My husband and I have 2 adult daughters. Last year, we all made a universal decision to take vacations rather than celebrate Christmas with often unwanted gifts. We decided to make memories instead. My youngest daughter is Whitney. Her boyfriend, Bryce, also went with us. My eldest daughter is Jessica. We booked a 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean with Carnival. The destinations included were Cozumel, Mexico; Belize; Roatan, Honduras; and Grand Cayman.

We prepaid on-line to park at Premier Parking. It was a bit of a trek from Carnival but we paid less than parking at Port of Tampa. The cost was about 7.99 per day. It was smooth and efficient except that we had to haul our luggage. The walk was about a block and a half. Embarkation was no problem.

My husband and I shared our cabin with Jessica, so we paid for a balcony view at the last minute. For a less expensive option, we let Carnival make the choice for us. Our room was on deck 8..it was so worth it. Whitney and Bryce were almost across the hall..we would often all hang out on the balcony, watching the waves, the sunset, the perfect weather that we had. It helped that we brought two hydrogen peroxide bottles with something better than hydrogen peroxide. Our room attendants were excellent..we developed a little friendship with them. Jose was the lead attendant. He was friendly and accommodating. Read more