My Favorite Vacations of 2025

The Vacations of 2025

I have been lucky enough to be able to travel a few different places this year. I just got off my final trip, which was a ski trip, so now… It is time to rank my vacations on the year.

Coming in last was a three-night trip to Sandals Nassau. This was an all-inclusive vacation and was just a worse cruise with less activities. I have been on several cruises in the last few years and my love for it as grown and grown. This was my first all-inclusive experience, and it just did not measure up to the high standard of cruises in my opinion. I am interested in going to a different all-inclusive and stay a few nights there. This was just bad circumstances and overblown expectations. I went on this vacation during a tropical depression. The flight had already been paid for, and I figured the tropical depression wouldn’t be too bad, or maybe it would miss us. It did not and the second night everything got locked down. Even on the first night we had some rain where a few outdoor activities were canceled. The flagship restaurant wasn’t very good. The service was a bit spotty. The rooms were outdated. The food in other restaurants were not good. A power outage most of the last night, and all of the outdoor activities closed the last two days. Add in terrible security lines, a six-hour flight delay when I was trying to leave and this trip really left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I also went without my fiancé, so it was just not as good.

At 7 is my most recent trip to Canada. This place was stunning but it was so cold that it just ruined the experience. I went for skiing and as a Florida boy with limited experience, I was not very good at it. We also went during the offseason so not all the runs were open. The hassle of skiing was just too much for me, and the cold didn’t help either. The temperature just really made it miserable. Snow, wind, negative temperatures in Fahrenheit. The place was beautiful though, and I enjoyed time with family, but the cold was just too much.

Sixth was my second sailing on the Utopia of the Seas in the year. This was one of the few that wasn’t a large group going, and I really started to enjoy having the large groups to experience these vacations with. If this was my first time on the Utopia, maybe this would have been higher, but I have been so lucky to go on it three times now. It is still an excellent cruise ship and one that I would go on again.

Breaking into the top five which is just mind blowing to say, I got to travel a few different times this year. A three-night sailing on the Disney Wish. This was my first experience on Disney Cruise Line as an adult and the experience was very nostalgic. I even got to room with my parents at 27 years old. In a small little pull-out chair which turned into a twin bed. This was nice to experience as an adult. There were multiple times where I was at peak enjoyment. Sitting out under the stars, watching a Disney movie on the big screen on the funnel, while eating chicken tenders was peak enjoyment. It took me right back to when I would only eat chicken tenders as a kid and watching a great movie as well. The water slide was great. The food was alright but the theming was really fun. The service was incredible, and it was the first time I got to see Castaway Cay.

At 4 is my trip on the Liberty of the Seas. This was a fun trip, it was one of the largest groups I have ever sailed with and it was a good time having that many people at dinner, and at the entertainment offerings. This ship was older, and the port of Fort Lauderdale was not very fun to traverse. It was still terrific sailing and just another reason why cruising is so much fun.

Number three was a family cruise on the Utopia of the Seas. We were surrounded by family on one of the best cruise ships I have ever been on. I absolutely loved this sailing and the chaos of having over 20 people running around the ship.

Number two was a trip to Boston with one of my good friends and his fiancé. This was the first time I got to see snow, and I was able to drive in it, step in it, and throw snowballs all in one trip. It was fun to see the differences in life between Florida and Boston where snowplows are all over the roads and salt trucks dump salt on the roads. It was a great first snow experience and one that I will never forget. I also got to try skiing for the first time which was another humbling experience. Having a lobster roll across the street from our hotel was also great, adding in all of the history in Boston, fantastic restaurants we got to eat at, and the best part was that it wasn’t that cold. Canada cold was just miserable in December.

My favorite trip of all of my traveling this year was my five-night sailing on the Disney Magic with my family. It was the most relaxing, memory filled vacation that I had during the year. There was so much nostalgia during that cruise that I can’t help but look on it with rose colored glasses a few months later. It was the first cruise I went on with my niece and nephew and it was really fun being able to see Disney with their eyes. To see how the servers at dinner interacted with the kiddos was a great part of Disney that I typically don’t see. I still can’t pay the price difference between DCL and RCL but that is just for me. Overall, this cruise was just a nostalgic masterpiece highlighted with so many fun things that reminded me of cruising as a kid. My favorite part was my nephew singing Let it Go during a quiet part of the show that led to the whole theater laughing. I also got to enjoy Halloween at Sea, another Pirate night and the charm of an older ship. The age of the ship wasn’t as evident as the Carnival Liberty we went on a year ago. I got to see both private islands, I got to enjoy the adult area as two of the very few adults in the adult area. Something that I wouldn’t dream of doing on any other cruise line. I was actually able to enjoy a hot tub.

This year was highlighted by cruises and seeing snow for the first time. It also reinforced that cruises are my favorite vacation. I get to drive an hour to the cruise terminal, get on a cruise ship and enjoy all of the amenities without much planning. And on a three night cruise I am able to take off a half day of work. It is just so easy and the level of experience and true relaxation is unmatched for the price. When I went on vacation in other places, the question was always what to do? On cruises, most of these questions are answered rather easily. Everything is in such a collapsed space. It is a small downtown area smashed into a floatable vessel for a decent usually price point. I was blessed to go on these vacations this year, and I can’t until my next vacation next year.