Hi!  

Some of you may have read this on the homepage for this blog, but my guess is some didn't scroll through the homepage... lol.  I know how we can get, clicking around and jumping from link to link, so I've added this introductory information as well as a bit more insight in this blog post because I think it's important to know the reason and motivation behind things that I read, support, and/or engage in.  

My name is Peta-Gaye Daniel, and I am a Jamaican-born wife and mother who lives and works in the United States, has traveled to 17 countries, thus far, and loves to cruise with her family. At the time of starting this blog, my six-year-old son has already traveled to 15 countries, my two-year-old son has already traveled to 11 countries, and we have two upcoming cruises booked.  Ohhh, how I'm looking forward to our upcoming cruises!  I am due for a vacation, and our upcoming ports of call between 2017 and 2018 are EXCITING!  

Traveling since the age of four, I share, through this website, real life stories of balancing work and family, as a daughter, wife, mommy, friend, and attorney, managing stress, juggling life, and enjoying family travel without breaking the bank.  On that note, may I add that, generally, when booking our cruises, I try to maintain a family-friendly budget. I say "generally" because, honestly, there have been times where I say, "We're going on this trip," and by the grace of God, we charge it, and we'll figure out how to pay for it down the road.  It has gotten like that at times… I'm being honest here, which is another thing you need to know about this blog.  I will be honest.  All the experiences I write about, here, and all the information that I share, here, are my own.  No one, no cruise line, no corporation has provided any sort of compensation for me to write the things you will read about here... not even the product reviews...  this is all my honest opinion.  So, back to cruising... A family-friendly vacation budget is what I am hoping to inspire people, including myself, to stick to.  While an individual may quickly see the price of a cruise posted and may quickly decide to book that cruise for himself or herself right away, cruising as a family always requires lots of thought, multiplication, and budgeting!  That does NOT make cruising impossible.  Actually, it makes it very possible because planning it out, numbers and all, shows you that it can work.  My hope is that this blog helps you to plan.  

While this blog can speak to everyone interested in cruising, I have realized that communities of color sometimes express hesitation to cruise and to travel, so My Cruising Family seeks to inspire other families of color to pack their bags and cruise the world together by debunking myths, and by sharing our real life stories of cruising.

Realizing that there are a number of travel blogs focused specifically on solo travelers of color, or single people of color who want to come together to travel, or Black and African-American expatriates, My Cruising Family doesn't seek to duplicate that, but rather, seeks to build an online community of families who love to cruise together, as well as those seeking to learn more about family cruising and those considering cruising. 

The Bible says to "Write the vision, and make it plain."  Habakkuk 2:2.  It also says that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  Hebrews 11:1.  In addition to what is already highlighted above, my vision and hope for this blog, website, and organization is for My Cruising Family to be able to gift vacations to families who have gone through significant challenges that make it difficult for them to vacation together.  That, I will love!  

Welcome to My Cruising Family!