Wanna Go Cruisin'

I've always wanted to take my family and go on a cruise, but have just never have managed to get around to actually booking one. There's always been some excuse or another, from "it's too expensive" to "we don't have the time". I've thought about it long and hard and decided that 2009 is a year for action! I might have to sell a kidney on eBay or something, but darn it - we're doing it!

Part of it is that I want to offer my children different life experiences so they don't get to my age and realize that they've never been outside of the good ol' U S of A. (And no, that weekend in Tijuana doesn't count because there was far too much tequila consumed and I don't remember anything - aside from some hazy memories of bribing that one police officer. Hey - we were all 20-something and stupid, cut me some slack...) Okay, enough reminiscing about my misspent youth, back to the point!

Another reason I wanna go on a cruise is that I'm a beachy ocean bum girl at heart. I know, kinda stupid for a fair-skinned redhead to fall in love with the beach, but there you have it! Some people like camping (too dirty for me, plus - bears. I'm terrified of them.) while others like cabins at the lake (ugh - leeches. Plus, you can't always see water moccasins very well in murky lake water.). Not for me. Give me a nice sandy beach with crystal blue water so I can see where I'm stepping, thank you very much! And the itinerary of a cruise ship would provide me just enough beach time to enjoy myself without tempting me to stay long enough to burn until I'm lobster red.

There's more reasons, so keep on reading!

Did you know there are some really and I mean REALLY good deals available for cruises right now? One of the ones I'm looking into is a 5 day cruise in late November to the Bahamas for $289 a person. Seriously! For 5 people, that works out to be almost half of what the cottage at Tybee Island cost for a week when we were there 2 years ago! And it rained that week. A LOT. It ranks right up there in my "Vacations Never to be Repeated" top 5.

And the final reason is that once we make all the decisions, put the deposit down and arrange for time off, it will be excellent motivation for me to get my act together and really get in shape. I'm not exactly in "bikini-ready" shape. And I wouldn't say I'm ready to put on a one-piece swimsuit because that's not quite right either. Hmmmm... I have to think. Oh hey - I got it! Remember those old bathing costumes women wore around the turn of the century? Like these?:


Yeah. I'm probably not ready for one of those either.

Have any of you been on a cruise? Do you have any recommendations of things to do or not do? I'd love to hear them!