FINALLY going on vacation again!

It feels like it has been FOREVER since I went on vacation. I mean, I've been... wait. Nope. Nowhere. Not a single trip since going to Europe in 2010. Not even up north for the summer-- but for a good reason. I had no vacation days left after Europe to go in 2010, and in 2011, my sister had my baby niece- so my "vacation" was coming home to see the perfect little nugget. I'm ok with that tradeoff.

Fortunately, my best friend, Maureen (the France expert) received an exciting job offer. She will be a lecturer aboard cruise ships, and her first job is in March. One of the perks is getting to take a "travel companion" with her on these "jobs," and guess who her first companion is? OHHH YEAH! We are setting sail on an 8-night Eastern Caribbean cruise. WIN!

We will be traveling on Royal Caribbean's "Navigator of the Seas" and stopping in (Philipsberg)St. Maarten, (Basseteree) St. Kitts, and (San Juan) Puerto Rico, (Labadee) Haiti. And, as an added perk, we are leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale- meaning I get to see my grandparents before and after our trip. They have graciously agreed to house us the night before the trip and take us to/from the boat dock. Did you know that it is $15/DAY to park your car at the Royal Caribbean lot? My grandparents will be saving us almost $100 in parking alone. I love them.

Part of this trip's fun is the drive that Maureen and I get to make to and from the ship. She is picking me up in Jacksonville, FL and we are driving from Jacksonville to Ft. Lauderdale. After the cruise, we are driving back to Jacksonville, where we will stay the night and I will fly home- and she will drive back to Tallahassee.

The trip doesn't start for another 37 days, but I'm already excited to go. I've started my list of stuff to pack and decided (begrudgingly) to check a bag on the flights. Silly Delta charges $25 for each checked bag each way, but Southwest's (bags fly free!) fares were more expensive than Delta's, even including the extra $50 to check the luggage. Pathetic. That's like Royal Caribbean charging us to park- just silly. But, I'll deal.

Let's talk about the ship aneminities, shall we? Because, while we're making interesting port stops, we're on this bad boy for 8 days- with 4 of them completely at sea. The ship has

• a rock-climbing wall, 
• a basketball court, 
• an ice-skating rink 
• in-line skating track, 
• a five-story theatre, 
• a casino, 
• a miniature golf course,
• a three-story dining room,  
• spa with over 100 treatments
• 4 swimming pools
• an "Adults Only" retreat
• 6 whirpools
• fitness center
• numerous bars (one is an "English Pub," a sports bar, champagne bar, wine bar and others)
• library and internet cafe
• a Johnny Rockets restaurant
• A Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream parlor

Holy crap, the list goes on and on...! 

That's it for now. In the next few days, I'm sure I'll review what I'm packing, what the tipping/payment policies are on some of these places on the ship- there is a LOT of cruise pricing resources out there, the destinations and excursions, the car ride (Maureen is "musically challenged" so I must have the ipod  ready), and, maybe a little about what Maureen is actually DOING on the ship. Me? I'll be by the pool, soaking up the sun and drinking a rum and diet coke (it's low WW points!).