First-time poster, nearly-third-time cruiser

[KitchenKitten]

Since I didn't see any specific forum for general conversations and introductions, I'll intro myself here as I have only been on Carnival cruises.

 

My name is Leah and I live in Anoka, MN. My husband and I own a retail cigar shop and lounge here and we are finally able to take our first real vacation in 3 years since even before we opened the shop. This next one is also our honeymoon since we weren't able to take one after our wedding last May for both time and financial reasons. That and we have 5 kids (his & hers) between the two of us! :D

 

Anyhow, I took my first cruise with my sister back in March of 2008 on the Carnival Elation (Oceanview window) for 5 days to Cabo San Luca & Ensenada. I absolutely loved it and realized this was something I will find to be a first choice for any future vacation. Partly because my ADD goes nuts if I am in one place for more than 3 days at a time. I like that the cruises are really floating hotels that bring all the destinations to you (or, you to them, so to speak) without you hauling luggage, renting cars in strange places, etc.

 

That and the food...ooohhh, such an experience! I am a huge foodie (complete with my AAS in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu), so each night I was completely into whatever they had to offer!

 

My now-husband (then boyfriend) and I took a cruise (his first real vacation in 11 years) in 2009 through the Western Caribbean on the Triumph (balcony suite) hitting Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman (our favorite!), and Cozumel. He got a little sick (on the night they serve lobster, which is his favorite seafood), but then was fine for most of the rest of it.

 

Now for our honeymoon, we could have chosen anywhere, really. We did consider an all-inclusive resort, but when we did a price comparison, cruising you get more for your $, especially 'time' spent. We wanted to make sure if we traveled during winter, that we went somewhere warm. The prices of the stays at the resorts wasn't too bad but then you add in the airfare and it was about $1500 more for half the time of stay. Plus because we have cruised with Carnival before, we got a real nice balcony suite like we had before but for less than what we paid in 2009, though I know the time of year (Jan vs. March) makes a difference too.

 

So this time around we are on the Valor, and we embark on the 21st, next Saturday. :cool:

[K&P Luv2Cruise]

Since I didn't see any specific forum for general conversations and introductions, I'll intro myself here as I have only been on Carnival cruises.

 

My name is Leah and I live in Anoka, MN. My husband and I own a retail cigar shop and lounge here and we are finally able to take our first real vacation in 3 years since even before we opened the shop. This next one is also our honeymoon since we weren't able to take one after our wedding last May for both time and financial reasons. That and we have 5 kids (his & hers) between the two of us! :D

 

Anyhow, I took my first cruise with my sister back in March of 2008 on the Carnival Elation (Oceanview window) for 5 days to Cabo San Luca & Ensenada. I absolutely loved it and realized this was something I will find to be a first choice for any future vacation. Partly because my ADD goes nuts if I am in one place for more than 3 days at a time. I like that the cruises are really floating hotels that bring all the destinations to you (or, you to them, so to speak) without you hauling luggage, renting cars in strange places, etc.

 

That and the food...ooohhh, such an experience! I am a huge foodie (complete with my AAS in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu), so each night I was completely into whatever they had to offer!

 

My now-husband (then boyfriend) and I took a cruise (his first real vacation in 11 years) in 2009 through the Western Caribbean on the Triumph (balcony suite) hitting Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman (our favorite!), and Cozumel. He got a little sick (on the night they serve lobster, which is his favorite seafood), but then was fine for most of the rest of it.

 

Now for our honeymoon, we could have chosen anywhere, really. We did consider an all-inclusive resort, but when we did a price comparison, cruising you get more for your $, especially 'time' spent. We wanted to make sure if we traveled during winter, that we went somewhere warm. The prices of the stays at the resorts wasn't too bad but then you add in the airfare and it was about $1500 more for half the time of stay. Plus because we have cruised with Carnival before, we got a real nice balcony suite like we had before but for less than what we paid in 2009, though I know the time of year (Jan vs. March) makes a difference too.

 

So this time around we are on the Valor, and we embark on the 21st, next Saturday. :cool:

 

Welcome to CC.

 

Have a fantastic 'Honeymoon' cruise :D Enjoy !

[cdamion]

Congrats and enjoy!!!

[xbatt8]

Here is a link to your Roll Call. It has 37 pages but you can probably skip to the last 10 pages or so to see if they are having a meet and greet or any other activities. Sometimes there is a cabin crawl for getting to know other cruisers.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1386458

 

Enjoy the cruise

 

Bob