~*~Background Info~*~

I think it's important to know who your writer is. Helps paint a better picture when telling a story. Especially when its such a personal journey. 1st off let me tell you why I write trip reports,

1. I love retelling our vacation, I get to relive the fun times, or not so fun.
2. Its a way of paying back my debt to society for all the reports I read leading up to my time to cruise! 
3. This is a great form of expression and I love to write but don't have nearly enough time to do it anymore. 

But a bit of warning on #3, I love writing but my grammar and spelling are lacking. Thanks to spell check its not as bad but don't expect New York best seller here. Also it's a trip report flooded with pics. Pictures that are of us, the ship, our excursions, people we cruised with, etc. Again a word of warning, I'm not a professional by any means in that area, and novice is still being polite. Oh FYI I overuse computer lingo ie. LOL, YOLO, #hashtags etc. But if your ok with all that settle on in because I guarantee it to be a fun filled report sure to make you laugh. I keep it real!

Now allow me to introduce my cast of characters

I am Andrea- Mom to 2 boys, Wife to a US Marine. My everyday job I do Sales for Workers Comp. But I suffer from a case of OCVP (Obsessive Compulsive Vacation Planning)

Hubby - Elbert (aka E) US Marine, easy going laid back kind of guy... enjoys napping

Son #1- Phoenix (aka P) age 16, seems to have headphones permanently embedded in his ears. The "whatever" kid. 

Son #2- Justice (aka J) age 12, the ipod doesn't seem to leave his hands. The "ok" kid.

Now some info on the cruise we chose

For that matter why we chose it. We had just got back from a week at an all inclusive in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in June 2014. As much as we enjoyed our time there, we just realized we enjoy cruising more and seeing new places and not just being stuck in the same place for a week. So off I set to find our next adventure. Hubby likes to cruise for the ports, the kids for the ship and me a bit of both. 

We have previously done a 3day RCCL on the West Coast. The ports on the East Coast didn't impress us, even though the ships did (Oasis & Allure). As much as we LOVED our Disney cruise, that Rat is just too expensive for when we are able to take off. So Carnival it was again, we did the Freedom in 2011 and really enjoyed it. I was hoping to jump on the newest ship the Breeze as I knew the boys would love all that she offered. Low and Behold we found....

Carnival Breeze 8 Day Cruise

Saturday, March 28- Miami, Fl leave at 4pm

Sunday, March 29- Fun Day at Sea

Monday, March 30- Grand Turk 7- 2pm

Tuesday, March 31- La Romona 9-5pm

Wednesday, April 1- Curacao 2-11pm

Thursday, April 2- Aruba 8-4pm

Friday, April 3- Fun Day at Sea

Saturday, April 4- Fun Day at Sea

Sunday, April 5- Get kicked off the boat back in Miami for Easter

With it being Easter week, airfare was crazy, so we figured since we have never been to Miami before lets go down 2days before and explore. Get the most bang for our buck! 

Next Up: Fly me to the moon... well just Miami.

PS. I try and post as quickly as I can but unfortunately with being back to reality doesn't leave much time. In between work, kids and all their activities, along with getting back to the gym to lose the 10lbs I gained. Trying to post twice a week, so bare with me and hang in there, I swear it will be worth the wait... or at least I think so LOL!