Let me start by saying my mom and I get along very well. We never have a shortage of things to talk about (I think I know where I inherited the chatty gene from...), we both love to relax in the sun and, crucially, we both vacation well together. So, when we were presented with the opportunity to sail together on the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas, we jumped at the chance.

Now you might be wondering if a single cruise ship would appeal to both a 70-year-old (she's gonna kill me) retired middle school math teacher and a 40-something-year-old (I'm not gonna be more specific) news and entertainment editor. Spoiler alert: We had an incredible time aboard Royal Caribbean's newest ship. Honestly, I've never seen—or been aboard—anything quite like it.