Lovely Cruise

For our anniversary trip, in October (well, 5 nights in October) Steven and I will be aboard this boat:



The Carnival Destiny!

We have stops in Nassau, Bahamas (where we went on our honeymoon), Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and the Grand Turks.

And it's official now because we bought our air-fare today!  We didn't buy it the day we booked the trip a few weeks ago because it was SO expensive... today when I checked the prices had gone down $80 a person AND we got a price guarantee from Orbitz so if the price goes down again they will reimburse us!


We've never been on a cruise before, so it will be fun to do this first together.  We want to do something at least overnight every year on our anniversary and I am so thankful that we get to go.  We definitely debated it for a while...  it would be way cheaper to go to Chicago or something (though we did get a great deal... Cruising in October isn't exactly in hot demand).  But we decided that NOW is the time to go on a trip like this.  It's just the two of us.  The time alone together... away from the phone, computers, and other obligations... time to just relax and rejuvenate... is very important and we need to make it a priority.

I also spoke with some friends/coworkers who gave me some good points, like that RIGHT NOW is the time to go on a trip where you pay-by-the-person...  to go to the beach or get a hotel room somewhere, you pay by the room... so it's the same price whether it's the two of us or if we had two kids too. Cruising is by the person so now is the time for us to go.

Also, I was chatting with one of the ladies at church yesterday and she was saying that when she was newlywed, they were so concerned with saving money (which is obviously responsible and good to do!) that they never travelled and she really regrets not spending that time before kids to do those things... because once you have the kids there is always something going on or the financial need is greater somewhere else.

We are SO very thankful that GOD has provided the funds and our financial sense of saving money for us to take this vacation.  We work hard at our jobs and live pretty frugally- sticking to our budget, shopping with coupons, buying groceries at Aldi, and living within our means- but we know that we are very blessed to have a little extra at the end of the month to save, and put some of it towards some special "us" time.

We're pretty excited.  :)

 

PS Here is a little "comic" I found on FB for your enjoyment...  just reaffirms the decision!  :)