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Pre-cruise Ramblings...


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We are 625 days out to our first ever cruise on the Breeze from Galveston. We leave Feb. 25th 2018. Actually we leave 3 days before that because we are driving from small town Ontario Canada to Texas:eek: Even though we are that far out from our cruise I am addicted. I have these boards open all day at work checking every now and then just to see if there is anything new that I didn't know before. And most days I learn something new to help plan this cruise. My wife is not into planning at all, so it kind of leaves me lonely in planning. Every once in awhile I can get her to look at something with me. Her point of view is that it is so far away there is no need to be planning yet. She could be right but I enjoy it, a lot!! The trip is already making me excited this far out, and I am sure it will just keep getting more and more exciting as it gets closer I am sure!!!

 

Here is some background on how this trip came to be...

 

I have wanted to cruise forever. I remember when Destiny came out in 1996. I was 16 and want to cruise so much. I got my first job that year and went to a travel agency to learn more. I came out with nothing more then one of those big old school brochures showing all Carnival had to offer. Nothing ever came of that. I had my first son in 2001, and my second son in 2002 and travel got put on the back burner. In 2008 my wife at the time and 2 sons took the kids to Disney world. We drove to Florida. I really enjoyed the driving part. It really was part of the vacation. The boys were 7 and 5 at the time and had a great time.

 

The boys mom decided she didn't want to live with us anymore in 2009 and moved out. In 2010 I found someone new who had a 4 year old daughter. We moved in together and in 2011 we took the 3 kids to Disney World. The second time for the boys, but the first for my step-daughter. We flew to Florida this time. I really do enjoy flying as well. We found a great deal and the five of us flew to Florida from Buffalo for $99 each way.

 

In 2013 we had a baby. So that put us up to 4 kids. With the youngest being 8 years younger then the next youngest kid. That has made it really hard to do any family trips, they are just at such different ages.

 

Some friends of ours gave their kids a cruise for Christmas this past year, and that is when the cruise topic came up for me again. It has came up many times over the years for me but it always just kind of went away. This time I kept on it an was researching all the time trying to find a way for us to do a cruise. My wife was not interested saying we couldn't afford it and she didn't want to cruise and everything she could think of. I was persistent and soon broke her down.:D The biggest thing for me is that we don't have a lot of time left with the kids. We have kids in grade 9, grade 8, and grade 5, plus a 2 year old. My oldest son will be off to college in 3 years, and the chances of getting everyone together for a vacation will be even harder.

 

The wife finally ok'ed doing this and we got to picking a date. We decided on 2018 because with 4 kids there isn't a lot of extra money and we really didn't want to through it on a credit card and have more debt. This way allows us to slowly over a long period of time make small payments. Our final payment date isn't until December 12th of 2017. Also with the exchange rate our dollar only buys about 77 cents US. So paying it over that long time frame kind of makes that not seem like such a big hit. Also when ever the $ goes up we can make a payment and save a little coin!!

 

Around the end of February we booked our cruise using a Carnival PVP. Now it is time to plan!! I have been planning the drive mostly. My wife thought we should do it over 3 days. I originally wanted to do 2 days. But after talking about it she was right (aren't they always...:p) With 4 kids, and especially the little one (4 when we go) we may have to stop more then we wanted to. So I am pretty sure we are going to go with 3 days driving, getting to Galveston the afternoon before our cruise.

 

So that pretty much gets us to today. I don't know if this thread is interesting to anyone. I din't even talk about cruising for most of it and just talked about myself. I hope people like it, and if people do I will keep it updated with my random planning thoughts.

 

Thanks everyone!!

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I get'cha! The planning and anticipation is the most fun! I don't, however, enjoy a 3 day drive AT ALL! But, if you make it an adventure....go for it!

 

You and your family will have a blast! Enjoy!

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Love your ramblings....also have a husband who is willing to cruise but just wants to show up at the right time to the right ship:) Planning is a big part of cruising and can be so much fun.

 

We did our first 7 day cruise on the Destiny...in 1996...with our two boys...it was also our first balcony!

 

Don't let anyone talk you out of this trip...you will have a great time...not sure about the three days in the car with four kids though:D

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Right there with you. We are actually further out with 641 days until we sail on the Magic. This will be our 4th cruise but I find the planning to be really interesting. My wife is not really into it yet but that won't deter me. We sailed on the Breeze a couple of years ago, it was the best cruise I've been on.

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Love your ramblings....also have a husband who is willing to cruise but just wants to show up at the right time to the right ship:) Planning is a big part of cruising and can be so much fun.

 

We did our first 7 day cruise on the Destiny...in 1996...with our two boys...it was also our first balcony!

 

Don't let anyone talk you out of this trip...you will have a great time...not sure about the three days in the car with four kids though:D

 

The trip is booked and 2/3 paid for. There is no backing out of it now!!

 

The drive will be interesting. We bought a new mini-van since we booked with all the bells and whistles to help make the drive better. The way I look at it we get a 2 week vacation this way. 3 days there, 7 day cruise and 3 days back. We will never get that type of family time again.

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Sounds like fun. The planning and the trip.

 

I was in the same boat as you. My wife and I have 4 kids with an age spread of 11 years. We drove to a lot of our vacation because just didn't have the money when the kids were young. Several trips to both coasts (Disneyland and Disneyworld) from Iowa (Midwest). Sometimes, I think the "getting there" was more fun than the "being there".

 

Eventually, my wife and I decided to take the kids on cruises as they got a little older (first son in college with youngest still in grade school). They loved the closeness that a cruise will bring, my 2 sons having to share a room with dad, all of us going on an excursion together, or all getting together at supper to share activities of the day. Made for some great memories.

 

Now that my kids are all moved away, with the 2 oldest having kids themselves, they still will travel with us on cruises at times because they remember us taking them on their first cruise.

 

Enjoy the time planning out your trip, but most of all, cherrish the time you spend together. You and they will appreciate it years later.

 

Oh BTW, as you can see by the cruises I have taken, my wife and I now cruise 2-3 times a year. My youngest daughter moved out in 2012. More time and money for cruising.:D

Edited by HawkIVette
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Right there with you. We are actually further out with 641 days until we sail on the Magic. This will be our 4th cruise but I find the planning to be really interesting. My wife is not really into it yet but that won't deter me. We sailed on the Breeze a couple of years ago, it was the best cruise I've been on.

 

The planning is amazing. I likely spend a few hours everyday learning whatever I can find to make this cruise everything I want it to be!!

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Interesting how different we all are.

 

our first few cruises we booked about 45 days out and after that slowly but surely went out to about a year but we are a bit uncomfortable going that far out as who knows what life will throw at you.

 

Cannot imagine though booking two years out. Have a great cruise

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In addition to having fun planning the cruise you may also like to start thinking about the drive to Galveston and where to stop along the way.

The sister site to this one that helps folks plan land vacations is Trip Advisor.

They have forums like this for every city in the world and they also have a road trip forum which might interest you.

Here is a link:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i12567-Road_Trips.html

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Sounds like fun. The planning and the trip.

 

I was in the same boat as you. My wife and I have 4 kids with an age spread of 11 years. We drove to a lot of our vacation because just didn't have the money when the kids were young. Several trips to both coasts (Disneyland and Disneyworld) from Iowa (Midwest). Sometimes, I think the "getting there" was more fun than the "being there".

 

Eventually, my wife and I decided to take the kids on cruises as they got a little older (first son in college with youngest still in grade school). They loved the closeness that a cruise will bring, my 2 sons having to share a room with dad, all of us going on an excursion together, or all getting together at supper to share activities of the day. Made for some great memories.

 

Now that my kids are all moved away, with the 2 oldest having kids themselves, they still will travel with us on cruises at times because they remember us taking them on their first cruise.

 

Enjoy the time planning out your trip, but most of all, cherrish the time you spend together. You and they will appreciate it years later.

 

Oh BTW, as you can see by the cruises I have taken, my wife and I now cruise 2-3 times a year. My youngest daughter moved out in 2012. More time and money for cruising.:D

 

 

Great reply!! It makes me even more excited!!

 

We looked at flying, but with 6 of us it is roughly $2500-3000. Then with us sailing from Galveston you still need to get a transfer to the terminal from the airport which isn't cheap. Driving will cost maybe $1500 round trip. And create many more memories....

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In addition to having fun planning the cruise you may also like to start thinking about the drive to Galveston and where to stop along the way.

The sister site to this one that helps folks plan land vacations is Trip Advisor.

They have forums like this for every city in the world and they also have a road trip forum which might interest you.

Here is a link:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i12567-Road_Trips.html

 

Thank you. I didn't realize they had forums. I have done a lot of thinking on the drive. I will check that out for sure!!!

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Interesting how different we all are.

 

our first few cruises we booked about 45 days out and after that slowly but surely went out to about a year but we are a bit uncomfortable going that far out as who knows what life will throw at you.

 

Cannot imagine though booking two years out. Have a great cruise

 

I usually do a year also but wanted an aft wrap. I thought one had been booked so I booked. It was a mock booking by me that locked the room. My wife is a teacher so we are very limited on when we can go.

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Ramble away -- we've all been there! I was OBSESSED with this board while waiting for my first family cruise in 2010.

 

Don't forget to watch for price drops as time goes on. You simply never know. I've had cruises where I got nothing, and ones where I got huge drops.

I know your kids will have a lovely time, and I bet your wife will come back more of a fan. My husband loves cruising, but not for the same reasons I do. He likes to be in one spot, and not do much, plus eat very well. I like to go and do; a cruise was the perfect compromise.

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Congrats on upcoming cruise! And I agree with some other posters that the drive can be a lot of fun as well. I'm one of four siblings with a 10-year age span, and we had a great time on road trips! Keep enjoying the planning!

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626 days until Cruise

 

I forgot to mention in my first post which cabins we had booked. We booked connecting rooms on deck 1. Deluxe OV rooms 1232, and 1234. The ones with 2 bathrooms in each. I am sure the 4 showers will come in handy with 6 of us....

 

So I have been thinking a lot about the drive lately. We live in southern Ontario. About 3 hours from the USA border at Sarnia/Port Huron. Our plan is to leave here at 6am or so and get to the Indianapolis area night 1. The second day we would leave early again and plan to get to the Texarkana area for night 2. The 3rd day we could leave later and sleep in a bit with a 5-6 hour drive to Galveston from there. I think we will pre-book our hotel in Galveston or maybe just before the island. But I don't think we will pre-book the first 2 nights. That way we are not locked into where we have to drive to. If we want to go further or maybe not as far we can do what we want. The problem is there are not many hotel rooms that can hold 6 people. So I plan to find every hotel on the whole route that can hold 6 in a room, so that we can just call the nearest one when we want to stop and hope they have an available room.

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It's ok to ramble here. I think most of us on CC are planners. My DH and kids start asking questions about 2 weeks out...by then I have all the answers and am amazed at how much they didn't listen to me ramble as I was doing all the planning :o:p. We have 14 cruises under our belt and the planning is still exciting for me...even more so now that I have the internet to do my searching and not just the travel brochures from the TA's and books from the library. Being from Michigan we have probably split our trips 50/50 between driving and flying. Our kids were always good travelers so that always makes the driving trips easier (and flying too) when we took them. I agree that making the drive part of the trip and planning things to see along the way makes it even more enjoyable. Enjoy your planning and ramble on. Us fellow planners know what you are going through.

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We have not cruised out of Galveston so I don't know the situation there but have you factored in parking your vehicle while on the cruise??

In some ports there are stay n cruise rates at hotels where you pay for 1 night lodging and they let you leave your car there during the cruise. Otherwise you usually have to pay a per day charge at the cruise terminal if there is a parking lot there.

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I love to plan a vacation, I think is almost as much fun as going! We travel with our children every other Jan. They are both grown now but they still go. It makes for great memories.

Enjoy the planning!

We are looking to book on the Vista 2 so we are even further out[emoji926]

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Just a word of warning about your trip.

 

That is a LONG ugly drive in the middle of winter!

 

We live in Albuquerque NM, just 10-12 hours from Galveston, and we drove out last year in Feb (cruise out of Galveston) so we could deliver some furniture to our son who now lives in Houston pre-cruise. OMG... a snow storm in Texas panhandle made the trip go from 10 hours to a re-route to 12 hours to avoid the icy highways. No kidding, a horrible nightmare.

I have no idea which roads you are taking, but you need to consider that Feb is still winter, and some roads may be closed due to snow-ice danger.

 

That long a distance.... I would fly to Houston.

 

just my 2 cents, from experience.

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We have not cruised out of Galveston so I don't know the situation there but have you factored in parking your vehicle while on the cruise??

In some ports there are stay n cruise rates at hotels where you pay for 1 night lodging and they let you leave your car there during the cruise. Otherwise you usually have to pay a per day charge at the cruise terminal if there is a parking lot there.

 

There doesn't seem to be any hotels with a park and cruise rate for 6 people to a room. We could choose to do 2 rooms I guess but it adds to the cost. The port parking at Galveston is just $65 for a 7 day cruise I believe it said. There are also a few private lots right across the street that offer week long parking for closer to $50 for the week.

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Just a word of warning about your trip.

 

That is a LONG ugly drive in the middle of winter!

 

We live in Albuquerque NM, just 10-12 hours from Galveston, and we drove out last year in Feb (cruise out of Galveston) so we could deliver some furniture to our son who now lives in Houston pre-cruise. OMG... a snow storm in Texas panhandle made the trip go from 10 hours to a re-route to 12 hours to avoid the icy highways. No kidding, a horrible nightmare.

I have no idea which roads you are taking, but you need to consider that Feb is still winter, and some roads may be closed due to snow-ice danger.

 

That long a distance.... I would fly to Houston.

 

just my 2 cents, from experience.

 

 

The weather factor does scare me I will admit. But we are coming from Ontario where the roads are covered in snow and ice from November to March every year. The roads will get better the further south we get i am quite sure.

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My two cents on your drive -

 

Well, actually, let me give you a bit of background.....

 

We have driven to Florida at least once if not twice a year (and even occasionally 3 times in a year) since 2005. We started off doing the 2 day marathon drives (of 12 hours a day) but have more recently settled on 3, eight hour driving days.

 

1. If you need a specific kind of room (for you it's a room for 6, for us it's an accessible room for 3), plan out your drive and pre-book your hotels. Before needing the accessible rooms, we used to just stop "whenever" and look for a hotel. You know what I found? I was paying more for a hotel, and taking chances with staying at less than desirable places (there were times we had to check multiple hotels to find someplace with a room and rate we were okay paying). Now, I can check tripadvisor to ensure that I'll be happy with the cleanliness, amenities and room set up. I can ensure that I've found a good deal at a hotel I'm happy with. Want a pool for the kids? You can check ahead to know if it's indoor or outdoor and what the hours are. You want two queens and a pullout couch? You can book that - and not chance it ending up with a king, and a pullout because *technically* that hotel chain says that room can sleep 6. Want a kitchen or kitchenette? Or a hot breakfast in the morning? Yep, you can be sure of those things when pre-selecting your hotel. You can also plan your drive out this way - and figure out what restaurants are in the area - and for us, if there's a dunkin donut (coffee shop) nearby.

 

2. Pick a hotel chain and stick with it. If you're going to be staying at hotels for 4-6 nights, you have the potential to earn a free night from loyalty points. You may want to look at the Marriott brand - Staybridge Suites sleep 6 with 2 queens and a pullout couch. They also have Fairfield Inn and Suites and Residence Inns - some of these hotels sleep 6. They also offer CAA rates, and Marriott member rates. If Marriott isn't for you, there's also the Hilton Brands and the IHG (holiday inn). All 3 brands have multiple different hotel chains included in each brand. If you're looking to save money - Choice hotels has the comfort inn and suites, Quality inn, etc under them.

 

3. Pack a snack bag. Driving all day gives people the munchies. You can prepack a big back of snacks for a lot less than if you stop and buy. Fruit snacks, goldfish, individual bags of chips, granola bars all make good snacks. Once you're over the border, you can stop at a grocery store and pick up some pre-cut veggies and whole fruit (if you're bringing a cooler bag).

 

4. Pack a travel bag. Don't pull out all of your suitcases every night you go into a different hotel. Pack one bag with enough clothes and toiletries to cover your travel days. Leave the bigger suitcases for just the cruise. And when you're packing for the way home, do the same. And limit each kid to a specific bag that their "car stuff" needs to fit in (ipad, ipod, books, toys, etc).

 

Hope some of these tips help. :D

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