & Hot Tubs
• 23:20 Onboard Entertainment, & Christmas & Hanukkah Holiday Celebrations
• 26:16 Stressless Relaxing December Travel with Kids
• 30:20 Dining & Special Holiday Meals & Drinks
• 31:36 How Hanukkah is Celebrated on Windstar
• 32:30 Final Reflections & Where to Find Keryn

Transcript

Dan (00:35)

Welcome to Small Ship Cruise Talk. This week we have a very special guest. We have Keryn Means on with us. She is going to be sharing her experience on Windstar in Costa Rica. And also new to the podcast is her experience traveling with her kids and a family on a small ship. So, welcome, Keryn.

Keryn (00:57)

Thank you, it's great to be here.

Mikkel (00:59)

Tell the people a little bit about yourself.

Keryn (01:02)

So I'm Keryn, I live in Southern California with my husband and my two boys, ages 13 and 16. And I've been traveling the world with them since I think my oldest was three months old and my youngest was seven weeks old, was his first flight. So this is a long term thing for these kids.

Mikkel (01:23)

Also, you are a fellow travel content creator. That's how we know you. It's how I know you and love you. I met you first, and then Dan came into the picture.

Keryn (01:28)

Yes. Dan, you took her away from me.

Mikkel (01:40)

And just mention your websites briefly, and then be sure to list the show notes will tell everybody exactly how to find you and follow along.

Keryn (01:48)

Yeah, so my travel website is Twist Travel Mag, like magazine, and I also have a cocktail story, which did come into play a little bit on this cruise.

Mikkel (02:00)

I love it.

Mikkel (02:01)

We are thrilled to have you on, Keryn, today talking about your experience on Star Pride in Costa Rica and Panama. So if you are listening, here is what you can expect today. We are going to talk about who you went with, where exactly you went in Central America, a little bit of the itinerary and some highlights, some things you loved about it.

Also we're going to touch on your accommodations and the rooms that you had as a family, also the food and entertainment, and then anything you want to add at the end, including where everybody can find you. So let's get right into it. 

Mikkel (02:41)

So what windstar ship did you go on and did you take your entire family with you and what region did you sail in?

Keryn (02:51)

So we were on the Windstar Star Pride, which held about, I know there were less than 300 people on the cruise, because it was over Christmas, and I brought my whole family, so my husband, my kids, the only people that stayed home were all the fur babies, and we were traveling from Costa Rica down to the Panama Canal.

Mikkel (03:13)

Did you go to the Panama Canal or you turned around? 

Keryn (03:15)

We did, we went through it and that was where our tour ended. We actually stopped in Panama City for a day, did a tour and then you go through the Panama Canal and then you stop in Colón, and then you basically take a bus 45 minutes back to Panama City. 'Cause it takes you all day to go through the Panama Canal in a boat because of all the locks, but it's only like an hour and a half/hour drive, whatever.

Mikkel (03:39)

Right. 

Dan (03:40)

Ha ha.

Mikkel (03:41)

Like, if you did the same drive on land, it's very quick. Yeah. We went on a barge cruise and you could walk faster than the cruise sails actually. We saw people, on the towpath basically next to us and they were going faster, but it was lovely. That's not why you go on a cruise, right?

Keryn (03:42)

Exactly. Yeah.

Dan (03:43)

Right, right.

Keryn (03:49)

I love it. Oh my gosh. No, no. You're not in a rush on this.

Mikkel (03:59)

Exactly, exactly.

We know you ended in Panama. Take us back to the beginning and share where you embarked in Costa Rica and then a little bit of day by day. And if you want to mention the flight path, maybe there are some West Coasters listening that also have to get there.

Keryn (04:13)

Yes, so happily, there is a nonstop flight from LA down to San Jose, Costa Rica. There's one on United that I was able to find because naturally at the last minute my oldest comes to me and he's like, "Mom, remember when you asked me when my finals end and I said Thursday?"

Mikkel (04:21)

Wow.

Keryn (04:33)

He's like, "Yeah, I have one Friday morning," and we were supposed to leave Friday morning and we were on a connecting flight. So I had to change really quick, get us on. And there was like a red eye. So I was like, "Oh yay, I booked a non-refundable hotel." This was the most expensive nap I've ever taken. 'Cause we got there, we checked in, we slept, we ate in the club lounge. And then we left for our transport over to I think it's Puerto Caldera on the coast. And... yes, Puerto Caldera...

Dan (04:33)

Ha ha ha.

Mikkel (04:35)

my gosh. ⁓

Mm-hmm.

Keryn (05:03)

That

is on the West Coast, the Pacific side of Costa Rica. And then you kind of make your way down. You did, I think, two stops in Costa Rica. We went to Cuepos and then Golfo Dulce in Puerto Jimenez. And then you kind of wander around and do customs in Panama. Like they bring all your passports off. They do it for you. You get your little stamp and then they come back on. You're all allowed to now

continue en route through Panama to Isla Perita, where we did the Windstar Signature BBQ. And... yes, that was really fun. And oh, then we had a day at sea, and then we went to Balboa Fuerte Amador, which is basically you disembark outside of Panama City, you go do your tour and then you get back on the boat and then you go through the Panama Canal the next day.

Dan (05:38)

Mmm.

Mikkel (05:57)

That's such a cool itinerary. So it's really sort of Costa Rica and Panama.

Keryn (06:01)

Yes, so it's all West Coast, lots of beaches, lots of nature. It was kind of exactly what we needed. At first when I booked it, I was kind of like, "Okay, this is going to be too relaxing, too beachy." I am quite pale for those who can't see me. I can't "beach" very well, but

Keryn (06:21)

my kids love the ocean. They love swimming and my husband's happy place is on the water at the beach, just doing absolutely nothing, which he doesn't usually get to do.

So I was like, "Okay," even though I live in LA and I could literally walk 15 minutes to the beach. It's a different kind of beach, okay.

Mikkel (06:30)

Even though you live in LA.

Dan (06:33)

Mm-hmm. Hahaha, sure. Sure.

Mikkel (06:40)

It is. Also, I love the teenage mind, like with his finals and yeah.

Keryn (06:44)

Yeah. Well, the thing is it was a surprise trip. The kids didn't know we were going to do it. So I was trying to be like, okay, like, "Hey, what's your finals going to be like?" 'Cause he's like, "Why?" I'm like, "You know, I might plan something. 'Cause winter break starts and you know, maybe we'll go for a way for the weekend."

Trying to be like super slick. So yeah, so that Friday, both kids get home from school. I'm like, "Okay, we got to open a couple of presents early because this is going to play into what are our little thing's going to be." And they're like, "Okay." And then the last day open up an envelope saying, "Go pack your bags. We're leaving in four hours." And they're like, "Wait, what?" I mean, part of the gift— my husband claims— is we also packed their carry-on suitcase. They just had to pack their backpacks.

They're like, "Hang on, we gotta call some friends and cancel some stuff."

Mikkel (07:33)

That's true. That's

true. Because when they're that age, they can sort of make their own plans as long as they have a way to go. Do they drive?

Keryn (07:37)

Oh yeah, you know, they have lives apparently. No, but we have a learner. Yeah. Yes, so.

Mikkel (07:42)

Okay, so they can't try themselves, so they're still somewhat reliant, but I'm sure they make plans and then just tell you how they need to get there. So did the card say you were going or just that you were leaving? 

Keryn (07:49)

Yeah, "By the way, can I get a ride to XYZ?" Story of my life, story of my life.

Mikkel (07:56)

Okay.

Keryn (07:56)

Yes, yeah. And then I had

a little map of the itinerary that I printed out from the website and they're like, "Wait, we're going to the beach?" I'm like, "Yeah, and it'll be warm and we can swim." And they're like, "Oh my gosh!"

Mikkel (08:09)

I love that, especially because you live near Disneyland. So saying pack your bags, we're going to Disneyland would not have been as exciting as we're going on a cruise in Costa Rica and Panama.

Keryn (08:12)

Yes.

No, no, my kids for right now, like for Disneyland, they're like, "Really, do we have to get up early though?" Like,

Mikkel (08:24)

Hahaha!

Dan (08:25)

Hahaha

Mikkel (08:26)

We live by Disney World, so we can

But back to the itinerary, but back to cruising.

Keryn (08:28)

I know. Back to cruising!

Mikkel (08:33)

Let's talk about a few highlights. We talked about the itinerary. You said where you went, not to get too detailed, but you did mention the barbecue. I do want to talk later about accommodations and food, entertainment... But maybe if you can tell us some highlights of the ports and things that stood out, and then maybe the barbecue, onboard things, yes.

Keryn (08:52)

That would be perfect.

So our first stop was Quepos. As I said, we kind of flew in right as the cruise was starting. So we weren't able to do any of the pre-tours to Arenal and the interior rainforest, which a lot of people do before they get onto the ship. So Quepos was really our first port and I had booked a Horseback, Cascades and Barbecue excursion. I was actually really surprised how much I loved Windstar's

Keryn (09:21)

excursions and the options that they had. And this one was like perfect for teenagers. It being the holidays, there were actually a lot more families than Windstar usually sees. I was told by the crew there are a lot of teenagers, college kids, and you know, kind of young adults being treated well by their parents and brought on these cruises. I'm like, "Whose parents? Can I be adopted?"

Mikkel (09:43)

You are one of those parents.

Keryn (09:45)

I know I'm like for my kids now, but like who's going to pay for me later?

So because the minimum age on Windstar is eight years old. So we saw like a couple younger kids, but for the most part it was all teens and up, which really works because there's no kids club. I think they had like a Nintendo Switch set up in the screening room in case teenagers wanted to go play in the pool. And that's it, you know. So we did this horseback ride, which was amazing. You're kind of going down this little country lane to a waterfall and then you get to go swim around for a half hour or so. And, you know, some people are taken unaware as they're like, "Oh, there's no changing room?" I'm like, "Because we're literally in the middle of the jungle."

Mikkel (10:24)

Yeah.

Keryn (10:24)

Like you can go like behind that rock, which some people did. Yeah, there was some towel action and, you know, me being travel mama, I'm just pulling the stuff out of bags. I'm like, yep, here, somebody take that towel. Here, you need more sunscreen. Here you go. And so that was probably one of our favorites. And it was also really

Mikkel (10:29)

Little towel action, holding up like a curtain.

Yeah.

Keryn (10:46)

like a magical moment for us, for my youngest, because he's tried to do horseback ride trails before. He was probably nine the last time he tried to do a trail ride and they put him on the horse first, this ginormous horse. And then the other 20 people have to get... so like the horse is flinching and whatever. So he freaks out. He's like, this thing's going to bolt. We have to take him off. He never got on a horse again, but he really wanted. He's been bugging me for a year. So we do it. And he's like, "This is awesome."

And he even did a little trotting on his horse as well as walking and did not freak out. He's like, "Yeah, now I'm a pro. I'm awesome." And I'm like, "Oh course you are. You are awesome." So that was our Quepos one. And then in the Golfo, we did a dolphin watching tour,

Dan (11:18)

Wow. Hahaha. 

Mikkel (11:23)

Yeah, it sounds like it. That's amazing.

Keryn (11:34)

which I loved. Similar to the U S you have to stay, I think it was like 50 or a hundred feet away from the wildlife. They can choose to come to you, but you cannot go to them. And in this gulf, it

kind of like the shape of a fjord. And so there were two resident pods: I believe a spotted dolphin pod and a bottle nose pod. We found both of them 'cause we were up real early in the, we were like on this tiny 12 seater boat by like eight o'clock in the morning. 

And, you know, the first ones they're eating and everything they're doing their stuff and then we kind of like wander around and then we got the playful ones. And I have this magnificent picture of this dolphin coming straight out the water. And I'm just like, "Oh my gosh," because I missed the playing ones before. I didn't have my long lens on. I hadn't put it on rapid fire for whatever insane reason so... It was early. So the fact that I got this dolphin shot, I was like, "Oh my gosh, it's my miracle moment," because when I was a kid dolphins were everything to me.

Mikkel (12:13)

It was early.

Keryn (12:30)

That was my animal.

Keryn (12:32)

And do a little— they call it an "enchanted beach," which is just like a deserted beach and you get to swim around a little bit. And our guides had fresh pineapple and watermelon— probably the best pineapple I've ever had.

You know, you just can't get that, at least in the continental U.S. Hawaii, yes, but no, not here. And then they actually had set up their floating marina. I don't know if you know this. So, they

Mikkel (12:50)

Yeah.

Keryn (12:57)

can open up the stern of the boat and they set up like all these floatations. Like, there's a floating dock and then a couple seating areas under stuff but then lounges that the kids take it upon themselves to turn into a diving board and you know because all teenagers find each other and start to, you know, outdo each other with their antics and I'm like, okay. Yeah, so I'm sitting there with like a couple other parents that were like, "Headcount! Okay, they're still alive," and...

Mikkel (13:17)

Just great, entertain yourselves. Good.

Keryn (13:26)

But they had like kayaks and paddle boards out there too and other floaty things. Yeah, so that was really fun. And then you know, you're in the warm water and I'm like, "Tthere's dolphins over there somewhere guys. You could be swimming with them. You don't even know."

Mikkel (13:29)

That's so fun.

Yeah, we were on Star Pride in Iceland. So we had no such stern fun. No dolphins, no swimming in the water. It was July, but of course, it's still really cold. So it's fun to hear this about your cruise on the same ship, but in a different area. I love that.

Dan (13:43)

No dolphins.

Keryn (13:44)

No. It's a little chilly, yeah.

Dan (13:50)

Yeah.

Keryn (13:54)

Yes. Yeah.

Mikkel (13:55)

Did you dock in the ports, were you tendering in or were you docking right... ⁓ always. Okay, so that's a consideration.

Keryn (13:58)

We always tendered, we never docked. Always, I was really surprised. 

Dan (14:05)

Hmm.

Keryn (14:06)

Yeah, and even when we did the beach barbecue, that was on like the little, are they zephyrs? Zodiacs, thank you, yeah. So, I don't know, so. ⁓

Mikkel (14:14)

Zodiacs? Yeah, it's a brand name if it helps anyone listening. It's a brand name of the little boats.

Keryn (14:21)

So they literally have to Zodiac everybody to this tiny— everyone— to this little beach. ⁓ You know, like people who had excursions because there, it was a ton of islands like this just little island chain. So some people were off like snorkeling other islands and monkey watching or whatever else. We decided we were like, we're just going to have beach day. This sounds like the perfect thing. So by the time we got up and moving, you know, with teenagers, we were like, okay. So we you know, had to wait a couple of minutes, but then

Mikkel (14:24)

Everyone?

Dan (14:27)

Wow.

Keryn (14:49)

got on the next Zodiac and it was

no... yes... yeah...

Mikkel (14:51)

They were running back and forth like all day for that. Okay, got it.

Keryn (14:56)

I think they had a couple running, not just one at a time either, which I was a little worried about because they also had all the crew and all the stuff they had to bring over there. Exactly! It was very Below Deck.

Dan (15:04)

Right, right, right.

Mikkel (15:04)

Like Below Deck.

Dan (15:07)

Ha ha ha.

Mikkel (15:10)

Gotta run it all out and somebody's gonna forget the mixers for the cocktails. Did they bring drinks on the beach? Okay.

Keryn (15:15)

Oh my gosh. Right? They did. There was a full bar. Full bar and the only thing— and this is a note everyone must keep in mind— is mint in Costa Rica is not like mint in the U.S. or other places. It actually looks like thyme. It's like the leaves are so tiny that the head of bartending for our ship was just like, "We're just not going to make mojitos because this is not, it's not working. It doesn't, it doesn't taste good and there's no point in us making these." So I was like, "No!" And she's like, "I just can't get good fresh stuff right now."

Mikkel (15:47)

Fascinating.

Keryn (15:52)

Yeah, I did. It was more, it was minty, it was a little more bitter, I think, than the mint we're used to. And I think just because the leaves are so tiny, you just can't get all that mint oil out of it for cocktails, which was sad for me, but... I had a lot of cucumber martinis. So.

Mikkel (15:52)

Did you try whatever that was? Like the mint? Did it taste like mint?

Dan (16:00)

Hmm.

Mikkel (16:08)

Interesting. What did you sub?

Okay. With vodka? Gin?

Dan (16:16)

Okay.

Keryn (16:18)

They usually do it, I think with Tanqueray. I had them do Hendrick's because Hendrick's does well with cucumber. ⁓ And of course we had the Unlimited Drink Package. So, you know, I'm like, okay, we're doing cucumber martinis during the day and then whiskey sours trying all the different whiskies at night." Yeah.

Dan (16:35)

Excellent.

Mikkel (16:36)

I like this. Yeah, Dan, you're the whiskey guy.

Dan (16:38)

So what was the barbecue like?

Keryn (16:41)

The barbecue was, I don't like a corporate event, it was almost like, you know, there's a bajillion tables out there. Like the huge, you know, it's like in that way, it reminded me of corporate event, but the food was so much better than any corporate event I've ever been to. So, you know, they have the usual buffet set up and they have like all these barbecues. They're making chicken and burgers and rice and beans and sweet plantains. Yeah. Like, and somehow they had smoked salmon and I'm just like, "Yes, please." 

And, you know, a full dessert, you know, table and lots of

salads. So it was somewhat similar to their buffet that they have on board some of those things, but a lot of it like, you know, we never had barbecue chicken on the regular, I think upstairs on the Star Pride, they did have like a little rotisserie and barbecue thing, but my kids would go to it. So yeah, so it was just easy. Then they had a local band come in doing live music that you could just kind of listen to. And then the whole waterfront was just lounge chairs. So, kind

Mikkel (17:17)

Mm-hmm.

Keryn (17:40)

the barbecue was happening behind you but in front of you was your lounge chairs and then unlimited beach. That was it. I watched my kids jump on a trampoline while I sipped Prosecco. But we did sit down and we ate our food like civilized people at a table.

Mikkel (17:56)

Is it reserved for Windstar guests or other guests can go?

Keryn (18:00)

No, only Windstar can go. They do have some kind of permanent facilities on there that I don't believe are owned by Windstar. Like there were toilets and stuff like that. And it did seem like other ships, yes, that was an important one to me. 

I think other ships and like little dinghies and stuff sometimes pull up because they also had, it looked like a little like cafe snack bar near the toilets that people could stop at. But you know, it said "For customers only," the bathrooms or whatever. So you couldn't just kind of... I mean,

Mikkel (18:10)

Another question I had, yeah. Toilets, yeah, same.

Keryn (18:33)

I suppose you could saunter up if you figured out where this island was and how to get there, but...

Mikkel (18:40)

That's really cool. And this was included for all guests or like an excursion. That's great.

Keryn (18:44)

All a guess. Nope, nope, this was automatic. That's why we also decided we're like, let's just have beach barbecue and beach day and not do anything. We'd already done like two back-to-back excursions at that point.

Mikkel (18:55)

Yeah. So this is a great foray into being on the ship. So what was it like on board when you weren't off board?

Keryn (19:00)

Hahaha. Well, first of all, the onboard and off board, I feel like was a really, really good balance. I was worried that we'd all be bored or we'd be running around too much and we weren't at all. I feel like there was rest when we needed it and there was activity when we were like, "Okay, we need to do some stuff." 

Probably my favorite part was our cabins. So we had two cabins and they were right next to each other. And the way... I don't know if you remember this from the Star Pride, but there's kind of everybody's doors are like on an angle, but there's also

an exterior door that you can close that both keys can work on that one exterior door. So what we did was we just closed the exterior door— you know, our cabin steward knew what was happening. And we just kind of put the deadbolts on our bedroom doors or

Mikkel (19:46)

Interesting. 

Keryn (19:55)

actual cabin doors so that the kids could come and go and we could come and go. But all the cabins are suites so I had this beautiful sitting area and a great, a really comfortable bed.

And I loved that they had On Demand movies, but they also had a lot of Christmas movies. So we could like snuggle up in bed and have some Christmas movie time. You could order guacamole and chips or popcorn or whatever you want from room service. 'Cause room service is also included, which I regret not using it enough. You know, I don't know how We did, but we got more guacamole chips and quesadillas.

Mikkel (20:21)

Yeah.

I know, I know, I know. Did you get popcorn?

Dan (20:25)

Ha ha ha.

Mikkel (20:31)

Well, you were in Costa Rica and Central America, so you know.

Keryn (20:35)

I know, I know.

yeah, so the kids loved that and it was good because they could get some downtime. We also had Wi-Fi so I could get a little work done, which is probably the best Wi-Fi I've ever had on a cruise ship. It never dropped. I think it was very helpful we were close to shore, but everybody uses— what is it?— Starlink now on cruise ships. So it's like, okay, you have a satellite. We're good to go.

Mikkel (20:54)

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Keryn (21:01)

I went to the spa. which was, Yes I did. So I got a hot stone massage and a mini facial. Well, I mean, it's not like an hour long. It's like, got like, I got like some eye stuff done and you know, but they didn't do like the 19 serums and you know, it was an add on. I was like, yeah, just do whatever you want.

Mikkel (21:02)

You did. Tell us more. 

What's a mini facial? Half your face?

Mikkel (21:24)

Okay, mini facial. Got it, got it.

Dan (21:24)

Yeah.

Keryn (21:29)

Mini facial but there was also a steam room and a sauna you could sit in if you wanted to and didn't have to have an appointment for it. You could just go sit in the steam room and the sauna. Anybody. Yeah. Same with like the hot tubs.

Mikkel (21:38)

Anybody. Amazing.

Keryn (21:43)

There's a hot tub on the fifth deck in the front of the boat and then there was a hot tub right with the actual pool in the middle of the boat too on the top deck. And yeah that was open to everybody too. But.

Mikkel (21:56)

Were those busy? Because during

our Iceland cruise, they were not. And I met another gentleman in the hot tub because we were the only two people in there. I think maybe the entire cruise. But he gave me some good tips for steak dinner. But were they busy on your cruise?

Keryn (22:09)

Okay. It was never like, my gosh, there's no room. I think the busiest I ever saw it was the At Sea day. And if there were five people in the pool, I'd be surprised. Yeah, like even with all those kids on board, everybody was just kind of vegging out. I will say you have to snag your shade spot on deck during At Sea day because even though there were lots of like umbrellas and stuff, you know, when the sun's at a certain point, there's no way you can maneuver your umbrella

Mikkel (22:21)

That is fascinating.

Dan (22:22)

Interesting.

Mikkel (22:29)

Hmm.

Keryn (22:39)

enough so we just kind of kept like scooting our lounge chairs all over the deck. The poor crew. Because everybody that had the under deck spots where it was like full shade was already there. I didn't know but you're not also not allowed to reserve seats like you see them do on other boats like if they see... yeah. Yeah.

Mikkel (22:45)

Yeah.

Right, claim it in the morning.

No, I think that's great. They should not let people do that and they should enforce it. You know?

Dan (22:58)

Yeah, that's good.

Keryn (23:03)

Yeah, they'll clean up stuff and they'll be like, "Okay, that towel, no one's been here for a while. We're going to move that. Somebody else can use it." 'Cause there's a lot of spaces to sit, but there's also a lot of people on an At Sea day. So you don't want to you know, jipped out of your chair. 

Mikkel (23:14)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. What about on board entertainment?

Keryn (23:23)

On board entertainment was pretty fun. I will say we did not take advantage of it enough because we really, really loved sleeping.

Mikkel (23:31)

And yeah, and you had the movies and room service, so you don't really need a lot more. You were off the ship too.

Keryn (23:34)

Exactly. 

But for the holidays, they did have Hanukkah celebrations because the last couple of nights of Hanukkah were happening. They did ask if a passenger was celebrating Hanukkah if they could help lead the service because they didn't have any Jewish staff members. Then they had Christmas Eve, had a staff caroling, like led carols. And then they did like a little service after that if you want to stay up after 10:30,

Mikkel (23:48)

Jewish people, Jewish brethren. I'm Jewish, I get it.

Keryn (24:05)

I'm like, no, we are not staying up after 10:30. I turned into like a little old lady on cruise ships. I'm like, "It's eight o'clock. Why am I not in bed yet?" Even then, like I find more retirees actually stay up later on cruise ships than I do. Because they're like,

Mikkel (24:09)

Sure. Yeah.

Keryn (24:24)

They had that. And then the last night was the staff talent show,

Dan (24:29)

Mm-hmm.

Keryn (24:29)

which is always fun. And you are talking to the staff during the day, they're like, "Are you doing it?" They're like, "No, no, no, I have to serve drinks today." I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just don't want to show off your talent." So other than that they had

Dan (24:37)

Yeah

Keryn (24:43)

kind of like a lounge band that was fun.

loved trivia nights or like pub trivia at like five o'clock, which my husband and I stumbled into in the Compass Rose Lounge, which was kind of our bar by the end of the trip. 'Cause we'd be like, "Kids, we're going to our lounge, bye!" And they'd be like, "Okay, whatever." But the kids actually loved it too. I think it's the only bar they've ever been allowed to sit at because they had a series of mocktails. And so they would come and just check in on us. And we're like, "Oh, get a mocktail.

Keryn (25:12)

It'll be great," and you know my kids like, man, I'm glad there's no alcohol in them because they can pound back a mocktail. I'm like, "Did you breathe in between inhaling this mixed drink that my favorite bartender Bernie just made you?" and Shout out to Bernie and Maria, who's the head bartender on the ship. I would only go to them if I saw them, I'm like, "You can make my drink."

Mikkel (25:26)

Shout out to Bernie. Yeah, I understand that. I like a mocktail option because I can't drink that much. It ends up making me nauseous after two drinks, not drunk, unfortunately. But then I switch to hydrate. So I appreciate a good mocktail menu too. I must've had mocktails when we were on board. Dan, do you remember? I must've.

Keryn (25:40)

yeah, no. Yeah.

Dan (25:51)

I don't remember, but yeah, I would agree.

Mikkel (25:53)

Yeah.

Keryn (25:54)

No, I liked them. I mean, they had some interesting ones too. It wasn't just like fruit punch, essentially. You know, they still like put it in pretty glasses and had garnish and you know, there was thought put into it instead of just— yeah, fruit punch.

Mikkel (26:00)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Dan (26:00)

Ha ha ha.

So you've mentioned you've cruised before with and without your kids, right?

Keryn (26:15)

Yes.

Dan (26:16)

What do you... Is it... How do I want to ask this? Is it exponentially more stressful? Is it more stressful with or without the kids?

Keryn (26:22)

Just ask it.

Mikkel (26:23)

Would you leave them home? 

Keryn (26:29)

I would say now that they're teenagers, it's perfectly fine because, I mean, probably a couple years ago— so my oldest is 16, so probably when he was about 14— we started leaving them in the hotel with a pizza when we would travel and like just going out to a bar or going out for something to eat just a couple blocks away. They would be on Wi-Fi so they could you know text us if they needed anything and you know, under strict instructions, "Don't open the door for anybody unless it's us. I don't care what they're trying to say, just don't open the

But now, I mean, this was probably the most relaxing vacation we've done because we're like, "Well, the only place you can go is off the ship. So if you fall off somehow, even though you don't have a balcony, please just call for help." Because I don't know what I could do at that point either.

Dan (27:12)

right.

Keryn (27:15)

So it gave us that flexibility so we could have that family time when we wanted it at dinner and excursions. But also the kids could just kind of have their downtime and my husband and I could go off and, you know, we've probably had more dates that week than we've had in the past six months.

Keryn (27:29)

which was awesome because you're also not dealing like you know they stay home by themselves so it was kind of the same thing where you just don't have to worry as much once they're teenagers.

Dan (27:39)

But it sounds like you're able to each carve out your own space and then come necessary or when you needed to, but also there was plenty of opportunities to have that break.

Keryn (27:50)

Yes, which I think we all need at this point. I mean, I remember when I was a teenager, I didn't want to hang out with my parents the whole time. And my oldest is a social butterfly and he had a buddy right away, so they'd go off and like hang out. And my youngest is the opposite of a social butterfly. So he could just kind of like have downtime, like reading or playing games or drawing in his cabin. And he was very happy.

long as they could get in the water once a day, they were pretty chill about the whole thing. And, you know, by the end, we're kind of like, "Oh yeah, we do like traveling with you. This is great."

Mikkel (28:21)

Yeah.

That's awesome. Would you say traveling over Christmas and being away from home and family and friends, especially in Costa Rica, because I don't know what Christmas looks like there, was a positive or just different? Or what are your thoughts on that?

Keryn (28:37)

Well, I think because I'm in Southern California, know you're in Florida. Christmas in Costa Rica looks about the same as it does for us. It's like there's palm trees and Christmas lights and you know, all kinds of random decor, just like there is at home. So in that aspect, I was happily surprised. Also, the ship had just enough decoration not to like take over for all the people who weren't actually celebrating Christmas, but also to remind those of us who were that it was the holiday season and you know, a little bit of merriment happening.

Mikkel (28:40)

Mm-hmm. 

Keryn (29:06)

So all our family's back east and we only go back east every other year just because as you know traveling during the holidays, especially when you have to see multiple family members across a two-hour transit span,

be really exhausting. So this year was one of our off years we knew we would be home. And I was just like, I can't be home. The kids have off, we haven't traveled just the four of us in a while. Let's just go somewhere.

And at first, we were like, okay, do we go to Europe? Do we plan all this stuff? And I thought, I don't want to plan anything. I'm like, what better way to not plan anything than go on a cruise where they plan everything for you. You know, you do have to make some decisions.

Dan (29:37)

Right. Yep.

Keryn (29:46)

But it's like I was able to get myself as "the mom who plans everything" a vacation while also giving my family a vacation. And our cabin steward actually had to yell at me. She's like, "You need to let me take care of you. You're not supposed to do this." And I'm like, "No, I don't know how to."

Mikkel (29:52)

Good point. 

Dan (30:00)

Ha ha ha.

Mikkel (30:03)

So cute.

Keryn (30:04)

She's like, "No, I will, I will deal with that," you know? They steamed my dresses at night so I could have non-wrinkly clothes. And I was just like, "I don't know what to do with this. Somebody else is doing my laundry and my ironing." So yeah.

Mikkel (30:12)

For your dates.

Mikkel (30:18)

That's really nice.

Of course, I'm always focused on food. So was there a special Christmas dinner or Christmas day meal?

Keryn (30:26)

So at the, was it Amphora is the restaurant?

Mikkel (30:30)

Yeah.

Keryn (30:30)

Yes.

So, you know, that's the restaurant that you don't need reservations for or anything. You can just go in. So that night they did have like a traditional turkey roast dinner and then like little Santa hat desserts. And actually the whole waitstaff had Santa hats on. And the second my youngest saw that he ran back to the cabin and got his Santa hat to wear. It was really sweet. So of course he got lots of attention from the staff. They wanted to trade with him and he's like, "No, I like my hat."

Keryn (31:00)

So they had that and then they also had some holiday cocktails. They also had a... Christmas Eve, because it was an At Sea day, they did an afternoon tea sort of thing in the Compass Rose, which was really pretty although it made me really full by the time we got to dinner because their tea sandwiches were like full on sandwiches. I was like, "I love cucumber sandwiches!"

Mikkel (31:20)

Hahaha 

Mikkel (31:25)

Me too. You like the cucumber, the cucumber martini, the cucumber sandwich. I like it. It's very refreshing, especially when you're in that kind of region. Yeah.

Keryn (31:28)

Yeah, it's just very refreshing. So, yeah. Exactly.

Mikkel (31:35)

Okay, my last holiday question is, did they have a menorah somewhere for the Hanukkah celebrators?

Keryn (31:42)

I am 99 % sure they did. I believe I saw one. I don't know if I ever saw it lit. But I wasn't exactly looking for one that's lit and I think just allowing candles to burn on a cruise ship willy-nilly probably is a no-no.

Mikkel (31:45)

Okay, just wondering. I'm Jewish, so... Okay, fair. Right.

Dan (31:59)

Yeah, that's not, yeah.

Mikkel (32:01)

Well, yeah, they use lightbulb ones that usually they put in those kind of situations, but I hear you on the safety. Safety first all the time, all the time.

Keryn (32:10)

I was going say,

not that you usually burn a menorah like for 24 hours a day, but... But yes, I believe especially for the Hanukkah services, they did have a menorah on board that people could use. Exactly. You know, the back of the boat.

Mikkel (32:14)

Right. Just curious.

Dan (32:22)

They just had to do it in the smoking section outside. Right. Right.

So was there anything that you think they could have improved upon on this cruise?

Keryn (32:36)

Well, besides sourcing mint, which I did understand was hard and sadly I could not bring my own mint or source it for them, I do understand extenuating circumstances and illegal imports, but... ⁓ Overall I think it was kind of great. If anything, I wish the menus were a little more changed up.

Mikkel (32:38)

Thank you.

Keryn (32:57)

I don't know what I mean by that actually. Cause we ate well every night and there was always a good fish option. They were really good about my allergies. So have a mushroom and a soy allergy. So even like the turkey dinner, I really, really wanted the turkey dinner, but it had a mushroom stuffing. And I was just like, can you just not give me the stuffing? Just don't have it touch it. And they're like, "Oh yeah, absolutely. It's all very separated." I'm like, oh, thank God. 'Cause I was going to cry if I didn't have my turkey dinner on Christmas. But other than that, I think

Mikkel (33:03)

Hmm. Okay. Good to know. That's great.

Yeah.

Keryn (33:27)

It was really good. I mean, I had an omelet every morning and an acai bowl and, you know, if I wanted a cocktail at any time, it was available to me. I liked it too because I'm sure you guys have been on similar cruise ships where it's just a booze ship and that's all people do is start drinking at nine o'clock in the morning and they end at one o'clock in the morning and then go to bed and then start all over again. And this was just a very reasonable...

Dan (33:37)

There you go.

Keryn (33:54)

like we all just kind of enjoyed a nice cocktail. It wasn't over the top. There wasn't anything my kids couldn't see or experience because of that.

Yeah, I would do it again and my kids are even asking when we're gonna do it again. And actually this is my husband's first cruise. So I'm just like, my gosh, I'm like, how did we start you at the top?

Mikkel (34:10)

What?

Dan (34:14)

Right.

Right.

Mikkel (34:15)

This is breaking news. We should have started with this.

Keryn (34:17)

Yeah, my poor husband. My husband had never been south of the border before this trip. So, yeah.

Mikkel (34:25)

I'm so confused, he's married travel content creator.

Keryn (34:28)

Yeah, but he doesn't get to go as much as the kids and I do. You know, somebody has to work for

Dan (34:32)

Ha 

Keryn (34:34)

Health insurance. And yeah, I'm lucky he also really loves his job. But like, yeah, my kids have been to Mexico and the Caribbean and one of them's been to Brazil. The other one had actually been in Costa Rica with me before. And, you know, so now my husband, I'm like, "Hey, babe..."

Mikkel (34:35)

Health insurance, yeah, for sure.

Dan (34:35)

Sure, yeah.

Mikkel (34:42)

Oh my gosh.

Keryn (34:50)

He’s like, "I've been a whole new, like two new countries and a different continent, and..." like,

Keryn (34:56)

pura vida. Yeah.

Mikkel (34:57)

Pura vida. For anyone who has not been to Costa Rica, it’s what they say everywhere. Pure life, pure life. Just feeling Costa Rica. It's like Aloha. Exactly. Yeah.

Keryn (35:02)

Yep, it's like Aloha.

Dan (35:06)

Alright, well thank you so much for coming on, Keryn. Where can everybody find you?

Keryn (35:11)

So you can find me at Twist Travel Mag, like magazine, and Twist Cocktail Recipes. If you want to try that cucumber that I had, I'll be recreating it. So.

Mikkel (35:21)

Yes. Yeah.

Also, we're going to post some photos on @SometimesSailing of Keryn's trip with her family. I definitely want the spinner dolphin, not the spinner dolphins, the spotted dolphins, the other dolphins, the barbecue. You also already have some of the barbecue on your Instagram that I saw that I was like, yum, yum, yum. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So check out all our socials. Don't forget to read the show notes. Thank you so much for coming on, friend.

Keryn (35:38)

Yes. I'll just send you a folder.

Mikkel (35:49)

We love talking to you and seeing you and keep cruising.

Keryn (35:49)

Thanks for having me.

Will do.