There’s something incredibly special about traveling with your mom. Maybe it’s the way she knows you have to fall asleep with the TV on, or how you’re going to insist on matching T-shirts at least one day of the trip, maybe it just reminds you of vacations as a kid.

Mom hadn’t been on a vacation since 2011.

Hubby and I decided in early 2024 that 2024 was going to be the year for me to take her on a girls trip. As soon as we made the decision I got to work coordinating to make sure that my Stepdad wouldn’t be alone while she was gone.

When I told her in June that I was taking her on a Margaritaville at Sea cruise, she thought I was lying. When she finally believed that it was really happening, she thought it was just going to be the two of us.

She was so excited; she couldn’t stop talking about it.  What she didn’t know was that behind the scenes there were seven other girls in a group chat planning to help her have the best trip of her life.

Planning The Surprise: The Logistics

Because of Hurricane Milton, our plans had to change a little.

Before Milton hit, I had to evacuate my Mom and Stepdad to Kentucky (they live in St. Pete most of the year).

The original plan was for me to fly to Tampa on Thursday morning and stay with them on the night before the cruise. I changed my flight to one a little later in the day. Then, Mom and I flew to Tampa the day before the cruise.

There were 4 of us coming from Louisville, so my little cousin, Meredith, ended up being on the same flight as we were. We lied and told her that Meredith was going to Tampa for work.

We all sat together, talked about what Mom and I were going to do on the cruise and Meredith told her how jealous her Mom (my Mom’s sister) would be.

We were Emmy-award-winning-ly convincing. We parted ways with Meredith after taking a pic with the flamingo in the Tampa airport and collecting our luggage.

During breakfast on the morning of the cruise, I almost gave it away…TWICE!

All of us had about the same boarding time. That morning, our group chat was ALIVE, everyone chatting about how we couldn’t let mom see them before the time was right…

The Ultimate Surprise

After we checked in, we walked around the corner to four of my cousins and my Aunt saying, “HI!!!!!!”

Mom wasn’t expecting to see anyone she knew so it took her a minute to realize who they were.  There were hugs, tears, and LOTS of laughter!

My sisters (by choice, not by blood) walked over a few minutes later. Tears of joy continued to flow.

It was a short but sweet trip, lasting only 4 days. But we had the BEST time!

The five youngest of us played Bingo while Mom and Aunt Jan sat by the pool.

We did a little gambling in the ship’s lounge, though my younger cousins preferred taking advantage of the premium Wi-Fi package. Meredith actually spent our casino night playing through a crypto casino bonus on her phone while the rest of us tried our luck at the physical slot machines and blackjack tables.

Beyond the casino floor, we hid some rubber ducks around the promenade, lost our salt shakers, had a few tropical drinks, battled a little seasickness (REALLY rough seas one night), got rained on in Cozumel, watched Sunday Night football by the pool, and spent an amazing amount of time just appreciating one another.

Finding Dune at The Shops

After dinner on the first night, we went to the shops (if you know me, this isn’t a surprise). I knew that they carried Dune Jewelry and I was hoping I’d find an exclusive piece.

LET ME TELL YOU! I was blown away when I saw the Margaritaville at Sea Dune Jewelry necklace! It’s designed to look just like the ship and features turquoise as well as Caribbean sand in the bezels.

When the salesperson asked if I was interested, there was zero hesitation. I wore it every single day of the trip! It took a great amount of self-control to not buy all the other Dune Jewelry pieces in the shop!

I’ve been on several cruises and this was one of my favorites! So much so that my sister (again, by choice, not by blood) and I booked another one with our hubbies for next year!

– Dezetta Goodwin