25 February 2011

CRUISE

So Phil and I have been trying to come up with some fun plans for our second anniversary this summer. We were thinking maybe a cruise, but I was worried because I had already reserved time off work for girls' camp, youth trek, and a basketball referee camp this summer, and didn't want to ask for more time.
Then Dr Brown announced one day that he's going on a trip to Guatemala the first week of May, so the office is going to be closed.
WHA???

So we started looking.
Best friend's wedding in that Friday. Can we work around it?
We found one that would work perfectly! Sunday through Thursday, be back in time for the sealing the next morning. But it was Carnival, and we had heard not-so-good things about it. But it was the only one that would work, so we decided to just go for it.
Except.

Cruise leaves from Florida. How to get to Florida. Plane.
Sigh...two tickets, round trip from Orlando, $700.
Pretty much doubled our whole trip cost.
Wait, maybe Priceline? We got our hotels for our honeymoon and first anniversary at steals, so why not try it?

Wait, for flights on Priceline you can only pick the day, and you HAVE to stick with whatever flight they pick for you, and it could be ANY time that day.
Which means we would likely miss our return flight because the airport's a little drive from the harbor and...
Sigh...
So we couldn't afford the flights, now what?

We realized we weren't going to be able to make it to the sealing.
Killed me. My best friend, who came all the way to San Diego for my wedding. My male of honor.
Saddest day of my life, but that one was the ONLY cruise that weekend/week that would have us back in time.
So, we expanded our search. There were other cruiselines going out of Florida, but we still can't fly. Where to go?

Mexico.
Found a winner that worked with our budget and schedule.
We booked it.
Submitted our passport applications, should be in the mail by early April.

Yes, it's Carnival.

Now before you seasoned cruisers crucify us for booking with them, I remind you that if you're willing to pay for our flights to Florida so we can go Royal Caribbean, we will gladly accept. We know Carnival has a reputation, especially among our LDS friends, but again, we had very few options and a very small time frame to work with.
And we've never cruised before, so we won't know any better.

We're so excited. I'm eating nothing but salad and apples and bananas for the next two months (this is a lie)
Luckily we'll be back in time for the reception, at least.
AND we get to spend a few days with my family in Carlsbad, which we haven't done since last Christmas, and is WAY overdue.

Here's our route:
Long Beach, CA
to Catalina Island
to Ensenada, Mexico
and back, all aboard this sucker
I can't wait!!!

5 comments:

  1. Carnival is not that bad. I know tons of people who took that for their honeymoon and loved it. It is smaller than some others but honestly, there is still so much to do. And as long as its longer than a 2 or 3 day cruise, there won't be a ton of drunk singles. (I think that is what you are referring to about reputation?) Typically the longer cruises are more for older people and honeymooners because those who want to get drunk get the cheapest shortest cruise. And even the shorter ones still aren't horrible...just stay out of the bars! Seriously a cruise is a cruise and all cruises are awesome. You'll love it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So I want to know who all the people are that are bashing on carnival? First: I've never heard anything bad about carnival 2: I've been on a carnival cruise (last summer... you can read my blog post about it http://otterpopsandlove.blogspot.com/2010/07/summer-2010-top-five.html .... its #3.) Third: It was the most amazing vacation I have ever been on and carnival ROCKED! In fact... I don't think I would risk going on another cruise line. I didn't have a single complaint. Food, sleep, they clean your room 12 times a day, food, food, and HUGE boat! LOVED it. You will LOVE it. It will be AMAZING!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. we did that cruise for our honeymoon. and loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. We LOVED our Carnival Cruise. Plus, if it's your first cruise you really wont know yourself if there's another cruiseline that's better until you've been on them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You guys will love it :) Our family did a longer Carnival Cruise and didn't have any problems. The people were actually really cool.

    ReplyDelete