This will be
DCL cruise #8 for my wife and me, and # 5 for my two daughters going with us on this one. Second cruise for each of their mates. We are lucky to live near the port so we don't have the extra expenses most of you have to deal with, such as airfare, hotels, transportation, etc. We also try to take advantage of offseason florida resident rates. This is our third Eastern.
Last year we had a family reunion with all of our kids/grandkids on the same cruise as we are signed up for this year. It was a lot of fun - a once in a lifetime event - but we knew when we planned it we would be limited in what we could do because 4 of the 6 grandkids were under 3 years old. No shore excursions and a lot of time around the Mickey pool.
This time we will miss the grandkids and our other 5 kids, but we are looking forward to an all adult experience. As great as the Magic is with kids, it is even better without!!!
Haven't decided on excursions, but will probably do the Champaign Catamaran at St Thomas. It's a little pricey, but we did it before and it was really well done.
Since it will be my wife's BDay on board ( a big one - starting a new decade of life - I'm too smart to say which one!! Actually, I'm not that smart - I've finally realized there are some things that get me in big trouble!!) , I'm sure I will get the Romantic Escape at Sea package. Never considered it before until I read the thread about it on the boards the past few weeks.
We will definitely do the Rainforest and Brunch! Highly recommend the brunch for anyone who has never done it!!
I think someone asked about booking on board. We did it for this cruise, and I compared the rate we got on board with our Florida Resident Rate we got last year. On board they were offering a 10% discount plus $200 on board credit. room costs for last year versus this year, same category (6) were within a few dollars of each other, and the Florida Resident Rate did not include the $200 on board credit. I'm sure we will book one on board this time too.
Even with seven cruises behind us, we still look forward to the next with the same excitement as the first. Actually more, because on the first, we had no idea how great it was going to be!! This board makes it even more exciting (although my wife thinks I'm nuts spending so much time on it!!)
Bob and Mary
PS Just noticed as I was reviewing the post, tomorrow (Sunday) we will be at the 250 day mark!!! Seems like a long way away, but the days go by fast!!!