This blog post is yet another untraditional post in that it is more of a personal note to those of you who have been following My Cruising Family’s journeys thus far, and who have come to expect regular blog posts. It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post as life has been feeling like a whirlwind. Whew!
Read MoreA few days ago, as we are approaching Mother's Day, I came across the question: What do mothers really want for Mother's Day? Here's my answer.
As the working mother of two rambunctious young boys, age 3 and age 7, and being in the first year of building my blog and travel business, I would love a day of
Read MoreWhy cruise with a group? Well, the answer is simple. Many cruise lines offer amenities to groups, which usually include onboard credit or some other perk(s). After much research – because, you know, I always RESEARCH EXTENSIVELY before selecting a cruise – My Cruising Family has decided on the cruise line, ship, and itinerary for its FIRST GROUP CRUISE!!! My extensive research for our individual family cruises sometimes means changing my mind, and for this group cruise, that process was no different. I had a number of other cruise lines and sailings in mind, but when looking at the VALUE received, Norwegian Cruise Line tops the list.
We will be sailing onboard the Norwegian Dawn from San Juan, Puerto Rico, from March 24, 2019 to March 31, 2019! Are you super excited yet?
Did I mention the ports of call yet? Oh yeah… Castries, St. Lucia… Bridgetown, Barbados… St. John’s, Antigua… St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands… and Tortola, British Virgin Islands! Excited now?
AND, a wonderful perk is that it only takes a $50 per person deposit to lock-in the stateroom of your choice on this group cruise, as well as TWO PERKS of your choice AT TRULY NO ADDITIONAL FEE! Of course, staterooms/accommodations, meals at complimentary restaurants, spectacular entertainment, and most shipboard activities are already included in your cruise fare. However, with this group cruise, we are offering even more already included! Every stateroom will be able to receive two of the following perks:
- Ultimate Beverage Package *1st and 2nd Guests Only*
- Prepaid Service Charges *1st and 2nd Guests Only*
- Commitment Ceremony
- Internet Package Per Cabin
- $50 Per Port Shorex Credit Per Cabin *Maximum of 4 Ports*
- Specialty Dining Package *1st and 2nd Guests Only*
- Cocktail Party Per Cabin
- 20 Photo Package Per Cabin
- $75 Onboard Credit Per Cabin
Read MoreIf you know me or if you’ve been following this page, then you know I love to travel. Even if you don’t know me, but you take a look at this website, blog, My Cruising Family’s Facebook page, or My Cruising Family’s Instagram page, then you will see that I love to travel. In a recent conversation, what I’d been feeling inside for a while and what I’d been examining was called out when the person I was speaking with said that travel is sometimes just a band-aid for something deeper. Have I been using my travels and travel planning as a band-aid or pain-reliever? Well, honestly, YES, I have.
Read MoreThis was my second MSC cruise and my seventh overall cruise. However this was the 1st time that we had booked a 14-day cruise! Yes, FOURTEEN DAYS! My mom, my husband, my 7-year-old son, my 3-year-old son, and I sailed together on the MSC Fantasia, from March 18, 2018 to April 1, 2018, roundtrip from Guadeloupe to Antigua & Barbuda, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts & Nevis, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and Grenada, with multiple stops in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Kitts & Nevis. We had two Fantastica balcony staterooms on Deck 10, right next to each other: 10208 and 10210. We loved our clean and spacious staterooms! We booked this cruise for the amazing itinerary! I was a bit disappointed when a portion of the itinerary changed – the initial itinerary included Tortola, British Virgin Islands; Dominica; and St. Maarten/St. Martin. After the damage caused by the 2017 hurricane season, those three ports were removed from the itinerary, and, instead, an extra stop in St. Kitts was added, as well as a stop in La Romana, Dominican Republic. We made the best of it! Truly, the itinerary was still FABULOUS! We had a wonderful time! The crew and staff that we dealt with the most, which were our room steward, wait staff and other dining room staff, and the photo team were consistently pleasant and really made this voyage GREAT!
Read MoreI type this at tens of thousands of feet in the air, while my 3-year-old son is sleeping in my mom’s arms across the aisle from me, my 7-year-old is watching a JetBlue’s Disney compilation, and my husband is watching another JetBlue feature as we fly home to New York City from an amazing 17-day Spring Break, which included pre-cruise and post-cruise stays in Guadeloupe, and a 14-day Caribbean cruise from Guadeloupe to Antigua & Barbuda, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts & Nevis, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and Grenada, with multiple stops in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Kitts & Nevis.
Read MoreAs I write this, I am some tens of thousands of feet in the air, on the way to Guadeloupe for My Cruising Family’s Spring Break 2018 cruise. I will schedule this to automatically post on the My Cruising Family blog, and we will be enjoying a fun-filled, yet relaxing, family vacation.
On prior vacations, I did not even take my laptop because of my deep-rooted, genuine, desire to unplug, breathe in the fresh Caribbean air, and have not a care in the world, except to admire God’s handiwork and connect even more as a family.
Read MoreWith My Cruising Family's next cruise right around the corner, we are in crunchtime to pack, confirm activities that we've planned, and all around prepare for our longest cruise yet: our 14-day Caribbean cruise onboard the MSC Fantasia! That all being said, this week's blog post is not the traditional My Cruising Family blog, but it is still quite informative and helpful.
Read MoreDear Overwhelmed/Tired Mom,
Let me start by acknowledging that I don’t understand. I say that because I can sometimes be annoyed by people who tell me that they understand what I’m feeling when I don’t think that they do. Many times, the person means well, and I think the person means to convey that they hear me, they care, and they have been through similar experiences.
There is only one you, so only you know what it’s like to walk in your shoes. Only you know what it’s like to wake up in the morning, Mondays through Fridays, to get yourself ready for work, and also to get your children up and awake, showered, clothed, and fed before school. You may drive them and yourself to school and work, or like me, you may walk or drive a portion of the way, then take a train – in our case, at least 3 trains – just to get to school and work. Only you know how you feel during and after the shuffle, hustle, and bustle just to get your children to school. Only you know how you feel walking into your place of work before 9am, yet feeling as though you have already completed a full day of work. Only you know
Read MoreJanuary 19, 2018. Today marks 5 years since My Cruising Family’s first family cruise.
Sidebar… It’s funny because my first cruise – not a family cruise – was in 2005, prior to becoming a mother and prior to meeting my husband, yet it was on Disney Cruise Line, which is probably the first cruise line that comes to mind when you hear the words “family cruise.” I’ve got to let you know that Disney is loads of fun for adults without children, as I experienced it first-hand in 2005. Nevertheless, I now say that that Disney Magic cruise, being my first cruise, was a sign that I’d be loving family cruising years later, and that I’d be a resource for all things related to family cruising.
So, back to January 19, 2013. My husband, our then 2-year-old son, and I sailed on the Carnival Dream’s 7-day Western Caribbean itinerary. Little did we know then what we know now, and what we put into practice as we now usually sail as a family of four or five.
Read MoreMy Cruising Family experienced an amazing Norwegian Sky cruise to Cuba and the Bahamas, from October 9, 2017 to October 13, 2017. For a photo review of our recent Cuba/Bahamas cruise, please view our Facebook album, My Cruising Family's NCL Sky Cruise, at http://bit.ly/2zy6nVG, or follow My Cruising Family on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mycruisingfam/.
Read MoreWhy am I writing this now? Well, because, right now – today – just about one week before our family goes on vacation, both of our boys have what seems to be the common cold, with stuffy and runny noses, and coughing. There have also been complaints of ear pain, which we know can happen sometimes simply as a result of congestion, but can also happen if there is an ear infection. Their symptoms started developing on the weekend, so I am thankful that we had that opportunity to treat them at home without having to take days off from school, day care, and work, and without contaminating other people’s children. Nevertheless, with our next cruise around the corner, I called the doctor’s office this morning to try to get an appointment as soon as possible.
Read MoreWhen traveling with a family, especially a family that includes young children, we tend to be very thoughtful about our travel plans. That being said, given the rough 2017 hurricane season, some parents may be re-thinking their planned family cruises and others may be reluctant to plan Caribbean family vacations at this time because of the idea that the Caribbean islands are in bad shape right now. While a number of the hardest hit islands have a long road to recovery ahead of them, there are many available options in the Caribbean that were virtually unharmed by the 2017 hurricanes.
Read MoreIn an effort to assist those who are considering, planning, or already booked a cruise, I have answered many questions regarding cruising. In answering those questions, I caution that there are some things that all cruise lines have in common, but there are other areas in which each cruise line differs. Here, I have included a list of five commonly asked questions, as well as a list of some cruise lines and the corresponding links to how they address each question.
Read MoreMy Cruising Family’s philosophy is that it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it, especially when cruising with children. The below list should be repeated for each person cruising.
Read MoreAlthough this was my 5th cruise, this was my first MSC cruise, and I loved it. My mom, my husband, my 6-year-old son, my 2-year-old son, and I sailed together on the MSC Divina, from March 25, 2017 to April 1, 2017, from the Port of Miami to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Nassau. We had two Bella staterooms on Deck 8, one room across the hall from the other: balcony stateroom 8251 and inside stateroom 8253. We had a wonderful time! The crew and staff were generally very helpful and cheerful. Our stateroom steward, Lynyrd, was excellent in keeping our rooms in order and providing any requested services, such as
Read MoreUpon our return from this particular cruise, I didn’t do much of a review of the ship itself. However, I can say that the ship was fine. We had connecting Promenade View Staterooms, which were very convenient because my mom and our two sons stayed next door, while my husband and I had some space to ourselves. It should be noted that Promenade View Staterooms are listed as double occupancy, but by calling Royal Caribbean and explaining our group’s dynamic, including the fact that our younger son was one-year-old at the time, and would have a Pack 'n Play to sleep in, Royal Caribbean was able to book three of us in the room given that one of three was a one-year-old. It may not be an option on every cruise, but it does not hurt to ask. After all, that’s how we learn things. I know that, as a mom, I teach my children that it’s ok to ask questions. I know that many other parents take the same approach, so if you’re one of those parents, let’s take our own advice on that. Therefore, if you’re wondering whether or not this is a possibility on your cruise, I suggest calling and speaking with either your travel agent or the cruise line directly.
This particular cruise was port-intensive, so our focus, as well as this review, was more on the ports than the ship.
Read MoreAs mentioned in My Cruising Family's previous blog post, I have written cruise reviews, excursion reviews, and more, to share my experiences, and to, hopefully, help other cruise-planning/cruising moms and families to plan the best cruise vacation for their families. That being said, I will share some of those reviews in this week's blog posts, starting with a review of our family's Carnival Splendor Cruise.
Read MoreWhile juggling life’s demands, planning a cruise can seem like an unnecessary use of your time, or like a luxury that you can live without. This working wife and mommy – yours truly – is quite familiar with the day-to-day juggle, and I am also quite familiar with the tools that can make planning a cruise a breeze!
So, what are some of the things that go into planning a cruise?
Read MoreSo, as I sat, reclined on our couch in the living room, after 9pm on a weeknight, excited about travel and all the information I’m preparing to share with you on this blog about traveling together as a family and how great and awesome it is, my six-year-old provides me with material for this particular blog post. It’s not what I had initially planned to write, but hey, if it’s one thing being a mom has taught me, from the moment a routine ultrasound appointment turned into an unexpected admission to Labor and Delivery, is that life, especially life with children, is unpredictable.
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