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Welcome to
Depart Happily
I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list
On this blog you can find posts all about my travel planning process, budgets, past endeavors, and future trips. I seek to review local hotspots to exotic new territory. Come with me on this exciting new journey.






Salsa, Salsa, & Margaritas in Costa Maya - 03.06.26
Today was an extra special day because it was our last port day as well as my mom's birthday! Before my sister and I went to bed the night prior, we secretly decorated her door with a birthday banner, underwater creature cutouts, and streamers galore. She woke up to the festive surprise, and we went to get a quick bit to eat before going ashore to Costa Maya, Mexico. I had a simple breakfast of toast with peanut butter, hard boiled eggs, and fruit. After breakfast we got ours

Sarah Rodriguez
18 hours ago3 min read


Come on in, the water is fine - 03.05.26
The morning was business as usual, breakfast consisted of peanut butter toast, hard boiled eggs, a pancake, peaches, and grapefruit slices. After breakfast my family and I headed to our assigned meeting spot to tender to land for our booked excursion. We booked the excursion Jolly Roger Catamaran Sailing & Snorkeling with lunch with Norwegian. We were met at the pier by our captain and crew who then transferred us by bus. The scenic bus ride was about 30 minutes long. We then

Sarah Rodriguez
6 days ago2 min read


Can You Belize It? - 03.04.26
Today we docked at Harvest Caye, Belize, a private island owned by NCL. My family and I ate a quick breakfast where I had peanut butter toast, hard boiled eggs, watermelon, grapefruit, and peaches. After breakfast, my mom, sister, and I ventured off to the island. We headed straight to the beach where we found some lounge chairs under an umbrella. This beach was not as pretty as Cozumel, and the sand was rough and rocky. We opted to lounging and reading but did not stay long

Sarah Rodriguez
Apr 72 min read


Cuckoo for Cozumel - 03.03.26
Thank the seas for Dramamine as I found out that I was suffering from seasickness. Feeling worlds better, I was ready for our day ashore in beautiful Cozumel, Mexico. My family and I booked the Hop on Hop off Cozumel & Beach Break excursion through Norwegian. Our 5-hour excursion showed us the highlights of Cozumel by riding in an open-top state-of-the-art bus around the city in a Caribbean guided style. We hopped on and off at attractions while listening to our guide Mario w

Sarah Rodriguez
Apr 23 min read


SEAS the Day - 03.02.26
Well, I wish that I could say that I had a good first night sleep on the ship, but I did not. I was so sick that in the middle of the night I forced myself to throw up multiple times because I had an awful stabbing pain in my stomach. Unfortunately, this did little to alleviate my pain. At breakfast I had half of a hard-boiled egg, a piece of a pancake, and 3 slices of grapefruit. I was down bad. Fortunately, even when I am down bad, I can still drag myself to activities and

Sarah Rodriguez
Mar 313 min read


Come Sail Away - 03.01.26
After a night of much needed rest, I woke up refreshed and ready to go. The nightmare of finding last minute lodging was behind us and nothing but sunshine and open ocean was ahead of us. Before we started our cruise vacation, my family and I had an important breakfast to attend with a special someone. My abuelo invited us for a delicious homecooked meal at his apartment. It was wonderful to spend a few hours with him as we enjoyed breakfast, caught up with each other, and ev

Sarah Rodriguez
Mar 262 min read


Florida, please don't be the death of me - 02.28.26
Today was the start of a family vacation to remember. My mother, father, sister, and I embarked on our first large scale vacation together in years. Aside from wanderlust, I think that this trip originated to celebrate my sister's college graduation and it had to be scheduled before she started her first full-time post college job. Coincidentally, the timing of this trip aligned with my mother's birthday and retirement. We flew out of ABE (Allentown, Pennsylvania) late aftern

Sarah Rodriguez
Mar 242 min read


Snow, Ice, and Below Freezing Temperatures (oh my!) - 01.27.26
This morning started off cold and early as a cold front was hitting Florida. Jen and I were up early to pack up our belongings and get a quick bite to eat at our resort’s Centertown Market. I ordered the Caribbean Omelet (Ham, Bell Peppers, Onions, Pico de Gallo, and Cheddar served with Breakfast Potatoes) for $11.49. Our breakfast was good and before we knew it we were waiting for the Mears Connect bus to pick us up to go to the airport. At MCO, after we dropped off our chec

Sarah Rodriguez
Feb 162 min read


Take a Ride on the Monorail - 01.26.26
Today was an extended day of vacation due to a massive northern snow and ice storm. Since we were able to get through the majority of what we wanted to do in the parks over the past two days we did not feel like an extra Disney Park day was worthwhile. We contemplated going to Universal’s Epic Universe but redirected after breaking down the logistics. We decided to spend our day sleeping in ever so slightly, getting brunch at Chef Mickey’s, completing the monorail bar crawl,

Sarah Rodriguez
Feb 114 min read
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