How Jessi Cruickshank made her Sunwing family vacation her favourite vacation yet

Think a family vacation is only for the kids? Think again! This week, we’re bringing you max vacation inspiration from a very, very special guest. While she needs absolutely no introduction, Jessi Cruickshank – TV personality, comedian, powerhouse mother of three and Sunwing Vacations ambassador – is sharing all about her recent all inclusive vacation experience with Sunwing and how grown ups can enjoy their family vacation just as much as their kids! Jessi, take it away…

When my husband Evan suggested we take our three kids on vacation to Nickelodeon™ Hotels and Resorts Riviera Maya by Karisma…I said, NO. Absolutely NOT. “Why would I spend MY vacation at a kids resort?” I whined, sounding ironically like a kid. “I’m an adult and I want to enjoy myself too!” Then I looked at the resort page on Sunwing.ca. Turns out this Nickelodeon resort in Mexico is a 5-star hotel with gourmet restaurants, oceanfront suites with private swim-up pools, high-end bars, a luxury spa, nightly entertainment and the largest water park down south. Not to mention, we could bring all three kids PLUS my dad on an all inclusive vacation there for a reasonable price. Suddenly, I was humming the theme song to SpongeBob SquarePants and booking our getaway.

Little did I know that the vacation I was hesitant to go on was about to be the best family vacation we’d ever have.

The moment we walked out of our transfer and into the stunning resort lobby (featuring a giant gold Pineapple Under the Sea, obvs), we were greeted with cocktails; high-end tropical drinks for the adults and slime for the kids. Slime is a green pineapple slushie, complete with gummy bear garnish, that my kids quickly learned they could order for themselves at any bar on the property...and they DID. By the end of our vacation, my two-year-old had learned to climb up on a barstool, bat her eyelashes at the bartender and ask, “SLIME PLEASE!”

The slime was just the beginning – every aspect of the resort was designed with kids in mind without feeling like a “kids resort”. Typical of Cancun all inclusive resorts, there were deliciously fresh buffet tables filled with seafood, meats, salads, local delicacies and more, with a kids-height buffet featuring a noodle bar, mini-burgers, a tiny taco stand and ice cream sundae bar right alongside it. I didn’t realize how enjoyable dining with three kids can be, when your kids are well taken care of. Our kids were trying foods they would never dare try at home and loving all of it – so were the grown ups!

The Character “Pajama-Jam” Breakfast was a highlight, but our favourite restaurant was Piazza, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed brick oven pizzeria with gourmet salads, flatbreads and fresh oven-baked pizza. My dad liked it so much, that one night he opted to go solo – I will never forget the sight of Grandpa sitting there all alone, blissfully reading the paper and sipping a Cabernet, next to a life-sized statue of Donatello.

When we weren’t sampling all of the incredible food, our days were spent making memories at Aqua Nick™, the six-acre Nickelodeon-themed water park that truly had something for everyone (who doesn’t love resorts with water parks?!), including lifeguards at every corner. I always felt like my kids were safe, so I could relax and enjoy it with the whole family. Grandpa loved floating with all of us down the lazy river, my toddler Romi hung out at the Paw Patrol Water Park and my twins Rio and Dray put on a brave face and tried every water slide in Bikini Bottom. When they wanted to spend time at one of the Kids Clubs without Mom and Dad (and Grandpa), Evan and I would hit the big slides ourselves! This vacation turned us into big kids, and I would not have had it any other way.

On our final day in paradise, Dray and I worked up the courage to get SLIMED. It’s a true rite of passage with Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts and an experience we will never forget.

At the end of the week, I left slime-covered yet sun-kissed, relaxed yet energized, and just SO, SO HAPPY because, at the heart of it all, we saved more with Sunwing Vacations so we were able to DO MORE on our getaway. Plus, with our busy lives at home, I didn’t realize how much we needed that time to connect as a family, or that when your kids are happy and taken care of on a family vacation, you as an adult can enjoy yourself – and that’s exactly what we did. Now that I’ve learned that valuable lesson, I just need to learn how to make slime.