There were many different types of trips, many different ideas for what to do on a vacation. And as Hillary soon pointed out, a cruise trip could accommodate all of them. As she brought her tablet onto the counter, she quickly pulled up some different companies, ships, and routes, all with a variety of stops and activities. It was evident she had actually been planning this for some time. When Tina raised the issue about price, Hillary smiled.
“Not all cruises are for millionaires, Tina. There’s actually quite a few affordable ones as well, like this one here: the Queen of the Caribbean.”
Tina and Brie huddled at their mom’s side as she went over the ship; it looked perfect. There was definitely a prevailing party and fun atmosphere on the Queen; instead of looking like a stuck-up hobby, it looked brightly coloured and inviting. The upper deck appeared to have a large pool with waterslides, a small golf area, and a large eating area for in the sun. Inside the ship, there was a theater, an arcade, a spa, shops, and multiple restaurants. There were multiple activities, ranging from child-friendly to adult; there were shows, games, special events, and parties. All in all, there would be no shortage of things to do. And that was just on the boat!
“There are four ‘water days’”, Hillary went on to explain. “Those are the days where the boat is sailing on the open sea as it brings us into the Caribbean, two there and two back. In the middle, there are three ‘shore days’, where the boat will dock and we get to go on land. It has one stop in Haiti, then Jamaica, and Cuba. There are multiple activities we get to choose from there as well.”
Indeed there were; beach trips, snorkeling, diving with dolphins, nature hikes, zip-lining, cave exploring; they could even leave the tourist areas and go further into the cities for more experiences, shopping, or dining. With comfort, adventure, and culture all in one vacation, Brie and Tina were sold, and Hillary booked their trip.
By a stroke of luck, the Queen was offering a last-minute cabin at a discounted price, as it intended to sail at full capacity. Even then, it would be another two months before departure, and the two sisters were so excited that they almost forgot about their tickling pranks and jokes on each other. Almost. Tina ended up purchasing an expensive tanning sunscreen for herself, intending to make sure she didn’t burn down in the tropical sun; Brie was more than willing to help apply it for a test run, which ended up with the older sister on her back in the backyard. Rolling in the grass while Brie held her glistening legs in her lap, Tina laughed her lungs out, finding the hard way that the lotion seemed to make her more sensitive than normal; Brie’s quips that she’d be turning red from laughter instead of sunburn didn’t help.
“Oops, I almost forgot your soles! Wouldn’t want those getting sunburned!”
“Brie no, there’s no NEHEHEHED TO GO THEREHAHAHAHA!!!”
Tina would end up getting her revenge on her younger sister a few days later, when she got home and saw Brie in front of her mirror, trying on flower leis.
“Aren’t those a Hawaiian thing?”
“Yeah, but I kinda want to bring one. It’s a summer trip, right?”
“Here, let me help pick one.”
But instead of helping, Tina instead took one her sister was holding, and in an instant, twisted it around to wrap her sister’s wrists together. Brie shrieked as Tina pushed her onto her bed and began scribbling her fingers up and down, unable to retaliate with her hands stuck in the flowery knot.
Even Hillary herself wasn’t spared. Always a little ditzy and unsuspecting, even with her two girls being as they were, she came home from a day of shopping with a few swimsuits for herself, and asked Tina and Brie what their opinions were. Easily falling for Brie’s suggestion to try them on and then show them, Hillary found herself wearing a floral bikini on her living room floor, pinned down by her two daughters as they worked their hands over her ticklish body. Her cries of laughter nearly shook the house as Brie scraped her fingernails up and down her feet and in between her wriggling toes, while Tina sat on her hips and brushed her hands up and down her ribs and sides.
“NOHOHOAHAHAHA!!! PLEASEAHAHA!!! OH DEARHAHAHAHA OHOHOHO!!!”
Regretting that particular bikini because it felt like she was about to bust out of it, Hillary managed to bring one of her hands up to poke Tina in the side, causing the teenager to yelp in a ticklish jolt. It wasn’t enough to turn the tables, however, as Tina caught her mom’s hand and looked down at her, disappointed.
“Hmmm, Brie, I’m going to go get some of your leis.”
“Oooh, bring some of that lotion you bought!”
Two months couldn’t pass by slowly enough, but eventually, they were packed up and on their way to Florida for the ship’s departure. Anticipating super hot weather, they were dressed appropriately, which already began to cause problems as Brie couldn’t resist poking at Tina’s sides while in the backseat of a cab. As Tina struggled between defending herself and trying to strike back, Hillary sighed, wondering just how much of a “vacation” this was going to be. Her taxi driver, a friendly woman, chuckled.
“Your daughters seem to be pretty ticklish.”
“Yeah, they get it from me…”
“Oh, is that so?”
Realizing too late what she had invited upon herself, Hillary’s head nearly hit the dashboard as the taxi driver reached out and squeezed her stomach. “Why are we such magnets for tickling?” she thought as she received a couple more gooses. Even going through security proved to be a challenge; it was incredibly hard for the three not to giggle as the scanning rods waved around their bodies, even though they weren’t touched at all.
Finally, the plane. Seated next to her younger sister, Tina realized it may have been a mistake to wear a crop top as soon as the plane reached a level altitude. Her bare belly, unable to move much because of its seatbelt, was a prime target for her tickle-happy sister, who poked and prodded it with her bare fingers. Tina squirmed and giggled, fortunately not causing enough of a scene to disrupt the other passengers who were all somewhat lively as they headed to their vacation destination. Brie even managed to stick her finger into Tina belly button, and Tina instinctive move to bend forward only trapped the wriggling finger inside there, not doing herself any favours.
An hour later, she looked over to the row next to her; Hillary, seated across the aisle from her, had fallen asleep early, but was now up and browsing movies on her seat. Vowing to get Brie back later, Tina caught her mom’s attention instead.
“Mom, could you please grab me the guide from my backpack?”
Seated in the aisle seat, just like Tina, her mother unbuckled and stepped across to open up the carry-on hatch. But as she reached up high to grab the bag, she fell right into Tina’s ploy. Her mom was wearing a light blouse, which had been tied into a knot at the front. Under normal circumstances, it would only show a bare sliver of skin, but reaching up like this stretched her bare tummy out for Tina to see. Her ball-shaped outie belly button looked like it was trying to pop off, and Tina jumped at the chance to give it a poke before squeezing each of her mom’s sides before she recoiled. Hillary yelped and laughed as she tried to step away with the book in hand. She finally swatted her daughter’s hand away, and sat back down in her chair.
“Now that’s enough, you two. I hope you don’t spent the whole trip tickling each other, and actually enjoy yourselves.”
Brie and Tina looked at each other, and both knew that they would probably end up doing both. But they agreed to a ceasefire as their flight carried on, before they finally arrived in Florida. From there, the cruise ship terminal.
The Queen of the Caribbean looked big on the posters, but huge in real life; the tickling amongst the family finally stopped with the sheer force of awe taking over the trio. The lineup to go through security (again) and to get on the vessel was a couple hours of slowly moving through a huge lineup, but with the excitement and anticipation building up, they didn’t much care. And finally, after all the buildup and apprehension, they stepped into the cruise’ main lobby floor, looking at what struck them as a fun and grand-looking hotel lobby. Other excited families were moving around them, some apparently used to it, some looking just as shell-shocked from their first time on a cruise as well.
Perhaps Hillary, Tina and Brie were a bit too up in the moment, as they all jumped when a voice suddenly entered their ears from behind them.
“Excuse me.”
Turning around, the family saw who was addressing them.
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