I have been wanting to go on a trip to the Caribbean with my parents for years now! I talked them into going on a cruise and I also allowed my sixteen-year-old son to bring a friend! I know what you are thinking? Has She lost her mind? The answer is no! We chose to book with Carnival and went on the Dream out of Galveston.
How Much Does A Cruise Cost: I wanted to go the week of Spring Break but the prices were almost triple. I decided to just have my son and his friend miss a week of school. We booked the first week of March and got a smoking hot deal! We did book last minute. We paid just $330 per person and had a balcony suite! Guys this was my first time having a balcony! I felt like a Kardashian!
If You Like To Drink Add The Cheers Package: I added the cheers package for unlimited alcohol which was approximately $300 per adult and bought the teens all you can drink soda passes! Booze is expensive on a cruise. Your cheers package out of Galveston starts on day two, so the first night you have to buy drinks. I would say we spent $200 on the first night on liquor. The cheers package paid for itself and I personally would not cruise without it.
Our Cruise Liquor Pass Experience: I had been fasting before the trip and not drinking. I wanted to look my best for our cruise. I went back in forth on whether I would even need it. Trust me when I say I needed it. The liquor pass includes 12 drinks per day and unlimited sodas, smoothies, and the fancy coffee bar. My husband easily drank his 12 drinks every day. I drink my 12 drinks every day but the day we got off the boat. If you drink get the pass! If you go over your 12 drinks you are cut off from the bartenders. If you get off buy bottles of liquor from room service. We ordered a bottle of Crown which was approximately $100. (Still cheaper than ordering at the bar)
Booze Cruise Tip: My mom isn't a big drinker so I put the teens in her room so she didn't have to have a liquor pass and put my dad in our room. This allowed one adult in our party not to buy the cheers package and saved us money.
Which Cabin Should You Choose On A Cruise: Ladies Size Matters! Cruise Cabins are small, which means every time the teen boys or hubby farts you will want to puke! I highly suggest a balcony room. You see I only booked inside the cabin and took the upgrade to the Spa Balcony! We got the offer to upgrade for both of our rooms via email about three weeks prior to sailing.
Cruise Cabin Tip: The room upgrades showed up on my laptop, not on my cell! The spa room included some fancy healing water and mediation rooms! ( I would say a giant adult hot tub, but was a nice treat.)
Cruise Cabin Tip: If you are booking two balcony cabins get them next to each other. Then you can balconies can open up and you have one giant balcony!
Packing: Now that you have booked your trip, it's time to panic! What the hell are you going to wear? This was my second cruise and I am not a planner but my mom was ready to pack the day we booked the trip!
Cruise Packing Tip: There is not a lot of room for your suitcases. in your cabin. Do NOT bring an XL suitcase. If at all possible share with your spouse. Then have the teen boys bring one small suitcase.
Click Here To Get Our Guide To Packing For Your Cruise
Formal Night: Since this was a five-day cruise, we only had one formal night. I always say go all out, when do you get the chance to dress up as a family? Here are our formal night pictures.
You are wondering did they take a professional family picture on a formal night and did both teens have on a suit? Let me be honest here, I lived my best life that day and well I am surprised I made it to dinner. I so wanted a family picture but it didn't happen. Yes, Dmitri had a full suit but decided to wear his suit pants and a Hawaiian shirt he bought on the ship! The ladies wore semi-formal dresses. You're in the Caribbean baby, live your best life!
Formal Night Cruise Shopping Tip: Dillards has amazing sales. My mom and I got our dresses for an extra 40% off the lowest marked price.
Cruise Embarkation Day: I had to add this part! I put everything in a manila envelope. I was organized. I had my passport and license in my crossbody purse. Well, the teen's passports were in that envelop in my suitcase! When you pull up, they immediately take your suitcases. I let them take our suitcase with the teen's passport! You want to talk about stress!! When I realized it I took off running but it was a high-security area with thousands of suitcases we were Shit Out Of Luck! The workers said you are not the first, we will find it. I set in a chair for about thirty minutes while they searched the loading zone, talking about embarrassment. Then I was sent to the "principals" office. They said that we can't board without them and they will allow one adult to go to the ship and look for our suitcase. I went to our room and waited for our suitcase to arrive and then ran the papers back to the office. The moral of the story is do NOT put your passports or birth certificates in your suitcase that you give to the porters. This added so much stress to our first cruise day.
Sea Days: These are my favorite days! You see if I had to make a list of my hobbies, laying in the sun, listening to music with a drink in my hand would be at the top of the list. I laid out every chance I got! My mom joined me 70% of the time. The grown men spent the majority of their day in the casino. The young boys slept until about 2 pm. I have to add that I won the mixology contest! Hell Yes. I had no idea what I was doing, I am a digital marketer, not a bartender. I just shook my body like there was no tomorrow. This is a big deal for the rest of the week people can order your drink and your name is printed in the newsletter! Thank goodness there is no video footage! For the record, my drink was called "every little thing is going to be alright". My suggestion for sea days is fine what activity is your favorite and live your best life! You will never see these people again.
Sea Day Tip: Every day there is a cruise ship itinerary printed. When you head to breakfast read it. There are special shopping promos, drawings, trivia, art auctions, games, karaoke, dance contest, and more. There is now can make every activity so pick your favorites.
Casino: I am not one to like the casino! My husband stayed in there so much that on our last night they stuck us a casino offer under our door. It was for 36% off our next cruise! He was on the losing side and they want us to come back to lose more. The Carnival Dream casino has machines, a black jacket, craps, and more. Two games that I did try was the money claw, think back to when we were kids, instead of grabbing a stuffed bear you grabbed a stack of money and the quarter sliding machine. They have these at the fair you drop a quarter in and then it can slide more quarters out!
Hubby's Thoughts On the Carnival Casino: It is a great getaway from the sun! The drinks flow nicely and you just might win a jackpot.
Teen Club: I didn't think the teen boys would go but they ended up hanging out there quite a bit! It is a disco for the teens. They have music and games.
Ports: On a five-day cruise you usually have two ports. On this trip our ports were scheduled was Costa Maya and Cozumel! I was so looking forward to Costa Maya, we have never been, and we were going to book a taxi to Bacalar. The sea was rough and we couldn't port. We spent the day at sea instead.
The next day we did port at Cozumel! We rented a jeep and were headed to Bob Marley's. We went left instead of right ended up on a dirt road, we are Okies offroading in Mexico, the jeep's transmission went out. We had to go back to the rental car place at five miles per hour! They traded us a new van for the jeep and we headed to Bob Marleys. After Bob Marley's we cruised around the entire island, stopping for a tequila tasting and shopping.
Carnival Cruise Excursion Tip: We do not ever book our excursions from Carnival! We live on the wild side and book them when we arrive. It saves money!
Cozumel Car Rental Tip: Do not book in the first place you see when you get off the ship. Walkthrough town and cross the street. You will get a much better rate.
Carnival Cruise Food: I almost forgot the food! They have something for everyone. We went to the dining room twice, we did any time dining because we were not sure what time we would want to eat. We ate pizza place late at night. We hit up Guy's hamburgers for lunch most days, the fries are amazing! They had a Mexican burrito place that had a delicious breakfast! Most food is located on the libido desk. We didn't order room service or pay for the steak house.
Can You Work On A Cruise: Yes, digital nomads the ship has wifi packages. You can cruise and do digital marketing at the same time.
It's Closing Time: Book the damn cruise! It is great for the entire family! You can't beat the price and the activities! My parents who are senior citizens loved the cruise and are ready to book the next one. Dmitri (My teenager) has already gone on another cruise with the friend that went with us.
We are putting our Carnival Cruise Casino offer to use and booking another cruise. Can I help you book a cruise? Call or text me at 918-203-4362.
Bon Voyage My Friends!