pavteam

The Caribbean routinely has this problem. I use to organize blood drives for the Red Cross and even I couldn't give blood. It varies if there is a certain level of malaria. Next week I will be able to give blood after having been at Roatan, Honduras last year as a port stop. In the past it has been Costa Maya, Belize and Roatan. It is for one year from the date you left the port of call that you are to refrain from giving blood.

My husband & I went on our first cruise in 2003 and both of us are cruise addicts now. Here is how we pay for our cruises. My husband is a soccer referee as his hobby. He ref's college and some Pro games as well as HS and youth. Every penny that he earns doing that goes into our "play" account. That $$ is how we afford to cruise. I know that isn't an option for most people, but I wanted to share how we do it.

Here is another idea. There is a lady that started a blog/website couponingtodisney.com She shares of her love of Disney and how she saves $$ for their family to go every year. You might want to look into how you can save on your budget to put some $$ aside for a future cruise.

Like someone said before, look for the kids sail free specials. MSC is a European cruise line that routines offers kids sail free. MSC sails the Caribbean from the fall through spring. Since you homeschool, that wouldn't be a problem for you.

We are sailing on the Celebrity Soltice Oct 17. Our plans are to rent a jeep in St Thomas, catch the ferry over and then go to Leinster Bay first and then...

How long will it take us to get to Leinster Bay once we are off the ferry?

Any thoughts and suggestions are welcome!

Somoremoney ,

I thought the same thing - my hubby has been involved in that operation numerous times :)

Semper Fi,

We are booked for December 14, 2008. We are excited because we have never cruised this class of ship, and have never been to Belieze or Roatan.

Because the Legend has very few inside cabins compared to other ships, believe it or not, our PVP told us that there are only 5 inside cabins left on our date - almost a year out! We booked 3 cabins, and because our 2 sons are in the Marine Corps and in military various schools, they won't know their schedule, so we may book for them later.

Cruising right before Christmas looks like it is becoming a tradition. It's nice - with the kids being older (20's) - this is the best way to do Christmas. We pay for part of the cruise as their Christmas present and I don't have to do all that running around trying to find the presents they want. :)