Etchings on the Attic Wall

Ever been on a cruise?  If you are looking for an affordable vacation, these are a lot of fun.  With most cruises, you typically pay a flat rate which includes your entire cruise, a dinner each day, food at many of the buffets on board, and activities.  Usually you pay extra for things like offshore excursions, alcoholic beverages, professional photographs, souvenirs, and casino play (if the ship has it).  I’ve done two Caribbean cruises aboard Carnival Cruise lines.  They are definitely the party ship!  There are tons of things to do on board – everything from spa treatments to night clubs to outside water fun, including water slides, pools, and hot tubs.  Some ships in the fleet also have 9-hole mini golf, live bands, outdoor theater to watch movies or sporting events, and other live entertainment.  One of the cruises I went on had a live ice carving demonstration!

There are many options for a Caribbean Cruise.  You can do the Eastern, Western, or Southern Caribbean.  Personally, I’ve done the Southern and Western.  Each area has lots of additional options to choose from in terms of the stops you want to make and how long you want to be at sea.  My first cruise had large portions at sea with stops in the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and Costa Maya.  My second cruise hit the southern islands of St. Thomas, Antigua, Dominica, Barbados, and St. Lucia (obviously, more excursions than time at sea).  It depends on what you are looking for.  Most excursions can be booked before your cruise or while you are on the boat, but you’ll pay less in advance.  And, to save even more, don’t even bother booking them at all.  If you like adventure, the locals will be more than happy to show you around or drive you to a destination for a much smaller fee than the cruise line provides.  But, these are obviously done at your own risk – the cruise line assumes no responsibility for anything bad that may happen if you go off on your own (i.e. excursions not what you expect, theft, accommodations, etc).  My wife and I did a mix – we booked some excursions on the cruise line and did some ourselves.  And we didn’t regret anything – we had a blast!  By using the locals, we landed ourselves on a great tour that we didn’t otherwise know about.  And we got to snorkel at Champagne Beach in Dominica for much cheaper than the cruise was offering.

Have any kids?  Most cruise lines have areas where you can drop off your kids for the day to have fun while you are doing more adult activities.  Both Carnival and Disney cruise lines are good for this.  And, of course, these cruise lines also have activities for the entire family.  If you get seasick, don’t worry about it.  I get seasick and I didn’t have any problems aboard these huge boats.  I felt the movement of the boat from time to time in larger waves, but even that wasn’t enough to trigger the nausea response   If you are worried about it, then take some Dramamine along.  I’ve you’ve never tried a cruise before, you need to try this at least once.  I definitely would recommend a Caribbean Cruise!  There are 2 drinks that I suggest while you are on the cruise or off on an excursion: 1) rum – no Caribbean vacation is complete without it, and 2) a Dirty Banana (Banana colada and Kahlua).  Yum!