Cruising 101

I hope you are enjoying my review so far! I am having so much fun reliving my vacation!

Before I dive into the cruise, I would like to share my cruise history with you so hopefully you know where my thoughts are coming from.

My first cruise was three years ago on the Carnival Valor. We chose to cruise with Carnival at the time because it was affordable and the dates aligned perfectly with our trip to Walt Disney World. It was an amazing experience, and it left quite an impression on me. In short, I was hooked. I was in awe of the many beautiful destinations you can see in trip, without ever having to unpack and commute there. We held an alligator in Miami, went horseback riding in Half Moon Key, sightseeing in St. Thomas, shopping in San Juan, and snorkeling in Grand Turk. The ship was like a floating resort. You can eat as much as you want whenever you want. I was so enamoured, I never knew such luxurious adventures could exist!

Our second cruise was a short eight months later on the Allure of the Seas. This is the ship that did us in. The Allure of the Seas was, and currently is, the largest cruise ship in the world (no big deal). This ship had everything. There was an ice rink, a casino, a carousel, a Starbucks, Central Park, Broadway shows, and diving shows. We were truly spoiled on this boat. We were never bored, and we were constantly being entertained. We almost felt like there wasn't enough time to do everything! The Allure of the Seas was our first true cruising experience. We never felt the need the leave the boat (although we did), and even though it was such a large ship with so many passengers, we never once felt crowded, and that my friends, is an amazing feeling (see: Disneyland).

About a year and a half after this cruise (one year ago), we did our first back-to-back cruise. The first ship was the Disney Fantasy. The Fantasy is the biggest of its small fleet, and it was a dream boat. The service is excellent and if you are a Disney fan like myself, it is magical and wonderful and just so many childhood feels involved! I almost want to say it's like being in the happiest place on earth (Disneyland) but it is just that, but better! Although the ports were repeats for us, we didn't mind. We were on this cruise to enjoy the ship. The Fantasy also has an amazing water slide called the Aqua Duck, which circles around the ship. And oh the fireworks! Disney Cruise Lines is the only ship with fireworks at sea! How magical is that! The second ship was the Carnival Breeze. This was a new boat, and it was the largest of the Carnival fleet (but not even close to the Allure! It is about the same size as the Fantasy though). The boat was fantastically new and clean, it was only a year old at the time! However, after cruising on the Allure and the Fantasy, we felt that we had grown out of Carnival. The service, the quality of food and the amenities just weren't the same. We still had an amazing time on the Breeze. It took us to some beautiful ports, such as Aruba and Curacao, and there are memories we will cherish forever. After this trip, we realized that doing back-to-back cruises was the best (financial) idea we've had.

So there you have it, our cruise history. We're all about new, big and busy boats. Next up, the actual cruise we went on.

 Do you love cruising too?
I'd love to hear about your favourite ship!

Please leave a comment for me!